English for personal assistants - part 44 potx

To: Hans Brown Subject: Monday’s presentation Dear Mr Brown I see from your email that you need some work done on your presentation for Monday.. However, I do realise that your presentat

䊏 Task 1

a judiciously

b getting someone on board

c beware

d threatening

e intimidating

f misleading

g obnoxious

h moans

i sits on their hands

j puts their heads above the parapet

䊏 Task 2 Suggested answers

1 Good evening, this is I am just calling to say that my room is very noisy We’ve always been very happy with your service and have used your hotel on countless occasions so I’d really appreciate it if you could sort this out I’m sure you’ll be able to deal with this Thank you.

2.

To: Hans Brown

Subject: Monday’s presentation

Dear Mr Brown

I see from your email that you need some work done on your presentation for Monday I don’t know if you remember but you agreed last week that I could have a half-day off so I could go away this weekend As you know, according to company policy, all employees are entitled to the occasional afternoon off if they arrange it with their superiors beforehand However, I do realise that your presentation is of high priority so what I suggest is that I will come in extra early on Monday morning and do the necessary work to it so that you will have it in time for your meeting

I hope this solution is acceptable to you

Best regards

3 “Hi Jenny, I just got your voicemail I’m really sorry but it’s the close of business here now so I won’t be able to do anything tonight as I’m just on my way home What I suggest is that you email the managers concerned today to save time I’ll follow it up with another email when we know when the meeting has been

rescheduled to We’re all part of the same team so I think it makes sense if we share the work Hope this suits you and will be in touch tomorrow.”

KEY TO MBTI TYPES

Sensing Types

Quiet, serious, earn success by thoroughness

and dependability Practical, matter-of-fact,

realistic, and responsible Decide logically

what should be done and work toward it

steadily, regardless of distractions Take

pleasure in making everything orderly and

organized – their work, their home, their life

Value traditions and loyalty:

Quiet, friendly, responsible, and conscientious Committed and steady in meeting their obligations Thorough, painstaking, and accurate Loyal, considerate, notice and remember specifics about people who are important to them, concerned with how others feel Strive to create an orderly and harmonious environment at work and at home

Tolerant and flexible, quiet observers until a

problem appears, then act quickly to find

workable solutions Analyze what makes

things work and readily get through large

amounts of data to isolate the core of

practical problems Interested in cause and

effect, organize facts using logical principles,

value efficiency:

Quiet, friendly, sensitive, and kind Enjoy the present moment, what’s going on around them Like to have their own space and to work within their own time frame Loyal and committed to their values and to people who are important to them Dislike disagreements and conflicts, do not force their opinions or values on others

216 Influencing strategies and tactics KEY

Sensing Types

Flexible and tolerant, they take a pragmatic

approach focused on immediate results

Theories and conceptual explanations bore

them – they want to act energetically to solve

the problem Focus on the here-and-now,

spontaneous, enjoy each moment that they

can be active with others Enjoy material

comforts and style Learn best by doing

Outgoing, friendly, and accepting Exuberant lovers of life, people, and material comforts Enjoy working with others to make things happen Bring common sense and a realistic approach to their work, and make work fun Flexible and spontaneous, adapt readily to new people and environments Learn best by trying a new skill with other people

Practical, realistic, matter-of-fact Decisive,

quickly move to implement decisions

Organize projects and people to get things

done, focus on getting results in the most

efficient way possible Take care of routine

details Have a clear set of logical standards,

systematically follow them and want other to

also Forceful in implementing their plans

Warm-hearted, conscientious, and cooperative Want harmony in their environment, work with determination to establish it Like to work with others to complete tasks accurately and on time Loyal, follow through even in small matters Notice what others need in their day-by-day lives and try to provide it Want to be appreciated for who they are and for what they contribute

Intuitive Types

Seek meaning and connection in ideas,

relationships, and material possessions Want

to understand what motivates people and are

insightful about others Conscientious and

committed to their firm values Develop a

clear vision about how best to serve the

common good Organized and decisive in

implementing their vision

Have original minds and great drive for implementing their ideas and achieving their goals Quickly see patterns in external events and develop long-range explanatory perspectives When committed, organize a job and carry it through Skeptical and independent, have high standards of competence and performance – for themselves and others

Idealistic, loyal to their values and to people

who are important to them Want an external

life that is congruent with their values

Curious, quick to see possibilities, can be

catalysts for implementing ideas Seek to

understand people and to help them fulfill

their potential Adaptable, flexible, and

accepting unless a value is threatened

Seek to develop logical explanations for everything that interests them Theoretical and abstract, interested more in ideas than in social interaction Quiet, contained, flexible, and adaptable Have unusual ability to focus

in depth to solve problems in their area of interest Skeptical, sometimes critical, always analytical

Intuitive Types

Warmly enthusiastic and imaginative See life

as full of possibilities Make connections

between events and information very quickly,

and confidently proceed based on the

patterns they see Want a lot of affirmation

from others, and readily give appreciation and

support Spontaneous and flexible, often rely

on their ability to improvise and their verbal

fluency

Quick, ingenious, stimulating, alert, and outspoken Resourceful in solving new and challenging problems Adept at generating conceptual possibilities and then analyzing them strategically Good at reading other people Bored by routine, will seldom do the same thing the same way, apt to turn to one new interest after another

Warm, empathetic, responsive, and

responsible Highly attuned to the emotions,

needs, and motivations of others Find

potential in everyone, want to help others

fulfill their potential May act as catalysts for

individual and group growth Loyal,

responsive to praise and criticism Sociable,

facilitate others in a group, and provide

inspiring leadership

Frank, decisive, assume leadership readily Quickly see illogical and inefficient procedures and policies, develop and implement comprehensive systems to solve organizational problems Enjoy long-term planning and goal setting Usually well informed, well read, enjoy expanding their knowledge and passing it on to others Forceful in presenting their ideas

䊏 Task 3 Suggested answers

a set up teams; create a good social environment; encourage them to participate actively in e.g., problem solving/brainstorming; use their natural presentation/ interactive skill; don’t ask them to work alone on projects

b don’t expect them to participate a lot in meetings; give them tasks they can do on their own especially those requiring concentration; avoid interrupting them if possible; be a good listener

c be specific and factual; outline plans in a logical fashion; provide fact-based support for your recommendations/suggestions

d use their creative ability and original approach; don’t overload them with detail; ask them to think out of the box

e be well organized and to the point; support your recommendations/conclusions with data; be logical and objective; use their eye for detail to check analyses/ proposals

f use their interpersonal skill for team building; ask them for their opinions on how decisions will impact people; be responsive to their highly developed interactive skills

g be organised/efficient/structured; don’t be late; don’t make last-minute changes if

at all possible

h don’t give them tight deadlines; be flexible and adaptable; be process-focused

218 Influencing strategies and tactics KEY

䊏 Task 1

1 balmy

2 drizzle

3 nuked

4 wriggling

5 dread

6 nippy

7 notch

䊏 Task 2 Suggested answers

hate; dislike; trying to make something it’s not; miserable; freezing; nuked; wriggling with salmonella; covered in a thin film of ash; fills me with the same sort of horror and dread; flesh is starting to melt frozen solid; ridiculous; you won’t be eaten by a mosquito; you won’t die of food poisoning; you’ll annoy a hot tin umbrella.

䊏 Task 3

The bulldozer

The bulldozer loves arguing and won’t shut (1) up until they’ve had their say – so, let them run (2) out of steam Obviously, if they are taking too much airtime, then butt (3) in any way you can and don’t worry too much (4) about being overly polite But whatever you do, don’t argue (5) with them or disagree overtly (6) with them.

Maintain eye contact and state your opinions assertively Keep the floor and don’t let

them drown you (7) out as they often tend to have very loud voices – (8) above all, don’t let things descend (9) into an undignified slanging match however tempted you

might feel.

The sniper

The sniper can be downright mean and sarcastic yet often think they are being witty.

This is the worst kind (10) of humour as it’s always (11) at the expense (12) of someone else Their favourite trick is to put others down (13) in public and they absolutely thrive (14) on taking a potshot (15) at every opportunity To counter a

sniper, you could paraphrase what they’ve said and ask them how and why their

contribution is relevant (16) to the discussion (17) at/in hand as very often their comments are totally irrelevant and they’re just doing what they’re experts (18) at – sniping (19) for the sake (20) of it! If their comments are (21) on/about the matter