Business English:

Greetings
Almost every English course, Business English or otherwise, starts with
introductions - and quite properly so, as often no one in the classroom knows each
other, or at least the students often won't know the teacher - and it is a good way to
warm up the class and get everyone to relax a bit. And it is just good starting point
for each course.

While in a typical conversation class the we might focus more on hobbies and
interests, in a Business English class our target language following our names
should move toward explaining our job functions and our company.

Unless your work setting is quite casual, the best option on the charts below is to
use the FORMAL option. It is better to be more formal than to be too casual. Most
non-Western cultures can be quite formal on initial meeting and being too informal
can damage the potential of the meeting. Remember the Korea adage: First
impressions are everything.

First Meeting:

Identification Company Information

Formal:
Good morning**, I'm . . . I'm from . . .
Hello, my name is . . . I work for . . .
I'm with . . .
I'm in charge of . . .
I'm responsible for . . .
Informal:
Hi, I'm . . . from . . .
** morning/afternoon/evening

Response to Introduction:

Initial Greeting
Formal:
How do you do? I'm pleased to [finally*] meet you.
It's nice to [finally*] meet you.
Informal:
Hi, Nice/good to meet you.
Hello, Pleased to meet you.
Response to the Greeting
Formal:
 How do you do? It's nice to meet you too.
I'm pleased to meet you too.

Informal:
How do you do? Nice/Good to meet you too.
Hello, Pleased to meet you too.
Hi, (very informal)
* finally makes the greeting more cordial and friendly

Follow up with the initial response from the host might include:

Formal:
Please have a seat. Please join us at the table.
Please take a seat. Can I get you a drink?*
Informal:
Have seat. Sit over here.
Take a seat. Would you like a drink?*
Please sit.
* It is polite in many countries to offer tea or coffee to even an
unscheduled guest. Later in the day, in certain countries or in a
less informal setting, alcohol might be offered.

Situation: Ms. Anderson arrives at the Bangkok Post to meet the circulation
director, Khun Suwat.

Formal Dialog:
Anderson: Good morning, I'm Janet Anderson from Jiffy Transport Company.

Suwat: How do you do? I'm pleased to finally meet you. Please have a seat.

Informal Dialog:
Anderson: Hi, I'm Janet Anderson from Jiffy Transport.

Suwat: Welcome, come have a seat.

Dialog 2:
NOTE: You can easily see that less formal dialogs tend to be shorter and use
ellipsis (leave out parts of the sentence). Look at the differences in the formal and
informal dialogs above to note how one is different from the other.

As the conversation continues . . .

Suwat: What do you do at Jiffy Transport Ms. Anderson?

Ms. Anderson: I'm the Business Manager in charge of new accounts, Khun Suwat,
and your responsibilities here?

K. Suwat: I'm the Circulation Manager, I make sure our newspapers get where they
need to go.

Business English:
Making Appointments
Business people - as a routine matter - meet with clients, suppliers, owners,
managers and others on a regular basis.

Arranging those meeting times is the target language for this lesson.

The structure of these conversations often looks like this:

Requesting an appointment: Politely asking for a meeting

If possible, I would like to come by and see you [tomorrow]?

I was wondering if we could get together [on Tuesday]?

Do you think we could get together [next week]?

Do you mind if we get together [sometime]?

Could I visit you [later today]?

Could I meet with you about this?

Can we get together and talk about this?

Is there a good time for us to get together [on Monday]?

Suggesting a time/date:

Could we meet at _________ on ________ the _____ of _____?

Could we meet at 10AM on Monday the 3rd of July?

Could we . . .

Can we . . .
Is it possible to . . .

I'd like to see you at [time and date] . . .

Would [time and date] be good for you?

Rejecting a time/date: Apologize and give a reason

I'm sorry, I've got another meeting then.

I'm afraid I can't, I'm out of town that day.

I wish I could, but . . .

[Date/time] is not good for me, I'm sorry.

Suggesting an alternative time/date:

How about next Friday, instead?

Maybe 11:00 a.m., instead?

How about . . .

Could you do it at . . .

Agreeing to a time and date:

That's fine. I'll see you then.

That sounds fine/good/great/super to me.

Yes, lets try that.

Perfect, let's do it then.

Perfect, let's do that.

Practice the following dialog with a partner:

A: Hello, Mr. Zain? This is Henry Chu over at Hitachi.

B: Hello Henry, what can I do for you?
A: I was wondering if we could get together on Tuesday to talk about the
specs* on the relays you ordered.
B: Tuesday sounds fine to me, what time is good for you?
A: How about 2 p.m.?
 B: I'm sorry, I've got to meet with Mr. al Ghazi then, but any other time is fine.
A: Can we try 3 p.m. then?
B: That's perfect, see you then.
A: Thank you Mr. Zain, I'll see you Tuesday then, at 3 p.m.**
* specs are short for specifications - or details
** repeat the time to confirm agreement - this is not always done

Business English
ESL Telephone Talk
Talking on the telephone can be difficult for a couple of reasons.
First of all, you can't see the person you're talking to, so you can't see
his or her body language and "read" his or her face. Talking on the
phone also requires its own special set of words and phrases. Here’s
a helpful reference chart that will help you speak on the telephone
phone with confidence in business and personal situations. We hope
you'll find this helpful. Now if you can only find somebody to pay
for your cell phone bill you'll be all set!

SITUATION EXAMPLES

Introducing yourself. Phrases to use When calling a general number:

when you place the call. - May I speak with Marina Smith?
- Hello, this is John Block calling for Marina
Smith.
- Is Marina Smith in? (informal)

When the person answers the call directly:

- Hi Marina, it’s John calling.
- Good afternoon, Marina. This is John Block
from ABC company calling.

Answering the phone. There are
many different ways to answer your
phone.
For calls to your direct line:
- Good morning, this is Marina.
- Good afternoon, XYZ firm. How may I help
you?
- Marina speaking.
- XYZ firm, Marina speaking.

For calls to your direct line, when the person asks

for you by name:

Connecting someone. When you
answer the phone and it is for
somebody else.
When you need to put somebody on - Jim is on another line at the moment. Would
hold
When you don’t understand the
caller
Clarifying what your caller says
Taking a message for someone
Leaving a message for someone
- Speaking (caller says: “Is Marina there?” and
Marina replies: “speaking”).
- This is she / this is he (caller says: “Is Marina
in?” and Marina replies “This is she”).
For calls to a general number:
- Thank you for calling XYZ. How may I direct
your call?
- One minute, I’ll transfer you now.
- Please hold and I’ll put you through.
- Let me see if Jim is available.
- One moment, please.
- Hang on a minute. (informal)
you like to hold?
- I’m sorry, I have a call on my other line. Can
you please hold?
For customer service calls
- All of our operators are currently busy. Please
stand by for the next available operator.
- Could you please repeat that?
- I’m sorry, I didn’t catch what you just said.
- Can you please speak a little more slowly?
- Can you please speak a little louder?
- Can you please spell that for me?
- How do you spell your last name?
- And that company name again was, JAQ
Industries?
- Let me repeat your information to make sure I
got it right.
- I'm sorry, John’s not here at the moment. Can I
take a message?
- John is in a meeting at the moment. May I ask
who’s calling?
- John is at lunch. Would you like to leave a
message?
- John has left for the day. Would you like to be
put through to his voice mail?
- Please tell him that Susan called and ask him to
call me back. My number is 999-343-3423.
- Please ask him to call Susan when he gets in.

Ending a conversation
SPECIAL SITUATIONS
Leaving a voice mail
Recording a voice mail message on your
machine
- He already has my number.
- He’s not in? Please put me through to his voice
mail.
- When do you expect him back in the office?
- I need to speak with him on an urgent matter.
Please have him call me as soon as he gets in.
- It’s been great talking with you. I’ve got a
meeting now so I better run.
- Thanks for calling. I’ll speak with you again
soon.
- I’ve got another call coming in. Good talking to
you.
- I better let you go.
- It’s 5 o’clock already. I better let you go.
- Let’s touch base on this again in a few days.
- Hello, this is Marina Smith calling to
follow-up regarding your order with XYZ
company. Can you please call me back at
999-344-3344.
- Hello, this is John Block from ABC. I’m
calling regarding the upcoming conference
in Miami. I’ll try you again later today.
- Hi, it’s Marina. Please call me back when
you get a minute. (informal)
- Hello, you’ve reached Marina Smith at
XYZ company. I’m sorry I’m not available
to take your call. Please leave a message
and I’ll call you back as soon as I can.
Thank you.
- Hello, you’ve reached John Block at ABC.
It’s Monday, May 22, and I will be out of
the office all day. I will be checking my
voice mail from time to time and will return
all urgent calls. Thank you.
If you’re going on vacation
- Hello, this is Marina Smith at the XYZ
company. I will be on vacation from Friday,
May 12 through Monday, May 22. Please
leave a message, and I’ll call you back
when I return. Thank you.
Phrases for cell phone calls The fading signal
- I’m sorry, I’m losing you. Can you call me
back?
- I can barely hear you. Let me call you
back on my other phone.
- We’re breaking up. I’m having trouble
hearing you. Let me call you back later.

The lost call

- Hi, it’s Marina again. Apparently we got
cut off.
- Hi, it’s John again. Sorry I lost you. My
cell phone dropped the signal.

SPELLING OUT NAMES OVER THE - My last name is Czarnek. C as in cat, Z as

PHONE. Often you will need to spell
something out over the telephone, such as a
last name. It will help your listener is you
offer words for each letter. Give words or
names that are very common for each
letter.
in zebra, A as in apple, R as in Robert, N as
in Nancy, e as in egg, K as in king.
- My registration number is 459N4AF.
That’s 459, N as in Nancy, 4 A as in Apple,
F as in Frank.

What is negotiation? :
Negotiation is an interaction which includes the process of resolving disputes, agreeing upon
courses of action, bargaining for individual or collective advantage, or crafting outcomes to satisfy
various interests. It is an alternative form of dispute resolution.

In business: “Everything is negotiable”.

Techniques and skills that assist people in the negotiation process:

· Visualizing the end result

· Treating one’s opponent with respect and honesty
· Prepare ahead of time
· Aiming high
· Exhibiting confidence

Here are some preparatory questions to ask yourself before beginning talks with the other party:

· What is my main objective?

· What are all of the alternatives I can think of?
· Why do I deserve to have my goals met?
· What will my opponent's counter proposal likely consist of?
· How can I respond to this counter proposal?
· When would I like to have this issue resolved?
· What is my bottom-line?
· What market research/homework do I need to do to back up my cause?
· What is my bargaining power compared to my opponent's?
· What do I know about the principles of negotiating?

Collaborative Negotiating:

In business, the goal of negotiating parties should always be for mutual gain. This type of win-win
negotiation is often called collaborative negotiating. The opposite of collaborative negotiating is
called competitive negotiating.

The goal of competitive negotiating is for one party to win and the other to lose. Dishonest
practices, such as lying, manipulation, intimidation, and bribery are often used in this type of
negotiation.

We don't want competitive negotiation...

Main Principles of Collaborative Negotiating:

· Resolve previous conflicts ahead of time

· Deal with issues, not personalities
· Commit to listening more than speaking: The more you know about your counterpart, the more
likely you will achieve your goals. You cannot convince someone of something when you do not
know anything about them, or what their own needs are. A common mistake is to prepare one's next
question or point while the opponent is speaking.
· Establish trust in the onset
· Develop a common goal
· Discuss a common enemy
· Take opponent's views/needs into careful consideration: Not only do you want to win this
negotiation, you want your opponent to win as well, so that he or she will negotiate with you again
in the future.

Here are a few golden rules to successful negotiations:

1) Always try to negotiate for at least 15 minutes. Any less than that and it is unlikely that either
party has had enough time to fairly consider the other side. Generally, the size or seriousness of the
negotiation determines the amount of time needed to negotiate it. Setting a time limit is a good idea.
Approximately 90% of negotiations get settled in the last 10% of the discussion.

2) Always offer to let the other party speak first. This is especially important if you are the one
making a request for something such as a raise. The other party may have overestimated what you
are going to ask for and may actually offer more than what you were going to request.

3) Always respect and listen to what your opponent has to say. This is important even if he or she
does not extend the same courtesy to you. Do your best to remain calm and pleasant even if the
other party is displaying frustration or anger. Remember some people will do anything to intimidate
you.

4) Acknowledge what the other party says. Everyone likes to know that what they say is important.
If the other party opens first, use it to your advantage, by paraphrasing what you have heard. Repeat
their important ideas before you introduce your own stronger ones.
5) Pay attention to your own and your counterpartner's body language. Review the chart below to
learn how to interpret body language during the negotiations. Make sure that you aren't conveying
any negative body language.

Body Language:

Body Language

Avoiding Eye Contact

· Lying
· Not interested
· Not telling the whole truth

Serious Eye Contact

· Trying to intimidate
· Showing anger

Touching the face/fidgeting

· Nervousness
· Lack of confidence
· Submission

Nodding
· Agreeing
· Willing to compromise

Shaking the head/turning away

· Frustrated
· In disbelief
· Disagreeing with a point

Activity: Negotiation stages

The negotiation process is very similar to the meeting process with objective, roles, agenda,
procedures, timing, and closing.

However, there are a number of signals that indicate that negotiations are coming to a close. This
may not always mean that an agreement has been reached. In many cases, there are many rounds of
negotiations. The preliminary round may uncover the major issues, while subsequent rounds may be
needed to discuss and resolve them. Here are some signals of talks coming to a close:

· A difference of opinion has been significantly reduced

· One party suggests signing an agreement.
· One or both parties indicate that a period of time to pause and reflect is necessary.

Beware of last-minute strong-arm tactics:

Even if you make the decision to treat your negotiating opponent with honesty and kindness, the
other party may not extend you the same respect. Be prepared to stand your ground firmly, yet
cordially, especially in the last few minutes of the negotiations.
This is the time when manipulative parties may employ certain tactics in order to try to fool you
into losing focus or lowering goals and standards. Remember that conflicts are generally resolved in
the last few minutes. The theory behind last minute tactics is that one party may be more willing to
give in out of fear that all of the concessions or progress made up to that point (perhaps hours or
weeks of talks) might be lost.

People also get tired or have other commitments that need to be met, such as making an important
phone call before another business closes, or picking up children from school.

Here are some last minutes tricks that negotiators often use at this time:

· Walking out of the room

· Offering a short-term bribe
· Telling you to take it or leave it
· Giving an ultimatum
· Abrupt change in tone (used to shock the other party into submission)
· Introducing new requests (used at to get you to concede with little thought or consideration)
· Stating generalizations without evidence (dropped without significant statistics/proof)
· Adopting the Mr. Nice Guy persona (used to try to make it look like they are doing you a favour in
hopes that you will lower your expectations)

Class Reading Activity: “What are good negotiators like?”

Read the article and answer the followings using true or false:

1. Neil Rackman is a negotiator.

2. Good negotiators spend more time planning their strategy before a negotiation.
3. Good negotiators argue, giving lots of reasons.
4. Good negotiators repeat the same arguments.
5. Good negotiators go back and check points again.

Grammar:

Go over exercise 3.2 and 17.3

Past Tense: (I did)

1. To talk about actions or situations in the past.
Mr. Brown enjoyed the party very much.
When Ms. Peterson lived in London, she worked in a bank.

2. In past questions and negatives, we use did/didn’t + base form verb.

Did it rain?
I didn’t enjoy the movie.

Past Continuous Tense: (I was doing)

1. To talk about someone who was in the middle of doing something at a certain time. The action or
situation had already started before this time but hadn’t finished.

This time last year I was living in London.

What were you doing at 10 last night?

2. It does not tell us whether an action was finished or not. Perhaps it was finished, perhaps not.

Peter was cooking dinner.

Jane was doing her homework.

3. We use past continuous tense and simple past together to say that something happened in the
middle of something else.

Dan burned his hand while he was cooking dinner.

It was raining when I got up.

4. But to say one happened after another, use simple past.

When Peter arrived, we were having dinner. (We had already started dinner before Peter arrived).

Compare to:

When Peter arrived, we had dinner. (Peter arrived and then we had dinner).

Compare simple past and past continuous tense:

Past Perfect Tense: (I had done)

1. To say that something had already happened before this time.

When I arrived at the party, Peter had already gone home.

When I got home, I found that someone had broken into my apartment and had stolen my money.

Past Perfect Continuous Tense: (I had been doing)

1. To say how long something had been happening before something else happened.

The soccer game had to be stopped. They had been playing for half an hour.
Ken had been smoking for 30 years when he finally gave it up.

2. Past perfect continuous tense is the past of the present perfect continuous tense.

Compare:
How long have you been waiting? (Until now)
How long had you been waiting when the bus finally came? (The whole scenario happened in the
past)