Business options Part 3 pptx

5 Communication LANGUAGE WORK Connected speech In everyday conversation, native English speakers speak at about five or six syllables per second - around 300 syllables per minute.. 5

5 Communication

LANGUAGE WORK

Connected speech () In everyday conversation, native English speakers speak at about five or six

syllables per second - around 300 syllables per minute Unlike some

nglish doesn’t require every letter or

languages (e.g Finnish and Italian), sound to be pronounced

Look at the two soundwave forms They both represent the sentence Do you

want to go now? Which one do you think is closest to the way the sentence

would be said in spoken English?

1 Match these phonetic transcriptions of Do you want to go now? with the spectograph readings Which one most represents the way you speak English?

a /đawDnage0na0 b_/du: ju: wpnt t0 ga0 na

2 [24 Listen to these four recorded announcements Where would you

expect to hear them? Which pattern do they follow — a or b?

3 Think about similar recorded announcements and messages in your own language How would it be if everyone spoke like that the whole time?

How would it affect communication?

loud, sounding each individual word clearly Then

© Read the sentences below

d through them again very quickly, connecting all the words

Have you got any ideas how we are going to resolve this one?

I am sorry but I have to go now

Would you say that again? I did not hear you

What are you doing tonight?

Do you want to go to a rock and roll concert?

1

#

3

4

S

Listen to the five sentences above being spoken fast What changes have happened? Which words are stressed?

4X

5 Communication

Reporting

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Reported speech

a She reminded him to write the letter

b She said (that) she would see him soon

¢ He offered to help them with the project

d_ He told her (that) he had read the contract

@ He suggested (that) she (should) take the train

f He denied reading the report

©) Match the constructions below with the sentences above

verb + that

2 verb + object + that

3 verb + that + should + bare infinitive

verb + object + infinitive

6 verb + -ing

X page 169

©® Now match the verbs in the box with one or more of the six forms above

© Choose the correct form

He replied / assured us that he had rescheduled the meeting to tomorrow How do you say / tell ‘entrepét’ in English?

1

2

3 Explain / Tell me what action points to include

4 He said to / urged us not to lose sight of our objectives

5 He asked / insisted that we should call him

©} Complete the sentences using reported speech

1 [ll fax you a complete breakdown this afternoon

He said that he would fax mea complete breakdown th:

2 Would you like to branch out into a new sector?

She asked

3 This is how you do it

is afternoon,

4 She might not be able to make it to the meeting

We could do it quicker if we bypassed a few layers

She told

6 Did you notice any potential threats?

Perhaps you should call for a taxi, i

She suggested

getting late

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5 Communication

© You will be given instructions on how to play a traditional game called Chinese Whispers When you have all finished, read the passage on page 147,

and then by discussion complete the following table

|

|

| |

| |

|

m|ịo|ol|ml|>

two different callers Note down the messages In each case both the secretary

and the caller are having difficulty in understanding each other What phrases

do they use to say that they haven’t understood or to ask for repetition?

© Below are the messages the secretary left Correct any mistakes that you find

| Ring Mr Pler

ucelone, SEAS

systems on 050

203.734, before

|_ste tonight rf

| not, he Said he'd

call you back g

1 uesd ly Morning LAI MOYˆ+L?t4

©) Work in pairs Student A, turn to page 134 Student B, turn to page 141

8 Listen to three voicemails that have been left for a colleague of yours, Susannah Graves Susannah is away and has asked you to note down the details of any messages and to fax them to her Use indirect speech

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i

|

i Communication @ Here are ten tips for writing e-mails, writing letters, and using the telephone

of communication? Mark each tip E for e-mails, L for letters, or T for telephone Some tips may apply to more than one form of communication

Rules of the office

1 Always decide beforehand exactly what you want to say

Always use the spelling tool

2

3 At the end, summarize the points made

4 Be concise

5 Don’t be too spontaneous Allow yourself a few minutes’ reflection before sending it

6 Don't type in all lower case Gr all upper case

7 Limit social chat and get straight to the point

8 Restate the other person’s concerns using the same key words

and phrases

9 Tailor your style to their style

10 Use a clear simple layout and clear simple sentences

© What are the pitfalls of making a first-time call in English? How can you

avoid them?

1 Compile a list of rules, in addition to those ones in exercise 1, to follow

when using the telephone (for all kinds of calls)

two telephone calls, using all your rules Student A, turn to

page 135 Student B, turn to page 142

of some good rules Are letters more difficult to write than faxes and

e-mails? Why?

Look at the example of the layout of a typical letter on page 148 How does

Now choose one or more of the following tasks:

1 Convert the letter into an informal e-mail, assuming that Pat Southern is

a regular customer

2 You are Pat Southern Write a fax to Kathleen Proust, explaining who you are, about your receipt of Shaqa Faiyaz’s letter and the literature on FaseOut 2010, and that you are interested in seeing a demonstration of the product

As in point 2, but this‘time you want to leave a voicemail Write the

exact words you would use

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Avoi

misunderstandings

5 Communication

ing © Misunderstandings often arise in the business world especially when two

different cultures are involved Read the article about an American presenting his products to a Japanese company

AMERICAN’S PERFORMANCE IS A SORRY SHOWSTOPPER

J AMERICAN BUSINESSMAN strides

confidently into the conference room and sits

at the head of the table to direct the proceedings

He stands’ to deliver his opening remarks and

emphasizes his points by speaking

in a strong booming voice and

making wide arm gestures He

adds a bit of humor by telling

some: jokes along the way and

constantly reiterates how out-

standing his product or service is;

especially in comparison to the

competition

AS THE MEETING PROGRESSES, he becomes

more informal, takes off his jacket, loosens his tie,

rolls up his sleeves He addresses his Japanese

clients by their names and omits their titles These

gestures, he feels, are designed to make them more

comfortable and relaxed He makes direct eye

contact only with the leader, as he will, no doubt,

make the final decision

DURING THE PRESENTATION, the American

reclines in his chair with a bored expression, and grows irritated when asked the same questions over and over again, believing that the Japanese should

understand by now

THE LONG SILENCES adopted

by the Japanese are extremely

disconcerting to this gregarious,

invariably fills these silences and

chatters incessantly

FINALLY, AS THE MEETING draws to a close,

he has a strong feeling that his proposals will be

accepted After all, the Japanese team smiled and nodded in agreement at everything he said and

surely they would be impressed by his strong

presentation He even shook hands with the leader

of the delegation and slapped him on the back in a

gesture of camaraderie What could go wrong?

1 Discuss with your partner the meaning of the words in étalics

2 Underline any cultural mistakes you think he makes, both from your own

and a Japanese point of view Would his approach be acceptable in your

country?

int ters?

Listen to this Japanese businesswoman explaining how Japanese business people would have interpreted the American’s performance

1 Does she note the same mistakes as you did? And for the same reasons?

2 What other kinds of misunderstandings can arise in cross-cultural communication? How can they be resolved?

3 What problems are involved in translating documents and in the use of

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5 Communication

MEETINGS

How many

e-mails

did you send today?

C ¢ have noticed that e-mail creates a

different culture from the telephone ot

paper In terms of business transactions

you can get a ping-pong or bounce effect,’ says Ross

Chestney, electronic communications manager for British Telecom

This ‘ping-pong’ effect can make it more difficule to come to a final decision, When talking on the telephone you would tend to discuss large points and any tangents become obvious very quickly

A letter is even more formal and to the point But, on e mail, you keep asking question after question The effect

of all this questioning is to delay coming to a decision

“At BT we are now seriously looking at this and how we should deal with it,’ says Mr Chestney Busintess Life

Does anyone

around

here know

the Green Book, as it's called, contains the names of

800 people, about one out of every eight NatWest Markets

employees It is arranged by area of expertise within five

main categories: financial products, industry sectors,

geography, support, and business intelligence About 100

of the people listed are ‘knowledge co-ordinators’ wha have volunteered to direct people not only to other people but also to, for example, legal documents or other files

What aren't listed are titles Says Victoria Ward, NatWest Markets’ chief knowledge officer:

'Ym not interested in titles It might turn

out that one of our best experts in

securitization works in the equities unit, not the debt unit This is about function, not form.’

Fortune

Your agenda is to find ways to improve decision making, communication,

and knowledge sharing in the company

© Historically review the role of information technology in your company

®) Discuss what culture is associated with each type of communication, and how

they can be integrated to form maximum communication both within and outside the company

© Consider the option of creating a ‘yellow (green?) pages’ to get answers to all

kinds of questions, for staffing, and for deal-making How could it be

designed, implemented, and updated?

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5 Communication

TABLE TALK

@ Do the quiz, choosing more than one answer where appropriate Then discuss

your answers

_ Communic: wiz

Which of these forms of communication will be most used

and least used in the future?

a mobile phones b video phones c Internet d faxes

e video conferencing f letters

How much time a day do you spend at work on the phone and on written communications?

a 10 minutes or less b 20-30 minutes

c 30-60 minutes d over an hour

Who do you find it the most and least difficult to

a your boss b the opposite sex c foreign clients

d children e relations outside your immediate family When you're talking, how much of the time do you use gestures? And on the phone?

a 0-10% b 20-40% c 50-70% d 80-90% e@ 100%

Which form of communication with clients and suppliers

do you prefer?

a face-to-face b telephone c¢ written

When communicating face-to-face with someone, how

often do you touch that person?

a never b occasionally c¢ quite often d frequently

© 4] Listen to an Australian aboriginal talking about communication in his

culture After you have listened write down as much as about his culture Compare your list with other mem

discuss which aspects of aboriginal culture you find most appealing, and which you think could work in your own culture

ou can remember

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6 TRAVEL

DID YOU KNOW?

the inability to communicate The second

is personal safety

© Travel and tourism is the world's largest

industry It provides one in every nine jobs, and contributes an average 10% to the Gross Domestic Product of a country

@ The longest road network is in the USA,

and the most crowded in Hong Kong The highest car ownership is in Luxembourg, and the highest road accident and death rate is in Malawi

@ The largest growing proportion of travellers to the USA go for business

reasons: as buyers, sellers, investors,

negotiators, and expatriate workers

@ Heathrow, London, handles more

international traffic than any other airport O'Hare, Chicago, is the world's

busiest airport with over 66 million

Eur ee 2A 1Ã

@ The wettest inhabited place in the world

is Buenaventura (Chile), the driest Aswan

(Egypt), the hottest Dijibouti (Dijibouti),

and the coldest Norlisk (Russi

@ Travel accounts for 50% of all business

[0201900000100 0012

@ The favourite postings of American diplomats are: Cape Town, Gaborone, atc tee Re meee cle LC Santiago, Vancouver, and Wellington

@ The shortest regular scheduled flight is operated by Loganair from Papa Westray

to Westray, Orkney (Scotland) The total journey takes two minutes

@ Greenwich had always been the

headquarters for testing the British Navy’s chronometers In 1884, Greenwich 'was adopted as the standard reference point for latitude and longitude lines, and

standard time then became known as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)

6 Travel

LANGUAGE WORK

Intonation o Listen to six short dialogues Decide where they are taking place (e.g in

a restaurant) There are no background noises to help you!

wr

© ©) Getting people to do things for you or to help you, is generally more successful if you use polite intonation Listen to these sentences below taken from the dialogues Decide if the intonation is polite (P) or rather indifferent (1)

1 Do you think you could possibly mail it to me in the States?

Would a credit card be OK?

How long does it take?

Could you take me to the station please?

aw Could you tell me roughly what it’s going to cost me?

Could you check the exhaust and radiator please?

Yes thanks, if you would

Do you think you could tell me wiflt6 the nearest tube station is?

Thanks a lot That’s very kind of you

10 Could I have the bill please?

oO

Listen again to sentences 1 and 2 Identify the key word in each

question What happens to the speaker’s voice as he or she builds up to the key word?

@ Turn to page 177 and practise reading the dialogues as politely as possible

travel, trip, journey Insert travel, trip(s), or journey(s) into the spaces Then discuss the questions

with your partner

into work?

By car, by train, by plane, on the metro, or

1 How long is your

2 How do you like to

on foot?

3 Which airline do you usually ve With?

4 What's the least successful business you’ve ever had?

5 Do you make your arrangements via a agent, or on the Internet?

6 Do you ever go for sightseeing while you’re on busine:

7 What's the longest train e ever had?

8 Do you like reading books by writers?

9 First class is a thing of the past Do you agree?

10 What particular abroad made you see your country or nationality

with new eyes? Did this changed vision take place during the itself, or when you returned home?

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