English for personal assistants - part 8 ppt

᭿ Task 3 You’ve just met someone at a conference who tells you they’re from London. How would you continue the conversation? A: I’m from London – do you know the city? You: (say you visited last year and where you went) A: What did you think of London? You: (give an opinion and talk about something you liked) Safe topics to talk about When you’re making small talk, it’s best to stick to neutral topics to avoid potentially offending your interlocutor. ᭿ Task 4 Look at the following comments and decide whether they are “safe” (S) or a bit “risky” (R). 1. Isn’t it a lovely day? 2. How much do you earn? 3. How old are you? 4. How was your journey? 5. Have you been here before? 6. I go to church every Sunday? What about you? 7. I think the Social Democrats are the only party with the right ideas. 8. I had a terrible journey here. 9. Are you married? 10. When are you going to get a new job? ᭿ Task 5 A visitor you’ve never met has just arrived at your office. She has an appointment with you. What do you say? You: ((1) greet her and introduce yourself) Visitor: Good morning. I’m Annie Brown from Legasystems, Birmingham. How do you do? You: ((2) respond) Visitor: Pleased to meet you too. You: ((3) offer some refreshment and make some small talk before getting down to business) Small Talk – Big Problem 35 Use open questions when you make small talk It’s best to avoid asking closed questions that can be answered by a monosyllabic “yes” or “no.” Compare the two dialogues below: Dialogue 1 A: Is this your first trip to Germany ? B: Yes, it is . A: Did you have a good flight? B: Yes, I did . A: Is your hotel comfortable? B: Yes, it is . Dialogue 2 A: Is this your first trip to Germany ? B: Yes, it is. A: How do you find it? B: Heidelberg is a beautiful city. It reminds me of Cambridge which is also an old university city . A: Which part are you staying in? B: I’m in the old part – right in the middle of the pedestrian zone in a beautiful old hotel . A: How is the hotel – I hope it’s comfortable? B: It’s an old coaching inn and it’s very atmospheric with beams everywhere and some lovely antiques. I also have a really comfortable room, thank you, and very quiet too so I got a good night’s sleep. The first dialogue might make your visitor feel a little uncomfortable as all the questions can be answered in one or two words. However, the second dialogue opens up the conversation far more and starts to build rapport. ᭿ Task 6 You’ve met someone at a seminar and you want to find out more about what they do and why they’re there. Ask a few open questions to get the information. Active listening Engaging in a conversation is two-way traffic and each person shares responsibility to make it a pleasant experience and to keep it going. Unlike many other languages, English has a wide range of minimal responses which show your interlocutor that you’re listening. It’s especially important to use them when you’re on the telephone – the worst thing that can happen, and it’s happened to all of us, is when the other person says, “Are you still there?” 36 Building business relationships Minimal responses Responding to neutral information or to good news: ᭤ Right, yes ᭤ I follow you ᭤ I’m with you ᭤ That’s great! ᭤ Good! Responding to bad news: ᭤ Oh, no! ᭤ That’s terrible! ᭤ Oh dear! ᭤ I’m so sorry ᭤ What a shame! ᭿ Task 7 Use appropriate active listening expressions to respond to these sentences. 1. I’ve got a terrible headache. 2. I’ve just been promoted and what it means is not only more money but 3. If we implement the new strategy, the company would break even by year end and 4. I’ve just heard that we’re downsizing and lots of people are going to lose their jobs. 5. If you want to write notes on the bottom of a chart, what you have to do is 6. I got stuck in a horrendous traffic jam on the way home last night. 7. I hear that our Christmas bonus is going to be really generous this year. 8. My plane had a 3-hour delay. 9. There was an accident on the motorway this morning and all the participants are going to be late for the meeting. 10. I’ve just spilt coffee all over my work. Small Talk – Big Problem 37 Helping a corporate visitor with problems Often we need to help a visitor if they have problems or need something done urgently. Here are some expressions you can use to respond to requests for help: May I Can I Shall I (for you) Could I Would you like (me to) I can for you, if you’d like me to ᭿ Task 8 Respond to these requests for help: 1. I need to send a fax urgently. 2. I’ve lost my credit cards. Could you help me please? 3. I need a taxi to the airport immediately otherwise I’ll miss my flight. ᭿ Task 9 A visitor to your company arrives soaking wet for an appointment. You offer to help. What do you say? 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Writing an email to a new acquaintance – formality vs informality Last week you attended a conference where you met an English PA, Pamela Hutchinson. You got on very well with her and you’d really like to keep in touch. So, on your return, you decide to write her an email. Unfortunately, the emails you usually write are very formal and so you ask an English colleague to have a look at what you’ve written below. 38 Building business relationships From: To: Pamela Hutchinson Subject: Conference September 14 – 16, 20XX Dear Ms Hutchinson, It was a great pleasure to meet you at the conference from September 14 – 16, 20XX. I very much enjoyed our conversation and would be delighted to have the opportunity to renew our acquaintanceship. You mentioned that you might be visiting Germany in the near future. If so, I would be delighted to act as your guide. I very much look forward to hearing from you again. Yours sincerely PA to Ms Z ᭿ Task 10 Your English colleague tells you that, as you feared, your email is far too formal. Write it again using more informal expressions. Here are some informal expressions you can use: STARTING BODY OF THE EMAIL Hi I really enjoyed Dear It was so nice to I’d like to It’d be great if we could SIGNING OFF ENDING Please stay in touch Regards Look forward to hearing from you soon Best regards Hope to hear from you soon All the best Small Talk – Big Problem 39 . to respond to requests for help: May I Can I Shall I (for you) Could I Would you like (me to) I can for you, if you’d like me to ᭿ Task 8 Respond to these requests for help: 1. I need to. be really generous this year. 8. My plane had a 3-hour delay. 9. There was an accident on the motorway this morning and all the participants are going to be late for the meeting. 10. I’ve just. to write her an email. Unfortunately, the emails you usually write are very formal and so you ask an English colleague to have a look at what you’ve written below. 38 Building business relationships From: