Business English

BUSINESS ENGLISH

Adriana Teodorescu

CONTENTS

PLANNING A MEETING4

• Calling a meeting
• Writing an agenda
• Running the meeting
• Present simple/present continuous
• Verbs rarely used in the continuous

TELEPHONING TO EXCHANGE INFORMATION25

• Making business phone calls
• Answering phone calls
• Requesting and giving information over the telephone
• Telephone language
• Past simple/past continuous

VOICE MAIL MESSAGES44

• Leaving a voice mail message
• Advantages and disadvantages of voice mail
• Present perfect simple/present perfect continuous
• For/since

MARKETING BRANDS61

• Best global brands
• Brand value
• The marketing mix
• Comparative and superlative adjectives
• Other types of comparison
• Irregular adjectives

ADVERTISING74

• Advertising - benefits and drawbacks
• Advertisements
• Reported speech

JAPANESE LIFETIME EMPLOYMENT91

• Lifetime employment
• Salary/wage/income/fringe benefits
• The passive

LEADERSHIP 101

• The role of a leader
• Motivation techniques
• Phrasal verbs
• Past perfect
• Countable and uncountable nouns

CONSOLIDATION 119

• Confusing words
• Multiple choice

PLANNING A MEETING

Speaking

1. Have you ever attended a meeting with a large group of people?

If you have, how did you feel when you had to speak? Were you nervous or confident?

2. Do you read the agenda before the meeting? Is it necessary to do this? Why?

Reading

Meetings

When you are holding or attending a meeting in English, and you are not a native speaker of English, it is important for you to understand key English phrases and expressions related to meetings. A successful meeting has no surprises. A meeting will run smoothly with proper preparation and careful organization. The most typical complaint about meetings is that they run too long. A meeting that runs longer than necessary can be very costly to a company or business and on the other hand it wastes everybody’s time useless. So, remember the famous business expression, which says: Time is money. Setting the objectives of the meeting, time limits for each topic, keeping to the agenda, and focusing on the core issues, are key components of an effective meeting. This may sound simple in your own native language, but it is a little trickier when you or the participants do not speak English fluently.

Nowadays meetings are more important than ever. Generally speaking, a meeting is defined as an occasion when people come together intentionally or unintentionally for a particular purpose. Modern workplaces are built on teams, sharing of ideas, effective communication. The meeting is also the place where the participants share their ideas, brainstorm, and exchange information. There are everyday office meetings, board meetings, annual general meetings etc. Meetings can take place in different settings: face-to-face, teleconference, videoconference, and online via the internet.

Calling a meeting

There are a number of ways in which you may call a meeting. Some meetings are announced by e-mail, and others are posted on bulletin boards. If a meeting is announced at the end of another meeting, it is important to issue a reminder. A reminder usually comes in the form of an e-mail or a notice. Here you have to include the date, location, time, length, and purpose of the meeting. It is also important to indicate exactly who is expected to attend, and who is not, stating the reason for his/her absence. If you are planning on allocating someone to take on a certain role, make personal contact with that person to inform him or her about this.

Things to do before a meeting:

• Send an agenda several days before;
• Make sure everybody knows the time and the date of the meeting;
• Appoint a chairman and the person who will take the minutes;
• Ask people to prepare to present a particular point.

Writing an agenda

In order to keep the meeting on task and within the set amount of time, it is important to have an agenda. The agenda should indicate the order of items and an estimated amount of time for each item. If more than one person is going to speak during the meeting, the agenda should indicate whose turn it is to "have the floor". In some cases, it may be useful to forward the agenda to attendees before the meeting. People will be more likely to participate in a meeting, by asking questions or offering feedback, if they know what is going to be discussed.

Running the meeting

Meetings generally follow more or less the same structure and are divided into several parts.

Opening the meeting

Good morning/afternoon everyone.

If everybody is here, let’s start the meeting.

Shall we get started?

Welcoming and introducing new participants

Once all the participants have arrived, the chairman should welcome everyone to the meeting and thank the attendees for coming. When there are new participants, the chairman should welcome and introduce them to the other attendees.

Useful phrases:

We’re pleased to welcome …

I’d like to introduce …

It’s a pleasure to welcome …

Thank you all for attending.

Thank you for your participation.

Roll call

The person who does the roll call reads aloud the names of all the people on the list to make certain that they are present. This is usually done by the same person who takes the minutes of the meeting.

Stating the objectives/Introducing the agenda

The chairman will pass around copies of the agenda to all the participants. Before starting with the first item on the agenda, the chairman will briefly present the objectives of the meeting. The agenda contains the topics to be discussed while the objectives define the desired outcome of the meeting.

Useful phrases when stating the main objectives:

We are here today to …

I’ve called this meeting in order to …

Our main aim is to …

There are … items on the agenda: first, …second, …third…

Introducing the first item

I’d suggest we start with …

Let’s start with …

Why don’t we start with …

Shall we start with …

Closing an item/moving on to the next item

I think that covers this item. Let’s go on with …

Why don’t we move on to …

Let’s move on to the next item …

The next item on the agenda is …

Giving and asking for opinions

I think we should …

Why don’t we …

We could …

Do you think there should be …

What about …

Summarizing

Before we close the meeting, let’s summarize the main points.

To sum up …

Finishing up

If there are no other problems, I’d like to wrap this meeting up.

Let’s bring this to a close for today.

Closing the meeting

The meeting is closed.

I declare the meeting closed.

Vocabulary

I Match the highlighted words and phrases in the text with the definitions:

1. to arrange for a meeting to take place at a particular time
2. someone who is at an event such as a meeting or a course
3. in a steady way, without stopping and starting again
4. to have the right to speak at an important public meeting
5. successful or achieving the result that you want
6. something that makes you remember or think about something
7. a list of the subjects to be discussed at a meeting
8. boards where you can read or leave messages
9. someone, especially a man, who is in charge of a meeting
10. an official written record of what is said and decided at a meeting

II Complete the e-mail, using the following phrases: agenda, upcoming, participants, chairman, members, attached, minutes, purpose, action points.

To:

From:

Date: 12th July

Subject: Meeting

Hello everyone,

This e-mail is to inform you all about the meeting on Tuesday, 17th July. All …….. 1 of the team are expected to participate. The …..…2 of the meeting is to discuss the …..… 3 project on emerging nanotechnologies.

…….. 4 to this e-mail, you will find the …….. 5 with the main points for discussion. If you have any other suggestions, please let me know.

As usually, the ……... 6 is Mr. Heart and Mrs. Wood will take the ………7. After the meeting all …...… 8 will receive a list of …….. 9 and responsibilities.

I look forward to seeing you all.

Best wishes,

Mark White

III Match the words and phrases with the definitions:

1. roll-call
2. participant
3. upcoming
4. ballot
5. purpose
6. adjourn
7. AGM
8. wrap up
9. AOB
10. boardroom

a)the reason for or aim of having a meeting

b)a type of vote, usually in writing and usually secret

c)a room where the directors of a company have meetings

d)the act of reading out an official list of names to check who is there

e)happening soon

f)any other business

g)to have a pause or rest during a formal meeting

h)Annual General Meeting

i)to complete/finish something

j)someone who is taking part in an activity or event

IV Complete the sentences by using the following words and phrases: conference call, absent, consensus, motion, agenda, deal with, confidential, closing remarks, brainstorm and AOB.

1. The chairperson is …….. 1 due to unforeseen circumstances.
2. I hope we do not have to …….. 2 this matter again in the future.
3. We always vote for any new …….. 3.
4. Please forward the …….. 4 to all the participants at the meeting.
5. The last item on the agenda is …….. 5.
6. We had to find out some ways of cutting costs so the team got together to …….. 6.
7. I just have a few …….. 7 and then you will all be free to go.
8. Please make sure no one interrupts me while I'm on the …..….. 8.
9. Any information shared during this meeting should be kept …….. 9.
10. Unfortunately we couldn’t come to a …….. 10 by the end of the meeting, so we put it to a vote.

V False or True?

1. When attending a meeting, speak only if you have something important to say.
2. It is natural to interrupt someone if you have a sudden idea.
3. When taking the floor, speak for as long as possible.
4. It is ok to make grammatical mistakes as long as people understand you.
5. Never read the minutes.

VI Match each sentence with the appropriate meaning of the verb meet.

1. The corporation has agreed to meet all their expenses.
2. They agreed to sign the contract as all their requirements were completely met.
3. We met in order to work out a new plan.
4. I met the delegates at the airport yesterday afternoon.
5. He has never met that kind of opposition before that meeting.

a)to wait at a place for someone or something to arrive;

b)to pay;

c)to experience something;

d)to satisfy, fulfill, achieve;

e)come together.

VII The manager of a multinational company is calling a meeting. Imagine your own scenario: set the objectives and the agenda of the meeting.

LANGUAGE FOCUS

PRESENT SIMPLE

We use the present simple to state general truths and facts, to describe permanent situations, things that happen on a regular basis or a series of events or actions (e.g. to give instructions or directions).

Water boils at 100° C. (general truth)

We also use the present simple to talk about officially scheduled future events (with verbs of motion: come, go, leave; or verbs expressing scheduled activities: begin, start, end, finish).

Our winter vacation ends on January 7.

The conference begins the next day.

The simple present tense is identical with the infinitive of the verb, except for the third person singular (he, she, it), which adds –s or –es. We add –es to the infinitive when it ends in o, s, sh, ch, x, and –ies when it ends in –y.

I work. He works.

I watch. He watches.

We carry. He carries.

We form the negative and questions with the auxiliary do.

Do you work? Does he work?

In the negative, in speech and informal writing, we usually use the contracted forms don’t and doesn’t.

I don’t work.

We often use the present simple with adverbs and expressions of frequency, such as: always, usually, sometimes, never, often, once a …, every … .

Prices usually change on a monthly basis.

PRESENT CONTINUOUS

We use the present continuous to describe an action in progress at the moment of speaking or things that are changing.

We are studying Finances now.

۩ Exception: Here comes and There goes are always used in the present simple:

Here comes the chief. There goes the tram.

We also use the present continuous to talk about one’s immediate plans for the near future (the time of the action must be mentioned).

We are moving next Monday. (I’ve already arranged for the moving van.)

We can use the present continuous to talk about a frequently repeated action that annoys the speaker (+ always).

You are always watching TV. (It really bothers me.)

The present continuous tense is formed with the present tense of the auxiliary verb be + the present participleof the main verb.

The new employees are working hard at the moment.

In speech and informal writing, we usually contract is and are to ‘s and ‘re.

Spelling rules:

Base form ending in –e: make – making

Base form ending in consonant: run - running

We often use the present continuous with the following adverbs: now, just, at the moment, still.

Verbs like live, work, study, and stay are used in the continuous if the action is temporary:

We are living in France for the moment.

VERBS RARELY USED IN THE CONTINUOUS

Verbs of existing or being / be, consist of, contain, exist
Verbs of possessing / belong to, have ( =own), include, lack, own, possess
Verbs of feeling or wanting / adore, love, like, desire, detest, dislike, despise, hate, envy, need, pity, trust, want, wish, prefer
Verbs of thinking or believing / think, understand, suppose, imagine, know, believe, realize, doubt, expect, feel (=think), intend, forget, recognize, remember, see (=understand)
Verbs of appearance / appear, resemble, seem
Other verbs / concern, mind, mean, weigh, depend, fit, matter, deserve, measure

We can use many of these verbs in the continuous, but they have a different meaning or express a temporary situation:

The manager is thinking of improving the plant’s productivity. (=is considering).

LANGUAGE PRACTICE

I Complete the sentences. Write the verbs in brackets in the present simple.

1. He always …….. (have) a lot to say when it comes to computers.
2. She …….. (not like) it when people disagree with her.
3. I am not sure if all attendees …….. (understand) me.
4. What …….. (think) about adjourning the meeting?
5. Why …..… (we/not brainstorm) some ways to cut costs.
6. …….. (not forget) about the deadline!
7. I usually …….. (spend) a lot of time on the phone at work.
8. He often …….. (chat) to his colleagues.
9. Everyone …..… (know) who is going to be the next chairman.
10. Taking into account the show of hands it …..… (appear) that the motion has passed by 15 votes to 10.

II Write the correct form of the verbs in brackets. Use the present continuous.

1. All participants …….. (vote) for a new vice president today.
2. He …….. (live) in Greece for the moment.
3. They …….. always …….. (interrupt) me!
4. The project coordinator …….. (leave) the team.
5. Please forward the agenda to anyone who …..… (speak) at the meeting.
6. ……… we ……… (fold) our ballot in half before placing it in the box?
7. …….. the chairman …….. (think) of changing the agenda?
8. The board of directors …….. (not meet) now.
9. They …….. (spend) the evening together, trying to find new solutions for the deadlock.
10. He …….. just …….. (review) the minutes.

III Put the verbs in brackets in the correct form. Use the present simple or the present continuous:

1. He …….. (look) for a bike. He …….. (want) to cycle to work from now on.
2. She …..… (think) of leaving the company and working for herself.
3. During the week I …….. (work) very hard, so at the weekend, I …….. (want) to relax.
4. We …….. (take) the train. It’s the fastest way to get there.
5. Cars …..… (produce) a lot of pollution.
6. My teacher …….. (say) people can learn a language at any age.
7. I …….. (study) for half an hour every night when I get home.
8. He …….. (work) at our London head office; I am head of Corporate Finance.
9. The IT department …….. (spend) a lot of money on new equipment at the moment.
10. Our company …….. (take on) new staff at the moment.

IV Complete the sentences with the appropriate form of the present simple or continuous.

1. Many small businesses …….. (complain) these days that they can't get access to credit.
2. The deal …….. (involve) digitizing up to one million books held in the National Libraries in Rome and Florence.
3. Philips, with almost $30bn in annual sales, …….. (produce) billions of light bulbs and lamps every year and it also …….. (supply) TV tubes to almost 20 per cent of the world’s TV manufacturers.
4. Google Inc.'s chief executive …….. presently …….. (negotiate) with the Chinese government regarding the fate of its China business.
5. Currently there is a strong feeling that many chief executives …….. (live) according to quite a different set of rules from everyone else.
6. He is the director of a company which …….. (manufacture) notebooks.
7. The company …….. (go) through a difficult time at the moment.
8. Right now the company …….. (look) for a tough results-oriented CEO.
9. The board of directors …….. (know) that choosing the right person is critical.
10. The press conference …….. (take) place at 8.30 on Monday morning.

V Underline the correct form of the words in italics.

1. Technology opens up / is opening up ever more opportunities for individuals and companies to collect information and carry out economic activities outside traditional structures.
2. Nowadays consumers have / are having more choice over where they spend their money.
3. Is he meeting / does he meet the shareholders on Wednesday?
4. Dramatic changes take place / are taking place in company structure.
5. My job is involving / involves dealing with the suppliers.
6. Meetings generally are following / follow more or less the same structure.
7. A serious safety problem threatens / is threatening the future of the company.
8. Many employees share / are sharing the same feeling of failure.
9. Terror in the workplace makes / is making a comeback these days.
10. Our board of directors is meeting / meets every two months to discuss strategy.

CONFUSING WORDS

I Complete each sentence by using a suitable word from the list.

apologise apologetic apology excuse regret

1. He must …….. for making such a mistake.
2. The manager …….. not signing the contract earlier.
3. Please accept my …….. for being so late again.
4. There’s no …….. for his rude behavior.
5. He was so …….. for shouting at them.

II Complete each sentence by using a suitable word from the list.