Diploma in English for Business Part I

Transcription

1 Diploma in English for Business Part I Lesson 2 Hone your Communicative and Oral Skills Part 1 Presented by: Mark Kennelly Course Educator B.Sc. (Hons.)

2 Today s Lesson You will learn about communication-related contexts in the workplace You will gain confidence and improve your telephone manner We will learn how to prepare for meetings You will explore the Future Tenses and Quantifiers You will hone your conference call techniques You will explore the First Conditional Summary Next Steps Q & A

3 Oral Communication Oral Communication

4 What is communication? Communication involves sending and receiving information. There are different types of communication, e.g. verbal (speaking) and non-verbal communication (gestures, handshaking, bowing, etc.). In a professional context, the process should involve reaching a mutual understanding (everybody should be satisfied). Communication is extremely important in every organisation between management, departments and employees.

5 What is oral communication? Oral communication occurs when a message or information is exchanged or communicated verbally (spoken). e.g. a face-to-face conversation, a telephone call, a conference call, a meeting, etc.

6 How can you improve your oral communication in a professional environment? Focus on and listen to the professional(s) you are speaking to Control verbal and non-verbal communication Avoid interrupting Show interest in what the other party says Be confident, empathetic, diplomatic, positive and encouraging Anticipate the other party s needs Avoid being judgemental Provide feedback where necessary

7 New Terminology to hone = to improve avoid interrupting = speaking when someone else is speaking a party = another person (people) empathetic = understanding other individuals diplomatic = take care how you say something to respect other people encouraging = giving support anticipate the other party s needs = predict or know what they might want judgemental = intolerant, not accepting other professionals and their opinions feedback = advice about your work performance work performance = how you work

8 What are confident, empathetic, diplomatic, positive and encouraging examples of? verbs nouns adjectives adverbs adjectives

9 Improving your Telephone Manner Improving your Telephone Manner

10 How can you improve your telephone manner? Be confident, polite, professional and articulate Practise speaking on the phone Prepare a script if necessary Be comfortable with silence Answer calls quickly and in a helpful manner Use technology and resources to the maximum articulate (verb) = to express yourself in a confident and clear manner articulate (adj.) = well-spoken; clear communicator

11 Language to Improve your Telephone Manner Introductions Hello/Good morning/good afternoon This is Mark speaking. Thank you for calling Shaw Academy. Mark speaking. How can/may I help you? Could I speak to Mark please? This is Mark. I m calling from Shaw Academy. Mark speaking, how can I help you? Could you hold the line please/just a moment please. I will put you through to I can transfer you to What to say if you are having difficulty understanding the other person on the phone The line is very bad Could you speak up please? Could you repeat that please/could you say that again please. Could you speak a little slower please?

12 Language to Improve your Telephone Manner Leaving/taking a message or information I will get Mark to call you back. Could you ask Mark to return my call please? Could you tell Mark that I called? Can I take a message? Would you like to leave a message for Mark? I'll make sure he gets the message. Answering machines Hello, this is Mark calling. Could you please return my call as soon as possible. My number is... Thank you. Hi, this is Mark. I'm sorry I'm not available to take your call. Please leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks for calling. Have a good afternoon. I look forward to meeting you. Have a nice day. Finishing a conversation

13 Which of these expressions is the most polite if you want to ask someone to leave a message on the phone for somebody? Leave a message for Mark. Would you like to leave a message for Mark? You can leave a message. What do you want to say to Mark? Would you like to leave a message for Mark?

14 Preparing for Meetings Preparing for Meetings

15 How can you prepare for meetings? Identify the purpose of the meeting. What s your role in the meeting? Be aware of the goals for the meeting Know the agenda Know the arrangements for the meeting: the date, time and location Be well-prepared Organise the equipment you need and resources needed (e.g. photocopies) the purpose = the reason for something a goal = an aim/an objective the agenda = the schedule/plan arrangements = plans well-prepared = well-organised photocopies = printed handouts

16 Expressions for Meetings At the beginning Ok everybody, thanks (thank you all) for coming. On the agenda today Right then let s get down to business. First of all, Secondly, And finally During the meeting Let s get down to business = Let s start the meeting brief = short Any other business? = Any other issues to discuss? Can you elaborate on? = Can you explain more? Can you clarify? = Can you explain more to make it clearer? Let s keep this meeting fairly brief. Any other business? I have a question. Why? I agree with Mark. In my opinion, I think we should introduce Can you elaborate on how we are going to? Can you clarify that please?

17 Expressions for Meetings Asking for feedback What did you think about my presentation? Can you provide feedback on the meeting? Did you find the meeting useful? Did the meeting help clarify the current situation? Is there any part of our discussion that you are unsure about? to be impressed = to really enjoy and respect overall = considering everything I m unclear about = I m unsure about Providing feedback I thought the presentation went well. You provided great information and I think everyone was impressed. The meeting went well. We covered a lot of information and made some important decisions. Overall the presentation went well, but next time I would recommend I understand, but I m still unclear about

18 Which of these expressions is the most polite to use in a meeting when you want somebody to explain something more? I don t understand. Can you clarify that please? Can you repeat that. What are you saying? Can you clarify that please?

19 Future Tenses for Scheduling, Organising or Planning Future Tenses for Scheduling, Organising or Planning

20 Future Tenses for Scheduling, Organising or Planning What do we use to talk about the future? Future Simple going to Present Continuous Present Simple Future Simple (Will) Something you decide in the moment that you are speaking Form: Subject + will + infinitive (base form) of verb e.g. We ll start a new project tomorrow.

21 Future Tenses for Scheduling, Organising or Planning Going to For plans already organised Form: Subject + be + going to + infinitive (base form) e.g. We re going to have a big meeting with our boss next month. Present Continuous For arrangements or plans already organised, but they are very close to now with a time, a date or a place Form: Subject + be + verb -ing e.g. I m meeting a client on Tuesday at 3p.m. **Sometimes both going to and the Present Continuous can be used for the same situation

22 Future Tenses for Scheduling, Organising or Planning Present Simple For timetables or events that happen regularly or a scheduled event Form: Subject + present form of verb (add s for third person He/She/It) e.g. The bus I take to work departs at 8a.m. every morning. We have a meeting after the webinar to discuss the attendance.

23 Which of these sentences is correct for a meeting which is planned for next week? I m going to meet a new client next month. I will meet a new client next week. I m meeting a new client next week in Paris. I meet a new client next week. I m meeting a new client next week in Paris.

24 Making Conference Calls Making Conference Calls

25 How can you improve your conference call technique? Be confident, clear, professional and organised Be familiar with the technology and features of the conference call software Encourage participants Be punctual Be aware of where you are conducting the conference call, i.e. your location Follow the agenda Use visual aids where necessary to help the discussion Take notes Keep the call brief encourage participants = motivate the individuals to conduct a call = to make a call take notes = write down key information brief = short

26 Expressions for Conference Calls At the beginning Are we all logged in? Can everybody hear me? Did everybody get the agenda? Our main aim today is Let s keep the call brief. We ll just wait a few minutes before we start. There are a number of issues that we need to address today. (There are several topics to discuss today) The first item on the agenda is The next item on today s agenda is We ll leave that topic to another meeting. The line or connection is bad today. Could you speak more slowly please. The line is bad. During the call I m afraid I didn t catch that. (I didn t hear what you said) I don t follow you. What exactly do you mean? Could you explain that in another way?

27 Expressions for Conference Calls I m sorry, I don t understand the word What does it mean? Mark could you repeat that please? Could we have some more details please? Have I made that clear? I m positive that I recommend that Mark, can we get your input? How do you feel about? What do you think about? That s interesting. I never thought about it that way before. Good point! I get your point. I see what you mean. I totally agree with you. At the end more details please = extra information I m positive that = I m sure/certain that I recommend that = I suggest/propose that your input = your ideas or thoughts I get your point = I understand what you are saying I see what you mean = I understand what you are saying Any other business? = Any other matters to discuss? Can I add something quickly? I d like to add something. Are we ready to make a decision about? Well that s everything important covered. Any other business?

28 Which of these sentences could be used to talk about the first topic on the agenda during a conference call? The agenda is... We don t have an agenda. The first item on the agenda is What s the agenda? The first item on the agenda is

29 Language Tips Language Tips

30 Language Tips Formal and polite Intonation is important, e.g. raising or lowering your voice Contractions, e.g. I will becomes I ll in spoken language Use Modal Verbs to make your speech more formal If you use a bit, a little, quite or a few, you can make your sentence sound more polite.

31 Quantifiers Quantifiers

32 When do we use them? To give information about the quantity of something, i.e. how much or how many Examples from previous slide: a bit, a little, quite, a few Quantifiers that can be used with Countable and Uncountable nouns: all, any, enough, less, a lot of, more, most (of), no, none of, some, quite, very, too, so e.g. I have too many expenses this month. I allocated so much time to the project. I was given quite a few projects to complete. *countable noun = book/s *uncountable noun = money

33 More Examples Countable Quantifiers: Many (of), a large number of, a number of, numerous, both, a couple of, each, every, either, neither, (a) few, fewer, several e.g. We have a large number of clients. The company has several new ideas. Uncountable Quantifiers: Much (of), a bit (of), (a) little, quite e.g. I have quite a bit of money saved. I have little time to finish the project.

34 Which of these is not a Quantifier? too much quite a lot of good a little bit so many good

35 First Conditional First Conditional

36 When do we use it? Real situations that are very possible Example sentence from previous slide: If you use a bit, a little, quite, a few or very well, you can make your sentence sound more polite and softer. Structure If + present simple, will (can) + infinitive of verb e.g. If I negotiate well, I will (can) come to an agreement. I will come to an agreement if I negotiate well

37 Summary You learnt about communication-related contexts in the workplace You gained confidence and improved your telephone manner You learnt how to prepare for meetings You explored the Future Tenses and Quantifiers You honed your conference call technique You explored the First Conditional o Now we can continue building on your English for Business o Attend all of the lessons LIVE to ask questions in real time and benefit the most o We re here to help, so contact us anytime! markkennelly@shawacademy.com thomasmcgovern@shawacademy.com