3) Technical Interview
This kind of interview focuses on problem solving and creativity. The questions aim at your problem-solving skills and likely show your ability and creativity. Sometimes these interviews will be on a computer module with multiple-choice questions.
4) Telephone Interviews
Telephone Interviews take place if a recruiter wishes to dwindle down the number of prospective candidates before deciding on a shortlist for face-to-face interviews. They also take place if a job applicant is a significant distance away from the premises of the hiring company such as abroad or in another state.
5) Case interview
A case interview is a job interview in which the applicant is given a question/situation/problem/challenge and asked to resolve the situation. The case problem is often a business situation or a business case that the interviewer has worked on in real life.
After the applicant is given information about the case, the applicant is expected to ask the interviewer logical and sequential questions that will enable the applicant to understand the situation, probe deeper into relevant areas, gather pertinent information and arrive at a solution or recommendation for the question or situation.
Case interviews are mostly used in hiring for management consulting and investment banking jobs. Finns use case interviews to evaluate analytical ability and problem-solving skills; they are looking not for a "correct" answer but for an understanding of how the applicant thinks and how the applicant approaches problems.
During case interviews, interviewers are generally looking for the following skills:
1) Numerical and verbal reasoning skills
2) Communication and presentation skills.
BUSINESS LETTERS
The term itself (business letters) implies commercial correspondence but in reality the subject-matter of the letter may have nothing in common with merchandise or financial matters.
It is a formal letter to an unknown person, composed in accordance with certain rules. ' In this letter there must be nothing superfluous, nothing that would disclose subjective emotions, no strong expressions showing emotions (passion or vehemence).
Business letters are mostly very short. (Time is money). (Business is business). (Galperin remarks that they hardly exceed 8 or 10 lines).
The rules of composition are very strict.
Business letters may be public and private.
A private business letter is one written to or by some man in his business capacity and not as a private friend - such as a schoolmaster, a merchant, a tradesman, a lawyer, an agent, a professional man of any kind. The letter may be addressed either to an individual or to a company, such as a water company, a gas company, a publishing firm, an engineering firm etc.
A public business letters (more commonly known as an official letter) is one written to or by anyone in his official capacity. Such a person may be either holding some public office or representing some important public associationg, such as a Minicipial Board, A Government Office or Ministry.
There are different kinds of letters:
I. Letters of Positive Sense:
1. a) Letter of Appreciation
b) Letter of Recognition Лист-подяка
c) Thank-you Letter
2. Letter of Congratulation - Лист-привггання.
3. a) Letter of Recommendation
b) Letter of Introduction
c) Reply to Request for References (Favourable Information)
II. Letters of Neutral Sense:
1) Offer - Лист-пропозищя
2) Inquiry - Лист-запит
3) Confirmation - Лист-тдтвердження
III. Letters of Negative Sense
1) Claim - Лист-рекламація
2) Rejection - Лист-відмова
3) Reminder - Лист-нагадування
4) Letter of Condolence - Лист-ствчуття
5) Reply to Request for References (Unfavourable Information)
The common features for all business letters:
The encoded character of language:
) a) The use of abbreviations Gvt (Government) M.P. (Member of Parliament) U.A. (United Nations)
b) Conventional symbols
$ (dollar), £ (pound), С (Euro)
c) Contractions Ltd (Limited) Jan (January) Corp (Corporation) Inc (Incorporation)
2) The words in their logic dictionary meaning. (There is no room for contextual meaning).
3) Conventionality of expression
4) Absence of emotiveness
Historically, openings and closing formulas(ae) were not just standard phrases which are little paid attention to. Originally, they were functional necessities: a letter writer (especially one of a lower social class) was morally obliged to emphasize his submissiveness and humbleness, his inferiority to the person addressed. The words „humble, obedient, faithful, servant" were meant to affect the person of high position, to beg for a morsel of the man's sympathy by flattering his pride. (In Russia there was a similar social phenomenon. The action of asking for sovereign's merciful attention was kneeling and bowing so low as to strike one's forehead against the ground: бить челом. Челобитная - forehead beating - means ,, petition").
In English letters of earlier centuries we can meet such pearls of timid submission: - „I do most humbly entreat your honour to be pleased to procure me my audience from His Highness". The close of the letter: „Your honour's most humble and obedient servant".
PUBLIC BUSINESS LETTER (OFFICIAL LETTER)
Letters to and from a business company, government department or some other body or institution, addressed to people unknown to the writers, have a rather more formal,, impersonal style.
There are some parts of the official (formal letter)
I. Sender's address
II. Date
III. Inside address
(in the right-hand corner)
1) name of the company, 2) street, 3) city, 4) country + telephone number
(beneath the sender's address)
Note! The months should be written in letters, not in numbers, e.g. 15th October, 1993.
Months are usually shortened: Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., May, Jun., Jul., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec. Before the date itself the articles or prepositions are absent, e.g. 20th May, 2001.
(Адрес получателя) (in the left part beneath the date)
IV. Salutation
V. Subject line
(Обращение) (Dear Sir / Sirs) (Указание на содержание письма)
VI. Body of the letter (Основной текст письма)
VII. Complimentary close (Заключительная формула вежливости)
VIII. Signature (Подпись)
IX. Identifying initials (Инициалы автора)
X. Enclosures
XI. Postscript
(Указание на приложения) (Приписка к окончательному письму)
XII. Notation of copies sent (Уведомление о наличие копий) Salutations:
In England addressing the organization in the name of which there are proper names we put Messr. (from French „Messieurs" - господин) before the proper name.
e.g. Messr. Smith and Sons In the USA such word is absent.
e.g. Smith and Sons
WRITING E-MAILS
E-mail is a means of modern communication, a way to keep in contact with customers and colleagues. They are interoffice messages and outside-fhe-office commercial correspondence sent to business contacts, suppliers and customers. The preferred format is block style including the sender's name, the date and the time (usually supplied by the computer), the receiver, the subject line and the message. E-mail is cheaper and faster than a traditional letter which is now known as «snail mail». E-mail is less intrusive than a phone call, especially as people are now constantly interrupted on their cell phones. Differences in location and time zone are no obstacles to information with e-mail.
And finally, there is conclusive evidence that e-mail leads to a more democratic structure, allowing all computer users easy a cuss to company information and documents.
E-mails can have a formal business style or informal similar to spoken English.
The formal e-mail is similar to a standard business letter but usually it is shorter. The e-mail should begin with «Dear...» and finish with «Best wishes» or «Best regards». You use this style if you are writing to somebody outside the company or somebody you don't know well.
The informal e-mail is for people you know well inside or outside the company. The e-mail often begins with «Hi» or «»Hello and finishes with «Regards» or «CU» (CU means «See you»). Other short forms are:
TX - thanks
RUOK - are you O.K.?
FYI -for your information
I MHO - In my humble opinion
pls - please
FAQ - Frequently Asked Question
Win - Windows (the system)
B2C - (business-to-consumer)
B2E - (business-to-employee)
P2P - (producer-to-producer)
4- for
Cuz - because
Tips on writing effective e-mails
Here are some general tips for the students as a reminder for writing good emails.
1) Use a "subject line" that summarizes briefly and clearly the content of the message." Your email may be one of hundreds on the recipient's computer, and you want them to read it when it arrives and then find it again easily in their files. That's why they should contain clues to the content of the message. Because in today's world of information the flood of unwanted e-mail petitions, jokes and spam which comes to the mail box means that your message could get deleted before it's opened if you don't get the correct subject line. May be, it's better to write the word «Urgent» in the subject line if the time is limited and if you know that a person receives a lot of e-mails.
2) Use short, simple sentences. Long sentences are often difficult to read and understand. The most common mistake for learners of English is to translate directly from their own language. Usually the result is a complicated, confusing sentence.
3) One subject per email is best. The other person can reply to an email about one thing, delete it, and leave another email in their 'Inbox' that needs more time.
4) Be very careful with jokes, irony, personal comments etc. Humour is rarely translated well from one culture to another. And if you are angry, wait for 24 hours before you write. Once you press 'Send' you cannot get your email back. It can be seen by anyone and copied and sent round the world. The intimate, informal nature of email makes people write things that they shouldn't. Only write what you would be comfortable saying to the person's face.
5) Take a moment to review and edit what you have written. Check you've given the relevant information. Is the main point clear? Would some pieces of continuous text be better as bullet points or numbered points? Is it clear what action you want the recipient to take? Would you be happy to receive this email? If in doubt, ask a colleague to quickly look through and make comments.
6) Don't ignore capital letters, punctuation, spelling, paragraphs, and basic grammar. Casual writing might be good when you are writing to a very close friend, but to everyone else it's an important part of the image that you create. A careless, disorganized email shows the outside world a careless, disorganized mind.
7) Use the replies you receive to modify your writing to the same person. If the recipient writes back in a more informal or more formal style, then match that in your future emails to them. If they use particular words or phrases that seem to come from their company culture, or professional area, then consider using those words yourself where they are appropriate.
8) Be positive! The words: "activity, agreed, evolving, fast, good question, helpful, join us, mutual, productive, solve, team, together, tools, useful" And the words: "busy, crisis, failure, forget it, hard, I cant, I won't, impossible, never, stupid, unavailable, waste" when you use them show your attitude to life.
9) Don't be too informal when writing to superiors or people outside the company (e.g. got your order; will give it to the guys at dispatches)
10) When answering e-mail use the reply button, this helps the receiver put your mail into context as the subject line will be repeated with the words «RE» in front of it and the original message may be included. «RE» is short for 'Regarding...'.
11) Never reply simply «yes» or «по» without repeating the context.
12) Don't use pronouns out of context (e.g. I asked them and they agreed).
DIPLOMATIC SPHERE
The diplomatic notes or other documents of international significance determine the fate of whole nations or even the whole planet. That's why this kind of texts feel acute responsibility for what they undertake, for every word or expression that may be interpreted.
Of course, in private talks, their speeches are most probably not quite devoid of emotions and deviations from diplomatic protocol. But all the decisions are known to the public from documents: parliamentary minutes, treaties, declarations, credentials and they are characterized as highly traditional, stereotyped, elaborate, exacting, even a shade of ambiguity is to be avoided here. Especially when words in English and American English have different meanings:
1) to table a proposal - в английской парламентской практике это „предложить,
поставить на обсуждение" = to submit - в американской практике это „положить в долгий ящик"
2) to enjoin - в США - „ запретить"
в Англии - „ приказать"
3) government - в Англии - „ правительство, кабинет министров"
в Америке - это система управления вообще и всё, что с ней связано. (Суды - это тоже ,, government". Федеральное, штатное, муниципальное управление тоже
„government". А вот сказать ,, Clinton government" нельзя, это лишь часть того, что американцы называют „ administration" (министры - Secretaries).
4),,policy" and „politics"
Politics - политическая борьба (политиканство).
(нередко относится к политической сфере) Policy - это политическая линия, стратегия.
LEGAL SPHERE
This sphere is connected with Law as the practice of social intercourse and as knowledge of how it is regulated. It includes International Law, Civil Law and Criminal Law. The last two laws (civil and criminal) concern every citizen more than international affairs because the people deal with them „from the cradle to the grave" (from birth certificate to death certificate).In this sphere it is used legal terminology, employed the traditionally accepted formulas.
Thus, in the USA, the prosecutor represents the people of the State in which the session is held. He speaks in the name of people. In Britain, it is the Queen in whose name the defendant is accused of the crime committed (not the People of Britain). In the name of the Queen.
The language of the Law is peculiar and archaic in many cases:
- breach of promise;
- manslaughter (= causing death by chance or without intending to);
first degree murder (= premeditated murder - преднамеренное убийство);
- hereby / whereof.
In Great Britain the death sentence ended for centuries in the words: to be hanged by his neck till he is dead.
After the Second World War capital punishment was abolished in England and in many European countries. In the USA, in some states it exists. (People are usually electrocuted or hanged or die in special gas chambers. But it is usually a rare case and it is widely known, it is watched by TV-cameramen).
DOCUMENTATION SPHERE
A document is a record of important information on paper or computer disk (from Longman Business Dictionary). The word «document» embraces many kinds of strictly official texts: legal documents, export documents, shipping documents. The stylists mean this term as: official written evidence, a text specially intended to serve as legal confirmation of some evidence.
Some types of documents have already been dealt with: parliamentary bills, acts of law, protocols, diplomats' credentials etc.
Business documents
1. The Invoice (счет-фактура, счет) provides information about goods exchanged between the exporter and the importer. It's prepared by the exporter and includes the following information: a description of the goods, their price and the quality supplied. It informs the buyer that the goods have been sent.
2. The Bill of Lading (коносамент) is a transfer document. The exporter writes the importer's name on the bill of lading and in this way the importer becomes the legal owner of the goods.
3. Letter of authorization/ letter of authority - a document that gives or proves official power in business situations (доверенность - документ, предоставляющий или подтверждающий официальные полномочия кого-либо в хозяйственных делах)
4. Letter of attorney/ power of attorney - a legal document giving one pterson the right to act for another (доверенность - юридический документ, фиксирующий полномочия представителя совершать правомерные действия от имени другого лица)
5. Contract - a formal written agreement between 2 or more parties; an agreement to deliver a type of goods or material at a particular price and time in the future.
There are different kinds of contract (the main ones):
1. Employment contracts - a legally binding agreement of employer and employee, stating responsibilities and obligations of both parties (контракт о работе по найму)
2. Service contract - an agreement between a company and a customer in which the company agrees to repair equipment the customer has bought or rented from it; or an agreement between a company and a customer stating what product or service the company will provide and any arrangements for delivery, payment, etc.
3. Turn-key contract - a contract for a building project in which the company doing the work must finish the work and leave the building, factory ready to operate.
4. Hire purchase contract - an agreement to buy something by making payments over a period of time.
Americans prefer explicit contracts: the document details all the arrangements made. Japanese prefer implicit contracts: they present the most general outline of the contractual obligations. Each contract should have a list of the important items:
1. Description (a clear one)
2. Price (agreed upon in advance)
3. Specifications (particularly those relating to standards, health, safety, agriculture and defence)
4. Payment (method of paying and the due date)
5. Packing (must conform to international standards)
6. Transportation
7. Delivery (the date and quantity)
8. Insurance (decide in advance whose responsibility it is)
BUSINESS PLAN
A business plan is a formal statement of a set of business goals, the reasons why they are believed attainable (достижимые), and the plan for reaching those goals. It may also contain background information about the organization or team attempting to reach those goals.
Business plans may be internally or externally focused. Externally focused plans target goals that are important to external stakeholders, particularly financial stakeholders. They typically have detailed information about the organization or team attempting to reach the goals. They include investors and customers.
Business Plan Content
Business plans are decision-making tools. There is no fixed content for a business plan. The content and format of the business plan is determined by the goals and audience. A business plan should contain whatever information is needed to decide whether or not to pursue a goal.
Presentation formats
The format of a business plan depends on its presentation context. Three or four formats for the same business plan may be.
for example, 1) an "elevator pitch" - a three minute summary of the business plan's executive summary. This is often used as a teaser to awaken the interest of potential funders, customers, or strategic partners.
2) an oral presentation - a hopefully entertaining slide show and oral narrative that is meant to trigger discussion and interest potential investors in reading the written presentation. If a new product is being proposed and time permits, a demonstration of the product may also be included.
3) a written presentation for external stakeholders - a detailed, well written, and pleasingly formatted plan targeted at external stakeholders.
4) an internal operational plan - a detailed plan describing planning details that are needed by management but may not be of interest to external stakeholders.
Typical structure of a business plan
1) cover page and table of contents
2) executive summary
3) business description
4) business environment analysis
5) industry background
6) competitive analysis
7) market analysis
8) marketing plan
9) operations plan
10) management summary 1 1) financial plan
12) attachments and milestone
Open Business Plans
Traditionally business plans have been highly confidential and quite limited in audience. The business plan itself is generally regarded as secret. However, with the appearance of Internet an open business plan became possible.
An Open Business Plan is a business plan with unlimited audience. The business plan is typically web published and made available to all.
In the free software and open source business model, trade secrets, copyright and patents can no longer be used as effective locking mechanisms to provide sustainable advantages to a particular business and therefore a secret business plan is less relevant in those models.
Preparing a business plan draws on a wide range of knowledge from many different business disciplines: finance, human resource management, intellectual property management, supply chain management, operations management, and marketing.
A good business plan can help to make a good business credible, understandable, and attractive to someone who is unfamiliar with the business. Writing a good business plan can't guarantee success, but it can go a long way toward reducing the failure.
How to Make a Business Plan
A good business plan has ten key components. Providing a comprehensive assessment of each of these components is critical in attracting investors.
1) Executive Summary. The Executive Summary provides a succinct synopsis of the business plan, and highlights the key points raised within. The Executive Summary must communicate to the prospective investor the size and scope of the market opportunity, the venture's business and profitability model. The Executive Summary must be compelling, easy-to-read, and no longer than 2-4 pages. The summary should tell the reader what you want. Clearly state what you're asking for in the summary. The statement should be kept short and businesslike, probably no more than half a page.
It could be longer, depending on how complicated the use of funds may be, but the summary of a business plan, like the summary of a loan application, is generally no longer than one page. Within that space, you'll need to provide a synopsis of your entire business plan.
2. Business concept. Describes the business, its product and the market it will serve. It should point out just exactly what will be sold, to whom and why the business will hold a competitive advantage.
3. Financial features. Highlights the important financial points of the business including sales, profits, cash flows and return on investment.
4. Financial requirements. Clearly states the capital needed to start the business and to expand. It should detail how the capital will be used, and the equity, if any, that will be provided for funding. If the loan for initial capital will be based on security instead of equity, you should also specify the source of collateral.
5. Current business position. Furnishes relevant information about the company, its legal form of operation, when it was formed, the principal owners and key personnel.
6. Major achievements. Details any developments within the company that are essential to the success of the business. Major achievements include items like patents, prototypes, location of a facility or results from any test marketing that has been conducted.
7. Company Analysis. This section provides a strategic overview of the company and describes how the company is organized, what products and services it offers/will offer, and goes into further detail on the company's unique qualifications in serving its target markets.
TELEPHONING AND SOCIALIZING
Telephoning means carrying out business activities over the phone: confirming intentions to business partners, concluding deals, participating in telephone conferences, etc (from Dictionary of General Business English).
Socializing is accepted patterns of communication aimed at relationship building in business.
Speaking about telephoning it's necessary to point out the main topics of communication.
1. Getting through, introducing yourself, taking messages.
2. Recorded messages.
3. Fixing appointments.
4. Discussing information, changing appointments.
5. Making a booking; repeating and clarifying information.
6. Checking and discussing information.
7. Participating in a telephone conference. .
Of course, telephoning in the business sphere needs special vocabulary and the relevant discourse patterns. Without them one's understanding of the nature of telephoning in business will be far from adequate.
For example: «Starting the call»
- CPA Corporation. Good morning
- Hello, I'd like to speak to Mr. Martin, please.
- Who's speaking, please?
- This is John Bush of Lion Computer.
- Hold the line, please. I'll put you through... Go ahead, Mr. Bush. You are through.
Peculiarities of telephoning
1. First of all, some proper names are present in the call: names of the people and names of the companies. Both names are v. important for telephoning in business.
2. Recurrent usage of phrasal verbs:
- pick up - answer
- call back - return the call
- put through - connect
- cut off - disconnect
- get through - reach
- hold on - wait
- put on - ask smb to come to the phone. 3. Special discourse patterns:
- Name of the Company + Greeting (e.g. CPA Corporation. Good morning.)
- Name + Relevant Information (e.g. This is John Bush of Lion Computer/ Michael Brown from Hamburg)
- Introducing yourself + Saying why you're calling (This is ... I'm calling about the meeting).
- Asking if someone is in + Person wanted is not there + When will the person wanted be in? (e.g. - Can I speak to Mr. Brown, please?
- I'm afraid he isn't in at the moment.
- What time could I reach him )
Socializing is different from Telephoning in that people involved in communication face each other.
To socialize means to spend time with other people in a friendly way, to train someone to behave in a way that is acceptable in the society they are living in.
While socializing in English, people have to follow the conversations shared by English-speaking cultures.
1. One of the important rules is to be polite («Сап I have a newspaper, please? » instead of «Give me a newspaper))).
2. Tentativeness (We were wondering whether you'd like to come to dinner next week).
British English welcomes the use of the expressions: «Well, actually...)), «Well, to be honest)), «Well, to tell the truth...)) to soften what they are going to say, especially if it's something negative or unusual. Let's specify when the Socializing takes place. Ellis O'Driscoll suggests the following list of situations:
- Introductions
- Greetings
- Concluding a conversation
- Inviting
- Thanking and showing appreciation
- Offering and requesting
- The first 5 minutes
The recurrent patterns in socializing:
1. The pattern for Identification. It consists of: Name + Relevant Information (Hello, I'm David Spenser from London).
2. Introducing other people follows the same pattern: Name + Relevant Information (I'd like to meet John Benny. He's with Chicago Consulting Group).
3. Daily greetings also require a pattern: Greeting + Follow-up inquiry + Reply (Hello, how are you? - Not too bad) or Greeting + Specific inquiry + Reply (Hello. How did the meeting go? - Very well).
4. Ending a conversation requires an indication of one's intent to conclude the conversation: Indicating your intent + Explanation (I really must be going. They are calling my flight).
5. Saying goodbye also presupposes a pattern: Saying goodbye + Comment (Goodbye. I hope the meeting goes well. I'll look forward to seeing you when you're next in London).
6. The pattern for Accepting invitations is: Thanking + Accepting (Thank you very much. That would be v. nice. I'd love to come).
7. Declining invitations: Thanking + Declining + Reason (Thank you for inviting me. But I'm afraid I can't come. I've already arranged something else). (Thank you v. m. But unfortunately, I won't be here tomorrow).
One of the rules of effective Socializing is to keep the conversation going. There are various conversational techniques. Questions and answers are core elements of natural conversations.
Here are some highly reproductive question-answer patterns:
1. Question - single statement answer (e.g. Will they mind if I smoke? - Yes, Г think, they will.)
2. Question - multiple statement answer (Did anybody ring while I was out? - Yes. There was a call actually. I've left a message on your desk).
3. Question deduced from an answer (I hate all this travelling on business, don't you? - Yes and no. I like seeing different countries. - Have you visited many countries so far?)
4. Question - answer + question (What do you do when you are not working? - Golf. I'm-a fanatic! 4 rounds most weekends. What about you?)
The 4 types illustrated above have one thing in common. They all adhere to a certain structural principle - a brief answer is followed by a comment or a piece of additional information. Comments and additional information build up the conversation. Their presence transforms a mere question - answer exchange into a meaningful sample of human communication.
Here's an example of extended conversation between 2 businessmen:
- Asks a general question about something
- Answers and adds a comment
- Reacts. Adds information
- Makes a comment. Asks another question
- Answers. Adds information
- Reacts. Adds information
These are the building blocks that constitute the flow of the conversation.
The use of recurrent discourse patterns in suitable contexts of business communication makes one's English more idiomatic and therefore more effective. Effective communication in business situations builds better interpersonal/intercultural relationships and yields tangible results.
Communicative etiquette behaviour
It is the behaviour that follows socially, culturally, historically, & traditionally established communication patterns of behaviour in standard situations of huma communication & interaction.
It includes verbal components (speech formulae, cliches, definite choice of
vocabulary units (words & set phrases), definite choice of grammatical structures and non
- verbal components or paralinguistic.
Business meetings
Business meeting means an organized occasion when business people come together to discuss business-related issues, take decisions, conclude deals and resolve conflicts, (заранее спланированная встреча предпринимателей, на которой обсуждаются вопросы, имеющие отношение к предпринимательской деятельности, принимаются решения, заключаются сделки, разрешаются споры).
If a meeting is to be productive, it should have a clearly stated purpose that all the participants know and understand.
A chairperson (very often he is Managing Director - директор-распорядитель) should be appointed who opens and controls the meeting, keeps things moving, makes sure that everyone stays focused, keeps an eye on time, summarizes agreed points, closes the meeting.
Before the meeting takes place an agenda, covering the items to be discussed, is sent to all the people concerned. They should prepare for the meeting and come to it with ideas to contribute.
A time limit should be attached to each point. It's advisable that the meeting should be limited to 90 minutes. If it's going to exceed the 90-minute time limit, they should have breaks into the agenda.
The number of the participants depends on the range of things planned for discussion. Not all the important staff members are invited to every meeting, but the minutes [mai'nju:ts] (протокол) (pi.) should be sent to other senior stuff members. The minutes should include a clear summary of the important points and the actions decided upon at the meeting.
There are different kinds of business meetings
1) standard business meeting
2) information - sharing meeting
3) decision - oriented meeting
4) problem - oriented meeting
5) solution - oriented meeting
But irrespective of the format, organizers of meetings should aim to attain meeting goals, arrive at better quality decisions, save time and money and satisfy meeting participants (участники встречи) by inviting them to provide input.
Meeting participants, in their turn, present arguments, agree and disagree, clarify, question, make suggestions, persuade, compromise, summarize, conclude. Production Manager - управляющий производством Personnel Manager - управляющий персоналом
The Language of the business meetings
The language involves formal - neutral - informal styles.
Let's enumerate some tendencies of language usage that are of practical significance.
1) Using would, could, might to make what one says less categorical: "That would be unacceptable " (instead of "That is unacceptable ").
2) Presenting one's view as a question inviting participation :"Is that too late?" (instead of "That is too late").
3) Using an introductory phrase to better prepare the listener for one's message. Here are the most common introductory phrases: actually, well, as a matter of fact...
4) Avoiding direct disagreement; purposefully downplaying some of the evaluations: a bit difficult, a slight problem instead of very difficult, a real problem.
5) Using not+ very+ positive adjective (e.g. "not very convenient" instead of "inconvenient")
Using don't + infinitive instead of the negative word :"I don't like that idea at all. " (instead of "Idislike that idea")
6) Using a continuous form: e.g. "I was wondering if... " instead of "I wondered if. " to make the tone of proposition more tentative (предполагаемый, гипотетический).
7) Using stress as an important way of making the message more effective: It is_ important.
We are quite interested in your suggestion. The new figures are quite exciting.
8) At every business meeting a member of recurrent phrases and utterances are used. e.g. Starting a meeting presupposes knowledge of sentence like:
Well, ladies and gentlemen, I think we should begin.
Presentations
Presentation is a talk or report by a company executive that introduces a new product' or service to an audience of specialists in the field or potential investors (выступление сотрудника компании с представлением товара или услуги аудитории специалистов в определен, области или потенциальным инвесторам).
Here in this definition a speaker-audience interaction: the representative of a business organization talks about a certain product or service; the audience perceives this information, responds by asking questions, making some comments.
Presentation can be:
1) informative - when you want to inform an audience about essential facts.
2) persuasive - when the presenter's task is not confined only to sharing information but the presenter wants to convince his audience to do smth, to accept his recommendations.
What makes a good presentation?
In business presenting effectively is a valuable skill. But this skill is not innate (inborn). A good presentation is a product of effort. It is an accessible skill.
Experts in this field (Powell Mark; Kerridge M. Ellis; N. O'Driscoll) formulate the three R's principle : research, research and research.
1. Research your audience.
(Are you speaking to your peers or to the people who senior to you in rank? Are they average folks or scientists? What's their gender, income, political orientation? Are they meeting for a special occasion?)
Knowing your audience can help you to make your speech successful.