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 Mark Powell
John Allison

in company 3.0
UPPER INTERMEDIATE STUDENT'S BOOK

MACMILLAN
in c o m p a n y 3 .0 at a glance
Third edition Student’s Book:

I ■^Business
l O communication units
focusing on current business
issues and everyday skills for
the workplace

Learning objectives to
tracit your progress

Fluency and communication

activities on every page

15 Delegation
People skills units
5 focusing on functional
Business English language
and interpersonal skills

Roleplay activities
consolidate the skills learnt

MANAGEMENT :

Moral quarrel
Management scenarios
5 offering challenging case
studies that simulate business
situations and allow interaction
with the language in a dynamic
way

Engaging videos illustrate

true-to-life scenarios ■rssfei. 3M

12 Emailing
Extra material
• Additional m aterial fo r
com m unicative activities
New Online Workbook and Student’s Resource Centre
Online Workbook
Everything you need to build and
expand on the S tudent’s Book
m aterial outside the classroom ,
and all accessible online;
• Interactive activities to practise:
- Vocabulary
- Gram m ar
- Reading
- W riting
- Listening
• A utom atic gradebook
• Grammar reference
INTRODUCTION
I ^ Language links
l O consolidating
gram m ar and extending
vocabulary from the Business
com m unication units
Grammar reference with detailed
explanations of key points
Phrase bank of key take-away
phrases for quick revision
• Self-evaluation fo rm s fo r
M anagem ent scenario activities
• Listening scrip ts
Student’s Resource Centre
An extensive collection o f resources,
all available to download:
• S tudent’s Book audio
• ‘In com pany in a ction’ - S tudent’s
Book scenario videos
• ‘In com pany interview s’ -
additional video m aterial
• Glossary
• Answer key
• Phrase banks
Contents
Unit Business communication skills Reading and listening Language links
Reading Vocabulary Small talk
01 Discussing corporate en tertain m en t
Sharing inform ation to select appropriate Inform ation on four corporate events in Grammar Tense review
Business or
corporate events for clients the UK Phrase bank Making
pleasure?
Avoiding saying ‘n o ’ Listening conversation
p6
Paying and receiving com plim ents People chatting at corporate events
Flu en cy Keeping up a conversation Discussing corporate en tertain m en t

Reading Vocabulary M eetings

02 Describing attitudes to and conten t of m eetings
Paraphrasing inform ation Meeting: breaking bad news Grammar Conditionals
Information Phrase bank Debating
Pointing out discrepancies Listening
exchange
Dialogue-building using the language o f m eetings A m eeting: problems with a product issues
p l3
Flu en cy Breaking bad news and w riting a report Five m eetings: discrepancies
In company interview s Units 1 -2 The language of m eetings

Reading
03 Strategies and techniques to build rapport
Flu en cy Building rapport with a colleague Top tips for building rapport
People skills:
Training m anual checklists
Rapport
Listening
p20
Two m eetings to discuss teleworking

Management Identifying p otential cultural differences Reading

scenario A: Avoiding a culture clash Cultural sensitivity checklist
Culture clash Flu en cy A m eeting to discuss a m erger ^ In company in action
p22 A l: A culture clash
A2: Positive cross-cultural understanding

Reading Vocabulary Presentations

04 Doing a quiz on how to command atten tion
Giving feedback on a presentation Articles on voice and visual im pact Grammar Modal verbs
Voice and visuals Phrase bank Describing
Using visuals in a presentation Listening
p24
Analyzing th e voice in presentations Voicemail and com m enting on visuals
F lu en cy Giving a speech Presenters giving inform ation in different
ways
Radio programme: drama for business
A Shakespeare speech

Discussing phone usage and its usefulness Reading Vocabulary Phone, tablet
05 Dealing with ‘chatterboxes’ Article on ‘chatterboxes’ and email
Problems on the Grammar Complex
Complaining and dealing with complaints Listening
phone question form ation
Toning down ‘flam es’ Som eone dealing with a 'chatterbox’
p31
Speculating about a problem Som eone dealing with a custom er complaint Phrase bank On the phone
Fluency Solving problems on the phone People discussing a problem
People solving a problem

Reading Vocabulary Companies and

06 Discussing dynamics o f m eetings
Disagreeing diplomatically Article on behaviour in m eetings capital; The financial pages
Leading meetings Grammar Linking and
Fluency Chairing a m eeting Disagreem ent strategies
p37
iS» In company interviews Units 4 - 6 Listening contrasting ideas
Radio program m e: alternative approaches to Phrase bank Chairing
meetings m eetings
M anaging m eetings

Reading
07 Discussing the role of a coach
The GROW model o f coaching Article on professional coaching
People skills:
F luency Coaching your colleagues Listening
Coaching
Four extracts from a coaching session
p44

Management Giving feedback on a presentation Reading

scenario B: Coaching dos and don’ts Coaching dos and don’ts
Coach crash F luency Past-present-future presentations with In company in action
p46 coaching B l : A failed presentation
B2: Successful coaching

Discussing attitudes to public speaking Reading Vocabulary Phrasal verbs

08 Discussing national stereotypes Website extract: Intrapreneurs Grammar The passive
Promoting your Phrase bank Pitching an
Describing w hat makes a good talk Listening
ideas idea
Discussing innovation in your company Presenters talking about w hat makes them
p48
F luency Presenting an idea for a product nervous
or service People comparing audience expectations of
presentations
Presentation: a new business idea

Discussing first im pressions Reading Vocabulary Social English

09 Completing a questionnaire on networking Q uestionnaire: Are you an effective networker? Grammar Multi-verb
Relationship-building sentences
Practising netw orking skills Article on sport and business
p55
G etting out o f the office Listening Phrase bank Networking
R oleplay V isiting a colleague’s home Three sm all talk conversations
People chatting at golf
Conversation: visiting som eone’s home

CO NTENTS
 CONTENTS

Unit Business communication skills Reading and listening Language links

D iscussing making decisions in difficult situations Reading Vocabulary Marketing
10 Doing a quiz on life-and-death decisions W ebsite extract: W orst-case scenarios Grammar Articles
Making decisions Company crises Phrase bank Decision-making
Giving advice on w orst-case scenarios or workplace
p63 Listening
dilemmas
Inserting m issing articles into two texts Advice on surviving w orst-case scenarios
F luency Holding a crisis m anagem ent m eeting D ecision-m aking m eetings
k}' In company interviews Units 8 - 1 0 Case study; Coca-Cola crisis

Reading
11 Analyzing attitudes to stress in the workplace
Identifying techniques for m anaging stress Article on helping colleagues manage stress
People siciiis: Stress Listening
F luency Helping a sta ff m em ber in a stressful
p70
situation Talk on stress m anagem ent
Eight m anagers counselUng their staff

Management Identifying effective pitching techniques Reading

scenario C: Using Cialdini’s six principles of influence Article on building donor circles
Pitcli and persuade F lu en cy Pitching a new project i3' In company in action
p72 C l: A failed pitch
C2: An effective pitch

Discussing how to deal w ith emails Reading Vocabulary Prepositional

12 Correcting errors in an email Extracts on emailing phrases
Emailing Shortening and simplifying an email Listening Grammar Future forms
p 74
Adding the personal touch to an email Podcast: what your emails say about your Phrase bank Emailing
Choosing an appropriate email style career prospects
F lu en cy W riting and answering emails Radio program m e: The biggest email
blunders ever made

Identifying effective presentation openings Reading Vocabulary M etaphor

13 Identifying rhetorical techniques Book extract on opening a presentation Grammar Rhetorical
Making an impact Listening
Rephrasing to add impact techniques
p82
Identifying ways of closing a presentation Presentation openings Phrase bank Opening and
F luency Producing a prom otional presentation Extracts from political speeches closing a presentation
for a new country Closing rem arks from four presentations

Discussing business travel and packing habits Reading Vocabulary Storytelling

14 Identifying ellipsis in conversation Extracts from The Accidental Tourist Grammar Narrative tenses
Out and about Listening Phrase bank Sharing
Striking up a conversation
p89 People talking about th eir worst flying
Telling an anecdote anecdotes
F luency Chatting over a business lunch experiences
feil' In company interviews Units 1 2 -1 4 Conversations over lunch

Reading
15 i! Identifying inform ation needed for delegation
Discussing m anagem ent styles Blog p ost on delegation
People skills: F luency Effective delegation and appropriate Listening
Delegation P resentation on m anagem ent styles
m anagem ent styles
p96
Three m anagers delegating tasks

Management Discussing im plem enting change successfully Reading

scenario D: Identifying the stages for m anaging change PowerPoint slide on m anaging change
Change champion F luency M eetings to im plem ent change In company in action
p98 D l: Im posing changes
D2: Managing change

Discussing p otential uses o f tele- and Reading Vocabulary Teleconferencing,

16 videoconferencing facilities W ebsite extract: Business benefits of Personnel and production
Teleconferencing Telepresence
Discussing action in a crisis Grammar Reporting
plOO
Completing the m inutes o f a teleconference Emails about a film shoot Phrase bank Teleconferencing
R oleplay Holding a teleconference Listening
An unexpected phone call
An em ergency teleconference

N egotiating a tricky situation Reading Vocabulary Negotiations

17 Identifying negotiating tactics Analysis of a negotiation Grammar Diplomacy and
Negotiating deals F luency N egotiating a contract Article about the music business persuasion
p l0 7
In company interviews Units 1 6 - 1 7 Listening Phrase bank Negotiating
Negotiations
People talking about negotiating strategy
M eeting: signing a new band

Discussing the qualities of a good m ediator Reading

18 I Identifying th e stages of m ediation Article about causes o f conflict at work
People skills: ; F lu en cy M ediating betw een colleagues Listening
Mediation Poor and positive m ediation
p ll4 1

Management Staying assertive in m eetings Reading

scenario E: M ediating to resolve a conflict PowerPoint slide on assertiveness
Moral quarrel F luency A conference call m ediation ^ In company in action
p ll6 E l: A failed m ediation
E2: A successful conference call

Additional material p l l 8 Listening scripts p l3 9

CO NTENTS 5
 Business or pleasure?
1 How im p ortan t do you th in k it is to actually like the people you do business with?

A ll things being equal, people

2 Read these two short extracts from different business articles. Is the p oint they are
making equally valid in your country?
will buyfrom afriend. A ll
things being not quite so
equal,people will still buy
from afriend. A study at the Stanford University
School of Business tracked MBAs
Mark McCormack, What They
Don't Teach You a t Harvard ten years after they graduated. The
Business School result? Grade point averages had
no bearing on their success - but
their ability to converse with others
did. Being able to connect with
D o you ever do business others through small talk can lead
with friends? to big things.
When Jack Welch gave a guest
lecture at MIT’s Sloan School of
Management in 2005, someone in
the crowd asked, ‘What should we
be learning in business school?’
W elch’s reply: ‘Just concentrate
on networking. Everything else you
need to know, you can learn on
the jo b .’

Learning objectives:
Unit 1
Business communication
skills Discussing corporate
entertainm ent; Sharing
inform ation to select
appropriate corporate events
for clients; Avoiding saying
‘no’; Paying and receiving
compliments; Fluency: Keeping
up a conversation
Reading Inform ation on four
corporate events in the UK
Listening People chatting at
corporate events; Discussing
corporate entertainm ent
3 How good are you at small talk? Are you com fortable talking to strangers? You are
Vocabulary Small talk going to practise netw orking w ith a business contact,
Grammar Tense review a Note down som e inform ation about yourself in the chart below.
Phrase bank Making
conversation Current job
Birthplace Languages Interests Travel Studies
or employer

So, how are you

enjoying...?
Isn’t this weather...?
Where are you from
originally... what’s it
like?
Am I right in thinking
you...?
Ah, I see. So ...?
Oh, that’s interesting,
because I ...
Really? That’s a
coincidence!
So, tell me more about...
b W ork w ith a p artn er to set the scene o f your conversation. W here are you - at a
Well, it’s been nice
conference reception, a social event, in th e coffee break a t a training sem inar?
talking to you.
C Swap personal inform ation w ith your p artn er and use this and the scene you built up
in b as th e basis fo r your conversation. How long can you keep the conversation going?
Use th e language in the box on the le ft to help you.

4 How did the conversation go? W hich topics had th e m ost m ileage? Did you find
anything in com m on?
Corporate entertainment
1 The world econom y has had its ups and downs, b u t many com panies continue to
invest in corporate hospitality. In un certain econom ic tim es, can this kind o f spending
be justified? How can en tertain in g clients and colleagues be good for business?

2 Complete the extract from a corporate e n terta in m en t com pany’s website using the
words in the box. Are you persuaded by what it says?

box clients cuisine experience members office

relationships seats service setting team viewing

W'Tiat better way to build and maintain (a )-------- . wi th key (b ).

and to reward star ( c ) ----------------------o f your (d ). than to offer them a
unique and unforgettable (e )--------------- far away from the pressures and constraints
of an (f )______________ environment? WTiether it’s front row (g) __________ at
the Metropolitan Opera in New York, a \T!P (h )______________ at the World Cup
Final, a private ( i) ______________ at the Guggenheim Gallery' in Bilbao or fine French
( j) ______________ at the Paris Ritz, we can provide the ideal (k )______________
and first-class (1)_________ . that will leave your guests simply saying ‘Wow!’

3 ^ 1.01 A group o f Russian businesspeople, who are about to collaborate w ith you
on a m ajor in ternational p roject, are visiting your London office. As part o f th e planning
com m ittee, it’s your job to decide on a special event to celebrate their visit. Listen to some
o f the considerations o f the other com m ittee m em bers and take notes.

4 W ork in two groups to find out about four different events you could take your Russian
visitors to. Group A tu rn to page 1 1 8 . Group B tu rn to page 1 2 9 .

5 W ork w ith a p artn er from the oth er group and discuss th e options. Prepare to present
your recom m endations.

i
Making conversation
1 ^ 1.02-1.03 Listen to som e businesspeople chatting at two o f the corporate events
you discussed, and answer the questions.
C onversation 1
a W h at’s the connection betw een Helen Keating, Ja n ie s M cRae and Alan Sullivan?
b W hen Helen asks Jam es ‘M ind if I jo in you?’, how does he reply?
N--------------- a-----------------a------------------ B----------------m___________ g______________
W hat excuse does Helen m ake for leaving the rest o f the party?
Two o f the following m ean ‘That can’t be tru e’. W hich two?
You’re joking!
You’re fooling!
You’re kidding!
Helen and Ja m es use several expressions to refer to m em ories. Can you rem em ber the
first three words o f each expression? Contractions (it's, y ou ’re etc) count as one word.

1 ___________________________________________ som ewhere before?

2 ----------------------------------------------------------------- me to forget a face.
3 ----------------------------------------------------------------- recognized you.
4 ----------------------------------------------------------------- back to me now.
5 ----------------------------------------------------------------- rem em ber spending m ost o f the evening
trying to avoid som e annoying little guy called Alan.

C onversation 2
a How would you describe relations betw een M r Ishida and M r Thompson?
warm amicable cordial cool strained frosty
b M r Thompson uses the word ‘so’ five tim es during the conversation:

W hy does he need to use it so often ? W h a t’s the equivalent word or expression in your
own language?

C M r Ishida says h e ’s too old to play table ten nis now. Mr Thompson replies ‘Oh, I’m sure
th a t’s n o t tru e.’ Is he:
paying M r Ishida a com plim ent? calling M r Ishida a liar?
d M r Thompson tries to use his background knowledge to keep the conversation going.
Complete his rem arks below.
1 I h______________ you’re quite a tennis fan.
2 I u______________ the Jap an ese are world table tennis cham pions.
3 Is_ . the Nikkei’s looking strong. That m_ - be good news
for you.
e W hat word is M r Ishida avoiding by saying th e following?

N ot a t th e m om en t, th an k you. N ot really. N ot especially.

N ot any more. It
A s a m a tter o f f a c t , ...
 2 W ork with a partner. Practise avoiding saying ‘n o ’ by playing the no-no game.

o-no Play
Imagine the tw o of you are chatting
at a conference or corporate event.
Take it in turns to make wrong
assum ptions about each other using
Your objective is to get the the lists as a starting point but adding
Prepare
other person to say ‘no’. Their remarks of your own if you can.
Write down six false (but believable)
objective is the same. Use the
statements about yourself, your I h ear y o u ’re based in Rotterdam.
useful expressions below to
job, your family, your interests, your I understand y o u ’re a keen golfer
help you to avoid saying ‘no’.
com pany or your country. When you I believe yo u r com pany’s about to be
are ready, swap lists with a partner. W hoever says ‘no’ first loses. involved in a m erger

3 1.04-1.05 Listen to som e businesspeople chatting at the other two corporate

events you discussed and answer th e questions.
C on versation 1
Not very.
a How would you describe the H am iltons? Compare your im pressions w ith a partner,
Not really.
b Put the words in the following greetings and introductions in the correct order, adding
Not especially.
punctuation where necessary.
Not exactly.
Not yet. 1 Dan call please me 3 m entioned nam e Ju lia n ’s course your of
Not any more. 2 m eet last to b oth pleasure at a you 4 Fiona calling me mind do don’t you you
Not at the moment. you?
Not as far as I know.
It’s com m on when som eone jo in s a group at a party to tell them a b it about the
Actually, ...
conversation you’ve ju st been having. Complete the sentences w ith the words in
As a matter of fact, ...
the box.

discussing saying talking trying wondering

1 _ what a marvellous party this is.

2 . these new tax laws th ey ’re bringing in.
We were ju st 3 - about you - how are things?
4 - what this pile of dirty laundry was doing in an art gaUery.
5 _ to work out what this whole thing m ust have cost.
W hy does Dan say to A listair ‘I wonder if we could have a word?’ when they’re already
talking?
All the expressions below m ean 'I’m going’. W hich also m ean ‘bu t I’m com ing back’?
Som e o f them were in the conversation you ju s t listened to.
I t’s been nice talking to you. ________ Would you excuse me a m om ent?
I’ll have to be going. I’ll be right back.
If you’ll excuse me. Is th a t the tim e?
Don’t go away. I’ll catch you later.
f Are you a fan o f contem porary art?

C onversation 2
a Do Tom and Ricardo do a deal?
b W hat expression does Tom use to switch from discussing m otor racing to discussing
business?
T___________o___________ races, how’s the South African bid going?
C Complete the expressions below. They were all in the conversation you ju st listened to.

G lad . . make it. 5 S o ,. . person you wanted

1 ___ . m issed it for the world. m e to m eet?
There’s . like you to m eet. I ____________ . two know each other
Can’t __ . standing there with already.
an em pty glass. I’l l __________ . two to chat. See you
later.
 d W hat do the following rem arks tell you about Ricardo and Elisa’s relationship?

L on g tim e no see. ^ N eith er hav e you!

You h av en ’t chan ged a bit.

Ricardo a n d I g o h ack a long way. I ’ll have w h atev er y ou ’re having.

4 W ork w ith a partner. Practise paying and receiving com plim ents.

You’re looking well! ms " ■ ■■

Great to see you again ...
I (really) like your ...!
mutua Play
When you are ready,
Where did you get it/
them?
aDDreciation • start exchanging complim ents
with your partner
By the way, you did GAME
• respond to each com plim ent
a great job in the
Prepare you receive in an appreciative
meeting/presentation
Spend a few minutes thinking of but m odest way.
the other day.
Compliments on your com plim ents you could pay your partner. See who can give the most
brilhant project design! Use the expressions on the left to help you. com plim ents in under a minute!
You really know how to
captivate an audience!
Great presentation
5 They say ‘Flattery will get you everywhere.’ How im portant is it in your culture to give
style. com plim ents? Can com plim ents be risky? How?

6 According to Dale Carnegie, author o f the best-selling people skills book How to Win
F riends an d Influence People, ‘You can m ake m ore friends in two m onths by becom ing
interested in oth er people than you can in two years by trying to get people interested in
you.’

W ork w ith a p artn er to practise keeping up a conversation.

• F irst choose ju st three ‘h o t b u tto n s’ from the list below - topics you are especially
in terested in talking about, but don’t tell your partn er what they are!
• Then take turns to ask each other questions from the list. W henever your p artn er asks
you about one o f your h o t b u tto n s, you should speak enthusiastically about the topic
for a m inute or so. If the topic is n o t hot, th en ju st reply very briefly and ask your next
question.
• W henever one o f you h its a h o t b u tto n, you score five points. W hen you m iss, you lose
one point.
• The game ends a fter ten m inutes or when one o f you has h it all the oth er’s h ot
b u tto n s. W hoever has the m ost points at the end o f the game is th e winner.

ot buttons
Topics C onversation starters H o t or not?
WORK How's business? 1h e a r... Hot / N ot
RECENT NEWS Have you heard about ...? ... news, isn't it? H o t/N o t

THE ECONOMY 1see the stock markets are ... H o t/N o t

It's probably a good tim e to ...
SPORT Are you into sport at all? H o t/N o t
Did you see the gam e/m atch on ...?
MUSIC W hat kind o f music are you into? H ot / N ot
Have you heard ...'s latest album?
MOVIES Have you seen any goo d films lately? 1quite liked ... H o t/N o t
TRAVEL Do you g e t to do much travelling? H ot / N ot
Have you ever been to ...?
FOOD/DRINK Shall we g e t ourselves ...? H ot / N ot
W hat w ould you like? How about ...?
 LANGUAGE LINKS

01 Business or pleasure?
Vocabulary Grammar

Small talk Tense review

1 Put the conversation in the correct order, 1 Try to com plete the tense quiz in under five m inutes.
a We were ju st talking about this new sports centre they’re 1 He leaves a t five m eans
building. Do you play any sport at all, Kim? \J\ a today b every day C either
b Oh, right. Thanks for telling me. Incidentally, have you 2 We ’re having a m eetin g means
still got my Coldplay CD? O a now b soon C either
C Did you? Me too. I was never any good, though. O 3 P rofits w ent up. Are profits up now?
d Me? Well, n ot really. 1 used to play a b it o f football. Q a yes b no C maybe
e No, me neither. Talking o f football, did you see the m atch 4 P rofits have g o n e up. Are profits up now?
last night? O
a yes b no C maybe
f Yeah, I sent it yesterday. Oh, that reminds me. Clive said
5 H e’s gone. Is he here?
to tell you he won’t be able to make Thursday’s meeting.
a yes b no C maybe
He said h e’d call you. O
6 I’ve ju st been . Am I back?
g Against Real Madrid? No, I missed it. I had to go to a
a yes b no C maybe
birthday party. Q
7 W hen I arriv ed h e was ju s t leaving. Was he there
h No problem. Oh, before I forget. I’ve got two tickets to
when I arrived?
see them in M anchester if you’re interested. [U
a yes b no C we don’t know
i N otyet, no. Why, are you doing som ething? O
8 W hen I arriv ed h e ’d ju st left. Was he there when
j Pity. It was a great game. On the subject o f parties, have
I arrived?
you made any plans for New Year’s Eve yet? O
a yes b no C we don’t know
k No, nothing special. By the way, sorry to talk business,
but did you rem em ber to send that estim ate to Clive? Q 9 I’ve tried to p h on e her. Am I still trying?
1 Are you kidding? O f course I’m interested! I’ve never seen a probably b probably n ot C we don’t know
them live. O 10 I’ve b een try in g to con tact h er all morning.
m Oops! Yeah, sorry. I m eant to give it back to you. I’ll bring Am I still trying?
it in tomorrow. Thanks for lending it to me. Q a probably b probably n o t C we don’t know

2 Find six expressions in 1 to guide the conversation or 2 Read th e em ail and underhne the b est gram m atical
change the subject. choice in each case.

T_ . o f ...
From: Charles Wellcom e
B_ - the w_
To: Deborah Newton, Stephen Clark, Willem Maes,
B_ . I f ____ Tatiana Korbutt
T_ . m e ,, Subject: This year’s client hospitality event

0_ _ s___ . o f ... Dear all

As you (1) know / are knowing, the annual client
3 W hich words and phrases in 1 could you replace with hospitality event (2) is fast approaching / will fast
the following? approach. As of yet, we (3) did not m ake / have
Not so far. not made a final decision on where to hold it this
Not to worry. year. One or tw o of you (4) already came forward /
have already com e forward with suggestions,
Nor me.
w hich (5) are currently considered / are currently
Shame. being considered. However, as we (6) will have to /
So did I. are having to make the necessary arrangements
Are you joking? quite soon, I’d like everybody’s input on this asap.
CONTINUE >
 < CONTINUE You use the Past Perfect to emphasize that one event
happened before another in the past {By the time I left college,
What I particularly (7) want / am wanting to avoid is
a repetition of the fiasco from last year’s showjumping I ’d already decided I d idn’t w a n t to be a lawyer),
event. First, very few of our clients (8) had / were w ill is a modal verb and, amongst its other uses, one o f many
having even the remotest interest in the sport. And ways o f talking about the future { I’l l see you later).
the atrocious weather (9) meant / was meaning
that we (10) walked / were walking backwards and
forwards through the mud between the show ring and Phrase bank: Making conversation
the hospitality tent all da y The whole thing
Complete the tips on how to m aster the art o f small
(11) was / has been a com plete disaster. People
talk w ith the words in the box.
(12) still complained / were still complaining about
it six months later! break bring change compliment
contradict start
This year we (13) have planned / had planned to
do something more cultural like going to the opera or 1 Use what you already know about people to
even a musical, but (14) I’ve wondered / I’ve been ______________up a conversation.
wondering if this is a good idea. A musical event
□ □
(15) doesn’t seem / isn’t seeming to be the best
place to network or to have a quiet, friendly chat! 2 Try t o ______________people into conversation
w ith others you know.
I (16) do think / am thinking, however, that an indoor
□ □
event (17) makes / is making most sense, so can I
ask you to (18) think / be thinking along those lines 3 Show enthusiasm ; pay people you know well the
over the next few days? (19) I’ve scheduled / I’d occasion al______________
scheduled a meeting for next Friday to discuss the □ □
matter further. So, (20) I’m speaking / I’ll speak to 4 Be careful n o t t o ______________ people too directly.
you all then.
□ □
5 ______________the subject sm oothly by referring to
You use the Present Simple to talk about permanent facts
what others have said.
{ I’m Spanish), routines {Iget home at seven each ev en in g and
□ □
scheduled future {The bus gets in at one).
6 D on’t ______________ off the conversation too
You use the Present Continuous to talk about current,
abruptly at the end.
perhaps temporary, activities and situations { I ’m staying at
the H ilton) or future arrangements { I’m fly in g to Rome in the □ □
m orning.
Now m atch two phrases to each o f the tips above,
Som e ‘state’verbs like think, know, understand, need, w a n t
a I hear you speak Cantonese, is th a t right?
and seem are not generally used in the continuous form
unless the meaning is different: I think = I believe;
b Kenichi, th ere’s som eone I’d like you to m eet.

I ’m thinking = I ’m considering something. C Well, it’s been really nice talking to you.

You use the Present Perfect to talk about things that started d I’m afraid I’ll have to be going. But let me give you
in the past and continue up to the present { It’s rainedfor my card.
a fortnight), personal experiences no m atter when they e I understand you work for 3M .
happened {I’ve only ever snowboarded once) and things which f You’re looking well. Been on holiday?
have an immediate consequence {I’ve lost my car keys). W ords g Congratulations on the prom otion, by the way!
like already, yet and since are often in the same sentence as a h Funny you should say th at, som ething very sim ilar
present perfect verb. happened to me.
You use the Present Perfect Continuous to talk about I Well, th a t’s n o t entirely true, bu t I know what
things that started in the past and may be recently you mean.
completed or not yet completed {She’s been rearranging her
j On the subject o f the merger, have you heard the
ojfce. I ’ve been working here since January 2002).
latest?
You use the Past Simple to talk about finished past actions
k L et’s see what M ax thinks. M ax, we’ve got a
or states {Istudied engineering at Oxford, I was a happy child).
question for you.
Phrases like last week, a year ago, in 2006, etc make the time
I Actually, it’s n o t as bad as you m ight think.
reference clear.
You use the Past Continuous to talk about an action in
progress in the past {The company was losing money). The
Past Continuous gives the background to more im portant
events which are in the Past Simple at a specific time in the
completed past.

I f aproblem causes many
meetings, the meetings
eventually become more
important than theproblem.
Arthur Bloch, Murphy’s Law
How do you ensure that
meetings are kept to a
minimum?
Learning objectives:
Unit 2
Business communication
skills Describing attitudes
to and content of meetings;
Paraphrasing information;
Pointing out discrepancies;
Dialogue-building using the
language of m eetings; Fluency:
Breaking bad news and writing
a report
Reading Meeting: breaking bad
news
Listening A meeting: problems
with a product; Five meetings:
discrepancies; The language of
meetings
Vocabulat7 Meetings
Grammar Conditionals
Phrase bank Debating issues
fc>ln company interviews
Units 1 -2
Information exchange
1 Roughly how m uch o f your working week do you spend in m eetings?
2 Read th e well-circulated web joke below. Is this anything like the m eetings you take
part in?
Lonely? Hate taking personal You c a n :
responsibility? Rather talk • c a tc h u p o n th e la te s t g o ssip
about it than do it? • c o n n p la in a b o u t w o rk
• flirt
Then why not HOLD A MEETING! • ta k e a n a p d u rin g Pow erPoint
p re s e n ta tio n s
• c h a t, tw e e t o r e m a il o n y o u r
s m a rt p h o n e
• sh a re w h a te v e r's o n y o u r m in d
• p ra c tis e a ll th e la te s t buzzw ords
• o fflo a d n a s ty jo b s o n to a b s e n t
c o lle a g u e s
• re s c h e d u le m issed d e a d lin e s
• p o s tp o n e d e c is io n s
• fe e l im p o rta n t
A n d a ll in w o rk tim e !
M E E T IN G S The practical
alternative to work
3 The language o f business is constan tly changing; phrases such as face time, cloud
computing and exit strategy come and go. W hat are som e o f th e current ‘buzzwords’ in
your line o f business?
4 W ith a partner, try to com plete the buzzword dictionary definitions below by writing
in the m issing vowels.
1 A change o f m nds t m eans com pletely rethinking your attitu de and approach to
som ething.
2 A com pany’s c r c mp t nc s are its strength s, the things it does
particularly well.
3 P _ _ _ r _ d — g m s h i f t is a fundam ental change in the way som ething is done.
4 To be p r ct v is to make things happen rath er th an waiting for them to
happen. Always having Plan A, B or even C, if necessary!
5 To s y n rg z m eans to com bine strengths and ben efit from working together as
a team .
6 To t h i n k ____ t s d th b x is to th in k in totally new and creative ways.
7 To d r 11 d w n is to go into m ore detail.
8 G etting b y- n from people m eans getting th eir support for a proposal or project.
9 To take a business to t h n xt 1 v 1 m eans to expand it and make it more
com petitive.
10 You need to do a r 1 ty c h c k when you’ve lost touch w ith the real world.
11 T h _b t t ___ m l i is the essential point in a discussion.
12 Looking at t h b gp ct r is looking a t the situation as a whole.
13 To b n ch m r k is to use a successful com pany’s standards to m easure and improve
your own.
14 To r _m p __ p production or sales is to increase them .
15 E m p ___w r m n t gives employees the confidence and authority to take control
_
o f th eir jobs.
 5 ^ 1.06 You’re going to play a game th a t’s becom e popular w ith bored executives the
world over - buzzword bingo! First, tu rn to page 1 1 9 and choose a bingo card. Then listen
to a m anager in a corporate sales m eeting and cross off the buzzwords as he uses them .
The first person to cross them all off and shout ‘Bingo!’ wins the game.

6 Som e o f the things you m ight really want to discuss in an inform ation-sharing
m eeting are listed below, b u t the second word in each pair has been switched with another
in the same column. Switch them back. The first two have been done for you.
production m argin s i - b 1 quality cam paigns c 1 custom er budgets
balance appraisals 2 sales chains 2 recru itm ent se ttin g
m arket channels 3 advertising co n trol 3 salary su p p ort
sta ff sh eets 4 cost developm ent 4 training relatio n s
profit m ethods i -------- 5 supply projections 5 price procedures
distribution tren d s 6 product cu ttin g 6 IT reviews

7 W ork with a partner. Take turns to explain one o f the term s in 6 and see if your
p artn er can guess which one it is. How many can you get right in two m inutes?
It's predicting how m any products you think yo u ’ll sell.
‘M arket trends’?
No.
Oh, you mean ‘sales projections’?
Right.

Making things clear

1 How direct are people from your country when it comes to doing business? Complete the
diagram below with the nationalities in the box. Then check your answers on page 137.

American Brazilian British Chinese French

German Indian Italian Japanese Russian

10
1^
Direct Indirect
Barry Tomalin and IVIil<e Nicl<s, The World's Business Cultures and How to Unlock Them

2 In m eetings, especially in indirect cultures, people are som etim es reluctant to say
exactly what they m ean - especially if they have bad news! M atch the vague statem en ts to
th eir blu nt equivalents.

Vague Blunt

a I'm sorry to report tlia t the project lias not been a 1 Our assembly plant may be closed down too.
complete success. — -— --------------------
2 Sales are falling.
b Technically speaking, we have run into negative profit.
3 People are going to lose their jobs.
c I think there's a general lack of consumer confidence.
4 It's failed.
d You know we've always been a market-driven
5 We'll have to hold another meeting!
organization.
6 We've made a loss.
e Now is not the time to expand, but to consolidate.
7 Let's do nothing.
f There will have to be some restructuring of the
department. 8 We've never had an original idea.

g We may also have to consider outsourcing production

to cut costs.
h Of course, we won't be able to finalize anything today.
 3 1.07 A com puter games com pany has had problem s w ith its latest product.
Listen to an extract from their m eeting and check your answers in 2.

4 Sum m arize the m eeting you ju st listened to using the notes below. Listen again
if you need to.

Quasar Online Gaming System

Considerable investment in design and marketing - project not a com plete success - negative
tii profit - disappointing sales - lack of consumer confidence - Sony and Nintendo innovate - we clone
technology - do it cheaper - a market-driven organization - market massively oversupplied - bad
rj time to expand - good time to consolidate - departmental restructuring necessary - possibly
outsource - cut costs - assembly plant closure likely - schedule another meeting - final decision

5 W ork w ith a partner. Take turns to read out the vague statem en ts below. The other
person should paraphrase them in a m ore direct way using the expressions in the box and
the words in brackets.

In other words, ... So what you’re (really) saying is ...

What you (really) mean is ... You mean ...

a The results so far have been rath er disappointing, (disastrous)

b We may currently be overstaffed in the custom er relations departm ent, (lay-offs)
C Head Office’s reaction to th e idea has n o t been as positive as we hoped, (hate)
d Sales have n o t yet m atched our original projections, (not selling)
e The m arket doesn’t seem to be as buoyant as it used to be. (dead)
f The p roject is likely to cost rath er m ore than we anticipated, (over budget)

Queries and comments

1 ^ 1.08 Listen to sh o rt extracts from five m eetings. Each contains one piece of
inform ation th a t doesn’t m ake sense. W hen each extract pauses, work w ith a p artner and
decide what the discrepancy is. Then listen to the rest o f the extract and check.

2 W ork w ith a p artn er to practise pointing out discrepancies. Speaker A see page 1 1 9 .
Speaker B see page 1 2 8 .

3 ^ 1.09 Listen to an extract from a m eeting. A CEO is breaking som e bad news to the
board. W hen the conversation pauses, w rite the board m em bers’ queries and com m ents
using the notes in brackets to help you. Then continue listening and check. The first one
has been done for you as an example.
a (say/fall short/projections again?)
A n' twu siiiiinn thcn'vc fiiHcn short projections aiuiin?
b (suggest/introduce/price cuts?)
C (surely/not say/time/phase them out!)
d (this mean/should/invest more/new technology?)
e (tell us/could be lay-offs?)
f (m ean som e kind/job-share schem e?)
g (so/say/should/spend more/R&D)
h (this mean/think/centralize distribution?)
i (hope/not suggest/situation/hopeless)

4 The following phrases and expressions were all in the m eeting you ju st listened to.
Reverse the m eaning o f each by changing th e word or words in bold. The first one has
been done for you as an example.
a disappointing figures d run at a loss h overseas distributors
encouratvmi fiiji-trcs e phase them out i inflated prices
b fall sh o rt o f projections f the unions oppose it j volatile m arkets
C m iss our targets g slide into debt
5 Turn to page 1 4 1 . Look a t th e listening script o f the m eeting you Hstened to in 3 and
answer the questions.
a How many exam ples o f conditional senten ces and expressions are there?
b Apart from if, which three words are used to link the conditional to the m ain clause?
C Only one o f the conditional senten ces refers to the past. W hich one?
d W hy is th e past tense used in the following example from the m eeting?
Even i f w e d ecid ed to do that, an d it ’s a big if, it w ould ta k e tim e to im plem ent.
e I f only it w as th a t sim ple (line 29) means:
I wish it was th a t simple. ____ Idoubt it’s th a t simple. __
f Were not really in a position to invest in anything, even i f w e w an ted to (lines 3 0 -3 2 ) means:
We don’t want to invest in anything.
W anting to invest would m ake no difference.

The language of meetings

1 W ork with a partner. One word will com plete each o f the following extracts from
m eetings. Can you agree what it is? If you need help, tu rn to page 1 2 2 .

a A scheduling meeting
A Right. Basically, tiie
B But we're not in a
A 1know. Jan, what's your
b An IT meeting
A Look, it's not just a
B Ofcoursenot. It'salsoa
A B utthat'soutofthe
c A marketing meeting
A Sales are down. One
B That's no longer an
A Well, then we've no
d An HR* meeting
A Well, there's no easy
B 1don't think that's the
A That might have been the
e A strategy meeting
A Now, let's not make a
B Well, I've no
A No, but that's not our
f A CRM** meeting
A I'll get straight to the
B 1agree w ith you. But the
A That's beside the
is this: the contract is ours if we want it.
to take on another project right now, are we?
on this?
of software, Alessandro.
of hardware. The entire system needs upgrading.
We can't afford that kind of capital outlay.
would obviously be to cut our prices.
for us. We're barely breaking even as it is.
but to rethink our whole marketing strategy.
to this, but how about voluntary redundancy?
but maybe we could reduce people's hours.
if we didn't already have a strike on our hands!
out of this. What if we just pulled out of Sudan?
w ith that, but our partners won't be happy.
is it? The political situation is just too unstable.
We're getting too many customer complaints.
is we don't have the staff to deal with them.
We shouldn't be getting them in the first place!

g A crisis meeting
A I'm afraid the is serious. And if the press get hold of the story,.
B Look, we'll deal w ith that if and when it arises. Let's not panic just yet.
A You're right. What this calls for is calm and careful planning.
h A budget meeting
A The is, we're simply not spending enough on R&D.
B As a matter of we've doubled our R&D budget this year.
C That may be so, but the remains we're losing our technological lead.
* Human Resources
** Customer Relationship Management
 2 ^ 1.10 Listen to the m eeting extracts in 1 and check your answers.

3 Now decide which o f the words in the box on page 1 2 2 will com plete the following
sen ten ces and m atch them to what they mean.
That’s a m atter o f ______________ You’re wrong!
I th in k th a t raises a d iffe re n t______ I disagree!
Yes, b u t look a t it from my p o in t o f . That’s unim portant!
Actually, th a t m ight n o t be a b a d __ That’s irrelevant!
That’s n o t a n ______________ Good point!
W hat gave you t h a t ______________? W hat about me?

I’ve been asked to Breaking the bad news

Inform you th a t...
1 Your com pany was recently acquired by a form er com petitor in a hostile takeover.
It seems/appears th a t...
The new board o f directors has decided it’s tim e for a serious shake-up. Each o f you has
I’m afraid th a t... b een chosen to announce at a special interdepartm ental m eeting som e o f the changes
It’s felt th a t... they would like to see im plem ented. Speaker A tu rn to page 1 1 8 . Speaker B tu rn to page
The following options 1 2 8 . Speaker C tu rn to page 1 3 3 . The phrases on the left may help you to prepare.
are being explored ...
The suggestion is th a t... 2 W hen you’re ready, take tu rn s in your group to presen t the proposals. They could be
The basic idea is to ... controversial, so:
In addition, what’s being
• put them forward one step at a tim e and get reactions from th e group before moving
proposed is ...
on to the n ext step
This would obviously
• invite discussion o f each proposal and take notes on any com m ents or alternative
suggestions
• even though you yourself may n o t be in favour o f the proposal you put forward, you
should a t least initially show loyalty to your new bosses by sounding positive.

dkMB In company interviews 3 W rite a m em o to the board outlining the reactions to the proposals you presented at
b i f ' Units 1 -2 your m eeting.
02 Information exchange
Vocabulary n Well, I haven’t given / tak en it much thought.
0 I’m fo r / w ith you there.
Meetings p To my m eaning / mind, it’s like this,

M etaphor: discussion is a jou rney q To a p oin t / an e x te n t you’re right.

1 A lot o f the language o f discussion refers to journeys. 3 Categorize th e expressions in 2 according to their
Read the conversation and underline the references to purpose.
m ovem ent and travel. There are 20. 1 asking for an opinion
Ian returns to the boardroom to find th e m eeting 2 giving an opinion
in chaos ... 3 giving no opinion
Ian Sorry about that. Had to take a phone call from 4 agreeing
Bangkok. So, are we any nearer a decision? 5 disagreeing
Erik Not yet, bu t we’re getting there. I th in k we’re more 6 half-agreeing
or less on the right track, anyway.
Sonia Are we? I’d say we’ve got a long way to go yet.
We ju st seem to be going round in circles.
Grammar
Erik Well, we were m aking good progress before we got
sidetracked, Sonia. Now, returning to the question Conditionals
o f logistics ... Put a cross n ext to th e ending (1 - 3 ) which isn’t
Ella Sorry, bu t could I ju st go back to what I was saying gram m atically possible and th en correct it.
earlier about freight charges? The first one has been done for you.
Sonia Hang on, hang on. Aren’t we getting ahead of a As long as we’re well prepared, ...
ourselves here? We haven’t got as far as discussing 1 we’ve got nothing to worry about. /
tran sp ortation yet, Ella ...
2 we couldn’t go wrong. X
Erik We don’t seem to be getting very far at all! 3 we’ll be fine. /
Ian The conversation seem s to have drifted a little u’t’ ain 't no u’rona.
while I was away ... I can’t quite see where all this is
b I’ll send them an e m a il...
heading.
1 if you’ll tell me what I should say.
Erik W e’ve certainly wandered away from the m ain
2 if you think it’s w orth it.
topic. Now, logistics ...
3 provided I hadn’t lost th eir address.
Sonia I was ju s t com ing to th at. In my opinion, this whole
plan is totally im practical.
Ian I don’t th in k I like the direction this discussion is C If you’re going out, ...
going in. Okay, look, we’ve covered a lot o f ground 1 you’re going to miss the m eeting.
this m orning, but I th in k th a t’s about as far as we 2 you’d b e tte r take an um brella.
can go at the m om ent. 3 I come w ith you.
Erik Now, ju st a m inute! We haven’t com e this far to
break off now, surely ... d Do th a t ...

Idiom atic expression s 1 and you’ll regret it.

2 if you’ll get the opportunity.
2 In the fixed expressions below, delete the word you 3 - we’ll lose business.
wouldn’t expect to hear.
a So, what do you reckon / guess? e I’d stay and help you ...
I wouldn’t go quite as fa r / m uch as that.
1 if I’m n ot going out this evening.
W here do you stan d / sit on this? 2 if I hadn’t prom ised J o I’d m eet her.
Well, th at goes w ithout saying / speaking.
3 if you asked me nicely.
I don’t mind e ith e r / each way.
I’m afraid it’s n ot so / as simple as that,
f I’d be g ra te fu l...
g Any responses / reaction s? 1 if you could so rt this out for me.
h The way I view / see it is this, 2 if you’d keep this to yourself.
i I wouldn’t / couldn’t say that,
3 if you don’t tell anyone about this.
j Yes and no / No and yes.
k I can ’t / couldn’t say, to be hon est.
I I’d like us to share / sp are our views on this.
m Oh, come on / off it!
 LANGUAGE LINKS

If he actually said th a t to her, ... You can use any tense in either h a lf (clause) o f a conditional
1 she’d kill him. sentence.
2 I’d have been very surprised. As well as if, unless, as long as and providing/provided (that),
3 he m ust have been mad. you can also use and as a conjunction in a conditional
{Do that a n d w e’ll get complaints) or no conjunction at all
{Do th a t - w e ll get complaints).
I wouldn’t have asked you ...
C onditional clauses can come either first or second in the
1 unless I tru sted you.
sentence. However, with and or no conjunction, conditional
2 if I’d known this would happen.
clauses come first.
3 if you didn’t say you wanted to do it.
You can put w ill or would in the conditional clause ( I f you’ll
w a it here. I ’ll go and get herfor you; I ’d be grateful i f yo u ’d give
If it hadn’t been for him , ... this m atter your serious attention), but this is unusual.
1 I’d still be working at Burger King. The Past Sim ple in a conditional can refer to the past
2 I’d have got th a t job. {Even i f I d id m eet her, I ’m afraid I don’t remember her), to a
3 I hadn’t had a chance. future possibility { I f I resigned tomorrow, I could get another
job w ith in the week) or to an unreal situation ( I f I spoke
Italian, I'd phone her myself, but I don’t).
Conditionals with the Past Perfect can refer to the effects o f
the past on the more recent past { I f you’d m ade a backup, we
wouldn’t have lost the whole document) or on the present
{ I f I ’d g o t that job, I could he earning a fortune now).

Phrase bank: Debating issues

A small num ber o f words account for quite a lo t o f the language o f m eetings and discussions.
One noun will com plete each o f the sets o f expressions below:

I agree w ith you up to a . T h e ___________

That’s beside t h e ---------- T h e ___________ , rem ains t h a t ...
That’s n o t t h e --------------- As a m atter o f .
That’s ju st m y --------------- In a c tu a l_____
T h e ______________ is ... D espite t h e __ . t h a t ...
Okay, - . taken. In view o f the . — t h a t ...
I’ll get straight to the . e __________
G o o d --------------------- W e’ve n o ____
That’s n o t a n .
That’s out o f the . O n e _________ .w o u ld b e ...
G oo d ___________ . two would be ...
It’s n ot a ----------- - o f that. A nother _ _________ would be ...
It’s n ot ju st a _ o f ... f ____
I t’s also a ____ . o f ... There’s no _
The (re a l)____ - is ... W h a t’s t h e .
c _________
We’re n ot in a . . to ,
W hat’s y o u r__ . on this?
This puts us in a very d ifficu lt.
I’m in n o ______________ to ...
 ■ir

Learning objectives:
Unit 3
People skills Strategies and
techniques to build rapport;
Fluency: Building rapport with a
colleague
Reading Top tips for building
rapport; Training manual
checklists
Listening Two meetings to
discuss teleworking
Rapport
1 W hat is the m an in the cartoon
trying to do? W hat is he doing wrong?
2 W hat strategies or techniques can
you use to build rapport w ith people
PR^ WIUCINS vvIOOlD &0 TO/>NY l£M6TH5 TO DB/EIQP
who are different from you? A RACPOKT WITB HIS VOUMSER. PATIENTS...
3 Read the web article below and decide on a one-word title for each tip. How many of
th e techniques you discussed in 2 are m entioned?

Five top tips fof building rapport

Even if you’re having a bad day, d o n ’t
forget the basics: make eye contact,
smile and be sincere. Be sensitive
to cultural differences in areas like
greeting people, respecting personal
space and making small talk.
Take tim e to find com m on ground.
Finding a connection through your
education, experience, fam ily or
interests brings you closer and helps
build trust. But always be sincere; in
the long run, inventing shared interests
or experience will only lead to trouble!

Set your personal fashion sense

aside until the weekend and try to
look like the other person. This could
mean ‘dressing to im press’ in formal
business meetings, but also dressing
down in a technical or creative
workplace. Your clothes, hair,
make-up, nails, jewellery, beard or
tattoos all send messages about you
and your values.
Matching and mirroring the other
person’s speech, behaviour and
thought processes is something
that comes naturally to good
com m unicators. A dapt your body
language and the way you listen and
speak to synchronize with the person
you are dealing with.

Use your emotional intelligence

to create empathy. Developing an
awareness of how feelings and
emotions influence attitudes and
behaviour will allow you to accentuate
similarities and minimize differences
between yourself and other people.

4 Look a t th e photographs and describe the body language. W hich o f the five techniques
in 3 are being used?
 PEOPLE SKILLS

5 ^ 1.11 Listen to a director from Head Office in the US talking to the HR m anager
o f a subsidiary in sou thern Europe about a new telew orking policy. Discuss the questions
w ith a partner.
a How does each person speak? D escribe th eir voices.
b Im agine a video o f the m eeting. W hat do you th in k Jaco b and Helena look like?
D escribe th eir body language.

6 ^ 1.11 Listen again and answ er th e questions.

a How do Ja co b and Helena feel about the new policy and about each other?
b W hy do Ja co b and Helena fail to build rapport?

7 Com plete the checklist from a training m anual using the words in the box.

compromise crossed deep husky mirroring outcome restricted small

staccato subtle

Matching and mirroring

O bserve, m atch and m irro r the follow ing:
Gestures: with the hands o r the head, large o r (1 ). expansive o r (2 ).
Posture: relaxed o r tense, leaning fo rw a rd o r back, arm s o r legs together, a p a rt o r (3 ).
Facial expressions: positive o r negative, open o r closed, o v e rt o r ( 4 ) ---------------------
Breathing: fa s t o r slow, shallow o r ( 5 ) ____________ , regular o r irregular
Voice: high or low, loud or soft, cle a r o r ( 6 ) ____________
Speech: slow o r fa st, fluid o r ( 7 ) ________ -, confident or hesitant
Key w ords and phrases

M irror, pace, lead

Mirror: adapt your gestures, posture, expressions, voice, etc to the o ther person.
Pace: m ake subtle changes, m oving tow ards a ( 8 ) _____________ th a t is co m fo rta b le fo r both of you.
If the other person does not follow you, go back to ( 9 ) _____________
Lead: when the o ther person has m oved to w a rd s your pace, lead them to w a rd s the desired
( 10) ________________

8 How easy to use are the tips and techniques in 3 and 7? Do you find any o f them
insincere or even m anipulative? W hy? W hich o f the tips and techniques could you use the
n ext tim e you need to build rapport w ith som eone?

9 ^ 1.12 Listen to a second version o f the m eeting in 5. How have Ja co b and Helena
changed the way they com m unicate? How do you im agine th eir body language has
changed?

10 W ork w ith a p artn er to practise your rapport-building skills. Speaker A see page 138,
Speaker B see page 1 29 .
 M AN A G EM EN T
SCENARIO

Culture clash

Learning objectives:
Management
scenario A
Business communication skills
Identifying potential cultural
differences; Avoiding a culture
clash; Fluency: A m eeting to
discuss a merger
Reading Cultural sensitivity
checklist
^ In company in action
A l: A culture clash;
A2: Positive cross-cultural
understanding

1 How would you describe your organization’s culture? Are your colleagues different
from th e people in other departm ents or com panies you have worked in? Think about
relationships, attitudes and com m unication styles.

2 Read the m em o below and answer the questions.

a W hat kind o f organizations are GWA and Blue Rock?
b W hy have they merged?
C W hy do you th in k Sue Je n s e n wrote th e m em o?
d W hat kind o f culture clashes should m anagers anticipate when sta ff from two different
organizations share office space?

Re: M erger

From: Sue Jensen, CEO

To: All staff
Re: Merger

As you are all aware, our merger with Global Water Aid was com pleted last month.
The first of many synergies we hope to achieve will begin on Monday when staff
from GWA’s headquarters will be moving into our London office. This will mean a
certain am ount of reorganization to fit everyone in, but we expect everything to be
up and running in 48 hours.
GWA and Blue Rock share the same goals: to build a world where every man,
woman and child has access to safe drinking water and sanitation. GWA have over
40 years o f experience of developing sustainable solutions to water, sanitation, and
hygiene problems. Although Blue Rock is a much younger organization. I’m sure
I d o n ’t need to remind you of our recent achievements in building partnerships,
lobbying national and local governm ent and setting up clean water programmes in
the developing world. Together, we will be even stronger; with more resources, more
expertise and more diverse talents at our disposal, our vision of a world with clean
water for all has just com e a step closer.
I know I can count on you to give our new colleagues a warm welcome.

In company
in action ' 3 Now watch video A l to see th e first m eeting betw een Ed Ryan o f Blue Rock and Ja ck
W right o f Global W ater Aid. W hile you watch, tick the cultural differences th a t are
referred to.
power distance age and gender roles dress code
com m unication style attitudes to tim e attitudes to humour
body language personal space attitudes to socializing

22 A CULTURE CLASH
 MANAGEMENT SCENARIO

4 Put Ed and Ja c k ’s words in the correct order. W hich cultural difference in 3 does each
phrase illustrate?
a around cerem ony don’t here on stand We.
b busy one That’s very woman! assistan t Your?
c M inister th e So, m eeting today you?
d joking only Relax, I’m!
e at back be by desk forty-five I’m my one supposed to.
f along bring don’t her too W hy you? / m errier m ore, The the!

5 M atch the beginnings (1 - 6 ) w ith the endings (a - f) in this slide on cultural sensitivity.

CULTURAL SENSITIVITY CHECKLIST

1 understand your own culture and
2 suspend judgem ent while
3 identify and share
4 respect differences and resist
5 use language sensitively;
6 be objective and positive;
a observing and analysing other cultures
b com m on values, beliefs, goals and attitudes
c be aware of differences with others
d be inclusive - prefer ‘w e’ to ‘I’ or ‘you’
6 keep trying however difficult it may be
f the tem ptation to make converts

6 Using the checklist above, give exam ples o f how Ed and Ja c k could have avoided
a culture clash.
Have you experienced sim ilar situations, for example when working abroad or with
different n ationalities? Give exam ples o f what w ent wrong, or how you avoided a clash.
In company
in action 7 Now watch video A2 to see a second m eeting betw een Ed and Ja c k and answer
the questions.
a How have Ed and Ja c k ’s attitu des to th eir own and to each o th er’s cultures changed
since th eir first m eeting?
b W hat do they decide to suggest?

8 Complete the phrases from the video and then m atch each phrase (1 - 6 ) to the positive
attitu de or cross-cultural understanding (a -f) it illustrates.
1 we got off on the w ro n g . a sharing com m on attitudes to
2 when th e ca t’s __________ m anagem ent
3 I’d b e tte r try to blend in w ith the b accepting lim itations
C sharing com m on goals
4 to take a lea f out o f y o u r. d showing willingness to adapt
5 if it can’t b e -------------------- e recognizing m istakes
6 a fter all, we’re all in this . f being prepared to learn from another
culture
C om m ittee m eeting

9 W ork in small groups. You have been invited to jo in a com m ittee to help sta ff adapt to
a merger betw een your two com panies. Speaker A see page 1 1 8 , Speaker B see page 1 20,
then discuss the agenda below. W hen you have finished, use the checklists on page 1 2 3 to
help you evaluate your perform ance.

A g en d a

1 Fo r discussion - cultural differences and potential Fo r decision - policy and guidelines for the new
problems: organization:
Power distance Work organization: office hours and layout
Gender/age roles Equal opportunities
Dress code Dress code
Time Compensation
Socializing Socializing

A CULTURE CLASH 23
 Voice and visuals
1 W hen you stand up to speak in public, what keeps an audience interested in what
you’re saying? Expertise or enthusiasm ? Visual im pact or vocal range? PowerPoint or
natural presence?
I do not object topeople
looking at their watches
when I am speaking. But I
2 You are going to read about power and public speaking. First test your com municative
awareness below by underlining the correct inform ation.
strongly object when they
start shaking them to make
certain they are stillgoing.

Lord Birkett, British judge

Test your communicative awareness r

How do you keep your L
audience’s attention when The attention span of the average audience member is 1 5 1 50 minutes.
you give a presentation? People in an audience are distracted roughly every 12 seconds I minutes.
The best listeners are the Germans and Swiss / Chinese and Japanese.
Learning objectives: Using visual aids makes your message twice as I fou r times
Unit 4 more memorable.
Business communication
It’s been proved that presentations with visuals are 23% 1 43%
sl<ills Doing a quiz on how to
command attention; Giving, more persuasive.
feedback on a presentation;
The brain processes images 40,000 /400,000 times faster than text.
Using visuals in a presentation;
Analyzing the voice in It’s a fa c t/m y th that only 7% of a presentation is what you actually say
presentations; Fluency: Giving
a speech People generally prefer lower / louder voices.
Reading Articles on voice and Mrs Thatcher was trained to speak in a lower, more authoritative /
visual impact
softer, friendlier voice.
Listening Voicemail; Presenters
giving inform ation in different Dutch / Spanish women have the lowest female voices.
ways; Radio programme: drama
for business; A Shakespeare Mens / Womens voices are gradually getting deeper.
speech
What people see / hear overrides what they see /hear every time.
Vocabulary Presentations
Grammar Modal verbs 1 Images and speech are processed by the sam e /opposite sides
Phrase bank Describing and of the brain.
commenting on visuals r- ^ 4
■ 14 For over 100 years the US presidential election has been won
by the taller candidate 70% / 90% of the time.

3 W ork w ith a p artn er to check your answers in 2. Each read a different web article
opposite. Then share your inform ation.

4 Do any o f th e points m entioned in th e articles surprise you? If true, what are the
im plications for a business presenter?

5 H ighlight the following in the article you read and explain why you chose them to
your partner:
• three new words you’d like to rem em ber
• three new phrases you’d like to rem em ber

24 0 4 VOICE AND VISUALS

LJJ LO
IS A N Y B O D Y L I S T E N I N G?
u z Long before it is born, a baby can recognize its mother's
AN ORATOR AS P RE S I DE NT
The US presidential elections in both 2008 and 2012
voice. And it is said that our sense of hearing is the last were classic cases of the triumph of the charismatic
to fade before we die. As unique as our fingerprints, our voice, with Barack Obama putting the art of rhetoric into
voice is a l<ey component of our personality. Indeed, the the spotlight. His catchphrase'Yes, we can'has passed
word 'personality' itself comes from the Latin 'persona', into American history and he has already been described
which literally means'through sound'. as the greatest orator of his generation. But New York
professor Ekaterina Haskins has a theory about that. 'I've
But, In our televisual age, we tend to shut out what we
been going through his speeches textually,'she says.'The
hear and be over-influenced by appearances. Maybe
text alone cannot tell us why they are so
that's why in nearly 90% of US presidential elections
powerful. It is about delivery.' Philip
since 1900, the taller, usually better-looking, candidate
Collins, who used to be Tony Blair's
has been the winner! The attention span of the average
speech writer, agrees. It's'the way
audience member is just 15 minutes. In the more self-
he slides down some words and hits
disciplined and data-hungry cultures of Germany and
others - the intonation, the emphasis,
Switzerland it might be half an hour. But even the most
the pauses and the silences.'To become
attentive listener is distracted roughly every 12 seconds.
leader of the western world Obama's
H O W LOW CAN YOU GO? only visual aid was himself
The rest was voice.
Is there anything we can do to hold their attention? There
is some evidence to suggest that a low voice is preferred
in both men and women. Former British Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher famously hired a voice coach to lower
her voice. And, except in Japan, where higher female
voices are preferred, it can be no coincidence that over the
last 50 years, as women have risen to higher management
positions in the workplace, their voices have measurably
deepened - in the Netherlands, where women have
achieved almost equal opportunity, especially so.

- I H
< U T R U T H , LI ES A N D V I S U A L AI DS
It's the oldest cliche in communication training: 55% of the message is how you look,
3 < 38% is how you sound and a mere 7% is what you say. But it's wrong! The original
research on which this myth is based was carried out at UCLA in the 1970s. Involving
just a handful of volunteers, the experiments actually focused on how people judge
others'feelings and had nothing to do with creating impact in a talk. So if your suit,
slides and winning smile fail to impress, take it easy. All is not lost.
What is true is that, if your body language is saying one thing and your words another,
people will believe what they see. When we're nervous or ill-prepared, our body
language tends to give us away.

P OWE R P OI N T L E S S ?
Of course, good visual aids do powerfully reinforce your message. In fact, according to a
study by 3M, audiences shown visuals are four times more likely to remember what you
said and 43% more likely to be persuaded by it.
But it depends what you show them. The typical list of bullet points, for example,
can actually compete with you. At one stage, this became such a problem at Sun
Microsystems that CEO Scott McNealy banned the use of PowerPoint. Images, on the
other hand, are mentally processed 400,000 times faster than text and appeal to the
opposite side of the brain, making them the perfect accompaniment to speech.

A WH OL E NEW I MAGE
No-one knows this better than ex-US vice-president Al Gore.
Once the invisible man of American politics, after his presidential
election defeat in 2000, Gore returned to his true passion and
began an environmental lecture tour that literally took the world
by storm. Ditching PowerPoint for Apple Keynote, he created a set
of dramatic visuals, video clips and computer simulations that caused a
sensation around the world. Speaking to a thousand different audiences, in
what Fast Company magazine has called 'one of the most remarkable personal
turnarounds of all time', Gore went on to become the champion of the green
movement, the star of the Oscar-winning movie/An Inconvenient Truth and winner of
the Nobel Peace prize. He readily admits that he owes it all to a slide show.

04 VOICE AND VISUALS 25

Giving feedback
1 W ork w ith a p artn er to practise giving and receiving feedback on a presentation.
Speaker A see page 1 2 0 . Speaker B see page 1 3 8 .

2 1.13 Listen to the voicem ail from your Taiwanese client following the
presen tation in 1. Discuss his reaction w ith a partner.

Visuals
1 W hen you give presen tations, what visuals do you use?

DVDs flipchart handouts PowerPoint slides samples websites

2 Read the book extract. Do you share th e author’s doubts?

Death by PowerPoint
Are you risking 'Death by PowerPoint’? This is when you inflict on your
defenceless audience endless bullet-pointed slides, keywords and clipart that
look pretty, yet cumulatively create a numbing effect and loss of impact. Beware
of spending more time on the technology than on preparing yourself.
Remember, you are the presentation. ^
Adapted from The Ultimate Business Presentation Book by Andrew Leigh

3 All th e expressions below can be used to com m ent on a visual in a presentation.

Complete them using the verbs in the box.

draw give have learn m ention notice point put see show

In trod u ction ______________ a look at this. As you c a n ----------------------, . . .

H ighlights O ne thing you’ll
vou’ll im m ed iately _____
______________ is t h a t ...
I’d particularly like t o -------------------- your atten tio n to ...
I’d also like t o ______________o u t ...
And perhaps I sh o u ld --------------------
C on text Ju s t t o --------------- . you som e o f the background to this ...
T o ______________ this in to som e kind o f perspective ...
Conclusions Clearly then, what these fig u res______________ is ...
The lesson we can . . from this is ...

4 Draw a simple graph or ch art relating to an interesting aspect o f the business you’re in,
the com pany you work for, or your cou ntry’s economy. Use som e o f the expressions in 3 to
presen t it to the class.

Voice
1 How m ight pausing som etim es be the m ost effective thing a speaker can do? Read
what com m unication expert Courtland Bovee has to say about the power o f the pause.

A pause is more than just a way to vary your speaking rate. It’s also an important
way to add emphasis and meaning to selected phrases and sentences. You can
insert a pause to allow an audience a moment to think about an idea, to indicate a
shift to a new idea or to a new section of your speech, or to heighten anticipation
of your next idea.

From Contemporary Public Speaking by Courtland L. Bovee

2 ^ 1.14 Listen to three presen ters speaking in different ways. Decide which
presen ter sounds:
1 fluent and confident.
2 fluent b u t boring.
3 h esitan t.

a There’s a whole m arket in Eastern Europe ju st there for th e taking,

b Quite frankly, the results we’ve been g etting are absolutely incredible.
C Now, I’m sure I don’t need to tell you ju s t how crucial this is.
d N et profits are up 97% - yes, 97% .
e Would you believe th a t so far we’ve n ot been able to sell a single unit?
f M iss this deadline and we’ll lose th e biggest client this com pany’s ever had.

3 W hy does the boring presen ter sound so m onotonous?

4 W hat exactly is the h e sita n t p resen ter doing wrong?

5 ^ 1.15 W ork w ith a partner. Listen again to the fluent and confident versions.
One o f you should m ark the pauses like this: | The other should underline the stressed
words. Compare your results. W h a t’s th e connection betw een where we pause and what
we stress?

6 ^ 1.16 Deliver all the sen ten ces in 2 in a fluent and confident way. Experim ent with
longer pauses and stronger stresses. Then com pare your version with the recording.

7 Ip? 1.17 According to Swedish businessm an Ja n Carlzon, ‘All business is show

business.’ Listen to an extract from a radio program m e on how several training companies
have taken his opinion literally, and discuss the questions.
a Would W illiam Freem an’s advice help you face a business audience?
b W hat does M ichael Lame th in k classically trained actors can teach business people?
C According to Richard Olivier, what m akes som eone a brilliant speaker?
d W hich o f the train ees’ opinions would be closest to your own?

8 W ork with a p artn er to m ake your Shakespearian debut! Read through the
Shakespeare speech on page 2 8 and take turns to be th e actor and director. Don’t worry -
the speech has been slightly m odernized!
• Decide where you are going to pause - m ark sh o rt pauses like this: |longer pauses like
this: I I and very long pauses like this: | | |
• Underline th e words you are going to stress: usually nouns and verbs, b u t som etim es,
for dram atic effect, you can stress pronouns and conjunctions.
• Highlight in different colours parts o f the te x t you really want to project, even shout,
and parts you w ant to say quietly or perhaps whisper.
• Try the speech a few tim es, the actor speaking, the director giving advice and feedback.
W hen you are ready, have fun perform ing it!

DIViSUALS 27
¥
 9 ^ 1.18 Listen to the speech below. How does your perform ance compare w ith the
recorded version?

10 Prepare a 90-second presen tation on a work or business topic th a t is im portant to

you. Try to keep som e o f the power and drama from your Shakespeare speech in your
voice as you present.

Kenneth Branagh
as King Henry in Henry V
The story so far:
The English army has fought a long
hard campaign in France and now
they face their final battle at Agincourt.
They are heavily outnumbered and the
soldiers are exhausted and almost ready
to surrender. Heniy's generals, Bedford,
Exeter, Warwick, Talbot, Salisbury
and Gloucester, do not really believe
they can win. Henry knows he must
somehow build confidence and self­
belief in his troops if they are to stand
even the remotest chance of victory.
And so he tells his men not to wish for
a bigger army, since ail the glory can
now be theirs ...

The motivation speech:

If we are going to die, we are enough
To cause our country loss; and if to live,
The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
This day is called the Feast of Crispian.
He who survives this day, comes safely home.
Will hold his head high when this day is named
And stand up at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live today and see old age
Will celebrate it yearly with his neighbours
And say: ‘Tomorrow is Saint Crispian'.
Then he'll roll up his sleeve and show his scars
And say: 'These wounds I got on Crispian's Day'.
Old men forget; yes, all will be forgotten;
But he'll remember all too well
W hat he achieved that day. T hen will our names:
Harry the king, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester,
Be between cups of wine newly remembered.
This story will the good man teach his son;
And Crispian will never go by.
From this day to the ending of the world.
But we shall be remembered for it -
We few, we fortunate few, we band of brothers;
For he today who sheds his blood with me
Will be my brother. However poor and humble.
This day will make of him a gentleman.
And gentlemen in England, now in bed.
Will curse the fact they were not here.
And question whether they are really men.
While anyone speaks who fought with us
Upon Saint Crispian's Day!
 LANGUAGE LINKS

0 4 Voice and visuals

Vocabulary M etaphor: tre n d s and developm ents

4 Complete the joke by m atching each noun or noun

Presentations phrase on the le ft to a verb or verb phrase on the right.
Comm enting on sta tis tics Use a dictionary to check the literal and m etaphorical
m eaning o f the verbs, if necessary.
1 Put the following verbs and verb phrases in order from
And on th e sto ck m a rk e t tod ay ...
the b est news to the worst.
m ountaineering equipm ent totally collapsed
almost halved increased tenfold more than tripled m ilitary hardware were up and down
nearly doubled plateau’d quadrupled
lifts w ent up sharply
a _________________________ kitchen knives - peaked
b __________________________ bu t the housing m arket boom ed
Sales have C ________________________________ A fte r a n ervous s t a r t ...
d _________________________ rubber quickly recovered
e _________________________ medical supplies sh ot up
f _________________________ the autom otive industry ■bounced back
rifles picked up after lunch
Which o f the above m eans the same as a fourfold increase?
and vacuum cleaners also rallied

2 M atch the adjectives w ith ones which have a sim ilar

In som e o f th e fiercest tra d in g seen in th e City ...
meaning and put them in order from the biggest to the swimwear h it rock bottom
smallest. m ining equipm ent com pletely dried up
ice skates ■plunged
considerable huge massive moderate
and th e m arket fo r raisins slipped a little
modest reasonable significant slight
By close o f tra d e ...
a fireworks rem ained unchanged
b bu t paper products fell dramatically
m crease
c m en’s socks were stationary
d and th eatre curtains ■skyrocketed

3 Describe the following success rates using suitable 5 M ark the verbs and verb phrases in 4 according to the
adjectives from the box. trend they describe: up ( ^ ) , down ('^ ), up and down (A<),
disappointing disastrous encouraging miserable down then up (V') and no change
phenomenal promising spectacular unimpressive

a .9 5 %
b .6 5 %
a(n)
c .2 5 %
d .3 %
Grammar
success rate
Modal verbs
1 In each o f the sentences below, delete th e modal verbs
th a t are incorrect.
a We ... now, bu t we can if we want.
(m ustn’t pay/don’t have to pay/haven’t got to pay)
b 1 ... my laptop, so I le ft it at th e office.
(needn’t take/didn’t need to take/needn’t have taken)
C We ..., if we’d known he w asn’t com ing in today.
(didn’t need to wait/mustn’t wait/needn’t have waited)
d W hen I was a stud ent, I ... for hours on end.
(’d study/would have studied/used to study)
e I ... quite left-w ing, bu t I’ve becom e more conservative.
(used to be/would be/must have been)
f I took my driving te st three tim es before 1 ... pass,
(could/was able to/managed to)
2 Complete the conversation using th e modal verbs in M odal verbs have to, have g o t to and m ust m ean th ere’s an
the box. o blig atio n to do som ething.
don't have to and h a ven't g o t to m ean th e re ’s no oblig atio n to
can’t can’t could have could have ’11 ’11 might
do som ething.
must must have needn’t have shouldn’t won’t
m m tn 't m eans th e re ’s an o blig atio n n o t to do som ething.
would have wouldn’t
I needn't have done m eans I did som eth in g b u t it wasn’t
A Ivan, (1 ). . Alexis be here by now? necessary; I d id n ’t need to do m eans it wasn’t necessary so
It’s gone four! I didn’t do it.
Yeah, she (2) _ got held up somewhere. w o u ld do m eans used to do fo r repeated past actions.
But ( 3 ) _______ . she have phoned? ^he should have le ft m eans / expect she's left or She's supposed to
Well, you ( 4 ) _________ thought so. have left o r I t w o u ld have been a good idea i f she’d left.
I mean, we’re only having this m eeting for her benefit. Y ou use w as able to (n o t could) to talk about a specific past
If she doesn’t come soon, we ( 5 ) --------------------- achievem en t.
bothered. That m ust be h im is th e opposite o f That can’t be him .
Quite, though I ( 6 ) -------------------- th in k what w ill is th e m o st versatile m odal verb and can be used for
( 7 ) ______________ held her up. I ( 8 ) ______________ offers, spontaneous d ecisions, assum ptions, pred ictions and
ring her and see w hat’s going on. That’s to express w illingness or d eterm in ation .
funny, I ( 9 ) ______________find her number.
I ( 1 0 ) ______________sworn I put it in my diary.
It ( 1 1 ) ______________ be in here somewhere!
Well, if you ask me, she ( 1 2 ) ----------------------be coming
now, anyway.
Hang on. That ( 1 3 ) _____________ ju st be her now.
I ( 1 4 ) _____________ go and check.

Phrase bank; Describing and commenting on visuals

All the following phrases and expressions can be used to describe and com m ent on visual aids.
Add them to the chart according to th eir function.

INTRODUCTION HIGHLIGHTS

CONTEXT CONCLUSIONS

a Have a look at this ... 1 To put this in to perspective, ...

b W hat these figures clearly show is ...
c I’d particularly like to draw your a tten tio n to ...
d As you can see, ...
e I th in k this dem onstrates ...
f Ju s t to give you the background to this ...
g I’d like to point o u t ...
h I’ll ju st talk you through i t ...
j W hat this m eans is ...
k The take-hom e m essage here is ...
1 Okay, le t’s take a look a t ...
m One thing you’ll notice is ...
n The lesson we can learn from this is ...
0 L et’s run th e video ...
P I’ll ju s t show you how this works ...

Mostpeople spend more time
and energy ^ in g around
probkms than in trying to
solve them.
Henry Ford, founder of Ford
Motor Company
W hat’s your top tip for
problem-solving?
Learning objectives:
Unit 5
Business communication
sitills Discussing phone usage
and its usefulness; Dealing with
'chatterboxes’; Complaining and
dealing with complaints; Toning
down ‘flames’; Speculating about
a problem; Fluency: Solving
problems on the phone
Reading Article on
‘chatterboxes’
Listening Someone dealing with
a 'chatterbox’; Someone dealing
with a customer complaint;
People discussing a problem;
People solving a problem
Vocabulary Phone, tablet
and email
Grammar Complex question
formation
Phrase bank On the phone
Problems on the phone
1 It’s been said th a t ‘W hen the phone rings, th ere’s usually a problem on the oth er end
o f it.’ W hat so rt o f problem s do people phone you w ith at work? Have you ever had to deal
w ith a chatterbox? Share exam ples w ith a partner.
2 Complete the article below by underlining the correct words.
HOWTOGET RID OF CHATTERBOXES ONTHE PHONE
We are living in the age of telephony. Over half the planet now owns a mobile. China has the
biggest mobile phone market worldwide. Over 70% of the population uses a mobile phone.
Whenever we want, wherever we want, we can get in (a) communication / touch.
But when we do, it seems we can never get to the (b) point / business. Up to two hours in every
working day are wasted in small talk on the phone. And great skill and determination are needed
to escape the deadly game of social chit-chat-'How are you?... Settling (c) in / down to the new
job?... How's Ellen?... And the kids?... Hasn't your eldest just gone to college?... How (d) life/
time flies!... Oh, I hear you're moving house as w ell.... Did you have a nice holiday, by the way?
... I suppose you haven't heard the (e) last / latest, then?... Well, I'm not supposed to say, but
there's a (f) rumour / gossip going about...'
Of course, what you really want to say in these circumstances is,'Look, I haven't got all
(g) year / day. Either state your business or kindly get off the phone,' but professional courtesy
forbids it. Here, then, is the definitive executive guide to getting rid of chatterboxes on the phone,
GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS
The most tactful way of bringing the conversation round to the subject of business is
to ask in a slightly louder than normal voice, 'What (h) can / could I do for you?' If
you know the caller, you could try, 'I (I) expect / believe you're calling about...'
and then mention anything you can think of They, hopefully, will reply,'Er, no,
actually, it's about something else'and you can finally (j) pull / cut the chat and
get down to business. Should this strategy fail, you may have to resort to a firmer,
'Was there (k) nothing / something you wanted to talk to me about?'
ENDING THE CONVERSATION
This is more difficult. The trick is not to seem too abrupt 'Anyway,...', though a
clear signal to most people that you want to end the call, is much too subtle for
chatterboxes. Try instead,'Well, I mustn't (I) hold/keep you','I'll let you (m) get/go
on'or the more insistent,'I'll have to let you (n) go/leave now.'lf you feel that
sounds a little too harsh, friendlier alternatives include, 'Well, (o) listen / see, it's
been great talking to you', 'We must (p) come / get together soon' or, 'Oh, one
last (q) thing / point and then I really must go.'Of course, with an incurable
chatterbox this last alternative may be asking for trouble!
DRASTIC MEASURES
In genuine emergencies the following may be used:'Ah,
someone's just this minute (r) dropped / stepped into
the office. I'll have to ring (s) o ff/o u t'Or,'I've got an
international call just come (t) in / over on the other line.
Can I call you back?'And, if all else fails, you can always try,
'Hello? Hello? Are you still (u) there / here?' Of course the
secret with this one is that when the caller says, 'Yes, I'm
still here,'resist the temptation to reply'Well, I can't
hear you!'
3 Do you agree w ith the article th a t small talk on th e phone wastes tim e at work?
4 ^ 1.19 Listen to som eone trying unsuccessfully to get a caller off the phone. Raise
your hand when you hear them use one o f the expressions m entioned in the article in 2.
5 Work w ith a p artn er to practise dealing w ith a chatterbox. Speaker A see page 1 20.
Speaker B see page 1 2 8 .

Dealing with complaints

1 In 2 0 0 9 Am erican businessm an Howard Schaffer got so fed up wasting tim e trying
to get th e phones in his office fixed, he worked ou t it had cost him $ 5 ,4 8 1 .1 6 , billed the
phone com pany for it and was paid! Have you ever wanted to do th a t to a company th at
wasted your tim e?

2 W hen was th e last tim e you made a form al com plaint about som ething? Was it in
person, in w riting or on the phone?

3 Put th e following stages o f handling a custom er com plaint into the m ost likely order:
suggest possible solutions
get the details
end on a positive note
agree on a course o f action
greet and reassure the caller
listen and em pathize

4 W hich o f the following expressions would be m ost inappropriate at each o f the stages
in 3? Delete one from each set o f three below. Then underline which o f the rem aining two
you prefer.
S tage 1
a How can I help you?
b W hat can I do for you?
C W h at’s the m atter, then?
S tage 2
a Can you tell me exactly what the
problem is?
b W hat exactly is your problem ?
C W hat seem s to be the problem ?
S tage 3
a Tell me about it! I know ju s t how you feel,
b I can understand exactly how you feel.
C I can understand how up set you m ust be.
S tage 4
a Well, I suppose I could send you a new one, b u t I can’t give you a refund. Sorry,
b I can’t give you a refund. I’m afraid, b u t I can certainly send you a new one. How’s
that?
C Unfortunately, we’re n o t authorized to give refunds, bu t what I can do is send you a
brand new one. How would th a t be?
S tage 5
a Is th a t all okay for you?
b Are you satisfied now?
C Are you happy w ith th at?
S tage 6
a I’m so pleased we’ve m anaged to so rt this out. Was there anything else?
b Glad to be o f assistance. Is there anything else I can help you with?
C Good. Anything else or is th a t it?

5 ^ 1.20 Listen to a custom er services adviser a t iDeals, a com puter supplies retail
chain, dealing w ith a com plaint. Compare what she says w ith your choices in 4.
6 A ‘flam e’ is an angry or insulting email. Have you ever received or been tem pted to
w rite one?

7 Read the ‘flam es’ w ith a partner. Im agine you wrote one to your partner, th en phone
him/her. Take tu rns to hold the conversations. Caller, be as direct as you like. Receiver, try
to calm the caller down and deal w ith their com plaint.

Why do you never answer your phone? May I suggest you turn your mp3 off
occasionally?
W hat I w ant to know is, are you making any progress on the Samsung report or not?
And if not, why not? No, d o n ’t even bother answering that. I already know you’ve
been far too busy with more im portant matters to even get round to starting It.
Correct?
Look, I asked you to type up this report ages ago and you know full well I’ve got to
have it fo r Thursday’s meeting with the people from head office.
This is the second tim e you’ve fouled things up and I’ll be reminding you of that
when your probationary period finally ends.
So, I’ll ask you once again. WHEN WILL THE SAMSUNG REPORT BE READY?

For the third tim e this week, WHERE IS OUR ORDER?

We ordered $15,000 of shirts from you three - yes, three - months ago and so far
w hat have you sent us? That’s right, nothing! Not so much as an email to explain
w hy it’s taking so long. This is an utter disgrace.
You call yourselves the w o rld ’s leading prom otional products com pany and you
can’t even manage to organize 6,000 polo shirts w ith a sim ple com pany logo on.
Frankly, It’s pathetic. I notice you had no problem debiting our account fo r the
$15,000, though.
I’m sure it’s too m uch to expect an apology, but if I d o n ’t see those shirts w ithin the
next 48 hours. I’ll see you in court. GOT IT?

8 Rewrite your em ail from 7 to m ake it m ore polite bu t equally assertive. Use the
prom pts below.
a U nfortunately / unable / reach / phone
Can / tell / m anaging / m ake / progress / Sam sung report? // having / problem s /
please let / know / soon / possible // understand / been preoccupied / oth er m atters /
may n o t / even / made a sta rt yet / although / hope / n o t / case
did ask / som e tim e ago / this report / as you know / do need / urgently / Thursday’s
m eeting / people / head office
not / first tim e / let m e down / consequently / shall have / discuss / m atter / when /
probationary period ends
really m ust know today how / longer / going / take
b again w riting / regard / order / re f no 0 9 9 X
records show / order / $ 1 5 ,0 0 0 / shirts / placed th ree m onths / bu t so far / received
anything // Nor / sen t / em ail explaining / reason / delay // afraid / quite unacceptable
You advertise / world’s leading prom otional products company // therefore / find /
inability / take care / simple order like this b oth surprising / disappointing // notice /
however / were m ore efficient / debiting / account / sum / $ 1 5 ,0 0 0
should like / delivery / 4 8 hours / to g eth er / apology // O therw ise / no alternative /
hand / m atter over / legal d epartm ent // hope / made m yself clear

9 Exchange the rew ritten em ails w ith your p artn er and hold th e two telephone
conversations again. How do these calls com pare w ith the ones you had in 7?
Tackling problems
1 ^ 1.21 Listen to an overheard
telephone conversation. Take notes and,
w ith a partner, try to work out what the
problem is.

It sounds like ...

It seem s as though ...
There’s been som e kind o f ..., by the
sound o f it.
I’m n o t (exactly) sure w hether ...,
or w h e th e r...
I t’s definitely som ething to do w ith ...

2 ^ 1.22 Now listen to b o th sides

o f the conversation in 1 and check
your ideas.

3 You heard th e following idiom atic expressions in 2. Can you rem em ber the missing
words? The first two letters are given. Use the definitions in brackets to help you.
a I’m working fl______________ out. (I’m working as quickly and as hard as possible.)
b It com pletely si______________ my mind. (I com pletely forgot to do it.)
C W e’re sn______________under at the m om ent. (W e’ve got too much work to deal with.)

4 W hat would you do in Graham and P io tr’s situation?

5 ^ 1.23 Listen to Graham and P io tr’s second conversation and com pare your
solutions w ith theirs.

6 M atch the sen tence beginnings (a -n ) to the endings (1 - 1 4 ). You heard them all in 5.
a Can you get hold 1 o f sending som eone else out here?
b I don’t suppose 2 to have a phone num ber for the prom otions people?
c Do you happen 3 getting som e brochures to me in Polish?
d Is there any chance 4 o f the organizers?
e I’ll check 5 w hat I can do, bu t I can’t prom ise anything.
f I’ll see 6 w ith Liz and see if she can spare Kim for a few days.
g Would you m ind 7 you rem em bered to put an oth er laptop in?
h Is there any point 8 the m inute I get o ff th e phone.
i Are you absolutely 9 if we got a local Polish in terp reter in?
j I’ll look in to it 10 to me.
k Could I ask you 11 in sending the ones we’ve got in Russian?
1 Would it help 12 to th a t right away.
m I’ll get on 13 to hu rry th a t up a b it, please?
n Leave it 14 sure we didn’t order a reprint o f the Polish ones?

7 W ork w ith a p artn er to practise solving problem s on the phone. Speaker A see
page 1 2 0 . Speaker B see page 1 3 0 .

8 Would you follow up the phone calls you had in 7 w ith em ails or m eetings? Why?
Do problem s and com plaints need all three m ethods o f com m unication to get resolved?
 LANGUAGE LINKS

05 Problems on the phone

Vocabulary Grammar

Phone, tablet and email Complex question formation

Complete the telephone conversation using the words in Polite question form s
the box. Rewrite the requests and offers to make them sound
around as back by down down for in off friendlier and m ore polite using the words in brackets to
off off on on on on on on out out help you. Make any necessary changes to grammar,
out up up up up under a Can you tu rn the air conditioning up a bit?
(think/could)
A design agency office is in chaos. The ph on e is ringing.
Dt’ ui’ii thin k iHH! a n th i turn th e a ir ccuditiottincj up a hit?
Tina finally an sw ers it.
b Can you help m e? (wonder/could)
A Hello? Tina Mallon.
B Tina. Thank goodness you’re there!
C D on’t m ention this to anyone else, (could/ask you)
A Hi, Geoff. W h at’s ( 1 ) ______________?
B Listen. I’m ( 2 ) ______________ a b it o f a m ess here.
d Can you do som e overtim e n ext week? (think/could/
A W here are you?
ask)
B I’m ju st ( 3 ) ______________my way to see the people at
FlexiPak and you’ll never guess ... I’ve le ft the file with
the visuals in it back at the office! e Do you w ant m e to put in a good word for you? (would/
like me)
Oh dear ... Well, can I fax them through to you at their
office?
No, I don’t think th ey ’d come ( 4 ) --------------------- f Can you stop w histling while I’m trying to concentrate?
properly. (would/mind not)

Geoff, I’m ( 5 ) ______________ to my neck in it here. I can’t

access my em ail because the server is ( 6 ) --------------------- g Is it okay to leave early today? (do/mind/if)
this m orning. And I’m having som e problem s with
my tablet, so th a t’s n o t m uch help either! I’m rushed h Do you w ant me to give you a few days to th in k about
( 7 ) ______________ my feet, running ( 8 ) --------------------- it? (would/help/give)
trying to sort things ( 9 ) ___ with IT and get
those posters ( 1 0 ) _________ . to M ilan by midday. I Can I ask you a personal question? (Would/mind/I)
Look, Tina, this is urgent. Could you go over the road to
the p rint shop, scan the visuals and ask them to em ail
j W hen is M r Alvarez com ing back? (happen/know)
them to me ( 1 1 ) ______________ attach m en ts? I’ll give
you FlexiPak’s em ail address.
k Can you lend me € 5 0 until Friday? (don’t suppose/
Geoff, I’m sorry, bu t I’m really snowed
could you?)
( 1 2 ) _____________ here.
Tina, I wouldn’t ask you if I wasn’t desperate. I haven’t
got tim e to come ( 1 3 ) ______________ and pick them B eing polite takes longer!
(14 ) --------------------- M odal verbs {could, w ould) soften a request that may be
Well, maybe it would be easier ju s t to send them unwelcome.
(1 5 ) ------------- ____ courier. Hang (1 6 ), __________ Let ‘Type 1’ conditionals {Do you m in d i f I leave early?) make
me take ( 1 7 ) _________ . the details. W hich visuals do requests more diplomatic.
you need exactly? Hello? Geoff? ‘Type 2’ conditionals {W ouldyou m in d i f 1 left early?) make
Tina? requests even more diplomatic.
Geoff? You’re breaking ( 1 8 ) ______________ Are you D o yo u happen to k n o w ...? is useful when you’re not sure the
( 1 9 ) ______________ your m obile? I can’t hear you! other person knows the answer to your question.
Hello? Oh, w hat’s going ( 2 0 ) _____________ w ith this 1 don’t suppose you could . . could yo tii is a good way o f asking
phone? I can’t be (2 1 ). o f range. I m ust people to do you a favour.
be running low ( 2 2 ) __ -b a tteries. No,
it’s charged. Tina, can you hear m e? I’ll have to ring
( 2 3 ) ______________ and look ( 2 4 ) ______________
a payphone or som ething. Tina?
Tina hangs up, smiling.
A Now, maybe I can finally get (2 5 ). _with
some work!
Phrase bank; On the phone

Small ta lk on th e phone

1 Put one word in each box below to m ake 3 0 things you could say to encourage a b it o f small talk during a business
call. Contractions (You’re, H ow ’s, etc) count as one word.

life / business / the fam ily / it going / the new job / your golf doing / your course going?

I H H H I doing / keeping / enjoying Paris / getting on in Manila / settling down in Seville /

settling in at Goldman Sachs?

(th e prom otion / th e new baby / winning the Dubai contract / finally getting your MBA!

m oving house / getting m arried / about to visit Russia / about to sign a deal with
Samsung, is th a t right?

I been on holiday / come back from Buenos Aires / opened a new office in Cologne?

I the news / th e la test / from Ron lately / about the Asian situation?

[jo b on th e Siem ens report / luck w ith presen tation tomorrow, by the way!

G etting down to business on th e phone

2 Complete the ways o f switching from small talk to business. The initial letters are given.
a A__________ , Subtle
b S__________ , w___________c___________I do for y_
C Ie_ . calling a_
d W„ . there s_ y— . wanted t_ to m- Direct

Requesting assistan ce on th e phone

3 Put the words in bold in the correct order.

a mind you would lettin g me know when they arrive?
b hold you can of g e t som eone in accounts?
C ask I could to you arrange th a t for me?
d chance th e re is any of extending th e deadline?
e you suppose could don’t 1 speed things up a b it, could you?
f have you happen do to Alicia’s m obile num ber?
g sure can ’t absolutely you you are do anything today?

O ffering assistan ce on th e phone

4 Complete the sen tences using the pairs o f verbs in the box.

check + see help + give leave + get look + give

a I’l l ___ . what I can do, bu t I can’t ______________ anything.

b I’l l ___ . with IT a n d ----------------------if they can help.
C Don’t . , I’l l ______________ on to it right away.
d I’l l ___ . into i t . . . me an hour.
e Would i t --------- . if I got som eone t o . . you a hand?
f W hy don’t y o u . - it w ith me and I’l l . back to you?

Ending a call

5 Each sentence ending in bold has been switched w ith another. Switch them back to
make eight ways o f ending a call.
a I m ustn’t le t you go now. e It’s been great ru nn in g a b it late,
b I’ll let you g e t to g e th e r soon. f I’ll have to keep you.
C Som eone’s ju st com e in on th e o th e r line. g I’ve got a call ju st stepped into th e office,
d We m ust g e t on. h Listen, I’m talk in g to you.

Either leadtfollonv or get out
of the way.
Sign on the desk of Ted Turner,
founder of CNN
W hat are the pros and
cons o f being a ‘leader’ or a
‘follower’?
Learning objectives:
Unit 6
Business communication
skills Discussing dynamics
of meetings; Disagreeing
diplomatically; Fluency: Chairing
a meeting
Reading Article on behaviour
in meetings; Disagreement
strategies
Listening Radio programme:
alternative approaches to
meetings; Managing meetings
Vocabulary Companies and
capital; The financial pages
Grammar Linking and
contrasting ideas
Phrase bank Chairing meetings
^ In company interviews
Units 4 - 6
Leading meetings
1 How much influence do you have a t the m eetings you participate in? W hen it com es to
m eetings, would you rath er lead, follow or simply get out o f th e way?
2 Think about a regular m eeting you atten d and consider the following:
• W ho is the m ost powerful person in the room ? Does he/she actually lead the m eeting?
• W hat are the seating arrangem ents - fixed or flexible?
• Does anyone tend to dom inate the discussion? Is th a t ever a problem ?
• Are there people who hardly speak at all? If so, why are they there?
• W ho, if anyone, is the m ost ‘dangerous’ person in the room ?
Explain to a p artn er how the m eeting works. A sim ple diagram may help you.
3 Combine one word from each box to m ake ten com m on problem s encountered in
m eetings. Do you have sim ilar problem s in your m eetings?
communication communication group- agendas barriers breakdowns
hidden inadequate late over 4- preparation rank runs scoring
point- pulling time starts think wasting
1 ______________________________ 6
2 __________________________ 7
3 ____________________________________ 8
4 ________________________________ 9
5 _________________________________ 10
W h ich o f th e m m ean :
a m isu n d e rsta n d in g s?
b failin g to fin ish o n tim e ?
C c o m p e titio n b e tw e e n colleagu es?
d th e n eed to agree a t all c o sts?
e s e c re t in te n tio n s o r o b je ctiv e s?
f u sin g y o u r s ta tu s to g e t w h at you w an t?
g th in g s w hich m ak e p eo p le re lu c ta n t to talk ?
4 Read the suggestion below. Does it strike you as a good idea? W hich o f the problems
in 3 m ight it help to solve? W hich would it probably make worse?
The power table
Su ppose you removed the table froiti
your co n feren ce room and replaced
the se a ts with arm chairs. Su ppose you
turned it into a living room. How much
would this affect your m eetings?
That’s how much your m eetings are
about power, not com m unication.
David W einberger, The Cluetrain M anifesto
 5 Five alternative approaches successful com panies have taken to the problem of
m eetings are listed below. W hat do you think they m ight involve?
a the non -stop m eeting
b the virtual m eeting
C the recreational m eeting
d sh o rt stand-up m eeting
e inform al drinks and snacks m eeting

6 ^ 1.24 Listen to an extract from a business news program m e and m atch the
com panies to the approaches in 5 th a t they adopted.
Ritz-Carlton
Yahoo
M ichaelides & Bednash Media

7 Could any o f th e approaches in 5 and 6 work in your company? Would any be thought
ridiculous? W hat could be the pros and cons o f each m eeting style? Discuss w ith a partner.

Chairing skills
1 Complete th e following and com pare with the oth er m em bers o f your group.

A meeting w ithout a chairperson is like a ___________________________w ithout a

2 Complete the collocations by w riting the nouns and noun phrases in the right-hand
boxes. They are all things the leader o f a m eeting m ight do.

the agenda the final decision an action plan areas of conflict

the main goals the meeting follow-up tasks the key issues
the participants points of view other speakers troublemakers

a open g bring in
close shut out

b welcome h anticipate
introduce avoid

C set i identify
stick to discipline

d ask for j work out

sum m arize draw up

e establish k prioritize
define assign

f deliberate over I explain

take focus on

W hich o f the skills above are m ostly about m anaging:

• the con ten t o f the m eeting?
• the people present?
W rite C or P.

38 06 LEADING M EETING S
 3 W hat, in your opinion, is th e single m ost im p ortan t task o f a chairperson? Read the
article below. Does the author agree with you?

You have to start meeting like this!

w e work, therefore we meet. But why do so few of our meetings

meet our expectations?
IVIichael Begeman is a leading authority on one of the business
Glossary
tepee a tent used by
Native Americans
world's most universal rituals: the meeting. An anthropologist and tribe an ethnic or
computer scientist by training, he is m anager of the 3M Meeting cultural group
Networl<. blaring making a
So what's the most effective meeting that Begeman has seen loud noise
lately? He says that it didn't take place in a high-rise office building
or at a cutting-edge chip factory In fact, it took place in a tepee
- in a scene from Dances with Wolves, the Oscar-winning film
featuring Kevin Costner The scene takes place after a group
of Native Americans discover Costner not far from their camp.
Between 20 and 30 members of the tribe gather around for a
meeting.There's one big question on their agenda: what should
they do with this mysterious white man?
What follows, claims Begeman, is a masterclass in good meeting
behaviour.
'People actually listen to one another,' he marvels. There are some
genuine disagreements, but everyone recognizes merit in everyone
else's position and tries to incorporate it into his thinking.The chief
spends most of his time listening. When the time comes to make a
decision, he says something like "It's hard to know what to do. We
should talk about this some more.That's all I have to say." And the
meeting ends! He is honest enough to admit that he's not ready to
make a decision.'
How does Begeman compare that with what takes place inside
most conference rooms today? 'Do you wont to know the truth?' he
asks.'Here's my mental image of what happens at most business \W '
meetings: you could take the people out and replace them with
radios blaring at each other, and you would not have changed
very much.That's what most meetings are like. People wait for the
person who's speaking to take a breath, so they can jum p into
the e m p t/ space and talk.The quality of communication in most
meetings is roughly com parable to the quality of the arguments
that you used to have with your ten-year-old brother.'

Adapted from Fast Company magazine,

www.fastcompany.com

E g ® .'-

4 How do you th in k M ichael Begem an would describe th e ideal m eeting? You may want
to refer to som e o f the term s in the box.

authority consensus decisions diplomacy disagreement

listening patience respect teamwork

5 In the article, Begem an points out th a t while ‘there are som e genuine disagreem ents’
in th e m eeting, ‘everyone recognizes m erit in everyone else’s position and tries to
incorporate it into his thinking’. How can you avoid upsetting people you disagree with?
How im p ortan t is it in your culture for people to ‘save face’?
 6 M atch the exam ples (a -j) on the right to the disagreem ent strategies (1 - 5 ) they
exempHfy.
and 2 and 3 and 4 and 5 and

Disagreement Examples
strategies a I think I’m going to go with Janine’s idea, but tell me more about your idea first,
1 Show support before b That’s not quite how I see it, but how about looking at this a different way?
you disagree c I’m not sure, but maybe I’m missing something. Run me through it again,
2 Disagree but ask for d I’m not against your whole idea, just the part about pricing,
more detail e While I agree with a lot of what you say, I think you may be exaggerating
3 Check you’ve the problem.
understood correctly f I don’t quite agree with you there. However, you’ve given me another idea,
4 Be specific about your g I’m not so sure I’m going to agree with this. I’d like to hear more about it,
disagreement though.
5 Disagree but offer h Before I answer that, let me just check I understand what you’re saying.
an alternative
i I can understand exactly how you feel, but at the moment it’s just not an option.
j It’s not so much your plan I have a problem with as how you intend to
implement it.

Managing meetings
1 ^ 1.25-1.27 A venture capital firm is discussing the start-up company it had talks
w ith last week. Listen to three extracts from their m eeting and answer the questions.
E x tr a c t 1
a W ho’s absent from the m eeting and why?
b W hat are the two m ain goals o f the m eeting?
E x tr a c t 2
C W h at’s th e m ain area o f conflict in the m eeting?
d W ho do you think the m ain troublem aker is?
e W hose side is Tania on - P ieter’s or Ja c k ’s?
E x tr a c t 3
f Does tim eofyourlife.com ’s business plan sound good to you?
g W hat follow-up tasks are assigned?
h In your opinion, how effective was the chairm an o f the m eeting?

2 You heard the following idiom atic expressions in 1. Complete them by filling in the
m issing letters. Use the words in brackets to help you.
I wanted his in----------------------on this one. (I wanted to hear his views.)
We’re interested in taking things fu_______________ (We’d like to progress with this deal.)
I don’t want us ru_ into anything. (We need to think about this carefully.)
W e’ve been th____ - this. (We’ve discussed this in depth many tim es before.)
The fi_____________ - don’t quite add up. (The financial part o f a proposal is suspect.)

3 The following expressions are all useful in chairing m eetings. Complete them by filling
in the m issing vowels.
Opening th e m eetin g
a ,__kay, l — t ’s g _ _ t s t_ _ rt_ _ d , t h _ n , sh _ _ ll w __?
b Th— nks f r c m ng, v ry b dy.
 S ettin g th e agenda
C s s d n my m 1, t h p rp s f t d y ’s
m t ng s t ...
d By t h nd f th s m t ng ’d 1 k s m k nd
—f d c s n n th s.

M anaging th e discussion
e W ___ s __ m t b g __t t ng s __ d - t r __ck d h r ___
f C_n w g ___ b ck t wh t w __ w er d sc ssing e — rli— r?
g kay, s i __ St t __ s _m m r z w h ____t w V s ____ d s f — r.

M anaging o th e r speak ers

h Ja ck , c Id Pieter j st f n sh w h— t h — w — s s — y — ng?
i kay, kay! L t ’s 11 c Im d ___ wn, s h __ 11 w — ?
j Tania, w h t ’s y r p s t n — n t h — s?

A ssigning follow-up task s

k Pieter, c n 1 v th t — n — w — th y ?
I Tania, c n y g — t b — ck t — m — — n t h — t?

Closing th e m eetin g
m I th _ _ n k t h t ’s bo t as f_ _ r s we c n g__ t th _ _ s s t ge.
n ’m f r ____ d w ___ ’11 h v t st p t th „ _ r_ _ .

4 1 .2 5 -1 .2 7 Listen to the m eeting extracts in 1 again and tick the expressions as you
hear them . W hich one is n ot used?

5 Play the Chairperson’s game in groups. Flip a coin - heads move forward three spaces,
tails move forward one space. Follow the instru ction s on the square you land on using
appropriate chairing expressions. The first person to close the m eeting is the winner!

O utline the aim Ask M ia to ^ Y O U GOT A

O pen the PEOPLE LOOK
o f the meeting give the Stop A m y LAUGH!
meeting CONFUSED.
- to give a new background interrupting M ia MOVE ON 2
project the go-
MISS A TURN
to the project SQUARES
ahead
---------------------- 1

Try to stop
Find out
START people o I Suggest a
w hat Philippe
talking a t the short break
thinks
same time!

_______

G ive a Ask if
Show support
follow-up people hove
for James, FINISH task anything
but disagree
to Dan to add

llb r t < people

M ove on to Comment that
for their Sum up
the next item the meeting has
contributions what's been
on the been productive
and close the said so far
agenda
meeting "

YOU'RE
Tell Frank
MAKING Try to keep
he'll have
PROGRESS. the meeting
a chance to
MOVE ON 3 on track
speak later
SQUARES4

In company interviews
6 W ork in groups o f three. Take it in turns to lead three sh o rt m eetings. Speaker A see
pages 1 2 1 and 1 3 0 . Speaker B see pages 1 2 1 and 1 3 6 . Speaker C see pages 1 2 1 and 134.
06 Leading meetings
Vocabulary The financial pages

Companies and capital 3 M atch the heads (a -h ) w ith th e tails (1 - 8 ) o f the

following headlines,
1 Group the verbs according to th eir meaning. a D isappointing pre-

acquire bu ild up buy in to buy up de-layer establish b Venture

expand found grow liquidate rationalize sell off C $ 5 0 0 m rights
start-up stream line wind up d Kagumi plan ¥ 2 0 0 b n stock

set up e Fears o f an oth er rise in base

take over f Contex reject hostile takeover

restructure g G overnm ent crackdown on offshore

develop h Record fourth-

close down 1 rates h it housing m arket

2 investm ents
2 A m anager is com paring business in the past with
3 tax profits for Kovak
business now. Complete what he says using the words in
the box. 4 bid from Avalon
5 quarter earnings tipped to top € 9 0 m
1 -8 customer economy flatter global outsourced
6 capital dries up
stakeholders vision value
7 m arket flotation
9 -1 6 effectiveness empowered flexibility functional
8 issue to finance acquisition
layers learning total networked

‘Well, the m ost im portant difference, obviously, is th at Find words and phrases in 3 which mean:
nowadays we’re all operating in a ( 1 ) ______________ attem pted acquisition by
m arket, rather than simply a national one - the so-called predator com pany
borderless ( 2 ) --------------------- And the increased am ount o f exceed
com petition m eans th a t this company, at any rate, has gone rate o f in terest charged by banks
from being product-driven to much m ore (3 )___________ predicted
oriented. And whereas we used to focus on price, now we
strict new laws or m easures
focus on custom er ( 4 ) ______________ And where we used
profits for the period O ctober
to set goals, we now have som ething called a corporate
to D ecem ber
(5 ) ---------------------- A lot o f it is ju st a change in term inology
affect badly
but it certainly looks like we’re doing som ething new!
m oney invested in a foreign
A com pany’s ch ief responsibility used to be to its
country w ith lower tax
shareholders, but these days we prefer to talk about
(6 ) ______________, n ot ju st the people w ith a financial when a com pany goes public
stake in the company, but everyone who has an in terest in and issues shares
the way it’s run. A big change in the organization o f this runs out
company is th a t we now have a much ( 7 ) ______________
structure, instead o f the old hierarchy. Everything used to Divide the following into good (</) and bad (X) news,
be kept in-house. Now a lot o f work is ( 8 ) ______________ dow nturn in dem and
So, we’re a (9 ) ----------------------com pany now, w ith fewer sales boom
( 1 0 ) ----------------------o f m anagem ent. For the m ost part, we windfall profits
work in c r o s s - ( l l ) _________ . team s, which gives us housing slump
much greater ( 1 2 ) _________ . And we aim to have an upswing in the econom y
(1 3 ) rath er th an simply loyal w orkforce. That
econom ic recovery
means we give training and developm ent top priority. In
rise in the cost o f living
fact, we like to th in k we’re a ( 1 4 ) ______________ company.
rise in the standard o f living
For us, now, ( 1 5 ) ______________ is a much m ore im portant
concept th an efficiency and we see product quality as ju st stock m arket crash
one part o f a ( 1 6 ) ______________ quality m indset.’ credit crunch
 LANGUAGE LINKS

Grammar You can use the following words and phrases:

• to make con trasts and contradictions
Linking and contrasting ideas all the same even though
although however
Read the m eeting extracts below. For each o f the words or
and yet nevertheless
phrases in bold, underline th e word or phrase in brackets
but though
th at is sim ilar in meaning. D on’t change any gram m ar or despite whereas
punctuation. in spite o f (the fact that) while/whilst
a A Well, in spite o f all these problem s, I’d say we’re even so
still on target for a Ja n u a ry launch, (despite / even
to express purpose or in ten tio n
though)
B W hat, even thou gh we’ve hardly com pleted phase in order to/that so as to
one trials? (in spite o f the fact th a t / despite) to so (that)
A Yes. Although obviously I’d have liked us to be
to link cause and effect
fu rther ahead by now, I’m confident we’ll be ready in
tim e. (However / W hilst) as owing to
B Well, I admire your optim ism , Sergio, but as a result (of) seeing as
because of since
n evertheless, I th in k we should m ake som e kind o f
consequently thanks to
contingency plan, (all the sam e / however)
b A I’m afraid th at, because o f the strong euro, exports
are down again this quarter, (consequently /
Phrase bank: Chairing meetings
owing to)
B And as a resu lt our share price is falling. Complete th e following chairing expressions,
(consequently / owing to) a Bjorn, could you ju st fill u s ______________
A Quite. Now, w hereas we’ve been able to sustain ______________the b ackgrou nd .
these losses so far, we clearly can’t do so indefinitely, the project?
(despite / although) Ja n e t, would you like to come _
C A Right, well, as nobody seem s to be in favour o f this here or are you o k a y --------------- . that?
proposal, I suggest we ju st scrap it! (due to / Going - - what we were
seeing as) saying earlier. I’d ju st like to p o in t.
B It’s n o t th at we’re against it, Jak o b, alth ough it is one thing.
an unusual idea, (though / whereas) . a m inute. Ja c k -
C Yes, I’d like to support you on this one, Ja k o b , b u t you’ll get your chance in a m om ent.
I can’t help feeling you’re rushing things, (whilst / L et’s b re a k ______________h e r e ______
and yet) a few m inutes, shall we?
A Well, how much m ore tim e do you need? In ord er Does anybody h a v e ________________
to put this before the board, I have to have your - to add?
approval. (To / So that) g Now, the Tokyo situation — Rashid, can you get
d A Now, I don’t want to spend a lot o f tim e on these ____________________________ m e ______________
new European guidelines. I do th in k we should go that?
through them briefly, how ever, (though / although) h And then th ere’s the training report - Suzanna,
B The guidelines do affect all o f us, Renata. can I leave th a t one . . your
A Even so, we have m ore im p ortant things to discuss. Okay, I th in k th a t about wraps things
(W hereas / N evertheless) ______________for today. But we’ll need to set
e A Well, everybody, th an k s to all your hard work, the ______________an oth er m eeting.
campaign has got o ff to a great sta rt, (as a result /
as a result of)
B And while it’s too early to say exactly how successful
it will be, it’s looking very good indeed, (whilst / as)
A Yes. So as to give you a clearer idea. I’ve prepared
copies o f our sales projections for year one. (so /
in order to)
B The figures are broken down by country so t h a t you
can get the full picture, (since / in order that)
A And, since we’re celebrating, the drinks are on me!
(seeing as / because of)

Learning objectives:
Unit 7
People skills Discussing the role
of a coach; The GROW model
of coaching; Fluency: Coaching
your colleagues
Reading Article on professional
coaching
Listening Four extracts from a
coaching session
Coaching
1 W hat kind o f things can coaching help a
businessperson with? W hat can’t it help with?
W ork in a group to make two lists and briefly
presen t your ideas to an oth er group.
2 Look at the cartoon. In what ways is the
m an on the left like a personal coach? In what
ways is he n o t like a coach?
3 W hat does a coach actually do? W ith a
p artner, underline the things involved in being
a coach.

asking questions building rapport clarifying goals establishing priorities

facilitating com m itm ent to goals fixing problems focusing on action
giving advice giving feedback imparting knowledge influencing behaviour
listening setting goals sharing experience showing empathy supporting
using intuition

4 Now read the article below and com pare what it says with your answers in 1 -3 .

The
Coach Approach
According to emotional intelligence BBff
Daniel Goleman, iSSBStnSS in a professional
field is no longer sufficient to guarantee
success in your career. After all, many of
the people you are competing with have
pretty much the same level of expertise
as you. They may also be as experienced
and well qualified as you. What makes the
difference is the possession of
those all-important And this is
where a coach comes in.
/ with the minimum of hold-ups. The coach is a vehicle for your success.
Perhaps you are transitioning to a new role within your company.
Suddenly, you require leadership or team-motivation skills. Or you are
posted abroad and now need better intercultural awareness. Either way,
there will be day-to-day issues, decisions, conflicts and personality clashes
where you could also do with some support. Problems such as stress and
bum-out may also be something a coach can help with, but remember -
a coach is not a therapist. Personal hang-ups, difficulties at home and
negative past experiences are not the business of coaching, which tends to
focus instead on professional self-development, meeting future goals and
overcoming present obstacles at work.
Nor is a coach the same thing as a mentor. A mentor, usually a more
experienced executive in the same company, is there to offer advice and
pass on some of their own hard-earned wisdom. Coaches do not give
advice and needn’t even have direct experience in their coachee’s line of
work - although, increasingly, managers themselves are required to coach
members of their team.
So what exactly does a coach do? Perhaps the key skill is the ability to
ask good questions in order to get you - the coachee - to work out what
your own goals are and dedicate yourself to achieving them. This will mean
prioritizing those goals and clarifying what action needs to be taken. It
goes without saying that empathizing with your concerns, building a good
relationship with you and really listening to what you have to say will be
paramount.
A coach, then, is not a fixer, but a facilitator. The coach is there not to
influence you but to smooth the path you have set yourself on, to help get
you from where you are to where you want to be - quickly, comfortably and

5 W ork w ith a partner. Check you know what the highlighted words and phrases in the
article m ean. Try to work out the m eaning o f any you don’t know from the context.

44 07 COACHING
 PEOPLE SKILLS

6 Look at the grid below, which shows a popular approach to coaching called the GROW
model. W ork with a p artn er and com plete the chart w ith the phrases in the box.

• co m m it to specific actions
• decide on the conversation to p ic
• describe th e current situation
• discuss alternatives
• give exam ples o f present challenges
• id e n tify possible obstacles to those alternatives
• p u t a tim e fra m e on those actions
• set objectives fo r the session

GOAL REALITY OPTIONS WAY FORWARD

7 Look at som e o f the things said during a coaching session. At what stage o f the GROW
process do you th in k the coach said them ? W rite G, R, 0 or W.
So what alternatives do you th in k you have here?
So what are the steps you need to take now?
Okay, so what would you like us to work on today?
W h a t’s the m ost challenging thing about this right now for you?
Is there anything else you could be doing?
W hat precisely would you like to get from this session?
W h at’s stopping you from pursuing these options?
In com parison w ith the ideal situation, where are you at the m om ent w ith this?
W hat do you th in k is the first thing you need to do?
O n a scale from one to ten, how im p ortan t would you say this issue is to you?
And when are you planning to take th a t first step?
Can you give me a few exam ples o f what you’re finding m ost challenging?

8 2.01 Now listen to four extracts from a coaching session using the GROW model
and check your answers in 7.

9 ^ 2.01 Listen again and make notes on how the coachee answers the coach’s
questions in 7.

10 W ork in groups o f three to practise your coaching skills. Turn to page 124.
 M AN A G EM EN T
SCENARIO

Coach crash
BilMa»cfe- East Atrioaclean watef proiect
isoee

Learning objectives:
Management
scenario B
Business communication
sl(ills Giving feedback on a
presentation; Coaching dos and
don’ts; Fluency: Past-present-
future presentations with
coaching
Reading Coaching dos and
don’ts
^3' In company in action
B l : A failed presentation;
B2: Successful coaching

1 How does a sports coach give players feedback on th eir perform ance? Is it different
in business?

2 Read the email below and m ark the sentences T (true) or F (false). Then compare with
a partner.
a The goal o f the m eeting is to secure m ore funding,
b Cassie has plenty o f tim e to prepare h er presen tation.
C Cassie can see Peter for m ore inform ation if necessary,
d Peter seem s to be a good coach.

Hi Cassie,
We have a meeting on tine 22nd w itli tlie lottery people: w e ’re hoping to persuade
them to increase their contribution to our East Africa clean water project. I know
yo u ’re new to the team and I’m sorry it’s short notice, but I’d like you to make a
short presentation com paring our budgets and expenditure in the past, present and
future. Obviously a successful presentation could be really influential in securing
funding fo r the future of the project, so this is top priority; let’s do a dry-run together
on Friday just to iron out any problems. Let me know if you need any help, but
remember I’m in Stuttgart today and tom orrow; I w o n ’t be back in London until
Friday morning.
Thanks,
Peter
Peter Neubauer
M arketing Manager
Blue Rock
Tel: +44 (0)20 5689 5423
M obile: +44(0)7157 554 237

In company
in action 3 Now watch video B l to see Peter giving feedback on Cassie’s presen tation and then
talking to CEO Sue Je n se n . W hich statem en ts b est describe each person? Tick the boxes.
Cassie Peter Sue
Feels nervous
Criticizes personal behaviour
Makes excuses
Is diplom atic
Makes judgem ents
Refuses to share responsibility
Makes constructive suggestions

46 B COACH CRASH
 MANAGEMENT SCENARIO

4 W atch the video again and answer the questions.

a W hat does Peter say he likes about the presen tation? Why?
b W hat does he dislike?
C W hat reasons does Cassie give for the p resen tation ’s w eaknesses?
d How does Sue tell Peter he shouldn’t shout at Cassie?
e W hat coaching skills (or lack o f them ) from the list in 3 do th e following phrases
illustrate?
1 If I’d known there was a problem , I could’ve done som ething about it.
2 W hy did you speak in th a t funny little voice?
3 D on’t you th in k you’re being a little hard on her?
4 You m ight w ant to look through it.

5 Have you ever found yourself in Cassie, Peter or Sue’s situation?

6 W ork w ith a partner. Discuss how Peter could have improved his feedback to Cassie.
B rainstorm a list o f coaching dos and don’ts.

7 Speaker A see page 1 2 2 , Speaker B see page 1 2 9 . W hen you have finished, sum marize
what you have read for your partner. Compare what you read w ith your own list o f dos
and don’ts.

In company
in action 8 Now watch video B2 to see Peter and Cassie working on the presen tation again.
Tick th e points in the list o f dos on page 1 2 2 th a t Peter im plem ents.

9 W hich coaching dos are illustrated by the following phrases?

a Have you got a few m inutes to talk about it now?
b You go first.
C There were lots o f really good points,
d I ju st wonder w hether we still have too many slides?
e Shall we have a look through them together?

10 Prep are a three-m inu te ‘past-p resen t-fu tu re’ m ini-presentation asking for investm ent
in your company, your association, your town or city, your sport or hobby, or your own
idea, using the stru cture below.

The ‘past-present-future’ presentation

Introduction

The Past

The Present

The Future

Conclusion

W ith a p a rtn e r, ta k e tu rn s m ak in g an d giv in g fe e d b ack o n you r p re s e n ta tio n s.

U se th e ch e ck lists o n page 1 3 3 to h elp you.

S p eak er A: M ake you r p re s e n ta tio n and lis te n to S p e ak e r B ’s feed back.

T hen give S p e ak e r B y o u r feed b ack o n ho w w ell th e y coach ed you.
S p eak er B: L iste n to S p e ak e r A’s p re s e n ta tio n th e n give y o u r feed b ack .

B COACH CRASH 47
 Promoting your ideas
1 How im p ortant is it in your line o f business to be able to presen t your ideas
professionally? Do you enjoy giving p resentations or generally try to avoid them ?
Surveys consistentlyp ut
giving presentations near the
2 2.02 Listen to five experienced presenters talking about what still m akes them
top o f the list ofpeople’sfears.
nervous every tim e they give a presentation. Underline the speakers whose worries you
Snakes, spiders, loneliness
share. Then compare concerns w ith a partner.
or even death have no
Speaker 1 Speaker 2 Speaker 3 Speaker 4 Speaker 5
comparison to the dreaded
speaking infro n t o f a group!
3 Complete the following expressions from the extracts in 2 using a single verb.
Forbes.com Your m ind blank.
Your m outh dry.
Your mike funny,
W h at is your biggest fear? The audience quiet,
Everything wrong.
Learning objectives:
Unit 8
4 W hich o f the expressions in 3 means:

Business communication skills you can’t th in k o f anything? your m icrophone doesn’t work properly?
Discussing attitudes to public
speaking; Discussing national 5 Complete the expressions from the extracts in 2.
stereotypes; Describing what
makes a good talk; Discussing ab o u t down down of ou t to up up up
innovation in your company;
Fluency: Presenting an idea for a You dry _ . completely.
product or service
Reading Website extract: Your equipm ent b re a k s .
Intrapreneurs You r u n _______________ . tim e.
Listening Presenters talking
about what makes them You r u n _________ . schedule.
nervous; People comparing You p a c e ____________ _ a n d ____
audience expectations of
presentations; Presentation: a
Your wave your arm s .
new business idea Your heart sp e ed s___
Vocabulary Phrasal verbs
Your legs tu r n _______ .jelly.
Gram m ar The passive
Phrase bank Pitching an idea
6 Som eone once observed: ‘There is nothin g wrong w ith having nothing to say - unless
you in sist on saying it.’ Read the text. Can you th in k o f any less extrem e ways o f achieving
the same objective?

KEEP IT SHORT
AND SIMPLE!
A ccording to ancient custom , the elders o f a remote
African village have to stand on one leg while addressing
their audience at council gatherings. As soon as their
second foot touches the ground, they must stop
speaking immediately.
Audience analysis
1 ^ 2.03-2.08 Listen to a group o f businesspeople talking about audience expectations
in different countries. W hich countries do you th in k th ey ’re talking about? M atch the
countries to the extracts.
Country E x tr a c t
USA
Germany
Jap an
UK
France
Kuwait

Compare your ideas w ith a partner.

Then check the answers on
page 1 2 2 . How do they compare
w ith your discussion in 1?

2 In an increasingly global econom y are certain national stereotypes still valid?

3 M atch the phrasal verbs in these sen tences. They were all in the extracts in 1.
a W isecracks - th a t’s what they tend to go 1 off altogether.
b The one thing you can’t do 2 across as a person.
C The audience may sw itch 3 up a certain level o f formality.
d They’ll want you to go 4 for
e Anecdotes and amusing stories seem to go 5 w ithout is a sense o f humour,
f W hat m atters is how you come 6 off.
g Be too techie and they’ll think you’re showing 7 down well.
h You have to keep 8 through all the main points again.

4 M atch th e phrasal verbs in 3 to the m eanings below.

a present yourself e like
b lose in terest f repeat
C be appreciated g m aintain
d try to impress h m anage w ithout

5 In your experience, what so rt o f thing do audiences in your country tend to go for?

W hat doesn’t go down so well?

6 You heard th e following idiom atic expressions in 1. Complete them by filling in the
m issing letters. Use th e words in brackets to help you.
You should have all the technical inform ation at your fL ------------- (easily available)
Give your presen tation the personal to__________ (aim it directly at your audience’s
needs)
You’ll get loads o f interru p tions, bu t ju s t go w ith th e fl______-------------(let things
happen)
Don’t get too carried aw_______________ (be overenthusiastic)
Have a few gim m icks up your sL , (plan som e clever surprises to attract
attention)
f It really is essen tial th a t you do your ho__________
_________(prepare very carefully)

7 W hich piece o f advice in 6 do you think is the m ost im portant?

 Innovation
1 How much o f your com pany’s business depends on innovation? Give a few examples.

2 Look at th e extract from a website below. W hat do you th in k the title m eans?
Now read th e text. Does your company encourage this kind o f initiative?

INTRAPRENEURS Ideas are like insects

- m any are born,
b u t fe w live to m aturity. Because th e y closely resem ble entrepreneurs,
w e call th e p e o p le w ho tu rn ideas in to realities inside an o rg a n iza tio n
'in tra p re n e u rs'. Intrapreneurs are th e hands-on m anagers w h o m ake a
new idea happen.
Texas Instruments, well know n fo r intrapreneurial successes, studied fifty
o f th e ir successful and unsuccessful new p ro d u c t efforts. In each o f th e ir
successes there w ere one o r m ore d e d ica te d intrapreneurs w h o persisted
despite g reat obstacles. Similarly, th e com m on d e n o m in a to r o f th e ir failures
was th a t every one o f th e m lacked a cham pion, an intrapreneur. Innovations
ju st d o n 't happen unless som eone takes on th e intrapreneurial role.

Gifford and Elizabeth Pinchot, www.pinchot.com

3 Find the words and phrases in

the te x t which mean:
a describing people who don’t
ju s t talk about it, b u t do it
b giving a lot o f tim e and energy
to som ething
C kept on trying to do som ething
d things th a t m ake progress
difficult
e the only thing in com m on
f som eone who supports and
fights for an idea

4 W hat new ideas w ithin your com pany or d epartm ent have you been closely involved
with recently?

5 It is im p ortant when presenting new ideas to be well organized and to give the
inform ation clearly. W ith a partner, com plete th e stages o f a presen tation with the words
and phrases in the box.

a gap in the market interest the key message the main product features
the new product the objectives the presentation project approval
the Q8cA session some relevant statistics

1 Open
S Outline
3 Arouse
4 Quote
5 Identify
6 Introduce
7 Describe

8 Sum up
9 Ask for
10 Lead into

50 08 PR O M O TIN G YOUR IDEAS

6 ^ 2.09-2.12 Two m anagers for M axO ut, an A m erican chain o f fitness centres, are
presenting a new business idea to their board o f directors. Listen to four extracts from
th eir presen tation and answer the questions.

E x tr a c t 1
a Are the presenters successful a t arousing the curiosity o f their audience? W hy /
why not?
b Is it m ore effective having two speakers instead o f one?
C W hat advice would you give th e speakers if they had to presen t in your country?
Should there be m ore or less technical detail, humour, form ality, audience
involvem ent, ‘hard sell’?

E x tr a c t 2
a W hat do these figures refer to? Do you find them surprising?
1 a m ere 13%
2 a staggering 92%
W hat do you th in k ‘m ere’ and ‘staggering’ m ean when they talk about figures?
Complete the chart, which shows th e results o f the survey.

N a tio n w id e s u rv e y
R e a s o n s given for not b ecom in g a
m em ber o f MoxOut H e a lth Clubs

d W hat product do you th in k the speakers are about to present?

E x tr a c t 3
a W hat is the product?
b How long has it taken to develop?
C Complete th e product features chart.

Main product features

weiglis just o v e r.

• fits easily in to .

• assembles in .

offers 35 different.

d W h at’s the m ain selling point?

e In what ways do you th in k the product would ben efit M axO ut’s m ain business?
Note down two to th ree possibilities. Share your ideas w ith a partner.
E x tr a c t 4
a Complete the extract below using the verb phrases in th e box. The first one has been
done for you.

are currently being considered could be recorded has been fully cost ed
has been suggested is included is still being carried out
would probably be reasonably priced

Okay, to wrap things up. The Micro-GYM (1) hccn fidlii a\stcii - a com plete
breakdown ( 2 ) ____________________________ in the report. Product testin g
( 3 ) ____________________________ , but we would obviously need the go-ahead from you
before we proceed fu rth er w ith th at. The Micro-GYM ( 4 ) ____________________________
at around $ 3 5 . It ( 5 ) ____________________________ th a t exercise dem onstrations
( 6 ) ____________________________ on DVD and sold online. B oth these suggestions would
incur extra costs, but ( 7 ) -------------------------------------------

b If you were on the board o f M axO ut, would you give the new product idea the
go-ahead? If not, what other inform ation would you need before you were persuaded?

Pitching your idea

W ork w ith a p artn er to presen t a new product idea.

Step One: Prepare

You’ll find information on real concept products in the additional material section. Team 1
turn to page 131, Team 2 turn to page 135. Choose which product idea you want to pitch
and decide what kind of company would be able to manufacture it. Find out or invent any
supporting figures yo u ’d like to refer to and create any simple visuals you’ll need.

Step TWo: Practise

Run through your pitch a couple of times. Use a similar presentation structure to the
pitch you listened to in exercise 6. Some of the phrases and expressions in the phrase
bank on page 54 may be helpful. Practise handing over to your partner after each phase
of the talk.

Step Three: Perform

When you’re ready, give your presentation. IViake sure you invite questions at the end.
Whose pitch was the m ost persuasive? W ho gets the go-ahead?
 LANGUAGE LINKS

08 Promoting your ideas

Vocabulary Grammar

Phrasal verbs The passive

1 The five m ost com m on verbs used in phrasal verbs are: 1 Make the following extracts from reports more formal:
get, come, go, take and put. Complete each set o f sen tences • use the passive
using one o f these verbs in the Past Simple and a particle
• replace the words in b o ld with an adverb from th e box
from the box. Use the definitions in brackets to help you.
• delete the subject
across around down for in into into
currently formally generally provisionally
off off on on on out out over
roughly tentatively thoroughly unanimously
over through through under up
unofficially
a W e ... _________
---------------too much work, (accepted)
a O ur site engineers estim ate th a t construction will take
__________a few details, (wrote) a b o u t 1 8 m onths to com plete.
__________a bank loan, (obtained) / { IS r o c i a h l u e s t i i n a t e J t h a t c o i i s i n i c t i o n w i l l h i k i : 18________
---------------the project, (got control of) m o n t h s t v cc’m p h 't i ; ,
b T h ey ... __________the recession, (survived) b They’ve given us the go-ahead, b u t it’s n o t o ffic ia l y e t.
__________an accounting error, (discovered) W e’v e _________________________________________________
__________a lot o f money, (inherited) C W e’re considering several options a t th e m o m e n t.
__________pressure to resign, (received) S ev era l________________________________________________ ,
C S h e ... ---------------to talk about training, (proceeded) d A lm o s t e v e ry o n e felt the project was taking too long.
_________ the figures with us. (checked) I t ______________________________________________________
---------------the idea, (started to dislike) e E v e ry o n e agreed th a t the proposal required further
---------------option B. (chose) discussion.
d W e ... _________ the problem in the end. (avoided) I t ______________________________________________________
_________ an argument, (became involved in) f We have tested e v e ry p a r t o f the new software.
_________ a ton o f paperwork, (completed) T h e ____________________________________________________
---------------well, (had a good relationship) g The company will announce the plant closure at the
e T hey... ---------------hours o f work on it. (did) o ffic ia l press conference n ext week.
---------------------the meeting, (postponed) T h e ____________________________________________________
---------------------a press release, (issued) h They’ve okay’d th e training budget at this stage, but
---------------------m ost o f the cash, (provided) they m ay c h a n g e t h e i r m in d s.
T h e ____________________________________________________
2 Some phrasal verbs have three parts. Complete the
1 They suggested th a t we could im port the raw m aterials,
sentences using the pairs o f particles in the box.
b u t s tr e s s e d t h a t t h i s w a s o n ly a s u g g e s tio n .
in for + back to in for + down as on about + on with I t ______________________________________________________
out of + ahead with round to + on to
up against + round to up with + up for 2 M ake th e accusations below less personal by removing
all references to ‘we’ and ‘you’ and m aking any necessary
I’m afraid I haven’t got - _________ doing th a t report gram m atical changes.
yet, but I’ll g e t . . it as soon as I’ve finished
a But we understood th a t you’d agreed to this.
these spreadsheets.
B u t i t u 'iis u n d f r s t i w d t h a t t h is h a d b e e n c iiir c c ii
I know th ere’s no point g o in g . . it, but I
really don’t g e t _________ b We assum ed th a t you’d accept this.
. this new boss o f ours.
I t ______________________________________________________
I’m n ot p u ttin g ________ _ this situation a m om ent
longer - it’s tim e I s to o d __ __________ myself!
I know it’s too late to b a c k . ____________ it now, bu t I’m C We stated quite clearly in the contract th a t you m ust
really sorry we w e n t______ . this agreem ent. m ake your paym ents on the first o f the m onth.

e We seem to be com in g _________ — a lot o f opposition I t ______________________________________________________

from m arketing at the m om en t, but hopefully th ey ’ll
soon co m e _____________ our way o f thinking. d We presum ed th a t you would comply w ith current
f I p u t--------------------- th a t prom otion I was telling you health and safety regulations.
about but they haven’t g o t ______________ m e about it. I t ______________________________________________________
I hear Jo n ’s co m e . . a lot o f criticism
from the board and may have to stand _
chairm an.
3 Rewrite the im personal em ail below using only active You use the passive when you are more interested in actions,
verbs and replacing som e o f th e m ore form al words and views and decisions than in the people who actually took
phrases w ith friendlier-sounding alternatives from the box. them. The passive sounds more formal and objective than
the active. For this reason it is frequently used in reports.
each other exchange views from now on get the chance
in this way look forward meet pencilled in I f the subject o f the active sentence is they, you, one, people,
seeing you there up to speed various everyone or no one, it is usually unnecessary to refer to it
in the passive. N o one can do it becomes I t ca n t be done hy-
anyhody.
W h e n using reporting verbs in the passive, you need
From: Robert Masters to insert the word it. ‘They said there w as absolutely no
To: All departmental managers corruption becomes I t w as strongly denied th a t there h ad been
Subject: Interdepartmental meeting any corruption.
It has been decided that an interdepartmental meeting The active generally sounds more personal than the passive.
will henceforth be held every month. Heads of The danger is that in criticisms it can also sound more
departm ent will thus be able to network and generally aggressive, and so in delicate negotiations the passive is often
be brought up to date on recent developm ents in preferred to depersonalize potential conflict.
other departments. Furthermore, they will be given the
opportunity to have their voice heard on a number of
matters relating to overall corporate strategy.
The first meeting is scheduled for next Thursday. Your
attendance would be appreciated.
Robert Masters

Phrase bank: Pitching an idea

Complete the crossword using th e clues below.
Down
1 We are one o f the m a jo r______________ in
our industry. (7)
2 We are constantly looking for ways to stay
ahead o f t h e _______________ (11)
3 We did a nationw ide______________ of our
target customers. (6)
A com plete. . of costs is
included in the report. (9)
We set up special_________ . groups. (5)
W hat we need now is the green
_____________ from you. (5)
The m a in ______________ o f the product
are clear. (8)
10 T h e _____________ so far has been
overwhelmingly positive. (8)
12 We think this product has
enorm ous_______________(9)
13 F u ll_____________ are in the report
in front o f you, (7)
15 Behave me, we’ve really done our
---------------------on this one. (8)

Across
1 As you know, we’ve been working on a _____________ o f our own for some tim e now. (7)
7 We think this would be an excellent addition to our cu rre n t______________ o f products. (5)
8 Let me quote you some in terestin g _______________ (7)
11 The product m eets a re a l_______________ (4)
14 We need to m aintain our com petitive______________ (9)
16 This is a great opportunity for us to stretch o u r_______________ (5)
17 I’m sure you’ll agree this feature is a real selling_______________ (5)
18 This chart highlights our m a in _______________ (8)
19 Okay, we’d like to throw th is ______________ open now for questions and suggestions. (7)

Never do business loith
anybody you don’t like. I f you
don’t like somebody, there’s a
reason.
Relationship-building
1 In business, have you ever:
a felt an in sta n t rapport w ith som eone you’ve only ju st m et?
b taken an im m ediate dislike to som eone you’ve ju s t been introduced to?
C m isjudged som eone by taking too much notice o f the way they looked or sounded?
Tell th e story to a partner.

Henry Quadracci, CEO of

2 How good are your netw orking skills? Complete the questionnaire using the pairs of
verbs in the boxes. Then circle your answers. Compare your answers with a partner and
Quad/Graphics
th en read the analysis on page 1 2 2 .

Have you ever vs^orked

with someone you don’t
QUESTIONNAIRE
like? td lP A lL tI

crack + break feel + mingle introduce + slip cut + get exchange + get
hover + wait look + say m ake + escape persevere + find get + m ention give + keep
moan + com plain stick + ignore try + draw go + m ake look + pretend
relax + let talk + catch
3 You meet a fascinating person at a 5 You see someone you don't get on
1 You meet a group of business cocktail party. Do you; with at a function. Do you:
people for the first time. Do you: a _____________ to them like glue a _____________the other way and
a _____________them in the eye, a n d _____________ everyone _____________ you haven't seen
smile a n d _____________ hello? else? them?
-in the background .and b . over and
a n d _______ to be -Other people into -th e effort to speak
introduced? the conversation? to them?
c ____________ a joke to c _____________ obliged to go .th e m a polite nod,
____________ the ice? and. .w ith other b u t- your distance?
people?
2 You meet up with some colleagues You're introduced to a potential
after work. Do you: You're stuck with a bore at a client. Time is short. Do you:
a _________ shop and conference. Do you: a the preliminaries
up on all the a in the hone voij'll a n d _____ straight to
latest gossip? something in the point?
about work and common? b -to know them
about the boss? h some kind of a bit before y o u .
excuse and 7 business?
and
your hair down? c ........ them to someone c . business cards
else and. . away? and say y o u 'll-
back to them?

Learning objectives:
Unit 9
Business communication skills
Discussing first impressions;
Completing a questionnaire
on networking; Practising
networking skills; Getting out
of the office; Roleplay: Visiting a
colleague’s home
Reading Questionnaire: Are you
an effective networker?; Article
on sport and business
Listening Three small talk
conversations; People chatting
at golf; Conversation: visiting
someone’s home
Vocabulary Social English
Grammar Multi-verb sentences
Phrase bank Networking
 3 Discuss th e following points o f view with a partner:
a I t’s a cliche, but it’s true: ‘You never get a second chance to m ake a first im pression.’
b I t’s n o t how you sta rt; it’s how you finish. Last im pressions are what really count.
C They say ‘hum our is the sh o rtest distance betw een two people’. But it can also be the
fu rthest!
d As you travel round the world, you find th a t business and pleasure mix in very
different ways.

4 ^ 2.13 Now listen to four extracts o f business people talking about the same points
you discussed in 3. Make a note o f anything you eith er find interesting or disagree with.
Compare w ith a partner.

5 0 2.13 You heard th e following phrases in 4. Complete them th en listen again

to check.
a li ha sh
b soc_______ bu_________ f i _
c lou_______ aro_______
d soc_______ chit-__________
e schm
f wor_______._ _ the r_______

6 W ork w ith a partner. For each o f the situations below, make a sh o rt list o f things
you could say.
a The person standing n ext to you in th e h otel lobby is a good custom er o f your
company. You’ve heard a lot about them from your new boss, who was about to
introduce you, bu t suddenly had to take a phone call,
b You’re at a trade fair. The person on the stand h asn ’t m et you before. A friend gave you
th eir nam e, told you they m ight be able to help you make som e business contacts and
said they’d m ention you’d be dropping by to say hello.
C You unexpectedly bump into a very good friend a t a conference who you haven’t seen
for ages. You’ve loads to talk about bu t unfortunately you were ju s t on your way to a
business appointm ent when you m et them .

7 Compare lists with an oth er pair.

8 ^ 2.14-2.16 Listen to three sh o rt conversations. How quickly can you m atch them
to the situations in 6?
Conversation 1 Conversation 2 Conversation 3

9 ^ 2.14-2.16 Listen again to th e conversations. How sim ilar is the language the
speakers use to th e lists you made in 6? Look a t th e listening scripts on page 1 4 8
and underline any expressions you’d like to rem em ber to use yourself.

10 You’re going to act out one o f the situations in 6 w ith a partner. First, work w ith him
or her to build up your scenario.
• decide who’s who
• establish exactly where you are
• agree on a few background details (nam es, shared acquaintances, past experiences,
cu rrent business)
• you may find som e o f th e language in the phrase bank on page 6 2 useful.

If you prefer, base your scenario on people and places you know.

11 W hen you’re ready, take a couple o f m inutes to have each conversation. Try switching
roles if you like. W hich situations were th e m ost challenging to deal with?
 Getting out of the office
1 Can the golf course, tennis court or a sailing boat be a good place to do business?

Read the following three sh o rt business articles (on pages 5 7 and 58) and think about the
questions in th e boxes. Then discuss them w ith a partner.

How to beat V9“ f ^oss .

at tennis and S U r V I V t S
Competing with tlie boss outside tiie worl^place is an ancient ritual designed to test
your thinking, com petitiveness and ability to fit in. Once it involved weapons, but
today it involves tennis rackets. Your goal is to leave a good impression and that
doesn’t necessarily mean losing.

Before stepping onto the court, check tw o things: the boss’s level of expertise and
how much he cares about the game. It could be he’s an A-tournam ent player so
you’ll have to sweat to survive. But If you judge your abilities superior, yo u ’ll have
more decisions to make.
Is it easy to fit in where you work? Is there a
Even the game, if possible. Play to win but not to kill. It’s
one thing to beat the boss. It’s another to take the match com petitive atm osphere?
in straight sets six-love. This doesn’t mean deliberately Are you a good loser or do you always play to
missing shots. But you m ight consider scaling back your win?
160 kph serve, if only because you w ant everyone to have Would you lose a m atch ju st to please the boss?
a good time.

Not everyone can play tennis,

but everyone thinks they can
/ a n d , play golf. In an age of health and

business enlightenment, golf has replaced

the business lunch as the preferred
vehicle for sealing deals. Sun Microsystems co-founder S cott
McNealy is a scratch golfer and Bill Gates is devoted to the
game.

So why is golf the preferred sport of business? In a
word, relationships. ‘Four to five hours on the golf
course, and you get to know the character of your
golfing partners - honesty, humility, ability to handle
success and failure, approach to risk, desire to have
fun,’ says Miller Bonner, a public relations veteran.
T h a t translates into a successful business relationship.’
d W h at’s so wrong with a business lunch for
sealing deals?
e Are you a golf fan or do you agree w ith Mark
Twain th a t ‘golf is a good walk spoiled’?
^
W hat else m ight your opponent do to reveal
th eir character on the golf course?

Marketing director Derek Van Bronkhorst has his own

test of character on the links. ‘Do they cheat?’ he asks. ‘If they
cheat in golf, would you w ant to do business with them ?’
 Picture the scene: open water, no
7he land in sight, the sound of water g Can a business situation ever be too relaxing?
% gently lapping against the side of h W hat environm ent do you find is m ost
lie the executive yacht your company
has chartered for the day. Not j
conducive to doing business?
Would you prefer a three-hour business m eeting
the most obvious setting for a business meeting but an
at the office or an all-day m eeting at sea?
increasingly popular one. Whether you are trying to attract
potential clients or keep existing ones, a trip on a luxury
yacht may help to seal the deal.

The setting alone is conducive to a positive and successful

business outcom e, with no unwanted interruptions and a relaxing
atmosphere. Being out of your normal environment may also get
the creative juices flow ing - be inspired by the incredible scenery
and think of all the possibilities as you gaze at the horizon!

If all goes to plan, by the tim e you dock at the marina, alliances
will have been forged and bonds strengthened. Even if you d id n ’t
get the result you were after, this nautical adventure will stay with
your clients for a lot longer than a buffet lunch in the boardroom
served with second-rate coffee!

2 ^ 2.17-2.18 Listen to a group o f oil com pany executives chatting during a game of
golf and answer the questions.
E x tr a c t 1 E x tr a c t 2
a According to the group, what are the a How’s Craig playing today?
benefits o f a cup o f coffee? b W hat do Craig and Stella disagree on?
b W hy are they only playing nine holes? C W hat do you th in k Craig has to do if he
C How would you describe the m en’s w ants th e job?
attitu de to the game?

3 Reorganize the words in bold to m ake correct sentences. They were all in the
conversations in 2.
a We be should thin k in g m aking probably of a move quite soon,
b We co u n t stay in g can ’t w ea th e r fine th e on at this tim e o f year.
C I have have arra n g e d lunch us to fo r at the clubhouse,
d We be g e t should able to around the course in a couple o f hours or so.
e You be team ed been had m u st w ishing you w ith up Max.
f I have have m eaning been w ord you a w ith to ab ou t this disposal operation,
g I g e t would was m en tion in g w ondering you w hen round to that.

4 W ork w ith a p artn er to practise m ixing business and sport. Speaker A tu rn to

page 1 2 3 , Speaker B tu rn to page 1 3 1 .
 Visiting someone’s home
1 W hat are the advantages and disadvantages o f inviting a client or colleague to your
hom e? Is it as com m on in your country as it is in B ritain, Australia and th e States?

2 ^ 2.19-2.21 Listen to som e people en tertaining a t hom e and answer the questions.
E x tr a c t 1
a Did Magda have a problem finding A nne’s house?
b W hat do you thin k ‘M artin ’s still slaving away in th e kitch en ’ m eans?
C W hat do you th in k Magda brought as a present?
E x tr a c t 2
a W hat do you th in k ‘The whole place was an absolute wreck when we moved in’ m eans?
b W hat do you th in k M artin m eans by ‘I had to rescue the sta rte r’?
C W hat word does Anne use which m eans ‘m ore to drink’?
E x tr a c t 3
How does M agna describe the duck?
crispy juicy soggy tasty delicious tender
W ho raises th e subject o f business? Complete the expression: I’ve been m_
to talk to you about this business in Poland.
W hat excuse does M artin m ake to leave the two women to talk business?
How many tim es does Magda indicate she’s going to leave soon?

3 All the rem arks below were in the conversation in 2. W ork with a partner. See who can
rem em ber the m ost in ju st three m inutes!

Q jm a a i
A me take your coat.
Oh, I b_______ 1 you this.
You shouldn’t h - 6.

Come on t ------- -h.

Oh, w___________ t a fabulous apartment!
Now, how about s ___________ g to drink?
Make y. -f at home.

J fie m e a l
Dinner’s r ___ _y when you are.
Sit w________ _r you like.
Now, there’s more duck if you w______ _t it.
And help y----------------- f to vegetables.
Mm, this is a_ _______ y delicious!
I’m g -- -d you like it.
You m ______ _ t let me have the recipe.

3 ’c v ie m e £ h
Well, I o___________ t to be making a move soon.
You don’t have to r ___________ h off just yet, do you? How a ___________ t
some more coffee?
Okay, j-------- -t half a cup. And then I really must be g_ -g-
Thank you b_ -h for a lovely evening. Next time you must come to
m y p ---------- .e.
T _ __ ___ e care now.
A dinner invitation
W ork with a partner. Act out the situation o f a business person (the guest) visiting the
hom e o f a colleague (the host) from arrival to departure. The h ost is the guest’s immediate
boss. Before you start, establish:
• what com pany you work for (nam e, location and m ain business activity)
• exactly what your roles are at work
• how business is doing and what problems or opportunities your company currently has.

You b oth have an ulterior m otive for th e dinner. G uest see page 1 3 1 . H ost see page 123.

Step 1 This is the h o st’s living room.

H ost, welcome your guest, ask about
th eir journey, make them feel at home
and try to keep the conversation going.
Guest, make up any inform ation you like
about the journey, make some positive
com m ents about the apartm ent, ask
questions and show in terest in the
answers.

Step 2 This is the dinner.

H ost, explain what the food is. Guest,
com plim ent your h o st on the meal.

Step 3 Guest, take your leave, thank your

host. H ost, say goodbye to your guest
and thank them for coming. Conclude
any business you discussed during the
evening or arrange to m eet to discuss
it again.
 LANGUAGE LINKS

09 Relationship-building
Vocabulary 2 Underline eight new expressions in 1 th a t you could
use yourself.
Social English
1 Complete the conversation extracts from a dinner party
using the pairs o f verbs in th e boxes. Grammar

got + joking is + accept looking + ask makes + think Multi-verb sentences

mean + talking reckon + is ’s + be see + doing
tells + going think + happen 1 Decide which o f the verbs below precede the infinitive
w ith to, the -ing form or b oth and tick the appropriate
A So, what do you (1 ). . is going to boxes. The first one has been done for you.
. with this Ukrainian con tract then?
to do doing to do doing
Good question. You know, som ething ( 2 ) ____________
agree / manage
me we’re n o t ______________ to get it.
adm it enjoy
Oh, really? W hat ( 3 ) ______________y o u ______________
suggest hope
that? It ( 4 ) ______________ not like you t o _____________
so pessim istic. try miss

Well, for one thing, we’ve gone in way too high. My put off avoid
guess ( 5 ) ______________th ey ’l l _______________a lower aim expect
tender. stop prom ise
Mm. By the way, have som e m ore m eat - th ere’s refuse go on
plenty o f it. You know, I don’t ( 6 ) ______________ price carry on fail
______________ really the issue. rem em ber dislike
B No?
A No. 1 ( 7 ) ---------------------,we’r e _________ . long-term 2 Com plete th e conversation using the correct form o f the
here. This is a seven-year project, maybe longer. verbs in brackets.
B So? A Hi, Ja m es. Client m eeting overran a b it, did it?
A So, reliability is what they’ll be ( 8 ) ______________ for, B Mm. And Lucy and I stopped ( 1 ) ______________ (have)
if y o u ----------------------me. They’ll pay m ore for that. a coffee on the way back.
You’ve ( 9 ) ______________to b e _______________ This is one A Oh, right.
o f the m ost price-sensitive m arkets in E astern Europe. B By th e way, did you rem em ber ( 2 ) ______________ (send)
The way I ( 1 0 ) ______________ it, we’ll b e ______________ those invoices off?
well ju st to get part o f the contract. They’ll probably get A W hat invoices?
a local firm in to do the m ain work. B Stu art! I distinctly rem em ber ( 3 ) ______________ (ask)
Hm, well, th a t’s bad news ... you to deal with the invoices. They should have gone
can’t + say had + would hear + going is + getting last week.
knew + coming might + known ’s + help A Well, I’ve been a b it busy trying ( 4 ) ______________ (fix)
shouldn’t + saying stop + get suppose + heard this wretched com puter!
B Okay, look, stop ( 5 ) ----------------------(do) whatever you’re
A 1 (1 1 ). - you ve - . th e 1
doing and deal w ith them now, would you? And w hat’s
about Alex?
wrong w ith th e com puter?
About her leaving to jo in HP? Well, we
A No idea. It keeps crashing.
( 1 2 ) ______________ th a t w a s___________ , didn’t we?
B Well, have you tried ( 6 ) ______________(ask) Callum
1 suppose so. The word ( 1 3 ) ______________th at
about it?
Eduardo’s ______________ her job now. You know,
1 ( 1 4 ) ______________ a feeling h e ______________
A O f course I have. I’ve been trying ( 7 ) ______________ (get)
through to him all m orning. But h e’s hke you, isn ’t he?
Mm. 1 ( 1 5 ) ______________rea lly _______________ I’m
He’s never in!
surprised. He’s had his eye on it for a while. And,
anyway, if you get engaged to the executive
vice-president’s daughter, it ( 1 6 ) ______________ bound
t o ______________your career prospects, isn ’t it?
He’s w hat? I ( 1 7 ) ______________h a v e ______________ !
He’ll ( 1 8 ) ___________ . at nothing to -
a prom otion.
Well, you didn’t (1 9 ). ________ this from me, but
th ere’s a ru m o u r____ around t h a t ... well,
maybe I ( 2 0 ) ________ . b e ______________ this, b u t ,
A No, no, go on!
3 Complete the conversation using an appropriate Som e verbs can precede both the in finitive and the -in g
preposition and -ing form from the boxes below. form , but the meaning usually changes (/ like to work out
twice a week = I think it’s a good idea; I like working out =
about about of in on I enjoy it).
Som e verbs normally followed by the -ing form change to
being having making putting telling
infinitive without to when there’s an indirect object
A O f course, Tim succeeded _______________________ {I suggest stopping now - I suggest w e stop now).
a com plete fool o f him self at the party. W h e n a verb is followed by a preposition other than to, the
Did he? -in g form is usually used (They apologizedfo r not getting back
Oh, yes. Well, he will in sist - to us sooner).
those tasteless jokes, won’t he? The presid ent’s wife was M odal verbs always precede the other verbs in a sentence
n o t amused. and are followed by the infinitive without to {You must be
Well, he can fo rg e t____________________________ in for wishing you'd never come to work here!).
th at prom otion, then, can’t he? C ertain expressions always precede the -ing form; I t ’s no
Hm, n o t much chance o f th a t here, anyway. You know good complaining; There’s no point (in) complaining; What’s the
I com plained ______________u s _______________ to work use o f complaining?
another weekend? A number o f expressions take the past form: I'd rather you
Mm, I hear Angela w ent mad about it. didn’t; I t ’s time we went.
Yeah, she practically accused m e . A number o f expressions o f intention take the infinitive
. disloyal to the company! Can you w ith to\ I ’m planning to do it later; I ’v e been meaning to have
believe it? a word w ith you.
Sounds like her.

Phrase bank: Networking

Complete situations 1 - 1 2 using the words in the box. Then m atch each situation to two things you m ight say.

asking breaking bumping catching looking meeting offering paying raising referring saying taking

_ people for the first tim e You m anaged to find us okay?

You’re looking very well!
- into old friends Bye now!
I don’t th in k we’ve m et.
_ com plim ents I t’s been great talking to you.
Long tim e no see.
-a b o u t a journey I could put in a word for you if you like.
Fancy m eeting you here!
- up w ith old friends Is th a t the tim e? I m ust be going soon.
I wonder if I could have a word w ith you.
- an im p ortant subject M arried life obviously suits you!
We m ust get to g eth er soon,
- to help som eone m Give my regards to Theo when you see him.
n Take care.
_ to third parties I didn’t expect to see you here!
I could put you in touch w ith som eone 1 know.
- off a conversation How’s life treating you?
I’ve really enjoyed our conversation.
10 - your leave Fiona m entioned you m ight be dropping by.
I don’t th in k we’ve b een introduced.
11 . forward to future contact I should be m aking a move.
Did you have any trouble finding us?
12 - goodbye W L et’s n o t leave it so long n ext time.
X There’s som ething I’ve been m eaning to talk to you about.
1 4
7 10 11 12
 Making decisions
1 W hen was the last tim e you were faced w ith a difficult decision and were unable to
m ake up your mind? How did you decide in the end, or was the decision made for you?

Standing in the middle o f the

road is very dangerous -you
2 You may be a cool-headed decision m aker in the office, but would you know what to do
in a real life-or-death situation? Read the following extract from an unusual website and
get knocked down by the
discuss the questions.
trafficfrom both sides.

Margaret Thatcher
Do you find decision­
making easy or difficult?
Learning objectives:
Unit 10
Business communication skills
Discussing making decisions
in difficult situations; Doing a
quiz on life-and-death decisions;
Giving advice on worst-case
scenarios or workplace
dilemmas; Inserting missing
articles into two texts; Fluency:
Holding a crisis management
meeting
Reading Website extract: Worst-
case scenarios; Company crises
Listening Advice on surviving
worst-case scenarios; Decision­
making meetings; Case study:
Coca-Cola crisis
Vocabulary Marketing
Grammar Articles
Phrase bank Decision-making
In company interviews
Units 8 -1 0
The principle behind this site is a simple one: you just
Mbrst-case never know.
scenarios You never really know w hat nasty surprises life has
in store fo r you - w hat Is lurking around the corner,
what is hovering over your head, w hat is swimming
beneath the surface. You never know when you might
be called on to perform an act of extreme bravery
and to choose life or death by your own actions.
But when you are called, we w ant to be sure that you
know how to react. We w ant you to know w hat to do
when the pilot passes out and you have to land the
plane. We w ant you to know w hat to do when you
see that shark fin heading tow ard you ...
a W hat kind o f things ‘lurking around the corner’, ‘hovering over your head’ or
‘swimming beneath the surface’ do you th in k the w ebsite is referring to?
b Have you ever found yourself in a really dangerous situation where you needed to act
quickly? Tell the story.
C W hat w orst-case scenario would you least like to face:
1 a t work? 2 in life?
3 Work in two groups. Hold an em ergency m eeting to decide what decisions you’d make
in real life-and-death situations. There are four item s on your ‘agenda’ and you have ju st
five m inutes to decide what action to take. Group A your w orst-case scenarios are below
and on page 64. Group B tu rn to page 124.

On a driving holiday in India you lose On a trek in the Chilean Andes you g e t cut o ff from
control o f your hire-car travelling downhill the rest o f your group and become hopelessly lost.
at 70 mph on a mountain road. You've no As you try to w ork o u t which direction to take, you
brakes and there's a 300m drop to the are confronted by a hungry m ountain lion. Do you:
valley below. Do you:
a lie down and play dead?
a try to jum p out o f the car and roll to b shout and flap your coat at the animal?
safety? c run and hide (maybe find a tree to climb)?
b steer away from the cliff edge and into
the mountainside to stop the car?
c steer into the crash barriers on the cliff
edge to slow the car down?
 During a flig h t over the Grand Canyon in a
private plane, your p ilo t passes out and you have
to land the plane yourself. You manage to reach
the airfield. Do you:
keep the nose o f the plane pointing above the
horizon as you descend to the runway?
slow down to about 60 mph as you touch
down and then hit the brakes hard?
keep the plane at a steady altitude o f 150 feet
as you approach the beginning o f the runway?

4 W ork w ith a p artn er from the oth er group. Briefly sum m arize the scenarios you faced
and the decisions you took.

5 ^ 2.22-2.29 Now listen to som e advice on how to survive the eight w orst-case
scenarios in 3. How many lives did you lose? W hich group did b etter?

6 Put the following expressions on the scale below according to how likely they are. M ost
o f them were in the advice you ju s t listened to. The first one has been done for you.
a You’ve a good chance. g You’ve blown your chances.
b You don’t stand a chance. h There’s a fair chance.
c There’s a 5 0 -5 0 chance. i There’s an outside chance.
d Your chances are slim. j I t’s a m illion-to-one chance.
e You’re in w ith a chance. k No chance!
f The chances are rem ote.

0
< - + >
more likely possible less likely

7 Complete expressions a -n using th e nouns and verbs in the boxes. They were all in the
advice in 5.

bet circumstances idea mistake move point thing

Your b e s t ____ . is to shout and flap your coat at the animal.

Do n o t in a n y . try to stand up on th e ice.
I t ’s a g o o d ___ _ to brake as soon as you’ve gained control o f the steering.
There’s n o t m u c h _________
-------------trying to force th e door open.
By far the m ost se n sib le __ --------------- to do is to open the car window.
Ju s t grabbing on to the nearest person w ith a parachute is n ot a s m a r t_________
It’s a co m m o n ______________ to think the shark’s nose is the b est area to target.

Worst-case scenarios
on a round-the-w orld cruise the ocean liner you’re on
hits an iceberg and starts to sink
during a trip across the Australian Outback, your car
breaks down in the middle of nowhere
a poisonous snake has crawled into your sleeping bag
'Gentlemen, I take it
•we are all in complete
agreement on the decision
here. ’Alfred P. Sloan,
the head of General
Motors, looked around
the committee room table.
His senior managers
nodded in assent. 'Then, ’
continued Sloan, 1 propose
we postponefurther
discussion of the matter
until our next meeting
to give ourselves time to
develop disagreement
and perhaps gain some
understanding o f what
the decision is about. ’
John Adair
Effective Decision-Making
do forget make put resist take think
D on’t e v e n ----------------------about jum ping from a moving vehicle.
. th e tem p tation to run from a m ountain Hon.
. any ideas o f playing dead out o f your mind.
. sure th a t the nose o f the plane is six inches below the horizon.
. care to land on your back to avoid breaking it.
m . about trapping air inside a sinking car.
n You’d . much b e tte r to strike at the eyes or gills.
8 W ork w ith a partner. Practise using som e o f the expressions in 6 and 7 by advising
them on how to handle one o f th e following situations. Don’t worry if you can’t give
expert advice!
Workplace dilemmasg r;
your boss is working you to death
a colleague is taking the credit for all your ideas
you’ve been passed over for prom otion - again!
there’s a rum our your com pany is about to announce
redundancies
The decision-making process
1 Read the anecdote about Alfred P. Sloan, the m an who built General M otors into the
biggest com pany in the world. W h at p oint is being made about group decisions?
2 ^ 2.30-2.32 Listen to extracts from three different decision-m aking m eetings and
answer the questions.
1 An ind u strial dispute
a W hy is Dan so concerned about a strike?
b W ho’s the calm est person at the m eeting?
2 Political in stab ilities
a W h at’s H ans’s objection to the proposal?
b W h at’s Andrea worried about?
3 A p rodu ct recall
a W hose side is Laura on?
b Do you th in k Sim on has already made up his mind?
3 You heard the following idiom atic expressions in 2. Can you rem em ber the m issing
words? The first two letters are given. The m eaning o f the idioms in brackets may help
you.
the ball is in th eir co_ (we’re w aiting for som eone else to make a decision)
jum p to CO- (decide too quickly w ithout considering all the facts)
when it com es to the cr_ ------------------- (when a decision finally has to be made)
sit on the fe_ (refuse to support eith er side in an argum ent)
 4 The following rem arks were also all in the m eetings in 2. Replace the words and
phrases in bold w ith sim ilar ones from the box.

advantages and disadvantages alternative come to complete support

I don’t think we should make a decision information intuition the main thing
opinions plan pool our ideas serious thought stand by suggest undecided
we need to take our time on this we’re running out of time we unanimously agree

Look, tim e is s h o r t . ____________ So le t’s put our heads

t o g e th e r __________ . and see what we can com e up w ith

b Okay, we’ve weighed up the various p ros and cons ,

Now it’s tim e to r e a c h . . a decision and stick to
-it.
I don’t w an t us ru sh in g in to th in g s . This whole issue
requires carefu l co n sid e ra tio n ______
d I take it we’re all in a g re e m e n t. . th a t our first p riority
____________________________ is to safeguard th e well-being o f our personnel.
Well, then, I don’t see we have any o p tio n -------------------------------------------b u t to give this
proposal our full b a ck in g __________________________
I’d like your in p u t___________________ . on this before com m itting us to any
definite c o u rs e --------------------------------- . o f action.
g I’m in tw o m in d s. about it. At this stage I thin k we
should keep our options o p e n .
h Well, in th e absence o f m ore reliable d a t a . I th in k I’m
going to have to go w ith my g u t i n s tin c t. - on this one.

Crisis management
1 W hat so rt o f crises can com panies be faced w ith these days? Can you think o f recent
exam ples o f any o f the following?

accusations of fraud a consumer boycott an environmental disaster a hostile takeover bid

insider trading a lawsuit mass redundancies a product recall

2 W ork in two groups. Group A read about a crisis at M cD onald’s, Group B at Mercedes.
Twenty-five articles (a, an and the) are m issing from each text. W rite them in. If you do
the exercise correctly, b oth groups should use a, an and the the same num ber o f tim es.

In 1994 Stella Liebeck, N ew Mexico grandmother, ordered coffee at McDonald’s

drive-through restaurant. Minutes later, sitting in her car in car park, she accidentally
spilled coffee - heated, in response to customer preference, to scalding I80°F - and
suffered severe burns requiring surgery. Crisis was about to unfold.

W hen McDonald’s refused to take responsibility fo r paying wom an’s medical

bills, she w ent to attorney and sued company. A t tria l jury found McDonald’s
liable and awarded $200,000 in compensatory damages (less $40,000 fo r
negligence on Liebeck’s part) and massive $2.7 m illion in punitive damages
because o f what they saw as McDonald’s unacceptably dismissive attitude.

One might have expected bad publicity to ruin McDonald’s, but instead
newspapers leapt to company’s defence, declaring w hat nonsense c o u rt’s
verdict was. ‘America has victim complex,’ announced Son Francisco
C hronicle. Punitive damages w ere later reduced by judge to $480,000
and, while awaiting appeal, parties made o u t-o f-c o u rt settlem ent fo r i
undisclosed sum. But by then ‘three m illion dollar coffee-spill’ had
already passed into corporate legend.

1 0 MAKING DECISIONS
In automotive industry trend for many years has been towards
smaller, more economical vehicle. So in autumn of 1997, Daimler-
Benz introduced new economy model, Mercedes ‘A Class’. It was car
designed to compete with ever-popular Volkswagen G olf But just
before November launch, disaster struck.
Swedish auto magazine had conducted what they called ‘elk test’ on
new car. Test is standard in Sweden to make sure cars can steer to
avoid large deer crossing road. But at just 60 kph ‘A Class’
overturned, injuring both test drivers. Storm immediately blew up
in press and on TV, as buyers waiting to take delivery cancelled their ... M .
orders. For Mercedes it was not only financial but image crisis too.
Daimler responded quickly, adding wider tyres, electronic stability
mechanism and stronger anti-rollbars —all at no extra cost to
customer. Highly successful advertising campaign and public support
from Niki Lauda, ex-formula one racing champion, helped to restore
consumer confidence in A Class’ but at cost of hundreds of millions
of dollars.

3 Sum m arize th e story you read in 2 to a m em ber o f the oth er group. W hat lessons can
be learned from how the com panies behaved?

4 W hich are th e b est things a m anager can do in a crisis? W hich do you think are
good advice? M atch the following collocations.
a deny som eone g admit honest
b stay \ tim e h take data
C delegate \ calm i make charge
d buy \ decisive j act quickly
e blam e everything k collect nothing
f be responsibility 1 be prom ises

5 Work in groups to act as crisis m anagem ent consu ltants to the Coca-i
It is May 1 9 9 9 and the world’s m ost fam ous brand is in trouble ...
Step 1

2.33 Listen to the first part o f the case and answer the questions,
a How many Cokes are sold each day?
b How would you describe Coca-Cola’s advertising strategy?
C W hat has ju st happened?
d W hich m arkets are directly involved in th e crisis?
e Calculate how m uch those m arkets are w orth in annual sales.
Step 2

2.34 Listen to the second part o f the case and answer the questions,
a W hat do the following figures refer to?
+25% -13%
b W hat is the significance o f these figures?
C W hat have th e inspectors at the Belgian b ottlin g plant found?
d W hat is the toxicologist’s verdict?
e W ho is benefiting from Coca-Cola’s current problem s?
Step 3
Hold a m eeting to decide what recom m endations to m ake to your client. As well as the
Units 8 -1 0 inform ation you have ju st heard, read the article and agenda on page 1 2 1 .
 10 Making decisions
Vocabulary 6 W hich o f th e term s in 5 refer to:
a the num ber two player in a m arket after the m arket
Marketing leader?
The m ark etp lace b the im portance the custom er gives to prices?
C a small num ber o f custom ers requiring a particular type
1 Complete the adjectives by w riting in th e m issing
o f product or service?
vowels. The adjectives range from positive to negative.
d the shop or store through which products are sold to
b m ng th r v ng the consum er?
h Ithy b Y nt e a m ethod o f persuading consum ers to buy by invisible,
The m arket is v ._ ] _ t _ L npr d ct hi__ psychological m eans?
w k s L _ g g _ sh f getting cu stom ers’ perm ission before sending
fl__t d pr ss d inform ation to them ?

2 Complete the sentence using som e o f the adjectives 7 The verbs and verb phrases in the box all form strong
in 1 and inform ation th a t is true for you. collocations with ‘the m arket’. Put them into the m ost likely
The m arket f o r _____________ i n _______________is chronological order. One o f them has been done for you.
whereas th e . . m arket is be squeezed out of break back into compete in
dominate enter target

3 Complete the collocations by w riting a noun from the

box before each set o f three nouns below.

advertising brand distribution market marketing

a . m ix / drive / strategy
b . forces / research / share
The verbs and verb phrases in the box all form strong
c , netw ork / channels / costs
collocations w ith ‘the com petition’. Put them into the m ost
d . campaign / expenditure / agencies
likely chronological order. One o f them has been done
e - awareness / loyalty / stretching for you.

W hich collocations in 3 are the following exam ples of? come up against destroy fight back against
outclass succumb to take on
Om nicom , Publicis, Doyle Dane Bernbach, D entsu
com petition, the state o f th e economy, political stability 7 8 9
> ♦ ontiLiss
‘the four Ps’: product, place, price, prom otion
w holesalers, retailers, sales reps
Virgin Cola, Camel watches, Ferrari sunglasses 12 11 10
i i
5 Listed below are som e o f the term s com m only used
in m arketing departm ents, b u t th e second word in each
collocation has been switched w ith an oth er in the same
column. Can you switch them back? The first two have been Grammar
done for you.
a m arket o u tlet i ---------------
Articles
g sublim inal relatio n s
b com petitive brand h price m ark etin g Com plete the te x t w ith a, an, the or zero article 0 , as
c retail ch allenger i --------- 1 niche analysis necessary.

d m ass sen sitivity public ad vertisin g
j
e price m ark et k consum er m ark et
f leading ad vantage 1 perm ission w ar
They say ‘All’s fair in (1)---------------------love and
(2 ) ______________w ar’. And when it com es to getting
(3 ) ______________ good deal, ( 4 ) ---------------------
same is tru e o f ( 5 ) ----------------------business. For
( 6 ) ______________exam ple, in 1 8 0 3 , ( 7 ) ----------------------
h alf o f what is now ( 8 ) __ . USA was actually
bought from ( 9 ) _________ . French for three cents
(1 0 ) ______________acre! How were they able to get such
(1 1 ) ______________ bargain? At ( 1 2 ) ______________ time,
( 1 3 ) _____________ Em peror Napoleon was preparing to go
to ( 1 4 ) ______________ war w ith ( 1 5 ) ----------------------B ritain
and was desperate to sell.
 LANGUAGE LINKS

The indefinite a rticle is used: The definite article is used:

• before a singular countable noun when it is unspecified
and mentioned for the first time. / need a holiday.
• before singular countable nouns in exclamations. W hat a
day!; I t was such a nuisance!
• before the names o f professions. She's an engineer.
• before a singular countable noun where a plural could be
used to mean the same thing. There’s no such thing as a free
lunch = There’s no such thing asfre e lunches.
• to mean per when talking about prices, speed, rates, etc.
€3 a kilo; three times a day.
• before a noun that has been mentioned before. 1 used to
have tw o B M W s a n d a Lotus, but I had to sell the Lotus.
• before a noun that is later specified in the same sentence.
The guy I m et in Rio runs his own business.
• when it is clear from the context what we are referring
to. I'll drop you o ff a t the hotel.
• when the thing referred to is unique. The human race.
• before an adjective referring to a group. The Dutch.
The zero article is used:
• before mass or abstract nouns. Greed is good.
• before the names o f most countries. Exceptions include:
the U S A , the U K and the Netherlands.
• in certain fixed expressions. Go to war.

Phrase bank: Decision-making

Listed below are six key things you need to do in a decision-m aking m eeting. M atch each to three
things you m ight say. The first one has been done for you as an example.
1 Encourage collaboration
2 Com m ent on options a That’s a big plus, as far as I’m concerned.
3 Consider pros and cons But le t’s look at som e o f the m inuses.
4 Advise caution
5 Check agreem ent
6 Com m it to a decision
b Okay; I’d like everybody’s input on this.

We need to take our tim e on this.

C
3 \ e So is th a t unanim ous then?

d I don’t see we have any

option bu t to go ahead.
3 \
f I think I’m going to have to go h Okay, th a t’s
with my gut in stin ct on this one. the upside. But
g To be h on est. I’m in two minds about this. what about the
downside?

i This requires careful consideration.

j I take it we’re all in k L et’s put our heads together and
agreem ent on this? see what we can come up with.
A
I I’m n o t wholly in favour o f this,
m Okay, we’ve weighed
but what alternative do we have?
up the advantages and n Does anybody have any
disadvantages. objection s to that?

0 So th a t’s decided
then. q I don’t w ant us rushing
in to things. r Okay, so we’re going
i r p L et’s pool our ideas to go w ith iVIarc’s
on this. idea.
 Stress
Look at the cartoon and answer the questions.
Learning objectives;
How would you describe the w om an’s behaviour in the cartoon?
Unit 11
People skills Analyzing How does the m an feel about the woman and her problem ?
attitudes to stress in the W hat are th eir attitudes to stress?
workplace; Identifying
techniques for managing stress;
Fluency: Helping a staff member m POCTOR m P ME
in a stressful situation THAT IF YOUPON'TREPOa
Reading Article on helping THE JOS STRESS HERE... ...I COOLP Bl
colleagues manage stress
Listening Talk on stress
management; Eight managers
counselling their staff

2 W hat attitu des to stress have you encountered in different workplaces?

3 W hat does the chart below show? Compare your ideas w ith a partner.

4 ^ 2.3 6 Listen to an extract from a talk about stress m anagem ent and label the three
coloured areas on th e chart.

5 2 .3 6 Listen again and m atch th e work environm ents in the photos on the left to
the levels o f stress on the chart.

6 The speaker m entions ‘the sym ptom s o f distress’ - what do you think they are?
Consider th e effects on the body, the m ind and on behaviour. Compare your ideas with
a partner.

7 How do you m anage your own stress? Do you have any techniques or tips th a t would
help colleagues or team m em bers to m anage th eir stress?
 PEOPLE SKILLS

8 Read the article quickly and m atch the headings in the box to the paragraphs.

Ease the strain Facilitate change Identify the source Share feelings

Stress is contagious; if not handled carefully, a colleague's distress

can quickly ruin your own day. Following a four-step action plan will
help keep the whole office on track.
1 ___________________________
First, encourage your stressed-out
colleague to talk or even cry;
expressing their em otions will provide
tem porary relief. D on't be judgem ental
and d o n 't be te m p te d to force your
advice on them ; if th e ir frustration
is directed at you personally, resist
the urge to defend yourself. Simply
empathize and help them not to feel
guilty about the way they feel.
Next, ask neutral, open questions
3 ___________________________
Ask yourself what you can do to
take the pressure off. Can you
give your colleague more time, or
shift some tasks to someone else?
A quiet word with other people
who are a source o f pressure, or
small im provements to the work
environment, can help overcome
that 'o u t o f control' feeling.
i _________________
Use counselling techniques like
echoing, summarizing and asking

He ping to elicit the cause o f their distress.

Very often a m inor annoyance will
prove to be the tip o f a much b ig g er
hypothetical questions to help
your colleague find their own
solutions. D on't provide your

co llea g u es ^ iceberg. But d o n 't probe, and d o n 't

ask leading questions. D on't minimize
own answers to their problems;
help them take control o f their

I m an age stress ^ the problem , but try to help your

colleague keep things in perspective.
life by making changes o r simply
learning to live with the problem.

9 Reread the article. How many o f th e points you discussed in 7 are m entioned?

10 According to the article, you should n o t do the following things. Why?

• force your advice on colleagues ask leading questions
• defend yourself m inim ize the problem
• probe provide answers

11 ^ 2 .3 7 Listen to eight m anagers M anager //X Advice

counselling sta ff m em bers who are suffering 1 M ark
from stress. Decide if each m anager is doing
2 Jack y
things right ( ^ ) or wrong (X ). Then m atch the
3 Corey
m anager to the advice from the article (a -h )
th a t they are following or need to follow, 4 B rett

a ask what you can do to take the pressure of¥ 5 Jo

b don’t probe, and don’t ask leading questions 6 Perry

C encourage colleagues to express their em otions 7 Chris
d don’t provide your own answers 8 Georgie
e use counselling techniques like echoing, etc
f help them n ot to feel guilty
g don’t m inim ize the problem
h resist the urge to defend yourself

12 ^ 2.37 Complete the useful expressions you heard in 11. Then listen again and check.
It’s . . normal. There’s no need to feel
It’s b etter to get it off y ou r_______ about it.
I understand how y o u ___________ W hat would-------------- -if you didn’t ...
Would i t ---------------------i f ... H ow _________ a problem would
It could______________ to anyone. th at be?

13 W ork w ith a p artn er to practise helping a sta ff m em ber in a stressful situation.

Speaker A see page 1 1 8 . Speaker B see page 1 3 6 .
 MANAGEMENT
SCENARIO

Pitch and persuade

Learning objectives:
IVIanagement
scenario C
Business communication sl<ills
Identifying effective pitching
techniques; Using Cialdini’s six
principles of influence; Fluency:
Pitching a new project
Reading Article on building
donor circles
In company in action
C l: A failed pitch;
C2: An effective pitch

1 W ho is the m ost persuasive person you know? How do they get people to do what they
w ant them to do?

2 Read th e article below th a t Cassie sen t to her boss, Peter, and m ark the statem ents
T (true), F (false) or D (doesn’t say).

Use social media to build donor circles

Pe^s^ - IjOli
m g k find this ^ s e fd In to d a y’s difficult giving environment, the best place to look for new funding Is with your
current donors. Put their loyalty and social media contacts to w ork for your organization.
f o r the E. India,
Forget about mass mailshots and advertising campaigns; new donors are no longer
project.
recruited in batches of hundreds or thousands but through small circles of friends,
Cdss. one at a time. Many of your loyal donors are active social media users. Invite them to
leverage their willingness to prom ote your cause by recruiting new supporters from their
own circles of friends. Give them the tools to build new donor circles from among their
Facebook friends and Twitter followers and organize events to prom ote your projects.
Soon your new supporters will go on to build their own donor circles.

The pow er of social media lies in its alm ost unlimited numbers of connections.
When you build high-quality relationships with your followers, your donor circles can
m ultiply indefinitely.

a Cassie tells Peter he should use social media to raise m oney for a project in India,
b Investing in media campaigns and direct mailing is the b est way to recruit large
num bers o f supporters.
C E xisting supporters are happy to tell their friends about a good cause via
social media.
d Developing donor circles costs the organization nothing.
In company
in action k J I ' 3 Now watch video C l to see Peter Neubauer, M arketing M anager at Blue Rock, pitching
a new fundraising strategy to Sue Je n se n , his CEO. W hich o f the following are m entioned?
a three-day conference __ an im p ortan t interview
a budget cut an urgent decision
recruiting new staff w aste w ater treatm en t
retu rn on investm ent a precedent for non-profit organizations

4 W atch video C l again and answer the questions.

a W hy doesn’t Sue w ant to schedule a p resen tation a fter th e conference call?
b W hat is the goal o f the Eastern India project?
C W hy is Sue uncom fortable with the concept o f multi-level m arketing?
d W hat m ajor costs does P eter’s strategy involve?
e W hat two reasons does Sue give for saying no?
 MANAGEMENT SCENARIO

5 Peter makes a num ber o f strategic and tactical m istakes. M atch th e following phrases to the errors they illustrate.
1 Couldn’t Cassie deal w ith it? a forgetting th a t a pitch is much sh orter th an a presentation
2 My presen tation is in three parts ... b n ot seeing an opportunity for reciprocity
3 So why didn’t you say so? C using jargon
4 I’ve been there, I know what it’s like. d losing Sue’s sym pathy by rejecting her objection too directly
5 Sorry Peter, you’ve lost me there. e n ot adapting th e pitch to the audience, giving too much detail
6 No, you don’t understand. f n ot explaining the need for new funding

6 W ork w ith a partner. Discuss how Peter could improve his pitch. Brainstorm a list of
dos and don’ts for pitching and persuading.

7 Complete the em ails below with words from the boxes. The first box is for 1 - 6 and the
second box is for a -f . Compare Em m a’s advice with your own dos and don’ts.

details discussion jargon Authority Consistency Liking

overview specific structure Reciprocity Scarcity Social proof

Hi Emma, Peter,
I still d o n ’t understand Sue really put you on the spot, d id n ’t she? For w hat it’s worth, here are a few
what went wrong thoughts.
this afternoon; any As you know, an elevator pitch isn’t the same thing as a presentation. You d o n ’t
suggestions? have tim e for 1 )____________ , your goal is just to give a high-level 2).
Thanks, Peter and get your audience interested enough to start a 3). -. So you have
to have a very clear, simple 4 ) ____________ - e.g. (i) a reason to listen, (ii) the
objective, (ill) the problem, (Iv) the solution, (v) the benefits, (vi) a call for action.
Secondly, be passionate, be lean, be 5 ) ____________ , and be sincere. Show that
you believe in w hat you’re doing, d o n ’t use 6 ) ____________ , keep it clear and
simple, and show that you really w ant that agreement.
Finally, have you ever heard of Cialdini’s six principles of influence?
.- g iv e something first, d . - having the
then people are more likely to return appropriate credentials makes you
the favour. more persuasive.
_____________ - it’s easier to _____________ - a logical sequence of
persuade people if there is mutual arguments builds pressure to agree.
like and respect f ----------------------- show that others are
_____________ - people more often already doing it and people will follow
agree if they think they w o n ’t get their example.
another chance.
Hope this helps; as you know, Sue always likes to give people a second chance!
Good luck, Emma

In company
In action k J * 8 Now watch video C2 to see Peter make a second pitch. W hich points in Em m a’s advice
do the following phrases illustrate?
a Leave them w ith me. I’ll deal w ith them ,
b Did you know 68% o f social m edia users w ill...
C This was Cassie’s idea, so she should take the credit,
d I know exactly what you mean.
e This strategy is already being used very successfully by high-profile nonprofits like ...
f I’ve put all the details in this handout,
g If we wait till everybody’s doing it, it w on’t be so effective,
h That’s why I’m asking you to give the go-ahead ...

9 A fter m aking an unexpected profit, your com pany has allocated a budget o f $1M
for an exceptional p roject to ben efit employees. Among the suggestions are building a
gym, settin g up a day-care centre for young children, or funding MBA courses. Prepare a
tw o-m inute pitch to defend one o f these projects or your own idea. Make your pitch and
answer the group’s questions. Hold a vote to decide who gets the go-ahead.

W hen you have finished, use the checklists on page 1 2 7 to help you evaluate your
perform ance.
 Emailing
1 Read the extracts below from web and press articles and discuss the questions with
a partner.
The beautifulpart of writing
is thatyou don’t have toget
2 Make a list o f your three top tips for dealing w ith emails. Compare your list w ith the
rest o f your group.
it right thefirst time, unlike,
say, a brain surgeon. You can
always do it better.
Robert Cormier, author
D o you prefer to email or
to call colleagues?
Learning objectives:
Unit 12
Business communication skills
Discussing how to deal with
emails; Correcting errors in
an email; Shortening and
simplifying an email; Adding
the personal touch to an email;
Choosing an appropriate email
style; Fluency: W riting and
answering emails
Reading Extracts on emailing
Listening Podcast: what your
emails say about your career
prospects; Radio programme:
The biggest email blunders
ever made
Vocabulary Prepositional
phrases
Gram m ar Future forms
Phrase bank Emailing
a A ccording to tine Electronic Messaging Association, around seven trillion emails are
sent annually. How many of them end up In your inbox? And how do you deal with
the following problem?
When everybody has email and anybody can send you email, how do you decide
whose messages you're going to read and respond to first and whose you're going
to send to the trash unread? T o m P e te rs in F a s t C o m p a n y m a g a z in e
b Is email a tim e-saver or does it distract you from more im portant business? Are you
anything like the typical workers mentioned below?
As Clive Thompson pointed o u t in T h e N e w Y ork T im e s m a g a z in e , after a worker
has been interrupted with a message, it generally takes nearly half an hour for him
to return to his original task. A ccording to researchers, 40% o f workers moved on
to com pletely new tasks after being interrupted, leaving their old task behind,
neglected and unfinished. S E N D , T h e E s s e n tia l G u id e to E m a il fo r O ffic e a n d H o m e
C Are you ignoring your email more these days? Does this com pany’s idea sound like
it could work?
Signs are that the first rush o f enthusiasm fo r email may be waning. One big
company in the com puting industry is considering banning emails in the afternoon.
It found th a t its people had stopped talking to one another. S tu a rt C ra in e r in A
F re e th in k e r's A -Z o f th e N e w W o r ld o f B u s in e s s
d Have you ever sent an angry email or hidden behind an email when you had bad
news to deliver? How do you feel about the advice below?
Rule num ber one: never send an email when you're mad. And if you want to know
if you're mad, just take tw o fingers, close your eyes and touch your eyelids. If
they're hot, researchers say you're mad and you should
p ut it in the draft pile and send it later. One of
the things I've learned is that email is for
saying 'yes', email is fo r answering or
asking questions. If you say 'no', if you
criticize, if you attack, please, do it in
person - or, worst-case, do it over
the phone.
T im S a n d e rs , B e tte r L ife M e d ia
e The Institute o f Management puts
working with com puters am ongst
T h e Top Ten Stress Factors at
W ork’ . Have you ever resorted to
any of the following?
A survey by Mori reveals that three
quarters o f com puter users shout
and swear at their machines. A
similar study by IT support company
Sosmatic shows th a t 43% o f them have
slapped, smacked and even kicked their
computer. The mouse is the most abused
piece o f equipm ent, receiving 31.5% o f the
punishment, follow ed by the monitor, the
printer, the hard drive and the keyboard. Over
a year such outbursts o f 'com puter rage' can
cost companies up to £25,000 in lost earnings and
dam aged hardware.
Writing emails
1 Read the article below. Is it easy or difficult to understand?

Aoccdrnig to rsceearh at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in what oredr the Itteers
in a wrod are. The olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and Isat Itteres are in the rghit
pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sltil raed it wouthit a porbelm. This is
bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey Iteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wiohe.

2 2.3 8 Listen to a podcast explaining what the kind o f em ail you send says about
your career prospects. M atch the person to th e em ail type.
a high-flier 1 reply to all
b born leader 2 filled w ith em oticons
C corporate loser 3 prefer face mail
d tim e-w aster 4 bcc to boss
e poor team player 5 neatly paragraphed
f office joker 6 sh o rt phrases

3 If Professor O w ens’s research is right, are you w riting the kind o f emails th a t will get
you prom oted?

4 Look at the email below and the one on page 76. From what Professor Owens said in the
podcast you ju st hstened to, which do you think was w ritten by a junior manager?

Steve
Can you udpate me on where you are with hte Rome Expo arrangements I
was unable to open the attatchm ent you sent me, so i dont have a copy of the
programme. As for as the Copenhagen conferrence is concerned I d o n ’t just have
tim e for dealing with it myself. So please can you sort this out with the Danes asap?
You’ll need probably to contact Margrethe Rasmussen at there headquarters in
helsingborg. Copy me in on any correspondance.
Thanks alot. Your a star!
Maxine
(BTW any news on Garys feasability study???)

5 Correct the gram m ar, spelling and punctuation m istakes in the first em ail above.
There are 1 8 . Break up the te x t into sh o rt paragraphs and add a suitable subject line.

6 Read th e following statem en ts about the em ails and decide if you agree (A) or
disagree (D).
The m istakes in the first em ail are m ainly language errors or typos.
Emails like this create a bad im pression.
M istakes don’t m atter as long as the m essage is clear and the tone friendly.
I would be m ore tolerant if I knew the w riter was n o t a native speaker.
 7 Make the second em ail below sh orter and sim pler by deleting as m any words as you
Glossary can w ithout changing the basic m essage or sounding too direct.
asap /,ei es ei 'pi:/
(abbrev) as soon as
possible. In AmE, asap is
often pronounced
/'eisaep/
BTW (abbrev) by the way:
used in emails and text
messages for adding
additional information
FYI (abbrev) for your
information: used in
emails and text messages
as a way of introducing
a useful piece of
information
KR (abbrev) kind regards:
used in emails and text
messages for an informal
closing greeting
Dear Stephen
I do realize that you must be very busy at the mom ent with all the arrangements for
our exhibition stand at the Rome Expo in tw o w eeks’ time, but, if you have a spare
mom ent sometim e over the next few days, could you possibly just have a quick
look at the first draft of my report on the ComTech feasibility study, which I’ve been
working very hard on since we last spoke? As I’m sure Maxine has already told you,
it was actually due last week and I know that she needs it quite urgently, but there
are just a couple of points I need to check with you, if th a t’s okay, before I submit
the final report - see attachment.
FYI, I d o n ’t know if anyone has spoken to you about it yet, but it looks like I’m
probably going to be coming to Copenhagen with you, Fiona and Michael in
Septem ber after all. You’ll remember from my CV when you interviewed me for this
position that I studied German and Danish at university and, as a matter of fact,
I still speak pretty good Danish, which m ight just com e in handy ;-) although I’m
quite sure m ost of the Danes w e’ll be meeting at the conference will have no
problem whatsoever with English!
KR
Gary

8 Now m ake the shortened second em ail friendlier by adding a few personal touches.
Use som e or all o f the following inform ation to personalize it in your own way.
Stephen:
• has ju st becom e a fath er for th e first tim e
• has put in for a prom otion
• is under a lot o f pressure because three people in his d epartm ent are off sick
• has never been to D enm ark (Gary knows it well)
• is a keen squash player (so is Gary).
Email style
1 How you w rite an em ail largely depends on who you are w riting to. If you are writing
to a business con tact for th e first tim e or you don’t know the person, a form al style is
generally used.

Read through the em ail below and underline the b est option. This is th e first tim e Simon
Allen has contacted Tim othy Green.

Dear (1) Tim othy Green / Mr Green

(2) I hope everything’s fine / I trust you are well.
(3) I would like to congratulate you on an excellent presentation / Just to say you did
a fantastic presentation. The product demonstration was extremely (4) well received /
went down really well.
However, (5) I’ll tell you something I really d id n ’t like / there is one aspect which
concerns me. As it stands, the packaging design (6) may be problem atic / would
really cause a lot of problems. (7) How about changing the design? / Would you
consider changing the design? (8) Let’s meet next week and see w hat other ideas
we can com e up with / Could we meet next week to discuss some alternative ideas?
(9) BTW, I need you to take a look at the Singapore report. / Also, I w ould be grateful
if you could read over the Singapore report. In particular it is rather urgent to get the
cost breakdown figures from the report. Would it be possible for you to (10) provide
me the information by Wednesday 10 am? / send me the cost breakdown from the
report ASAP?
(11) For any questions d o n ’t hesitate to contact Sandra Taylor in accounts. /
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Sandra Taylor in
accounts.
(12) Yours sincerely / Best wishes
Simon Allen
Director of Marketing

2 W rite a sh o rt em ail in reply to the one above using the prom pts below. Rem em ber to
use an appropriate style.
glad / enjoyed / presen tation / also pleased / response / product demo // disappointed /
hear / n ot keen / design // thought / quite stylish // let / know / free / discuss /
alternatives // around / m ost / n ext week // happy / go through / report // costing /
ready / w ithin / few days // may need / check / few things / Sandra // happen / have /
exten sion num ber? / thanks
The biggest email blunders ever made
1 W ork w ith a partner and discuss the following questions.
a There are an estim ated 1 0 0 ,0 0 0 com puter viruses out there in cyberspace. Have any
of them found you yet?
b W hat kind o f things do people use th eir office com puters for which are n o t strictly
business? Have you ever been tem pted to do any o f these things yourself?
C Have you ever sen t an em ail and later regretted it? How dangerous is it to send
business emails (even internally) w ithout considering the possible im plications?

2 ^ 2 .3 9 Listen to the story o f som e o f the biggest email blunders ever made and
num ber the following in the order they are m entioned.
Netscape M errill Lynch
Dow Chemical Cerner
the Love Bug W estern Provident
AOL Norwich Union
Microsoft® The Pentagon

W ork w ith a partner. W ithou t listenin g again, can you rem em ber:
how much the Love Bug cost com puter netw orks worldwide?
how much the two insurance com panies settled out o f court for?
how an English schoolgirl got a hold o f US m ilitary com m unications to the UK?
how m any people lost their jo bs at Dow Chemical?
whose stock fell by 28% ?
how m uch M errill Lynch had to pay out because o f Blodget’s email?
which executives regretted sending emails in the M icrosoft a n titru st trial?

^ 2 .3 9 Listen again to see if you were correct.

 You’ve got mail!
1 W ork w ith a p artn er to practise exchanging emails.
S tage 1
W rite an em ail (m axim um 1 5 0 words) to a real colleague on one o f the subjects below. Use
the suggested phrases to help you, b u t change and add anything you need to.

Subject: Change of plan Subject: Update please

I was/we were originally hoping to but I’nn
afraid that won’t be possible now because
so what I’m/we’re planning to do is ...
Sorry it’s a bit short notice, but do you think
you’ll be able to ... or is that going to be a
problem? I’ll wait to hear from you.
Sorry to be a pain about this, but I’m still
waiting f o r ... Can you let me know how much
longer it’s likely to be? Do you think you’ll have
it finished by ... because ...?
If you anticipate any problems, let me know. I’ll
... tomorrow to see how you’re doing. Cheers!

Subject: Urgent request

Subject: Can you do me a favour?
I’ve got an important meeting/presentation
I’ve had an email/phone call from someone
coming up on ... and I’m going to need ...
called ..., who wants ... Can I leave this one with
Can I leave it to you to ...? I expect I’ll also be
you? I’m sure you’ll know a lot more about it
needing ...
than I do. But keep me in the loop.
I know you’re probably up to your neck in work
BTW a few of us may be ... on ... Are you going
at the moment, but if you can g e t...
to be around? Fancy joining us? Should be fun.
to me before n e x t..., it’ll be a real help. Thanks.

S tage 2
Exchange your em ails from Stage 1 w ith your partner. You are standing in for the person
they emailed while th a t person is o ff sick / on holiday / on m atern ity or p aternity leave /
away on a long business trip (you decide which). W rite a reply (m axim um 1 0 0 words)
explaining the situation and asking for clarification or any details you need. M ention that
you are new to the departm ent.

S tage 3
Exchange replies and continue the correspondence as long as necessary to com plete
your business.

2 Give your p artn er your im pressions o f the em ails they wrote in 1.

• Do they sound friendly but businesslike?
• Is the em ail w ritten in an appropriate style?
• Have they kept their m essages sh o rt and to -the-p o int?
• Have they made any im p ortant spelling, punctuation or gram m ar m istakes?
 12 Emailing
Vocabulary 3 Underline the other seven prepositional phrases in 2.

Prepositional phrases
Grammar
1 In each box write the preposition th a t precedes the
words and phrases below.
Future forms
present first least first glance
the very m ost any rate the latest 1 P resent tenses for the future
the same tim e b est M atch the verbs in bold to their m ain fu nction below.
the whole average the contrary O ur train leaves (1) at six. So our taxi’s com ing (2)
second thoughts reflection at quarter to.
the one hand th e other hand I’m n o t w orking (3) this Saturday! It’s (4) my wedding
no account anniversary for goodness’ sake!
practice oth er words theory an arrangem ent an indisputable fact
the circum stances general short
a refusal a schedule or tim etable
particular effect som e respects
any case 2 will
a result a general rule a m a tter o f fact
M atch th e rem arks on the left to the way they were later
a last resort
reported.
to now to a point
I’ll help you. He prom ised to be there.
the top o f my head
You’ll regret it. He suddenly had an idea.
I’ll be there. He offered to help me.
2 Complete the m eeting extracts using som e o f the
phrases in 1. I’ll try it this way. He refused to do it.
I w on’t do it! He warned me about it.
a A Well, I haven’t had tim e to study them in detail but,
a t ____________________________ , I’d say these figures
3 w ill b e doing
were quite encouraging.
In each pair o f sen ten ces below tick the one you are more
B Yes, o n ____________________________ , th ey ’re pretty
likely to hear.
much in line w ith what we were expecting. In fact,
i n ____________________________ , they’re even b etter. a W e’ll land at Heathrow in about 15 m inutes,

b A Have you been in touch w ith New York yet? b W e’ll be landing at Heathrow in about 15 m inutes.

B A s ___________________________________________ C Will you go past th e chem ist’s this m orning?

______________, I have.
A And are they in favour o f this new initiative?
B One or two o f them aren’t, bu t i n ------------------ , yes.
A Well, th a t’s som ething a t ______________
C A I’m going to authorize this budget increase, bu t on
_____________________________ is this project to go
over budget again.
B Yes, okay.
A By the way, how much are the admin costs on this?
B I couldn’t tell you o f f ____________________________
___________________________________________ , but
it shouldn’t be m ore than 30% o f the budget at
A 30% ! O n . _, I th in k we’d
b etter look at this whole budget again.
d Will you be going past the chem ist’s this m orning?
e Give me five m inutes and I’ll call you back,
f Give me five m inutes and I’ll be calling you back,
g By the way, I w on’t a tte n d the m eeting,
h By the way, I w on’t be a tte n d in g the m eeting.
M atch the senten ces (a-d ) to what was said n ext (1 -4 )
a I don’t th in k I’ll go.
b I don’t th in k I’ll be going.
c W ill you go to the p ost office this afternoon ?
d W ill you be going to the p ost office this afternoon?
1 At least th a t’s what th ey ’ve told me.
2 If you’re n o t too busy, th a t is.
3 And if so, could you p ost this for me?
4 I certainly don’t w ant to.

d A This idea o f yours is fine i n ______________, bu t in

______________, I don’t th in k it’ll work.
B But you were all for it when we spoke about it
last time!
A O n ____________________________ , I was as sceptical
then as I am now. I n ____________________________ ,
even if I supported you, this strategy would only save
us a few thousand pounds a t ----------------------
 LANGUAGE LINKS

5 Lexical future
In English there are a lot o f be (+ word) to expressions to
Phrase bank: Emailing
talk about future in ten tio n s and expectations, 1 The following expressions are all useful in emails.
a W e’re to Complete them using the prepositions in the boxes.
b W e’re due to
against at back down in of off on
C W e’re about to
on out through to up with with with
d W e’re hoping to with with with with
m eet them to discuss the m atter.
e W e’re aim ing to
f W e’re planning to back + to in + on on + to out + on out + with
g W e’re intending to through + to up + on up + to

h W e’re going to a Have a quick lo o k _________ . these figures and

g e t ______________ me asap.
W hich o f the sentences above refer to:
Let me know if you need any h e lp _____________
1 som ething which will happen very soon?
the Koreans. And copy m e ______________ any
2 som ething which has been form ally arranged?
correspondence______________ them.
3 som ething which oth er people are expecting?
Could you g e t______________ our suppliers and
4 som ething which has already been decided? sort som eth in g . - them ? I’ll leave
5 som ething we’d like to happen, the d etails_____ - you, but keep me
bu t it may not? ______________the loop.
BTW, you did a great jo b . . the
6 Future in the past
presentation. It w e n t___ - really well
Put the sentences (a-d ) in to the past and m atch them to ----------------------the Belgians. We’ll ju st have to
what was said n ext (1 -4 ). wait and see what they co m e ______________ to us
a We’re going to fly Lufthansa,
b W e’re m eeting at three. e Could you update m e , - where we are
C I’m ju s t about to leave, . the Expo arrangem ents? I’m a bit
d I think we’ll have problem s. . o f touch. Can I leave i t ___________
you to contact the speakers?
1 Can it wait till the m orning?
I’d like to sound y o u . . this new
2 But som ething’s come up.
packaging idea. Let’s m e e t_________ to discuss
3 But th ere’s been a change o f plan. it som etim e next week. BTW, I still can’t seem to
4 But I never expected this! g e t----------------------Monica.
I haven’t had tim e to read ______________ the whole
7 Past in the future
report and I’ll probably need to check some o f these
Tick the sentences which refer to th e future, figures______________ the computer, but leave it
a They won’t have heard the news, .m e.
b I’ll have m issed my chance by then. Thanks for your o ffe r. - a drink. If I
C You’ll have seen our advertisem ents, I suppose, can finish this re p o rt. _ by 7 , 1 may
d A nother m onth and I’ll have been working ju st take y o u . - it! I could certainly do
here for ten years. -one!

The Present Continuous and be to are frequently used to 2 Label these business email expressions according to
talk about fixed arrangements. their function using the labels in the box.
The Present Simple is often used either to talk about
Asking for advice Buying time Delegating tasks
schedules and timetables or to refer to the future after words
Requesting information
like if, when, as soon as, before, etc.
There’s a range o f expressions including be going to and be
hoping to which are used to talk about plans and intentions. I’ll leave the details to you. Give me a week and I’U see
Both w ill and going to can be used to make predictions: w ill Would you mind taking what I can come up with.
for opinions and going to for more informed predictions. this off my hands? Leave it with me. I’ll sort
’II is frequently used to make offers, promises and take b __________ it out.
initiatives. Can I sound you out on d __________
The Future Continuous, w ill he doing, is used to talk about som ething? Can you update me on
something which will be in progress or which is part o f a Can you ju st cross-check where we are with this?
routine. the figures for me? Keep me in the loop.
The Future Perfect, w ill have done and w ill have been doing,
are used to talk about something w hich will already be
completed at a future time. The continuous form usually
emphasizes the activity rather than its completion.

speech ispower: speech is
topersuade, to convert, to
compel.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, American
writer, philosopher and orator
W h at was the best
presentation you ever
attended?
L e a r n in g o b je c tiv e s :
U n it 1 3
Business communication skills
Identifying effective
presentation openings;
Identifying rhetorical
techniques; Rephrasing to add
impact; Identifying ways of
closing a presentation; Fluency:
Producing a promotional
presentation for a new country
Reading Book extract on
opening a presentation
Listening Presentation
openings; Extracts from political
speeches; Closing remarks from
four presentations
Vocabulary M etaphor
Gram m ar Rhetorical techniques
R irase bank Opening and
closing a presentation
Making an impact
1 Look at the Em erson quote. Can you see any techniques h e’s using to make his
statem en t m ore powerful? Think about sounds, lists and repetition.
2 How im p ortant is it to m ake an im pact right at the beginning o f a presentation?
Read the book extract. Do you agree w ith the author?
OPENING
The opener to any business presentation is nearly always important, establishing the tone
for the rest o f the event. It’s that vital moment when you take charge, gaining people’s
close attention.
People tend to remember openers more than any other part o f a presentation, except perhaps
for the closing remarks. You waste a wonderful opportunity if you resort to trivia like:
‘Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, it’s a great pleasure to be here today.’
Adapted from The Ultimate Business Presentation Book by Andrew Leigh
3 W ith a partner, m ake a list o f ways you can attract people’s atten tio n when you start
a p resentation.
4 ^ 3.01 Listen to the openings o f six business presentations. Do the speakers use any
o f the techniques you listed in 3? W hat oth er techniques do they employ?
5 How effective are the speakers in 4 a t capturing your atten tion ?
6 The openers below were all used in 4. Can you rem em ber the first three words o f each?
Contractions (I’d, I ’m, it ’s, etc) count as one word.
_______ th a t o f the world’s 1 0 0 biggest econom ies
only 5 6 are actually countries?
___________________________________________ favourite lawyer jokes is: this guy’s having a
quiet cafe latte at a coffee bar when an angry m an starts shouting ...
___________________________________________ sta rt off by thanking Dr Je n se n , Dr Tan
and Dr M artinez for inviting me to speak today.
___________________________________________ was Thomas Edison who said: T have not
failed. I’ve ju st found 1 0 ,0 0 0 ways th a t don’t work.’
___________________________________________ through the appointm ents pages the other
day and came across this unusual job advertisem ent.
___________________________________________ about Total Quality, I th in k o f the story of
the Am erican steel m agnate, Andrew Carnegie.
^ 3.01 Listen again and check your answers.
Glossary
charisma /kanzma/
a strong personal quality
that makes other people
like you and be attracted
to you: /\ m an s a d ly
la c k in g in ch a ris m a .
Presence and performance
1 For m any people the magic ingredient great presenters have is charism a. W h at’s the
equivalent word in your language?
2 ^ 3 .0 2 -3 .0 5 Listen to extracts from four fam ous political speeches. Rank them in
order o f how charism atic they sound. Compare w ith a partner.
E xtract 1 E xtract 2 E xtract 3 E xtract 4
3 The speakers in 2 used a num ber o f rhetorical techniques. The m ain ones are listed
below. Com plete them using th e words in the box.
language opposites points questions sounds threes words
The seven rules of rhetoric
1 R ep eat_____________________
I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
R ep eat________________________
We are the people ... who persuaded others to buy British, n ot by begging them to
do so, b u t because it was best.
Use contrasts a n d -------------------------------------
Ask n ot what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.
Group key points i n ________________________
We m ust therefore act together as a united people, for national reconciliation,
for nation building, for the b irth o f a new world.
Ask rh eto rical________________________
W hat are our chances o f success? It depends on what kind o f people we are.
Accumulate supp orting________________________
We are the people who, am ongst other things, invented the computer, the
refrigerator, the electric motor, the stethoscope, rayon, the steam turbine,
stainless steel, the tank ...
Use m etaphorical________________________
To lead our country out o f the valley o f darkness.
4 Look a t th e extracts on page 8 4 and find m ore exam ples o f the rhetorical techniques
listed in 3.
 John F Kennedy I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the
American dream. I have a dream that one day this
nation will rise up and live out the true meaning o f its
creed: ‘W e hold these truths to be self-evident; that all
men are created equal.’ I have a dream that one day
on the red hills o f G eorgia the sons o f former slaves
and the sons o f former slave owners will be able to sit
down together at the table o f brotherhood ... I have a
dream that my four little children will one day live in a
nation where they will not be judged by the colour of
their skin but by the content o f their character. I have a
dream today.

I do not shrink from this responsibility - I welcome it.

I do not believe that any o f us would exchange places
with any other people or any other generation. T h e
energy, the faith, the devotion, which we bring to this
endeavour will light our country and all who serve
it - and the glow from that fire can truly light the
world. And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your
country can do for you - ask what you can do for your
country.

Margaret Thatcher W e understand it still that there is no easy road to

freedom. W e know it well that none o f us acting alone
can achieve success ... L et each know that for each
the body, the mind and the soul have been freed to
fulfil themselves. Never, never and never again shall
it be that this beautiful land will again experience the
oppression o f one by another ...

W hat are our chances o f success? It depends on what

kind o f people we are. W hat kind o f people are we?
We are the people that in the past made G reat Britain
the workshop o f the world, the people who persuaded
others to buy British, not by begging them to do so, but
because it was best.
5 ^ 3 .0 6 Look at th e following extracts from ineffective business presentations and
rephrase them to give them m ore im pact. Then listen and check,
a Cash flow is the m ain problem we’re facing.
W h at’s t h e ____________________________________________facing? T h e ______________
_____________________________ cash flow.
b It’s critical to our success, even though it’s so risky and problem atic.
It’s ______________risk y ,______________ p ro b lem a tic,______________ y e t ______________
critical to our success.
C I t’s faster, cheaper, more reliable - th a t’s the m ost im portant thing - and easier to use.
I t’s _____________ , ______________ a n d ____________________________________________
But, ab ove. _, it s m o re .
d We can still be the b est, bu t we can’t ever be the biggest again.
E v e n ______________ we c a n ______________again be t h e ______________ ,
s till___________________________________________
e Fewer jobs are being fought over by m ore graduates, th a t’s the point.
The p o in t______________, m ore a n d ______________ g rad u ates__________
- over fe w e r.
f W e’re num ber one in Latin Am erica now, n o t ju s t Brazil.
N o t_____________________________ we num ber one in Brazil. W e’re .
_____________________________ in Latin America.
g There isn ’t a com pany th a t’s ever outperform ed us in this m arket.
In t h i s ______________, n o ______________ h a s _______________us, n ot _

h W e’ve had no com plaints in over 3 0 years o f business.

N o t______________, in over 3 0 ________________________ , have
. had a com plaint - n o t a .

6 Look carefully a t word order and the order o f clauses in the rephrased extracts in 5.
W hat inform ation tends to come last?

7 Practise delivering the rephrased extracts to m ake as big an im pact as possible.

8 ^ 3 .0 7 The last few m inutes o f a presen tation are your final chance to make a
lasting im pression. Listen to th e closing rem arks o f four presen tations and num ber the
techniques in the order you hear them . W hich is th e m ost effective?
the sum up th e call to action
the fam ous quotation the em ergency stop
_

9 Prepare the last 1 5 seconds o f a presen tation you have given or may give in th e future
using one o f the techniques in 8. Use the script on page 1 5 3 to help you. Present your
close to th e class.
 I
A new country, a new start
1 W ork w ith a p artn er and discuss the questions.
1 If you could create your own country, what would it be like?
2 W hat factors give a country an ideal standard o f living?
3 Develop a profile w ith key features for your new country. Consider the points in the
list below.

a location: which continent? landscape?

b clim ate: how many seasons?
C population: city vs. rural areas?
d m other tongue: one com m on language or a m ix?
e infrastructure: electricity and water? education and tran sp ort system s? political
parties?
f established / developing industries: overseas trading policies? effect on em ploym ent
figures?
g cost o f living: pay scales? housing? typical outgoings?
h crim e rate: police com petence? penal system ?
i ecology: strategies to deal w ith environm ental change?
j im m igration policies: rules and regulations?
k healthcare: private or public?
1 fam ily structure: m arriage laws? average num ber o f children?
m tourism : attractio n s? appeal? econom ic effects?

2 W ith your partner, prepare a sh o rt presen tation about your new country based on the
profile you have created. Your aim is to persuade your audience th a t your invented country
is the b est place to live and work, as well as being an appealing tou rist destination.

The rest o f your class will rate your presen tation on clarity, persuasion and im pact on a
scale o f 1 to 1 0 using the card below. It is n o t necessary to cover all o f the points listed on
th e card, b u t there m ust be an opening and close. The class will then vote for the country
they would like to live in or to visit!

Rating card: clarity, persuasion and impact

1 2 3 4 5 10
introduction I I I I ^ I I I

cost of living I I I I I I I I

infrastructure | | | | | | | |

housing I I I I I I I I

crime rate | | | | | | | |

environment | | | | | | | |

healthcare | | | | | | | |

education ^ | ^ | | | | |

family policy ^ | | | | | | |

tourism rn [ I I I I I I
conclusion ^ I ^ I I I ^ I
 LANGUAGE LINKS

13 Making an impact
Vocabulary Grammar

Metaphor Rhetorical techniques

1 Business English is full o f m etaphor (describing 1 Word repetition
one thing in term s o f another). M atch the following Decide which word in each statem en t could m ost effectively
expressions. Then m atch them to th eir m etaphorical be repeated a fter a sh o rt pause and underline it. Read the
reference. statem en ts aloud to check. The first one has been done
takeover ----- ^ recovery for you.
ballpark \ debate a This is verv im p ortan t. {‘This is very ... very im portant.’)
heated 1 flow b This is a much b e tte r option.
econom ic figure C I t’s now or never.
cash b attle d There’ll always be a m arket for quality,
e It is here in Europe th a t the b est opportunities lie.
2 Complete the sentences using the words in the boxes,
f And today we sta rt to tu rn this com pany around.
coming growing pooling pouring sowing trickling Rewrite (a) so th a t you can repeat the word im portant.

Money is liquid 2 Sound repetition

a They’r e _________ . m illions o f dollars into R&D.
1 Replace one word in each sentence with a word from the
b A small am ount o f cash has s ta r te d ______________ in.
box th a t sta rts w ith the same sound as other words in
C We should b e ______________our resources - together the sentence.
we’d have sufficient capital to fund new research.
better dynamism past promotion
Ideas a re p lan ts
simpler team willing
d A fter years o f work, our plans are fin a lly ______________
to fruition. better
e There’s ______________support for the project - m ost of I t’s bigger. I t’s sup erior. And it’s B ritish.
the people we spoke to th in k it’s a good idea. I’m n o t interested in our history or in our present, but
f They’r e _____________ the seeds o f doubt in the m ind o f in our prospects fo r th e future.
the custom er and, as a result, we’re losing sales. W e’ll reach our targets to g eth er as a group.

attack fight goalposts guns We need the right product at the right price with the
idea odds stakes victory right advertising.
We have the drive, energy and d eterm ination to
Argum ent is w ar succeed.
g They shot down my _ . before I’d even had a Are we prepared to work towards th a t goal?
chance to explain it.
The new system is b oth m ore secure and significantly
We came u n d e r____ - from the m arketing team .
easier to install.
i He didn’t put up much o f a , ------------------- In fact,
he ju st seem ed to give in completely. W hat sound is being repeated in each o f the sentences
above?
j She stuck to h e r ______________ and refused to move
an inch. a

Com petition is sp o rt b

k We’ve scored a sig n ifica n t______________ in the hom e c

m arket. d
I T h e ______________ are high - we’re risking the future o f e
this company. f
m T h e _________ . are against us, b u t th ere’s still a g
chance we can succeed.
W hat do sen ten ces a, b, d and e all have in com m on?
We don’t know what our objectives are supposed to be
because they keep moving t h e ______________
3 Contrasts and opposites
Complete the sentences using the idea o f con trast to
help you.
a It’s n ot a question o f tim e; it’s a question o f money.
b If we don’t seize this opportunity, som e______________
e]______________ w______________
C Tackling a few m inor problem s now will save us a whole
1----------------------o f ma______________ pr______________
la________________
d Som e people are saying we can’t afford to advertise, but
I s---------------------we c_______________ aff_____________
n_____________ to.
e I’m n o t saying we’re certain to succeed: what I
a______________ s______________ is we’ll ne______________
kn_ - u n t- . we tr_
f Three years ago this com pany was going nowhere;
to--------------------- it’s num ______________ o__________
in the ind_
4 Rhetorical questions
Rephrase the statem ents as negative questions and change
the second person plural to th e first person plural,
a This is what you need to be doing,
b You should be learning from your m istakes.
C Deep down, you all know this to be true.
5 Rhetorical questions + repetition
Complete the following using one word from the box in
b oth gaps.
problem chances answer point advantages
So much for the disadvantages, bu t what about the
---------------------? Well, t h e ______________are obvious.
W e’re losing control o f the company. So w hat’s
t h e ---------------------? Clearly, t h e _______________ is to
centralize.
W hat are o u r_________ . o f success? Well, frankly,
o u r______________ are slim.
So w hat’s t h e . _ o f offering an unprofitable
service? The _ . is it m akes us look good.
e So w hat’s the basic - . w ith this system ? The
b a s ic _________ . is it’s far too com plicated!
f Three years o f R&D and w hat’s the n e t ______________ ?
The n e t ----------------------is a product th a t doesn’t work!
6 Inversion
Rephrase the statem en ts below m aking any necessary
changes in word order.
a This com pany is n o t only leaner, it’s also greener.
Not o n ly ____________________________________________
b We m ustn’t under any circum stances panic.
Under no circu m stan ces_____________________________
W e’ve done b etter in M exico than anywhere.
N ow here____________________________________
We’ll only be ready to launch a fter exhaustive tests.
Only a fte r _________________________________________
In adverb + adjective phrases it is more effective to repeat the
adverb (technique 1).
I f you want to repeat an adjective, it is more effective to use
an adverb before repeating it (technique 1).
It is more effective to repeat consonants than vowels
(technique 2).
Lists o f three are especially memorable (technique 2).
In a contrast it is more effective to make your main point
second (technique 3).
Asking questions (particularly negative questions) is a more
effective way o f getting audiences to think than making
statements (technique 4).
Talking about ‘us’ is a more effective way o f building rapport
than talking about ‘you’ (technique 4).
Rhetorical questions sound more convincing when you
answer them using some o f the same words (technique 5).
You can give weight and formality to what you say by
sometimes reversing your word order (technique 6).
Phrase bank: Opening and closing
a presentation
Label the presen tation openings and closes below
with the headings in the box.
Is anybody out there? Let me take you on a journey
Now, here’s a funny thing Oh, and one last thing
This is a true story, by the way To cut a long story short
Wise words Would you believe it?
1 __________________________________________
result Did you know t h a t ...?
S tatistics / Studies show t h a t ...
2 ______________________________________
One o f my favourite stories / jokes about th at is ...
W henever I’m asked a b o u t... I think o f the
story o f ...
3 ________________________________________________
I’d like to sta rt off by ...
By th e end o f this m orning’s talk, ...
4 ______________________________________________
I think it was ... who said ...
In closing. I’m rem inded o f the words o f ...
5 ________________________________________________
I was ... the oth er day and happened to / came
across ...
I rem em ber when I was working / living in ...
6 ____________________________________
Could you ju st raise your hand if you’ve ever ...
Have you ever been in the situation where ...?
7 ________________________________________________
So how do you sum up ...?
So my central m essage today is this ...
8 ____________________________________
That ju s t about brings me to the end o f my
presen tation, except to say ...
If you take ju st one thing from today’s talk,
take this ...
 Out and about
1 W hen packing to go on a business trip, apart from your travel docum ents, what are the
absolute essentials? A good book? Swimming things? A decent hairdryer? An air pillow?
Chargers? Adaptors? A travel alarm ? An iPad? Compare w ith a partner.
Take a little of home with
you, and leave a little of
yourselfat home.

Mark McCormack, founder of IMG

sports agency

Do you enjoy travelling

for work?

Learning objectives:
Unit 14
Business communication skills
D iscussing bu sin ess travel and
packing h a b its; Id en tify in g
ellipsis in co n v ersatio n ; Strik in g
up a co n versatio n ; Telling an
anecdote; Fluency: C h attin g over
a b u siness lunch
Reading E x tra cts fro m The
Accidental Tourist
Listening People talk in g abo u t 2 In The Accidental Tourist, travel guidebook w riter M acon Leary gives advice on how to
their w o rst flying exp erien ces;
pack for a trip. Read the extract and discuss the questions.
C onversations over lunch
Vocabulary Sto ry tellin g
Grammar N arrative ten ses
Phrase bank Sh arin g an ecd otes
The business traveller
^ In company Interviews
‘The business traveller should bring only what fits in a carry-on bag. C h ecking your
Units 1 2 - 1 4
luggage is asking for trouble. Add several travel-size packets o f detergent, so you won’t fall
into the hands o f unfam iliar laundries. There are very few necessities in this world which
do not com e in travel-size packets.

‘O n e suit is plenty i f you take along travel-size packets o f spot remover. The suit should be
medium-gray. Gray not only hides the dirt, but is handy for sudden funerals.

‘Always bring a bo ok as protection against strangers. Magazines don’t last and newspapers
from elsewhere rem ind you you don’t belong. B ut don’t take more than one book. It is a
com m on mistake to overestimate one’s potential free tim e and consequently overpack. In
travel, as in m ost o f life, less is invariably more.

‘A nd m ost im portantly, never take along anything on your journey so valuable or dear that
its loss would devastate you .’

From The Accidental Tourist by Macon Leary

a Do you tend to travel light or do you bring along ‘everything but the kitchen sink’?
b Have you ever had any bad experiences w ith lost luggage or h otel laundries?
C Is grey your colour? Do you dress for com fort or dress to im press?
d W h a t’s the b est way o f avoiding unwanted conversations w ith strangers?
e Is it im portant to allow yourself som e free tim e on a business trip?
f Have you ever lost som ething valuable on a journey? Tell th e story.

3 W hat kind o f person is M acon Leary? Tick the correct answers. Would you want to sit
n ext to him on a flight?
a b it paranoid antisocial b itte r dull
fussy gloomy lonely outgoing
overserious practical private sarcastic
sociable well organized w itty
Glossary
4 ^ 3.08 Read and listen to an extract from The A cciden tal Tourist, where M acon Leary
finds him self sittin g n ext to an overweight m an on a plane. W hat coincidence links the
cocoon a warm, safe
two m en?
place
T raveller I’m sorry I’m so fat. N a m e’s Lucas Loom is.
You’re my hero
L eary M acon Leary,
I really admire you/your
vvork Traveller You a Baltim ore m an?
L eary Yes.
Traveller Me too. G reatest city on th e earth . One o f these seats is n ot really enough for
me. And the stupid thing is, I travel for a living. I dem onstrate software to
com puter stores. W hat do you do, M r Leary?
L eary I write travel guidebooks.
Traveller Is th a t so? W hat kind?
L eary Well, guides for businessm en - people ju s t like you, I guess.
T raveller ‘Accidental T ou rist’!
L eary Why, yes.
T raveller Really? Am I right? Well, what do you know? Look at this. Gray suit - ju st
what you recom m end, appropriate for all occasions. S ee my luggage? Carry-on.
Change o f underwear. Clean sh irt. Packet o f d etergent powder.
L eary Oh, good.
Traveller You’re my hero. You’ve improved my trips a hundred per cent. I tell my wife,
going w ith ‘The Accidental T ou rist’ is like going in a cocoon.
L eary Well, this is very nice to hear.
T raveller Tim es I ’ve flow n clear to Oregon an d hardly kn ew I ’d le ft B altim ore.
L eary Excellent.
Traveller I see you have your book for protection there. D idn’t w ork w ith me, though,
did it?

5 Find expressions in the conversation which mean:

a That’s interesting,
b I suppose.
C How did you know that?
d W hat a coincidence!

6 In natural conversation certain words are som etim es om itted. Look at the six
senten ces in italics in 4 and decide which three types o f word are missing.

7 The following things were said at different tim es during a business trip. Delete any
unnecessary words to make them m ore conversational.
a A Is everything okay w ith your meal, sir?
B I t’s deHcious. It couldn’t be better.
b A Do you need anything else, sir?
B I don’t th in k so, thanks.
c A Are you ready to start?
B Yeah, I’m ju st coming.
d A Do you m ind if I switch the reading light on?
B It doesn’t b oth er me. I th in k I’ll get anoth er coffee. Do you want one?
e A I saw you earlier in th e fitness centre. Have you been here long?
B No, I ju s t got here yesterday. Are you here on business too?
f A Have you got a light?
B Sorry, I don’t smoke.

8 W h at are the advantages o f having som eone to chat to on a long journey? Do you find
it easy to sta rt conversations w ith people you don’t know?
 9 M atch A to B to make conversation phrases.
A B
1 You couldn’t help me with my b a g ,... — a by any chance?
2 Do you m in d ... b for a b it o f turbulence, doesn’t it?
3 Looks like we’re in ... c help you with that.
4 Sorry about my kids. Let me know if ... d swapping seats?
5 Is this row 1 7 ,... \e could you?
6 Hike your mobile. ... f Is that one o f the new ones?
7 Let me ... g you’re flying on to Caracas.
8 I’ll get som eone ... h is th at getting in your way?
9 I see ... i I love Prada!
10 Nice b a g .... j to come and help you.
11 I’m sorry, ... k do you know?
12 Are you from L im a ,... 1 they’re bothering you.

1 0 Now m atch these com m on ways o f startin g a conversation with a stranger to the
ph rases in 9.
a m ake an observation
b pay a com plim ent
C m ake a request
d ask for inform ation
e offer assistance
f m ake an apology

1 1 W ork w ith a partn er to practise holding sh o rt conversations w ith fellow passengers

on planes. Speaker A see page 1 2 5 . Speaker B see page 13 2.
Travellers’ tales
1 3 .0 9 Listen to four business people talking about their w orst flying experiences
and answer th e questions.
a W hat was all th e noise about on Em m a’s flight?
b How m ight Enrique’s flight have ended in disaster?
C W hat surprised Jo e on his flight to London?
d W ho got lost on J o e ’s flight to Frankfurt?
e W hat was the strange request on Selina’s flight in Asia?

2 Read this extract from the first conversation and underline the b est grammatical choice.
B A fter a while, som e o f the passengers (a) w ere s ta rtin g / had been sta rtin g to get
nervous, me included!
A I’m n o t surprised.
B Anyway, eventually, a fter (b) we w ere sittin g / w e’d been sittin g there for about ten
m inutes w ith no announcem ent and the plane still n ot moving, (c) I said / I’d said
som ething to one o f th e stewards and they (d) w ent / were going and (e) opened /
w ere opening the door to see what (f) w ent / was going on.
A And what (g) happened / had been happening?
B The pilot (h) g o t / had g o t in!
A You’re joking!
B No, (i) th e y ’d locked / th e y ’d been locking him out. Seem s quite funny now, but it
(j) didn’t / w asn’t doing at th e tim e.

3 In th e extract in 2 how many examples can you find o f the:

Past Simple? Past Continuous?
Past Perfect Simple? Past Perfect Continuous?

4 According to publisher David W einberger, ‘m ost o f our b est conversations are about
stories.’ How useful is it in business to be able to tell a good story? Do you agree th a t the
b est ones are usually true?

5 Listed below are the typical stages in a story or anecdote. Add the expressions in the
box to th e correct place in the list. They were all in the conversations in 1.

(a) And the strange thing was ... (b) And then, to top it all, ...
(c) Anyway, to cut a long story sh o rt,... (d) But that was nothing compared to ...
(e) Did I ever tell you about the time I was ...? (f) I ended up ...
(g) Seems quite funny now, but it didn’t at the time. (h) This was around the time o f ...
(i) Way back in (1985) it was. (j) You should have heard/seen ...I

O pener
I’ll never forget the tim e I was ...
C on text
It’s quite a few years ago now, but I can still rem em ber it.
Em phasis
You’re n o t going to beHeve this, b u t ...
Close
Anyway, in the end ...

6 Tick which one o f the closes could also come straight a fter an opener.

7 M atch the following to m ake six things you m ight say while listening to som eone
telling a story. They were all in the conversations in 1.
a You’re goodness! d So, what terrifying!
b I don’t joking! e Sounds happened?
C Oh, my believe it! f I see what you mean.

8 Tell the story o f your w orst (or best) travel experience to the rest o f the class.
 The business lunch
1 W h a t’s the m ost expensive m eal you’ve ever had? Was it w orth the m oney?
W ho was paying? Was it on expenses? Tell a p artn er about it.

2 Read the inform ation below. Does it shock or amuse you?

Out to lunch This one's on me

In 1 9 9 7 a London b a n k e r m a d e the h e a d lin e s w h e n he
w a s sacked fo r ta k in g a five -h o u r lunch b re a k - from
1 1 .3 0 a m to 4 .3 0 p m !
fHe w o n b a c k his jo b a fte r an in d u s tria l trib u n a l ruled th a t
he h o d been u n fa irly d ism isse d. The c o u rt d e c id e d th a t
five hours is n o t an e xcessive a m o u n t o f tim e to c o n d u c t
business o v e r a m eal.
O n e o f the w o rld 's m ost e xp e n sive business lunches
e ve r w a s h e ld in a to p London re sta u ra n t b a c k in 2 0 0 2 .
Luxury truffles w e re flo w n h a lfw a y a ro u n d the w o rld ,
to fo rm p a rt o f a s p e c ia lis t m ain co u rse p re p a re d
e xclu s iv e ly fo r a g ro u p o f six d in e rs. In a d d itio n , the
d essert w a s p re p a re d usin g g o ld le a f. The fo o d a n d
d rin k b ill to ta lle d a s ta g g e rin g £ 4 4 ,0 0 0 !

Do you agree w ith the court ruling? How could so huge a bill be justified?

3 ^ 3 .1 0 You are in a noisy restaurant w ith a group o f colleagues and have to

keep going outside to answer your mobile. Each tim e you come back in, the topic of
conversation has changed. Listen and see how quickly you can guess what it is.

4 ^ 3 .1 0 Listen again and note down key words and phrases th a t helped you decide.
Compare w ith a p artner and then check in the listening script on page 154.

■kB In company interviews 5 W ork in groups. Use the ch art below to practise chatting over lunch w ith business
L i i t ' Units 1 2 -1 4 contacts. S ta rt off by talking about what you’ve ju st ordered and then keep changing the
subject as indicated until your meal arrives - it seem s to be taking a long time! Try n ot to
interrup t each oth er too abruptly, b u t keep the conversation moving.

Anyway,... Before I forget,... Bythew ay,... Incidentally,...

On the subject o f ... So, talking o f ... That reminds me ...
To change the subject for a m om ent...

Where on earth’s our

waiter? Ah, at last!

the best place

you’ve ever eaten in
 14 Out and about
Vocabulary The a r t o f exa g g e ra tio n

3 Complete the conversation below using the words and

Storytelling phrases in th e boxes.
D escriptive pow er
1 -5 I’m telling you is literally like something out of
1 W hen describing things in a story or anecdote, try to you’ll never guess you should have seen
avoid overusing (not) very + neutral adjective. Replace the
dull descriptions in bold with m ore interestin g alternatives 6 -1 0 I 'm not exaggerating out of this world talk about
from the box. you’ll never believe me tell you

absolutely ancient absolutely delighted (In a restaurant)

absolutely fabulous absolutely filthy absolutely hilarious A Did I tell you about my trip to Sweden?
drop-dead1 gorgeous quite inedible really fascinating B No, I don’t think so. On business, were you?
totally pointless utterly astonished utterly furious
A Yeah, but (1) the hotel the Swedes had
utterly miserable
booked us into.

tvtiiHif pointless B Somewhere posh, was it?

The m eeting was n o t v e ry a sefnl. A No, n ot exactly. It’s called The Ice Hotel. Have you heard
It was a v ery in te re stin g book. o f it?
They were v ery happy about the idea. B No, I don’t think so.
The food was n o t v ery good. A Well, ( 2 ) ____________________________ this place.
The w eather was v ery bad. (3 ) -------------------------------------------it was
(4 ) ____________________________ a Jam es Bond movie!
Their boss was v ery good-looking.
Right in the middle o f nowhere. And completely built out
Her apartm ent was very nice.
o f snow and ice!
I was v ery surprised.
B W hat? You m ean the walls were made o f ice?
The whole thing was v ery funny.
A Walls, ceilings, doors, tables, beds, chandeliers, the lot!
The PCs they were using were v ery old.
The whole thing ( 5 ) ____________________________ made
He looked very angry. o f ice!
I The h otel was n o t v ery clean. B But, hang on. That’s n ot possible, is it? I mean, it would
ju st melt!
2 If you do use neutral adjectives, try using a m ore
A It does. They have to rebuild it from top to bottom
interesting adverb to describe them . M atch the following
every summer.
pairs o f adverbs to a suitable adjective from th e box.
B You’re joking.
beautiful dangerous dif&cult disappointing A No, it’s true. But in the winter it’s minus nine or
enjoyable expensive funny quiet something.
a hysterically / hilariously B So how come you didn’t freeze to death?
b stunningly / breathtakingly A We nearly did. Let ( 6 ) ____________________________, it was
C outrageously / prohibitively like an igloo in there. It’s incredible! They even make their
glasses out o f ice so you don’t need any in your drink.
d im m ensely / thoroughly
B Now, you’re having me on.
e bitterly / terribly
A No, it’s true. ( 7 ) ____________________________ All the
f deathly / blissfully
glasses are made o f ice.
g highly / downright
B Amazing! But it doesn’t sound like the sort o f place I’d
h exceedingly / fiendishly
want to stay in.
A Actually, it wasn’t th at bad once you got used to it. And it
was great at night, lying in bed under a reindeer skin,
looking up at the Aurora Borealis lighting up the
m idnight sky. ( 8 ) ____________________________
spectacular; it really was ( 9 ) ____________________________ !
And, ( 1 0 ) ____________________________who we bumped
into in the bar one night.
B W ho?
A Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss!
B Oh, come on! You m ean the models?
A Yeah, apparently, it’s really popular v«th all the celebs.
It’s where the cool people go, you m ight say.
B Yeah, very funny!
 LANGUAGE LINKS

Grammar
Phrase bank: Sharing anecdotes
Narrative tenses 1 All the following phrases and expressions can
Read the story about Pepsi A.M . and underline the b est be used to share anecdotes. Add them to the chart
gram m atical choices. according to th eir function.

OPENER CONTEXT
T he S to ry o f Pepsi A .M .
In the late 1 9 8 0 s Pepsi (1) th ou gh t / was thinking it
(2) identified / had identified a lucrative gap in the
highly com petitive soft drinks m arket: breakfast cola.
Although it (3) w asn’t conducting / hadn’t conducted
very thorough m arket research, it (4) seem ed / was
seem ing that a lot o f young consumers (5) sw itched /
were sw itching from coffee to cola for breakfast. Pepsi’s
R&D departm ent promptly (6) w ent away / were going ElVIPHASIS CLOSE
away and (7) cam e up w ith / had come up w ith Pepsi
A.M., a breakfast cola ‘with all the sugar and twice
the caffeine’!
But what the company (8) w asn’t realizing / hadn’t
realized was th at the Pepsi drinkers (9) w ere / were
being perfectly happy with the norm al brand. Pepsi
A.M., on the other hand, (10) sounded / was sounding
like som ething you would only drink in the morning. Six
m onths after its launch it obviously (11) didn’t sell /
a You’re n o t going to believe this, b u t ...
wasn’t selling.
Marketing experts (12) were / had been quick to point
b Anyway, to cut a long story s h o r t ...
out the company’s mistake. W hat (13) had it thou gh t C Did I ever tell you about the tim e I was ...?
of? / had it been thinking of? At a cost o f millions, it d So, in th e end, what happened was ...
(14) had developed / had been developing a product e I t ’s quite a few years ago now.
nobody actually (15) needed! / was needing! f I’ll never forget the tim e I was ...
Pepsi A.M. (16) was / had been immediately withdrawn. g Talking o f ..., th a t rem inds me o f the tim e I ...
h You should have heard/seen ... !
i And then to top it all, ...
You use the Past Simple to talk about the main events in a
j This was around the tim e o f ...
story or to give factual inform ation about the past.
k And you’ll never guess who/what/where ...
You use the Past Continuous to talk about the things
1 Seem s quite funny now, bu t it didn’t at the time,
happening at the same time as these main events. Events in
the Past Continuous are often interrupted by those in the m And the strange/funny/silly thing was ...
Past Simple. Reactions
You use the Past Perfect Simple and the Past Perfect
2 Switch the endings in bold below to make 1 4
Continuous to look back from the tim e o f the story to
com m on reactions to anecdotes. The first two have
an earlier time, but the Past Perfect Continuous usually
been done for you.
emphasizes the activity rather than its com pletion. For this
reason, it is not normally used with ‘state’verbs like be, know, a I’m n o t awful! \ ---------------
seem, understand, mean and like. b I can blam e you!
c How serious!
d W hat a goodness!
e You’re you!
f Sounds surprised! 4-
g You can’t be odd!
h I don’t im agine!
i Wow, th a t’s really?
j Oh, I see what happened?
k Were you am azing!
I So, what you m ean!
m Oh, my nigh tm are!
n Lucky joking, rig h t?

L e a r n in g o b je c tiv e s :
U n it 1 5
People skills Identifying
inform ation needed for
delegation; Discussing
management styles; Fluency:
Effective delegation and
appropriate management styles
Reading Blog post on delegation
Listening Presentation on
management styles; Three
managers delegating tasks
Delegation
1 How do you th ink the woman
in the cartoon feels about her new
project? W hat feelings do you
th in k the m anager and th e woman
have about each other?
2 W hat inform ation do you need
to specify when you delegate a task
to som eone? Compare your ideas
“This is a m^|or project of utmost importance, but it has no budget,
w ith a partner. no guidelines, no support staff, and it’s due in 15 minutes.
At last, here’s your chance to really impress everyone!”
3 Read the blog p ost quickly and m atch the headings in the box to the paragraphs.
Check Deadline Method Objective Means
D E L E G A T IO N : provide a clear action plan
When assigning tasks to your staff, always give them a clear action plan.
Depending on your team’s skills, experience and autonomy, you will need
to specify some or all of the following points:
Make sure your people know exactly what they are supposed to achieve,
and, most importantly, why. Nobody likes working in the dark!
Explain clearly how you would like the job done, or, if you
are leaving the choice to one of your st^fers, what options
are available. There’s always a best way to do things, but
your folks may not agree on what it is.
Give your co-workers clear guidance as to what tools they can use,
the budget available and what help they can expect from you, from their
subordinates and from their peers.
Your associates will need to know exactly how much time is available in
order to plan their work and deliver on time. Make sure the timeframe is
realistic; avoid the temptation to ‘move the goalposts’ at a later date.
Never, ever delegate a task to a team member without evaluating the
results and giving them appropriate feedback. Nothing damages a
colleague’s motivation more than knowing it makes no difference whether
they do a job well, badly or not at all.
4 Reread the blog post. How many o f the points you discussed in 2 are m entioned?
5 Underline all the words in the te x t th a t m ean em ployee(s)’. W hich ones are used in
your company, by your suppliers or by your custom ers? How do you prefer to refer to your
colleagues? How do you like your m anager to th in k o f you?
 PEOPLE SKILLS

6 ^ 3.11 W rite th e headings from the blog p ost in 3 in the left-hand colum n o f the
table. Then listen to three m anagers delegating tasks. W hich points does each m anager
specify? If they om it som e points, why is that?

Manager 1 / Daniel Manager 2 /G in a Manager 3 / Pete

7 W hat is the difference betw een the four m anagem ent styles in the box below? W hich
stage on the tim eline o f sta ff developm ent is each style likely to be m ost suitable for?

Coaching Delegating Directing Supporting

one month six m onths one year tw o years

.......

8 ^ 3.12 Listen to part o f a presen tation about m anagem ent styles and com plete the
diagram below. Then listen again and check your answers to 7.

rn
j t

high <-
Staff developm ent level

9 ^ 3.11 Listen again to the three m anagers in 6. W hich m anagem ent styles are
they using?

10 W hich style(s) do you feel m ost com fortable w ith when working w ith a superior?
W hich do you prefer when working w ith subordinates? Give examples.

11 W ork w ith a p artn er to practise delegating tasks. In each situation, decide which
m anagem ent style is appropriate and which points in the action plan need to be specified.
Speaker A look at page 1 1 9 . Speaker B look at page 1 3 2 . W hen you have finished, use the
checklist on page 1 3 7 to help you evaluate your perform ance.
 MANAGEMENT
SCENARIO

Change champion

Learning objectives:
IVIanagement
scenario D
Business communication
skills Discussing implementing
change successfully; Identifying
the stages for managing change;
Fluency: Meetings to implement
change
Reading PowerPoint slide on
managing change
^ In company in action
D l: Imposing changes;
D2: Managing change 1 Give exam ples o f how you or other people have made successful changes in lifestyle or
organization o f work.

2 M atch the stages in the change staircase in the cartoon to

people’s needs (a -h ) at each stage.
People need:
a to be shown th a t the change is feasible,
b to understand why they should change and what the
b enefits are.

i C an incentive to sta rt the process.

J 7 E S . I DID IT ' d to understand the process and the tools th a t are available to
I WILL DO IT help them ,

: I CAN DO IT
e to be m otivated.
1 f to be congratulated and to celebrate th eir achievem ent to
I 'L l IKi TO DO n reinforce good habits,
KOW DO I DO IT 7
g to be m otivated to continue to follow th e new process,
1 WANT TO D O IT
h to be to be encouraged and accompanied.
T CUN'T 00 IT

3 Form at th e em ail from CEO Sue Je n se n to sta ff at Blue Rock with all necessary
I W O h it 0 0 IT
punctuation and spacing.

to all staff re travel and entertainment as from the first of next month several

changes will be introduced to our travel policy and expense claims procedures as

in the past all travel must be approved by senior management however our travel

bureau’s contract has been terminated and staff should make their own bookings

and arrangements please note that from now on only economy-class travel will

be reimbursed hotel accomm odation should no longer exceed a three-star rating

or local equivalent staff are also reminded to use public transport in preference to

taxis whenever possible and to obtain separate receipts for all meals and other

necessary expenses finally when entertaining visitors or local contacts you will now

need to provide a justification statement and a guest list containing names titles and

occupations of every guest I know I can count on you all to ensure these changes are

implemented as sm oothly as possible Sue Jensen CEO Blue Rock

 MANAGEMENT SCENARIO

4 Read the em ail again and answer the questions,

a W hat four changes are being introduced?
b W hich three things have n o t changed?
C W hat is the situ ation in your own organization regarding travel and
en tertain in g clients?
d W hat objections m ight Blue Rock sta ff have to the changes?
In company
in action 5 Now watch video D1 to see Sue talking to Ja c k W right from O perations and num ber
the problem s in the order they are m entioned.
booking flights a com puter problem admin tim e
im posing changes public tran sp ort company credit cards

6 W hat do the following phrases tell us about Sue and Ja c k ’s attitudes and feelings?

pretty risky What’s not to like about it? that’s not exactly the message that comes across
don’t take my word for it they soon get used to it

7 Complete the PowerPoint slide on M anaging Change w ith the words in the box.

benefits champions communicate need resources

steps to M a n a g in g Change
explain th e ________________
help people to understand why change is necessary
explain th e ________________
show people why the change is in their interest
recruit change________________
identify and train key people to lead the change
provide tools a n d ________________
make sure people have everything they need to make the change
continue t o ________________
celebrate success, monitor and consolidate the change

8 Look at Sue’s em ail and what she said in the video and compare them with the
PowerPoint slide. W hat m istakes has she made? W hat advice would you give her?
In company
in action 1 ^ ’ 9 Now watch video D2 to see Sue talking to Ed Ryan. In addition to th e five steps to
M anaging Change, what additional piece o f advice does Ed give?

10 W atch the video again and answer the questions.

a W hat does Ed m ean by ‘m ore w es’ and ‘fewer yous’?
b W hy does Sue want to m ake changes?
C W hat is Ed’s solution to th e problem w ith booking flights online?
d W hy does Ed suggest holding regular m eetings?

11 M atch each phrase below to the relevant step 1 - 5 in M anaging Change in 7.

circulating the figures the people with the most air miles virtual credit card numbers
more control over when and how they travel get people on your side

12 W ith a p artn er rew rite the email in 3 in a m ore collaborative style. Explain the need
for change and the benefits; invite key Blue Rock sta ff to a m eeting to decide how to
im plem ent change, what tools and resources they will need, and how the organization can
continue to com m unicate about the change.

1 3 W ork in small groups to hold m eetings about changes in your company. Speaker A see
page 1 3 4 . Speaker B see page 1 3 6 . W hen you have finished, use th e checklist on
page 1 2 4 to help you evaluate your perform ance.

Teleconferencing is so
rational, it will never succeed.
John Naisbitt, Megatrends
W h a t’s the best thing
about teleconferencing?
And the worst?
L e a r n in g o b je c tiv e s :
U n it 1 6
Business communication skills
Discussing potential uses of
tele- and videoconferencing
facilities; Discussing action in a
crisis; Completing the minutes
of a teleconference; Roleplay:
Holding a teleconference
Reading Website extract:
Business benefits of
Telepresence'. Emails about a film
shoot
Listening An unexpected
phone call; An emergency
teleconference
Vocabulary Teleconferencing,
Personnel and production
Gram m ar Reporting
Phrase bank Teleconferencing
100 16 TELECONFERENCING
Teleconferencing
1 Is business travel a perk or a pain? W ith today’s sophisticated telecom m unications,
how much o f it is really necessary? Are business trips being cut back from company
budgets?
2 George M ackintosh is the serial entrepreneur who set up G eonconference, at one tim e
Europe’s fastest-grow ing teleconferencing company. Do you agree with what he says?
Videoconferencing is never going to eliminate the
need for at least one face-to-face meeting. If you
are doing business with someone for the first time,
I don’t dispute the fact that you need to meet them,
look them in the eye and shake their hand. After
that it is likely you are going to be speaking to
them on the phone or by email. Videoconferencing
allows you to have a more personalized
relationship.
3 Read the web page below, which presents Cisco’s
Telepresence videoconferencing system , and answer
the questions.
a W hat is th e ‘paradox’ the web page describes?
b How does TelePresence solve this problem ?
Business benefits
We live in a world of paradox.Technology has allowed us to establish econom ically advantageous business
operations worldwide. However, to excel in today's fast-moving business environm ent, you have to interact
and collaborate with co-workers, partners, and customers all over the world at a mom ent's notice. You need
to continuously innovate and transform your business model to m aintain com petitive edge. And you need to
plan ahead to respond rapidly to unexpected issues tha t affect business continuity.
At the sam e time, much of business is still done based on the quality of your relationships with the people
with whom you interact most often.To build and m aintain these critical relationships, you often need to
travel, w hich translates to lost tim e and reduced productivity, not to mention valuable tim e spent away from
hom e and family.
All of this points to the need for a technological solution that allows the same type of face-to-face business
interactions, w ithout the constant need for global travel.That's where the concept of Cisco TelePresence
com es in. It allows for real-time, face-to-face com m unication and collaboration over the networl< with
colleagues, prospects and partners, even if they're in opposite hemispheres.
4 Find two-word phrases in the web page which mean:
a how your business works
b an advantage you have over your com petitors
C making sure your business can still operate even in a crisis

5 ^ 3.13 Now listen to a sh o rt com m ercial for TelePresence. Cisco recom m ends the
system for th e following kinds o f m eeting. W hich do you th in k it would be b est suited to?
Would you use it?
design team m eetings • consultations with vendors, suppliers and clients
in~company executive m eetings • job interview s
product d em onstrations • project m eetings
sales presen tations

6 W hich types o f m eetings above have you experienced? Have you used teleconferencing
equipm ent for them ?

Trouble at the plant

1 3.14 Peter Devlin is CEO o f the European division o f Oriflam m e, a m anufacturer of
candles and hom e fragrance products. Currently on a business trip to Vancouver w ith his
m arketing director M onica Brookes, Peter was woken at 2 am by an unexpected phone call
from his plant m anager in Hamburg. Listen to the conversation and answer the questions,
a W hat has happened at the Hamburg plant?
b W hy didn’t M ax have any alternative?
C W hat happened last tim e there was a sim ilar disaster?
d W hat does Peter suggest doing now?

2 Complete the phrasal verbs in the following sen ten ces from 1 w ith the correct
preposition. Use th e synonym s in brackets to help you.
a W e’re going to have to s h u t______________ the Hamburg plant immediately, (close)
b O therw ise, th e whole thing could g o ______________ ! (explode)
C W e’ll have container lorries b a ck ed ______________ from Hamburg to Liibeck. (queueing)

3 You also heard the following idiom atic expressions in 1. Can you rem em ber the missing
words? The first two letters are given. Use the definitions in brackets to help you.
a W ho on ea_________
-------------- can th a t be? (I have no idea who this is.)
b All he--------------------- ’s broken loose here. (Everything’s in chaos here.)
C Everything grinds to a ha______________ (Everything com es to a com plete stop.)
d There’s n ot a mo--------------------- to lose. (We m ust act immediately.)
e I’m sorry to get you up a t this unearthly ho_________________ (1 don’t like to disturb you
so late/early.)

4 W ork with a partner. List the im plications o f a crisis like the one above.

5 Now m atch the words below to produce som e im plications. Did you include them
in your list in 4?
a a backlog of bottlen eck
b a production hazard
c a safety productivity
d a fall in orders
e a damaged m an-hours
f adverse reputation
g lost deliveries
h delayed publicity
6 W ork w ith a partner to discuss what im m ediate action Oriflam m e should take to avoid
the im plications in 5.

7 ^ 3.15-3.17 Listen to three extracts from O riflam m e’s em ergency teleconference to

decide what action to take. Answer th e questions.
E x tr a c t 1
a W ho h asn’t been able to jo in the teleconference?
b W here are Peter and M onica?
C How long will it take to fix the problem at the plant?
E x tr a c t 2
a W hat state is the plant in?
b W hy can’t the orders be m et com pletely?
C Describe M onica’s response to P eter’s suggestion th a t they buy products from their
com petitors to sell on to th eir custom ers ‘to cover the shortfall’,
enthu siastic
negative
positive
hostile
lukewarm
cool
E x tr a c t 3
a W hy may Handelsm ann be prepared to help?
b Is there still a safety hazard at the plant?
C W hat arrangem ent does Peter make w ith O tto?
 8 The m inutes below were taken by Fran^oise Fleurie directly after the teleconference.
Complete them using th e verbs in th e box.

Points 1 and 2
assure authorized confirmed ensure estimated informed keep
Points 3 and 4
agreed follow mentioned Okay’d opposed pointed proposed
reach report smooth

Hamburg Plant Shutdown: Minutes of the teleconference

Date: 12th March

Participants: Peter Devlin, Monica Brookes, Max Schiller, Otto Manser, Frangoise Fleurie

Apologies: N/A

Next teleconference: 12 pm ET

Point Details Action

1 Situation report PD that a total .shiitdnwn nf the OM to PD up to

H’burg plant has been officially....................... date on any changes in the
OM us that the site had been situation
evacuated in order to conduct safety checks,
but was later able to ............ ..... us that
the situation has now been brought under
control.

2 Repairs MS .......... that repairs will probably MS to oversee and

estimate take three days to carry out. The main completion of repairs within
reason given for the delay was the amount three days
of time needed to obtain a replacement heat
exchanger (48hrs).

3 Production plan Pn rewriting the production OM to ........... a

plan to give priority to key customers, but compromise re main
OM out that we hold insufficient custom ers’ orders and
reserve stocks to fully meet current orders. It back to PD
was generally that our European
plants are too overstretched to transfer
goods to H’burg.

4 Traded goods PD’s suggestion that traded goods be FFto .....................up the
bought in from another supplier was initially Handelsmann offer and
by MR on the grnnnds that it things over with
would damage Oriflamme’s reputation. FF key customers
the possibility of Handelsmann
being able to help us out. This was
provisionally by PD.
Desert island blues
The R JK Group is one o f the world’s leading advertising agencies with an impressive list of
blue-chip clients. At the m om ent R JK (UK)’s top creatives are on location on the rem ote
island o f Oam u-Oam u in the South Pacific, film ing a com m ercial for Vivacity, the new
shower gel range from French cosm etics and toiletries giant Eternelle. But after eight days
on th e island, the film shoot is turning in to a disaster.

Step 1
W ork in groups o f three. You are the senior m anagem ent o f R JK (UK). Add your nam es to
the organigram below.

RJK Group President

Nathan T. Auerbach

CEO RJK (UK)

CFO RJK (UK) Creative Director RJK (UK) Account Director RJK (UK)
Gavin Hartnell

Film Unit Director (freelance) Senior A ccount Manager

Ridley Hurs Amelia Devine

Account Manager
Jason Roberts

Step 2
You are about to take part in a teleconference to decide what to do about the situation.
First check your latest em ail and m ake a note o f any points you want to bring up.
Speaker A CEO o f R JK (UK): You are currently attending an in ternational conference in
Milan. Read em ails 1 and 2 on page 1 2 5 .
Speaker B Creative D irector, R JK (UK): You are currently in the middle o f a pitch for the
€ 1 5 m Heine account. Read em ails 3 and 4 on page 1 3 3 .
Speaker C A ccount D irector, R JK (UK): You are currently on two weeks’ holiday in
M auritius. Read emails 5 and 6 on page 1 3 5 .

Step 3
Hold th e teleconference using the agenda below. The CEO should chair the m eeting.
Report what you have learned from your em ail and try to com m it to a definite course of
action on which you all agree. The final decision, however, is the CEO’s.

Agenda: Eternelle Account - Vivacity Shoot

1 Situation report: Clarification of the situation on location

2 Financial considerations: Eternelle account - budgetary constraints

3 Action plan:

• Change of location? If so, where?

• Switch to studio filming? Implications?

• Change of actress? Contractual problems?

• How to present change of plan to client?

• Any other suggestions?

 LANGUAGE LINKS

16 Teleconferencing
Vocabulary

Teleconferencing
1 Complete the puzzle using the extracts from the telecon ferences in this unit.

a Okay, so we’re ju s t _______ _______ for O tto.

b L et’s g o ____
C Max, could you first o f all ju s t ____
Well, Pete, it’s difficult to say a t t h e _______
e I’ll see what I
f I’m alread y __
g M onica, is there a n y _______
h Pete, you know how I
i Ju s t for the tim e __
j W h a t__________
k Can I _______
I I’ve alread y _______
m Okay, get back to them and see if we
n And get som ebody in after-sales t o __
0 Okay, I’ll see to it Q
p O tto, keep me posted if th ere’s a n y ______________
and get the m eeting started.
us in on w hat’s going on?
do.
_____________ on that.
in us buying in traded goods?
_______ about buying from the com petition.
______________ do we have?
in on th at?
on to Handelsm ann.
hu rry things up a bit.
round all our biggest custom ers.
_____
in the situation.

Personnel and production W hich o f the collocations in 3 refer to:

O rganizational issues unprocessed m aterials?

where the factory workers put the products together?
2 Combine one word from the box on the le ft w ith one
a group o f workers and managers who m eet to discuss
word from the box on the right to com plete each sentence
quality?
below.
a series o f suppliers selling on raw m aterials and finished
human incentive prospects benefits com ponents to manufacturers?
promotion appraisal scheme interview
fringe job satisfaction resources
Grammar
a These days people talk a b o u t_____________________
rather than personnel,
Reporting
b Rates o f pay, recognition and opportunities for personal
growth contribute to ov erall_____________________ 1 Look at some silly things politicians have said and report
C A n -------------------------------- is one way o f m onitoring each, making gramm atical changes where necessary, e.g.
employee perform ance and personal developm ent. have(n’t) — ►had(n’t), did(n’t) — ►had(n’t) done, I — ►he,
d -------------------------------- include health insurance, a this — ►that, etc.
company car and contributory pension plan, a We have managed to distribute poverty equally.
e For hardworking and am bitious young m anagers there Vietnamese Foreign Minister, Nguyen Co Thach
are exce lle n t_____________________ Mr Thach announced t h a t______________________________
f Many com panies operate a n _____________________ - I have opinions o f my own, strong opinions, but I don’t
com m issions, bonuses and so on. always agree with them . US President George Bush Sr
President Bush affirmed t h a t_________________________
O perations m an agem en t
I will not tolerate intolerance. US Senator Boh Dole
3 Listed below are som e o f the term s com m only used Senator Dole insisted th a t _______________________
in production departm ents, but the second word in each It isn’t pollution th a t is harm ing the environm ent - it’s
collocation has been switched w ith another. Can you switch the impurities in our air and water th at are doing it.
them back? US Vice President Dan Quayle
raw goods safety d efects Vice President Quayle pointed out that
zero regu lation s stock line
quality chain finished m aterials I haven’t com m itted a crime - what I did is fail to comply
assembly con trol supply circle with the law. N ew York City mayor, David Dinkins
Mayor Dinkins denied th a t _____________________________
2 Read the m eeting extracts and write a sum m ary o f each Niels Anna and I th in k the situation should be reviewed,
using the words in brackets to help you. (both Anna/Niels/recommend/review/situation)
Jo n First o f all, I’d like to hear your views on this.
(Jon/open/meeting/invite/comments/group) Niels Well, I’m very much against these spending cuts.
jipcnei^ the mcetinci hu inviiimi ccmniCHts h vm the (jnnip. Jo n But they won’t affect your departm ent, Niels.
Anna I don’t think this training program m e is necessary. Anna J o n ’s right. These cuts won’t affect us.
Niels N either do I. (there/be/some initial opposition/spending cuts)
(Anna/question/need/training programme. Niels/be/same
opinion) Anna So, you see, Niels, the new system will actually be
an im provem ent.
Anna And what about the training budget for this? Niels Hm, well, on reflection, I suppose you’re right.
Jo n 1 haven’t made up my m ind about th a t yet. Jo n So do I take it we’re now in agreem ent on this?
(Anna/raise/issue/training budget. Jon/reply/not come/ (issue/finally/resolve)
decision)
Jo n I think this is an excellent proposal.
Niels So the board’s okay about this? Anna So do I.
Jo n Absolutely. Niels Me too.
(J on/confirm/proj ect/give/go-ahead) (there/be/unanimous agreement/proposal)

Jo n How about bringing in consultants? In reports:

Anna I don’t think th a t’s a good idea. • it is more im portant to communicate the basic message
(Jon/wonder/if/be/good idea/bring in consultants. than to repeat the exact words that were spoken.
Anna/be/against) • we tend to use the passive when what was said is more
im portant than who said it. I t was suggested th a t...
• long conversations are often summed up in a simple
noun phrase. There was some disagreement...

Phrase bank: Teleconferencing

Across
2 Before we start, could we all ju st
______________ ourselves? (9)
4 Okay, let’s g o ______________ and start. (5)
6 Sorry, I had a bit o f ______________ getting
through. (7)
8 So, ju st t o ______________ on what we’ve said
so far. (5)
13 Let’s try to k e e p ______________ to a

14
16
17
minimum. (13)
Sorry, I can’t ______________ you very well. (4)
So, are we a ll______________ on that, then? (6)
I suggest w e ______________ item three until
1
Beatrice can join us. (8)
18 Can we take a q uick______________on that? (4)
Down
Looks like we’re ju s t . . for Stefan.
(7)
2 Can we keep o u r____ - quite short? (5)
3 I think th at ju st a b o u t.
everything. (6)
5 Did everyone get a copy o f t h e ________ - ? ( 6) 11 Could everyone i n . -ju st
7 I’d like to b e _____________ by 11 if th a t’s okay with everyone. (8) say ‘Yes’? (6)
8 Right, we’r e _____________ short o f time, so le t’s move on. (7) 12 Let’s m o v e_______
____________on to item four. (8)
9 Could I ju s t ______________ in here? (4) 15 . to the m eeting, everybody. (7)
10 Elise? Hello? We seem to h av e______________ Elise. (4)

Don’t ever slam a door. You
might want to go back in.
Don Herald, US negotiator
Are there any business
contacts you wish you’d
kept in touch with?
Learning objectives:
Unit 17
Business communication sl<ills
Negotiating a tricky situation;
Identifying negotiating tactics;
Fluency: Negotiating a contract
Reading Analysis of a
negotiation; Article about the
music business
Listening Negotiations; People
talking about negotiating
strategy; Meeting: signing a
new band
Vocabulary Negotiations
Grammar Diplomacy and
persuasion
Phrase banit Negotiating
In company interviews
Units 1 6 -1 7
Negotiating deals
1 W ork w ith a p artn er and answer the questions.
a Are you a good negotiator? W ork in groups o f three to try out your negotiating skills.
Speaker A see page 1 2 6 , Speaker B see page 1 2 7 . The third person in the group should
observe and take notes on th e kind o f language the other two use.
b Speakers A and B, did you reach an agreem ent or did you get into an argum ent? W hat
was the m ain problem you faced?
C Try the negotiation again, but this tim e read th e extra inform ation on page 1 2 3 first.
The observer should again take notes,
d W as th e negotiation easier this tim e? Did you manage to reach a com prom ise? Find
out from the observer if the language used was different in the two negotiations.
2 . 3 .1 8 Listen to a m anagem ent trainer giving feedback to som e trainees who have
ju st finished the negotiation s in 1. Do you agree w ith the analysis?
3 Complete th e phrases by m atching the com pound adjectives. Then m atch each phrase
to its definition. You heard all the phrases in 2.
a a single- sum game one which is very direct
b a long- win situation one from which b oth sides feel they’ve gained
a win- issue negotiation
c one th a t lasts
d a one- term relationship one where one side wins what the oth er side loses
e a zero- on conflict one th a t happens only once
f a head- off deal one where only one topic is being discussed
4 You also heard the following expressions in 2. Can you rem em ber the m issing words?
The first few letters are given. The definitions in brackets may help you.
There’s little room for man_ _. (It’s difficult to change your position.)
win at all cos______________ (do w hatever you have to do to win)
It simply w asn’t w orth the hass_______________ (It was too much trouble.)
The negotiation ended in dead___ -. (N either side was prepared to move.)
resort to em otional black________ _ (make people feel guilty to get what you want)
reach some kind o f comp_________ - (an agreem ent th at partially satisfies both sides)
 Negotiating style
1 W ork w ith a partner. Listed below are the eight m ost com m on high-pressure tactics
negotiators use. One o f you should m atch th e first four to th eir description. The other
should m atch th e second four. Then compare notes.

1 The shock opener Make it look as though you are ready to leave the negotiating table if your
demands are not met, that you are not prepared to move an inch further.
2 The strictly off-lim its ploy
Point out at the start that, though you are prepared to negotiate A, B and C; X,
3 The take-it-or-leave-it
Y and Z are definitely not negotiable.
challenge
Having obtained a concession from your opponent, inform them that you need
4 The ril-h ave -to -ch e ck-w ith -
your boss’s approval before you can do what they ask in return.
head-office ploy
Make a ridiculous initial demand (or offer), but keep a straight face as you
5 The good cop, bad cop
make it. This w orks particularly well on inexperienced opponents.
approach
Don’t make all your demands right at the start. Make a small demand and get
6 The once-in-a-lifetlm e offer
agreement on it before you make the next, and the n e x t...
7 The salami technique
Pressurize your opponent by suggesting that the offer yo u ’re making is only
8 The last-m inute demand fo r a limited period and if they d o n ’t act quickly, they’ll miss it.

After the deal has been done, make one m odest extra demand in the
hope that your opponent will not w ant to jeopardize the agreement for one
small detail.

One of your team is friendly and flexible, the other unpleasant and
unreasonable. Your opponent will want to please M r/M s Nice to avoid
M r/M s Nasty.

2 How m ight you respond to each o f the tactics in 1? Can you see any risks in using
them yourself?

3 ^ 3.19-3.20 Listen to extracts from two different negotiations. W hich tactics in 1

are they trying to use? How successful are they?
E x tr a c t 1
E x tr a c t 2

4 W ork w ith a partner. One o f you should recon stru ct sentences a - j from the
negotiation extracts in 3 by putting the bold words in th e correct order. The other should
reconstru ct sen tences k - t. W hen you have finished, check your answers together,
a Okay, so, do tak e ag re e m e n t w e’re in on I it volume?
W ouldn’t it be a idea before ta lk to good we p rices go any further?
But in happy p rinciple tak in g ab ou t you’re 4 0 cases, right?
Look, p rice back g e ttin g to a fo r m om ent.
Can you give us som e w hat idea of kind figure w ere you thinking of?
There seem s sligh t a been have to m isunderstanding.
W ith p rices re sp e ct simply a re you r n o t com petitive.
I’m afraid th a t absolute really b o tto m o u r is line.
L et’s set th e price side m om en t th e issue to one for, shall we?
I’ll throw free service 1 2 p a rts and m o n th s’ as in well.
Now, I can ’t fa ire r t h a t say th an , now can I?
W hat we’d really like to m ovem ent see is m ore on b it a price,
m A 6% discount quite is had n o t w h at in we mind,
n We were clo ser hoping som eth in g fo r b it a to 10% .
I don’t th in k stre tc h f a r could I as as that.
Surely s o rt we som eth in g out can here.
Would m eet w illing be you to us halfway?
We m ight p osition be a in crease to in our order.
W e’d need to b it on flexibility see a m ore term s o f paym ent.
I suppose m anoeuvre room th e re be m ay som e fo r there.
 Look back a t the expressions in 4 and answer the following questions.
a Find two phrases which m ean ‘bad news com ing’.
b Explain th e use o f the word seems in f).
c If you change sen ten ces e) and n) into the presen t tense, does this make them sound
m ore or less negotiable?
d Do th e question tags in i) and k) m ake it easier or m ore difficult to disagree?
e Does the negative question form in b) m ake the suggestion:
m ore persuasive? m ore diplom atic? b oth?
f W hy do you th in k the speakers use words like slight, some, a hit and quite?
g W hat is the overall effect o f changing:
wouldn’t to isn’t in b)?
can to will in e)?
could to can in o)?
would to are in q)?
m ight to are in r)?
may to is in t)?

6 The following expressions from the negotiations in 3 show strong disapproval, but
think twice before using them yourself as they may cause offence. Complete them using
the pairs o f words in the box.

joke + something lot + that other + time way + earth

Is this m eant to be som e kind o f ______________o r ___

There’s n o ______________ o n __________ I’m paying you €4 !
Oh, come on! You’ll have to do a ___ b e tte r th a n ___
Frankly, I th in k we’re w asting each , . here.

7 W 3.21-3.23 Listen to three experienced negotiators talking about strategy and

answer the questions.
Speaker 1 W hy isn ’t win-win a realistic outcom e?
How can a friendly attitu de be counterproductive?
Speaker 2 W hy is silence m ore powerful than talking?
In what way is listening ‘gold’?
Speaker 3 How do you avoid pointless debates?
W hat are the two m ost useful phrases in a n egotiation?

8 Discuss the m eaning o f the following idioms w ith a partner. They were all in 7.
a Give them an inch and th ey ’ll take a mile.
b Play your cards close to your chest.
c They can talk till the cows come hom e.
 Negotiating a recording contract
1 W hat kind o f music are you into? Compare your tastes with a partner.

2 W ork with a p artn er to answer the following questions. If you’ve no idea, ju st have
a guess! Then check your answers in the article.
a W hich is the world’s w ealthiest rock band?
b W ho are th e world’s four m ost bankable solo perform ers?
C W hat is the bestselling album o f all tim e?
d W hat are the two bestselling singles o f all tim e?
e W hich pop song has been recorded in over 2 ,0 0 0 versions?

INSIDE THE MUSIC BUSINESS

1 The world's biggest band
When Mick, Keith, Charlie and Ronnie come on stage
to 40,000 adoring fans, they have the satisfaction of
l<nowing that the Rolling Stones are easily the world's
wealthiest rock band. Having generated more than $1.5
billion in gross revenues since 1989, two thirds of that
earned on tour, they have made more money than even
fellow megastors U2, Bruce Springsteen and Sting.
2 Financial acum en
Now firmly established rock legends, the Stones are also
a rock-solid business. It was their chief financial advisor,
London banker Prince Rupert zu Loewenstein, who was
first to see that, whilst concerts make the most money,
music rights provide the steadiest income stream. And
though the Stones may never have produced a real
blockbuster on the scale of Fleetwood Mac's Rumours or
Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, Jagger and Richards
have made over 40 albums and written more than 200
songs. Each time they get airplay they collect 50% of the
royalties. According to Fortune magazine, that amounts
to $56 million in the past decade, Microsoft® alone paid
them $4 million to use 'Start Me Up' in the Windows 95
commercial.
3 Big business
The music business has come a long way since the
Stones started out in the 60s. In those days record
labels like Motown, Island and Elektra all had their own
distinctive sound, and you could have a string of top
ten hits but still barely be able to afford the bus fare
home from your latest sell-out gig.These days just five
major music companies - UMG, Sony Warner, EMI and
BMG - control 75 to 80% of all commercially released
recordings and the sums of money involved are huge.
4 Bankability
Today's most profitable solo performers remain Madonna,
Elton John, Celine Dion and Garth Brooks.The back
catalogues of Sinatra and Elvis also bring in millions. In
fact, dead Elvis started out-earning live Elvis in 1988,The
version of 'Candle in the Wind' Elton John sang at the
funeral of Princess Diana overtook Bing Crosby's 'White
Christmas'to become the world's bestselling single of all
time and the most recorded pop song ever is The Beatles'
'Yesterday', which exists in over 2,000 different versions.
But the real money has always been in albums, not
singles,The top seller is Michael Jackson's f M e r , which
has sold over 100 million units worldwide, more than
double the most successful albums of runners-up AC/DC,
the Eagles and Backstreet Boys,
5 Rights and rip-offs
With this kind of money at stake, it's not surprising that
the relationship between artist and record company
can be an uneasy one, with young up-and-coming
bands often too dazzled by the prospect of stardom to
look closely at the small print in their contracts. Even
established performers like Prince and George Michael
have had well publicized clashes with their management,
Courtney Love went so far as to file a lawsuit against
Geffen Records to be released from her contract. And
Mariah Carey found herself in the opposite situation,
reputedly being paid off to the tune of £19,5 million
when Virgin Records decided it didn't want to record her
after all.
 3 Find words and phrases in the article which mean:
a m oney earned before tax and costs (paragraph 1)
b the m ost regular source o f m oney (paragraph 2)
C highly successful album, book or film (paragraph 2)
d m oney paid to a rtists each tim e their work is sold or perform ed (paragraph 2)
e a series o f bestselling records (paragraph 3)
f a m usical perform ance to which all th e tickets are sold (paragraph 3)
g earning m ore than (paragraph 4)
h likely to becom e popular soon (paragraph 5)
i excited at th e chance o f becom ing stars (paragraph 5)
j the details in a con tract - often lim iting your rights (paragraph 5)
k angry disagreem ents (paragraph 5)

4 ^ 3.24 A m ajor record label is considering signing a new band. Listen to an extract
from a m eeting betw een th eir A&R people (talen t scouts) and senior m anagem ent.
a W hy does Kate th in k they have to sign the band quickly?
b W h at are the band ’s strengths?
C W hy isn ’t Ronnie as im pressed as Kate?
d W hy does Ronnie sound m ore enthu siastic at the end o f the m eeting?

5 W ork in two team s to negotiate a recording con tract betw een the record com pany and
the up-and-com ing rock band you heard about in 4.
Team A You are representatives from the band The Penitents and th eir m anagers. The
high-profile record com pany Starburst is interested in signing your band. See page 1 2 6 for
your negotiating objectives.
Team B You are executives from the record com pany Starbu rst and their lawyers. You
are interested in signing the prom ising new band The Penitents. See page 1 3 7 for your
Units 1 6 -1 7
negotiating objectives.
 17 Negotiating deals
Vocabulary N egotiatin g procedure

4 Complete the phases o f a negotiation using th e nouns

Negotiations in the box.
Sounding out your opponent
atmosphere breakthrough champagne concessions
1 Complete the questions using the prepositions in the box. deadlock details interests options phase position
procedure proposals strategy table time-out
about at for of towards with

W hat so rt o f ... 1 11
a figure were you th in k in g ______________ ? return to the
create a good make counter
b term s would you be happy _ negotiating
c discount were you h o p in g __
d delivery tim e are we talking _
e tim escale are we lo o k in g ___
12
f deadline are we w orking___
agree on a trade discuss tine
Discussing term s basic

2 These are all key points you may w ant to discuss in a

negotiation. W rite in the m issing vowels.
p r_ „ c _ _ c ns gnm nts
13
d s c ____nt m nt n n c __
state your reacii a make the finai
cr__d _t d — 1— V ry t m __ opening
V 1 m __ p ym _nt t rms
tr n sp rt t n sp r p rts
P — c k _ g _ _ n g __xch ng r_ t_ _
_m nt t n ft r-s 1 s s rv c __ 14
; r n t ____ p n Ity c l s s explore each caii for a work out the
other's
3 Complete the n egotiator’s proposal using th e words and
phrases in 1. W hich one is n ot needed?
Well, on a repeat order o f this ( 1 ) ______________- 2 0 ,0 0 0
units - we’d be able to offer you what I think you’ll agree 10 15
is a very generous ( 2 ) ______________ of 17% . I th in k you’d
enter the rethink your crack open the
also find our ( 3 ) ______________ extrem ely favourable - 1 2 0 bargaining
days’ ( 4 ) --------------------- , o f course - and we’d cover any
fluctuations in the ( 5 ) ----------------------betw een the dollar and
the euro.
We’d also be prepared to include in our quoted
( 6 ) ----------------------all ( 7 ) ______________costs. That is to
say, we’d handle the shipping charges, insurance and
all the necessary ( 8 ) ______________to save you doing
the paperwork yourself. We would have to use the
same carrier for each delivery, however, which m eans
the ( 9 ) ______________would be 1 4 days. I hope th a t’s
acceptable to you.
Now, all our products come with a three-year
( 1 0 ) --------------------- which includes full ( 1 1 ) ______________
and ( 1 2 ) --------------------- There’s also a free 24-h o u r custom er
helpline, so your custom ers would be g ettin g excellent
( 1 3 ) ---------------------
I think we could also be fairly flexible on ( 1 4 ) _________
if you decided to increase or reduce your order from tim e
to time.
So, th at ju st leaves the question o f ( 1 5 ) ______________
We norm ally use styrofoam containers ...
 LANGUAGE LINKS

Grammar
P h r a s e b a n k : N e g o t ia t in g
Diplomacy and persuasion The following negotiation expressions are grouped
Look at the negotiation extracts. Make the direct rem arks according to th eir fu nction. A lternate letters are
more diplom atic and persuasive using the words in brackets m issing from key words. Complete them .
to help you. Then circle the appropriate heading for each.
N egotiation 1
Agreement / Probing
A This is still too expensive.
a Can you give us som e i _ e o f delivery tim es?
(afraid/would still/a little out of/price range)
b W hat k n o f figure were you thinking of?
I'm nh'iu'ii thcH WimLi still he a little lUif c f ijur pricc niiuie.
C We were hoping for som ething a b it c o e to
B Well, how much do you want to pay? $ 3 ,0 0 0 .
(what sort/figure/did/in mind) Agreement / Flexibility
A $ 1 2 per unit. d So, in p i c p e, you’re happy w ith the
(were thinking/somewhere/the region of/$12 per unit) proposal, right?
B I can’t go as low as that. e So, do I take we’re in a r e e t on paym ent
(be honest/not/a position/quite/low/this stage) in installm ents?
N egotiation 2 Probing / Compromise
A You said we’d get 90 days’ free credit. f Would you be w I i g to m eet us halfway?
(were promised/90 days’ free credit) g Surely, we can s r som ething out here.
B Yes, b u t you said you’d be placing a larger order. Flexibility / Agreement
(respect/was understood/rather larger) h I suppose there may be som e room for
A Look, this is getting us nowhere. We w ant free credit, m n e v — e there.
(doesn’t seem/getting/very far/afraid/must insist/ free i I don’t th in k I could s r t __ h as far as that.
credit) j We m ight b e i n a p s t o__ to increase
B Well, I can’t offer you th a t unless you increase your our offer.
order. k W hat we’d really like to see is a b it more
(unfortunately/unable/offer/you’re prepared/slightly) m V m n on price.
N egotiation 3 I W e’d need to see a little more
A We need a com m itm ent from you today. f e i i _i_^y in term s o f in terest rates.

(had/hoping/some kind) Miscommunication / Concessions

B Impossible! We’re still unhappy about these service m Okay, I’ll t r w in free service and m aintenance
charges. as well.

(this point/might/a b it difficult/not entirely/service n I can’t say f __i e __ than th at, now can I?
charges) Compromise / Rejection
A But you said you were okay about those! 0 3% is n o t quite what we had in m _ n .
(was assumed) p I’m afraid th a t really is our absolute bottom
B Not at all. Look, I th in k we should go over these figures 1 n—
again. q W ith r s e t, your term s are simply not
(afraid/shouldn’t we/figures/again) com petitive.
Probing / Refocusing
M odal verbs (would/might/could, etc) are often used to
r Look, g t __ i g back to price for a m om ent.
soften the verb.
S L et’s set the issue o f discounts to one s — d — for
Modifiers are com mon {a little difficult).
the m om ent.
Continuous forms keep your options open ( We were
Miscommunication / Flexibility
wondering; We had been hoping.
t There seem s to have been a slight
Introductory softeners { I ’m afraid) warn that bad news is
m s n e s a_d___n_„.
coming!
U I th in k we may be talking at
Negative adjectives like expensive are often avoided.
c o _ _ s -p r o e here.
seem is com mon [We don’t seetn to agree.)
There’s a lot o f approximation {sort of).
Qualifying phrases are com mon {at the moment).
Alternatives are preferred to cant and w on’t.
The passive sounds less like an accusation (not You promised
us ...,b u t We were promised ...).
Suggestions are often phrased as negative questions
( Wouldn ’t it be better to ...? ).
 '(OU ToWA
OF w .
\NEU-, IT W H K T U M 6H0\N«. 'Nt'RE
FRofoRC*^, W9K6.,..

L e a r n in g o b je c tiv e s ;
U n it 1 8
People skills Discussing the
qualities of a good mediator;
Identifying the stages of
mediation; Fluency: Mediating
between colleagues
Reading Article about causes of
conflict at work
Listening Poor and positive
mediation
Mediation
1 How would you define the relationship
betw een the two m en in the cartoon?
W hat is the wom an’s role and how is she
trying to achieve this?
2 W hat are the qualities o f a good
d- CxK CORRKL
m ediator?
3 W hat so rt o f things can cause conflict in the workplace? Compare your thoughts with
a partner.

4 Skim read the article below. Does it m ention any o f the types o f conflict you
discussed in 3?

8 Causes of Conflict at Work

You arrive at the office expecting a
relatively hassle-free day. Your schedule
is light, you have nothing urgent to
deal with and everything seems to be
running smoothly. Then the problems
start. Two members of your team are
at each other's throats over their shared
office space and another colleague
is clearly leaving it till the very last
minute to write the report you need by
tomorrow morning. And, to top it a ll,
you get an email informing you that
your department's budget has been
slashed and you now have a whole
new set of team objectives to satisfy.
Welcome to work!
According to psychologists Art Bell and
Brett Hart, there are eight classic causes
of conflict in the office. How many of
the following sound familiar?
1 Conflicting needs
This might just be a case of competing
over limited resources - office supplies
or the use of a meeting room. O r it
may be something deeper, such as
when one person needs more personal
recognition than another. Either way,
there's friction.
2 Conflicting styles
People obviously have different ways
of working. Some require order, while
others thrive on chaos. Some are team
players, while others work best alone.
Expect these people to collaborate and
you're heading for a personality clash.
3 Conflicting perceptions
Two people may view the same incident
In two totally different ways. As far as
I'm concerned, you went ahead and
made a decision without consulting me
first. You thought you were doing me a
favour by saving me time. N ow w e're
heading for a confrontation.
4 Conflicting goals
You think w e're supposed to be
expanding our customer base. I think
w e're in the business of improving the
quality of our service. Asking us to
work on the same team Is a recipe for
disaster!
5 Conflicting pressures
A common cause of conflict when
you're relying on other people to help
you do your job. I need you to send
someone to fix my computer, but you
need your whole IT team to attend a
training session!
6 Conflicting roies
I was called In to help you with a
crippling w orkload. You think you can
manage just fine without me and don't
appreciate the interference.
7 Different personal values
Your boss asks you to do something
you disapprove of ethically. But, If you
refuse, you'll lose her trust and have to
face the consequences!

8 Unpredictable policies
Whenever company policy is changed
without warning or Is Inconsistent,
there w ill be negative reactions. Poor
communication is always a major cause
of irritation.

In all cases, it sounds like a job for ...

the mediator!
 PEOPLE SKILLS

5 W ork w ith a partner. Check you know what the underlined words and phrases in the
article m ean. Try to work out the m eaning o f any you don’t know from the context.

6 Reread th e article. Have you found yourself in any o f the situations it describes? If so,
share your story. How did you resolve the issue?

7 ^ 3 .2 5 Listen to a m anager trying to resolve a dispute betw een two o f his team
m em bers and answer the questions below.
a W hich two o f th e eight causes o f conflict do you think are the m ain ones here?
b W hose side (if anybody’s) are you on? Can you see any possible solutions?
C W hat is the m anager doing wrong? W hich o f the qualities you discussed in 2 does
he lack?

8 Complete th e stages o f a m ediation session using the verbs in the box.

describes encourages generates gets holds identifies imposes

listens opens prevents sets speaks writes

1 The m e d ia to r. . th e m e e tin g ,. - the process a n d .

the ground rules.
Each p a rty ______ . in turn. The m e d ia to r. - carefully and
. interruption.
3 The m e d ia to r. . the m am issues a n d . _ alternatives if they can.
4 If necessary, the m e d ia to r. . one-on-one m eetings w ith each party.
5 The m e d ia to r_____________ . the parties to reach an agreem ent, b u t ______________
nothing on them .
The m e d ia to r_________ . up w hat’s been agreed a n d ______________ the parties to
sign up to it.

M atch the sen ten ces below to the stages in 8 th a t you would you expect to hear them .
Okay, so clearly this issue is im portant to you.
Remember, this is entirely your decision.
First o f all. I’m com pletely im partial in all this.
Do you think you could both live with that?
Okay, let’s talk about this a b it more in private.
It’s ju st a suggestion, but how about this?
So, if you’d ju st like to check what you’ve agreed.
Here’s one option you m ight like to consider.
Hang on, Ian! You’U get your chance in a minute.
As I understand it, you’re unhappy about this.
Everything you say is totally confidential.
It looks like there’s some com mon ground here.

10 ^ 3 .2 6 A fter their disastrous first m eeting, Ja m es decides to bring in a m ediator to

try and help resolve th e conflict betw een Henri and Elena. Listen and make a note o f what
the m ain issues are for each person. How would you rate th e m ediator out o f ten?

11Are you in a b etter position now to find a solution to the conflict? If so, what
would you do?

12 ^ 3 .2 7 Listen to what is agreed a t the m eeting and com pare it w ith your
^ ideas in 11.

13 W ork in groups o f three to practise your m ediation skills. See page 1 2 6 .

 M AN A G EM EN T
SCENARIO

Moral quarrel

Learning objectives:
IVIanagement
scenario E
Business communication skills
Staying assertive in meetings;
Mediating to resolve a conflict;
Fluency: A conference call
mediation
Reading PowerPoint slide on
assertiveness 1 Give a m an a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a m an to fish and you feed him for
^ In company in action a lifetim e. - Chinese proverb.
E l: A failed mediation;
E2: A successful conference call Should in tern ation al assistance focus on im m ediate aid or long-term developm ent?

2 Complete the m inutes below using the verbs in the box and answer the questions,

agreed announced congratulated emphasized urged

Date: A p r il 2 Tim e: 1 1 .0 0 Chair: C h a r le s O ja r a

Venue: S h e r a t o n H o t e l, K a m p a la Attendees: A m o s Je ffa h , E d R yan

Item D iscussion Action

V illa g e w e lls AJ n ' t R ln p R n r k o n a rV iip v in ? th e 0 1 ta rg e t
p r o je c t o f 3 0 n e w w e lls . E R ( 2 ) th a t th e o b je c t i v e fo r
Q 2 h a d b e e n r a is e d b y 2 0 % .

E d u c a tin g C O n 't R liip R o r k fo in v e s t in th is p r o je c t .

E n g m ee rs H p th a t s n p p n r tin g n a tio n a l p d u c a tio n
p o l ic i e s w a s c r i t i c a l to c o n t i n u e d c o o p e r a t i o n o n lo c a l
w a te r p r o je c t s . E R ( 5 ) ------ to s p o n s o r th r e e
A f r ic a n s t u d e n t s o n w a te r r e s o u r c e s e n g in e e r in g c o u r s e s
ER
a t u n i v e r s itie s in th e U K , to b e c o n f ir m e d b y B lu e R o c k
h e a d q u a r te r s . b y A p r il 1 6

Next meeting: A p r il 1 6 1 1 . 0 0

a W ho represented Blue Rock at the m eeting?

b W hat could happen if Blue Rock does n o t sponsor African students in the UK?
C W hat action does Ed need to take?
In company
in action 3 Now watch video E l to see a discussion at Blue Rock’s head office in London about
sponsoring African engineering students. W ho is in favour o f th e proposal and who is
against it? Complete the table.

Cassie Ed Ryan, Peter Jack Wright, Emma

Sugden, Operations Neubauer, Operations Lambert,
Marketing IVIarketing Operations
For /
Against
Neutral

4 W atch the video again and circle the b est answers.

1 Em m a steps in to m ediate because she has b een (a) invited (b) disturbed (c) interested.
2 Her language is (a) passive (b) assertive (c) aggressive.
3 She tries to control the m eeting by (a) listenin g (b) dom inating (c) staying calm.
4 Em m a is (a) subjective (b) im partial (c) uncom m itted.
5 She takes disagreem ent (a) personally (b) professionally (c) passively.
6 Em m a’s attem p t to m ediate is (a) inconclusive (b) a success (c) a failure.
 MANAGEMENT SCENARIO

5 Put Em m a’s words in the correct order. How could she reform ulate these sentences to
m ake them less aggressive and m ore assertive?
a a b it Can down keep noise the you?
b asked I Ja ck , n o t Peter, you.
c do help. Look, me n o t or to to try want you?
d all collecting donations have I’ll on out street the you!
e as be considered corruption could Don’t realize th a t you?
f and are being totally Ed unprofessional You!

6 IVIatch th e beginnings (1 - 6 ) w ith the endings (a - f) in this slide on assertiveness.

A ssertiveness tips
a give concrete examples not broad generalisations
b build mutual respect not dominance or submission
1 Assertive, not passive or aggressive:
c describe benefits rather than im posing conditions
2 ‘I’ not ‘you’;
d make constructive suggestions not negative vetos
3 ‘I’d like’ not ‘you can’t /sh o u ld n ’t ’ ;
e describe your own feelings rather than others’
4 Description, not judgement;
behaviour
5 Specific, not general;
f stick to facts rather than opinions
6 Incentives, not tlireats;

7 R eferring to the tips in 6, give examples from the video o f how Ed, Ja ck , Cassie and
Peter were n o t assertive enough.
In company
in action 8 Now watch video E2 to see how CEO Sue Je n se n m ediates and tick the item s you see
or hear.
The m ediator:
describes the process sets the ground rules
has each party speak in tu rn listens carefully
prevents interrup tion identifies the m ain issues
generates alternatives holds one-on-on e m eetings
encourages agreem ent im poses nothing
w rites up w hat’s been agreed gets the parties to sign an agreem ent

9 W atch the m eeting again and answer the questions,

a W hy was the m eeting held by conference call?
b How does Sue set up the m eeting?
C How does she deal with aggressive behaviour from the participants? Give examples,
d W hat com prom ise does Emma suggest?
6 W hat three things do they agree to do at the end o f the m eeting?
f Do you th in k the conference call m akes m ediation m ore difficult, or easier? Why?

1 0 Complete th e gaps in these phrases from th e video. W hich assertiveness tips in 6 do

they refer to?
a Let’s sta y _________ - please, Ed; tell us about the benefits rather than negatives, okay?
b I’d like us t o _______ — th is ----------------------together ...
c ... let’s leave_______ . aside for the m om ent, all right?
d ... can you be m o re . ?
e Let’s not get to o _
______________
_ here, okay?

11 Work in groups o f three or m ore to sim ulate a m eeting or conference call. Speaker A
(m ediator) see page 1 3 4 , Speaker B see page 1 3 8 , Speaker C see page 1 2 8 .
W hen you have finished, use the checklists on page 1 3 2 to help you evaluate your
perform ance.
Additional material
01 Business or pleasure?
Corporate entertainment (p7, ex4)
Group A
British Grand P rix, Silverstone
(100 km from cen tral London)
Engines roar, tyres squeal and sparks fly as $2 million
supercars accelerate from 0 to 250 kph in under seven
seconds. 200,000 spectators descend on Silverstone
for this fabulous sporting occasion that attracts a
worldwide TV audience of 350 million. From your
trackside seat you’ll soak up all the atmosphere of one
of the most glamorous and spectacular events in the
motor racing calendar. VIP treatment; breathtaking
action!
VIP box and hospitality tent: €1,500 p er person
Banquet on board the Royal Yacht Britannia,
Edinburgh
(600 km from London)
Dinner on board Britannia at lier pernnanent berth in
Scotland's capital is a once-in-a-lifetim e experience -
oysters and aperitifs, tables decorated with ice sculptures,
waiters in white gloves and m usic played on the very piano
Princess Diana used to practise on. You'll be seated in the
state dining room where the Queen once entertained
world leaders like Boris Yeltsin, Bill Clinton and Nelson
Mandela. W hy not really roll out the red carpet for your
guests and make your corporate hospitality event a truly
'royal'occasion?
Five-course dinner, military band, fireworks: €800 per
person
02 Information exchange
Breaking the bad news (p l7 , e x l)
Speaker A
Proposal: W ork environm ent
• A lot o f sta ff (35% ) com plaining about feeling tired and
stressed
• Board thinks one o f m ain causes may be poor work
environm ent
• Feng shui expert called in - recom m endations include
radical changes to office layout
• Reception area to be turned into a water garden to
create positive ‘chi’ (energy)
• Internal walls to be removed to improve ‘channels o f
com m unication’
• Desks ideally to be moved during th e year to rem ain ‘in
harm ony with the seasons’
Scenario A
(p23, ex9)
Speaker A
You work for a w ell-established and respectable
business w ith a proud reputation for technical
innovation. The com pany has a rath er hierarchical
organization: m anagers have reserved parking spaces
and separate tables in th e canteen. Relations are rather
form al - first nam es are only used betw een colleagues
a t the sam e level. M ost people work in small individual
or shared offices. Inform ation is com m unicated on a
need-to-know basis.
The com pany employs a m ajority o f men, mostly
engineers, and only a few women, mainly
adm inistrative assistan ts. Your business is very
technical: cu stom ers’ and suppliers’ attitudes are very
conventional. The dress code is form al - custom ers
frequently visit the office and expect high standards.
In your company, tim e is money. Punctuality and
efficiency are valued highly. Everybody, including
m anagem ent, has to clock in and out. Humorous
emails or rem arks are discouraged as a w aste o f tim e.
Criticizing the company, its products or its staff, even
humorously, is discouraged. S ta ff do n o t socialize
much; rom antic relationships betw een sta ff are actively
discouraged.
In your business, work is stressful and sta ff turnover
is high. However, people are generally happy because
th e com pany is successful and they are well-paid;
bonuses are also awarded for exceptional individual
achievem ent. You would like to keep as many o f the
positive aspects o f your culture as possible in the new
organization.
11 Stress
(p71, e x l3 )
Speaker A
1 You are Speaker B’s manager. Speaker B is suffering
from stress. Try to:
• help them express th eir feelings
• identify th e source o f stress
• find ways to relieve pressure
• find ways to adapt to th eir situation.
2 Speaker B is your m anager. You are suffering from
stress because you have financial problem s. Your
m ortgage paym ents have ju st gone up, your car is
g etting old and unreliable, your children’s school/
university fees are rising and your household bills are
growing. Your expenses are constan tly increasing but
your incom e rem ains the same and there seem to be no
prospects o f prom otion.
Talk to your m anager about the problem.
02 Information exchange 02 Information exchange
Buzzword bingo (p l4 , ex5) Queries and comments (p l5 , ex2)
Choose a bingo card from th e selection below. Speaker A

04329 1 Read ou t the following report to your partner. There

are seven discrepancies in it (m arked in bold). Can your
think outside core
m indset p artn er spot them ? If not, keep reading. Apologize for or
the box com petencies
ju stify any discrepancies your partner points out. If you
proactive em pow erm ent drill down lose your place in the text, ask your partner: ‘W here was I?’

paradigm shift the big picture the next level Report: World Trade Fair

O u r exh ib itio n stand at th e W orld Trade Fair in M u n ich

was very successful again this year, attractin g visitors from all
04330 over M u nich . A lthough this was ou r first appearance at the
Fair, ou r people did a great jo b and handed o u t nearly three
core
ram p up drill down brochures.
c om petencies
W e m et a group o f A ustrian business peop le at th e Frankfu rt
H ilto n , w here we were staying, and arranged a form al m eeting
the big picture m indset proactive
w ith them by th e pool. T hey were very interested in our
prod ucts and said they w ould em ail us as soon as they got back
think outside
bo tto m line paradigm shift to A ustralia.
the box
Apparently, n ext year th e Fair is b ein g held outside Europe for
th e first tim e - Paris here we com e!
04331

benchm ark ram p up em pow erm ent 2 Now listen to your partner reading out a report.
There are also seven discrepancies in it. Can you spot
them ? Rem ain polite no m atter how confused your
synergize m indset bo tto m line
p artn er seem s!

proactive the next level buy-in

U s e fu l la n g u a g e
Sorry, I thought you said ...
Hold on, didn’t you just say ...?
04332
Wait a minute. You just said ..., didn’t you?
the next level the big picture benchm ark

buy-in ram p up bo tto m line 15 Delegation

(p97, e x l l )
scope out custom er-centric paradigm shift
Speaker A
1 You are Speaker B’s manager. You need them to buy
04333 som e new equipm ent for the office (you decide what
and why). Speaker B is new in the job; last tim e they
m indset benchm ark drill down were given a task to do they got it all wrong, so make
sure you give very clear instruction s.
synergize proactive reality check 2 Speaker B is your m anager and has a task to delegate
to you. You are a very experienced m em ber o f the
core team ; you prefer to get on with the job w ithout too
b o tto m line paradigm shift
com petencies much interferen ce from your manager. You tend to get
annoyed if your m anager underestim ates your abilities.

04334 3 You are Speaker B’s manager. You need to delegate a

task to them (you decide what and why). Speaker B has
bottom line ram p up reality check been in your team for two or three years; they are able
to be autonom ous and use initiative, but tend n ot to
finish work on tim e if you don’t check up on them .
buy-in em pow erm ent the big picture
4 Speaker B is your m anager and has a task to delegate
core to you. You are new in your job and very keen to show
drill down synergize
com petencies what you can do and m ake a good im pression.
04 Voice and visuals
Giving feedback (p26, e x l)
Speaker A: Boss
You are a senior partner in a m ajor m anagem ent
consultancy. You have ju st attended a presentation by one
of your best consultants to an im portant Taiwanese client.
Unfortunately, the presentation was an absolute disaster
from start to finish.
You forced a smile during the presentation but are now
going to tell Speaker B exactly what you thought o f their
performance. Base your criticism s on the following
inform ation. Try to end on a positive note by making some
suggestions for future presentations.
• Speaker B was wearing a T-shirt and jeans. The
Taiwanese m ust have felt deeply insulted.
• You could hardly hear a word Speaker B said.
• The PowerPoint slides were n ot working properly - it all
looked very unprofessional.
• You have no idea what happened to the DVD you were
expecting to see.
• You nearly died when they cracked a joke about China.
The Taiwanese left the room in silence, clearly not
amused.
U s e fu l la n g u a g e
Why did/didn’t you ...?
You should(n’t) have ...
Couldn’t you at least have ...?
Don’t you think it would have been a good idea to ...?
Well, anyway, in future I suggest you ...
And next time - if there is a next time - just make sure you ...
05 Problems on the phone
Dealing with a chatterbox (p32, ex5)
Speaker A
If you don’t know Speaker B well, swap lists o f the
following w ith them before you sta rt your telephone
conversation:
• your p artn er’s nam e, job and m ain in terest
• your children’s nam es, ages and m ain interests
• when and where you w ent on your last holiday
• your own m ain interest
• your favourite sport (spectator or player?)
• the nam e o f a close colleague
• a problem you’ve been having at work recently
You are director o f the purchasing d epartm ent for
Mi Casa, a large chain o f furniture stores in M exico. You
like to get in touch w ith your suppliers from tim e to tim e
- n ot necessarily to do business, ju st to m aintain the
relationship. I t’s 1 0 am on Friday m orning, m ost o f your
week’s work is done and the weekend is fast approaching.
Phone Speaker B, the sales director o f M obelkunst, a
designer furniture m anufacturer in Berlin, for a little chat.
Keep th e conversation going by asking lots o f questions
(using Speaker B’s list as a startin g point). You don’t really
want to do any business today, bu t M obelkunst’s stylish
chairs, tables and lamps have been very popular with
your custom ers who love the bright colours and m odern
designs. If the term s were right, you m ight want to
increase your order - even double it - for a trial period.
Scenario A
(p23, ex9)
S peaker B
You work for a creative and inform al high tech
company: m ost o f th e staff are recently qualified
engineers. New employees are instructed to use first
nam es w ith everybody, from the m ost ju nior intern
right up to the President, Everybody except top
m anagem ent works in large open-plan offices. Once a
m onth the CEO organizes a tea party where everybody
is invited to give their opinions and chat about any
subject they like.
The company has an equal opportunities policy:
over h alf o f m anagers are women. The dress code is
very inform al - m anagem ent want people to feel as
com fortable as possible. S taff can arrive and leave
when they want as long as they m eet th eir objectives.
However, m eetings rarely sta rt or finish on tim e and
there is a chronic difficulty to deliver projects on time.
Because work is stressful, sta ff are encouraged to
organize inform al, fun events. The social com m ittee
organizes frequent parties, sports, cultural and
social events. Overall, people are happy because their
work is satisfying; even if pay is lower than average
for engineering com panies and bonuses depend on
corporate results. Very few people choose to leave
the company. You would like to keep as many o f the
positive aspects o f your culture as possible in the new
organization.
05 Problems on the phone
Tackling problems (p34, ex7)
Speaker A
At the end o f each conversation, give Speaker B a score out
o f ten for (a) helpfulness and (b) assertiveness.
1 You are having problem s w ith your com puter - it either
won’t do som ething you w ant it to or it’s ju st done
som ething you definitely didn’t want it to (you decide
which). Phone Speaker B and see if they can give you
any advice. If not, ask them who you should phone
instead.
2 Speaker B, your boss, will phone you w ith a problem .
I t’s 6 pm and you are ju s t on your way out o f the office
when th e phone rings. You’ve arranged to go out with
a few colleagues this evening (you decide when and
where). This is th e fifth tim e this m onth your boss has
held you up right at the end o f the day.
3 You have ju st been prom oted and Speaker B is now
your boss. You particularly like your great new office
(you decide why), which is exactly what you need to
do your new jo b (you decide why). Som eone told you
today th a t a colleague from an overseas division o f your
company may be com ing to work a t your division for a
few m onths and you are w aiting for your boss to phone
and give you the details.
4 Speaker B is usually a star m em ber o f your team ,
but at the m om ent they are a m onth behind w ith an
im p ortant report and you are under pressure from
head office to get it com pleted on schedule (w ithin the
next two weeks). You think the b est idea is to bring
som eone else in (you decide who) to help get th e report
finished in tim e and team presen t the final results to
senior m anagem ent w ith Speaker B. Phone and make
your suggestion as tactfully b u t forcefully as you can.
10 Making decisions
Crisis management (p67, ex5)
Coke products banned in Belgium
Associated Press
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - Stores across Belgium
removed all beverages o f the Coca-Cola Co. from
their shelves today, complying with a ban prom pted
by the hospitalizations o f people who g o t sick after
drinking Coke products.
For a second consecutive day, poison alert centers
across Belgium received hundreds o f phone calls from
people seeking information. Some callers said they
too had become nauseous after drinking Coke or
Coca-Cola brands.
On Monday, Health Minister Luc Van den Bossche
banned all sales o f Coke and Coca-Cola brands such
as Fanta, Sprite, Aquarius, Bonaqua and Minute
Maid fruit juices.
'We are hard at work trying
to find the cause o f the
problems,' said Maureen
O'Sullivan, a spokeswoman for
Coca-Cola in Belgium. 'We are
also implem enting a total recall
of our products.'
The ban was imposed after
nearly 50 people, most of
them young people, were
hospitalized on Monday
suffering from nausea after
drinking Coke products. Eight
remained in the hospital today.
S tra te g y m eetin g agenda
Client: Coca-Cola Co.
• Should there be an im m ediate product recall in spite of
the lack o f solid evidence?
• In the absence o f any pro of of contam in ation, should
Coca-Cola appeal to th e four European governm ents
to lift th eir ban? Or even th reaten legal action against
them ?
• Should any decision be postponed until the final results
o f the tests becom e available? Or will this ju st give the
com petition tim e to increase its m arket share?
• How should the com pany persuade the public th at
th ere’s no real threat?
• Should there be an official apology? Or would th a t look
like an adm ission o f guilt?
• Should Coca-Cola put the blam e firmly on its Belgian
b ottlin g plant and th eir shippers, whilst exporting
Coke directly to Europe from the USA?
• W hat kind o f public relations exercise would restore
confidence in the world’s num ber one brand?
Step 4
Each group should presen t its recom m endations to the
class.
Step 5
^ 2.35 Listen to th e final part o f the case and find out
w hat really happened. How do your recom m endations
com pare w ith the action Coca-Cola actually took?
06 Leading meetings
(p41, ex6)
M eeting 1
Should genetic tests decide job prospects?
What i f you were faced, at a jo b interview, with a test that
would te ll whether you could expect to develop Alzheimer's
or Parkinson's disease? What i f you were turned down
because of th a t tin y b it of your DNA?
This scary scenario is coming closer to reality with the
development of a technology th a t w ill allow employers to
carry out genetic tests and get the results in the time it
takes to stroll to the canteen and have a cup of coffee.
Would i t be ethical? Would it be legal? Would it be
acceptable to recruiters, let alone society at large? The moral
debate lags behind the scientific advances. A technology
th a t w ill identify DNA electronically has been developed
by Dr John Clarkson and his colleagues at the company
Molecular Sensing. They plan to miniaturize it and build a
hand-held device th a t w ill produce results in less than 30
minutes.
Adapted from The S u n d a y Times
M eeting 2
02 Information exchange
The language of meetings (p l6 , e x l)
Employers spy on workers
Eight o f these nouns will com plete the extracts:
Big Brother is watching. And it's increasingly likely to
be your boss. answer fact idea issue opinion option point
position problem question situation view
She might be recording the casual conversations
betw een you and your co-worker, or tracking emails on
your com pany computer, or w atching the goings-on in
the staff lounge. 08 Promoting your ideas
Sounds like an invasion of your privacy? Think again. Audience analysis (p49, e x l)
Most employee m onitoring in the workplace is perfectly
E xercise 1 answ ers
legal, and it happens more than m ost people realise.
USA - E xtract 3 UK - E xtract 5
Two-thirds of US businesses eavesdrop on their Germ any - E xtract 1 France - E xtract 6
employees in some fashion - on the phone, via
Ja p a n - E xtract 4 Kuwait - E xtract 2
videotape and through email and Internet files -
according to a survey by the Am erican Management
Association International.

In fact, employers can trace everything from deleted

Scenario B
emails and voice mails to the exact computer keys a (p47, ex7)
worker strikes. Special software can follow employees'
Speaker A
paths across the Internet and high tech employee
badges even let bosses track their workers' movements
within an office building. Giving feedback on presentations
Adapted from Knight Ridder Newspapers Do ...

M eeting 3 • Get permission to give feedback. Even if you

are the presenter's boss, make sure they ore
ready to hear your feedback here and now.
C re a tiv e way to b e tte r m an ag em en t
• Invite the presenter to give feedback first.This
From C hopin to Schubert and jazz to jive, music,
helps you to be positive when they ore overly
along w ith theatre, film , drawing and painting, is now
critical, and to identify which weaknesses
widely used in U K business schools to help executives
they are already correcting and which ones
improve th e ir management skills.
they really need help with.
It may all be great fun, but does it work? O pinion is
• Start with the positives. Find things to be
divided. Strongly against is David N o rb u rn , d ire c to r o f
positive a b o u t in order to build confidence
Imperial College Management School, London. He says
and trust.
th a t after a few drinks he could probably make a case
fo r any human activity having managerial relevance. • Be specific and constructive. Go on to point
‘W e b e r’s clarinet co n ce rto and em otion; jazz and chaos out specific problems: make suggestions
theory; sex and timing.’ as to how the presenter can improve.Try to
agree on a specific action plan.
His argum ent is th a t when executives and MBAs
invest tim e in business school programmes they w ant • Use questions and indirect language.
rigorous and relevant training.
• Encourage the presenter to find their own
But staff at many o f the U K ’s leading business schools, solutions rather than telling them w hat to do.
such as Patricia Hodgins at the London Business
School, disagree. T h e key to creativity is being relaxed
and being able to th in k laterally. Using arts, music and
theatre helps us to find that.’
09 Relationship-building
Adapted from The F in a n cia l Tim es
Are you an effective networker? (p55, ex2)
Q uestion naire analysis
How you netw ork in specific situations will, o f course,
be influenced by m any factors, but, in general, the m ost
effective strategy will be: l a , 2c, 3b, 4b, 5c and 6c.
I c , 2b, 5b and 6a could be risky.
3a and 4 c m ight be unfair to other people.
lb , 3c, 4 a and 5a may show a certain lack o f assertiveness.
09 Relationship-building 09 Relationship-building
Getting out of the office (p58, ex4) A dinner invitation (p60)
Speaker A H ost: U lte rio r m otive
S itu ation 1 You’re considering prom oting your guest to a more senior
Background: You’re an IT security specialist. You’re playing post (you decide what) at your com pany’s subsidiary in
golf with Speaker B, the IT director o f a m ajor insurance M elbourne. You are very im pressed w ith your guest’s work
com pany and one o f your b est custom ers. I t’s a beautiful record and general m anagem ent ability, but you haven’t
spring morning. made up your m ind yet about th e prom otion. So, drop a
Situation: You’re playing really well today. Although few h in ts during the evening and see what the reaction is.
Speaker B is a much b e tte r golfer than you, you were D on’t be too specific a t this stage and be ready to change
actually a shot ahead on the 1 6 th hole, b u t you’ve ju st the subject if things don’t go according to plan!
dropped two shots on th e 17 th . Damn! It was looking as
though you m ight even b eat them for a change.
Hidden agenda: You’ve heard a rum our th a t Speaker B Scenario A
may be looking to engage an other IT security consultancy.
(p23, ex9)
You’ve always got on well w ith them , bu t you know your
com pany’s fees are n o t the m ost com petitive. W hen they Meetings checklist Yes No
invited you to play golf with them today, you saw it as your
Was the meeting well structured?
chance to find out w hat’s going on.
Was the objective achieved in the time
Speaker B will start.
allowed?
S itu ation 2
Were all participants able to express their
Background: You’re a sales director for an in ternational
ideas and opinions?
sports goods company. You’re playing tennis w ith Speaker
Were all participants satisfied with the
B, a new m em ber o f your sales team . W hen you started
outcome?
playing it was a warm sum m er afterno on, but it’s ju st
clouded over and looks like it m ight even rain. Did participants use appropriately direct/
blunt or indirect/vague language?
Situation: You pride yourself on being an excellent tennis
player, but Speaker B, who you haven’t played before, is Did participants query discrepancies?
totally destroying you - 6 - 2 in the first set and 4 - 1 up Did participants reformulate to check
in the second. This h asn’t put you in a very good mood, understanding?
especially as your com pany’s m arketing director, w ho’s Did participants express disagreement
playing on the n ext court, seem s to be thoroughly enjoying tactfully?
your hum iliating defeat!
Hidden agenda: Although Speaker B joined you with Cultural sensitivity checklist Yes No
excellent qualifications and a good track record in sales,
Were participants aware of their own
they don’t seem to be fitting in very well. The oth er sales
culture and differences with others?
personnel complain th a t th ey ’re n o t much o f a team -player
Did participants suspend judgement of
and th at they act superior to the rest o f the staff. In fact.
other cultures?
Speaker B is creating som ething o f a m orale problem . The
only good thing about them is th at, if they always play Did participants identify and share
this well, you’ll have no trouble beating m arketing a t the common values, beliefs, goals and
annual interdepartm ental match! attitudes?

You start: There’s som ething I’ve been m eaning to talk to Did participants respect differences and
you a b o u t... resist the temptation to make converts?
Did participants use language sensitively
and prefer ‘we’ to T or ‘you’?
17 Negotiating deals Were participants objective and positive in
(Pl07, exl) spite of difficulties?

E x tra inform ation

You and the other speaker are ex-neighbours and very
good friends. Your kids even used to play together. You
both moved to different areas o f the city about six m onths
ago and m eant to keep in touch, but, what w ith work and
settling into new hom es, you ju s t haven’t had the tim e.
10 Making decisions 07 Coaching
Worst-case scenarios (p63, ex3) (p45, exlO)
Work in groups o f three and take turns to be the coach, the
W hile staying in a hotel in Paris, you wake up to find coachee and the observer.
the whole place is on fire. Your way down is blocked Coach: Using the GROW model, Hsten, ask lots of
and you end up on the roof. Do you: questions and try to help your coachee identify their goals
a take a long run-up and and develop a realistic plan o f action within a tim efram e
jum p onto the next they are com fortable with. R esist the tem ptation to give
building (a distance o f them advice unless you can see they are ‘stuck’. If you do
four and a half metres)? offer advice, m ake it clear th a t is what you are doing, but
b jum p six floors down and
try n ot to influence th e coachee too much. Show empathy
land on your back in a
and understanding, b u t rem ain neutral.
truck packed w ith soft
insulation materials? Coachee: Decide on a topic for the coaching conversation
c leap well away from you’re about to have. Topics you could discuss include
the building to clear com m unication skills, learning English for business,
obstructions and land in new work responsibilities, tim e m anagem ent, stress and
the truck? workload, career developm ent, strategies for building
your professional netw ork, personality clashes at work,
leadership and m otivation issues. Try to focus on one
On a business trip to Am sterdam your taxi skids on specific aspect o f the issue.
a patch o f oil and plunges o ff the road and into a O bserver: W atch the coaching session, bu t do n o t say
canal. In seconds you are half-underwater. Do you: anything. Take notes on how well th e coach helps the
a force open the d oor and swim coachee to deal w ith th eir own issues. Do they use the
to safety (taking the driver GROW model? Are they em pathetic? Do they stick to a
with you)? neutral coaching approach or move into a m entor role
b wind down the w indow fully too m uch? How does th e coachee respond? W hat is the
to let the w ater in? outcom e o f the session? At the end o f the m eeting give
c wind the w indow up to trap b oth o f your partners som e b rie f feedback.
air inside the car in case you
sink?

Scenario D
(p99, e x l3 )

7 You agree to do a parachute jum p fo r charity w ith a Meetings checklist Yes No

group o f friends. But as you free-fall from 14000 feet Was the meeting well chaired?
at 120 mph both your parachute and emergency Was the objective clear?
chute fail to open. Do you:
Were all participants able to express their
a keep struggling with your ideas and opinions?
emergency chute? It must
Did participants listen carefully to each
work!
b grab hold o f the nearest other?
m em ber o f the group before Did participants use appropriate
they open their chute? disagreement strategies?
c take valuable tim e to attach Was the objective achieved?
yourself to the chest straps o f
another parachutist?
Change management checklist Yes No
Did participants explain the need for
change?
Did participants explain the benefits of the
W hilst snorkelling o ff the Great Barrier Reef in
north-eastern Australia, you suddenly see a large change?
shark swimming sw iftly tow ards you from the depths. Did participants (plan to) recruit change
Do you: champions?
a try to attack the shark's eyes? Did participants plan to provide tools and
b punch the shark on the nose? resources to facilitate the change?
c splash about and make a
Did participants plan to continue to
noise to frighten it away?
communicate about the change?
14 Out and about
In-flight conversations (p91, e x l l )
Speaker A
Hold short conversations w ith a fellow passenger, Speaker
B, on three different in ternational flights.
Use the inform ation below to get you started , but invent
any extra inform ation you need to keep the conversation
going for a m inute or two.
1 Fligh t B A 1311 from Dubai to London H eathrow ,
business class (9pm )
• You are an engineer travelling back from Dubai,
where you have been working for Royal Dutch Shell
(Em irates) for the last five years, to take up a senior
position at Head Office in London.
• Your three-year-old son is accom panying you on the
flight, but your p artn er won’t be jo in in g you in th e UK
for another couple o f weeks.
• You’re n ot looking forward to the flight m uch because
your son is quite a hyperactive child and you can never
sleep on planes anyway.
• Try to sta rt a conversation w ith the person sittin g n ext
to you, Speaker B. They seem to be playing w ith their
hand-held com puter at the m om ent.
2 Fligh t A F 6001 from Paris to Rio de Ja n e iro ,
econom y class (3am )
• You are a product m anager for Pfizer Pharm aceuticals
on your way from a project m eeting in Paris to another
m eeting in Rio.
• You have an appointm ent w ith a group o f Brazilian
research chem ists w ith whom you are collaborating on
a new kind o f miracle travel sickness pill, which, if all
goes well, could be on the m arket in six m onths.
• So far your journey has been a nightm are. Your original
flight was cancelled due to bad w eather and the only
seat you could get was in econom y class on the red-eye
(a night flight, on which you do n o t get enough sleep)
leaving at tw o-thirty in the m orning.
• To top it all, it looks like it’s going to be a bumpy flight.
You can’t sleep, so you m ight as well try and read your
book, a crim e novel you picked up in th e airport called
The Pentangle by A. J. Bell. Seem s quite good.
3 Fligh t L H 1706 from Los Angeles to Munich, first
class (2pm )
• You are a film producer for Touchstone Pictures flying
from a m eeting w ith Oscar-w inning actor A1 Pacino in
Los Angeles to a casting m eeting in M unich.
• You are looking for a G erm an- and English-speaking
actor to play the part o f an environm ental activist
in your latest film and would prefer to choose an
unknown rather than a big box office star.
• You’ve ju st enjoyed your in-flight meal, when you
notice th at the passenger sittin g n ext to you looks
perfect for the part! You can’t believe your eyes, but
rem ind yourself they are probably a business executive
with no acting ability whatsoever.
• At the m om ent they are watching the in-flight movie
on their headphones, but try to find an excuse to get
talking to them .
16 Teleconferencing
Desert island blues (p l0 4 )
CEO o f R JK (UK)
E»0
I’m becom ing increasingly concerned about the
costs w e’re running up on the Eternelle account.
I think w e ’re in serious danger of exceeding our
budget.
As you know, the Eternelle marketing people
were extremely unhappy when we came in
€250,000 over budget last time, and it was for
this reason that they insisted at the planning
stage on a ceiling of €2.5m for the Vivacity
campaign.
I’ve been looking at the figures and w e’re well
past the €2m mark already. The main problem
is this tw o-day film shoot on Oamu-Oamu
which has already cost us €1m. The Hollywood
actress the client insisted on using is costing us
€100,000 a day! What on earth is going on there?
I estimate that with post-production costs, we
could run €500,000-€700,000 over budget on
this one.
We desperately need to talk.
Gavin Hartnell, Chief Financial Officer, RJK (UK)
I’m hearing rumours of a budget overrun on the
Vivacity campaign. Please tell me I’m imagining
things!
I had lunch with Eternelle’s new head of
marketing, Thierry DuPont, and he sounded
pretty annoyed with what he called our ‘endless
production h o ld-ups’. He even said they may be
forced to postpone the Vivacity launch.
I’m sure I d o n ’t need to remind you that Eternelle
is by far this com pany’s biggest European client
(worth €10m annually) and that the loss of their
account w ould have a drastic effect on both
Group turnover and our reputation in the industry
Your creative director must be in contact with
our team on Oamu-Oamu. Are they still having
weather problems or what?
I’m counting on you to sort this one out. Don’t let
me down.
Nathan T. Auerbach, RJK Group President
17 Negotiating deals
(Pl07, exl)
Speaker A
It’s 6 pm on Christm as Eve and you’re still a t the office.
You’ve been so busy lately, you’ve hardly had a m om ent to
spend with your family. You even had to miss your young
son’s first m atch for th e school football team last week to
attend an im portant m eeting. Apparently, you were the
only parent n o t there.
Fortunately, you have a chance to put things right. You
know th ere’s som ething kids are all going mad for this
Christm as - the Z-Cube Gaming System . At $ 1 8 9 , it’s a
little m ore than you were planning to spend, but it would
be great to see the look on your son ’s face when he opens
it. A fter phoning seven stores w ithout success, you finally
find one th at has three left. You try to reserve one, but the
shop assistan t says ‘Sorry, only my boss can do th a t and
she’s n ot here. But if you hurry, you should be okay. W e’re
open till 6 .3 0 .’
You fly out o f the office and into a taxi. You get to the store
ju st before it closes. To your horror, you see th ere’s only
one Z-Cube left. It has a big label on th e box saying ‘LAST
ONE’. But as you head for it, you see an other person with
the same idea (Speaker B) com ing in the other direction.
You both reach the box at the same tim e and grab opposite
ends ...
17 Negotiating deals
The recording contract ( p i l l , ex5)
Team A; The P en iten ts (band and m an ag em en t)
Obviously, you are delighted th a t a record com pany as
high-profile as Starbu rst is interested in signing your band.
If the deal goes through, you stand to m ake a lot o f money.
You are aware, however, th a t relatively unknow n artists
are vulnerable to exploitation by the big labels and should
take this into account in your dealings w ith them .
Read your negotiating objectives below and th en work
w ith your team to plan your overall strategy. In particular,
make sure you know which o f your objectives are:
a tradeables (things you’ll concede to get what you really
want in return)
b ideals (things you’d really like to get, bu t n o t if it costs
you the deal)
C essentials (things you absolutely have to get or the
deal’s off)
1 Band line-up The four m em bers o f the band - the
lead singer and rhythm guitarist, lead guitarist, bass
guitarist and drum m er - all m et a t college in Dublin
and have played together through good tim es and bad
for five years. You’ve heard a rum our th a t Starburst
Records may want to m ake changes to the line-up -
perhaps sacking the drum mer, who is also the band ’s
female backing vocalist.
2 Term You’d like a three-year com m itm ent from
Starburst. It can often take several albums before
band m em bers m ake a profit, so you’d like them to
com m ission a t least two albums during th a t tim e. If,
a fter three years, the contract is term inated, you’d
prefer to keep the rights to all the songs you have
recorded - otherw ise you would have to pay Starburst a
fee to perform or re-record your old m aterial.
3 R oyalties You th in k a 15% royalty on n et receipts
from album sales would be fair. If the band’s current
popularity does n o t last, you’d like to make as much as
m oney as possible before the bubble bursts.
4 D eductions You expect Starburst to cover all the
costs o f packaging and prom otion, including any TV
advertising. Accessing m arketing power is one o f the
advantages o f signing to a m ajor label.
5 Advances You are m ore interested in a good
long-term relationship w ith Starburst th an in stant
cash. N evertheless, a $ 2 0 0 ,0 0 0 non-repayable advance
would allow band m em bers to cover living costs,
purchase o f equipm ent and stage costum es, etc.
6 T e rrito ry You’re happy for Starburst to have ‘universal
rig h ts’ to your m aterial globally, provided the term s
are right. O therw ise, you’d like to be able to approach
other labels in the States and Asia.
7 Touring Touring is an essential part o f building a
band, especially in the early stages o f its development.
But som e o f the band m em bers have other jobs and
fam ily com m itm ents. They wouldn’t w ant to take on
m ore th an 2 0 weeks’ touring (not consecutively) in the
first year unless the financial rewards were high - say,
50% o f tick et sales.
8 Songw ritin g The lead singer, Rick Harlow, writes all
the band ’s songs. He says he w ants the usual 5 0 :5 0
split w ith the music publisher on fees for airplay on
radio and TV and other public perform ances.
18 Mediation
(pll5, exl3)
W ork in groups o f three: two colleagues and a mediator.
Take turns to be the m ediator in some or all o f the
following situations. Spend at least five m inutes preparing
for the situation as a group before you begin. Change
anything you need to m ake the situation as realistic and
relevant for you as possible.
As the m ediator, m ake sure you follow the procedure you
looked at in 8 and try to rem ain im partial throughout the
session. Keep order, encourage b oth parties to speak one
at a tim e, identify th e m ain issues and phrase any ideas
o f your own as suggestions. You can hold a m axim um of
one three-m inu te private session w ith each party. W rite
down w hatever is agreed and get b oth parties to sign up
to it before you close the m eeting. If an agreem ent cannot
be reached, ask the parties if they think a fu rth er session
would be a good idea.
S itu ation 1: A simple dispute
You are two colleagues working on a six-m onth project
together (jointly decide what the p ro ject is).
Speaker A
You like to have regular weekly m eetings to discuss progress
and you generally dislike em ail (you decide why).
Speaker B
You prefer to deal w ith issues by em ail as they arise and you
generally dislike m eetings (you decide why).
At the m om ent, neith er o f you is able to get on w ith the
project efficiently because o f th e oth er’s work-style (you
decide what problem s you’ve been having). M eet w ith your
m ediator to try and so rt things out.
S itu ation 2: A m ore com plicated dispute
You are un it m anagers o f two separate work team s (jointly
decide what line o f business you are in). Owing to a reduced
budget (you decide why it has been reduced), only one o f
your team s will be able to receive training this quarter. You
b oth think your team should be the one to get the training.
M eet with your m ediator to try and so rt things out.
Speaker A
Your team has had no training for nine m onths (you decide
why you need it now).
Speaker B
Although your team has had regular training, you have ju st
acquired a lot o f new recruits, who urgently need training
(you decide precisely why).
S itu ation 3: A v ery com plex dispute
You are the area m anagers for two different branches
o f the company you work for (you decide what your
company does). R ationalization has m eant th a t Speaker
A’s team has been relocated to the offices o f Speaker B.
This has obviously caused all kinds o f problem s concerning
space-sharing and resource allocation (you decide precisely
how these problem s are affecting you). At the m om ent
th ere’s a very bad atm osphere in office. M eet w ith your
m ediator to try and so rt things out.
Speaker A
You are the m anager o f the team th a t relocated. The team
has lost some o f its original m em bers, who didn’t want to
move, and so you now have to train up new staff. You are also
worried th at you may lose your job if senior m anagem ent
decide it would be b etter to have ju s t one person manage
both team s.
Speaker B
You are the m anager o f the team which has n o t moved.
You don’t like the idea o f two separate team s ‘under one
ro o f’ and would like to see a lot m ore integration. As the
m anager o f the larger team (and w ith a higher turnover),
you think you should be m anaging b oth team s, w ith the
other m anager as your deputy.
17 Negotiating deals
(Pl07, exl)
Speaker B
I t ’s Christm as Eve and you and your fam ily are placing the
last few presen ts under the tree. Your partner turns to
you and whispers how excited your young son is: ‘Thank
goodness you bought him th a t new gaming system back
in November. Apparently, the stores have com pletely
sold out, and it’s all h e ’s talked about for m onths. You
rem em bered to get him the blue one, didn’t you?’
You feel a sudden surge o f panic. Oh, no ... the Z-Cube
Gaming System ! How could you have forgotten? You
m eant to get one m onths ago, but you’ve been so busy it
com pletely slipped your mind. You mum ble som ething to
your p artn er about going out to get som e b e tte r lights for
the tree and spend the n ext three hours searching every
store in town. But nobody has one. One shop offers to
order it for you, b u t it will take at least a fo r tn ig h t...
In desperation, you try a tiny shop in a side street. It’s ju st
about to close as you walk in. To your relief, you see they
have one Z-Cube le ft - and it’s a blue one. You can’t believe
your luck. It has a big label on the box saying ‘LAST ONE’.
But as you head for it, you see an oth er person w ith the
sam e idea (Speaker A) com ing in the oth er direction. You
b oth reach the box at the same tim e and grab opposite
ends ...
Scenario C
(p73, ex9)
Pitching checklist Yes No
Was the pitch short and to the point?
Did the pitch provide a high-level overview
to encourage discussion?
Was the structure clear and simple?
Was the pitcher passionate, lean, specific
and sincere?
Did the pitcher avoid jargon?
Was the pitch successful?
Influencing checklist Yes No
Did the pitcher use reciprocity to persuade
the audience?
Was there mutual like and respect between
the pitcher and the audience?
Did the pitcher refer to scarcity to support
their proposal?
Did the pitcher provide proof of their
authority on their subject?
Were the pitcher’s arguments consistent
and logical?
Did the pitcher provide proof that other
people are already adopting their solution?
05 Problems on the phone
Dealing with a chatterbox (p32, ex5)
Speaker B
If you don’t know Speaker A well, swap lists o f the
following w ith them before you sta rt your telephone
conversation:
• your p artn er’s nam e, job and m ain in terest
• your children’s nam es, ages and m ain interests
• when and where you w ent on your last holiday
• your own m ain interest
• your favourite sport (spectator or player?)
• the nam e o f a close colleague
• a problem you’ve been having at work recently
You are the sales director o f M obelkunst, a designer
furniture m anufacturer in Berlin, Your stylish products are
02 Information exchange
Queries and comments (p l5 , ex2)
Speaker B
1 Listen to your p artn er reading out a report. There are
seven discrepancies in it. Can you spot them ? Remain
polite no m atter how confused your p artner seems!
2 Read out th e following report to your partner. There
are also seven discrepancies in it (m arked in bold). Can
they spot them ? If not, keep reading. Apologize for or
ju stify any discrepancies your p artn er points out. If you
lose your place in the text, ask your partner: ‘W here was I?’
Report: Korean negotiations
W e held ou r first m eetin g w ith th e K oreans tw o m o n th s ago at

getting rave reviews in the press, bu t business in Germany
has n ot been good lately. Fortunately, you have recently
won som e very big overseas orders - one o f them w ith Mi
Casa, a large chain o f furniture stores in Mexico. The only
problem is Speaker A, Mi Casa’s director o f purchasing,
who seem s to like phoning you rath er too often for no
particular reason.
It’s 5 pm on Friday aftern oon. You would norm ally be
getting ready to go hom e soon, bu t today th e re ’s been
a crisis to deal w ith - your factory in Potsdam has ju st
turned out 1 ,0 0 0 leath er sofas in bright pink (rather than
dark red) by m istake. You’re still trying to so rt a solution
out w ith your plant manager. The last thing you need now
is any interruptions.
th eir headquarters in O saka. Sin ce then w e’ve had 12 weeks o f
tou gh n egotiations. T here were som e cultural difficulties at first.
O f course, w e’ve never don e business in the M id dle E ast before.
T hey were very positive ab ou t our prod ucts, alth ough they
weren’t h appy w ith the design, perform ance, price and
m ain tenan ce costs. Initially, they were dem an d in g a d iscoun t
o n orders o f over 1 0 ,0 0 0 units o f 1 7 % , b u t we finally m anaged
to b eat th em dow n to 18.
W e haven’t heard an yth in g from th em so far, b ut the em ail they
sent this m orn in g looks prom ising - an initial order o f a
dozen units.
Useful language
Sorry, I thought you said ...
Hold on, didn’t you just say ...?

Scenario E Wait a minute. You just said ..., didn’t you?

( p ll7 , e x l l )
Speaker C
You are in charge o f In ternational M arketing for a
02 Information exchange
company th a t sells high quality tea all over th e world. Breaking the bad news (p l7 , e x l)
Recently, sales have decreased due to com petition Speaker B
from cheaper brands, so you have decided to invest in Proposal: Travel budget
reinforcing your upm arket image and ju stifying your
• Board deeply concerned about cost o f business travel
higher prices.
(nearly $ 1 3 m last year)
You have ju st negotiated a deal w ith a top film
• In sist on 60% cut in travel budget
star (choose a nam e) to star in a campaign o f TV
• Propose three m ain courses o f action (see below)
com m ercials and magazine ads endorsing your product.
• All flights from now on to be econom y class or on
However, you are furious w ith the Sales team
low-budget carriers (no exceptions) - preferably on
(Speaker B). W ithou t consulting you, they have agreed
cheapest early m orning and late night flights
to give large discounts to all the m ajor superm arket
• M otels and tw o-star hotels for everyone in future -
chains. This low value, high volume policy will n ot
room -sharing w herever possible
only reduce your m argins and damage the product’s
image. It will also m ean you will n o t be able to pay for • Meal allowance to be reduced to $ 2 0 a day (no alcoholic
the air tim e and m edia space you have ordered. You drinks)
will also have to cancel the contract w ith the film star,
who will probably demand com pensation. You feel th a t
Sales’ poor results are responsible for the com pany’s
difficulties and you are determ ined to force Sales to
cancel the discounts and support your advertising
campaign. Invent any oth er details as necessary.
01 Business or pleasure? Scenario B
Corporate entertainment (p7, ex4)
(p47, ex7)
Group B
Speaker B

All England Lawn Tennis

Championships, Wimbledon
(11 km from central London)
Experience the nail-biting climax to
the w orld’s premier international tennis
tournament as the true giants of the
game clash in the men’s W imbledon final.
All the tradition of strawberries and cream
combines with 225 km-an-hour serves and
awesome cross-court shots to make what
many consider to be the greatest sporting
event on Earth. Game, set and match!
Men’s final, lunch, music:
€4,000 per person
London Eye and Private Tour of Tate
M odern, central London
Your evening begins 130 metres above London in your
very own capsule on the London Eye. A waiter serves a
choice of drinks. On a clear day you can see for 25 miles
- all the way to Windsor Castle. You are then transferred
to the Tate Modern for a private tour of one of the world's
most cutting-edge contemporary art galleries, followed by
a superb dinner in the tasteful surroundings of the 0 X 0
Tower Restaurant overlooking the Thames. High altitude;
high culture!
London Eye, tour of Tate Modern, dinner: €500 per
person (minimum 20)
Giving feedback on presentations.
D o n ' t ...
• Extrapolate or get off topic. Avoid the
tennptafion to criticize behaviour or
weaknesses unrelated to the presentation.
• Mix praise and criticism. Avoid saying 'x was
good, but y was bad.'This just confuses people
and reduces the im pact of both praise and
criticism. Encourage the presenter first for what
they did well, then deal with the problems
separately and specifically.
• Forget that people are human beings, not
machines.Adapt your feedback to each
person's intellectual, emotional and physical
state. Evaluate how much criticism the
presenter can a ccept without becoming
negative.
• Say 'you'. Use the third person to be objective
('it wasn't very clear' rather than 'you didn't
explain) or the first person to be collaborative
('how can we simplify this?' rather than 'you
have to simplif/ this').
• Damage confidence and motivation.
The coach's role is to build skills, not to destroy
them.

03 Rapport
(p21, exlO)
Speaker B
S ituation 1
You are a consultant. You are m eeting Speaker A to discuss how to reduce adm inistrative costs in th eir company.
1 Make a Hst o f ways the company could reduce its adm inistrative costs, e.g. downsizing, outsourcing, teleworking,
elim inating paper, investing in technology, etc.
2 Hold a m eeting w ith Speaker A to get agreem ent for as many m easures as possible. You will need to build rapport in
order to get agreem ent for your ideas; try to adapt to Speaker A’s com m unication style in term s o f posture, gestures,
facial expressions, breathing, voice, speech rate and key words and phrases.

Situation 2
You are m eeting Speaker A, a consu ltant, to discuss how to improve sta ff m otivation in your company.
1 Choose one o f the following com m unication styles:
• You are very self-confident and energetic; you speak loudly and fluently and make expansive gestures.
• You are very reserved and tense; you speak quietly and hesitantly and your body language is defensive.
• You are nervous and laugh a lot; you speak quickly in a high voice and you are constan tly changing your
position and posture.
• You are extrem ely relaxed and com fortable; you smile and nod your head a lot; you speak slowly in a deep voice.
2 Hold a m eeting w ith Speaker A. Disagree system atically with their ideas. W ait un til you consider th a t they have
adapted well to your com m unication style before giving your agreem ent.

05 Problems on the phone
Tackling problems (p34, ex7)
Speaker B
At the end o f each conversation, give Speaker A a score out
o f ten for (a) helpfulness and (b) assertiveness.
1 Speaker A will phone you w ith a problem . You are very
busy at the m om ent (you decide what you’re doing)
but try to give them som e advice. If you can’t, suggest
som eone they could phone who m ight be able to help.
2 You are Speaker A’s boss. I t’s 6 pm and you still have a
m ountain o f papers on your desk to go through before
the m orning (you decide what sort o f papers they are).
Phone Speaker A and ask them if th ey ’d m ind staying
on for an hour or so to help you out. Be diplom atic but
don’t take no for an answer - unless they can suggest
som eone else.
3 Speaker A has ju st been prom oted and you are now
their boss. But a colleague from an overseas division
o f your company (you decide who) is going to spend
the n ext three m onths working on an intern ational
p roject in your division and they need to be provided
with a suitable office. Speaker A’s office would be ideal
(you decide why). Phone them and try to get their
agreem ent w ithout causing any bad feeling.
4 You have been working on an im p ortant report for
nine m onths. Because o f a lot o f unforeseen difficulties
and com plications (you decide what) you are a m onth
behind schedule and now need six, rath er than
two, more weeks to finish it. On com pletion o f the
report you are due to presen t your findings to senior
m anagem ent and you th in k they will be impressed.
Much to your annoyance, however, you th in k your
boss, Speaker A, is going to try to speed things up by
bringing in som eone else to help you finish the job and
take h alf the credit for all your hard work.
06 Leading meetings
(p41, ex6)
Speaker A
M eeting 1: G enetic profiling (ch air)
You have been asked by head office to chair a m eeting
on the possible introduction o f genetic testin g for job
applicants at all levels. Your com pany already insists
on a m edical when people apply for a jo b, as well as
psychom etric tests and checks on possible crim inal
records. Now they th in k a genetic profile would help to
reduce the risk o f employing or prom oting people with
potentially serious diseases and m ental health problem s.
The test would probably be voluntary - this h asn ’t been
fully discussed w ith the legal d epartm ent yet - but
refusal to undergo it may affect a candidate’s chance o f
em ploym ent or prom otion.
You have read th at vulnerability to stress, alcoholism and
strokes - the three m ain causes o f people being off work
for prolonged periods - are all to som e e x ten t genetically
inherited, bu t the idea o f genetic testin g does seem quite
drastic and is bound to provoke a certain am ount of
hostility.
■
Leader’s brief: Open the m eeting, inform those present
o f HQ’s proposal, make sure everyone gets a chance to
speak and no one dom inates. Try to avoid digressions and
keep the m eeting short. Give your own opinion only after
everyone else has spoken and try to reach a decision on
what recom m endations to make to HQ.
M eeting 2 : Employee surveillance (in favour)
You have heard a rum our th a t head office is planning to
introduce a system o f checking up on employees using PC
m onitoring softw are and closed circuit television (CCTV).
You are about to atten d a m eeting to discuss the subject.
At th e m om en t you are firm ly in favour o f the idea, but
listen to what th e oth er participants have to say before
finally m aking up your mind. You are sure th a t huge
am ounts o f company tim e and m oney are being wasted
by employees accessing gaming and adult w ebsites during
working hours. You’ve even heard som e o f the male staff
joking about it. An article you read in Business Week
claims th a t employees who play com puter games whilst at,
work cost US firm s $ 1 0 0 billion a year - or 2% o f GDP. You
also rem em ber the fam ous case o f Chevron, who, by failing
to m onitor com puter use, ended up being sued by four
fem ale employees who had suffered sexual harassm ent
through the intern al em ail system . The com pany finally
had to pay out $ 2 .2 m illion in com pensation.
Hidden agend a: You’ve heard th a t a ju nior m anager in
your d ep artm ent, who seem s to have his sights set on your
job, spends hours in private chatroom s on company tim e.
In order to catch such people, you th in k th e com puter
surveillance should be covert.
M eeting 3 : A ltern ative m an ag em en t train in g
(ag ain st)
You have heard a rum our th a t head office is planning to
introduce a series o f alternative m anagem ent training
courses for all levels o f staff. You are about to attend a
m eeting to discuss the subject. At the m om ent you are not
keen on the idea, bu t listen to what the other participants
have to say before finally m aking up your mind. Frankly,
you don’t believe th a t ‘fads’ like this represent very good
value for money. A friend o f yours works for a firm that
sen t him and his colleagues to a Benedictine m onastery to
learn about ‘M orality in the W orkplace’. Predictably, it was
thought to be a com plete w aste o f tim e. You’ve also heard
about weird courses offered by drama groups, orchestras,
circuses, the arm y and even the prison service where
executives spent a week in jail to build team spirit.
Hidden agend a: You have a close friend who is in charge
o f in-com pany training at a prestigious business school in
the U nited States. If your company booked a course, you
personally m ight get som e kind o f ‘th an k you’.
08 Promoting your ideas 09 Relationship-building
Pitching your idea (p52) Getting out of the office (p58, ex4)
Team 1 Speaker B
S itu atio n 1
Standing Task Chair Background: You’re playing golf w ith Speaker A, an IT
security specialist. As IT director for a m ajor insurance
The Standing Task Chair supports the body in a company, you frequently engage their services. It’s a
standing position w hich prom otes a yoga-styie,
beautiful spring morning.
healthy working posture.
Situation: Your game is a b it off today. Although you’re a
Designed for use with standing b e tte r player than Speaker A and usually beat them , they
desks, the Standing Task Chair were actually a shot ahead on the 1 6 th hole. Then they
supports the body in three
were very unlucky to drop two shots on the 1 7 th , putting
remarkable ways. The user
you back in th e lead.
sits on the seat and rests the
knees against a cushion. A Hidden agenda: You’ve always got on well w ith Speaker A
platform maintains the feet at and rate them very highly as an IT expert. However, the
an angled position. The seat consultancy they work for charges extrem ely high fees -
is com pletely adjustable, higher th an any o f their com petitors. You invited Speaker
and will pivot to allow more A to play golf because you’ve been considering offering
freedom of movement. them a perm anent job w ithin your company, but don’t
m ention this straightaway. They seem to have som ething
on th eir m ind - or perhaps it’s ju s t th a t they don’t like
losing!
The Pocket Tripod for iPhones can be folded flat You start: Oh, bad luck! Looks like it’s all down to the
and conveniently put away inside a wallet or pocket. last hole ...
Easily folded back out, it can be set up to support the
S itu atio n 2
iPhone in a num ber o f positions.
Background: You work in the sales departm ent o f an
The Pocket Tripod is only 3 m m thick - about the in ternational sports goods company. You’re playing tennis
same thickness as tw o credit cards. It can be set with Speaker A, the sales director. W hen you started
up with the phone in either landscape o r portrait
playing it was a warm sum m er afternoon, b u t it’s ju st
m ode - and can be easily tilted to alm ost any angle.
clouded over and looks like it m ight even rain.
C om pared to m ost portable stands, the Pocket
Tripod gives sm ooth, 90° sweeps of tilt adjustm ent.
Situation: You were warned th a t your boss takes tennis
This lets the photographer have precise aim when very seriously and doesn’t like losing, but, even though
using the p h one’s camera. This is true flexibility! you’re n o t really trying very hard, you b eat them 6 -2 in
the first set and you’re 4 -1 up in the second. You should
probably lose a few games to m ake them feel better, but
PORTRAIT you’ve noticed the head o f m arketing is watching you from
the n ext cou rt and you’d like to im press them .

LANDSCAPE Hidden agenda: You’ve only been in the sales departm ent
for a few m onths, b u t already you hate it. D irect contact
with custom ers all day is ju st n o t you and you don’t get on
w ith th e rest o f the team , who are all very com petitive. You
studied strategic m arketing at university and th a t’s what
you really want to do, but there were no vacancies when
you applied to the company, so you took th e job in sales to
gain experience. Big m istake. You keep m eaning to talk to
your boss about your problem s, bu t now doesn’t seem like
a great m om ent!
Speaker A will start.
09 Relationship-building
A dinner invitation (p60)
Guest: U lterio r m otive
You’ve secretly applied for and been shortlisted for a
b etter job (you decide what) at another com pany in San
Francisco. You’ve been fairly happy in your current job
and you don’t want to upset your host, so break the news
gently at som e point during the evening and try to see
if they’ll write you a good reference. Be careful what you
say and be ready to change the subject if things don’t go
according to plan!

Scenario E
(p ll7 , e x ll)
Mediation checklist Yes No
Did the mediator:
describe tine process and set the
ground rules?
have each party speak in turn?
listen carefully and prevent
interruptions?
identify the main issues?
generate alternatives?
hold one-on-one meetings if necessary?
encourage agreement but impose nothing?
write up what was agreed and get the
parties to sign up to it?
Assertiveness checklist Yes No
Did participants behave and speak
assertively rather than passively or
aggressively?
Did participants use T to describe their
feelings rather than ‘you’ to criticize
others?
Did participants use Td like’ rather than
‘you can’t/shou ldn ’t’?
Did participants describe facts rather than
imposing judgements and opinions?
Did participants give specific examples
rather than making generalizations?
Did participants offer incentives rather than
making threats?
14 Out and about
In-flight conversations (p91, e x l l )
Speaker B
Hold short conversations w ith a fellow passenger, Speaker
A, on three different in ternational flights.
Use the inform ation below to get you started , bu t invent
any extra inform ation you need to keep the conversation
going for a m inute or two.
1 Flight B A 1311 from Dubai to London H eathrow ,
business class (9pm )
• You are the sen ior partner in a small softw are
com pany specialising in com puter-assisted engineering
applications for the oil industry.
• You are travelling back hom e from a series o f m eetings
with potential clients in Dubai. It’s been an exhausting
trip and n ot as successful as you would have liked.
• Frankly, you’d ju st like to skip dinner and try and get
som e sleep. First, however, you th in k you’ll update
your client files on your Blackberry.
• You are n o t pleased to see th a t the person sittin g n ext
to you. Speaker A, has a young child with them . There
goes your relaxing flight!
2 Fligh t A F 6 0 0 1 from Paris to Rio de Ja n e iro ,
econom y class (Sam )
• You are a financial speculator who specialises in
medical, pharm aceutical and biotech stocks.
• You are com ing back from a m eeting in Paris to Rio
where you live w ith your Am erican partner, the crime
novelist A. J. Bell.
• Due to the cancellation o f your business class Varig
flight, you’ve ended up in econom y class on an early
m orning Air France flight instead. And you are already
regretting this - th ere’s barely room to move and
the plane seem s to be experiencing some turbulence.
You’ve never been a great flyer and are starting to feel a
b it sick.
• Perhaps talking to the person sitting next to you would
take your m ind o ff it. But they seem to be reading a
book. Actually, the book looks quite fam iliar ...
3 Fligh t L H 1706 from Los Angeles to Munich, first
class (2pm )
• You are a highly paid G erm an-Bnglish in terp reter based
in M unich and travelling back from LA, where you’ve
b een assisting at the Am erican launch o f the new BMW
sports car.
• W hen you arrived for your business class flight this
m orning, you were delighted to find th a t it was
overbooked and th a t you had been upgraded to first
class.
• You’ve had quite an exciting, if stressful, week in LA
and are now thoroughly enjoying th e flight hom e.
You’ve had an excellent lunch and have ju st tuned into
the in-flight movie on your personal video screen.
• You’ve already seen the film, bu t don’t mind seeing it
again as it stars your favourite actor, A1 Pacino. And
anyway, the person sittin g n ext to you looks like some
big-shot m ultim illionaire business type.
15 Delegation
(p97, e x l l )
Speaker B
1 Speaker A is your m anager and has a task to delegate
to you. You are new in your job; last tim e someone
delegated a task to you it wasn’t clear what they wanted
and it ended badly. Make sure you know exactly what
you have to do and how you have to do it this time.
2 You are Speaker As manager. You need them to organize
an event (you decide what and why). Speaker A is a very
experienced m em ber o f the team and has often done
this type o f task before. Make sure you leave room for
them to use their skills and initiative.
3 Speaker A is your m anager and has a task to delegate
to you. You have been a m em ber o f the team for two or
three years and are confident in your ability to do the
job. However, your m anager is n ot always very clear
about what they want and when they want it, so make
sure you get enough inform ation about the task.
4 You are Speaker As manager. You need to delegate a
task to them (you decide what and why). Speaker B is
new in th e job; they are very enthusiastic but a little too
optim istic about their skills and abilities in your opinion.
 Scenario B
(p47, exlO)
Presentations checklist Yes
Was the objective clearly stated?
Was the presentation clearly structured
and signposted?
Was the presentation the right length; not
too short, not too long?
Was the presenter’s body language
appropriate?
Was the presenter’s voice connfortable and
pleasant to listen to?
If the presenter used visual aids, were they
clear and helpful?
Did the presenter invite and answer
questions?
Overall, was the presentation interesting
and convincing?
Coaching checklist Yes
Did the coach get your permission to give
feedback?
Did the coach invite you to give feedback
first?
Did the coach start with the positives?
Was the feedback specific and
constructive?
Did the coach use questions and indirect
language to help you find solutions?
Did the coach encourage and motivate you?
02 Information exchange
Breaking the bad news (p l7 , e x l)
Speaker C
Proposal: Language training
• Board keen to m arket products m ore internationally
• English now language o f in ternation al business but
many staff (65% ) already speak it
• In board’s view, Chinese is business language o f the
future
• M andarin, however, is one o f world’s m ost difficult
languages
• Therefore, com pulsory Chinese lessons (in em ployees’
own tim e) to start im m ediately
• All new managerial staff to be obliged to accept
12-m on th tran sfer to new subsidiary in Beijing
16 Teleconferencing
Desert island blues (p l0 4 )
C reative D irecto r o f R JK (UK)
No
E»0
Well, w e’ve had eight days of incessant rain,
tw o cameras damaged in transit and now the
electricity generator’s broken down. Whose idea
was it to use a real desert island for the shoot?
Flying Sandra in and out from Fiji every day is
proving totally impractical. Didn’t I say using a
big H ollywood star was asking for trouble? She
came down with some kind of tropical fever tw o
days ago and hasn’t com e out of her hotel room
since. So far w e’ve only got about 15% of the
comm ercial in the can.
To keep costs down the crew are staying on
Oamu-Oamu until w e’re finished. Today is the
first fine day, but there’s still no sign of Sandra,
so w e’re just getting some footage of the island.
I strongly suggest we either fly out a replacement
No or seriously consider filming the w hole thing in a
studio in Britain.
Ridley Hurst, Film Unit Director
No doubt you’ve already heard from Ridley.
The good news is that Sandra’s PA tells me she
may be well enough for filming tomorrow. My
suggestion is that we forget Oamu-Oamu and
find a nice secluded spot here in Fiji. I’m sure that
would suit Sandra much better if she’s still not
feeling too well. I’ve sent some of the team out
scouting the beaches for possible locations.
The bad news is that the animal handler’s gone
missing. You remember that we wanted to use
real animals on this shoot instead of adding them
digitally later? Well, now I’m left here with 36
African parrots and a rather lethal-looking python.
Ridley seems to think w e’d be better off doing
the whole thing in a studio, but I think it would be
a shame to pack up and leave now w e’re all here.
M ight be rather hard to explain the unnecessary
expense to the client, too. Are we insured for
this?
Amelia Devine, Senior Account Manager,
RJK (UK)

Scenario D
(p99, e x l3 )
Speaker A
M eeting 1
Lead a m eeting w ith Speaker B to explain one o f the
following proposed changes:
• Moving the office to a new location.
• O utsourcing production to a low -cost country.
• A four-day week in return for a salary reduction
o f 15% .
• Your own idea.
Explain your proposals and try to get a com m itm ent to
support the change from the oth er participants.
M eeting 2
Listen to B’s proposals; ask any questions and raise any
objections you can think of.
06 Leading meetings
(p41, ex6)
Speaker C
M eeting 1: G enetic profiling (in favour)
You have heard a rum our th a t head office is planning to
introduce genetic testin g for future job applicants. You
are about to attend a m eeting to discuss th e subject. At
the m om ent you are basically in favour o f th e idea, but
listen to what the other participants have to say before
finally making up your mind. You know th a t 3 5 0 m illion
working days are lost each year in the EU alone through
illness - stress being the cause o f 4 1 m illion o f those. UK
com panies lose £ 1 3 billion annually because o f employees
going off sick. If people w ith p oten tial social problem s
(such as alcoholism or drug abuse) could be screened out
at the job application stage, it would m ake for a healthier
workforce and could save the firm millions.
Hidden agenda: Your d epartm ent has been particularly
affected by people taking sick leave. At the m om en t you
are trying to cope w ithout three o f your key m anagers -
one o f them , you suspect, has a drink problem .
M eeting 2: Employee surveillance (ag ain st)
You have heard a rum our th a t head office is planning to
introduce a system o f checking up on employees using
PC m onitoring softw are and closed circuit television
(CCTV). You are about to attend a m eeting to discuss the
subject. At the m om ent you are very much against the
idea, but listen to what the other participants have to say
before finally m aking up your mind. You firmly believe
that a good work atm osphere is built on tru st and th at
such security m easures should only be taken when there
is strong evidence to suggest th a t com pany facilities are
being abused. Moreover, you suspect th a t phone taps,
video cam eras and PC m onitoring may ju s t be the th in end
o f the wedge. You’ve heard in som e com panies workers
have also been videotaped in toilets and locker room s and
investigators have even been hired to follow them hom e.
W hat next? Electronic tagging devices? Im plants?
Hidden agenda: You often su rf the In tern et on your
office PC during coffee and lunch breaks (never during
working hours, however) and regularly log on to chatroom
channels. You see this as valuable networking and not
an abuse o f com pany In tern et access. Still, if In tern et
m onitoring was introduced, you’d prefer the company to
announce the fact and n ot investigate past use.
M eeting 3: A ltern ative m an agem en t train in g (ch air)
You have been asked by head office to chair a m eeting
on the possible introduction o f a series o f alternative
m anagem ent training courses. In the past, your firm
has sen t ju n ior m em bers o f sta ff on practical office skills
courses and middle and senior m anagem ent on executive
courses at several top business schools. But the feedback
has som etim es been rath er negative. As people at all levels
in your com pany require a high degree o f creativity, HQ
is proposing to hire the services o f a num ber o f ‘arts and
busin ess’ com panies to help employees ‘think outside the
b ox ’.
Suggestions so far include: working w ith a renowned
artist to produce a 5m x 30 m com pany mural to be
displayed at HQ; putting on a variety show w ith the help
of professional actors w ith all m em bers o f sta ff taking
part in song, dance and comedy routines; choreographing
a m odern ballet to dram atize the challenges facing the
company; and music lessons from professional musicians
leading to an end-of-year company jazz session. Many
big-nam e com panies have found sim ilar training to be
highly enjoyable and successful - why n o t your company
too?
Leader’s b rief: Open the m eeting, inform those present
o f HQ’s proposal, m ake sure everyone gets a chance to
speak and no one dom inates. Try to avoid digressions and
keep the m eeting short. Give your own opinion only after
everyone else has spoken and try to reach a decision on
what recom m endations to m ake to HQ.
Scenario E
(p ll7 , e x ll)
S peaker A
You are th e mediator. You have organized a m eeting to
m ediate betw een Speakers B (Sales) and C (M arketing).
Their com pany sells high-quality tea all over the world,
but sales are falling and they have developed opposing
strategies to try to rescue the company.
Make sure you rem ain im partial throughout the
session. Keep order, encourage b oth parties to speak
one at a tim e, identify the main issues and phrase any
ideas o f your own as suggestions. You can put each
p arty on hold for a m axim um o f three m inutes for a
single private session w ith th e oth er party. Make sure
you w rite down whatever is agreed and get b oth parties
to agree to sign up to it before you close the m eeting.
If agreem ent cannot be reached, ask the parties if they
th in k a fu rth er session would be a good idea.
08 Promoting your ideas
(p52, ex6)
Team 2
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tips, techniques, ideas and support.
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-MJI\-
Bulletproof paint extracted from rice
A research chemist has announced a remarkable development -
paints made from rice husks that can resist bullets, fire, bacteria
or rust.
The main material used to develop all four paints is the nano silica
found in the rice husk. The bulletproof paint vest requires less layers
than conventional vests, so it is more lightweight. And it can even stop
a bullet shot from 2 meters away. Moreover the flame-resistant paint
can protect a surface for up to 6 hours. The antibacterial paint can kill
up to of bacteria. Finally, the rustproof paint can keep an object
under the ocean rust-free for up to 10 years.
16 Teleconferencing
Desert island blues (p l0 4 )
A ccount D irecto r o f R JK (UK)
Sorry to bottler you on holiday, but w e’re
hiaving m ajor problems with the Vivacity
stioot. As you’ve no doubt heard through
the grapevine, w e’re running six days over
schedule owing to bad weather, logistical
problem s and a leading lady with a fe v e r...
I’ve been asked to look into alternatives and
have com e up with the following, which I
thought I’d better copy you in on;
1 If we fly the film crew home to do the
comm ercial in a studio, with set building,
studio hire and post-production, we could be
looking at an extra €750,000. Plus w e’d be
unlikely to finish on schedule.
2 Finding an A -list actress to replace Sandra
at such short notice w ould be extremely
difficult, although there is provision for
her replacement, if unable to perform, in
the term s of our contract. I did speak to
someone at a lookalike agency who said he
had ‘Sandra’s tw in ’ and could let us have her
fo r €5,000 a day.
Jason Roberts, A ccount Manager, RJK (UK)
I must say I am very disappointed with the
number of delays on the Vivacity project.
These problems with the film shoot are just the
latest in a series of expensive mistakes. I trust
the extra costs will not be com ing out of our
agreed budget.
Your Group President Nathan Auerbach tried
to persuade me over lunch that everything
was going well, but now I’m told we may have
lost our actress for the commercial. I should
emphasize that in France the use of celebrities
to endorse products is a proven and powerful
advertising technique. Sandra’s appearance in
the Vivacity commercial was part of the original
brief to your agency and any replacement
w ould have to be approved by my marketing
department.
I m ight add that, as RJK’s Account Director
with overall responsibility for our account. I’m
surprised to see you’ve found tim e to take a
vacation in the middle of this crisis.
Thierry DuPont, Director of Marketing,
Eternelle (Europe)
06 Leading meetings
(p41, ex6)
Speaker B
M eeting 1: G enetic profiling (ag ain st)
You have heard a rum our th a t head office is planning to
introduce genetic testing for future jo b applicants. You
are about to attend a m eeting to discuss the subject. At
the m om ent you are strongly against the idea, bu t listen
to what the other participants have to say before finally
making up your mind. One thing you are fairly sure o f is
th at genetic screening w ithout consen t would be illegal
under civil law. You certainly consider it unethical. Also,
since some o f the conditions screened for (such as sickle
cell disease) affect m ostly black people, and others (such
as breast and ovarian cancer) solely women, you are
concerned th at the tests could easily lead to racial and
sexual discrim ination.
Hidden A genda: There is a genetically inherited disease
th at runs in your family. Although you do n ot have the
condition yourself, you are worried th a t it m ight show
up in a genetic te st and th a t you m ight be discrim inated
against if you applied for prom otion.
M eeting 2: Em ployee surveillance (ch air)
You have been asked by head office to chair a m eeting on
the possible introduction o f surveillance and electronic
security equipm ent to check up on employees o f the
company. In your business confidentiality is essential as
many o f your workers are dealing w ith highly classified
inform ation. O f course, a lot o f your com pany files are
encrypted, but leaks still happen. H Q is also concerned
about the am ount o f tim e employees appear to be
spending making personal phone calls and sending private
emails. Details o f what system to install have n o t yet
been fully discussed, bu t suggestions include In tern et
m onitoring software, random phone tapping and closed
circuit television (CCTV) throughout the building.
You yourself are a little alarm ed at the num ber of
unnecessary em ails sen t back and fo rth over the company
intranet and have overheard sta ff making in ternational
phone calls th at were clearly n o t business. M onitoring
In tern et access and phone use is com m on practice in many
com panies these days and you don’t see why anyone would
object unless they had som ething to hide. CCTV seem s a
b it radical, however.
Leader’s brief: Open the m eeting, inform those present
of HQ’s proposal, m ake sure everyone gets a chance to
speak and no one dom inates. Try to avoid digressions and
keep the m eeting short. Give your own opinion only after
everyone else has spoken and try to reach a decision on
what recom m endations to make to HQ.
M eeting 3; A ltern ative m an agem en t train in g
(in favour)
You have heard a rum our th a t head office is planning to
introduce a series o f alternative m anagem ent training
courses for all levels o f staff. You are about to attend a
m eeting to discuss the subject. At the m om en t you are
fairly enthu siastic about the idea, bu t listen to what the
other participants have to say before finally m aking up
your mind. You already have an MBA, b u t have never
found what you learn t at business school much use in the
real world o f business. On th e oth er hand, an ex-colleague
o f yours w ent on a course to learn about negotiating
technique from an Olympic gold m edal-w inning judo
player and says it was the b est business training she’s
ever had.
Hidden agenda: You have a favourite cousin who runs a
com pany th a t teaches business people creativity through
song, poetry and drama w orkshops, stand-up comedy
and exotic sports like Zen archery and rodeo riding. He’s
n o t doing too well at the m om en t and could do with more
cHents.
Scenario D
(p99, e x l3 )
Speaker B
M eeting 1
Listen to Speaker A’s proposals; ask any questions and
raise any objections you can th in k of.
M eeting 2
Lead a m eeting with Speaker A to explain one o f the
following proposed changes:
• A m erger w ith your m ain com petitor.
• Introducing teleworking for all staff.
• Two weeks’ intensive English training per year for
all sta ff - to be deducted from annual leave.
• Your own idea.
Explain your proposals and try to get a com m itm ent to
support the change from the other participants.
11 Stress
(p71, e x l3 )
Speaker B
1 Speaker A is your manager. You are suffering from
stress because your workload and responsibilities are
constan tly increasing. Several people have left the
com pany and have n ot been replaced; you work 12
hours a day and haven’t had a holiday for m ore than
a year; there is con stan t pressure to reduce costs and
improve productivity, bu t you are receiving m ore and
m ore custom er com plaints. You feel exhausted and
unable to produce the results th a t are required from
you.
Talk to your m anager about th e problem.
2 You are Speaker A’s manager. Speaker A is suffering
from stress. Try to:
• help them express th eir feelings
• identify the source o f stress
• find ways to relieve pressure
• find ways to adapt to th eir situation.
15 Delegation 3 R oyalties You th in k a 10% royalty on n et receipts from
album sales would be fair. This m ight be renegotiable
(p97, e x l l ) after the album, b u t you’d like to offset the initial risk
of taking on the band by maxim izing profits in the
: M a n a g e r’s : E m p lo y e e ’s early stages.
D ele g atio n ch eck list
: op inio n : op inio n 4 D eductions If sales o f the first album are good (at
Did the employee receive all least 2 0 0 ,0 0 0 units), you may want to run a TV
the information required to campaign. In this case you would like to deduct the cost
perform the task?
o f 20% o f this from the band ’s royalties.
Did the employee receive
5 Advances Since advances are norm ally non-repayable,
unnecessary details about
you’d prefer to offer a relatively m odest one on th e first
the task?
album (say $ 1 2 0 ,0 0 0 ) and prom ise higher ones on later
Was the management style
appropriate for the staff albums once the band is established.
development level? 6 T e rrito ry As you’ll be spending a substantial am ount
Were manager and employee o f tim e and m oney on prom oting The Penitents, you
confident that the desired require to tal ‘universal rig hts’ to sell their music
outcome would be achieved? globally.
7 Touring W ith a band like The Penitents touring is a
key part o f building a fan-base. The band is particularly
strong live and you would like to capitalize on that.
17 Negotiating deals You’d expect them to tour for at least six m onths in
The recording contract ( p i l l , ex5) th eir first year. Your preferred schedule would be:
release two singles, record th e first album and do the
Team B: S ta rb u rst Records (execu tives and law yers)
tour. You’d want 70% o f the revenue from tick et sales
You are very excited about this band ’s prospects. The
b u t will pay for hotels, coach travel, clothes and food
Penitents are musically exceptionally strong w ith proven
while on tour.
songw riting abilities. W h at’s m ore, they have already
8 Songw riting The standard songw riter-m usic publisher
generated a lot o f media interest. However, the risks with
split on fees for airplay on radio and TV is 5 0 :5 0 . You’re
a new signing are always high. Fashions change quickly in
quite happy with this arrangem ent as long as you
your business and you should bear this in mind in your
retain the rights (see item 2).
dealings with the band ’s m anagem ent.
Read your negotiating objectives below and then work
with your team to plan your overall strategy. In particular, 02 Information exchange
make sure you know which o f your objectives are:
1 tradeables (things you’ll concede to get what you really
Making things clear (p l4 , e x l)
want in return) 1 Am erican 6 Italian
2 ideals (things you’d really like to get, but n o t if it costs 2 Russian 7 B ritish
you the deal) 3 German 8 Chinese
3 essentials (things you absolutely have to get or the 4 Brazilian 9 Indian
deal’s off) 5 French 10 Japanese
Band line-up Three o f the four m em bers o f the band
- the lead singer/rhythm guitarist, lead guitarist and
bass guitarist are exceptionally talented, though the
lead guitarist has a reputation for h ittin g m em bers
o f the paparazzi and was recently involved in an
unpleasant incident aboard an airliner th a t resulted in
his being banned for life. The weak link is the drummer,
who simply m ust be replaced.
Term You are prepared to offer a one-album deal,
but would like to retain an option on at least two
subsequent albums, if the first is successful. You’d also
like to keep the perform ing and recording rights to all
the songs - otherw ise, if you don’t renew th eir contract
and they later becom e successful w ith a different label,
you won’t be able to profit from th eir backlist o f songs.

Scenario E
( p ll7 , e x l l )
Speaker B
You are in charge o f In tern ational Sales for a com pany
th at sells high-quality tea all over th e world. Recently,
sales have decreased due to com petition from cheaper
brands, so you have decided to defend your m arket
share by tem porarily reducing your prices. You have
ju st negotiated a deal w ith all the m ajor superm arket
chains; you have agreed to give a large discount if the
superm arkets prom ote your brand as th eir ‘b est buy’.
However, you are furious with the M arketing team
(Speaker C.) W ithout consulting you, they have agreed
to pay a top film star (ask Speaker C for their nam e) to
star in a campaign o f TV com m ercials and magazine
ads endorsing your product. You consider th a t this high
value, low volume policy is suicidal. It would n o t only
force you to raise prices and cancel the deal w ith the
superm arket chains, but could also lead to job cuts in
production and sales if the com pany continues to lose
m arket share. You feel th a t M arketing don’t understand
how price-sensitive the m arket is; th eir insistence on
m aintaining an upm arket image and high prices is
the explanation for the com pany’s difficulties. You are
determ ined to force M arketing to cancel the advertising
campaign and support your strategy. Invent any other
details as necessary.
03 Rapport
(p21, exlO)
Speaker A
S itu ation 1
You are m eeting Speaker B, a consultant, to discuss how to
reduce administrative costs in your company.
1 Choose one o f the following com m unication styles:
• You are very self-confident and energetic; you speak
loudly and fluently and make expansive gestures.
• You are very reserved and tense; you speak quietly and
hesitantly and your body language is defensive.
• You are nervous and laugh a lot; you speak quickly in a
high voice and you are constantly changing your position
and posture.
• You are extrem ely relaxed and com fortable; you smile
and nod your head a lot; you speak slowly in a deep
voice.
2 Hold a m eeting with Speaker B. Disagree system atically
with their ideas. Wait until you consider that they have
adapted well to your com m unication style before giving
your agreement.
Situation 2
You are a consultant. You are m eeting Speaker B to discuss
how to improve staff m otivation in their company.
1 Make a list o f ways the company could improve staff
m otivation, e.g. training and personal development,
incentive schemes, bonuses, m entoring and coaching,
away days, etc.
2 Hold a m eeting with Speaker A to get agreem ent for
as many measures as possible. You will need to build
rapport in order to get agreem ent for your ideas; try to
adapt to Speaker B’s com munication style in term s of
posture, gestures, facial expressions, breathing, voice,
speech rate and key words and phrases.
04 Voice and visuals
Giving feedback (p26, e x l)
Speaker B: P re se n te r
You work for a m ajor m anagem ent consultancy and have
ju st given a presen tation to an im p ortant Taiwanese client.
The presen tation didn’t go very well and unfortunately
your boss was in th e audience.
You are m eeting your boss now, and are n o t expecting
very good feedback. Make it clear th a t th e disaster wasn’t
entirely your fault. Defend yourself using the following
inform ation, and assure your boss th a t this will never
happen again.
• You’ve been asking your boss for a new laptop for
ages - th e one you’ve got ju st can’t handle PowerPoint
properly.
• You’ve been on th e road for four weeks and are
com pletely exhausted - this is your ten th m ajor
presen tation. To m ake m atters worse, the laundry
ruined your b est suit and left you w ith virtually
nothing to wear.
• Som e o f your jokes may n o t have translated very well,
but you were ju st trying to break th e ice.
• You’re sure the DVD you were going to use was stolen
from your hotel bedroom .
• No one checked the m icrophone: th e amplifier was
turned down much too low.
Useful language
How was I supposed to know ...?
It’s not my fault. You should have ...
Somebody should have ...
It might have helped if ...
Look, I’m not trying to make excuses, b u t ...
I can hardly be blamed for ...ing, can I?
Rest assured, it won’t happen again.
Listening scripts
01 BUSINESS OR PLEASURE?
1.01
Speaker 1
O k ay , w ell, n o w , w e d o n ’t k n o w a lo t a b o u t
w h a t t h e te a m m ig h t b e i n t e r e s t e d in .
A n d , th is is g o in g to b e a m ix e d g ro u p w ith
th e i r p a r tn e r s s o i t ’ll b e d iffic u lt to c h o o s e
s o m e th in g t h e y ’ll all lik e . B u t, s in c e t h i s is
th e f ir s t v is it to B r ita in f o r s o m e o f th e m ,
1 s u g g e s t w e g o f o r s o m e th in g , y o u k n o w ,
q u in te s s e n tia lly B r itis h . T h e m a in th in g
is t o m a k e s u r e n o th in g c a n g o w ro n g .
M o s t i m p o r ta n t, l e t ’s p la n o n s o m e th in g
w e a th e r p r o o f! A n d w e d e fin ite ly n e e d to
p ro v id e a b i t m o r e th a n ju s t a n e x p e n s iv e
d in n e r . W h a t a b o u t d o in g s o m e th in g
c u ltu ra l?
Speaker 2
H m , I th in k c u ltu r e c a n b e tr ic k y . W e d o n ’t
w a n t to d ra g t h e g ro u p s o m e w h e r e , o n ly
f o r t h e m t o b e b o r e d o u t o f t h e ir m in d s . W e
ju s t n e e d a p le a s a n t s e t t i n g to b e a b le to
s o c ia liz e . L e t ’s t h in k o f a g o o d r e s ta u r a n t
w h e r e w e c a n r e la x , e n jo y d e c e n t fo o d a n d
ta lk a b o u t b u s in e s s . O f c o u r s e , w e n e e d to
c h e c k i f a n y o f t h e te a m a re v e g e t a r ia n s
b e f o r e w e m a k e a n y b o o k in g s .
Speaker 3
H a n g o n . W e ’ll h a v e p le n t y o f tim e to ta lk
b u s in e s s in t h e m e e tin g s . T h is is a b o u t
m a k in g s u r e w e s h o w t h e m a g o o d tim e .
R u s s ia n s a re v e r y p e o p le -o r ie n te d . T h is is a n
o p p o r tu n ity f o r u s t o b u ild a g o o d w o rk in g
re la tio n s h ip w ith th e m , y o u k n o w , a b i t o f
te a m s p ir it. In s o m e w ay s i t c o u ld e v e n b e a
te a m -b u ild in g k in d o f th in g . A n d , l e t m e te ll
y o u , R u s s ia n s c e r ta in ly lik e fin e d in in g !
S o to p q u a lity c a te r in g , s u r e , b u t l e t ’s o ff e r
t h e m s o m e th in g a b i t s p e c ia l as w e ll. A n d
k e e p b u s in e s s o u t o f it!
Speaker 4
W ell, I t h i n k t h e m a in th in g is to m a k e th e
v is it a s p e r s o n a l as p o s s ib le . 1 m e a n , w e
c o u ld s p e n d a f o r tu n e o n a tte n d in g s o m e
b ig e v e n t, b u t t h a t ’s n o t v e r y p e r s o n a l,
is it ? In fa c t, s p e n d in g a l it t l e le s s o n th e
e v e n t m ig h t m e a n y o u c o u ld a ffo r d to do
s o m e th in g e x t r a f o r t h e te a m m e m b e r s
- I ’m n o t n e c e s s a r ily ta lk in g g if ts , b u t
s o m e th in g . A n d , b y t h e w ay, I h a p p e n to
k n o w t h a t t h e i r p r o je c t le a d e r, Y u ri, s p e n t a
y e a r s tu d y in g in L o n d o n , s o w e m ig h t t h in k
a b o u t ta k in g t h e m s o m e w h e r e e ls e . T h a t
m e a n s tr a v e l e x p e n s e s , o f c o u r s e , b u t I ’m
s u r e w e c a n k e e p th o s e w ith in r e a s o n .
P 1.02
Conversation 1
A H i, m in d i f I jo in y o u ?
B Hr, n o t a t all. B e m y g u e s t.
A O n ly i f 1 h a v e to s it th r o u g h ‘R u le
B r it a n n ia ’ b y th e B a n d o f t h e R o y al S c o ts
D ra g o o n G u a rd s o n c e m o r e , I t h in k
I ’ll s c r e a m .
B And I th o u g h t you A m erican s w ere
sup posed to like all o f th a t trad itio n al
B ritish stu ff.
A Y eah, w ell, you can have to o m u ch o f a
good th in g. T hou ght I’d com e o u t h ere
and en jo y th e view. I m u st say, th ou g h,
it was an ex cellen t lun ch. Fabulous
ship too.
B Yes, isn ’t it? I’m Ja m e s M cR ae, by th e
way. BP, en g in eerin g division.
A H ello, Ja m e s . I’m ...
B H elen K eatin g. E xxon M obil.
A Yes, how did you ... oh ... ? Have we m et
som ew here b efo re?
B W e have ind eed , b u t 1 obviously failed to
m ake m uch o f a n im p ression .
A W ait a m in u te. I t ’s n o t like m e to
fo rg et a face. I kn ow - Riyadh. The
P etro ch em icals C on feren ce. I th o u g h t
I reco g n ized you.
B As m a tte r o f fa ct, we had d in n er
to g eth er.
A You’re kidding! Now, I th in k I would
have rem em b ered th a t.
B W ell, th ere w ere ra th e r a lo t o f us in
th e group. A t le a st 4 0 . 1 don ’t th in k we
actu ally spoke.
A Aha. Okay. Yes, it ’s all com in g b ack to m e
now. I seem to re m e m b e r spend in g m o st
o f th e ev en in g try in g to avoid som e
an no y in g little guy called Alan.
B A lan Sullivan. M y b oss.
A O ops! I’m sorry. I didn’t m ean to ...
B No problem . H e’s n o t m y fav ou rite
p erso n eith er. Anyway, H elen, looks
like w e’ve g o t th e b e s t p a rt o f th e Royal
Y ach t to o urselves th is a fte rn o o n . How
a b o u t a n o th e r drink?
A Okay. W h y n o t?
1.03
Conversation 2
A S o , M r Is h id a , l e t m e f r e s h e n y o u r g la s s.
B T h a n k y o u . I ’m fin e .
A S o m e m o r e s tr a w b e r r ie s , t h e n , p e r h a p s ?
B E r, n o t a t t h e m o m e n t, t h a n k y o u .
A I a m s o r r y a b o u t t h is w e a th e r . T y p ic a l
E n g lis h s u m m e r , I ’m a fra id . T h e f o r e c a s t
d id sa y w e m ig h t h a v e s h o w e rs . B u t I ’m
s u r e i t ’ll b lo w o v e r in h a l f a n h o u r o r so.
S o , h o w a re y o u e n jo y in g th e m a tc h ?
B A h , v e r y e n t e r t a in in g . I ’m s u r e ...
A G o o d . S p le n d id ... S o , te ll m e , h a v e y o u
b e e n t o o n e o f th e s e b ig t o u r n a m e n ts
b e f o r e ? T h e A m e r ic a n O p e n p e rh a p s ?
B A h , n o , I h a v e n ’t.
A A h . B u t I h e a r y o u ’re q u ite a te n n is fa n ,
th o u g h .
B E r, n o t really. In f a c t, I n e v e r w a tc h
te n n is n o r m a lly .
A O h , ... I s e e . M y m a r k e tin g p e o p le m u s t
h a v e m a d e a m is ta k e .
B M aybe th e y m ea n t tab le te n n is. I used to
play fo r m y u n iv ersity in Tokyo - m any
years ago.
A Table te n n is! Ah, yes. 1 u n d erstan d
th e Ja p a n e se are w orld tab le ten n is
cham p ion s, isn ’t th a t righ t?
B As a m a tte r o f fa c t, th a t’s th e C hinese.
A Ah, yes, o f course ... Erm , so, do you
still play?
B N ot an y m ore. M uch to o old fo r ru n n in g
arou nd now.
A O h, I’m sure th a t’s n o t true.
B I assu re you it is tru e, M r Thom pson.
Bad h e a rt, you see. D o cto r’s orders.
A O h, rig h t. Sorry. Erm , ... I see th e
N ikkei’s lo okin g strong . T hat m u st be
good new s fo r you.
B N ot especially. It m akes ou r exp orts
m ore expensive.
A The w orld econ om y is still really
u n p red ictab le, don ’t you th in k ?
B It m ay seem th a t way fo r now, b u t I’m
still h oping fo r som e stab ility in th e
m ark ets.
A Ah, well, I suppose, er ... O h, look, th e
ra in ’s stopped! Yes, th e players are
com in g b ack on. E xcellen t. So, shall we
re tu rn to our seats?
C Q u ie t, please. Nadal to serve. Nadal
leads by th re e gam es to tw o and b y two
se ts to love.
^ 1.04
Conversation 1
A A listair, w e’ve b een h ere n early th ree
h ou rs! C an’t we ju s t m ake ou r excuses
and go? You know how I h a te th ese
th in gs.
B Look, F ion a, I’m n o t en joy in g m yself any
m ore th a n you are, b u t th is is b u sin ess.
B esid es, I n eed to speak to Ju lia n ab ou t
th is In te rn e t ad v ertisin g idea o f his.
A O h, all rig h t. W h ere is Ju lia n , anyway?
We h av en ’t seen h im all evening ...
C H ello! You m u st b e Ju lia n ’s gu ests.
I d on ’t th in k w e’ve m et. I’m D an W ilson,
Creative D irecto r a t J J K A dvertising.
I w ork w ith Ju lia n .
B Ah, p leased to m e e t you, M r W ilson.
No, w e’ve n o t m et. Ju lia n ’s m en tio n ed
you r n am e, o f course. A listair H am ilton.
And th is is m y w ife, Fiona.
C A p leasu re to m e e t you b o th a t last. And
please call m e Dan.
A W e w ere ju s t w on derin g w h at th is pile o f
d irty lau n d ry w as doing in th e m iddle o f
an a r t gallery.
B Fiona!
C So, you’re n o t a fan o f co n tem p orary
a rt th en , Fio n a - you don ’t m ind me
calling you Fion a, do you? Actually,
th is, er, ‘d irty lau n d ry ’, as you call it,
cam e seco n d in th is y e ar’s T u rn er Prize,
b elieve it o r n o t.
A D o esn ’t su rp rise m e in th e lea st, b u t, er,
still ju s t looks like d irty laun dry to m e,
I’m afraid.
C W ell, yes, b u t I don ’t th in k th a t’s w hat
th e a rtis t would call it.
A W h a t does h e call it, th en ?
C Erm , I’m n o t sure. I’ll ch eck th e
catalogu e fo r you ... H ere we are - erm ,
exh ib it 1 2 , oh, ‘D irty L au nd ry’.
A W h a t did I tell you?
C Yes, quite. Erm , A listair, I w on der if we
could have a word? Ju lia n te lls m e yo u ’re
n o t very happy w ith th e new In te rn e t
cam paign.
B Er, yes. W ould you excuse us a m o m en t,
F io n a? D an and I n eed to talk.
A Oh, don ’t m ind m e. T here’s a h eap o f
b rok en glass in th e room n e x t d o o r I’m
ju s t dying to see.
B Er, righ t. W ell, I’ll catch you later, th en
... Now, lo o k, D an, th e th in g is ...
1.05
Conversation 2
A Ricardo! Glad you could m ake it.
B Hello, Tom . I w ouldn’t have m issed it fo r
th e world. I t ’s n o t every day I g et invited
to so m eth in g like th is. I h ea r W eb b er’s
ou t, so it should be a good race.
A Yes, it certa in ly evens th in g s up a b it
w ith Red Bull down to on e car. Talking
o f races, h ow ’s th e S o u th A frican bid
going? I h eard it was ju s t b etw een you
and Sw edish S teel now.
B Hm, yes, th e n eg o tia tio n s are still going
on, b u t w e’re hopefu l. I d o n ’t th in k th e
Sw edes can b e a t us o n price.
A W ell, le t m e know how it goes. W e’d be
happy to organize th e tra n s p o rta tio n if
you need it. W e’d do you a good deal.
B Sure, I’ll certa in ly keep you in m ind if we
win th e co n tra ct.
A G r e a t ... Ricardo, th e r e ’s so m eo n e I’d like
you to m eet.
B Oh, really?
A Yes, b u t first le t m e g et you so m eth in g
to drink. C an’t have you sta n d in g th ere
w ith an em pty glass. W h a t can I g e t you?
B J u s t m ineral w ater fo r now, th a n k s.
A O h, all r i g h t ... H ere you go.
B Thanks. So, w ho’s th is p erso n you
w anted m e to m eet?
A Ah, yes ... O h, h ere sh e is now. Elise,
th is is R icardo P iq u et. R icardo, E lise de
C ad enet. Eh se is ...
C Hello, Ricardo. Long tim e no see. W h a t
is it, five years?
B Hello, Elise. M u st b e five a t lea st. You
h aven ’t changed a b it.
C N eith er have you!
A Ah, I see you tw o know each o th er already.
C Ricardo and I go back a lo n g way, Tom.
B Yes, actually, we first m e t in M on aco - a t
th e G rand Prix, fu n n ily en ough ... So,
E lise, la st I h eard you g o t m arried.
C T h at’s righ t. In fa c t we only ju s t g o t back
from our h o n ey m o o n la st m o n th . B u t
now i t ’s back to w ork. I t ’s b een really
h ectic se ttin g up th is n ew b u sin ess in
B iarritz.
A Er, well. I’ll leave you tw o to ch at. See
you later. D on ’t fo rg et th e race s ta r ts a t
th ree.
B Yes, see you later, Tom . So, E lise, how
a b o u t so m eth in g to d rink?
C M m , soun d s good. I’ll have w h atever
you’re having.
02 INFORMATION EXCHANGE
1.06
A Okay, people. L e t’s g et th e ball rolling.
W ell, you’ve all seen th e la te st figures
an d I d on ’t n eed to tell you th e y ’re n o t
good. I t ’s clearly tim e fo r a reality check,
ladies an d g en tlem en . This division is
a b o u t to go u n d er if we d o n ’t change
ou r a ttitu d e and fast. W h a t we need
is a co m p lete change o f m in d set. We
need to syn ergize and tak e a m uch
m o re p roactiv e approach to p rod uct
d evelopm en t. The sam e tired old ideas
sim ply w on ’t w ork any m ore. I f we
always do w h at w e’ve always done, th e n
w e’ll always g e t w h at w e’ve always got.
And w h at g ot us w here we are w on ’t get
us w here w e’re going.
B I’m so rry ?
A W h a t I m ean is we n eed to b e th in k in g
o u tsid e th e b ox, m axim izin g our
creativity. Yes, th a t’s rig h t. I’m talk in g
a b o u t n o th in g less th a n a com p lete
paradigm sh ift in th e m a n a g em en t o f
th is com pany.
B W h a t’s he talk in g ab ou t?
C I don ’t know.
A Okay, th e b o tto m lin e is: if we d o n ’t
figure o u t how to tu rn th is op eration
arou nd , we have n o fu tu re in th is
b u sin ess. So, le t’s loo k a t th e b ig p ictu re
an d th e n see if we can drill dow n to th e
details.
D Can I ju s t say so m eth in g , D aryl?
A F ire away, Kelly.
D Erm , I d o n ’t th in k w e’re q u ite w ith you.
A I’m try in g to say th a t i t ’s v ery im p o rta n t
I g et your bu y -in on th is. W h a t we
have to do is esta b lish w h at ou r core
co m p ete n cies are an d th e n b en ch m ark
ou rselves ag ain st th e c u rre n t m ark e t
leader. R igh t now w e’re stru g g lin g ju s t
to co m p ete. I f we can on ly learn from
ou r co m p etito rs, th e n w e’ll b e able to
up skill ou r ow n people, ram p up prod uct
d evelop m en t, and s ta r t to tak e th is
com p any to th e n e x t level.
C Erm , and you really w an t ou r inp ut
on th is?
A Yes, Nigel. C hange b eg in s at th e
g ra ssro o ts in an org an ization .
E m p ow erm en t - th a t’s w h at th is is
all ab o u t.
D Daryl?
A Yes, K elly
D Have you ever played buzzw ord bingo?
(F 1.07
A R ight. T hat b rin gs us on to ou r m ain
b u sin ess th is m orn in g - th e new Q uasar
O n lin e G am ing System . As you already
know, th e new s is n o t p articu larly good.
In sp ite o f a consid erable in v estm e n t
in design and m arketin g. I’m so rry to
re p o rt th a t th e p ro je c t h as n o t b een a
com p lete success.
B N ot a com p lete success? W h at you m ean
is i t ’s failed - dism ally!
A Now le t’s n o t ov erreact, A lan. Certainly,
i t’s failed to m e e t our original
exp ectatio n s. And, yes, tech n ically
speaking, we have ru n in to negative
p r o f i t ...
B N egative p rofit! W h at do you m ean
n egativ e p ro fit? You m ean w e’ve m ade a
loss - an en orm ou s loss if th ese figures
are an y th in g to go by!
C Can we com e back to th e figures later,
Alan, if t h a t’s okay? F irst, le t’s consid er
why sales are so disapp oin tin g. Now, in
m y view, it ’s n o t th e prod uct, b u t th e
m ark et. I th in k th e r e ’s a general lack of
co n su m er confid en ce ...
B In o th e r w ords, sales are falling. Look,
I’m sorry, H an nah , b u t you’re ju st
lookin g fo r excuses. I t ’s obvious th a t
Q u asar is sim ply n o t in n ov ative enough
fo r to d ay ’s m arket.
A A lan, we leave in n o v atio n to com p anies
like Son y and N in ten d o. W h a t we do is
clon e th e te ch n o log y and do it cheaper.
C A lan, you know w e’ve always b een a
m arket-d riven o rg an ization ...
B M ark et-d riv en ? W h a t you really m ean
is w e’ve n ever had an origin al idea. I say
we n eed to be developing an innovative
new p rod u ct line ...
A W h at, w hen th e m a rk e t’s so m assively
oversupplied? I don ’t th in k so. Now
is n o t th e tim e to expand, b u t to
co nso lid ate.
B So w h at you ’re saying is, le t ’s do
n oth in g.
A No, I’m saying le t’s consolid ate.
B I see. And w h at will th is con so lid atio n ’
m ean in te rm s o f o u r s ta ff?
R ed un dan cies, I suppose.
C W ell, obviously, th ere will have to be
som e re stru ctu rin g o f th e d ep artm en t.
B You m ean peop le are going to lose
th e ir jo b s.
C I t ’s a p ossibility, yes. And we m ay also
have to con sid er ou tsou rcin g prod uction
to cu t co sts.
B In o th e r w ords, ou r assem b ly p lan t may
b e closed dow n to o . I can ’t believe I’m
h earin g th is!
A O f course, we w on ’t b e able to finalize
a n y th in g today.
B You m ean w e’ll have to h old a n o th er
m eetin g ! I f w e’ve all still g o t a jo b by
th en , th a t is.
A Yes, well. I’m glad you raised th a t
p o in t, Alan.
B W h at do you m ean ?

1.08
Meeting 1
A R ight, I’m allow ing an h o u r and a h a lf
fo r th is m eetin g . K ate is going to fill us
in on how th e appraisals w ent. T h at’ll
tak e a b o u t a q u a rter o f an h o u r o r so.
So th a t on ly gives us 4 5 m in u tes to deal
w ith ev ery th in g else. W e’d b e tte r get
started .
B Sorry, 1 th o u g h t we had an h o u r and a
half.
A w h a t? O h, yeah, sorry. W e’ve g o t 7 5
m in u tes, h aven ’t we? Still, th e r e ’s a lo t
to g et throu gh.
Meeting 2
A Look, it ’s n o good going on a b o u t pay
rises. W e pay n early tw ice w hat m o st o f
ou r co m p etito rs do. And I really d o n ’t
see how p eop le can ex p ect a n o th er
salary in crease th is year, w h en th e y ’re
already earn in g th re e tim es th e average
rate.
B H ang on a second. You said we pay tw ice
as m uch, n o t th re e tim es.
A H m ? O h, all rig h t, tw ice as m uch, th en .
I t ’s still a lo t m ore th a n everybody else.
Meeting 3
A You know as well as I do th a t th is p ro ject
was supposed to tak e 1 6 w eeks. And
th is isn ’t th e first tim e w e’ve ru n over
budget, is it? I m ean a 2 0 % oversp end is
p re tty serio u s. And surely th re e m o n th s
was su fficien t tim e to co m p lete th e
p ro ject.
B J u s t a m inu te. I th o u g h t you said
1 6 w eeks, n o t th re e m o n th s.
A Okay, okay, th a t’s fo u r m o n th s, th en .
B u t you’ve tak en n early six.
Meeting 4
A Frankly, w ith th e A sian eco n o m ic
situ a tio n th e way it is and b o th th e
euro and th e dollar goin g up and down,
w e’re n o t doing well in th e Far East.
S o u th A m erica is w here we should be
co n cen tra tin g our e ffo rts. As a m a tte r
o f fact, Brazil is now o u r secon d b iggest
m ark et a fte r China.
B Hold on. D id n’t you ju s t say w e’re n o t
doing well in th e Far E ast?
A Well, I m ea n t a p a rt fro m China,
obviously! C h ina’s always b e e n a huge
m ark e t fo r tob acco prod ucts.
Meeting 5
A I’m sorry, b u t 1 d o n ’t w an t us b rin gin g
in peop le fro m outsid e th e com p any to
so rt th is problem ou t. T here’s a lo t o f
highly co n fid en tial in fo rm a tio n o n our
in tra n e t. And we should really be able
to deal w ith th is ourselves. T here’s a
guy I play g o lf w ith w ho ru n s h is o«m
consu ltancy. H e’s offered to help us out.
B W ait a m o m en t. You ju s t said you didn’t
w an t to b rin g in peop le fro m outsid e th e
company.
A Erm , well, w h at I m ean is I don ’t w ant
ju st anybody. This guy’s different.
I’ve know n h im fo r years.
1.09
Okay, everyone. I t ’s b ad new s. I’m
afraid. As you m ay have heard, th e
la te s t Eu ropean sales figures are lookin g
ex trem ely disapp oin tin g.
Are you sayin g th e y ’ve fallen sh o rt o f
p ro jectio n s again ?
I’m afraid so. In fa c t, we m ay b e 3 0 %
dow n. Now, th is will b e th e th ird q u a rter
in a row w e’ve m issed ou r targ ets
and, frankly, un less th in g s p ick up
co nsid erab ly n e x t q u arter, we m ay have
to re th in k o u r w hole p ricin g strategy.
Are you su g g estin g we in tro d u ce price
cu ts?
I f we still can, A n na. C ertain ly i f w e’d
don e th a t a year ago, it m ig h t have
stim u la ted dem and. B u t do it now and
we m ay end up ru n n in g at a loss. As you
know , w e’re b arely b reak in g ev en on
so m e o f o u r p rod u ct lin es as it is.
Su rely you’re n o t saying i t ’s tim e to
p h ase th em out!
No, n o, o f cou rse n o t. A t lea st, n o t yet.
B u t w h at I am saying is th a t we n eed to
keep p ro d u ction co sts dow n som eh ow if
we w an t to rem ain com p etitiv e.
D oes th is m ean we should b e in v estin g
m o re in new tech n o log y ?
I f o n ly it was th a t sim ple, Erik. B u t righ t
now w e’re n o t really in a p o sitio n to
in v est in a n y th in g , even if we w anted
to . No, I’m afraid th e situ a tio n calls fo r
m ore d rastic actio n . I t ’s clearly tim e fo r a
m a jo r restru ctu rin g .
Are you tellin g us th ere could be lay-offs?
I don ’t see how we can avoid it, Ja m e s -
u n less, o f cou rse, we can g et som e o f our
peop le to accep t reduced h ours.
You m ean som e kin d o f jo b -sh a re
schem e?
Yes, e ith e r th a t or in trod u ce a
fou r-d ay w eek - providing th e u n ion s
d o n ’t o ppose it. O f cou rse, it ’s n o t ju s t a
q u estio n o f co sts. I t ’s also a q u estio n o f
prod u ct. The fa c t is, b e tte r p ro d u cts are
com in g o n to th e m ark e t all th e tim e.
So you’re saying we should b e sp end in g
m ore o n R&D.
As I’ve said, cap ital in v e stm e n t is no
lo n g er an o p tio n fo r us. Pour any m ore
m o n ey in to R&D and w e’ll sim ply slide
fu rth e r in to d eb t. And th e n th ere are all
th e pro b lem s w e’ve b een havin g w ith
o u r overseas d istrib u to rs.
D oes th is m ean you’re th in k in g o f
cen tralizin g d istrib u tio n ?
W ell, th a t’s on e o p tio n , yes. B u t even if
we decided to do th a t, and i t ’s a big if,
it w ould tak e tim e to im p lem en t - tim e
we sim ply don ’t have. As you know,
ou r sh are p rice h as fallen to an a ll-tim e
low o f ju s t 8 5 cen ts. And I w ouldn’t b e
su rp rised if, by ou r n e x t m eetin g , i t ’s
fallen even fu rth er. The fa c t is, w e’re
sellin g old p ro d u cts a t in flated p rices
in a vo latile m a rk e t th rou gh in e fficien t
d istrib u to rs.
D 1 h ope you’re n o t su g gesting th e
s itu a tio n is h opeless.
A W ell, le t’s p u t it th is way: w e’ve cancelled
th e su m m er party!
1.10
a
A R ight. Basically, th e p o sitio n is th is: th e
c o n tra c t is ours if we w an t it.
B B u t w e’re n o t in a p o sitio n to tak e on
a n o th e r p ro je c t rig h t now, are we?
A I know. J a n , w h at’s you r p o sitio n
on th is?
b
A Look, it ’s n o t ju s t a q u estio n o f softw are,
A lessandro.
O f course n o t. I t ’s also a q u estio n of
hardw are. The e n tire system need s
upgrading.
B u t th a t’s o u t o f th e q u estion . W e can ’t
afford th a t kin d o f cap ital outlay.
c
A Sales are dow n. O ne o p tion would
obviously b e to cu t ou r p rices.
B T h a t’s n o lo n g er an op tion fo r us. W e’re
b arely b reak in g even as it is.
A W ell, th e n w e’ve no o p tion b u t to
re th in k ou r w hole m ark etin g strategy.
d
A W ell, th e r e ’s n o easy an sw er to th is, b ut
how a b o u t v o lu n tary redundancy?
B I don ’t th in k th a t’s th e answ er, b u t
m aybe we could reduce p eop le’s h ours.
A T hat m ig h t have b een th e answ er if
we didn’t already have a strik e on our
h ands!
e
A Now, le t’s n o t m ake a problem o u t
o f th is. W h a t if we ju s t pulled ou t o f
Su dan?
B W ell, I’ve n o problem w ith th a t, b u t our
p a rtn ers w on ’t be happy.
A No, b u t th a t’s n o t ou r p roblem , is it? The
p o litical situ a tio n is ju s t to o un stable.
f
A I’ll g e t straig h t to th e p o in t. W e’re
g e ttin g to o m any cu sto m er com p lain ts.
B I agree w ith you. B u t th e p o in t is we
d o n ’t have th e s ta ff to deal w ith th em .
A T h at’s b esid e th e p o in t. W e sh ouldn ’t be
g e ttin g th em in th e first place!
g
A I’m afraid th e situ a tio n is seriou s. And if
th e p ress g e t h old o f th e story, ...
Look, w e’ll deal w ith th a t situ a tio n if
and w h en it arises. L e t’s n o t pan ic ju st
yet.
You’re rig h t. W h a t th is situ atio n calls for
is calm and carefu l planning.
h
A The fa c t is, w e’re sim ply n o t spend ing
en ou g h on R&D.
B As a m a tte r o f fa c t, w e’ve doubled our
R&D bud get th is year.
C That m ay b e so, b u t th e fa c t rem ain s
w e’re lo sin g ou r tech n o log ical lead.
03 RAPPORT
1.11
A Com e in, s it down. I t ’s, um , H elena,
isn ’t it? Ja c o b San d ers. I th in k we
already m et.
B Erm , th a n k you. Yes, in Chicago, b u t
it was, erm , several years ago. D id you
erm , did you have a good fligh t?
A Yeah. W ell, H elena, you know why I’m
here. W e w an t to g et th is telew orking
policy im p lem en ted as so o n as p ossible.
B Yes, w e ll... would you like som e coffee
or tea?
A No, I’m good to go.
B Erm ... well, as you know, I, erm , I
spoke to H arry S tro ss a b o u t th e special
circu m stan ces h ere, a n d ...
A H arry’s ju s t tra n sferred to So u th
A m erica, actually. Look, Ellen, um,
H elena, I w on ’t b e a t a b o u t th e bush,
th is is a global policy. H ead O ffice don ’t
like excep tio n s, and it ’s m y jo b to m ake
sure th a t we don ’t have any.
B I u n d erstand . Erm , i t ’s ju s t th a t peop le
h ere don ’t really like th e idea o f w orking
fro m hom e. And erm , n o t h avin g th eir
own office any m ore. I t ’s q u ite u p settin g
fo r p eop le w ho’ve b e e n w orkin g h ere for
years and years.
A So w hich p a rt o f th e p o licy is it th ey
don ’t u n d erstan d ? I m ean , i t ’s n o t as if
th ey w ere lo sin g th e ir jo b s! W e ju s t w ant
th em to w ork fro m h o m e th re e days a
w eek. M o st folks in th e S ta te s are really
h appy w ith it.
B I t ’s ju s t t h a t ...
A I’m so rry?
B O h, erm , n o th in g.
1.12
A Hi H elena, Ja c o b San ders.
B Hello.
A I don ’t know if you re m e m b e r m e, we
m et in Chicago.
B Yes, o f course I re m e m b e r you! It was
th e co n feren ce w ith th a t aw ful te a m ­
building day, w asn’t it?
A Yeah; w h at a d isa ster th a t was!
B Anyway, how are you? Did you have a
good flight?
A N ot to o bad, th a n k you. B u t I have to
say, th e A tla n tic seem s to g et w ider
every tim e I cross it!
B Yes, i t ’s a long fligh t, isn ’t it? M aybe you
should consid er telew orking!
A A ha, tou ch e! B u t you know w hy I’m
h ere, H elena. W e w an t to g et th is policy
im p lem en ted as so o n as p ossible.
B Yes. Erm , would you like so m e co ffee or
tea?
A Yeah. A cup o f coffee would b e nice,
th a n k you.
B So, did H arry S tro ss fill you in o n our
special circu m stan ces h ere?
A Y eah. B u t you kn ow H arry’s ju st
tra n sferred to S o u th A m erica, d o n ’t
you? So I’m ta k in g over w here h e le ft off.
I w on ’t b e a t a b o u t th e bu sh , H elena; th is
is a global policy. Head O ffice d o n ’t like
ex cep tio n s, and i t ’s m y jo b to m ake sure
th a t we don ’t have any.
B I u n d erstan d . A nd le t m e reassu re you
on th a t p o in t. I’m co n fid en t th a t we can
b rin g peop le rou nd to th e idea. I t ’s ju s t
th a t w e’re going to n eed a little m ore
tim e ...
04 VOICE AND VISUALS
1.13
H ello, th is is C heng J in g from N anogen,
Taiw an. I ju s t w an ted to le t you know th a t
you r p re se n ta tio n th is m o rn in g was a
trem en d o u s success w ith ev ery one h ere.
W h a t a b rillia n t idea to do th e w hole th in g
in such a casual, low -bu dget and alte rn ativ e
way! V ery clever. The b oard certain ly g o t th e
m essage.
O u r execu tives really liked you r calm ,
q u iet approach. So p lease pass on my
c o n g ra tu la tio n s to you r ex cellen t p resen ter.
O h, by th e way, th e jo k e a b o u t B e ijin g
was greatly en joy ed - ev en in tran slatio n .
So, see you a t th e n e x t stra te g y m eeting .
G oodbye now.
1.14
a T here’s a w hole m a rk e t in E astern
Europe ju s t th ere fo r th e taking,
b Q u ite frankly, th e resu lts w e’ve b een
g e ttin g are ab solu tely incredible.
C Now, I’m sure I don ’t n eed to tell you
ju s t how cru cial th is is.
d N et p ro fits are up 9 7 % - yes, 97% .
6 W ould you believ e th a t so fa r w e’ve n o t
b een able to sell a sin gle u n it?
f M iss th is deadline an d w e’ll lo se th e
b ig g est c h e n t th is com p an y’s ev er had.
^ 1.15
a T here’s a w hole m a rk e t | in E a stern
Europe |ju s t th ere fo r th e ta k in g ,
d N et p ro fits j are up n in etv -sev e n
p er c e n t | - yes, | n in e ty - | sev en |
p er c e n t.
^ 1.16
a T here’s a w hole m a rk e t | in E a stern
Europe |ju s t th ere fo r th e ta k in g ,
b Q u ite frank ly. | th e re su lts w e’ve b een
g e ttin g I are a b so lu tely | in cred ib le.
C Now, I’m sure | I d o n ’t n eed to tell you |
ju s t how crucial | th is is.
d N et p ro fits | are up n in etv -sev e n
p er c e n t | - yes, | n in e ty - | seven |
p er c e n t.
e W ould you b elieve | th a t so far | w e’ve
n o t b een able to sell | a sin gle u n it?
f M iss I th is I deadline | and w e’ll lose
th e b ig g est clie n t | th is com p an v ’s
ev er had.
1.17
A W elcom e b ack to CBN Bu siness. To be
or n o t to b e? T hat is th e q u estio n fo r an
in creasin g n u m b er o f com p anies p u ttin g
th e ir s ta ff th rou gh dram a courses in an
a tte m p t to tu rn th em in to b e tte r public
sp eakers. J o n H eller m eets a group o f
B ritish m anag ers m aking th eir th eatrical
debut.
B ‘N ext tim e you are a b o u t to m ake a
p re sen ta tio n , tak e a deep b re a th and
im agin e y o u rself w alking on stage
- a b o u t to give th e p erfo rm an ce o f
you r life.’ T h at’s th e advice o f W illiam
F reem an o f C am bridge A ssociates, one
o f a new wave o f m an ag em en t train ers
w ho believ e th a t p resen tin g is less about
Pow erPoint and m ore ab ou t actin g
th e p art.
A t Prospero, a com p any w ith sim ilar
aim s, T in a Packer and M ichael Lam e
have tak en th e idea on e step fu rth e r and
p u t Sh akesp eare on th e program m e.
A fter all, w ho b e tte r to teach m anagers
how to speak effectiv ely and relate to an
aud ien ce th a n classically train ed actors?
W h e th e r you’re a p latfo rm speaker at
th e an nu al co n feren ce, a salesp erson
p itch in g to a clie n t or ju s t chairin g
your w eekly staffs m eetin g , acto rs have
p ow erfu l co m m u n icatio n tech n iqu es you
can learn from . P rospero is certain ly in
dem and, regularly ru n n in g courses at
C olum bia B u sin ess Sch ool, H arvard and
M IT
So w h at is it th a t m akes som eo n e a
b rillia n t sp eaker? R ichard O livier, Royal
S h akesp eare Com pany d irector, creative
m an ag em en t c o n su lta n t and so n o f
actin g legend Sir Laurence Olivier,
th in k s i t ’s ‘se lf-b e lie f’. A ccording to
O livier, ‘M uch o f lead ersh ip is acting.
N ot fak in g it, b u t tak in g on a role.
Paradoxically, th e actin g m akes it real.’
B u t w h at do th e train e es th in k ? We
q u estio n ed a few w h o’d tak en a course in
actin g like leaders.
C I th o u g h t m y b o ss had gone m ad a t first,
I m ean , Sh akesp eare? No way! B u t, in
fa c t, i t ’s b een really inspiring. And a lo t
o f fun!
D Frankly, I was terrified . M e, actin g on
stag e? I d o n ’t th in k so. B u t I’ve learn ed
a lo t o f stu ff I n ever g o t on th o se b orin g
p re se n ta tio n courses.
E W ell, th e acto rs have b een fu n to work
w ith. W e’ve had a lo t o f laughs. I’m n o t
so sure how usefu l it all is - you know,
in a b u sin ess c o n te x t. B u t, hey, it g o t us
ou t o f th e office fo r a couple o f days, so
I’m n o t com plaining.
F W ell, th is really isn ’t m y th in g a t all. I
m ean , public sp eaking ju s t frig h ten s th e
life ou t o f m e, w ith o u t g e ttin g up and
actin g in fro n t o f an audience. Frankly, it
was hell. Never again!
G B e s t cou rse I’ve ever don e - by far. J u s t
to ta lly b rillian t. I n ever realized th e tru e
pow er o f th e voice and th e confid en ce it
gives you w hen you can m ake it w ork for
you. I’d definitely recom m en d th is kind
o f train in g.
B So, th ere we have it. T im e to sh u t down
you r laptop, b ru sh up you r Sh akesp eare
and lea rn how to wow an aud ience w ith
th e p ro fessio n als.
^ 1.18
If we are goin g to die, we are enough
To cause o u r c o u n try loss; an d if to live.
The few er m en , th e g rea te r sh are o f honou r.
This day is called th e F e a st o f C rispian.
He who survives th is day, com es
safely h om e.
W ill h old h is h ead h ig h w hen th is day
is n am ed
And stan d up a t th e n am e o f Crispian.
He th a t sh all live tod ay and see old age
W ill celeb rate it yearly w ith h is n eigh bours
And say: ‘T om orrow is S a in t C risp ian ’.
Then h e ’ll roll up h is sleeve and show
h is scars
And say: ‘These w ounds I g o t o n C risp ian ’s
D ay’.
Old m en fo rget; yes, all will b e fo rg o tten ;
B u t h e ’ll rem em b er all to o well
W h a t h e achieved th a t day. Then will
our n am es:
H arry th e kin g, Bedford an d Exeter,
W arw ick and T alb o t, Salisb u ry and
G loucester,
Be b etw een cups o f w ine new ly rem em bered .
This sto ry w ill th e good m an te a ch h is son;
And C rispian will n ever go by.
From th is day to th e en d in g o f th e world,
B u t we sh all b e rem em b ered fo r it -
W e few, we fo rtu n a te few, we ban d
o f b ro th ers;
Fo r h e tod ay who sheds h is b lood w ith m e
W ill b e m y b ro th er. H ow ever poor
and hum ble.
This day will m ake o f h im a gen tlem an .
And g en tlem en in England, now in bed,
W ill curse th e fa c t th e y w ere n o t h ere.
And q u estio n w h eth e r th ey are really m en.
W h ile anyone speaks w ho fo u g h t w ith us
U pon S a in t C risp ian ’s Day!
05 PROBLEMS ON THE PHONE
1.19
B Hello?
A Dan?
B Speaking.
A I t ’s George. G eorge C h a tterto n .
B Ah, G eorge ... How are you?
A Couldn’t b e b e tte r, m ate, couldn’t be
b e tte r! So m eo n e h ap p en ed to m en tio n
th e y ’d bum ped in to you th e o th e r day.
So I ju s t th o u g h t I’d give you a call. See
how you’re doing.
B Oh, righ t. ... yes ... er, G eorge ...
A So how ’s it going, m a te? J u s t b een
prom oted, so I hear.
B Er, yes, th a t’s righ t.
A Glad to see th e y ’ve fin ally sta rte d
ap p reciating you.
B Er, yes, th a n k s. So, G eorge, w h at can
I do fo r you?
A B it m ore m o n ey to o , I im agine.
B H m ? O h, a b it, yeah. W ell, George,
I exp ect you’re calling a b o u t th a t
p r o je c t ...
A And how are you r p a re n ts? Is th e fam ily
doing well?
B They 're all fine. Thanks fo r askin g. Look,
G eorge, I am ra th e r b u sy rig h t now.
I’ve ju s t g o t b ack fro m holiday, actually,
a n d you kn ow w h at i t ’s like. W as th ere
so m eth in g you w an ted to talk to
m e ab o u t?
A O f cou rse, how silly o f m e! You’ve ju st
b een o n th a t safari you w ere p lan n in g
la st tim e we spoke, h av en ’t you?
B Yes, and w h at vrith th e new jo b and
ev ery th ing, th e re ’s a b it o f catchin g up ...
A Kenya, w asn ’t it?
B W h a t?
A The h olid ay - Kenya.
B Yes. L isten . G eorge ...
A You know . I’ve always w an ted to go to
K enya ...
B W ell, now, G eorge, I m u stn ’t keep you.
A W h a t’s th a t?
B I’ll le t you g et on . I’m sure you ’ve g o t
th in g s to do, busy guy like you. I t ’s b een
g rea t ta lk in g to you, th ough.
A Yeah, likew ise.
B W e m u st g e t to g e th e r soon .
A Yeah, yeah. As a m a tte r o f fa c t, I’m going
to b e in Lon don fo r a few days n e x t
m o n th .
B O h, no!
A Sorry?
B I said ‘O h, n ice.’ Perhaps we can m e e t up
fo r lu n ch o r dinner.
A Yeah, th a t’d b e great.
B B u t, erm . I ’ll have to le t you go now,
George. S o m eo n e ju s t th is m in u te
step p ed in to th e office.
A O h, rig h t, I see.
B And it looks like I’ve g o t an in te rn a tio n a l
call ju s t com e in on th e o th e r lin e as
well. Yes.
A No w orries. I’ll call you b ack in h a lf an
hour, th en . I h aven ’t told you m y good
new s y et. W ait till you h ea r it!
B W h a t? Er, no. Erm , G eorge? G eorge?
1.20
A Hello. T hank you fo r calling th e iD eals
cu sto m e r serv ice line. All ou r cu sto m er
serv ice advisers are bu sy rig h t now.
P lease h o ld and y ou r en q u iry will be
d ealt w ith sh o rtly ... This is th e iD eals
cu sto m e r service line. Thank you for
h olding. All our cu sto m er service
advisers are busy rig h t now. P lease hold
a n d y our en q u iry will be d ealt w ith
sh o rtly ...
B O h, com e on , com e on!
C Good m orn ing . Lisa speaking. How can
I help you?
B O h, h ello. A t last! I was ju s t a b o u t to
rin g off.
C I am so rry a b o u t th a t. The w aiting
sy stem is a b it fru stra tin g , isn ’t it? I t ’s
th e only way we can o ffer ou r 2 4 -h o u r
service, you see.
B Yeah, yeah. Look, it ’s a b o u t th e
co m p u ter I b ou g h t o ff you tw o w eeks
ago ...
C Yes? W h a t seem s to b e th e problem ?
B W ell, I was tra n s fe rrin g m y files to it
fro m m y flash drive and it ’s lo st th e lot.
E v eryth ing!
C Okay, now don ’t worry. I’m sure we can
so rt so m eth in g out. F irst, can you give
m e a few d etails? The co m p u ter has lo st
all y ou r data, you say?
B Yes. B u t, you don ’t u n d erstand . I t ’s
wiped ev ery th in g o ff th e flash drive as
well! M y w hole life, m y w hole life was in
th o se files.
C O h, m y good ness! Are you sure? Sounds
like th e p rob lem ’s w ith you r flash drive.
B O f course I’m sure! And th e r e ’s n o th in g
w rong w ith m y flash drive. I’ve had
it years!
C Okay. I can u n d erstan d how u p set you
m u st b e. Now, I don ’t th in k we can deal
w ith th is on th e p h one, so I’m going to
sen d a service en g in eer to see if th ey can
re triev e your d ata. Can you give m e your
p rod u ct re feren ce n um ber?
B H m ? Er, yes. I t ’s ... h ere it is ... i t ’s
S F ll-0 0 3 .
C T hank you.
B I’ll b e exp ectin g a to ta l refu n d and
c o m p en satio n if th is can ’t b e fixed!
C U n fortu n ately , w e’re n o t au th orized to
give refu n d s, b u t w h at I can do is send
you a b ran d -new com puter. How would
th a t be?
B This is su p posed to b e a b rand-new
com p uter. You th in k I w an t a n o th e r one
o f th ese , a fte r w h at th e la st on e did to
m y files?
C W ell, le t ’s see w h at ou r en g in eer can do.
H opefully, i t ’s n o t q u ite as bad as you
th in k . Now, I’ve g o t you r address h ere
in you r cu sto m e r file. O xford 0 X 2 6 B J,
righ t?
B Y eah, righ t.
C And it’s M r H arris, isn ’t it?
B Yes.
C R igh t, M r H arris. W e’ll have an en gin eer
w ith you th is a fte rn o o n . And I’ll ask h im
to b rin g a n ew h ard disk w ith him . Is
th a t all okay fo r you?
B Er, well, I suppose ...
C Good. Glad to b e o f a ssistan ce. Is th ere
an y th in g else I can help you w ith?
B H m ? O h, n o, no.
C W ell, b e s t o f luck th is aftern o o n . 1 hope
we can solve th e problem fo r you.
B W ell, th an k s. Erm , goodbye.
C Goodbye, M r H arris.
^ 1.21
B Hello?
A
B Y eah, speaking. Is th a t you, P io tr? A ren’t
you sup posed to b e a t th e Trade Fair in
Krakow ?
A
B W h at?

A B W h ere’s Liesl?
B You h aven ’t g o t a stan d ? W ell, how did
th a t h appen?
A B
B M aybe i t ’s th e lap top you’re using.
A B
B W ell, w h at h ap p en ed to ou r laptop?
A all in P ortu guese.
B T hose carriers! They’re unbelievable!
T h at’s th e la st tim e we use th em ! I’ll give
th e m a piece of^ m y m ind w hen I speak
to th em .
A a tte n d th e Lisbon Trade Fair originally.
B W h ere’s Liesl?
A change o f plan?
B This ju s t gets w orse, d o esn ’t it?
A really sorry, P iotr.
B W h a t’s gone w rong w ith th e b ro ch u res?
A B Yeah, well. You’re doing a g reat jo b Piotr.
B Portu guese! O h, n o ...
A
B T hat m ay b e b ecau se 1 fo rg o t to p h o ne
Tony. You rem em b er we w ere going to
a tten d th e Lisbon Trade Fair originally.
A A
B It co m p letely slipped m y m ind. O h, I’m
really sorry, P iotr.
A B H ello, P iotr.
B W ell, w e’re snow ed u n d er a t th e m o m e n t
try in g to g et th in g s ready fo r th e M idas
launch, b u t, look, don ’t w orry. I’ll so rt
so m eth in g ou t. Can I call you b a ck in an
hour?
I? 1.22
B H ello?
A G raham ?
B Yeah , speaking. Is th a t you, P io tr? A ren ’t
you sup posed to b e a t th e Trade Fair in
Krakow?
A I am a t th e Trade Fair in Krakow,
G raham . I’m ju s t a b o u t th e o n ly th in g
th a t arrived h ere in on e piece!
B W h at?
A W ell, th e sta n d g o t badly dam aged in
tra n s it, so I’ve b asically ju s t g o t a tab le
h ere, a few chairs an d a couple o f p o sters
w ith n o th in g to a tta c h th em to ! I t ’s a
co m p lete d isaster!
B You h aven ’t g o t a stan d ? W ell, h ow did
th a t h appen ?
A D o n ’t ask. Look, it’s n o t ju s t th a t. I’ve
ju s t tried o u t th re e o f th e p ro m o tio n a l
DVD s and tw o w ere d efectiv e - w ouldn’t
play a t all. I don ’t know how m any m ore
are like th a t.
B M aybe i t ’s th e lap top you’re using.
A W ouldn’t su rp rise m e. I had to b orrow it
fro m a n o th e r exh ib ito r.
B W ell, w h at hap p en ed to ou r laptop?
A I’ll give you th re e gu esses.
B Those carriers! They’re unbelievable!
T hat’s th e la st tim e we u se th em ! I’ll give
th em a piece o f m y m ind w hen I speak
to th em .
A Yes, well, n ever m ind th a t now. You’ve
g o t to do so m eth in g , G raham . I’m
w orking fla t o u t o n m y ow n h ere.
A S h e ’s com e dow n w ith som e so rt o f
virus. I le ft h er at th e h otel.
This ju s t g ets w orse, d oesn ’t it?
A W ait till you h ea r a b o u t th e b ro ch u res ...
W h a t’s gone w rong w ith th e b roch u res?
A The En glish on es are okay. The o th ers are
B P ortu guese! O h, n o ...
A W h at?
B T hat m ay b e b ecau se I fo rg o t to p h one
Tony. You re m e m b e r we w ere going to
A And you did n’t tell T ony a b o u t th e
B I t co m p letely slipped m y m ind. O h, I’m
A G raham , you’ve g o t to g et m e o u t o f
th is m ess.
B W ell, w e’re snow ed u n d er at th e m o m e n t
try in g to g et th in g s ready for th e M idas
laun ch, b u t, look, d on ’t w orry. I’ll so rt
so m eth in g ou t. Can I call you b ack in
an h o u r?
A Okay, I’ll b e w aitin g to h ea r fro m you.
^ 1.23
A H ello?
A G raham ! You said an hour.
B Sorry. I g o t h eld up.
A W h a t’s h ap p en in g , th en ?
B R ight. I’ve b een on to th e carrie rs and
th e y ’re sen d in g a new sta n d o u t on th e
n e x t plane. You should have th a t by
to m o rrow m orn ing .
A W ell, a t le a st th a t’s som eth in g.
B Can you g e t h old o f th e organizers
an d tell th e m w e’ll s e t up to m o rro w at
seven ?
A Yeah, sure. I don ’t sup pose you
rem em b ered to p u t a n o th e r lap top in
w ith th e stan d ?
B I’ve s e n t tw o - ju s t in case.
A O h, rig h t. Good. Thanks.
B And do you h ap p en to have a p h one
n u m b er fo r th e p ro m o tio n s peop le?
B ecau se if th o se D VD s are defectiv e.
I’ll g et th e m to sen d m ore by courier.
A I’ve g o t it som ew here. G raham , is th ere
any ch an ce o f sen d in g so m eo n e else out
h ere ? Kim , fo r in stan ce.
B Pio tr, you know how sh o rt-sta ffe d we
are h ere rig h t now.
A W h a t’s th is ex h ib itio n co stin g us,
G raham ? $ 1 8 ,0 0 0 ?
B You’re rig h t. I’ll ch eck w ith Liz an d see if
sh e can spare K im fo r a few days.
A T hanks. I t ’s m u rd er h ere.
B W ell, I’ll see w h at 1 can do, b u t I can ’t
p ro m ise an yth in g.
A H m . And would you m in d g e ttin g som e
b ro ch u res to m e in Polish, seein g as I’m
in Poland?
B Y es, w e’re havin g a few p rob lem s w ith
th a t - seem to have ru n ou t. Is th e re any
p o in t in sen d in g th e on es w e’ve g o t in
R ussian ?
.1
A No, G raham , n o t a g reat idea. Send th e
G erm an on es, if t h a t’s all w e’ve got.
B u t are you ab solu tely sure we didn’t
ord er a re p rin t o f th e Polish on es?
B I’ll look in to it th e m in u te I g et o ff
th e p hone.
A Okay, b u t could I ask you to h u rry th a t
up a b it, please? It is p re tty im p o rtan t.
B I know, I know. W ould it help if we got
a local Polish in te rp re te r in? I know you
speak Polish, b u t it m ig h t help you out
a b it.
A W ell, I w ouldn’t have m uch tim e to
b r ie f th em o n th e prod uct, b u t yeah,
a n y th in g ’s b e tte r th an n oth in g.
B Okay, I’ll g et on to th a t rig h t away. Leave
it to m e.
A I did leave it to you and loo k w hat
happened!
I owe you one!
06 LEADING MEETINGS
^ 1.24
Com ing up on CBN Business: an
interview w ith m edia king and head of
News C orp oration R upert M urdoch, th e
stock m ark et rep ort and K aty Alexander
w ith th e w eek’s business new s round-up.
B u t first, su fferin g from board room
blu es? T ired o f tak in g m in u tes at
m eetin g s th a t tak e h o u rs? Tess
Liebow itz m ay have th e so lu tio n ...
B A ccording to d iplom at and eco n o m ist J K
G alb raith, 'M eetin g s are ind ispen sable
w h en you d o n ’t w an t to do an yth in g.’
Therefore, logically, if you really do
w an t to do so m eth in g , i t ’s th e m eetin g s
you m u st disp ense w ith. B u t can you
disp ense w ith m eetin g s alto g eth er? And
w h at would tak e th e ir place? A t several
w ell-know n com p anies th ey th in k
th e y ’ve fou nd th e answ er.
A t lead in g h o te l com pany, R itz-C arlton ,
m eetin g s have tak en on a d ifferen t tw ist.
H otel em ployees have sh o rt stand -up
m eetin g s styled m uch like th e caterin g
ev en ts th e y se t up fo r th e ir own gu ests.
They stand , m ing le and ch at ab ou t th e
la te s t develop m en ts w ithin th e h otel.
This sta n d and talk style provides high
en erg y and m o tiv atio n fo r th e s ta ff to
keep m axim izin g h o te l service.
Y ahoo h as gone on e step fu rth e r by
h old ing regular Friday m eetin g s in and
arou nd th e w ork cubicles. Talk is casual
and relaxed y et in fo rm ativ e - cen tred
arou nd th e sn ack and drink tab les set
up in th e office area. This creates an
inclusive com m u n icative atm osp h ere
th a t can ’t b e rep licated in any n o rm al
m eetin g room !
A t m edia stra te g y com pany, M ichaelides
& B ed n ash th e y ’ve com e up w ith a
d ifferen t so lu tion . All em ployees,
irresp ectiv e o f s ta tu s, w ork around
on e en o rm ou s c en tral tab le. M eeting s
b eco m e u n n ecessary w hen everyone
in th e com p any is sittin g ju s t across
th e tab le from you th e w hole tim e.
The w orking day is a c o n sta n t m eeting!

1.25
Extract 1
A Okay, th a n k s fo r com in g, everybody.
Erm , h as anybody see n Lance, by th e
way? He was sup posed to b e h ere.
B Oh, yeah, h e p h o n ed to say h is flig h t in
from Chicago had a tw o-h o u r delay. He
said to go ahead an d s ta r t w ith o u t him .
A O h, I w an ted h is in p u t o n th is one.
Okay, n ever m ind, le t’s g e t sta rte d ,
th en , sh all w e? Erm , so, as I said in m y
em ail, th e p u rp o se o f th is m eetin g is to
review la st w eek’s ta lk s w ith th e peop le
from tim eo fy o u rlife.co m and, secondly,
to decide if w e’re in te re ste d in ta k in g
th in g s fu rth er. P ie te r is going to fill us in
on th e background. P ieter?
C Yeah, th a n k s, R oss. W ell, now,
tim eo fy o u rlife is a really excitin g
b u sin ess p ro p o sitio n . Basically, th e idea
is th a t ord inary peop le can buy a k in d o f
tim esh a re in vario u s luxu ry goods th a t
th ey could n ever afford to buy o u trig h t.
W h a t h ap p en s is you buy p o in ts on lin e
a t th e tim eo fy o u rlife w eb site an d you
can use th ese p o in ts to buy, like, a
Ferrari fo r a day, a R olex O y ster fo r a
w eekend o r a Je a n -P a u l G au ltier origin al
fo r an evening! N eat, h u h ? I ju s t love
th is p r o p o s a l...
D Er, so rry to in terru p t, b u t is th is going
to tak e long , P ieter? O nly I have an
ap p o in tm en t a t 1 1 and we have all read
th e su m m ary on th is com p any already.
A Ja c k , could P ie ter ju s t fin ish w h at he
was saying? W e’re lo o kin g a t $ 2 0 m illion
in seed cap ital h ere. I don ’t w an t us
ru sh in g in to an yth in g. B u t p erh ap s we
could speed th in g s up a little , P ieter. W e
are sh o rt o f tim e and by th e end o f th is
m eetin g I’d like som e kin d o f decisio n on
th is.
1.26
Extract 2
C So, as you can see, th e advance p u blicity
alone is a ttra c tin g h a lf a m illio n v isito rs
to th e tim eo fyo u rlife w eb site every day.
A Sorry, P ieter, b u t we seem to b e g e ttin g
sid e-track ed h ere. This is all very
in terestin g , b u t can we go b ack to w hat
we w ere d iscussin g earlier?
C O h, Okay. Sure.
A Perhaps we can com e back to th is later.
Tell us ab o u t th e ir lo gistics,
D Can I ju s t say so m eth in g h ere?
A Hold on a m in u te, Ja c k - you’ll g e t your
ch an ce in a m o m en t,
D I t ’s ju s t th a t I th o u g h t w e’d agreed we
w eren’t in v estin g in any m o re do t.co m s.
B No, Ja c k . T hat’s w h at you w an ted. B u t
nobody actually agreed.
D T ania, w e’ve b een th ro u gh th is,
B W ait a m in u te. W h o was it th a t said .,.?
A Okay, okay! L e t’s all ju s t calm down,
sh all we? W e’re h ere to ta lk a b o u t th is
prop osal we have on th e tab le. T ania,
w h at’s your p o sitio n on th is?
B Well, I agree w ith P ie te r th a t i t ’s a
grea t b u sin ess plan. Like you. I’m a
little co n cern ed a b o u t th e lo g istics,
th o u g h . The p ro cu rem en t an d delivery
sy stem fo r a b u sin ess like th is would be
ex trem ely com p lex. And th e insu ran ce
co sts could b e pro h ib itive.
C Now, h old on a secon d! This is all
covered in th e p rop osal, T ania. W h a t are
you saying? I th o u g h t you w ere w ith m e
o n th is one,
A P ieter, I th in k w h at T ania is try in g to say
is sh e likes th e idea b u t th e figures don ’t
q u ite add up,
B Exactly.
A Okay, m aybe we sh ould tak e a sh o rt
b re a k a t th is p o in t, grab a coffee and
m e e t b ack h ere in 1 5 m in u tes.
1.27
Extract 3
A Okay, so ju s t to su m m arize w h at
w e’ve said so far. Basically, we like th e
tim eo fy o u rlife idea. A t le a st m o st o f us
do. W e’re aware o f th e risk s involved in
a m a jo r in v e stm e n t in an e-b u sin ess, b u t
we th in k th e co n cep t h as g reat p o ten tial.
W e n eed to m ake a n o th e r ap p o in tm en t
w ith th e se peop le b ecau se we have som e
d o u b ts a b o u t th e ir lo g istics. P ieter, can I
leave th a t on e w ith you?
C Su re. I’ll g et rig h t on to it.
A W e’re also a little co n cern ed a b o u t th e
a m o u n t o f in su ran ce a b u sin ess like th is
w ould need. T ania, can you g et b ack to
m e o n th a t?
B No problem , Ross,
A G reat, I th in k th a t’s a b o u t as fa r as we
can go a t th is stage. T hanks, everybody.
E Hi, guys. S o rry I’m late. T ania told you
th e story, rig h t? Say, did I m iss an y th in g
h ere?
0 7 C O A C H IN G
2.01
S te p 1, G oal
A .,, W ell, th a t’s great, Jim , I’m pleased fo r
you. It soun d s like all th a t w ork we did
o n you r p re se n ta tio n really p aid off,
B It really did.
A I knew you could do i t .,, Okay, so w hat
would you like us to w ork o n today?
B W ell, th ere was on e th in g. Actually, i t ’s
to do w ith th e p re sen ta tio n .
A U h huh,
B I m ean , as I said, th e ta lk its e lf w ent
really well.
A R ight.
B B u t th e n afterw ard s th ere was th is
n etw o rk in g ev en t,
A O h, yes?
B Y eah, and, obviously, a lo t o f peop le
cam e up to ta lk to m e a b o u t my
p re se n ta tio n . And th is was m y chan ce
to m ake som e usefu l c o n ta cts, b u t, you
know, I didn’t feel I really m ade th e m o st
o f it.
A Okay, and w h at m akes you feel th a t?
B W ell, I didn’t seem to g et all th a t m any
a p p o in tm en ts w ith people. You know , I
cam e away w ith th e usual m o u n tain o f
b u sin ess cards, b u t n o t th a t m any firm
co m m itm en ts to m eet.
A O kay th en , le t’s look at th a t, th en , shall
we? Now, w h at precisely would you like
to g et from th is session ?
B W ell, I suppose I’d ju s t like to b e b e tte r
at goin g beyon d th e sm all talk and doing
m ore real b u sin ess a t th e se n etw orkin g
ev en ts.
A All righ t. And, on a scale from one to
te n , how im p o rta n t would you say
th is issu e is to you? L e t’s say o n e’s n o t
im p o rta n t a t all and te n ’s extrem ely
im p o rta n t.
B Um , w ell, a t le a st an eig h t. M aybe a
n in e. I m ean th e r e ’s n o p o in t atten d in g
th e se ev en ts if I don ’t b rin g h om e th e
b u sin ess.
A R igh t, so an eig h t or a n in e. This is
obviou sly a p rio rity fo r you rig h t now.
Okay, so ,..
S te p 2 , R e a lity
A ... Okay, th en . So w h at’s th e m ost
ch allen gin g th in g a b o u t th is righ t now
fo r you?
B I th in k th e m o st challen gin g th in g is ju st
m akin g sure I don ’t en d a conv ersation
w ith a p o ten tia l c o n ta c t w ith o u t tryin g
to fix a d efin ite ap p o in tm en t. Bu t, you
know, I don ’t w an t to loo k desperate or
pushy. The problem is, on ce th e ev en t’s
over, it’s m uch h ard er to follow up, you
know ?
A I u n d erstan d th a t. So, ideally, how would
you like th in g s to be?
B Ideally, I’d like to b e gettin g
ap p o in tm en ts w ith at lea st 6 0 % o f th e
peop le I’m m eeting,
A Okay, and, in com p arison w ith th e ideal
situ a tio n , w here are you at th e m o m e n t
w ith th is?
B Hm m , I’m g e ttin g m aybe 3 0% - on a
good day!
A So you’re lo o k in g to double your
effectiv en e ss?
B W ell, I kn ow th a t sound s like a lo t to
ask, b u t y es, I suppose I am,
A All rig h t. And can you give m e a few
exam ples o f w h at you’re finding m ost
challen gin g?
B W ell, I gu ess th e trick ie st th in g is ju st
m akin g th e sw itch, you know,
A The sw itch?
B Yeah, th e sw itch fro m sm all ta lk to
bu sin ess.
A O h, okay.
B I t ’s like th a t awkward m o m e n t w hen
you have to say: ‘So, perhap s we could
do som e b u sin ess to g e th e r? ’ I m ean,
how ever you say it, i t ’s difficult if th ey
don ’t m ake th e firs t m ove,
A All rig h t, le t’s exp lore som e op tion s
h ere .,,
S te p 3 , O p tio n s
A Okay, now w e’ve talk ed arou nd th e
issue a b it, Jim ; looked a t som e of
th e prob lem s you’re having. So w hat
alte rn ativ es do you th in k you have h ere?
B W ell, you know, as w e’ve b een talkin g,
it’s stru ck m e th a t m aybe I’m com ing at
th is th e w rong way.

A Uh huh. Go on.
B W ell, m aybe I’m fo cu sin g to o m uch
o n w h at I’m g e ttin g o u t o f th ese
n etw o rkin g ev en ts, in stea d o f focu sin g
o n th e peop le I’m m eeting.
A Sound s in terestin g . W ould you like to
say a b it m ore ab o u t th a t?
B W ell, I could b e sp end in g m ore tim e
th in k in g a b o u t w h at I can do fo r th em
ra th e r th a n w h at th ey can do fo r m e.
A Okay. And is th ere a n y th in g else you
could be doing?
B I th in k m aybe th e re is. I m ean th ese
ev en ts are h o p eless fo r doing b u sin ess,
anyway. T here’s n o privacy. E v ery o n e’s
m oving around, drink in on e hand , food
in th e o th er. All I w an t is th e chan ce
to ta lk to th em again a fte r th e ev en t.
So perhap s if I can do th e m a favour o f
som e kind - sen d th e m som e in te re stin g
d ata, in tro d u ce th e m to so m eo n e else
- th a t’s all th e excuse I n eed to c o n ta ct
th em again and s ta r t to build so m e kind
o f b u sin ess relatio n sh ip .
A Sounds like a n o th e r good idea. So w h a t’s
stop p ing you fro m pu rsuin g th ese
o p tio n s?
B W ell, n o th in g , I sup pose - ex cep t th a t
I’d n eed to know a lo t m ore a b o u t th e
peop le I’ll b e m eetin g , b efo re I m eet
th em .
A Good p o in t. Okay, le t ’s th in k a b o u t how
you m igh t m anag e t h a t ...
S te p 4 , Way fo rw a rd
A All righ t, Jim , I th in k w e’re m akin g som e
progress h ere. W e’ve looked a t som e
o f th e o p tio n s you have fo r im proving
your n etw o rkin g - in p articu lar, how to
tu rn th in g s arou nd an d focus on your
co n ta cts a b it m ore. So w h at are th e
step s you n eed to tak e now ?
B Um, well, I obviously n eed to b e doing
a lo t m ore research o n th e peop le I’m
m eetin g a t th ese ev en ts, so th a t I can
have som e ideas fo r ways in w hich I
m ig h t b e able to help th em w ith o u t
actually havin g to ta lk b u sin ess w ith
th em straightaw ay.
A All righ t.
B And I n eed to have a rea so n to co n ta ct
th em again a t lea st on ce, m aybe tw ice,
b efo re raisin g th e su b je c t o f b u sin ess.
And, hopefully, I w on’t n eed to raise it a t
all, b ecau se th e y ’ll do it.
A Okay. So build th e re latio n sh ip first?
B Exactly. I th in k m aybe I could also
b e n e fit fro m so m e kin d o f course on
n etw orkin g. Perhaps I could im prove m y
co m m u n icatio n skills th ere. You know,
learn so m e trick s o f th e trad e?
A That could help to o . So, w h at do you
th in k is th e firs t th in g you n eed to do?
B I’m n o t sure. I n eed to s ta r t g e ttin g my
clie n t research so rted ou t. T hat could
tak e som e tim e and I m ay n eed som e
a ssista n ce w ith it.
A Do you have so m eo n e to help you w ith
th a t?
B Yes, I th in k so. And I should also find
o u t a b o u t n etw o rk in g co u rses. M aybe
th a t’s m y firs t step. I’d like to feel I’m
ta k in g som e im m ed iate actio n .
A Okay, and w hen are you p lan n in g to take
th a t firs t step ? Shall we co m m it to a date
by w hich th a t will b e done?
B Yes, I th in k th a t’s so m eth in g I can
prob ab ly do by th e n e x t tim e we m eet.
A In tw o w eeks?
B In tw o w eeks, yeah.
A All rig h t, so sh all we discuss th a t n e x t
tim e?
B Y es, le t ’s do th a t. And in th e m ean tim e
I’ll also ta lk to m y a s sista n t a b o u t th a t
clie n t research .
A G ood id e a ...
08 PROMOTING YOUR IDEAS
2.02
1 Erm , well, to tell you th e tru th , th e re ’s
a p a rt o f m e th a t’s still scared I m ig h t
ju s t dry up com pletely. I m ean , you
know , your m in d goes com p letely b lank?
M akes m e sw eat ju s t th in k in g a b o u t it. I
have th is n ig h tm are w here th e aud ience
h as go n e deadly q u iet, and everybody
in th e ro o m ’s ju s t sta rin g at m e and I
h av en ’t g ot a clue w h at to say n ex t! I t ’s
only ever h ap p en ed to m e on ce, th a n k
go o d ness, b u t I still lose sleep over it in
case it ever h ap p en s again.
2 T echnology. W ell, if a n y th in g can go
w rong, it will. A bou t a year ago, I had
n o t on e, b u t tw o p ro jecto rs b reak down
on m e. A nd th e n m y m ike w en t fu nn y
as well. I soun d ed like D arth Vader ou t
o f S ta r Wars fo r a b o u t h a lf a n h o u r un til
th e y fixed it. C o m pletely ru in ed my
w hole p re se n ta tio n , obviously. I w ent
m ad w ith th e te ch n icia n s afterw ard s.
B u t w h at can you do?
3 I always seem to ru n o u t o f tim e and
th e n have to ru sh th e en d o f th e talk
or, even w orse, ru n over schedule.
A udiences h a te th a t. I’ve h ad peop le tell
m e I overprepare, b u t it d o esn ’t seem to
m a tte r w h at I do, I always have a t lea st
2 0 m in u tes to o m uch m aterial. So, fo r
m e, every ta lk ’s a race ag ain st th e clock!
4 W ell, som e people, older people
especially, have told m e th a t I m ove
aro u nd to o m u ch w h en I speak in public
- you know, th a t I pace up an d down
an d wave m y arm s ab o u t. They say
i t ’s d istractin g . They can ’t c o n c en tra te
on w h at I’m saying. B u t fo r m e, as an
Ita lia n , you know , i t ’s q u ite n o rm al fo r
us to ju m p arou nd , b e ra th e r dram atic.
So, now I w orry a b o u t try in g to stan d
still. And th a t ju s t m akes m e feel te n se
and u n co m fo rtab le.
5 W h a t was it F ran k lin D. R oosev elt
said? The only th in g to fe ar is fear
its e lf? T h at’s th e th in g I’m afraid of,
still, a fte r all th e se years in b u sin ess -
fear. R idiculous, isn ’t it? B u t fe a r’s an
a b so lu te k iller in a p re se n ta tio n . Your
m o u th goes dry. Your h e a rt speeds up.
Your legs tu rn to jelly. In m y exp erien ce,
th e first tw o m in u tes are usually th e
w orst. Survive th o se and you’re in w ith
a chan ce.
.
W 2.03
Extract 1
Er, well, I th in k th e m o st im p o rta n t th in g
to re m e m b e r is th a t peop le exp ect you to be
an e x p ert in you r field o f b u sin ess. I m ean a
real exp ert. T hat m ean s you should have all
th e te ch n ical in fo rm a tio n a t your fin gertips.
W h ich is n o t to say th ey w on ’t w an t to
see it all in p rin t a fte r th e p re sen ta tio n as
well. And if you don ’t cover every d etail in
you r p itch - co stin g s, cashflow p ro jectio n s,
ev ery th in g - b elieve m e, th ey w on’t be
slow to in te rru p t you to ask fo r it. People
h ere seem to like Pow erPoint, th e whole
te ch n o lo g y th in g , you know. A w ord o f
w arnin g, th o u g h: fo rg et th e jo k es. I f you try
to b e a com ed ian , th ey ju s t w on’t tak e you
seriously.
^ 2.04
Extract 2
Erm , I th in k th e m ain th in g h ere is to give
you r p re se n ta tio n th e p erso n al touch.
T h at’s w h at th ey value above ev ery th in g
else. You see, th e y ’re ju dging you as m uch
as, if n o t m ore th a n , w h at you’re actually
talk in g ab ou t. B u t, erm , I th in k to o m any
p re sen ters w orry a b o u t offend ing th e local
cu ltu re and th e n th e y end up sound ing
m uch to o con servative. D on’t. Be loud, be
lively, b e elo q u en t. They love all th a t. I t ’s
tru e th a t a tte n tio n sp an s do te n d to b e a
b it sh o rt so m etim es and you’ll g et loads o f
in te rru p tio n s, b u t ju s t go w ith th e flow. In
any case, peop le will probably w an t to ta lk to
you a b o u t ev ery th in g all over again later.
W 2.05
Extract 3
W ell, it’s alm o st a clich e, b u t th e h ard sell
does actu ally w ork h ere. And, b elieve m e,
you really can ’t b e to o a ssertiv e. In fact,
th e y w an t you to im p ress th e m and exp ect
you to w ork h ard to m a in ta in th e ir in terest.
So, b e fa st, be slick, m ake sure you have a
few gim m icks up you r sleeve. They like all
th a t stu ff. And you can say as m any n asty
th in g s a b o u t you r c o m p etito rs as you like -
esp ecially if th e y ’re funny. H u m ou r’s nearly
always appreciated , and, er, you don ’t need
to b e to o su b tle w ith th a t. They don ’t w ant
dark sarcasm , th ou g h - so n o th in g too
n egativ e. W isecracks, clever rem arks - th a t’s
w h at th ey te n d to go for.
2.06
Extract 4
Erm , m y m ain piece o f advice h ere is: don ’t
o verw h elm th e m w ith you r en th u siasm .
O f course, th e y exp ect you to b e highly
c o m p e te n t and con fid en t, b u t quietly
co n fid en t. People will probably have read
th ro u g h all th e paperw ork b eforeh an d , b u t
th e y ’ll w an t you to go th rou gh all th e m ain
p o in ts again. For th e sake o f fo rm ality and
p o liten ess, th e y ’ll w an t to h ea r it directly
fro m you. B u t don ’t g et so carried away
talk in g a b o u t you r ow n ideas th a t you
fo rg et to p o in t ou t why i t ’s th e ir com p any
you esp ecially w an t to do b u sin ess w ith.
T h at’s v ery im p o rta n t - creatin g a sen se of
h arm o n y and com p atib ility b etw een you and
th em . O h, and a lo n g -te rm c o m m itm e n t fo r
th em , by th e way, is 2 0 to 2 5 years, n o t th ree
to five, as it is in th e S ta tes.
2.07
Extract 5
I suppose having a sen se o f h u m o u r’s th e
m ain th in g. In fa c t, you ca n ’t do w ith o u t
it really. C ertainly, if you h aven ’t m ade
th em laugh even on ce w ith in th e firs t five
m in u tes, you probably w on ’t b e very popular.
People m ay even sw itch o ff alto g eth er.
Speakers are kin d o f ex p ected to b e fairly
en te rta in in g as well as know ledgeable
ab ou t th e ir p rod uct o r service. You d o n ’t
actually have to crack jo k e s th e w hole tim e,
b u t an ecd o tes and am u sin g sto rie s seem
to go dow n well. M aking jo k es a t you r own
exp en se, especially, seem s to help build
rap p ort w ith an aud ien ce th a t can o th erw ise
seem a b it cold an d unfriend ly. And don ’t
try to wow th em to o m uch w ith tech n ology.
Be too tech ie and p eo p le’ll ju s t th in k y ou’re
show ing off.
2.08
Extract 6
Being stylish seem s to b e w h at m a tters
h ere - b o th in te rm s o f your p erso nal
appearance and how you actually com e
across as a p erso n . I t ’s tru e th a t you do have
to keep up a c e rta in fo rm a lity and you r ta lk
should always b e logical and well organized,
b u t w ith in th o se c o n stra in ts you can be
as im aginative and in n o v ative as you like.
In fact, unless you are o fferin g so m eth in g
p re tty special, so m eth in g a ttra c tiv e -
so m eth in g unique th a t th ey h av en ’t seen
b efore, you’ll find th e m very d ifficu lt to
persuade. O bviously, kn ow in g ex a ctly who
you’re p re sen tin g to is always im p o rta n t, b u t
h ere it really is esse n tia l th a t you do your
hom ew ork. And, er, don ’t b e su rp rised if th e
q u estio n s you g et asked seem q u ite h o stile.
Tough q u estio n in g is all p a rt o f th e b u sin ess
cu ltu re h ere.
^ 2.09
Extract 1
A G ood m o rn in g , everybody. T hanks fo r
com ing. I’m R achel W h ite, area m anag er
fo r th e n o rth -w e st division, an d th is is
Brad Kennedy, head o f ou r physiological
research u n it.
B Hi.
A As so m e o f you already know. Brad and
I have b een w orking o n a p ro ject o f our
own fo r som e tim e now - a p ro ject,
w hich we th in k y ou’re going to b e as
excited a b o u t as we are. Brad?
B Thanks, R achel. W ell, now, as th e USA’s
lead ing chain o f h ea lth clubs w ith over
a th o u sa n d c en tre s in 3 5 sta te s, we
pride ourselves on providing th e b e s t in
fitn ess tra in in g prog ram m es. And fo r us,
staying in sh ape is n o t ju s t a b u sin ess.
I t ’s a way o f life. A ccording to th e
N ation al C en ter fo r H ealth S ta tistic s,
seven o u t o f te n o f us d o n ’t take
regular exercise. In fa c t, figures recen tly
p ublished by th e Su rgeon G en eral show
th a t 7 0 % o f A m erican s are now seriously
o verw eigh t. T h at’s an alarm in g sta tistic .
B u t, you have to ad m it, a trem en d ou s
m a rk e tin g o p p o rtu n ity ! The q u estion
is, how do we reach th a t m a rk e t w ith
so m eth in g to ta lly new ?
2.10
Extract 2
A A re ce n t re p o rt claim s th a t a m ere 1 3 %
o f A m erican s are satisfied w ith th e ir
physical appearan ce. And a stag g erin g
9 2 % are d issatisfied w ith th e ir cu rren t
level o f fitn ess. So, why a re n ’t th ey
doing so m eth in g a b o u t it? We did a
n atio n w id e survey o f peop le w ho had
previously sh ow n an in te r e st in jo in in g
a M a xO u t club an d th e n chan ged th eir
m ind s. Full d etails are in th e re p o rt in
fro n t o f you, b u t th is c h a rt h ig hligh ts
o u r m ain fin din gs. A s you can see, 1 5%
o f re sp o n d en ts said jo in in g a gym was
sim ply to o exp ensiv e. 5 3 % said th e y ’d
love to jo in if th e y w eren ’t so busy.
And, in terestin g ly , 3 2 % , alm o st a third ,
ad m itted th e y w ere ju s t to o em b arrassed
to jo in a h ea lth club in th e ir p re sen t
physical co n d itio n . They w an ted to get
fit first! So, w h at does all th is m ean ?
W e th in k th e im p licatio n s are clear.
T h ere’s obviously a huge m a rk e t fo r an
in exp en siv e alte rn a tiv e to goin g to th e
gym fo r peop le w ho are con scio u s o f
th e ir ap p earan ce b u t s h o rt o f tim e. And
th is re p rese n ts a golden op p o rtu n ity to
stre tch th e M axO u t b ran d and develop a
new p rod uct th a t p erfectly com p lem en ts
ou r e x istin g b u sin ess.
2.11
Extract 3
B And h ere it is! The M axO u t M icro-G Y M !
4 0 % o f ou r p ro je c t b u d get w en t in to
c o n stru ctin g th e p ro to ty p e, and it ’s
ta k en 1 8 m o n th s to g e t th is far w ith
th e design, b u t isn ’t th is ju s t th e coolest
th in g ? I ’ll pass it arou nd in a m om en t.
Ladies an d g e n tle m en , w h at you’re
lo o kin g at is th e w orld’s sm allest
fu ll-body w orkou t sy stem - ever. I t ’s
th e u ltim ate go anyw here exercise
m ach in e. And, we believ e, it could b e a
sig n ifican t p a rt o f th is com p any’s fu ture.
W ith its sleek , ligh tw eigh t design, th e
M icro-G Y M w eighs ju s t over a pound, or
4 5 0 gram s. D isassem bled , it fits easily
in to a co a t p o ck et. The assem bly its e lf is
ch ild ’s play. You can b e ready to exercise
in u n d er 4 5 seco n d s. Now, I know w hat
y ou’re th in kin g . Can so m eth in g so
sm all p ossibly w ork? Yes, it can. The
M icro-G Y M o ffers 3 5 d ifferen t exercises
fo r up per body, low er body and m id ­
sectio n . I t can b e ad ju sted from th e five-
kilo se ttin g fo r g e n tle exercise rig h t up
to th e 1 8 -k ilo se ttin g fo r a real w orkout.
In fa ct, it can do ju s t ab ou t an y th in g
th a t m uch b u lk ier and m ore exp ensive
eq u ip m en t can. W h en you can ’t g et to
th e gym , th e M icro-G Y M com es to you.
You can g et fit at hom e, on vacation , a t
th e office, even in-fligh t!
2.12
Extract 4
A You’ll have to excuse Brad. He g ets a
little carried away so m etim es. B u t we
do th in k th e M icro-G Y M could b e an
en o rm o u sly su ccessfu l sidelin e to our
m ain b u sin ess. Okay, to wrap th in gs
up. The M icro-G Y M h as b e e n fully
co sted - a com p lete breakdow n is
includ ed in th e rep o rt. P rodu ct te stin g
is still b ein g carried ou t, b u t we would
obviou sly n eed th e go-ahead from
you b efo re we proceed fu rth e r w ith
th a t. The M icro-G Y M would probably
b e reason ab ly priced a t arou nd $ 3 5 .
I t h as b een su g gested th a t exercise
d e m o n stra tio n s could b e recorded
on DVD and sold on lin e. B o th th ese
su g g estio n s would in cu r e x tra co sts,
b u t are c u rren tly b ein g considered. The
p ro sp ects fo r M icro-G Y M are exciting.
W h a t we h ope you’ll give us tod ay is th e
a u th o riz a tio n to m ove on to th e n e x t
stage. T hank you very m uch.
B T hank you, Rachel. Okay, w e’d like
to th row th is sessio n open now fo r
q u estio n s an d su g gestion s. Feel free to
tr y ou t th e M icro-G Y M fo r you rself. But,
sorry, you can ’t tak e it h om e. I t ’s th e
only o n e we have a t th e m om en t!
09 RELATIONSHIP-BUILDING
2.13
Extract 1
Yes, well, i t ’s easy to say don ’t judge by
appearan ces, b u t, I m ean, we all do it, don ’t
w e? You ta k e on e look a t som ebody and
you’re already w eighing th em up, deciding
h ow frien d ly th e y are, how con fid en t, how
in te re stin g ... I t ’s a u to m atic. And th en
tw o m in u tes talk in g to th em and you’ve
g o t th e m lab elled - successful, in tellig en t,
pushy, funny, b orin g, p o ten tially u seful
c o n t a c t ... or n ot.
You know , I read som ew here th a t we
actu ally evaluate peop le w ithin 1 0 seconds
o f m eetin g th em . And ap p aren tly th a t’s it!
It could th e n tak e 1 0 or 2 0 m ore m eeting s
w ith th a t p erso n to a lte r ou r first im pression
o f th em . I’m n o t so sure th a t’s tru e, b u t I
do th in k you can tell a lo t ab ou t a person
on firs t m eetin g th em . I t ’s th e little things
- a classy w atch, a sh arp su it, a n ice sm ile,
a n erv ou s gestu re, an ugly tie. B itten
fin gern ails are a n o -n o fo r m e. O r a lim p
h and shak e. The w et fish! A bsolute tu rn -off.
Actually, I th in k a good firm h and shak e is
really im p o rtan t. I’m w orking in G erm any at
th e m o m en t. You know th e G erm ans shake
h and s p ractically b efo re every m eetin g ?
Even if th e y ’ve already m e t you!
Extract 2
Actually, I th in k i t ’s la st im p ression s th a t
we so m etim es overlook. I m ean , it ’s th e
im p ression you leave peop le w ith th a t
cou n ts. I f you’re m e e tin g a lo t o f people
all a t th e sam e ev en t, i t ’s easy ju s t to d rift
arou nd from group to group and never
really m ake c o n ta ct, like som e kind o f social
butterfly.
I th in k you’ve g o t to b e good a t listen in g and
draw ing p eople o u t, in v estin g som e tim e
in th em and th e n m akin g sure you close
th e conv ersation in a p ositiv e way. The old
‘O ops, g o tta go. B een g rea t talk in g to you’
th in g is really bad. O r ‘H ere’s m y card. Give
m e a call.’ W ay to o im p erson al. You have to
b e careful how you end th e co n v ersatio n
b ecause th a t’s w h at peop le are goin g to
rem em ber. And th e r e ’s n o p o in t having th e
con v ersatio n in th e first place if you’re n o t
going to tr y a n d m ake th a t p erso n feel like
it’s b een really w orthw hile.
Extract 3
I th in k a good sen se o f h u m o u r is
essen tial. A t lea st, in B rita in and A m erica,
it is. H u m ou r’s very m uch how we build
relatio n sh ip s over h ere. O n th e o th e r hand,
have you ever done b u sin ess in Fin land ?
I have. V ery d ifferen t situ a tio n . You can
fo rg et th e hum our. They don ’t even really
like sm all ta lk all th a t m uch. They’ll lounge
around w ith you in th e sau n a, n o problem !
B u t th e y d on ’t give m uch away personally.
J u s t n o t p a rt o f th e b u sin ess cu ltu re th ere.
O f course, it m ay be th a t th e y ju s t don ’t
u n d erstan d our hum our. I m ean , h u m o u r’s
very cultural, isn ’t it? You w atch a com edy
on a foreign T V ch a n n el and i t ’s h ard to
see w h at on ea rth th e y ’re lau g hin g a t. They
probably th in k th e sam e a b o u t ou r jo k es.
B u t th e n I th in k jo k es are usually a m istake,
anyway, unless you know th e o th e r p eople
v ery well. B u t you don ’t have to tell jo k es
to b e h um orou s. B e tte r ju s t to m ake a few
am u sin g o b serv atio n s. The w o rst th in g is
tellin g a long com p licated jo k e and nobody
laughs. Agony! D on’t do it!
Extract 4
O f course, now th a t we live in th e so -called
‘n etw o rk eco n o m y ’, ev ery o ne m akes a big
deal ab o u t n etw orkin g. B u t it depends who
you’re n etw o rkin g w ith. Take th e R ussians.
I m ean, th e y ’ll have a serio u s co n v ersatio n
w ith you on any su b je c t you care to nam e,
b u t sm all ta lk is n o t really th e ir th in g. Sam e
w ith th e G erm ans, th e Sw iss, th e Sw edes -
generally v ery good English, h appy to ta lk
abo u t w ork, b u t n o t really keen o n th e social
ch it-ch a t.
B u t go o u t w ith a group o f R ussian s a fte r
w ork and th e y really le t th e ir h a ir down!
In th a t sen se th e y ’re a b it like th e C h inese.
They like a big sit-dow n m eal w ith p len ty to
eat. W h a t th e y don ’t like is th e m ing lin g, th e
w andering arou nd c h a ttin g to people.
Basically, it’s th e B ritish , th e F ren ch , th e
L atin s and th e A m erican s w ho are in to th e
schm oozin g th in g. A m erican s, especially,
have m ade an a r t o f it. I m ean , th e y ’re
always easy to ta lk to . It d o esn ’t g e t v ery
deep usually, b u t th e y ’ll co m e rig h t up to you
and s ta r t a co n v ersatio n and, actually, I quite
like th a t. W orking th e room , as th e y call it,
and th a t’s w h at it is fo r th e m - work.
^ 2.14
Conversation 1
A A lessandro!
B Hello, Ja n in e ! How a re you? I didn’t
exp ect to see you here!
A No, I d o n ’t n o rm ally com e to th ese
th in g s. B u t a colleague cou ld n ’t m ake it,
so I step p ed in a t th e la s t m inu te.
B How lo ng h as it b een ?
A O h, ages. A year, a t lea st. You’re lookin g
very well.
B J u s t g o t b ack fro m holiday. St. Lucia.
A Lucky you! Look, A lessandro, I was ju s t
on m y way to an ap p o in tm en t.
B O h, okay. No problem . D on ’t le t m e keep
you. Perhaps I’ll catch you later.
A I h ope so. As a m a tte r o f fa c t, I should be
free in a b o u t an h o u r o r so. W ill you still
b e aro u nd th en ?
B O h, yes. I t ’s ju s t m e on th e sta n d th is
year, I’m afraid.
A O h, well, in th a t case, why don ’t I m eet
you b ack h ere w hen I ’m don e and
p erh ap s we can go o u t fo r a d rin k - o r
grab a b ite to e a t if you’re free. I’ve lots
o f new s to tell you. And I w an t to find
o u t all a b o u t y ou r holiday!
B G reat. No, I’ve n o p lan s fo r th is evening.
See you later, th en .
^ 2.15
Conversation 2
A M s M endoza?
B Yes.
A How do you do? I don ’t th in k w e’ve b een
introd uced. I’m M a rtin , M a rtin Shaw,
th e new a ssista n t sales m an ag er fo r our
N o rth A m erican division. F irs t w eek
h ere, as a m a tte r o f fact.
B O h, p leased to m e e t you. W elcom e
to M exico!
A Thanks!
B So you’re w orking w ith R ichard, no?
A T h at’s righ t.
B I h ead up th e b io te c h team a t Z antis
h ere in T am pico. P erhaps R ich ard h as
m en tio n ed m e.
A Yes, o f course. He to ld m e all a b o u t you r
set-u p h ere. Actually, R ich ard ’s ju s t b een
d etain ed fo r a m o m e n t. B u t I’m sure
h e ’ll b e jo in in g us sh ortly. Can I g e t you
a n y th in g to d rin k , M s M endoza?
B No, I’m fine, th an k s. And please, call
m e V icto ria.
A R igh t, V icto ria , w ell, you d on ’t m ind
if I ...?
B No, n o , o f cou rse n o t! W h a t are you
goin g to try ?
A I’m n o t sure. Could you recom m en d
so m eth in g ty pically M exican ?
^ 2.16
Conversation 3
A G ood m orn in g . M s V atland?
B T h at’s righ t.
A W e h aven ’t m e t. I’m D aniel Crane. Ana
L in d strom gave m e you r n am e. Sh e
m ig h t have m en tio n ed m e?
B Ah, M r Crane! Y es, A na said you ’d be
stop p in g by. Can I o ffer you an y th in g ? A
coffee, p erh ap s?
A T hank you, th a t would b e very nice.
B O k a y ... There you go. So h ow are you
en jo y in g th e Fair?
A W ell, th is is all new to m e, b u t I’m
h op in g to m ake som e usefu l co n tacts.
I t ’s certain ly b een an ey e-op en er so far.
I’d n o idea th e in d u stry w as so developed
here.
B O h, yes. T here’s a lo t o f in te re st righ t
now. 1 u n d erstan d from Ana th a t you’re
lookin g fo r agen ts in Scandinavia, is th a t
righ t?
A Yes, th a t’s righ t. W e’re also looking
for a good b u sin ess law yer w ith local
know ledge to w ork w ith over here.
I don ’t know if you h appen to know of
anybody?
B W ell, I can th in k o f several people who
m ig h t b e able to help you th ere. And, as
far as ag en ts are con cern ed , I can
c ertain ly put you in tou ch w ith som e
v ery p ro fessio n al operation s.
A T hat would really b e v ery helpful,
M s V atland.
B Please. Lena.
A Lena. A na said you w ere th e p erso n to
talk to and I can see th a t she was righ t.
iT 2.17
Extract 1
A Stella! M ax! You’re ju s t in tim e to jo in us
fo r a little p re-m atch g et tog eth er.
B Hi, Craig. Hi, K aren. M m m ... is th a t
coffee I can sm ell?
A Su re is. They use A rabica b ean s h ere -
i t’s ju s t fa n ta stic! W ould you like a cup?
It really h its th e spot.
C Oh go o n th en , I could do w ith w arm ing
up a b it.
A There you go. Stella?
B Yes, please. It is a little chilly th is
m orn ing . B eau tifu l day, though.
A Isn ’t it? W ell, now, we should probably
b e th in k in g o f m akin g a m ove quite
soon . U n fortu n ately , we can ’t co u n t on
th e w eath er staying fin e a t th is tim e
o f year. M ax, yo u ’re p a rtn erin g Karen.
And S tella, you ’re stu ck w ith m e. I’m
afraid. Now, I’ve arranged for us to have
lu n ch a t th e clubh ou se - th e y ’ve g o t an
e xcellen t re sta u ra n t th ere. So I th o u g h t
w e’d s ta r t a t th e te n th and ju s t play th e
la st n in e h o les, if th a t’s okay w ith you.
T hat way we should b e ab le to g et round
th e cou rse in a couple o f h ours or so.
B Sou nd s p erfect.
A And, M ax, I th in k you’ll find m y g am e’s
im proved a little sin ce we la st played.
C Splendid! I always like a challenge, Craig.
You kn ow t h a t ...
^ 2.18
Extract 2
A O h, com e on! I d o n ’t know w h at’s th e
m a tte r w ith m y gam e today. I ju s t can ’t
seem to g et th e b all straig h t. Sorry,
S tella. You m u st b e w ish in g you’d
te am e d up w ith M ax.
B W ell, you have b een in tw o san d -trap s
an d a lake, Craig! And th is is only our
th ird hole!
A I know, I know. Your sh o t, M ax ...
B Craig, I’ve b een m ean in g to have a word
w ith you a b o u t th is disposal op eration
o f ours.
A Ah, I was w on derin g w h en you’d get
rou nd to m en tio n in g th a t. Look, S tella,
you know m y p o sitio n on t h a t ...
B Now, Craig, liste n to m e. You know I
w an t th a t oil p la tfo rm d isposed o f a t
sea. I t ’s by fa r th e m o st co st-effectiv e
m eth o d . O h, sorry. M ax. I’m n o t try in g
to p u t you o ff you r g am e. O h, g rea t sh ot!
Wow, th a t’s a lm o st all th e way to th e
flag! Craig, you didn’t tell m e M ax was
such a fa n ta stic player.
A No, I, er, lo o k, S tella, th is oil p la tfo rm
- d isposin g o f it a t sea. D o n ’t you th in k
it ’s a b it risky? I know i t ’s tech n ically
p ossible. B u t th ere m u st b e 1 3 0
to n n es o f highly to x ic and rad ioactive
su b sta n ces on th a t platfo rm !
B Craig, you’re s ta rtin g to sou n d like
a G reen peace a ctiv ist, fo r g o o d n e ss’
sake! ... By th e way, I u n d ersta n d you’ve
applied fo r th e top jo b h ere in Scotlan d.
A Y e a h ,so ?
B S o ’s M ax.
A W h at?
B Yeah. And th e way i t ’s lo o kin g h e m ay
well g et it. Seem s th e b o ard like h is
co m p etitiv e sp irit.
A I see.
B O f course, I could probably p u t in a word
fo r you. L e t’s ta lk later. For th e tim e
b ein g, I’d like you to c o n c en tra te o n your
gam e! I’m n o t a good loser, Craig!
2.19
Extract 1
A M agda!
B Hello, A nne. B rrr! I t ’s a b it n a sty o u t
th ere to n ig h t.
A H orrible, isn ’t it? Com e on in. L e t m e
tak e you r co at. You m anaged to fin d us
okay, th en ?
B W ell, I g o t a b it lo st com ing o ff th e rin g
road, as usual. So rry I’m a b it late.
A O h, don ’t worry. M a rtin ’s still slaving
away in th e k itch en . Actually, h e h ad a
b it o f a crisis w ith th e sta rte r ju s t h a lf
an h o u r ago. You should have h eard
th e language! Probably ju s t as w ell you
w eren’t here.
B O h, righ t. So M a rtin ’s cooking , is h e?
A M m . H e’s q u ite an ex p ert in th e k itch en
- fo rtu n a te ly fo r m e. I can ’t b o il an egg
m yself!
B O h, I b ro u g h t you th is.
A O h, th a n k s, you sh o u ld n ’t have. I’ll pu t
it in th e fridge. Com e on th rou gh .
^ 2.20
Extract 2
B o h , w h at a fabu lou s a p a rtm en t!
A Thanks. W e like it.
B Have you b een h ere long?
A Um ... ab o u t tw o years now. The w hole
place was an ab so lu te w reck w h en we
m oved in. W e had to do ju s t a b o u t
ev ery th in g to it. Now, how ab o u t
so m eth in g to drink?
B W h atev er you’re having is fine.
A Okay. I’ll be rig h t back. M ake yo u rself
at hom e.
C Hi, M agda. I’m M artin . I don ’t th in k
we’ve m et.
B Hello, M a rtin . P leased to m e e t you.
You’re th e ch ef, I u n d erstan d .
C O h, yes. D oing a good jo b o f s e ttin g fire
to th e k itch e n at th e m o m e n t. I had to
rescu e th e sta rte r.
B So I heard.
A Ah, so you tw o have m e t. Good. There
we are, M agda. L e t m e know if you w an t
a refill.
B Thanks.
A Are we n early ready, th en , darling?
C Er, yes. I’m ju s t w aitin g fo r th e sauce. In
fa c t, I’d b e tte r go and ch eck o n it. I don ’t
tr u s t th a t new cooker.
A O h, okay.
^ 2.21
Extract 3
C D in n e r’s ready w hen you are.
C R igh t, M agda, s it w h erever you like.
Now, w e’re havin g duck in a b e rry sauce.
B M m , sm ells delicious!
C Now, th e r e ’s m ore duck if you w an t it.
And help y o u rself to vegetab les.
B M m , th is is ab solu tely delicious.
A I t ’s o n e o f M a rtin ’s sp ecialities.
B M m , i t ’s really good. The duck’s all crispy
on th e o u tsid e and ju icy on th e inside.
C I’m glad you like it.
B You m u st le t m e have th e recipe.
C O h, i t ’s v ery sim ple, really. You ju s t n eed
th e rig h t in g red ien ts.
A M agda, I’ve b e e n m ean in g to ta lk to you
a b o u t th is bu sin ess in Poland.
B O h, yes, th a t.
A D o you kn ow w h at’s goin g on th ere?
Becau se no on e seem s to b e able to tell
m e an yth in g.
C R igh t, well, excuse m e a m o m e n t. I f you
tw o are goin g to talk b u sin ess. I’ll go and
see to th e d essert.
B W ell, I o u g h t to be m akin g a m ove soon .
Early s ta r t tom orrow .
C O h, you don ’t have to ru sh o ff ju s t yet,
do you? How a b o u t som e m ore coffee?
B Okay, ju s t h a lf a cup. And th e n I really
m u st b e going.
B W ell, th a n k you b o th fo r a lovely
evening. M artin , you’re a b rillia n t cook.
C O h, I d o n ’t know a b o u t th a t.
B N ext tim e you m u st com e to m y place,
a lth ou g h I can ’t p rom ise you such a
fabu lou s m eal.
A Bye, M agda. Take care now. See
you tom orrow .
10 MAKING DECISIONS
^ 2.22
1 D o n ’t even th in k a b o u t ju m p in g from
a m ovin g vehicle. A t 7 0 m iles p er h o u r
th e chan ces o f survivin g are rem o te.
And crash in g in to th e m o u n tain sid e at
th is speed will alm o st certain ly send
you stra ig h t th rou gh th e w indshield.
So, even th ou g h you m ay b e scared o f
going over th e cliff, your b e s t ch an ce o f
slow ing th e car down is to repeatedly
ru n it a g ain st th e crash b a rrie rs. A fter
all, th a t’s w h at th e y ’re th ere for.
^ 2.23
2 R esist th e te m p ta tio n to run. You
c a n n o t o u tru n or outclim b a m ountain
lion. And p u t any ideas o f playing dead
ou t o f you r m ind. W h ile it m ay work
w ith grizzly b ears, to a m o u n tain lion
you’ll ju s t look like a free lun ch. Your
b e s t b e t is to sh o u t and flap your coat at
th e an im al to m ake yo u rself lo ok bigger
and fiercer th a n you really are. M ountain
lio n s are n o t proud. If you lo o k like m ore
tro u b le th a n you’re w orth , th e r e ’s a SO­
SO ch an ce th e y ’ll back away.
^ 2.24
3 W h en lan d in g a lig h t aircraft, m ake sure
th a t th e n ose o f th e p lan e is six inches
below th e h o rizon . As you approach th e
runw ay th e p lan e should be flying at
an a ltitu d e o f a b o u t 1 0 0 fe et. I f yo u ’re
h ig her, you’ll o v e rsh o o t th e runw ay
com pletely. The op tim u m speed on
land ing is ab ou t 6 0 m iles per hour. Go
fa ste r and you m ay tak e o ff again. Go
slow er and y ou’ll drop like a ston e. Upon
land ing, it ’s a good idea to brake as soon
as you’ve gain ed control o f th e steering.
By reducing y ou r groundspeed by 5 0%
you trip le yo u r chan ces of survival.
r 2.25
4 W ater tra n s fe rs h e a t away from the
body 2 5 tim es fa s te r th a n air. So trying
to keep w arm is m ore or less futile. And
w hile you’re stay in g calm and conserving
energy, th e ch an ces are you’re dying. You
have to g et o u t. T u rn in th e direction
you fell and use you r elbow s to lift
y o u rself on to th e edge o f th e ice. Reach
forw ard as far as p ossib le and kick your
fe e t as if you w ere sw im m ing. O nce you
are b ack on th e ice, craw l to shore.
Do n o t in any circu m stan ces try to
stan d up.
^ 2.26
5 The c u rren t w orld record fo r th e long
ju m p is ju s t u n d er n in e m etres, b u t m ost
p eop le can b arely m anage th re e or four.
The chan ces are you can ’t eith er. To clear
fo u r and a h a lf m etres in con d ition s th at
are fa r from ideal you’d n eed a 2 0 to 3 0
m etre ru n-u p , p e rfe c t tim in g and a great
deal o f luck. Frankly, your chan ces are
slim . The tru ck is a m uch b e tte r idea and
it is q u ite possib le to fall fro m th e sixth
flo o r and live. B u t d o n ’t ju m p o u t from
th e building unless th ere are balconies
in th e way. You’ll b e carried forw ard
and m iss th e tru ck com pletely. Drop
v ertically and tak e care to land on your
b ack to avoid b reakin g it.
^ 2.27
6 The ta x i could tak e a n y th in g fro m a
few m in u tes to ju s t a few seconds to
sin k. B u t th e r e ’s n o t m uch p o in t tryin g
to force th e door open becau se th e
w ater pressu re will m ake th is alm ost
im possible. I f th e car does sin k th e r e ’ll
b e little or n o air le ft anyway, so forget
abo u t trap p in g air insid e. By far th e
 m o st sen sib le th in g to do is to open th e
window and actually let m ore w ater in.
Even if you ca n ’t escape th ro u gh th e
window, on ce th e w ater pressu re insid e
and outsid e th e car are equalized, th e r e ’s
a fa ir chan ce you’ll b e able to open th e
door and save yo u rself - and m aybe th e
driver too!
2.28
7 I t ’s very unusual fo r b o th p arach u tes to
fail, so by stru g glin g w ith th e em ergen cy
ch u te th e r e ’s an outsid e chan ce you’ll
g et it to w ork. B u t don ’t b e t on it. You
m ay ju s t b e w asting p reciou s tim e.
If you can sh are o n e o f your frie n d s’
p arach utes you’re in w ith a ch an ce, b u t
ju s t grabbin g o n to th e n ea re st p erso n
is n o t a sm a rt m ove. The G -force w hen
th e p arach u te opens will th ro w you
ap art. A t 1 4 ,0 0 0 fe e t and falling a t your
te rm in a l v elo city o f 1 2 0 m iles p er h o u r
you’ve g o t a b o u t 7 5 secon ds b efo re your
ap p o in tm en t w ith M o th e r E a rth . So
firm ly a tta ch y o u rself to th e c h e st strap s
o f a n o th e r p a ra ch u tist. You d o n ’t sta n d
a chan ce unless you do.
2.29
8 You are 3 0 tim es m ore likely to b e stru ck
by lig h tn in g th a n to b e a tta ck ed by a
sh ark, b u t th is is little c o m fo rt in your
p re sen t p o sitio n . Sp lash in g aro u nd and
m aking a n o ise will sim ply give th e sh ark
th e idea you’re in d istress and easy m eat.
I t ’s a co m m o n m ista k e to th in k th e
sh ark ’s n o se is th e b e s t area to ta rg et.
Punch it th e re and you are liab le to lose
a h an d o r arm -- d epending on th e size o f
th e sh ark. You’d do m uch b e tte r to strik e
a t its eyes o r gills sin ce th e s e are
a sh a rk ’s m o st vu lnerable p o in ts.
<?
2.30
Meeting 1
A R ight, as you know, our la s t o ffer to th e
u n ion was a 3% pay rise and a tw o -h o u r
red u ctio n in th e w orking w eek to be
gradually p h ased in over th e n e x t 1 8
m o n th s. The ball is now firm ly in th e ir
co u rt. R agnar, do you have any idea
w hich way th e y ’ll v ote?
B W ord is th e y ’ll tu rn it down. In fa ct,
th ey m ig h t even b e co n sid erin g tak in g
in d u strial actio n .
A A strik e?
B I don’t know, Dan. I t ’s a possibility.
A W ith th e c u rren t backlog o f o rd ers a
strik e ’s th e la st th in g we need!
C Now, le t’s n o t ju m p to conclu sion s.
They h aven ’t an n o u n ced th e re su lt o f
th e vo te yet.
B M y sources are usually accu rate. Per.
A Look, tim e is sh o rt. I f th e v o te goes
a gain st us, I w an t us to b e able to com e
stra ig h t b ack w ith an im proved offer.
So le t’s p u t ou r h eads to g e th e r an d see
w hat we can com e up w ith.
2.31
Meeting 2
A Okay, w e’ve w eighed up th e various
pros an d con s. Now i t ’s tim e to reach
a decision and stick to it. O u r la te st
in fo rm a tio n is th a t th e p olitical
situ a tio n in Som alia is w orsening. In
fa c t, it m ay o n ly b e a m a tte r o f days
b efo re th e co u n try is plunged in to civil
war. The prop osal is th a t we should pull
ou r peop le ou t o f th ere im m ediately.
B Now, w ait a m in u te, R ichard. 1 don ’t
w an t us ru sh in g in to an yth in g. This
w hole issu e requ ires long and careful
co n sid eration . This is ou r b ig g est
p ro d u ction p la n t in N orth A frica and
w e’re talk in g a b o u t closin g it dow n h ere.
A I’m well aware o f th a t, H ans. B u t I take
it w e’re all in ag reem en t th a t ou r first
p rio rity is to safeguard th e
w ell-being o f ou r p erson n el.
B O f course.
A W ell, th en , I don ’t see we have any
o p tio n b u t to give th is prop osal our full
backing.
C A ren ’t we overlookin g so m eth in g h ere?
I m ean it ’s all v ery w ell talk in g ab ou t
flying ou r m an ag em en t team h om e and
closin g th e p lan t, b u t w h at a b o u t our
fa c to ry w orkers? T hey’ll all b e o u t o f
a jo b .
A I’m afraid our re sp o n sib ility to local
w orkers is d ifferen t, A ndrea. W h en it
com es to th e cru n ch , we have to look
a fte r ou r E u ropean s ta ff f i r s t ...
,57 2.32
Meeting 3
A Okay, you’ve all see n th e resu lts o f th e
road te sts. It loo k s like th e tw o-litre
m od el h as som e kin d o f a steerin g
prob lem and we m ay have to au th orize
a to ta l p rod u ct recall w hile we cond u ct
fu rth e r te sts.
B Isn ’t th a t a b it d rastic, Sim o n ? I m ean ,
it ’s only a slig h t ste e rin g p roblem , isn ’t
it? And it d oesn ’t seem to b e affectin g
th e sm aller-en g in ed m odels.
A W ell, th a t’s w h at w e’re h ere to discuss,
M a tt. W ith a sa fe ty issu e like th is I don ’t
th in k we should tak e any chan ces,
b u t I’d like your in p u t on th is b efo re
c o m m ittin g us to an y d e fin ite cou rse o f
a ctio n . Laura?
C Hm , I’m in tw o m ind s a b o u t it. I m ean,
I agree w ith you th a t th e safe ty o f our
cu sto m e rs m u st com e first. B u t if we
ta k e th e w hole series o ff th e m ark e t, I
dread to th in k w h at th e n ew sp apers will
do w ith th e story. A t th is stage I th in k
we should keep o u r o p tio n s open . And
th e se te s t re su lts a re n ’t conclusive, are
th ey ?
A W ell, n o, b u t I don ’t th in k we can ju s t
sit o n th e fen ce h ere. In th e lon g ru n,
failin g to a c t quickly could do us a lo t o f
harm .
B So w h at do you sug gest?
A W ell, in th e ab sen ce o f m ore reliable
data, I th in k I’m going to have to go w ith
m y g u t in s tin c t on th is one. I’m ju s t n o t
prepared to p u t ou r cu sto m e rs’ lives at
risk ...
2.33
Step 1
The m igh ty C oca-Cola h as b een th e w orld’s
n u m b er on e b ran d fo r so long, it ’s hard
to im agine an y th in g th re a ten in g its
p o sitio n o f global dom in ance. O ne o f th e
co m p any’s ow n pu blicity b roch u res proudly
declares: ‘A b illio n h ou rs ago h um an life
appeared on E arth ; a b illio n m in u tes ago th e
th re e g reat m o n o th e istic religion s em erged;
a biUion secon ds ago th e B eatles p erfo rm ed
on th e Ed Sullivan Show - a billion servings
o f C oca-Cola ago was yesterd ay m orn in g .’
Q u ite a claim . And on e th a t m akes a loss o f
co n su m er confid en ce un th in kab le.
B u t tak e y o u rself b ack to M ay 1 9 9 9 . The
u n th in k ab le h as ju s t h appened . Hundreds
o f peop le in Belgium and France have
b ecom e ill a fte r d rink in g w h at th e y claim is
co n tam in ate d Coke. And w h en th e cause o f
th e problem c a n n o t quickly b e estab lish ed ,
th e fam ou s so ft drink is officially b an n ed
in b o th co u n trie s as well as Luxem bourg
an d th e N eth erlan d s. The price you pay fo r
b ein g th e b ran d lead er is th a t cu stom ers
exp ect quality, as Coca-C ola’s CEO is th e
first to ad m it. ‘For 1 1 3 years,’ h e says, ‘our
su ccess h as b een b ased on th e tr u s t th a t
con su m ers have in th a t quality.’ Now th a t
tr u s t is sh aken .
In fa c t, th e fo u r co u n trie s b an n in g Coke
only re p rese n t 1% o f th e com p any’s $ 1 8 .8
billio n in an n u al sales. B u t w ithin a w eek
co n sig n m en ts ex p orted fro m Belgium to
o th e r co u n trie s as far ap art as G erm any
and th e Ivory C oast have also b een seized
b y officials. Though n o d efin ite p ro o f o f
c o n ta m in a tio n h as y et b een found, th e panic
is s ta rtin g to spread ...
^ 2.34
Step 2
1 9 9 9 is n o t a good y ear fo r so ft drinks
com p anies. Though th e Dow is up 2 5 % , b o th
Coke and Pepsi, n o rm ally w ell ahead o f th e
m ark et, are dow n by arou nd 13% . Coca-Cola
is n o t going to ru sh in to a h ighly expensive
p rod uct recall.
In an y case, early ex am in atio n s o f th e
Belgian b o ttlin g p lan ts find n o th in g unusual
and an official to x ic o lo g ist’s re p o rt concludes
th a t th e 2 0 0 cases o f sick n ess are probably
p sy ch oso m atic.
B u t w hile C oca-Cola is delib eratin g over
w h at actio n to tak e, rivals Pepsi and V irgin
Cola are quick to fill th e gaps le ft o n th e
su p erm ark et shelves. And C oke’s refusal
to re a ct u n til it h as cond ucted a th orou gh
in v estig atio n is s ta rtin g to look like a denial
o f re sp o n sib ility ,..

2.35
Step 5
This is how C oca-Cola actually hand led th e
problem .
Initially, full-page a d v ertisem en ts were
tak en o u t in E u ropean n ew sp apers to
reassu re th e public th a t th e q u ality o f Coke
was ‘irrep ro ach ab le’. This was n o t to ta lly
successful as th e public a t th a t tim e could
still rem em b er a sim ilar co n ta m in a tio n
scare a t P errier som e years b efo re and all th e
talk was o f p esticid es on fru it and m ad cow
disease.
Bu t, fo rtu n ately , th e source o f th e Coke
c o n ta m in a tio n was ev en tually traced to
a stran g e fu ngicide on cans shipped from
D un kirk and p o o r carb o n dioxide at
Coca-C ola’s b o ttlin g p la n t in A ntw erp, w hich
m akes th e Coke ta s te a Httle d iffere n t b u t
does n o real h arm . It w asn’t th e Coke its e lf
b u t th e cans th a t w ere co n ta m in a ted .
Coke to o k th e n ecessa ry m easu res and, at
en orm o u s co st to th e com pany, all 1 7 m illion
cases o f Coke w ere w ithdraw n. Finally, in
a sp ectacu lar public re la tio n s coup, and as
an apology to th e Belgians w ho had b een
ill, C oca-Cola offered a free o n e-a n d -a -h a lf
litre b o ttle o f Coke to each an d every one
o f Belgium ’s te n m illion citiz en s! Coke was
im m ed iately back in th e sto res.
11 STRESS
2.36
Now, th is n e x t slide show s how p erfo rm a n ce
v aries w ith th e level o f s tre ss. A t very
low levels, as show n by th e yellow area,
p erfo rm an ce, h ea lth and m o tiv a tio n are low.
This sta te is referred to as U n d er-stressed ;
it m ay b e exp erien ced by peop le w ho are
unem ployed, o r w ho have very b o rin g jo b s
w ith to o little to do.
As th e level o f s tre s s in crea ses, in th e green
area, p erfo rm a n ce im proves and people
feel m ore m o tivated . This s ta te is know n
as E u stress, th a t’s E -U -S -T -R -E -S -S , or
‘good s tre s s ’. M any peop le n eed a m o d erate
am o u n t o f stim u la tio n and p ressu re in order
to p erfo rm a t th e ir b est.
However, if th e level o f stress in creases
beyon d a certa in p o in t it b eco m es
destru ctiv e and reduces levels o f
p erfo rm an ce, m o tiv a tio n and h ea lth . This
red zone is called D istress. The first step in
m anag ing b o th you r ow n and o th e r p eo p le’s
stress is learn in g to reco g nize th e sym ptom s
o f D istress.
2.37
A I’m sorry, M ark, you m u st th in k I’m so
u n profession al!
B N ot a t all. You’re fru stra te d becau se th e
cu sto m e r keeps chan gin g h is m ind. I t ’s
p erfectly n orm al, and i t ’s b e tte r to g et it
o ff your chest.
A Thanks.
C I ju s t n ever seem to fin ish m y ‘to do’ list.
T here ju s t a re n ’t en ough h ou rs in
th e day.
D You o bviou sly n eed to p rio ritize. H R run
a really good tim e-m a n a g e m e n t course.
I f I w ere you, I’d re g iste r stra ig h t away.
In fa c t I’m su rp rised you h av en ’t already
don e it!
C O h, yeah. Erm , th a n k s, Jacky .
3
E Look, Corey, even if I w rite th e whole
th in g again. I’m sure it still w on ’t be
good en ough fo r you!
F I u n d e rstan d how you feel. W ould it help
if M a rth a to o k over som e o f you r regular
w ork fo r a couple o f w eeks? T hat would
give you m o re tim e, an d th e n m aybe you
could w ork from h om e som e days?
E O h, yes, th a t would be great. Erm , th an ks.
4
G B re tt, I ju s t can ’t go on like th is!
H W h a t’s th e m a tter?
G I don ’t ... I don ’t w an t to ta lk a b o u t it.
H W as it P ete Je n n in g s ? Has h e u p set you
again?
G Mm.
H W as it so m eth in g he said? D ’you w an t
m e to ta lk to h im ?
G No!! ... erm , n o ... th an k s.
5
I L isten , J o , how can you ask m e to
tra n s fe r to London w hen you kn ow my
p a rtn e r’s ju s t fou nd a good jo b h ere?
J W ell i t ’s h ardly m y fau lt! I don ’t decide
com p any policy; I’m ju s t try in g to do my
jo b .
I O h, righ t! W ell th an ks!
6 it sen d s is: m y jo b is so undem anding and
K T h at’s th e th ird tim e th is w eek I’ve le ft
a fte r 8 pm . I’m b u rn in g o u t h ere. Perry!
L I t ’s ju s t th e tim e o f year. I t ’s always like
th is in N ovem ber. You’ll g e t used to it.
Anyway, i t ’s n o t as bad as Jan u ary .
K O h g rea t - th an k s!
7
M W h a t’s th e m a tter?
N I’ve ju s t h ad m y h ead b itte n o ff by
P rod u ction. I ordered th e w rong
c o m p o n en ts again. I can ’t seem to go
a w eek w ith o u t p u ttin g m y fo o t in it. I
m u st b e stupid or som eth in g!
M O h, com e on! I t could h appen to anyone.
You’re ju s t goin g th rou gh a difficult
p eriod. It was an h o n e st m istak e, th e r e ’s
n o n eed to feel gu ilty a b o u t it.
N Yeah, I suppose so. T hanks, Chris.
8 B u t is it really tru e th a t bad em ail is good?
0 I’m n ever going to m e e t th e new sales
o b jectiv e. I t ’s ju s t n o t fair!
P th a t bad spellin g, a t lea st, is n o t m uch o f
N ot fair?
0 Yeah, ju s t b ecau se M arcus is always
over ta rg et, you’ve raised ev erybody’s
o b jectiv es! I m ean com e on , G eorgie,
w e’re n o t all sales su p erstars like he is!
P H m m . W h a t would h ap p en if you did n’t
m eet you r targ et?
0 W ell I w ouldn’t g et m y b on u s fo r a sta rt!
P Uh huh. How b ig a problem would
th a t be?
0 W e ll... n o t really th a t disastrou s
actually, sin ce th e b a sic’s gone up. I t ’s
ju s t th e p rinciple, isn ’t it? B u t yeah, if
you look at it like th a t, I suppose i t ’s n o t
th e end o f th e world. Thanks.
12 EMAILING
^ 2.38
W elcom e to th e In Company B u siness
P od cast C areer Sp ot.
Fo rg et a b o u t spellin g, sw itch o ff your
g ram m ar check , and you ju s t m ig h t em ail
you r way to th e top o f th e corp orate ladder.
A ccording to research by P ro fesso r David
O w ens o f V an d erbilt U niversity in to w hat
you r em ail says a b o u t you r career p rospects,
sloppy, h astily w ritte n em ails are a clear sign
o f lead ersh ip p o ten tia l. 'H ig h -statu s people
in a com p an y’ h e says, ‘sen d sh o rt m essages
and th ey have th e w orst g ram m ar and
sp ellin g in th e firm . This isn ’t becau se th ey
are th e le a st educated. They ju s t don ’t have
tim e to w aste on th e sm all stu ff.’
O w en s’s stu d y show s th a t h igh-fliers
in v est m ore tim e in ‘face-m ail’, face-to -face
m eetin g s w ith th o se th ey need to liaise w ith
o r persuade. This leaves th em ju s t a few b rie f
m o m e n ts during th e day to dash o ff em ails
con firm in g w h at was decided, m aking
la st-m in u te changes and tying up any loose
ends. Freq u en tly th e em ails o f n atural-born
lead ers are no m ore th a n a phrase: ‘Fine
b y m e ’, ‘L e t’s do i t!’, ‘Okay, see you at th e
m e e tin g ’.
The n eatly paragraphed 300-w o rd email
w ith a 5M b a tta c h m e n t, on th e oth er hand,
is strictly fo r corp orate lo sers. The message
lacking in challen ge or responsibility, 1 have
h ou rs to c ra ft th is em ail in to a work o f art.
‘Reply to a ir usually ind icates a tim e-waster,
w h ilst anyone who uses th e ‘blank carbon
copy’ to secre tly involve th e b o ss in emails to
colleagues, is a p oor player o f office politics
and d efin itely n o t to b e tru sted .
O w en s’s research also reveals th a t anyone
w ho h as a h a b it o f forw ard ing jo k es or
sen d in g a n im ated electro n ic greetin gs cards
is d estin ed n ever to reach th e level o f senior
m an ag em en t. An overuse o f sm ileys and
o th e r m ore elab orate em o tico n s fu rth er
u n d erm in es p ro fessio n alism and guarantees
you w on’t b e tak en seriously. According to
O w ens, office jo k e rs play an im p o rta n t social
role - th ey b o o st m orale and are unlikely
to b e fired, b u t th ey d o n ’t very o fte n get
prom oted.
A stu d y a ttrib u te d to C am bridge U niversity
and widely circu lated on th e In te rn e t, claim s
a b a rrie r to com m u n icatio n . And surveys
sug gest th a t w hen n ativ e English speakers
receive em ails from n o n -n ativ es, th e la st
th in g th e y care a b o u t is th e gram m ar. So, if
you w an t to stay on th e execu tive fast-track ,
don ’t w aste you r tim e on em ail - you’re
sup posed to b e m uch to o busy!

2.39
A This w eek o n C yb erR ep o rt T erry
L a n ca ster tak es a lo o k a t so m e o f th e
biggest em ail blunders ever m ade.
B In A pril 2 0 0 0 m illions o f com p u ter users
received an unexp ected em ail. The su b ject
line was intriguing. It said ‘I love you.’
Those w hose curiosity g o t th e b e tte r o f
th em opened th e m essage and unleashed
w hat later b ecam e know n as th e Love Bug
- a virus so leth al it has so fa r infected
4 5 m illion PCs and caused $ 8 .7 billion
w orth o f dam age to com p u ter n etw orks
worldwide.
Com puter viruses like th e Love Bug
sound like every com p any’s w orst
nightm are. B u t th e real danger th ese days
is n o t so m uch w hat can get in to your
em ail system as w hat can g et ou t. You
ju st never know w here th a t em ail you
now regret sending m ay end up.
The first high-profile blunder occurred
in 1 9 9 7 w hen em ployees a t th e Norvrich
U nion insurance com pany sta rted
spreading a ru m ou r ab o u t a co m p etito r
on th eir in tern al em ail system . W estern
Provident, th ey said, was about to go
ban kru pt. W estern Provident was n o t
about to go ban kru p t, and w hen th e
em ails suggesting it was cam e in to
th eir p ossession, it sued. The case was
eventually s ettled o u t o f co u rt fo r a cool
£ 4 5 0 ,0 0 0 .
In y et a n o th er em ail blunder instan ce,
Devon schoolgirl Claire M cD onald found
h erse lf receiving em ails co n tain in g top
secret in fo rm atio n from th e Pentagon
a fte r b ein g accidentally added to a cc list
by a naval com m ander. O ne o f th e em ails
was o fferin g advice to th e UK o n how to
p revent secrets from b ein g leaked. She
received so m any secret files, it caused
h er com p uter to crash!
And th e corporate em ail blunder
stories ju s t go on. W h en Dow Chem ical
discovered hundreds o f controversial
em ails bein g exchanged betw een
m em bers o f staff, th e com pany to o k
no chances. It fired 7 4 em ployees and
suspended a fu rth er 4 3 5 .
B u t disciplining your sta ff electronically
isn ’t always a good idea, as th e CEO o f
Cerner, Neal P atterson , found o u t to
his cost. W h en P atterso n reprim anded
4 0 0 m anagers by em ail, h is criticism s
som ehow found th eir way o n to th e
Yahoo! w ebsite - fo r all th e world to see.
Cerner stock fell by 2 8 % w ithin th e week.
And a t M errill Lynch in 2 0 0 2 , th e
com p any ended up paying o u t $ 1 0 0
m illion w hen H en ry Blod get, an In te rn e t
sto ck an aly st, stro n g ly reco m m en d ed
buying sto ck in a com p any h e had
previously described , in w h at h e th o u g h t
was a priv ate em ail, as to ta lly u seless.
B u t perhap s th e m o st fam o u s b u sin ess
em ails in h isto ry cam e to lig h t during
th e M icro so ft" a n titr u s t tria ls. W h en
N etscape was still o p eratio n al, CEO Jim
B arksd ale claim ed h is com p any n ever
w anted to co llab o rate w ith M icro so ft
in th e In te rn e t brow ser m a rk e t - un til.
th a t is, M icro so ft law yers u n earth ed
a n em ail fro m N etscape p resid en t Jim
C lark to a sen io r execu tive a t M icro so ft
sta tin g clearly: ‘W e do n o t w an t to
c o m p ete w ith you.’ A nd M icro so ft, fo r
its p a rt, d enied any a tte m p t to push
N etscap e o u t o f th e m a rk e t - u n til an
em ail fro m Bill G ates to AOL execu tives
was su b m itted as evidence. The em ail
clearly exp ressed G ates’ desire to
sab o tag e N etscap e. O h, dear!
So th e m essag e is clear. W ith em ail,
h o n e sty is n o t always th e b e s t policy.
And if you m u st tell th e tru th , th in k
tw ice b efo re clickin g th a t sen d b u tto n .
A T hat was T erry L an caste r talk in g ab ou t
th e b ig g est em ail blun d ers ever m ade.
And now a sn eak preview o f th e la te st in
w ireless te c h n o lo g y ...
13 MAKING AN IMPACT
3.01
1 Did you know th a t o f th e w orld’s
1 0 0 b ig g est eco n o m ies on ly 5 6 are
actually co u n trie s? T h at’s rig h t, 56 .
The o th e r 4 4 are com p anies! In fact,
if co m p an ies w ere allow ed to jo in
th e G 8 group o f th e w orld’s ric h e st
co u n trie s, M icro so ft would tak e th e
place o f th e p o o re st cou n try ! I th in k i t ’s
g e ttin g a little scary, don ’t you, w hen a
co rp o ratio n can o u tp erfo rm a n a tio n ?
And m aybe i t ’s tim e to stop and ask
ourselves: should b u sin ess really be
th a t pow erful?
2 You know, th e jo k e b o o k s o f th e w orld
are probably fu ll o f m ore law yer jok es
th a n ju s t a b o u t a n y th in g else. O n e o f
m y fav ou rite law yer jo k e s is: th is guy’s
havin g a q u iet cafe la tte a t a coffee b ar
w h en an an gry m an s ta r ts sh o u tin g
A ll law yers are crim in a ls!’ The m an
ju m p s to h is fe e t an d cries T re se n t th a t
rem a rk !’ ‘W h y?’ says th e an gry m an . ‘Are
you a law yer?’ ‘No’ says th e m an , ‘I’m a
crim in a l!’ B u t I’m h ere to tell you th a t
n o t all law yers are co rru p t. I t ’s ju s t 9 9 %
o f th e m w ho give th e o th e rs a bad nam e.
3 G ood m orn in g . Erm , I’d like to s ta rt
o ff by th a n k in g D r Je n s e n , D r Tan and
D r M artin ez fo r in v itin g m e to speak
today. O u r com p any h as a lo n g h isto ry
o f co lla b o ratio n w ith th is u n iv ersity and
i t ’s always a g reat pleasu re to address th e
ro b o tics e x p erts o f th e fu tu re. Erm , yes,
b efo re I b egin , perhap s I could ju s t take
a m o m e n t or tw o to in trod u ce you to th e
re st o f m y team , w ho are h ere w ith m e
th is m o rn in g ...
4 I th in k it w as Thom as Ed ison w ho said:
‘I have n o t failed. I’ve ju s t fou nd 1 0 ,0 0 0
ways th a t d o n ’t w ork.’ O f cou rse, Edison
was an in v en tor, b u t h e could ju s t as
easily have b een talk in g a b o u t sales. In
sales, ou r success rate is n ow h ere n ea r as
bad as on e in 1 0 ,0 0 0 . A t lea st, it b e tte r
n o t be! B u t we have to go th ro u g h an
aw ful lo t o f ‘no sa le s’ to m ake on e sale.
And th e ab ih ty to deal w ith failure is th e
sin gle m o st im p o rta n t c h a ra cte ristic o f
th e su ccessfu l sales p ro fessio n al. Could
you ju s t raise you r h an d if you failed to
m ake a sale yesterday? ... J u s t about
everybody, rig h t? W ell, cong ratu lations!
Y ou’re obviously on th e rig h t track!
5 I was lookin g th rou gh th e ap p o in tm en ts
pages th e o th e r day and cam e across
th is u n usual jo b ad v ertisem en t. Here it
is: ‘G ood hou rs, excellen t pay, fu n place
to w ork, paid train in g , m ean b oss! Oh,
well, fou r ou t o f five isn ’t bad.’ W ouldn’t
you like to b e interview ed by th a t boss
w ho ad m its h e ’s m ean ? How pow erful
th a t little to u ch o f h o n e sty is. And th a t’s
exactly w h at I w an t to talk to you about
th is m orn in g : h o n e sty in advertising.
And how you g et p eop le’s a tte n tio n
w hen you sim ply tell th e tru th ...
6 W h en ev er I’m asked a b o u t T otal Quality,
I th in k o f th e sto ry o f th e A m erican
ste e l m agn ate, A ndrew C arnegie. It
seem s C arnegie was doing a facto ry
to u r on e day, w h en he stop ped to speak
to on e o f th e m ach in e o p erators - a
g rey-haired old guy obviously com ing up
to re tire m e n t. ‘W ilso n,’ h e said, reading
th e m an ’s n am e badge, ‘how m any
years exactly have you b een w orking
fo r m e now ?’ ‘3 9 , sir,’ W ilson replied
w ith a proud sm ile. ‘And m ay I add th a t
in all th o se years I m ade only o n e v ery
sm all m istak e.’ ‘Good w ork,’ m um bled
C arnegie, ‘b u t from now on , please try
to b e m ore carefu l.’
3.02
Extract 1
In th e long h isto ry o f th e w orld, only a
few g e n e ratio n s have b een g ran ted th e
role o f d efen d in g freed om in its h o u r o f
m axim u m danger. I do n o t sh rin k from th is
re sp o n sib ility - I w elcom e it. I do n o t believe
th a t any o f us would exch ange places w ith
any o th e r peop le or an y o th e r gen eration .
The energy, th e fa ith , th e d evotion , w hich
we b rin g to th is en deavour will lig h t our
c o u n try and all w ho serve it - and th e glow
fro m th a t fire can tru ly lig h t th e world. And
so, m y fellow A m erican s, ask n o t w h at your
c o u n try can do fo r you - ask w h at you can
do fo r you r cou n try . My fellow citizen s o f
th e world, ask n o t w hat A m erica will do for
you - b u t w h at to g e th e r we can do for th e
freed om o f m an.
3.03
Extract 2
I say to you today, m y frien d s ... so even
th ou g h we face th e d ifficu lties o f tod ay and
tom orrow , I still have a dream . It is a dream
deeply ro o ted in th e A m erican dream . I have
a dream th a t on e day th is n a tio n will rise up
and live ou t th e tru e m ean in g o f its creed:
‘W e h old th e se tru th s to be self-ev id en t; th a t
all m en are created equal.’ I have a dream
th a t on e day on th e red hills o f G eorgia
th e so n s o f fo rm e r slaves and th e son s
o f fo rm e r slave ow ners will b e able to sit
dow n to g e th e r a t th e tab le o f b roth erh oo d .
I have a dream th a t on e day even th e state
o f M ississippi, a sta te sw elterin g w ith th e
h e a t o f in ju stice , sw elterin g w ith th e h eat
o f opp ression , will be tra n sfo rm ed in to an
oasis o f freed om and ju stice. I have a dream
th a t my fo u r little children will on e day live
in a n a tio n w here th e y will n o t b e judged by
th e colou r o f th e ir skin b u t by th e c o n te n t o f
th e ir ch aracter. I have a dream today.
3.04
Extract 3
These are th e tw o g rea t challen ges o f our
tim e - th e m oral and p o litical challenge,
and th e eco n o m ic challen ge. They have
to be faced to g e th e r and we have to
m a ste r th e m b o th . W h a t are o u r chan ces
o f success? It depends o n w h at kin d o f
peop le we are. W h a t kin d o f p eop le are we?
W e are th e peop le th a t in th e p a st m ade
G reat B rita in th e w orkshop o f th e world,
th e peop le w ho persuad ed o th ers to buy
B ritish , n o t b y b egg in g th e m to do so, b u t
b ecau se it was b e st. W e are a peop le who
have received m ore N obel p rizes th a n any
o th e r n a tio n excep t A m erica, and h ead fo r
head we have done b e tte r th a n A m erica,
tw ice as well in fa c t. W e are th e people
who, am o n g o th e r th in g s, in v en ted th e
com p uter, th e refrig erato r, th e electric
m o tor, th e steth o sco p e, rayon, th e steam
tu rb in e, sta in less steel, th e ta n k , television ,
p en icillin , radar, th e je t en gin e, h o v ercraft,
flo at glass, carb o n fibres, e t cete ra - an d th e
b e s t h a lf o f C oncorde.
3.05
Extract 4
W e are b o th hum bled and elev ated by th e
h o n o u r and p rivilege th a t you, th e peop le of
So u th A frica, have b esto w ed on us, as th e
first p re sid en t o f a u n ited , d em o cratic, n o n-
racial and n o n -se x ist S o u th A frica, to lead
our c o u n try o u t o f th e valley o f darkness.
W e u n d ersta n d it still th a t th e re is n o easy
road to freed om . W e know i t well th a t n one
o f us actin g alone can achieve success. W e
m u st th erefo re a ct to g e th e r as a u n ited
people, fo r n a tio n a l reco n cilia tio n , fo r
n a tio n building, fo r th e b irth o f a new world.
L et th ere b e ju stic e fo r all. L et th ere b e peace
fo r all. L et th ere b e w ork, b read, w ater and
salt for all. L et each know th a t fo r each th e
body, th e m ind and th e soul have b een freed
to fulfil th em selv es. N ever, n ever and n ever
again shall it b e th a t th is b ea u tifu l la n d will
again exp erien ce th e opp ressio n o f on e by
a n o th e r ...
3.06
a w h a t ’s th e m ain problem w e’re facing?
The m ain problem is cash flow,
b I t ’s so risky, so p ro b lem atic, and y et so
critica l to ou r success.
C I t ’s fa ster, cheap er and ea sier to use. B u t,
above all, it ’s m ore reliable,
d Even if we can n ever again b e th e
b iggest, we can still b e th e b est,
e The p o in t is, m ore and m ore graduates
are figh tin g over few er and few er jo b s,
f N ot only are we n u m b er one in Brazil.
W e’re now n u m b er on e in Latin
A m erica.
g In th is m a rk et, n o com p any has
o u tp erfo rm ed us, n o t on e - ever!
h N ot once, in over 3 0 years o f b u sin ess,
have we ever had a co m p lain t - n o t a
single one!
3.07
1 Ladies an d g e n tle m en , we are tru ly
o n th e b rin k o f a revolu tion in
b io tech n o log y . I’m rem in d ed o f th e
w ords o f fu tu rist and scien ce fictio n
w riter A rth u r C. Clarke: 'People go
th ro u g h fo u r sta g es’ h e said, ‘b efo re
any rev o lu tio n ary d evelop m en t. Stage
on e: i t ’s n o n se n se , d o n ’t w aste my
tim e. Sta g e tw o: it’s in te re stin g , b u t n o t
im p o rta n t. Stage th re e: I always said
it was a good idea. And stage fou r: I
th o u g h t o f it firs t.’ In gen e th erap y w e’re
a b o u t to e n te r stage four. A nd I’d like
th is com p any to h o n e stly b e ab le to say
'W e th o u g h t o f i t firs t.’ T hank you.
2 U h-oh. Sorry. Looks like w e’ve ru n ou t
o f tim e. Erm , so I’m going to have to
cu t it sh o rt. Hr, yeah, I was h op in g to
show you som e o f th e figures in our
com p arativ e study. B u t, erm , n ever
m ind. I th in k you’ll find all th e m ain
p o in ts are covered in th e h an d ou t. So
I’ll, er. I’ll ju s t leave th e copies h ere and
you can pick on e up on you r w ay out.
Okay. So, so rry a b o u t th a t. T h at’s it.
Thanks.
3 W ell, th a t ju s t a b o u t b rin gs m e to th e
end o f m y p re se n ta tio n , except to say
th a t th e fu tu re o f th is com p any is
n ow in you r h and s. Fo r if th e r e ’s one
cen tra l m essag e I’d like to g et across
to you th is m o rn in g it ’s th is: th a t th is
co n su lta n cy is no m ore and n o less th an
th e c o n su lta n ts w ho re p rese n t it. And
w h ilst our re p u tatio n as a firm m ay have
b een dam aged by th e re ce n t u n fo rtu n a te
e v en ts, ou r e x p ertise as a team is in no
way dim in ish ed . I w an t to see each and
every on e o f you raisin g th is com p any to
n ew h eig h ts. I know you can. W e b u ilt
ou r re p u tatio n on crisis m an ag em en t,
and it w ould be iron ic ind eed if we were
un able to successfully m anage th is crisis
o f o u r ow n - and com e o u t on top. So
th a n k you v ery m uch.
4 So, how do you sum up th e new Sp earing
S ilh o u ette ocean cruiser? I could tell you
th a t it h as w on ju s t ab ou t every b o a t
show in th e USA and Europe th is year,
th a t th e ord ers fo r it are com ing in so
fa st we already have a five-year w aitin g
list; th a t th e firs t th re e n am es o n th a t
w aitin g list, th ou g h strictly con fid en tial,
includ e a fam ous Hollywood actor, a
m em b er o f th e Saudi Royal Fam ily and
on e o f th e w orld’s g reate st sp o rtin g
legends. I could also m en tio n th a t, so
im p ressed are th ey w ith ou r award-
w in n in g design, th e directors o f th e
M useum o f M odern A rt are actually
pro p o sin g to place a fu ll-size m odel
o n p e rm a n e n t exh ibitio n . B u t all th a t
would fail to do it ju stice. For th e fa c t
is th a t th e S ilh o u ette is in a class o f
its own. I t is a m asterp iece o f m arin e
en gin eerin g. I t is, quite simply, th e m o st
stu n n in g ly b eau tifu l b o a t ever b uilt.
Ladies and g en tlem en , I give you ... th e
Sp earin g Silh ou ette!
14 OUT AND ABOUT
3.08
T rav eller I’m so rry I’m so fat. N am e’s
Lucas Loom is.
L e ary M acon Leary.
T rav eller You a B altim ore m an?
Le ary Yes.
T rav eller M e to o . G reatest city on th e
ea rth . O ne o f th ese seats is n o t
really en ough fo r m e. And th e
stupid th in g is, I travel fo r a
living. I d e m o n strate softw are to
com p u ter stores. W h at do you
do, M r Leary?
Le ary I w rite travel guidebooks.
T rav eller Is th a t so? W h a t kind?
Le ary W ell, guides fo r b u sin essm en -
peop le ju s t like you, I guess.
T rav eller ‘A ccid en tal T o u rist’!
Le ary W hy, yes.
T rav eller Really? Am I rig h t? Well, w hat
do you know ? Look a t th is. Gray
su it - ju s t w h at you recom m end,
ap p rop riate fo r all occasion s. See
m y luggage? C arry-on . Change
o f underw ear. Clean sh irt.
Packet o f d eterg en t powder.
Le ary Oh, good.
T rav eller You’re m y h ero. You’ve im proved
m y trip s a h un dred p er cen t.
I tell m y w ife, going w ith The
Accidental Tourist is like going in
a cocoon.
L e a ry W ell, th is is very n ice to hear.
T rav eller T im es I’ve flow n clear to
O regon and hardly k n ew I’d left
Baltim ore.
Le ary E xcellen t.
T rav eller I see you have you r b o o k for
p ro te c tio n th ere. D idn’t work
w ith m e, th ough, did it?
3.09
1 Emma
A So Em m a, w h at’s you r w orst flying
exp erien ce?
B Well, I th in k th e w orst o n e ’s probably
flying back fro m Ban glad esh to
Heathrow . I t ’s q u ite a few years ago now,
b u t I can still re m e m b e r it. W e w ere at
th e gate, ready to ta x i to th e runway,
and suddenly th e re was th is te rrib le
h am m erin g n o ise from ou tsid e th e
plane.
A A h am m erin g n oise?
B Yes, an d th e stran ge th in g w as th a t th e
cabin crew ju s t seem ed to b e ign orin g
it. B u t all you could h ea r was th is bang,
b an g, b an g on th e fu selage. A fter a
w hile, som e o f th e p assen g ers were
s ta rtin g to get n erv ous, m e included.
A I’m n o t surprised.
B Anyway, eventually, a fte r w e’d b een
sittin g th ere for ab ou t te n m in u tes w ith
n o an n ou n cem en t and th e p lan e still n o t
m oving, I said so m eth in g to o n e o f th e
stew ards and th ey w e n t an d op en ed th e
d oor to see w hat w as goin g on.
A And w hat happened?
B The p ilot got in!
A You’re joking!
B No, th e y ’d lo ck ed h im ou t. Seem s quite
fu nn y now, b u t it didn’t a t th e tim e.
2 Enrique
A E nrique, w h a t’s th e w o rst fligh t you’ve
ever b e e n on?
C D efin itely th e tim e I was flying fro m
M alaga to S ta n ste d in th e UK. This was
around th e tim e o f secu rity a lerts on
in te rn a tio n a l fligh ts and peop le were
very n erv ous a b o u t flying.
A Oh, yes, o f course.
C I was travellin g o n b u sin ess, b u t m o st o f
th e p assen g ers w ere B ritish to u rists.
A Uh huh.
C Anyway, we w ere cru isin g a t 3 0 ,0 0 0 fe et
and I looked o u t o f th e w indow and saw
th is Fren ch air force fig h ter p lan e flying
alongside us.
A W h a t? O h, yes, I read a b o u t th is. D id n’t
th ey th in k th e plan e h ad b e e n h ijacked
C
o r so m eth in g?
W ell, apparently, air traffic c o n tro l had
lo st radio co n ta ct w ith ou r plane, so th ey
w eren’t sure w h at was going o n and th ey
w eren’t ta k in g any ch an ces. I m ean , th is
Fren ch je t was arm ed w ith m issiles and
everything.
A Sounds terrifying !
C It was.
A So, w h at happened?
C W ell, th e je t was th ere fo r a b o u t te n
m in u tes check in g us ou t. Fortun ately,
th e captain o f our plan e m anaged to
keep everybody calm . And anyway, to
cut a lo ng sto ry sh o rt, ev ery th in g tu rn ed
o u t okay. W e even land ed o n schedule!
A B u t I b e t you were glad to b e b ack o n th e
ground, w eren ’t you?
C You can say th a t again!
3 Jo e
A Jo e , have you had any b ad exp erien ces
on plan es?
D Oh, yes, several. O ne fligh t I was on,
I couldn’t u n d ersta n d w hy th ey w ere
m aking us go th ro u g h th e life ja ck e t drill
fo r land ing on w ater.
A B u t don ’t th ey always do th a t?
D W h a t, o n a d o m estic flig h t from
M a n ch ester to London?
A Oh, righ t. I see w h at you m ean.
D I’m n o t sure w hich fligh t p a th th ey
w ere p lan nin g to tak e b u t it goes
now here n ea r th e sea. B u t th a t’s n o th in g
com pared to on e o f m y re ce n t trip s to
Fran k fu rt.
A W h a t h ap p en ed th ere, th en ?
D W ell, we didn’t land in F ra n k fu rt.
A You w ere diverted?
D No, no, th e p ilo t ju s t land ed in
com p letely th e w rong coun try!
A W h a t, you m ean he didn’t know ?
D H adn’t g o t a clue. J u s t a b o u t everybody
on th e p lan e was lo o kin g o u t th e
window s and saying ‘Er, look. I’m
so rry to b e a n u isan ce, b u t th is isn ’t
Fra n k fu rt.’
A So w here did you land?
D Luxem bourg.
A O h, m y g ood ness! I d on ’t believe it!
4 Selina
A Selin a, you’ve flow n all over th e world.
You m u st have som e sto ries to tell.
E Hm , q u ite a few. I’ll n ev er fo rg et th e
tim e 1 was flying in A sia and th e cabin
crew asked m e to s it on th e to ile t during
tak e-o ff.
A W h a t?
E Yeah, th e y w an ted m y se a t n e x t to th e
em ergen cy exit.
A D o esn ’t in sp ire m uch co n fid en ce in th e
airUne, does it?
E N o t a lo t, no. And th en , to top it all, I
ended up s ittin g n e x t to a guy w ith a
ra ttlesn a k e in a basket!
A Incredible!
E Yes, th a t’s w h at I said. A pparently, he
ju s t b ro u g h t it on as h an d luggage.
^ 3.10
a
A Ugh, isn ’t it dreadful? And w e’d got
plan s fo r th e w eekend as w ell. Thought
we m ig h t have som e frien d s rou nd fo r a
barbecu e.
B W ell, it ’s always th e sam e, isn ’t it? You
p lan a n y th in g , it always lets you down.
And it was so fab u lou s yesterday.
C Yes, w asn ’t it? N ever would have
th o u g h t it could tu rn so n a sty in
ju s t 2 4 h ou rs. B u t th a t’s B rita in fo r
you, I sup pose. H eatw ave in th e
m o rn in g , a dow npour in th e a fte rn o o n
an d a h ow ling gale by d in n er tim e.
U nbelievable w eath er!
b difference is we g ot a b it squeezed on
A W h a t o n e a rth is th a t?
B D o n ’t th in k y ou’d like it? Look, it ’s
sea so n ed w ith a b it o f c in n am o n and
dried m in t,
A Sm ells o ff to m e.
B N on sen se! I t ’s really delicious. How
a b o u t try in g it?
A C in n am on soun d s a b it odd. And dried
m in t? As season in g?
B W ell, th a t’s n o rm al fo r M iddle E a stern
dishes! Ian is giving it a go, so why d o n ’t
you? I t ’s really good!
A Hm . All rig h t, if you in sist! B u t if you
a sk m e, c in n am o n b elon gs in sw eets!
B O h, give it a ch an ce, R oger! W e’ll order
you so m eth in g else i f you really can ’t
h and le it.
C to rem em ber!
B No, i t ’s n o t m y th in g a t all. I’m afraid.
A Oh, b u t I th o u g h t it was m arvellou s!
And it was so well done. B ecau se it m u st
have b een a very d ifficu lt ad ap tation ,
don ’t you th in k ?
B Hm , yeah. I t w e n t o n a b it, th ou g h,
didn’t it? I m ean , w h at was it, tw o and a
h a lf h ours?
A W ell, I fou n d th e w hole th in g ab solu tely
fa n ta stic. B rillian tly directed . A nd th e
special effe c ts w ere incredible!
B Yes, w ell, th e y w ere good, I’ll ad m it,
b u t th e y ’ve all g o t th o se now adays,
h av en ’t th ey ? I m ean i t ’s all ju s t CGI
dig ital a n im atio n . Like all th o se sci-fi,
su p erh ero th in g s ...
B I’d really appreciate it, b ecau se I’m ju st
snow ed u n d er at th e m o m en t, w h at w ith
all th is backlog to deal w ith.
A Yes, I’m so rry to have dum ped all th a t
on you. Couldn’t th in k o f anyone else
I could tru st. And w ith th e deadline
com in g up so f a s t ...
B I t ’s n o problem , b u t if you could le t m e
b orrow Kim fo r a couple o f hou rs. I’m
sure th a t to g e th e r we could p olish th e
w hole th in g o ff th a t m uch faster.
C You overw orking th is p oor boy, Su san?
T h at’s how sh e lo st h e r la st a ssista n t
m anager, you know, Ian.
A O h, ign ore Roger. I’ll speak to Kim about
giving you a h an d as so o n as we g et back
to th e office.
B Thanks.
15 DELEGATION
^ 3.11
1
A D aniel, can I have a quick word?
B Yeah, sure.
A W e’ve ju s t had co n firm atio n fo r th e
E ricsen order. You w orked on it la st year
w ith M aggie, did n’t you?
B Yes, th a t’s righ t.
A So th is year. I’d like you to handle it on
your own. Are you com fo rtab le w ith th at?
B Yes, n o problem .
A G reat. So basically, th e deliverables are
exactly th e sam e as la st year. You’ll find
all th e sp ecificatio n s in th e file. The only
price th is tim e, so if we can m anage to
keep co sts dow n as m uch as p ossible,
th a t would b e great.
B Okay, I’ll do m y b e st. W h a t’s th e
tim efram e?
A W e’ve scheduled delivery fo r Ju ly 3 1 s t.
Do you th in k th a t’s feasible?
B Yes, should b e fine. I’ll g et sta rte d
stra ig h t away.
A E xcellen t. L e t’s schedule a m eetin g every
couple o f w eeks, th en , so we can look at
any problem s to g e th e r and th in k about
ways o f keep in g co sts down, okay?
B Sure.
2
C Hi G ina, how ’s it going?
D N ot to o bad, th a n k s. B u t th e r e ’s a lo t
C Yes, well, everybody says th e first w eek
is th e h ard e st; it g ets b e tte r, b elieve me!
D Okay, th a t’s good to know!
C L isten , could you call th ese people as
so o n as you can? They’re old cu stom ers,
so you d o n ’t n eed to tell th em a lo t
ab o u t th e prod uct, ju s t tr y to get
ap p o in tm en ts fo r m e. Tell th e m w e’ve
go t a special o ffer on upgrades, so I’d like
to m eet th em . You’ve g o t m y schedule,
h av en ’t you?
D Yes. Sh all I em ail th em first?
C No, ju s t keep calling u n til you can speak
to th e m personally. You’ll probably have
to call som e o f th e m b ack ou tsid e office
hou rs; if you n eed to w ork o vertim e,
th a t’s fine, ju s t keep a n o te o f th e ex tra
tim e you p u t in, okay?
D All righ t.
C I’d like us to c o n ta c t everyone on th e
lis t by th is tim e n e x t w eek. Bo o k th e
ap p o in tm en ts in to m y schedule as you
go, and w e’ll see how you’re g e ttin g on
w hen I g et b ack fro m Spain on
Friday, okay?
D O kay
C I f you have any q u estio n s w hile I’m
away, feel free to ask M andy. Is th a t
all righ t?
D Erm , yes. T hat seem s fine.
C B rillia n t. T hanks, G ina, I know y ou’ll do
a g rea t job!
3 righ t?
E T echn ical sup port?
F P ete? Fran k here.
E U h-oh!
F Yeah. Look, I know it’s la te, b u t th e
serv er’s dow n again a t C aptain D iscou nt.
E O h fo r good ness sake! All rig h t. I’ll get
over th ere asap.
F T hanks, m ate. Give m e a rin g w hen
you’ve fin ished, w ould you? J u s t to let
m e know how th in g s stand ?
E All rig h t. W ill do.
F Cheers.
^ 3.12
This n e x t slide show s how you can adap t
your m a n a g em en t style to d ifferen t
m em b ers o f staff. The h o rizo n ta l axis
ind icates an increasing ly d irective style fro m
le ft to rig h t, and th e v e rtica l axis m easu res
a su p portive style, less a t th e b o tto m and
m ore a t th e top.
So, as you can see, th ere are fo u r quad rants
rep resen tin g fo u r m ain m an ag em en t styles.
A t th e b o tto m rig h t we have D irecting.
Here th e focus is o n giving very exp licit
in stru ctio n s: you tell p eople exactly w hat
you w an t th em to do, why, how and w hen
th ey should do it, and you follow th em very
closely to m ake sure th ey do it righ t. I t ’s
th e kind o f approach you need fo r young,
inexp erienced o r n ew m em bers o f your team .
As people g et to know th e jo b , you can
gradually m ove up in to th e to p righ t
q uad rant, w hich is Coaching. H ere you can
spend less tim e tellin g th e m w h at to do, and
m ore tim e w orking vrith th e m to develop
th e ir skills. G radually you can th e n m ove to
th e top le ft quad ran t, w hich is Su pportin g:
h ere you r m ain role is to m ake sure th a t th ey
have th e resou rces th ey n eed to do th e jo b ,
and o f course to co n tin u e se ttin g o b jectiv es
and checking a ch iev em en t. I f th ere are
p roblem s, you m ay so m etim es n eed to m ove
back tow ards a m o re directive style.
Finally, th e m o st ex p erien ced and ex p ert
m em bers o f your tea m will b e h ap p iest w ith
a D elegating style, h ere in th e b o tto m le ft-
hand quad rant. They are a lm o st com p letely
au ton om o u s, se ttin g th e ir ow n o b jectiv es
an d ev alu atin g th e ir own resu lts. O f course,
th e y w ill always w elcom e a few w ords o f
su p p o rt an d th a n k s fro m tim e to tim e.
16 TELECONFERENCING
^ 3.13
A Sin ce you’re n ew h ere, I w an t you to
m e e t you r te a m s in London, Ban galore
an d Tokyo. You n eed to do it rig h t away.
B O h, I’m really lookin g forw ard to
m eetin g th em , b u t i t ’s goin g to tak e a
w eek o r m ore to g et to all th o se places.
A Actually, th e y ’re rig h t dow n th e hall.
B Oh! ... A v id eo conference.
A I w ouldn’t call it th a t.
B No?
A I th in k y ou’ll b e p leasan tly surprised,
B Wow.
A Hello, everyone. This is Patricia.
C Hello fro m London. T ania and
O w en h ere.
D I’m M oh an. This is Seem a. G reetin gs
fro m B angalore.
E And I am H iro w ith m y colleague Kum i
fro m Tokyo. H ajim em ash ite!
B I really feel like I’m in th e sam e room
w ith all o f you.
Voiceover This is n ’t th e fu tu re. I t ’s righ t
now. W ith Cisco T eleP resen ce you feel like
you’re s ittin g across th e tab le from o th er
m eetin g p a rticip a n ts. Seeing th e m in full
life-siz e im ages. M akin g d irect eye co n ta ct.
H earing th e m talk le ft and r i g h t ... and
cen tre. M akin g everyone sound like th e y ’re
in th e sam e room . T eleP resen ce creates
an in -p erso n m eetin g exp erien ce over th e
n etw o rk , w here th e q u ality’s so good, it’s as
if you to o k a co n feren ce tab le and ju s t split
it in half.
3.14
A Ugh! W h o on e a rth can th a t b e? W h e re ’s
th e ... th e lig h t sw itch! Ow! E r ... h ello?
B Pete, is th a t you?
A Er, yes. W h o is th is?
B I t ’s M ax.
A M ax! ... M ax, i t ’s ... it’s tw o o’clock in th e
m orn ing!
B I’m sorry, Pete, b u t th is is an em ergency.
A W ell, it h ad b e tte r b e, I’ve g o t to b e up in
a few h ours.
B I th in k yo u ’d b e tte r g et up rig h t now,
Pete. All h ell’s b rok en lo o se h ere.
W e’re goin g to have to sh u t dow n th e
H am burg p lan t im m ediately.
A W h at!
B I t ’s th e h e a t exchanger. W e’ve g o t a
leakage b etw een th e h yd rogen ation
se c tio n and th e oil h eater. T here’s
n o th in g we can do b u t stop all
p ro d u ctio n straightaw ay. O th erw ise, th e
w hole th in g could go up!
A B u t M ax, do you have an y idea w hat
you’re saying? I f you au th o rize a p lan t
shutdow n, ev ery th in g g rin d s to a h alt.
W e’ll have c o n ta in e r lo rrie s backed up
fro m H am burg to Liibeck!
B P ete, do you th in k I don ’t know th a t?
A Tell m e th is isn ’t h appening. It cost us
m illions la st tim e ... Okay, look, I have
no idea how lo n g it will tak e m e and
M onica to g e t a flig h t, b u t w e’re on our
way.
B I th in k th a t’s b e st, Pete.
A I’ll p h one you to fix up a telecon feren ce
on ce w e’re airb o rn e. C o n tact Fran^oise
and O tto rig h t away, will you? T here’s
n o t a m o m e n t to lo se ...
A M on ica? I t ’s Pete. Look, I’m so rry to
get you up a t th is u n earth ly hour, b u t
th e r e ’s b een a d isa ster a t th e Ham burg
plan t. Yeah. B e tte r g et dressed. I’ll tell
you a b o u t it o n th e way to th e airp ort.
3.15
Extract 1
A Okay, so w e’re ju s t w aitin g fo r O tto.
F ra n fo ise , you to ld h im w hen to call in,
C Y es, I did. Perhaps h e ’s still a t th e p lan t
o r h e m ay ju s t be having problem s
g e ttin g th rou gh .
B Pete, w here are you and M onica?
A J u s t le ft V ancouver a b o u t h a lf an hour
ago. M ax. Sh ould b e b ack in 1 3 h ours
or so.
C Pete, I th in k we should ju s t sta rt.
B Yes, I th in k so too,
A Okay, we really n eed to ta lk to O tto,
b u t le t’s go ahead and g et th e m eetin g
sta rte d and h op efu lly h e ’ll jo in us later
on ... R ight, well, as you all know, we’ve
h ad a seriou s m ech an ical failure a t the
H am burg p lan t and, basically, w e’ve had
to sh u t it down. T here’ll b e tim e fo r a
p rop er analysis o f w hat w en t w rong later
b u t rig h t now we need a rescu e plan.
M ax, could you first o f all ju s t fill us in
on w h at’s going on ? W h en can we expect
to g et th e p lan t up and ru n n in g again?
B W ell, Pete, i t ’s difficult to say a t th e
m o m e n t. M y tech n ician s tell m e they
can ’t g et a rep lacem en t h ea t exchanger
fo r at le a st 4 8 hou rs. And th en it’ll have
to be fitted , o f course. W e’re probably
lo o k in g a t th re e days.
D Three days!
A I t ’s w orse th a n I th o u g h t. And is th a t
you r b e s t e stim a te ? Three days?
B I’m afraid so, Pete.
A W ell, th a t’s th a t, th en . B u t 1 w ant
us b ack in prod u ction n o la te r th an
Thursday, M ax. Okay?
B Okay, Pete, I’ll see w h at I can do.
3.16
Extract 2
E E xcu se m e, M r M an ser h as join ed .
A O tto ! Thank good ness you g o t throu gh.
Have you b een to th e p lan t y e t? W h a t’s
th e situ a tio n th ere?
F I t ’s p re tty b ad Pete. W e’ve had to clear
th e w hole site fo r th e fire service to run
sa fe ty checks.
A I see. O tto , is th ere any chan ce we can
rew rite ou r p rod u ction plan ? I m ean,
can we m ake sure our key cu stom ers get
p rio rity on orders?
F I’m already w orking o n th a t. The
p roblem is it d o esn ’t lo o k as th o u g h
w e’ll he able to m eet any o f th e
orders com pletely.
A W h a t’s th e sto c k situ a tio n ?
F N ot good.
A Oh, great. J u s t w h at I n eed ed to hear.
D o n ’t we keep any sto c k in reserv e for
th is kind o f th in g ?
F W h a t, fo r a co m p lete p la n t shutdow n?
No, Pete, we don ’t.
A Okay, okay. W ell, w h at ab o u t
tra n sferrin g sto ck fro m on e o f o u r o th e r
Eu ropean p lan ts?
F I t ’d tak e to o long. And, besid es, th e y ’re
already o v erstretch ed as it is.
A R i g h t ... M on ica, is th ere any p o in t in
us buying in traded goods fro m a n o th e r
supplier to cover th e sh o rtfa ll? J u s t for
th e tim e being.
D You m ean buy products from our
com petitors to keep th e custom ers happy?
A Ju s t fo r th e tim e being.
D Pete, you know how I feel a b o u t buying
fro m th e co m p etitio n . How are we
supposed to build a re p u ta tio n w ith
our cu sto m ers if we en d up selling
th em o th e r p eo p le’s p ro d u cts in s tea d o f
our own?
A I t ’s n o t as if we h aven ’t done it b efo re,
M on ica. And w h at alte rn a tiv e do
we have?
3.17
Extract 3
A Okay, now, w e’ve g o t to m ake up th is
backlog o f orders som ehow . How ab o u t
H an delsm an n ?
C Er, can I com e in on th a t?
A Go ahead, Fran^oise.
C W ell, I’ve already b een o n to
H an delsm an n . They owe us a favour,
actually. W e h elped th em o u t a few
years ago w hen th ey w ere in a sim ilar
situ a tio n , if you rem em b er. Anyway,
it looks like th e y m ay b e able to do
so m eth in g , b u t probably n o t un til
to m o rro w m orning.
A W ell, a t lea st th a t’s so m eth in g ,
I suppose. Okay, g et b ack to th e m and
see if we can h u rry th in g s up a b it. And
g et som ebody in a fter-sa les to ring
around all ou r b ig g est cu sto m ers and
sm o o th th in g s over w ith th em .
C Okay, I’ll see to it now.
A Now, M ax. Are you sure th is th in g can ’t
ju s t b e fixed? 1 m ean , if I gave your
te ch n ica l people, say, 2 4 h ou rs ... M ax,
you still th ere?
B Still h ere. I’ve ju s t b een told th e leakage
area h as now b een m ade secure.
A W ell, th a n k good ness fo r th a t. Anyway,
okay, th a t’s it fo r now. W e’re goin g to
try and g et som e sleep. I sug gest we
schedule a n o th e r co n feren ce call fo r
m id n ight Eu ropean T im e. Bu t, O tto ,
keep m e p o sted if th e r e ’s an y change in
th e situ a tio n , w on ’t you?
F W ill do, Pete.
A Okay, th a n k s everyone ...
17 NEGOTIATING DEALS
3.18
The a ctiv ity you ju s t did is d esigned to
d e m o n stra te th e critical im p o rtan ce in th e
n eg o tia tin g p rocess o f re latio n sh ip building.
In your first n e g o tia tio n you probably didn’t
th in k m uch a b o u t you r o p p o n en t’s in terests.
A nd w hy should you? A fter all, it was ju s t a
stra n g er w ho you’d n ever m e e t again. B u t
by c o n cen tra tin g on only o n e ob jectiv e,
you reduced th e w hole e n c o u n ter to a
sin gle issu e n e g o tia tio n w ith little room for
m anoeuvre. This m ade it a sim ple zero-su m
gam e - if I g e t w h at I w an t, you d on ’t, and
vice-versa.
In ord er to win a t all co sts, perhap s you
b ecam e h o stile and tried to p re-em p t
n e g o tia tio n a lto g eth er by ju s t grabbin g
th e b o x o ff th e o th e r p erson . O r m aybe
you gave in com pletely, decid ing it sim ply
w asn’t w o rth th e h assle. M any p ro fessio n al
n eg o tia to rs act th e sam e way if th e y th in k
th e y are n eg o tia tin g a o n e -o ff deal. As th e
n e g o tia tio n ended in deadlock, perhap s you
b eca m e d esp erate and re so rte d to em o tio n al
black m ail, in v en tin g all so rts o f reaso n s
why y ou r kid was m ore d eserv in g th a n th e
o th e r kid.
In th e seco n d n e g o tia tio n , on th e o th er
hand , th e re was a lo n g -te rm relatio n sh ip
you w an ted to m ain tain . The circu m stan ces
w ere exactly th e sam e, b u t th e p ro sp ect o f
on e o f you ‘lo sin g ’ was n o lo n g er an op tion .
By accep tin g th e n eed to reach som e kind
o f co m p ro m ise, you w ere able to tu rn a
h ead -o n co n flict in to a p rob lem -solv in g
m eetin g . Now you r m ain o b je ctiv e was to
g en era te o p tio n s in th e h ope th a t you could
crea te a w in-w in situ a tio n , w here you b o th
g o t so m eth in g you w anted.
3.19
Extract 1
A o k a y , so, do I tak e it w e’re in a g reem en t
o n volum e?
B Er, w ell, ju s t a m in u te, w ouldn’t it b e a
good idea to ta lk p rices b efo re we go any
fu rth er?
A Yes, o f course. B u t in p rin cip le you’re
h appy a b o u t ta k in g 4 0 cases, righ t?
B Er, well, in prin ciple, yes, if th e p ro d u ct’s
as good as you say it is ...
A Splendid, th a t’s s e ttle d th en .
B ... B u t, look, g e ttin g b ack to price fo r a
m o m e n t. This would b e ju s t a tria l order,
you u n d erstan d ? Sale or re tu rn . U n til we
see how it sells. So, can you give us som e
idea o f w h at kin d o f figure you were
th in k in g o f?
A €50.
B € 5 0 p er case.
A Er, n o. Per pack.
B Per pack? There seem s to have b een a
sligh t m isu n d erstan d in g . A pack is ju st
1 2 b o ttle s, righ t?
A Y es, th a t’s righ t.
B Is th is m ea n t to b e som e kind o f jo k e or
so m eth in g ? € 5 0 p er pack? T h at’s over
€ 4 a b o ttle . By th e tim e w e’ve added a
d e ce n t m argin , you realize w e’re looking
a t a retail price o f € 7 m inim um . How am
I sup posed to sell a on e litre b o ttle o f
w ater fo r € 7 , M r K oivisto?
A M s B a rre tt, 0 -Z o n e is an innovative,
p rem iu m prod uct. A pure
oxyg en -en riched drink. W e’re n o t
talk in g ab ou t a b o ttle o f P errier here.
B W ell, th a t’s as m ay b e, b u t € 7 !
A 0 -Z o n e is an excitin g op p ortu n ity to get
in a t th e s ta r t o f a new tren d in luxury
h ea lth drinks.
B W ell, th e re ’s no way on ea rth I’m paying
you € 4 fo r a b o ttle o f oxygenated w ater,
M r K oivisto. W ith resp ect, you r prices
are sim ply n o t com p etitiv e.
A M s B a rre tt, th ere are no co m p etito rs in
th is m arket. 0 -Z o n e is a unique product
and a t € 4 - w ell, I’m afraid th a t really is
ou r ab solu te b o tto m line.
B So you’re saying i t ’s tak e it or leave it?
A I’m afraid so.
B W ell, th en , I th in k I’ll have to leave i t ...
A W h a t ...? Now, ju s t a m in u te. You said
o n th e p h one you m ig h t w an t 1 0 0 cases.
B T hat was b efo re I knew you r w ater was
m ore exp ensiv e th a n C hanel No 5,
M r K oivisto. Okay, look, le t’s se t th e
p rice issu e to on e side fo r th e m om en t,
sh all w e? Tell m e a b it m ore a b o u t th e
p r o d u c t...
3.20
Extract 2
A Okay, I’ll tell you w h at I’ll do. I f you
ord er 2 5 0 u n its today, I can o ffer you
n o t ou r u su al five b u t a 6% d iscoun t,
free delivery and I’ll th row in 1 2 m o n th s’
free p a rts and service as well. Now,
I can ’t say faire r th a n th a t, can I? O f
cou rse, th a t’s only if you can give m e th e
ord er today. C an’t h old th e offer.
I’m afraid.
B W ell, erm , R o b ert, isn ’t it?
A Rob. Call m e Rob.
B W ell, now, Rob, we ap p reciate th e free
service an d delivery, b u t to b e h o n e st
w ith you, w h at w e’d really like to see is a
b it m ore m o v em en t on price. I’m afraid
a 6% d iscou n t is n o t q u ite w h at we had
in m ind. W e w ere h oping fo r so m eth in g
a b it closer to 10% .
A 1 0 % ? I don ’t th in k I could stretch
as far as th a t. N ot unless th is was a
su b stan tially bigger order.
C O h, com e on! You’ll have to do a lo t
b e tte r th a n th a t, M r Hayes. You’re n o t
th e only p recisio n to o l m anu factu rer,
you know.
B Hold on, Gavin. L e t’s h ea r Rob out.
C W ell, frankly, I th in k w e’re w asting
each o th e r’s tim e h ere. W e’ve already
b een offered a m uch b e tte r deal by
M ag n u sson ’s.
B Now, w ait a m in u te, w ait a m inu te.
Surely we can so rt so m eth in g o u t here.
Rob, would you b e w illing to m eet
us halfw ay?
A How do you m ean?
B W ell, if you w ere to o ffer us an 8%
d isco u n t, we m ig h t b e in a p o sitio n to
in crease our order, say, by 5 0 u n its. B u t
w e’d n eed to see a b it m o re flex ib ility on
te rm s o f p aym en t. M aybe o n in sta lla tio n
co sts too.
A Erm , well, I sup pose th e re m ay b e som e
room fo r m anoeuvre th ere. I’d n eed to
check. Can you give m e a m o m e n t to
have a n o th e r lo o k a t th e figures?
B Sure. In fa c t, le t’s tak e a sh o rt tim e out,
shall we? And m eet b ack h ere in, say,
h a lf an hour?
A Okay, fine.
C I still say w e’d b e b e tte r o ff goin g w ith
M ag n u sson ’s.
^ 3.21
Speaker 1
W ell, frankly, I g et a b it tired o f h earin g
peop le go o n ab o u t w in-w in n ego tiatin g .
I m ean , le t’s face it, a lo t o f n eg o tia tio n s
are b asically w in-lose, and your o p p o n e n t’s
in te re sts are th e la st th in g you should be
w orryin g ab o u t. Buying a h o u se, a car,
double-glazing - all w in -lose situ a tio n s.
And you’d b e su rp rised how m any b u sin ess
n eg o tia tio n s are b asically o n e -o ff deals as
well. In m y o pin ion , in a w in -lose situ a tio n
th e to u g h er you are - w ith o u t actu ally b ein g
aggressive - th e fu rth e r you’ll get. T h at’s
b ecau se your o p p o n en t tak es you r a ttitu d e
as an in d icatio n o f w h a t’s possib le and
w h at’s n o t. And th e frie n d lie r you seem , th e
h ig her th e ir ex p ecta tio n s will b e. I t ’s like
th e old saying: give th e m an in ch and th e y ’ll
tak e a m ile.
^ 3.22
Speaker 2
'You always know w ho is going to w in a
n eg o tia tio n - i t ’s h e who pauses th e lo n g e st.’
I fo rg et who it was w ho said th a t b u t i t ’s
p re tty good advice - basically, sh u t up! And
rem em b er th a t silen ce is very o fte n your
b e s t w eapon. I t ’s a very difficult arg u m en t
to coun ter. Faced w ith prolon ged and
u n co m fo rta b le silen ces, you r o p p o n en t is
liable to m ake a n o th e r co n cessio n o r give
away th e ir stra te g y o r w eaken th e ir own
p o sitio n by b eco m in g defensive. So play
your cards close to your ch est. Talk less,
learn m ore. T here’s an old Sw edish proverb:
‘T alking is silver. B u t listen in g is gold.’
r~ 3.23
Speaker 3
I th in k th e b ig g est trap less exp erien ced
n eg o tia to rs fall in to is to tu rn th e w hole
n eg o tia tio n in to a d ebate, w hich it isn ’t. This
is so m etim es called ‘p o sitio n a l n e g o tia tin g ’.
B o th sides en d up arguing th e w hys an d th e
w h erefores, ra tio n alizin g th e ir p o sitio n ,
try in g to ju stify th em selv es. They can talk
till th e cows com e h o m e b u t i t ’s a com p lete
w aste o f tim e. B esid es, you’re n o t th e re to
convince you r o p p o n en t th a t you’re righ t.
He d oesn ’t care if you’re rig h t o r n o t. And
n e ith e r should you. You’re th ere to explore
b o th sid es’ in te re sts, gen erate optio n s
an d trad e c o n cessio n s - preferably giving
away th in g s th a t m ean little to you b u t a
lo t to h im and receiv ing th e o p p osite in
re tu rn . This is ‘in te re st-b a se d n e g o tia tio n ’
- discoverin g th e need s, d esires and fears
b eh in d you r o p p o n e n t’s p o sitio n and
w orking on th o se. The tw o p h rases you need
m o st o f all are: ‘I f ..., th e n ...? ’: I f I give you
th a t, th e n w h at do I g e t? And ‘W h a t if ...? ’:
W h a t if we looked a t th is a n o th e r way? W h a t
if we did th is in stead ?
^ 3.24
A Tess?
B M r Logan. I t ’s K ate an d M iles to see you.
A Ah, good. Send th e m rig h t in.
C Hi, R onn ie.
A K ate, good to see you. You’re lookin g
g rea t as usual. M iles, com e on in. Erm ,
s it anyw here you like. Can I g et you
so m eth in g to drink?
C D o you have an Evian?
A No problem . There you go. M iles?
D I’ll ju s t have a b lack coffee.
A G ood idea. M iles! You really lo ok tired;
co ffee o u g h t to p erk you up! So, I h ear
you tw o had q u ite a la te ev en in g a t
th e M arquee.
D You could say th a t.
C R o n n ie, you have to sign th is band.
You could h ardly m ove fo r A & R people
la st n ig h t. I f we d o n ’t snap th em
up, so m eo n e else will. I saw Jim m y
A rm stro n g fro m Son y sn iffin g around.
A Uh huh. W ell, h e usually is.
C Y eah, and EM I w ere th ere as well. This
b a n d ’s h o t. You listen ed to th e dem o
I s e n t you, righ t?
A I did.
C And?
A W e ll,...
C O h, com e on, R onn ie. These guys are th e
b e s t th in g to com e ou t o f Irelan d sin ce
U 2 and you know it.
A I w ouldn’t go as far as th a t, K ate. They
sound a little in c o n siste n t on th e dem o.
They n eed to w ork on a clear m usical
id en tity, if you ask m e.
C W ell, m aybe th e y n eed a little help in
th a t d irection . We can w ork on th a t. B u t
you have to ad m it th e lead sin g er’s voice
is ju s t am azing. In fa c t, th e y ’re m usically
really stro n g all round.
A Okay, I’ll give you th a t. A p art from
th e drum m er, th a t is, w h o’s p re tty
seco n d -rate. So h e ’d have to go.
C She.
A Sh e? They have a fem ale drum m er?
In tere stin g . W ell, anyway, sh e ’s n o good.
C Could b e trick y to fire. S h e ’s th e lead
sin g er’s girlfrien d.
A H m . I’m goin g o ff th e m already.
C R o n n ie, b elieve m e, The P en iten ts are a
class act. And I’m n o t easily im pressed,
you know th a t.
A T rue, you’re n o t. M iles, m eet th e w om an
who tu rn ed dow n O asis.
D Fin e by m e. I n ever liked th em .
C I th o u g h t we w eren ’t going to ta lk a bout
th a t any m ore.
A Okay, okay. W ell, w h at do The P en iten ts
look like? No, le t m e guess. Like th ey
h av en ’t e a ten a h o t m eal fo r a w eek and
th ey cu t th e ir ow n hair, righ t?
D N ot a t all. The lead g u ita rist looks like
K eanu R eeves. The d ru m m er’s fabulous
even if h e r d ru m m in g’s a little off.
In fa c t, th e y ’re all p re tty glam orous.
R onn ie, I have a good feelin g about
A
th is one.
Okay, call th e ir m an ag er and se t
so m eth in g up. B u t n o t n e x t week. I’m at
th e M T V awards.
C Okay, I’ll do th a t. O h, and b y th e way,
you m ig h t w an t to tu n e in to V H l
a t eig h t th is evening. They’re bein g
in terview ed live.
A They are? W ell, why didn’t you say so
b efo re? Look, give m e th e ir m an ag er’s
n um ber, I m ig h t ju s t call h im m yself this
a fte rn o o n ...
18 MEDIATION
^ 3.25
A Okay, tak e a seat. Now, look, you b o th
know w hy w e’re h ere. H enri, you’ve been
stru g gling to g et th e P anam a p roject
com p leted fo r w eeks.
B W h a t ? ...
A No, h ear m e ou t, H enri. I’ve g o t a n o th er
m eetin g in an h ou r and we really m ust
s o r t th is situ atio n o u t today. In fa c t, I
p robably should have in terv en ed earlier.
Now, fo r on e reason o r an oth er, you’ve
b een having difficulty b rin gin g th is
p ro je c t to com p letion . I b ro u g h t E len a
in to help you out, th in k in g it would
m ake your life easier. And sin ce th e n you
tw o have done n o th in g b u t fig h t, and
th e p ro ject seem s to b e fu rth e r b eh in d
schedule th an ever! Now can som ebody
please tell m e w h at on e a r th ’s going on?
Elena?
C Well, it ’s H enri. H e’s to tally
disorganized. I m ean . I’m n o t surprised
h e ’s so far b eh in d schedu le. He can ’t
w ork to a deadline. W e’ve g o t no proper
m ilesto n es in place fo r th is p ro ject. I’ve
tried w orking w ith h im , b u t i t ’s ju st
h opeless ...
B I am n o t to ta lly disorganized, Elena.
J u s t b ecau se you’re ob sessed w ith
tickin g b o xes a t every stage o f th e
p ro ject, and I’m n o t, does n o t m ake m e
disorganized. In fa c t, I n ever asked for
your help in th e firs t place. I was g ettin g
along ju s t fine w ith o u t you, th an k s very
m uch.
C How could you b e ‘g e ttin g along ju st
fin e’? W h y do you th in k I was
b rou gh t in?
B I’ve no idea. I c erta in ly didn’t requ est
you r assistan ce.
A People, peop le ...
C And I didn’t ask fo r th e jo b eith er, H enri.
I’ve got b e tte r th in g s to do th a n so rt out
you r problem s!
A R ight, everybody ju s t h old it rig h t th ere!
B Okay, th a t’s it! I’ve had en ough o f th is!
I’m sorry, Ja m e s . If you w an t to discuss
th is m a tte r w ith m e in priv ate, w e’ll
n eed to arrang e a n o th e r m eeting ,
A H e n r i...
B I’ll b e in m y office if you w an t m e.
A W ell, th a t w en t well!
3.26
A o k ay , le t’s g et sta rte d , sh all w e? W ell,
I’m Kaye and, as you know, Ja m e s has
asked m e to m ed iate th is sessio n . He
th o u g h t th a t m aybe so m eo n e fro m
a d ifferen t d e p a rtm e n t m ig h t b e in a
b e tte r p o sitio n to help you resolve your
issues. Is th a t okay w ith b o th o f you?
Okay, good. Now, i t ’s Elena and H enri,
isn ’t it? All rig h t, w ell, first o f all, le t
m e say, th a t ev ery th in g you say in th is
m eetin g is to ta lly co n fid en tial. N o th in g
goes outsid e th is room . And, o f course.
I’m com p letely im p a rtia l in all th is. I
have n o p erso n al in te r e st in h ow you
resolve your d ifferences. I’m ju s t h ere
to tr y and m ake sure we exp lore every
o p tion , okay? Now, o n e o r tw o ru les to
m ake th is m eetin g m o re productive.
W e’ll speak on e a t a tim e if p o ssib le. So
p lease tr y n o t to in te rru p t each oth er.
I f you’ve an y th in g to say, m ake a n o te
o f it, so you can m ake your p o in t w hen
it ’s you r tu rn to speak. And if you n eed
to ta lk to m e priv ately a t any stage, ju s t
le t m e know. All rig h t? Now, H enri, le t’s
s ta r t w ith you, shall w e? How do you see
th e situ a tio n ? ...
B ... So, frankly, 1 d o n ’t see w h at kin d o f
help E len a can possibly o ffer w hen she
h a sn ’t b een involved in th is p ro ject,
know s n o th in g ab o u t it, in f a c t ...
C Now, h an g on, H enri! 1 know as m uch
a b o u t th is p ro ject as you do. I o u g h t to
by now, fo r h eaven ’s sake - I’ve b een
w orking o n it 2 4/ 7 fo r th e la st th re e
weeks! You see w hat h e ’s like? J u s t no
resp ect fo r anybody e lse’s p o in t o f view.
A Okay, I u n d ersta n d y o u r p o sitio n ,
E lena. B u t ju s t le t H enri fin ish w h at
h e h as to say and I’ll com e back to you
in a m o m e n t, okay? Now, H enri, as I
u n d erstan d it, you’re n o t happy a b o u t
sh arin g re sp o n sib ility fo r th is p ro ject
w ith Elena, is th a t rig h t?
B W ell, o f course. I’m n o t. I t ’s m y p ro ject.
Ja m e s had n o rig h t b rin g in g E len a in at
all. I had ev ery th in g u n d er co n tro l. I ju s t
n eed ed a little m ore tim e. M aybe som e
m ore IT su p p o rt would have b e e n a nice
idea too. W h a t I did n’t n eed is so m eo n e
else com in g in and ta k in g over!
C I have n o t ta k en over!
B O nly b ecau se I h aven ’t le t you!
A Okay, clearly, we have a
m isu n d erstan d in g a b o u t roles h ere.
Elena, w h at was you r b rie f fro m Ja m e s
w hen he b ro u g h t you in?
C To m ake sure th is p ro je c t is co m p leted
on tim e and on b ud get. A t th e m o m e n t,
i t ’s five w eeks b eh in d schedule.
A B u t Ja m e s did n o t ask you to tak e charge
o f th e p ro ject?
C W ell, o f course h e did n’t. I can ’t take
re sp o n sib ility fo r all th is. I’ve g o t th ree
o th e r p ro je c ts I’m involved in at
th e m o m en t.
A So you agree w ith H enri th a t th is is his
p ro je c t and th a t you ’re ju s t try in g to do
w h at you can to p rev en t any
fu rth e r delays?
C T h at’s righ t.
A H enri, are you reassu red by w h at Elena
ju s t said?
B W ell, ... yes, all rig h t. I m ean , if s h e ’d ju st
m ade th a t clear at th e s ta r t in stead o f
sto rm in g in.
A All righ t. And, E len a, can you see how
H enri m ig h t have th o u g h t you w ere
ta k in g co n tro l?
C W ell, I sup pose so.
A Good, we seem to b e m akin g
som e progress.
C Look, H enri, I’m ju s t try in g to b rin g
a b it o f o rg an ization to th is p ro ject.
I m ean , you’re g reat on th e creative
side, b u t you have to ad m it you ’re n o t
stro n g on th e d etails. W e’re still so rtin g
o u t th in g s fro m p h ase on e and w e’re
sup posed to be o n p h ase th ree!
B I’ve g o t all th a t covered, Elena.
C So you say, b u t how do I kn ow th a t?
You n ev er sen d m e p rog ress re p o rts or
a n y th in g ...
A All rig h t. It loo k s to m e as th ou g h w hat
we have h ere is a co n flict o f w orking
styles. Sh all we talk a b o u t th a t a
b it m ore?
3.27
A ... Okay, so, can I ju s t su m m arize w h at
yo u ’ve agreed ? H enri, you’re goin g to
rem ain in charge o f th is p ro je c t, b u t
yo u ’re goin g to sen d w eekly re p o rts to
E len a, so sh e can keep track o f p rogress
- esp ecially on th e details - and help
o u t ju s t w here sh e ’s n eed ed. O th erw ise,
th o u g h , m eetin g deadlines is goin g to
b e you r re sp o n sib ility - and yours alone.
Is th a t accep tab le to b o th o f you? Okay,
now it ’s ju s t a su g g estio n , b u t you m ig h t
like to co n sid er h avin g schedu led daily
ch a ts over a coffee ju s t to keep everyone
up to speed.
C G ood idea.
B Yes, sure.
A Now, E len a, yo u ’ve agreed to g et th a t
e x tra IT su p p o rt H en ri requ ested ,
w hich will free h im up to c o n c en tra te
o n th e creative side o f th in g s, and free
you up to g et on w ith som e o f you r
o th e r p ro jec ts. Now, does th is new
a rra n g em en t sou n d like so m eth in g you
can b o th live w ith?
C Yes, I th in k so.
B Okay, let' 's give it a try.
A G reat, now I’l l ...
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