English On Business Practical English For International Executives_KEEPING IN TOUCH

AGENDA UNIT 9 KEEPING IN TOUCH AGENDA With your Making international Exercise | With foreign Keeping the door Exercise 2 communication Using the telex Exercise 3 and fax Writin

AGENDA

UNIT 9 KEEPING IN TOUCH

AGENDA

With your Making international Exercise |

With foreign Keeping the door Exercise 2

communication Using the telex Exercise 3 and fax

Writing to contacts Telephoning contacts

Datafile: Putting

it in writing Exercises 4 and 5 Datafile: Time Zones Exercise 6

Progress check

Answers

Try it yourself

157

Keeping in touch with your office

Exercise 1 Making international calls

A dialling direct Most countries can be dialled direct You dial the access code + country code + area code + number The access and country codes are in the international code book Example Brisbane Stock Exchange News is 83] 1193 From London, you dial: 010

(access code) + 61 (country code) + 7 (area code) + 831 1193

B going through the operator For some areas, you have to ask the operator to connect you

This is also necessary if you have difficulty dialling direct With

the cassette, practise asking for the following number Example You hear: International Operator

You say: I’d like to make a call to Japan

You hear: What is the number?

You say: The number is Tokyo 3-3-5-7 2-1-6-8

You hear: Tokyo 3-3-5-7 2-1-6-8 a) Japan Tokyo 3357 2168 d) Curacao Curacao 6 328166 b) Belgium Hasselt 444296 e) Spain Oviedo 239205 ce) Switzerland Leysin 799 1896 f) Iceland Reykjavik 768802

© ©

C spelling Sometimes, the operator may not hear exactly what you sav and may ask you to spell a word First listen to the cassette and then, using the system below, spell the names of the towns In the exercise above

A for Arthur H for Hotel O for Oscar V for Victor

B for Bravo I for India P for Papa W for Whiskey

C for Charhe J for Juherte Q for Quebec X for X-ray

D for Delta K for Kilo R for Romeo Y for Yankee

E for Echo L for Lama S for Sierra Z for Zulu

F for Foxtrot M for Muxe T for Tango

G for Golf N for November U for Uniform

D other requests

If you want the person that you are calling to pay for the call, you ask for a transfer charge call (UK) or a collect call (US) Example I’d like to make a collect call to Switzerland

If delays are possible, you may have to book a call Example I’d like to book a call to Japan

You may want to make a person-to-person call to someone Example It’s a person-to-person call to Mr Lee (L-E-E) Practise asking for the following

d) collect/Italy

a) book/Japan to Mr

b) person-to-person/Mr ©) Nkemo personli

Rinaldo /P N i

©) book/Moscow f) collect/Papua New Guinea

158

Keeping in touch with foreign contacts

Exercise 2 Keeping the door open

After every visit to a company, it can be useful to keep in touch Below are some ways to ‘keep the door open’ Who do you think savs each phrase: a buyer or salesman? There are some notes at the bottom of the page to help you with the new expressions

Do keep in touch | | Keep me in the picture

I’ll work on those figures you gave me and come back to you

on them

Ill keep you informed of our

activities

area I could pay you a visit?

Do keep me informed of any

Drop me a line if anything

new comes in

(Perhaps I could send you more

detailed information?

I'll send you the samples as Id like to think about what soon as possible we've said, and drop you a line

Notes:

I?ll pay you a visit Pll drop you a line means: means: I will visit you Ï will write to you

Pll come back

to you means:

Pll contact vou

© (not PH visit you)

To keep the door open means: To make further Keep me in the picture contact possible means: Keep me informed

159

UNIT 9 KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH FOREIGN CONTACTS

Datafile: Communications

air mail

a= a 7 = a= ~

e- «Fi

— — — =_ —_ ˆ mm== ”

We sent a letter to you by —— “=——

|

we receive the original videoconference

Could you send us a telex

to confirm that?

We can use the videoconference facilities in the hotel

courier

ocs We've sent the

So you should receive it tomorrow

160

UNIT 9_ KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH FOREIGN CONTACTS

mobile phone audioconference

=s

I'll be out of the office all day but

you can contact

me on my mobile phone

r

-

Perhaps we could have an audioconference if you are unable to come to Scotland this week

3-way conversation

|

Perhaps we could arrange a 3-way

(3 cornered) call to discuss this?

| electronic mail

wk

: Zz You can contact me by dialling

; my pager I'll call you back as

ZK soon as | get your message

-^

5 `

You can use the electronic mail system to send ‘ “KZ

letters to all your clients Just send the text and

addresses to the electronic mail centre and they’ll do

the rest You can also use electronic mail for

161

UNIT 9_ KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH FOREIGN CONTACTS

Datafile: Putting it in writing

LETRA after a sales visit

PLAN PLC

Chief Purchasing Officer, seater Ros

New Approach Ltd, Tel 061-473 6293 Telex 974013

Nottingham NG6 4JF

11 November 1993 | expressions of thanks and

I would like to thank you for your sgspas-xr6Eme |

met on the 1eth I was very interested to learn more of

your company’s activities and requirements, and am

writing this letter to confirm certain points which we + the main points are listed |

1

|

contact Mr Blackwood again |

I look forward to contacting you sho further

please do not hesitate to contact us if you feel we could Dear Mr Blackwood +

|_ Yours sincerely

John Bertrand,

Manager, Customer Services

Directors:

a thank-you letter

after an evening at

someone's home

The writer does not know the Bones very well If they

were old friends, he would `

use first names (Dear Bob and Pat)

Thank-you letters are personal, and so are written

by hand, unless they are part

of a longer business letter

162

ind

Vasta Systems Europe

B-1050,

Chief Purchasing Officer,

Nottingham NG6 4]F Your ref: EVL/lr Our ref: NB/CD

Dear Mr Blackwood,

ou will recall/you ma You will recall that I wrote to you some weeks ago

xecall these are polite ways~ the new prices for our standard data systems

, You may also recall that, at our meeting in September, we

of saying: ‘remember! discussed the possibility of adapting certain systems to match

your company’s requirements

to proceed further: more Perhaps you have been able to examine your company’s

tactful than saying ‘to buy | Proceed futher closely, and are now in a position to

from us’

At Vasta we are interested in your company’s needs and again, this letter - would be pleased to arrange a further meeting to discuss

_—— | these in detail Perhaps I could call you in a few days to

conce › suggest a date which would be convenient to you

customer's needs, not the

N Gna ——

Nicholas Boulton Manager, Systems Sales

internal documents are

The sales visit to Portuga! will be discussed at next Wednesday’s Management Meeting

Meanwhile the following points should be acted upon

1 KdJD to contact Lisbon airport this week about

problems with customs declarations

2 BNP to send brochures and catalogues to all

| firms on the attached schedule

3 JC to liaise with shipping department to find out

maximum CIF costs to Lisbon, and report

a schedule: a piece of paper,

often containing a list ———]

no Yours sincerely, etc.,

initials AJP

163

Exercise 3 Using the telex and fax

Some countries still use telex for sending international messages You work in Koon Ming and when you arrived at work today, you found a telex from London and notes from your boss Use the notes

to send a telex in reply

occ

936281 LINTON G

12.00

ATTN MR CHANG

RYT 20.12.94 PLS INFORM CIF PRICE FROM KOON MING

FOR 150XXXX 160 UNITS MODEL CXEEE CY PLS GIVE

EARLIEST DELIVERY DATE

REPLY SOONEST

THANKS

REGARDS

BILL EVANS

936281 LINTON G

International telex abbreviations

ABS absent/office closed OCC customer engaged TX/TLX

DER line or machine PLS/SVP please

telex who are vou?

(please identify)

an error, the next

word replaces the last word

In Europe Bill Evans usually uses the fax for international messages Reorganize and complete this fax to the warehouse

FROM Tonnage Limited, London

eee eee (0)71 565 9034

NUMBER OF PAGES ATTENTION

ween c eee 3 January 1995 ĐH Evans

Dear Kate

160 units are arriving from Koon Ming in 4 weeks

I have telexed confirmation of payment and transportation costs

Please prepare space for this consignment

KOON MING `

TRANSMISSIONI

DATE 10.35 A.M |

Kate Phelps |

FAX NO |

Line

1 (one) ị

184

UNIT 9 KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH FOREIGN CONTACTS

Exercise 4 Phoning a difficult contact

Some contacts do not keep in touch; you have to telephone them to

Oo let them know that you still exist! The most difficult contacts say

very little on the telephone This can be because of their personality, their attitude to you, or their difficulty with English If they do not speak, you have to!

a) Listen to the two dialogues on the cassette, without looking at the tapescript below

b) Now listen again, and look at the Tactics notes

Tapescnipt

Tactics Mr Bauer Hello?

Mr Lee _ Good morning, Mr Bauer This is David Lee,

introduce youself of VaStA Systems

Mr Bauer Yes?

Mr Lee You may recall my visit in September/the letter I remind them about vou sent you recently/that I phoned you last week

Mr Bauer Yes?

aék the important Mr Lee _ Could you tell me if you have made a decision

question yet as regards the new installation?

|

- |

B_ Notyet B_ Yes; we had to give the offer to help, with Le I see Perhaps I could order to another firm questions help? (If it helps you, 77] L_UI see Could I ask why?

be very pleased to come I’m sorry, I can’t tell

ask why vou lost 1 and discuss it with you

you./Would you like me to L_ I see Perhaps I could send more detailed keep you informed about information?/Is there our products and

anything that you would activities It may be like to ask?) interesting to you in the

~E—~—Well, feel free to call if we can help in any way

keep the door open

c) On the cassette, after the dialogues which you have heard, there are two more dialogues without the caller’s voice You are now the caller Use your own name and company Instead of mentioning ‘the new instaliation’, say something else if necessary First practise taking part in the dialogues, looking at the tapescript Then practise taking part in the dialogues, looking only at the tactics Finally, practise taking part in the dialogues, without looking at this page

165

Datafile: Time Zones

We say that Reykjavik is on GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)

Cairo is two hours ahead of GMT (there is a two-hour time difference)

Mexico City is six hours behind GMT (there is a six-hour time difference)

Local times compared to GMT

—e je l€ le je 6 [E Je

Language input Remember that we say at + Example At 10.45

and on + date Example On the 2nd On Monday

(but tomorrow, next Monday without on)

166

UNIT 9 KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH FOREIGN CONTACTS

In order to use the daylight of summer, some countries change to Daylight Saving Time (DST) Clocks are put forward (or advanced) usually one hour in spring, and put back

one hour in autumn (US: fall) All the countries in the following list change to DST

Austria mm." = Se 2 ae aa"

Belgium

Canada

Denmark

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Holland

Italy

Norway

Portugal

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

United Kingdom

United States

of America

Hours compared to GMT

Accra GMT Athens + 2 Colombo + 5% Canberra + 10 New York — 4 London GMT Beirut + 2 New Delhi + 51⁄2 Wellington + 12 Ottawa -— 5

Rabat GMT Cairo + 2 Dacca + 6 Brasilia — 3 Chicago - 6

Reykjavik GMT Lusaka + 2 Djakarta + 7 Buenos Aires — 3 Mexico City — 6 Brazzaville + 1 Pretoria + 2 Kuala Lumpur + 71⁄4 Caracas - 4 Los Angeles — 8 Brussels + 1 Tel Aviv + 2 Manila + 8 Valparaiso - 4

Lagos + 1 Ankara + 3 Peking + 8

Madrid + 1 Baghdad + 3 Tokyo + 9

Rome + 1 Kampala + 3

Stockholm + 1 Moscow + 3

Tunis + 1 Tehran + 31⁄2

Warsaw + 1 =

Practise arranging calls for the times and dates below Example I'll ring you at 9 a.m., your time not our time, on Friday a) 3p.m,, 12th d) 11 a.m., 2nd

b) 12 a.m., Monday e) 4.a.m., tomorrow

c) 8 p.m., next Wednesday

167

UNIT 9 KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH FOREIGN CONTACTS

Exercise 6 Leaving messages on answering machines

When there is no-one in the office many companies use telephone answering machines People who phone in leave a message on the machine But even people who have spoken English al] their lives can have difficulty speaking to a machine! Here is a simple plan to follow; say (1) who you are; and when you called; (2) who the message is for; (3) what the message is; (4) what action you want; (5) thank you

Example I This is Dieter Oswald, from Vasta It’s 8 a.m on

Tuesday the 5th

2 Ihave a message for Mr Rodriguez, in Accounts

3 The message is: the invoices which he mentioned were paid on 6 July

4 Can he please call me back on (0287) 34192?

5 Thank you

On the cassette you will hear the telephone answering machine at a company called Eurora You try many times to contact different people there, but each time you have to leave a message Practise leaving messages using the notes below For each call listen to the recording on the answering machine first; then speak immediately after it, without stopping your cassette machine Use your own name and company and follow the model above

@ (©

Kus

`

weve paid on bth Tale feng

A/ Koé/ Production) Cau ure pave 200

|

move units by next Friday:

Rina me om extension

Alex Nave (Sales ) We need

/O00

Seud them by express post |

Nicole Hartmann (/ avketing) Gould we meet |

BrCl? Telex, suggesting date

Tapescript This is Eurora We are sorry that there is no one here to answer your call If you leave a message, we will be pleased to contact you

as soon as possible Thank you for calling Please leave your message after the signal

168