Английский. Учебник МЭО 1 курс. Учебное пособие по английскому языку. Мировая экономика. Часть 1 Москва 2012 удк 81(075. 8)111 ббк 81 Англ. 7365. 5
 Скачать 359.36 Kb.
|
Telephoning (II)Business Telephone Conversation PatternsTelephone conversations use a number of standard phrases that are specifically applied only when telephoning in English. Telephone conversations, especially business telephone conversations, also follow certain patterns:
Of course, all business telephone conversations do not follow this rigid scheme. However, this is the basic outline for most business telephone conversations, especially those made to businesses to request information or ask for clarification. Task 1: The following example business telephone conversation can be used as a role play in class to introduce a number of standard phrases used when telephoning in English. Use the short summary and try to reproduce the conversation once you have practiced the role play a few times. Example Business Telephone Conversation - Role Play Ms Anderson (sales representative Jewels and Things): ring-ring ... ring-ring ... ring-ring ... Secretary (Henry Smith): Hello, Diamonds Galore, this is Henry speaking. How may I be of help to you today? Ms Anderson: Yes, this is Ms Janice Roberts calling. May I speak to Mr. Franks, please? Henry Smith: I'm afraid Mr. Franks is out of the office at the moment. Would you like me to take a message? MsAnderson:Uhm... actually, this call is rather urgent. We spoke yesterday about a delivery problem that Mr. Franks mentioned. Did he leave any information with you? Henry Smith: As a matter of fact, he did. He said that a representative from your company might be calling. He also asked me to ask you a few questions.. Ms Anderson: Great, I'd love to see this problem resolved as quickly as possible. Henry Smith: Well, we still haven't received the shipment of earrings that was supposed to arrive last Tuesday. Ms Anderson: Yes, I'm terribly sorry about that. In the meantime, I've spoken with our delivery department and they assured me that the earrings will be delivered by tomorrow morning. Henry Smith: Excellent, I'm sure Mr. Franks will be pleased to hear that. Ms Anderson: Yes, the shipment was delayed from France. We weren't able to send along your shipment until this morning. Henry Smith: I see. Mr. Franks also wanted to schedule a meeting with you later this week. Ms Anderson: Certainly, what is he doing on Thursday afternoon? Henry Smith: I'm afraid he's meeting with some clients out of town. How about Thursday morning? Ms Anderson: Unfortunately, I'm seeing someone else on Thursday morning. Is he doing anything on Friday morning? Henry Smith: No, it looks like he's free then. Ms Anderson: Great, should I come by at 9? Henry Smith: Well, he usually holds a staff meeting at nine. It only lasts a half an hour or so. How about 10? Ms Anderson: Yes, 10 would be great. Henry Smith: OK, I'll schedule that. Ms Anderson at 10, Friday Morning... Is there anything else I can help you with? Ms Anderson: No, I think that's everything. Thank you for your help... Goodbye. Henry Smith: Goodbye. Keywords and Important Phrases How may I be of help - This is a formal phrase used to show politeness. It means 'Can I help you?' calling - telephoning out of the office - not in the office take a message - to write down a message from the caller urgent - very important delivery - the bringing of goods to a client mentioned - said resolved - taken care of as quickly as possible - in the fastest manner, ASAP shipment - delivery, the bringing of goods to a client assured - certainty that something is true or will happen pleased - happy delayed -not be able to do something on time looks like - seems staff meeting - a meeting of employees lasts - takes time schedule - future appointments rather - very, quite still - a form of emphasis to show that something has not been done up to the moment in time send along - deliver How about - phrase for making suggestions else - another added person or thing Short Summary of the Telephone Conversation Ms Anderson telephones Diamonds Galore to speak with Mr. Franks. Mr. Franks is not in the office, but Henry Smith, the secretary, speaks to Ms Anderson about a delivery problem with some earrings. The earrings have not yet arrived at Diamonds Galore. Ms Anderson tells Peter that there was a problem with the shipment from France, but that the earrings should arrive tomorrow morning. They next schedule a meeting between Ms Anderson and Mr. Franks. Mr. Franks is not able to meet with Ms Anderson on Thursday because he is busy. They finally decide on Friday morning at 10 o'clock after a staff meeting that Mr Owen usually holds on Friday mornings. Task 2: Make up telephone dialogues of your own using the standard phrases from the above list. Write a short summary of each conversation after you have listened to it.
Meetings Formal or informal deliberative assembly of individuals called to debate certain issuesand problems, and to take decisions. Formal meetings are held at definite times, at a definite place, and usually for a definite duration to follow an agreed upon agenda. In a corporate setting, they are divided into two main groups (1) Organizational meeting: normally a regular meeting involving stockholders (shareholders) and management, such as a board meeting and annual general meeting (AGM). (2) Operational meeting: regular or ad hoc meeting involving management and employees, such as a committee meeting, planning meeting, and sales meeting. A meeting is typically headed by a chairperson, and its deliberationsare recorded in a written form called minutes. Under corporate legislation, two main types of meetings are general meetings and special or extraordinary meetings. Such meetings must have a minimum number of members (called quorum) present to make the legally operative. Decisions (called resolutions) are made on the basis of the number of votes the assenting and dissenting parties can muster. Under the doctrine of collective responsibility, decisions taken at these meetings bind all members whether present or not. Glossary
Useful language for meetings Beginnings There are three/several/a number of points I’d like to make. I’d like to begin by… Asking for an opinion What’s your opinion of …? What’s your position/view on …? What do you think about …? Giving an opinion I believe/think/feel that … In my opinion/view… Expressing support I’m in favour of… This proposal has my full support. Expressing opposition I can see many problems in adopting this. I am opposed to the … Persuading Have you taken into account …? Wouldn’t you agree that …? Agreeing I agree entirely/completely. I think we are in agreement on that. Absolutely. Agreeing partially I would agree with you on that. I agree with you on the whole, but… Disagreeing I agree up to the point, but… To a certain extent I agree with you, but… I’m sorry, but I really can’t agree with you on that. With all due respect, I must disagree. Emphasizing I particularly want to emphasize/stress/highlight the fact that … We must not underestimate/underrate the importance of … Correcting misunderstandings I’m afraid there seems to have a slight misunderstanding. Perhaps I should make that clearer by saying … Perhaps I did not explain myself very well … Asking for clarification or further information Could you be a little more specific/precise? I’m sorry, but could you explain in a little more detail? What do you mean by…? Interrupting Could/May I come in at this point? I wonder if I might comment on that last point? If I may just interrupt you for a moment, I’d like to…
Handling Interruptions Yes, go ahead. If I may finish my point… Let me finish. Concluding Let me conclude by … In conclusion I’d like to say… Summarizing Briefly, the main points that have been made are … To sum up then, there seems to be … Task 1: Answer the questions and do the assignments
Task 2: Organize the vocabulary below by matching them with the right question. The first one has been done for you.
Task 3. Role-play. Enact a meeting of the Board of Directors of an imaginary company. Follow the lines:
Negotiations Negotiation is one of the most common approaches used to make decisions and manage disputes. It is also the major building block for many other alternative dispute resolution procedures. Negotiation occurs between spouses, parents and children, managers and staff, employers and employees, professionals and clients, within and between organizations and between agencies and the public. Negotiation is a problem-solving process in which two or more people voluntarily discuss their differences and attempt to reach a joint decision on their common concerns. Negotiation requires participants to identify issues about which they differ, educate each other about their needs and interests, generate possible settlementoptions and bargain over the terms of the final agreement. Successful negotiations generally result in some kind of exchange or promise being made by the negotiators to each other. The exchange may be tangible (such as money, a commitment of time or a particular behavior) or intangible (such as an agreement to change an attitude or expectation, or make an apology). Negotiation is the principal way that people redefine an old relationship that is not working to their satisfaction or establish a new relationship where none existed before. Because negotiation is such a common problem-solving process, it is in everyone's interest to become familiar with negotiating dynamics and skills. A negotiation process usually requires a special strategy which depends on the character of the negotiations and their goals. But typically any negotiation consists of the following stages:
Glossary
There are a number of expressions which can be used in negotiations. The expressions are grouped into 6 categories. These categories are built upon a strategy for negotiating that is neither "hard" nor "soft" but both hard and soft. It is the method of principled negotiation developed by the Harvard Negotiation Project at Harvard University. Its goal is to decide issues on their merits and not on the stated positions of the two sides. It suggests that you look for mutual gains wherever possible, and that where your interests conflict, you should insist that the result be based on some fair standards independent of the will of either side. A note on language style: English speakers, especially Americans, like to express a certain amount of informality as soon as possible. Therefore, we quickly move to first names (although this is NOT a sign of intimacy or friendship). In addition, we quickly begin to use informal language. These facts are intended to signal cooperation among equal partners. At the same time that we are moving toward informality in order to signal a willingness to cooperate, it is important to maintain an atmosphere of respect. How can we do this when using first names and informal expressions? We show respect in English in the following ways. Use would like rather than want when making requests. It's more indirect and, therefore, is more polite and respectful. I want to hear you talk about that first point again. (This could sound too much like a demand.) I would like to hear you talk about that first point again. (This is safer.) Use "should", "could", or "might" to remind or inform people about what to do next. Without such words, you could sound too much like a teacher or a policeman. Use phrases like "I think" and "maybe" and "perhaps" to introduce suggestions. These words do not indicate uncertainty; they do express respect for the other person. It's time to start the meeting now. (This could sound too authoritarian.) I think we should start the meeting now. (This is safer.) I'll give you some background information about that. (This is okay if your voice sounds helpful.) Perhaps I could give you some background information about that. (This is safer.) Use QUESTIONS to make suggestions. Keep in mind, however, that you are not asking for permission, but you are showing the other person respect by giving him or her a chance to disagree or interrupt before you go on. So, can we go on to the next point now? So, are we finished with that point? If so, let's go on to the next one. NOTE: The better you get to know someone, the less important these strategies become. People who know each other well (and who respect each other) can be much more direct in saying what they want and what they think. Negotiations Stages. The language 1 Opening the Negotiations Welcoming: On behalf of ... I would like to welcomeyou to... It's my pleasure to welcome you to... Welcome to... Suggesting a procedure: I would like now to begin by suggestingthe following procedure (agenda). To start with, I think we should establish the overall procedure. As our first order of business, can we agree on a procedure? Checking for agreement: Does that fit in with your objectives? Is that compatible with what you would like to see? Does that seem acceptable to you? Is there anything you'd like to change? Is this okay with you? Giving the discussion leadership to a colleague: I will now hand you over to Mr. Brown___, who is... I will now hand the floor over to Mr. Adams, who is ... Now let me hand the meeting over to my colleague, Ms. Jones, who... General outline of a proposal: May I ask, please, what your proposal is in connection with our company? What in general terms are you looking for here? Dealing with digressions: May we leave that till later and first look 3at... Can we deal with ... first? 2 Clarifying Proposals Reviewing the previous session: At our last meeting, we discussed... Perhaps you will recall that during our last discussion, we decided that... Moving on to the next point: Could we now move on to the next subject, which is ... Let's go on to the next subject, shall we? Putting forward future possibilities: We foresee ... We envisage ... We see ... Seeking clarification: Could you clarify one point for me? I'm not sure I fully understand yourpoint. What exactly do you mean by ... ? Could you be more specific? Defining a proposal more specifically: It involves ... It covers ... It includes ... It leaves out ... Reassuring: Let me reassure you that ... I can promise you that ... Have no doubts that we will ... Going Beyond Positions to the Underlying Interests Asking why: Why would you want to ...? What would you do with ...? What is the reason for wanting to ...? Asking why not: Why couldn't you ...? What would be wrong with doing this? Why would you object to ...? 3 Exploring the Zone of Bargaining and Options Summarizing positions up to this point: Can we summarize your position up tothis point? Would you care to summarize your position up this point? Confirming a negotiating position: Is that an accurate summary of whereyou stand? Would you say that is a fair representation of your position? Probing / Looking for options: Just for the sake of argument, what if ... Can I ask a hypothetical question? Suppose that ... 4 Bargaining Signaling the start of bargaining: We've looked at what you have proposed, and we are ready to respond. After serious consideration, we are prepared to respond to your proposal. Responding to a proposal: Regarding your proposal, our position is ... Our basic position is ... As far as your proposal is concerned, we think that ... Making and qualifying concessions: We would be willing to ..., provided, ofcourse, that ... We'd be prepared to .... However, there would be one condition. Making counter proposals: May we offer an alternative? Weproposethat ... We'd like to make an alternative proposal. We propose that ... From where we stand, a better solution might be ... 5 Entering the Critical Phase Identifying obstacles: The main obstacle to progress at the moment seems to be ... The main thing that bothers us is ... One big problem we have is ... Analyzing an obstacle: What exactly is the underlying problem here? Let's take a closer look at this problem. I would like to analyze this situation and get to the bottom of the problem. Asking for concessions: In return for this, would you be willingto ...? We feel there has to be a trade-off here. Declining an offer: I'm afraid your offer doesn't go far enough. Unfortunately, we must decline your offer for the following reason(s). I'm sorry, but we must respectfully decline your offer. Asking for further information: Would you like to elaborate on that? Could you go into more detail on that? 6 Closing Checking: Let's just confirm the details, then. Let's make sure we agree on these figures (dates / etc.). Can we check these points one last time? Delaying: We would have to study this. Can we getback to you on this later? We'll have to consult with our colleagues back in the office. We'd like to get backto you on it. Accepting: We are happy to accept this agreement. This agreement is acceptable to us. I believe we have an agreement. | ||||||||||||||||