How to be perfect in business communication.
Read the “Good Business Practice” and prepare a translation for your Russian partners.
GOOD BUSINESS PRACTICE.
A. Building the relationships
--- Be the first to say hello and introduce yourself to others.
--- Use your eye contact and smiling as your first contact with people.
--- Make an effort to remember people’s manes.
--- Be able to tell others what you do in a few short sentences.
--- Ask open questions (not questions that can be answered ‘Yes’ or ‘No’).
--- Encourage others to talk more by showing interest.
--- Respond positively to what they say.
--- Look for common interests, goals and experiences that you can talk about.
--- Be tolerant of other people’s beliefs if they differ from yours.
B. Good business relations
To develop a mutual understanding with your business partners, it will be important to devote some time to getting to know them through small talk and conversation.
--- Be aware of how important small talk is in the cultures you do business with.
--- If you find small talk difficult, prepare some topics before the meeting.
--- Avoid topics that could arouse strong feelings (e.g. politics, religion).
--- Prepare some questions; use open questions. (What? Where? How?)
--- Listen and respond to the other person – don’t talk too much.
--- Even if the meeting is difficult, always stay calm and polite.
--- After the meeting, say a warm goodbye and talk about the next contact.
Unit 3
REFRESH YOUR MEMORY (optional).
Open and closed questions.
Look at these conversational questions. Which are closed (can be answered with a simple “Yes” or “No”)? Which ones are open (more likely to lead to a longer response)?
1. Are you staying at this hotel?
2. What do you think of the hotel?
3. It’s very informal here, isn’t it?
4. Are you here on your own?
5. What are things like in your country?
6. What kind of business are you in?
7. Do you travel much in your job?
8. What do you like about traveling?
Ex.1. Read six short conversations between people who have just met at a conference and answer the questions:
1) What types of questions do people ask?
2) In which conversations do people ask open questions?
3) In which conversations do people responding sound interested and friendly?
Conversation 1.
A: Which company do you work for?
B: Oh, it’s just a small company. You probably haven’t heard of it.
Conversation 2.
A: Which talk are you going to this afternoon?
B: Oh, I’m going to one called ‘A merger of cultures’. It’s especially
interesting for me because my company’s recently merged with a
US company and we’re finding that there are quite a lot of differences
in the management style.
A: Oh, really? How interesting! What kind of differences have you noticed?
Conversation 3.
A: I see from your badge that you’re on the Planning Committee.
B: Yes, I am.
A: And what does that committee do exactly?
B: Oh, just planning next year’s expenditure really.
Conversation 4.
A: Have you been to this conference before?
B: Oh, yes, several times. I think this one is one of the best, don’t you?
A: Well, actually, it’s my first conference but I’ll definitely be here next year
Conversation 5.
A: The food’s good, isn’t it?
B: Hmm. Yes, it is.
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A: Do you know what those things are – the ones that look like little cakes?
B: They are fishcakes. They’re quite hot and spicy. Very nice if you like spicy food!
A: I’m not very keen on spicy food.
Conversation 6.
A: What kind of job are you in?
B: I’m a geologist. I work for a gold-mining company.
A: Gold mining!
B: Yes, I carry out surveys to find out where the best gold deposits are likely to be.
Ex.2. Rendy Hemp from the US is visiting a customer in Taiwan. He is talking to the Production Manager of a manufacturing plant in Taipei. Read the extract of their conversation and answer the question:
“What is wrong with what the production manager says?”
Manager: Is this your first visit here?
Hemp: No, in fact the first time I came was for a trade fair. We
began our East Asian operations here at the 2003 Exhibition.
Manager: Shall we have a look around the plant before lunch?
a) What is wrong with what the production manager says?
The answer is that it breaks a “rule” of conversation. Generally, if you ask a question you should comment on the answer or ask a supplementary
question. Remember to use open questions and respond with interest.
(1) question
(2) answer
(3) comment
or
supplementary question
b) Now suggest a better version of the same conversation.
c) Compare your version with a model version given below.
Manager: Is this your first visit here?
Hemp: No, in fact the first time I came was for a trade fair. We
began our East Asian operations here at the 2003 Exhibition.
Manager: Ah, yes, I remember the exhibition well. So it was very successful for you, wasn’t it?
Hemp: Well, we made a lot of useful contracts, not least yourselves.
Manager: Of course…. now, shall we have a look round the plant before lunch?
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PRACTICE.
1. You are attending a welcome party on the first evening of a conference.
Start a conversation with at least three other people.
After a few minutes, stop the conversation and move on to someone new.
Remember to:
--- use open questions
--- respond with interest
--- use a polite phrase to move on
e.g. “You’ll have to excuse me a moment…..” ,
“It was good to meet you …..”
“I have to go now, but it was good talking to you ….”
2. Analysis. Answer the questions:
a) Were you able to think of suitable ways of starting a conversation?
b) Were you able to respond to questions?
c) How did your partner show interest?
d) Did you find it easy or difficult to move on to the next person?
3. Self-assessment. Think about your performance on the tasks. Were you able to:
start a conversation yes need more practice
make small talk yes need more practice
IT’S INTERESTING TO KNOW.
People have different areas of their life, which we can call “life spaces”. Our personal or private life space is the part which we keep to ourselves or share with our family and very close friends. Our public life space is the part that we are happy to share with the people we meet on a casual or short-term basis. People from specific cultures have a small private space and relatively large public space: those from diffuse cultures have a much larger private space.
Which are you?
People from specific cultures… People from diffuse cultures…..
seem friendly and accessible because seem hard to know because they don’t
they give information about themselves tell you much about themselves unless
freely from the very first meeting. they know you well.
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have friendly relationships with a lot have a few close friends with whom
of people who are not necessarily close they have a long-term relationship and
or lifetime friends. These relationships share many aspects of their private
may seem superficial to people from lives.
diffuse cultures.
are happy to talk about personal don’t like to talk about personal matters with anyone they meet. matters in the context of a business
relationship.
M O D U L E 2. Telephoning.
Unit 4. Preparing to make a telephone call.
Objectives.
A “cold call”.
Unit 5. Cross-cultural communication on the telephone.
Handling complains.
Improving a conversation.
UNIT 4.
PREPARING TO MAKE A TELEPHONE CALL.
INTRODUCTION.
Many people will do everything possible to avoid telephoning in English.
For obvious reasons, using the phone has special difficulties.
However, it is worth pointing out three things you should keep in your mind.
Firstly, most of the language used on the telephone in the business context is fairly
restricted. There are numerous functions that recur repeatedly in various phone
calls.
The second point is that with increased practice, confidence develops and so does
efficient performance.
The third is that it is possible to control what happens in a telephone conversation,
to ask the caller to call back, to ask for repetition, to ask the other person to speak
more slowly, to check and to summarize information.
Task 1. Read the talking of Clare Macey, a director of Inter Marketing, suggesting ways to prepare for telephone calls. Then check off the suggestions that she makes that are included in the list below.
1. Do not try to guess what the other person will say. ……..
2. Think about your objectives from the call – any questions you
need to ask or things you need to say. ………
3. If someone calls and you are not ready for them, ask them to call
back later. ……..
4. Desk preparations: prepare the desk – paper, pen, any relevant
documentation, computer files. ……
5. Check recent correspondence, know the situation. ……
6. Have your desk calendar on hand, so you can make appointments. …….
If I am making a call, prediction is one thing. I have to try to guess what the other person might say – or ask. I think a lot of it is subconsciously really – it’s a subconscious preparation. But there are more conscious things too, like getting together any information I need, having the right file nearby, my diary, notepaper, a pen and also I might need some particular stuff on the computer screen. All that – what you call desk preparation – is important. Then in addition there’s specific things like checking recent correspondence, knowing exactly what’s going on – knowing what we ought ought to be doing- so understanding the situation or the relationship. Then finally, I would say that part of the preparation needs to be –if you’re making the call – you have to think about your objectives, what you want from the call, what you may need to ask or need to say. All that should be clear in
your mind. So, in conclusion, I’d stress that it’s terrible if you’re not prepared – it sounds unprofessional and it wastes a lot of time too.
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Task 2. Different people have different objectives in a telephone call.
What do you think are the objectives of the people in the situations below. The first is done for you as an example.
Example: A Purchasing Manager who has received an incomplete delivery.
-- to tell the supplier that the delivery is incomplete
-- to arrange to get the rest of the delivery sent as soon as possible
-- (possibly) to complain about the poor service
a) A computer operator with a software problem calling a Software Helpline.
-- ……………………………………………………….
-- ……………………………………………………… .
-- ………………………………………………….…….
-- …………………………………………………..……
b) A Sales Representative for a furniture manufacturer making a first call to Moda Design, a company which sells office furniture.
-- ………………………………………………..………
-- ……………………………………………………..…
-- ………………………………………………….…….
-- ………………………………………………….…….
c) The manager of Electronics RDC with a reservation problem calling Inter-Europe hotels.
--………………………………………….…………..…
-- ……………………………………………….….……
-- ……………………………………………….…….…
-- …………………………………………………….…..
Task 3. Read another short extract from the talking of Clare Macey. Here she is talking about being prepared for incoming calls. Tick (V) what she
recommends.
1) send a tax suggesting someone calls you – then be prepared for their call.
2) If you expect a call, think about what the other people will say or
what they will ask.
3) Check any relevant documentation or correspondence.
4) If you are busy or not ready when they call, ask them to call back later.
Another type of preparation – you can prepare for incoming calls.
Of course, you don’t always know when someone is going to call, but you can
Unit 4
have some idea just by knowing, what work is going on. So, I think, if I know someone’s going to call me … then it makes sense to think about what they’ll
be talking about and try to anticipate what they might ask or say.
In other words to predict what might come up – that way I can … maybe see if there’s anything in particular I need to find out or check before they call – or think about what I need to ask them. So, if someone calls me and I’m not really ready to talk to them I often say I’ll call back – and I’ll ring them when I am ready.
AFTER READING.
Discuss her recommendations. Are they good? Why? Why not?
Task 4. Read the following conversations. Compare the styles of the callers in the two conversations you have read. How are they different?
A.
Call a).
Media: Hello, Media Publishing, good morning.
Gerda Hoeness: Hello. My name’s Gerda Hoeness, from Frankfurt. I’d like
to speak to Mr. Stefan Pavlov please.
Media: I’m sorry – Mr. Pavlov is not here at the moment. Could I
have your name again, please?
Greda Hoeness: Yes, Greda Hoeness, that’s G-R-E-D-A- Greada,
and Hoeness, spelt H-O-E-N-E-S-S.
Media: Yes, Ms Hoeness, from Frankfurt?
Gerda Hoeness: That’s right. Could you ask him to call me when he’s got
a moment?
Media: Yes, I’ll ask him to do that. Does he have your number?
Gerda Hoeness: Yes, I think so, but in any case it’s 49-69-75-45-22.
Media: I’ll repeat that – 49-69-75-45-22.
Gerda Hoeness: Correct.
Media: Okay, thanks for calling. Mr. Pavlov will call you later today
Gerda Hoeness: Oh, that’s very good. Many thanks.
Call b).
Assistant: Hello, Harris & Co, how can I help you?
Michael: Hi, Michael Horgan here from Baylis in Miami. Is Mari
Jeangeorges there?
Assistant: I beg your pardon? Who would you like to speak to?
Michael: Mari Jeangeorges. Is she there?
Assistant: Who’s calling, please?
Michael: Michael Horgan.
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Assistant: I’m sorry, Mrs. Jeangeorges has already left the office today.
Shall I ask her to call you tomorrow?
Michael: No, it’s okay. I’ll send her an e-mail.
Assistant: Oh, okay. That’ll be fine. Do you have her address?
Michael: Yeah, no problem. I’ll email her. Bye for now.
B. Compare the first conversation with the style of the (American) caller in the
second conversation. Discuss various styles. Comment on the effectiveness and politeness of the different speakers.
polite efficient rude helpless direct brief helpful
“receptionists” …….. ………. …… ……… ……. ….. ……….
Caller a …….. ………. …… ………. ……. ….. ……….
Caller b …….. ………. ……. ………. …… ….. ………
Task 5. Read the following conversation and answer two general questions:
A. a) What kind of a call is this?
b) What do you think is the relationship between the people involved?
Call c).
Tomasina: Hello, my name’s Tomasina Harks, thank you for calling
Altona, how may I help you?
John: Hello, my name’s John Curly. I’d like to speak to Fred Roper,
if I may.
Tomasina: Okay, well I’m sorry, but Fred’s on another call just now.
Can I take a message or perhaps I can help you?
John: Yes, please. Could you tell him that I called – the email he
sent me arrived but there should have been an attachment.
It came with no attachment, so can he resend the email with
the attachment? Perhaps also he could send the document by
regular mail because it could be a problem for me to read what
he sends.
Tomasina: Sure. Does he have your address?
John: No, I’d better give it to you. The email address, yes, he has that
The postal address is Auto Matrix, 270 James Road, Stretford
Road East, Manchester MU16 1DY, England.
Tomasina: Let me check that. John Curly, Auto Matrix 217…
John: No, 270 two seven zero, James Road.
Tomasina: Right, okay, 270 James Road, then did you say Stratford Road?
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John: No, Streetford, S-T-R-E-T-F-O-R-D, Stretfort Road East,
Manchester.
Tomasina: MU16 1DY.
John: Correct.
Tomasina: Okay, may I have your phone number too?
John: Yes, its 0161-399 5576.
Tomasina: Right, thanks. I’ll get the message to him and he’ll do that
today.
John: Thank you very much. Goodbye.
Tomasina: Goodbye.
B. Read the conversation again and complete the message pad as shown below.
To …………………………………… ( ) urgent
Date ……………………………………time ……….
WHILE YOU WERE OUT
M ……………………………………………………..
Of …………………………………………………….
Phone …………………………………………………
area number extension
( ) telephoned ( ) please call
( ) came to see you ( ) will call again
( ) wants to see you ( ) returned your call
message ……………………………………………
……………………………………………………….
……………………………………………………….
……………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………….
Task 6. Read the following conversation and answer the questions.
A a) Is the caller ringing from inside the company?
b) Is it formal or informal?
c) What do you think is the relationship between the people involved?
Call d).
Angela: Hello.
Paul: Computer Services?
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Angela: Yes.
Paul: It’s Paul Maley here from Product Support. I’ve a problem
with the email on my machine. I’ve bee trying to send a
document file to Italy and I keep getting the message back that
it’s been returned. Returned mail. (pause). I don’t understand
why. The colleague in Italy asked me about FTP. File Transfer
Protocol? I don’t know if we have that. I was trying to send my document as an attachment, but it hasn’t worked… Hello?
Angela: Yeah… what? Italy, you said?
Paul: Yes. What about this FTP … What…. Why do you think it
isn’t working?
Angela: Just a minute. I’ve just got to talk to someone here… wait a
minute…. (pause) I’ll get to Alex to call you back sometime
this afternoon. What’s your number?
Paul: What? It’s 6681. Listen….this is urgent….
B. Read the conversation again and complete the message pad below.
Computer Services User Support
TO……………………………..... Problems / inquiry:
FROM ………………………….. ………………….
TIME …………………………… …………………..
EXTENSION…………………… ………………….
DEPARTMENT………………... ………………….
WORKSTATION……………..... …………………..
NOTES………………………….. …………….……
DISCUSSION.
Compare the style of the various speakers in the last two conversations Call c) (“c”) and Call d) (“d”). How does the style change according to the speaker and the situation? Is the style used always the right one?
How can you characterize the speakers? Complete the table below.
| name | service- minded | bored & disinterested | active listening | response | encoura- gement | |
| the called person in “c” | ||||||
| the called person in “d” |
Unit 4
PRACTICE.
Use the following flow chart to make a complete telephone conversation.
If you need to, read the conversations again. (writing a dialogue is possible)
Caller Receptionist
(1) “Good morning, Gorliz and Zimmerman”
(2) Introduce yourself.
Ask to speak to Mr. Conrad Bird
(3) Mr. Bird is not in.
(4) Ask when you can connect him.
(5) Explain that he is out of town- offer to
take a message.
(6) You want Mr. Bird to call you.
Repeat your name.
Give your number.
(7) Confirm the information.
(8) End call.
(9) End call.
Now read a model answer.
Reception: Good morning, Gorliz AND Zimmerman.
Lara Camden: Hello, my name’s Lara Camden from Bulmer Cables Ltd.
Please could I speak to Mr. Conrad Bird?
Reception: I’m sorry, but Mr. Bird is not in at the moment.
Lara Camden: I see. When do you think I could contact him?
Reception: Well, at the moment he’s away. Would you like to leave a
message?
Lara Camden: Yes, perhaps you would ask Mr. Bird to call me? My name’s
Camden, Lara Camden, on 020 8299 462.
Reception: 020 8299 462, Lara Canden. Okay?
Lara Camden: Er…. Camden. C – A – M – D – E – N.
Reception: Oh yes, sorry! I’ve got that now.
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Lara Camden: Thank you. I look forward to hearing from Mr. Bird.
Reception: It’s a pleasure. Thanks for calling. Bye for now.
Lara Camden: Goodbye.
A “COLD CALL”
Task 7. Read the following conversation between Dominique Person and Walter
Barry and guess what “a cold call” means.
Dominique Person is Personal Assistant to Jacques Le Grand, Production
Controller in Compagnie Tarbet Garonne (CTG), A Canadian
manufacturer of paints and varnishes. M. Le Grand has asked not to be disturbed by unsolicited sales calls. Walter Barry from Dallas, Texas would like to speak to M. Le Grand.
Answer the questions about the conversation below.
1. What is Dominique trying to do? What is her objective?
2. What suggestion does Dominique Person finally make to a caller?
CTG: Bonjour, ici la CTG.
Walter Barry Good morning, Walter Barry, here, calling from London.
Could I speak to M. Le Grand, please?
CTG: Who’s calling, please?
Walter Barry: I’m sorry – Walter Barry, from London.
CTG: What is it about, please?
Walter Barry: Well, I understand that your company has a chemical
processing plant. My own company, LCP, Liquid Control
Products, is a leader in safety in the field of chemical
processing. I would like to speak to M. Le Grand to discuss
ways in which we could help CTG protect itself from
problems and save money at the same time.
CTG: Yes, I see. Well, M. Le Grand is not available just now.
Walter Barry: Can you tell me when I could reach him?
CTG: He’s very busy for the next few days – then he’ll be away
in New York. So it is difficult to give you a time.
Walter Barry: Could you ask him to ring me ?
CTG: I don’t think I could do that – he’s very just now.
Walter Barry: Could I speak to someone else, perhaps?
CTG: Who in particular?
Walter Barry: A colleague, for example?
CTG: You are speaking to his Personal Assistant. I can deal with
calls for M. Le Grand.
Walter Barry: Yes, well …. Could I ring him tomorrow?
CTG: No, I’m sorry he won’t be free tomorrow. Listen, let me
suggest something. You send us details of your products and
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services, together with references from other companies and
then we’ll contact you.
Walter Barry: Yes, that’s very kind. I have your address.
CTG: Very good, Mr. …..er..
Walter Barry: Barry, Walter Barry from LCP in London.
CTG: Right, Mr. Barry. We look forward to hearing from you.
Walter Barry: Thank you. Goodbye.
CTG: Bye.
DISCUSSION.
1. Comment on how Dominique Person handles the caller.
(rude, helpless, consistently forgets the caller’s name, waste time, doesn’t know the subject ?)
2. Write down the phrases used by Dominique Person to block the caller. There should be seven of them.
a) ……………………………………………………………………………
b) ……………………………………………………………………………
c) …………………………………………………………………………….
d) …………………………………………………………………………….
e) …………………………………………………………………………….
f) …………………………………………………………………………….
g) …………………………………………………………………………...
UNIT 5.
CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION ON THE TELEPHONE.
TEXT 1.
1. Look briefly at the text below and say:
a) what it is about;
b) what you think the text probably recommends.
2. Now read the text. Mark the sentences that follow as “True” (T) or “False” (F)