Although Hong Kong is very much a Chinese city, it has always played host to business people and professionals from a wide range of countries. The majority of these people speak English, the most important medium of international business communication.
This means that in the course of your professional duties you will often need to use English to interact with expatriate colleagues in your own company, and with business associates and clients working for other organisations (both in Hong Kong and overseas). Indeed, research has shown that the higher a person rises in their profession in Hong Kong, the more they will need to use English for various purposes. Clearly, then, the ability to communicate effectively in English in professional settings is an important asset for anyone who aspires to a successful business career in Hong Kong.
In business English it is especially important for you to be able to use the correct register of language. Here are three descriptions of the same machine.
Read the descriptions, and decide which one is conversational, which for professional purposes and which academic.
Well, it’s a machine that sort of looks a bit like a box with a kind of screen on top. And you use it, well, you know, you use it to send things to people, like documents and stuff. Oh yeah, and it's often grey or beige in colour and has buttons for dialling too.
This is a machine which has been developed in order to facilitate the instant transmission of documents for any purpose, though it is particularly used in commercial settings. It consists of a base unit which normally has a rectangular shape and a sloping top into which a small screen and dialling buttons are incorporated.
This machine is designed to help you send documents quickly and easily. It is light-weight, portable and user friendly in design with touch buttons for dialling and a simple display screen.
Look at the language in these three extracts. How is it different in each?
Read the descriptions, and decide which one is conversational, which for professional purposes and which academic.
Well, it’s a machine that sort of looks a bit like a box with a kind of screen on top. And you use it, well, you know, you use it to send things to people, like documents and stuff. Oh yeah, and it's often grey or beige in colour and has buttons for dialling too.
This is a machine which has been developed in order to facilitate the instant transmission of documents for any purpose, though it is particularly used in commercial settings. It consists of a base unit which normally has a rectangular shape and a sloping top into which a small screen and dialling buttons are incorporated.
This machine is designed to help you send documents quickly and easily. It is light-weight, portable and user friendly in design with touch buttons for dialling and a simple display screen.
To be able to achieve the aims of using language for professional purposes, and operate efficiently in professional settings you will need to master two features of language in particular:
The appropriate use of language
The differences between spoken and written language
You will learn about these features in this and the following units.
Spoken and written language tend to differ from one another in various ways. Here are some features of spoken and written language. Organise them into the correct boxes below.
Workplace communication: getting to the point quickly – and courteously
As with any form of communication, it is the purpose and the audience which determine the nature of workplace communication. Academic communication, for example, has as one of its main purposes the communication of information and arguments between students and staff in academic settings. Journalistic communication exists to inform and sometimes to persuade large sections of the general public about events in the world. Workplace communication takes place, essentially, to get things done between staff in workplace situations.
The practical nature of workplace communication means that it is characterised by certain features, whether in spoken or written mode. First, workplace communication needs always to be as long as necessary and as short as possible. This rule applies to letters, memos, reports, emails, résumés, meetings and telephone conversations. Busy people do not appreciate wordiness and reserve their praise for communication which is clear, concise and correct.
A clear and concise style is achieved by choosing appropriate language for the purpose. For example, in academic communication the following sentence is perfectly acceptable:
There are a number of reasons to account for the recent decline in Hong Kong's economy.
But the effective workplace communicator would phrase this differently:
Hong Kong's economy has declined recently due to ...
In letters, the effective workplace communicator will avoid wordy and clumsy phrases such as:
The above mentioned/captioned post/product/service …
The need for clarity and conciseness does not, of course, mean that workplace communication should be abrupt. Indeed, politeness is essential to create and sustain good working relationships. Politeness is achieved by making sure that letters, memos, phone calls, etc. all have the right tone . Boastful claims must be avoided, as should overly humble statements. For example:
I have great pleasure in introducing you to our company's newest and most wonderful product …
I should be most obliged if you would give some of your precious time to consider our company's newest product …
are unacceptable. A neutral expression would be more appropriate:
I would like to introduce our company's newest product …
A final and very important characteristic of effective business communication is its language accuracy .
In most companies, a letter is considered to be "unmailable" if it contains even a single error in formatting, spelling, punctuation or grammar. So, careful and detailed editing and proofreading of a written document is essential. Employers and colleagues will tend to judge a person's abilities and attitudes negatively if they use inaccurate language in workplace communication.
Effective workplace communication, then, needs to demonstrate:
a style which achieves clarity and conciseness
a tone which achieves politeness but not humility
a presentation which is flawless in terms of format and language
If any of these features are absent, the result will be ineffective communication, which is bad for business.
Workplace communication: getting to the point quickly – and courteously
As with any form of communication, it is the purpose and the audience which determine the nature of workplace communication. Academic communication, for example, has as one of its main purposes the communication of information and arguments between students and staff in academic settings. Journalistic communication exists to inform and sometimes to persuade large sections of the general public about events in the world. Workplace communication takes place, essentially, to get things done between staff in workplace situations.
The practical nature of workplace communication means that it is characterised by certain features, whether in spoken or written mode. First, workplace communication needs always to be as long as necessary and as short as possible. This rule applies to letters, memos, reports, emails, résumés, meetings and telephone conversations. Busy people do not appreciate wordiness and reserve their praise for communication which is clear, concise and correct .
Workplace communication: getting to the point quickly – and courteously
As with any form of communication, it is the purpose and the audience which determine the nature of workplace communication. Academic communication, for example, has as one of its main purposes the communication of information and arguments between students and staff in academic settings. Journalistic communication exists to inform and sometimes to persuade large sections of the general public about events in the world. Workplace communication takes place, essentially, to get things done between staff in workplace situations.
The practical nature of workplace communication means that it is characterised by certain features, whether in spoken or written mode. First, workplace communication needs always to be as long as necessary and as short as possible. This rule applies to letters, memos, reports, emails, résumés, meetings and telephone conversations. Busy people do not appreciate wordiness and reserve their praise for communication which is clear, concise and correct.
A clear and concise style is achieved by choosing appropriate language for the purpose . For example, in academic communication the following sentence is perfectly acceptable:
There are a number of reasons to account for the recent decline in Hong Kong's economy.
But the effective workplace communicator would phrase this differently:
Hong Kong's economy has declined recently due to ...
In letters, the effective workplace communicator will avoid wordy and clumsy phrases such as:
The above mentioned/captioned post/product/service …
A final and very important characteristic of effective business communication is its language accuracy .
In most companies, a letter is considered to be "unmailable" if it contains even a single error in formatting, spelling, punctuation or grammar. So, careful and detailed editing and proofreading of a written document is essential. Employers and colleagues will tend to judge a person's abilities and attitudes negatively if they use inaccurate language in workplace communication.
Effective workplace communication, then, needs to demonstrate:
a style which achieves clarity and conciseness
a tone which achieves politeness but not humility
a presentation which is flawless in terms of format and language
If any of these features are absent, the result will be ineffective communication, which is bad for business.
3. When using your telephone equipment, basic safety precautions should always be followed to reduce the risk of injury to persons, including the following:
Read and understand all instructions.
Follow all warnings and instructions marked on the product.
Unplug this product from the wall outlet before cleaning. Do not use liquid cleaners. Use a damp cloth for cleaning.
General public/ new users of equipment To instruct People installing new equipment & referring to instructions Neutral Intended reader Purpose of text Writer-reader relationship Level of formality
While it is true that spoken and written language are different, they are not always strongly differentiated. Where on the lines below would you place the following kinds of spoken and written language?
2. Conference speeches 3. Business reports 4. Minutes 5. Postcards to family 6. Job application letters 7. Workplace telephone calls 8. Text messages to girlfriend/boyfriend 9. Chats with a friend 10. Conversations with colleagues at work 11. Tourist brochures 12. Sales presentations
2. Conference speeches 3. Business reports 4. Minutes 5. Postcards to family 6. Job application letters 7. Workplace telephone calls 8. Text messages to girlfriend/boyfriend 9. Chats with a friend 10. Conversations with colleagues at work 11. Tourist brochures 12. Sales presentations
0 comments
Post a comment