INGLES COMERCIAL - CREDIT 1 MANUAL - FP A DISTANCIA ANDALUCIA - GRADO SUPERIOR GESTION COMERCIAL Y MARKETING

INGLÉS COMERCIAL I
Santillanaformación
GESTIÓN COMERCIAL Y MÁRKETING

1. Finding a new job
• Greetings ........................................................................................................3
• Requesting information ...................................................................................5
• Cities and countries.........................................................................................7
• Differences in spelling ....................................................................................9
• Write a curriculum.........................................................................................12
• Presentation letters ......................................................................................14
2. Learning about figures
• Companies organization ...............................................................................16
• Schedules......................................................................................................17
• Quantities......................................................................................................19
• Compare .......................................................................................................20
• Doing business with other cultures ...............................................................22
• Imperatives ...................................................................................................24
3. Working routines
• Everyday work ..............................................................................................27
• Market research............................................................................................29
• Personal interest and lifestyles ....................................................................30
• Past Simple ..................................................................................................33
• Changes ......................................................................................................36
• Present Perfect.............................................................................................38
4. Telephoning
• Good manners .............................................................................................41
• Speak on the phone ....................................................................................43
• Useful expressions on the phone ................................................................45
• Work and home life .....................................................................................48
• The Future ..................................................................................................50
• Ing forms .....................................................................................................52
5. Planning new products
• Business presentation..................................................................................55
• Organizing points ........................................................................................59
• Past Perfect.................................................................................................63
• Future plans.................................................................................................67
• Product designing and description ..............................................................69
• How to write and advert ..............................................................................72
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INGLÉS COMERCIAL I©2004bySantillanaFormación,S.L
INDEX
Inglés Comercial I

Inglés comercial I
1 Finding a new job
Greetings
When we meet someone in a business situation we need to be specially careful
because the impression we cause on the other person can help or on the contrary,
hinder our objective. Different degrees of politeness depend on the situation and
the nationality of the people we are dealing with.
As a general rule, Americans tend to be more informal and they like to treat their
business acquaintances casually very soon. British, however, differentiate clearly
business from friendship.
You may think that shaking hands is the only logical way of greeting someone,
well, you are wrong. Asians bow and Arabs do not like to be touched by a business
woman so, things are not so easy!
Even the distance you must keep when talking is a cultural convention. Latin and
Mediterranean people get closer, British like middle distances and Orientals stand
up as far as possible. Do not try to approach and do not move your hands and
arms while you are speaking to reinforce your words, they consider this type of
body language menacing and frightening.
In the old days it was very common to use the expression “I’m pleased to make
your acquaintance”, and when two people met for the first time they asked each
other “How do you do?” repeating the sentence without really answering it.
Although some old people still use them, they are considered too polite today.
The ceremony of interchanging visiting cards is also important for them. Do not
give it a quick look and put it into your pocket, but hold it showing your appreciation
and respect.
When you meet someone for the first time you can use a formal or an informal
greeting.
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Formal and informal greetings
Formal Informal
Formal
answer
Informal
answer
How
do you
do?
How are
you?
I’m
pleased to
meet you
Very well thank
you, and you?
I’m fine,
thanks, and
you?
• These sentences are a different way of greeting someone:
It's good to meet you.
Nice to meet you.
• You should always use Mr. + Surname/Mrs. + Surname until the other
person tells you to use his/her name with the following sentence:
Please, call me John.
Please, just Alice.
• These sentences are a different way of greeting someone:
It’s good to meet you.
Nice to meet you.
• You should always use Mr. + Surname/Mrs. + Surname until the other
person tells you to use his/her name with the following sentence:
Please, call me John.
Please, just Alice.
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INGLÉS COMERCIAL I FINDING A NEW JOB©2004bySantillanaFormación,S.L
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Requesting information
We can ask people about their works and this is not considered curiosity but a way
of showing interest. Socializing in a convention or a meeting is a substantial part of
an executive’s job.
In fact, the ability to get information from a colleague or a competitor is not easy to
acquire, you need some sort of psychological disposition not to frighten your
opponent by an intensive questioning.
Expert’s advice that you should listen to the speaker with a broad smile and
assertive movements proving that you are keeping an interest in his words.
Sometimes reassuring sentences like “I see”, “I think so” “Really?”, or more
informally “No kidding?” can be interpreted as a hint to go on.
Why do we want all this knowledge about people we are not interested in? Well, in
many occasions we only find out garbage, but there may be new job offers, some
news about our own company that the executive board did not want to reveal to its
own employees, gossiping about markets’ behavior, joint ventures, company’s
mergers and all sorts of things that we can learn from an inoffensive talk.
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These strategies are not at all modern, an ancient Chinese military strategist wrote
a book titled Sun Tzu Management, and his ideas which came from military training
are still as relevant to the business world as they were for war purposes when the
book was written.
He goes as far as justifying industrial espionage with these words “Although some
people have condemned such activities, my personal feeling is that all is fair in
war”.
He mentions some useful ways of obtaining information from men who know the
enemy position:
1- Getting information from potential recruits.
2- Conducting false job interviews.
3- Hiring people away from competitors.
4- Planting spies.
5- Encouraging key customers to talk.
6- Taking factory tours.
7- Taking competitors’ products apart.
GRAMMAR POINT
When asking about a company these questions will come in handy. Learn
them by heart with their answers.
They usually start with a question word followed by a form of the verb “to be” or
an auxiliary: do/does, did, have/has.
Prepositions go at the end of the questions and not at the beginning as in
Spanish, so avoid common errors such as “In what company do you work?”
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Asking about company
What is your job? I’m a secretary
What do you do for a living?
I’m a
receptionist
What do you do? I’m a lawyer
What do you work as?
I’m an
accountant
What division are you in? I’m in sales
What department are you in?
I’m in
marketing
What is your position/post in the
company?
I’m an export
manager
What business are you in? I’m in clothing
Work
Who do you work for?
I work for
I.B.M.
What does your company
make?
It makes cars
produce?
It produces
software
manufacture?
It
manufactures
television sets
What does your company sell? It sells houses
Products
design?
It designs
furniture
Cities and countries
Read this text, it is a job advertisement: a General Manager for Africa.
"A large international energy company is looking for a general manager to run its
East African office, based in Nairobi. You will work closely with technical and
operational specialists and play a leading role in all the company's commercial
activities in the region.
You should be a graduate with a working knowledge of English. You must also
have excellent communicative and interpersonal skills.
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In addition to a performance-related salary, we provide an attractive benefits
package. Please, reply with C.V. to: Nicholl Executive Search. PO Box 2002,
London, UK".
Now let’s have a look at the applicant’s description:
• A 25-year-old graduate.
• From Harvard Business School who grew up in Kenya.
• A 40-year-old communications consultant who has worked in 12 different
countries.
• A 35-year-old major in the South African army who is looking for a new career.
PRECEDENCE AND ORIGIN
As you saw in the text there are many references to cities, universities, regions
and countries. It is usually so when “talking business”. You will need to express
or ask about the precedence of a product, a person, a survey or even a list of
figures.
In English, all words (nouns and adjectives) relating to countries or nationalities
begins with a capital letter.
This chart lists what is probably the most widely-accepted number of continents
(7), and shows the associated adjective and the noun used for a person from each
continent:
Continent Adjective Person
Africa African an African
Antarctica Antarctic
Asia Asian an Asian
Europe European a European
North America North American a North American
Oceania Oceanian an Oceanian
South America South American
a South
American
Look at some of the expressions in the text. They all refer to origin:
• To run its East African office.
• Based in Nairobi.
• In the region.
• Graduate from Harvard.
• Grew up in Kenya.
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Here you have some of the most common questions about precedence:
• Where are you from?
• Where do you come from?
• Where is your company based?
• Where are your company’s headquarters?
• Where is your company main office?
• Where did you grow up?
• Where did you graduate?
Adjectives
-ish
group
ian-an
group
-ese group
British Brazilian Chinese
Spanish Australian Japanese
Polish Italian Portuguese
Irregular adjectives
Greece Greek
Holland Dutch
France French
U.S.A. American
When answering to these questions you will often need adjectives of origin. They
use different endings, although some are irregular. Adjectives are always written
with a capital letter.
Differences in spelling
When writing or reading we can find a lot of differences in spelling in the same
word. If you look up in the dictionary words such as:
• Analyze
• Prioritize
• Organization
You will find them written with “z” or with “s” and both spellings are right. The same
happens when you have words such as: “colour”, “odour”, or “harbour”, they can
also be: “color”, “odor” and “harbor”. Why is this so?
The answer is easy: American English has tried to simplify spelling as much as
possible and has intended to write words as close to their pronunciation.
That tendency usually causes trouble in written English and it is very difficult to be
consistent when writing, as British themselves have accepted some of the
modifications but not others.
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In business English the spelling is very often closer to the American ways because
the U.S.A. are the first economic power and their influence in the world is very
strong, so, apart from specific vocabulary, we can learn some of the most frequent
spelling differences:
• Words ending in “-re” such as “centre, “Theatre” in British English, are
written: “center” and “theater” in American English.
• Words containing “-s” such as “organize”, analyze” are written with “z” in
American English.
• Words with “ou” are simplified in “o” in American English.
• Words with double consonants, such as “programme” are written with a
single consonant in American English.
But, words such as “instalment” are written with a double consonant “installment” in
American English.
English alphabet
These are the English letters and their correct pronunciation. You have to learn
them very well to spell fast.
It is very common to spell surnames, cities and street names. On the telephone
you will hear:
How do you spell it/that?
Can you spell that for me please?
Remember: In English the letter “ll” does not exist. If you find it in a word you must
spell it /dabol él/. The letter “ñ” can only be found in Spanish. They usually spell it
like an “n” so, if your name contains an “ñ” keep calm!
However the words “traveller, travelling and travelled” from the same stem, are
written with a single “l” in American English.
This inconsistency prevents grammar rules from being effective and forces us to
check the spelling whenever we are in doubt.
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A = éi
B =
bi:
C =
sí:
D =
di:
E = i: F = ef
G =
dzi:
H =
éik
I = ái
J =
dzéi
K =
kéi
L =
él
M =
ém
N =
én
O =
óu
P =
pi:
Q = KJÚ
R =
ÁR
S =
ÉS
T =
TÍ:
U =
JÚ:
V =
VI:
W =
dabljú
X =
eks
Y = WAI
Z =
ZÉD

When giving addresses, surnames, etc. or when speaking on the phone, you can
have some problems because the other person does not know how to write
correctly what you are saying. In that case, you need to spell that problematic word
to avoid misunderstandings.
Therefore the practice of spelling is very common in English. People will ask you:
How do you spell that? Or, Can you spell that for me, please? Whenever there
might be a misunderstanding, a name or a word that they have never seen.
English is not easy
English is not an easy language because throughout the years English speakers
have extended their language across different continents, they were mostly
soldiers and tradesmen, not scholars, therefore language accuracy was not one of
their aims.
That is one of the reasons why the same word can be found written with different
spellings depending on each country. While Britain was the head of the Empire,
British colleges and universities dictated what was acceptable and what was not.
You can easily find lists of words that are different in both countries although most
of them are well understood in Britain as well as in the United States, here are
some of them:
British English American English
underground subway
lift elevator
lorry truck
holiday vacation
autumn fall
tap faucet
shop store
film movie
cinema movie theatre
shopping centre mall
trousers pants
toilet rest room
taxi cab
reception desk reception counter
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Write a curriculum
When we want to find a job we need to plan carefully what we should do. First of
all, we need to have a degree, a diploma or some sort of official qualification that
proves that we have received the training required for the post we are applying for.
Secondly, we have to point out any working experience that we may have
acquired. If we are still young, part-time jobs will help us to prove that we are
willing to work and we do not depend entirely on our family’s support.
When writing a curriculum we need to organize the information about ourselves.
First of all, it must include name, surname address, a telephone number where you
can be reached easily, your date of birth and nationality is also important. Many
companies, when looking for a new employee, specify the required age.
Common and optional components of a Resume
Resumes have many different styles and formats, but essentially contain similar
information. Below are the common and optional components of a resume. As you
go through this tutorial, each component will be described in more detail and
examples will be given.
Common components
Heading
Name, address, phone number, & e-
Mail
Career
objective
Shows your job target
Education Describes academic achievement
Experience Paid and volunteer experience
Activities
Professional, educational, or civic
activities
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Optional components
Skills / Summary of
qualifications
List relevant skills and
qualifications
Functional skills
Used with functional / combination
resumes
Honours / Awards
Contains educational and related
honours
Certifications /
Licenses
Those which are pertinent to your
objective
Others
Additional qualifications related to
your goal
The chronological resume format is the most common and easiest to write. It's
also the resume format that many employers and recruiters prefer.
Do not forget your age, and place of birth. Your nationality is also important, as well
as a picture, because in many occasions, personal appearance is determinant.
Educational qualifications should follow, mark clearly the year in which you
obtained the degree, or finished the course. List all your qualifications even if you
think that some of them are not really relevant for the type of job you are interested
in, sometimes the person who is going to read your curriculum can be impressed
by some aspects that you have considered unimportant.
Don’t forget to mention the foreign languages you can speak. Today a good
competence in English can make a big difference.
Finally, do not hesitate in enclosing a description of your interests. They will show
that you are a person of your time, and what is more important, that you have
social abilities that can be well-used, specially if your job involves dealing with
people.
Use dynamic action verbs such as: accomplished, collaborated, encouraged,
established, facilitated, founded, managed, etc.
Do not use the subject "i", use tenses in the past. Except for your present job.
Example: conducted routine inspections of on site equipment.
A presentation letter should be attached to your C.V. you must refer to the post,
and where have you learn about it: a newspaper, an employment agency…etc.
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If you are given the chance to attend a personal interview, try to learn as much as
possible about the company, what they produce, where they are located, what their
corporative image is and any details that show that you have done your homework.
Be friendly and well-mannered, do not forget that you are being evaluated, but
remain clam and confident. Remember that doing well at a job interview is also a
matter of practice.
Most words indicating jobs and professions are usually formed by adding an
ending to a base that can be a verb or a noun. The most common endings are:
-er, -or, -ist
Some professions do not have any endings: “architect”, “pilot”, “air host”.
Notice that the –er ending is the most active.
Professions endings
-er -or -ist
Engineer Doctor Journalist
Butcher Investor Capitalist
Teacher Solicitor Anthropologist
Worker Auditor Stylist
Baker Actor Typist
Police officer
Groccer
Writer
Lawyer
Stockbroker
Manager
Designer
hairdresser
Presentation letters
A letter of application, or presentation, also called the “covering letter” can be as
important as the C.V. because it often provides the first direct contact between a
candidate and an employer. If this letter is not well written and presented, it will
make a poor impression.
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It is very important that you seem interested in the company, so it is a good idea to
find out about its products, branches or subsidiaries, as well as its latest results.
You also should give the impression of being an active person, willing to join their
team. That’s the main objective of a presentation letter; it speaks for you, before
you have the chance to speak for yourself. It will show a possible employer how
well you “sell” yourself.
Read this presentation letter:
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing to apply for the post at the sales department as advertised in the New
York Times on July 27th, 2004.
I did a degree in business Administration at the University of Yale. Since I
graduated I have worked for “Canon”.
I am familiar with your company’s corporate image and I am enthusiastic and
cooperative although I am also capable of working alone.
I enclose my curriculum vitae and a recent picture.
I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully,
Laura Sánchez
Presentation letters should go together with C.V.s. They point out your personal
qualities and let your employer know a little more about your expectations.
They cannot be very long, and they have to follow a pattern:
• Greeting. Always use Sir/Madam if you do not know the name of the person
you are writing to.
• Stating the objective of your letter. If you are answering to a telephone
conversation or to an advertisement, do say so, and make reference to it,
date and name of the publication.
• Point out your qualifications and personal strengths.
• Closing sentence. It has been established by convention “I’m looking
forward to…”
• End with “yours faithfully” if you do not know the person’s name, or with
“yours sincerely” if you have had some previous relation or know them.
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2 Learning about figures
Companies organization
When describing companies and their organization, charts are very useful. They
help us visualize the company’s hierarchy and structure. It can be pyramidal,
where a chief executive or a manager is at the top and some departments are
more important than others, or it can be horizontal, where the departments are all
at the same level each one with a manger, and interact on equality bases.
Organization charts describe processes as well; they are effective visual aids and
are a good option to explain a company’s methods and plans. We can find these
charts usually printed in brochures so that we understand easily what they are
doing or how they are structured. They use square or rectangular boxes connected
by lines or arrows.
Pie charts are essential to represent figures and percentages in the easiest
possible way. As you know, they are circles divided by radial lines. The complete
circle should amount to a 100%.
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Read this text:
Our market share fell by 2% last year, but on the other hand our turnover increased
by 10 %, due to some savings in energy bills that dropped to a half. The number of
employees went down by a 4% because retirements have not been covered by
new recruitments. However the productivity is a 6% higher as the number of days
lost decreased by a 10%.
On the contrary, distribution cost went up because of the rise in the price of oil. We
conducted a survey on customer satisfaction and the results were that a half of
them declared themselves “very satisfied” and a 30% were “reasonably satisfied”,
less than a third of them thought that some improvement was needed.
Americans read quantities in “hundreds”
1200 = American: twelve hundred
British: one thousand two hundred
In quantities “hundred” and “thousand” are always singular
When reading percentages the preposition “of” is used and we read: “... per cent
of ...”
With fractions we use: “a/one half”, “a/one third” “a/one quarter” and after ¼ , the
number below is an ordinal: 1/6 “one sixth”.
Negative numbers are read with the word “minus” before them.
Decimals have a “point”: 12.5 “twelve point five”. But we do not read “point” with
money: 4.25 € “four twenty-five euros”.
About/around are used to say approximate numbers.
There are around 25 people in our store.
About 50% of the population like our products.
Schedules
Today, schedules are everywhere and not only to tell us when do we start work or
when do we finish it, they are at airports, railway and bus stations… etc. To avoid
misunderstandings they usually use four digits to tell the time from 00:00 to 24:00,
leaving out traditional clocks which only have twelve hours on display.
When doing business with people from foreign countries you need to have always
into account the time difference that may exist between your countries as it
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wouldn’t be a good idea to phone someone in the middle of the night. Also have in
mind their everyday schedules, the time they begin their day, lunch and dinner
hours… since a lot of business is made at a restaurant table.
As you know, Americans and most Europeans have lunch at about 12:00 and
dinner around 6:00 p.m. So if you are entertaining visitors do not keep them waiting
until 3:00 for lunch or 10:00 for dinner. They will probably be starving and not
interested in business at all.
Read this text about schedules.
Before the industrial revolution took place, the working hours were marked by the
sun. When it rose everybody went to the fields until sunset. Darkness meant the
end of the journey. There were no holidays and people laboured from Monday to
Sunday.
Electricity changed all this; factories could keep on without having to stop at night.
Workers had to suffer exploitation and abuse from employers. Even children
worked 15 or 16 hours daily.
It was not until the twentieth century that labour was regulated by laws which
established a fixed number of hours a worker could do, a number of days of paid
holidays, health care and other benefits that some companies offer their staff as an
incentive.
Nowadays some people work shifts; others have morning jobs, from 7:30 a.m. to
3:00 p.m. Others have a day in two parts from 9:30 to 1:30 and in the afternoons
from 5:30 to 8:30. There are night jobs from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. Part-time jobs
for people who can’t work all day long. Flexi-time jobs, that allows you to arrive or
leave at different times, as long as the total amount of hours in a week is right.
Technological Revolution will allow people to work at home. Tele-working will be
common in a near future and it won’t be necessary to commute every day.
FLIGHT DEPARTURES
FLIGHT DESTINATION TIME GATE INFORMATION
AR254 MADRID 3:58 10 CLOSED
BV521 LONDON 4:00 5 DELAYED
DD755 LISBON 4:35 8
NOW
BORDING
AM356 BOSTON 5:15 23 CLOSED
IB435 NEW YORK 5:45 17
WAIT IN
LOUNGE
SP856 MEXICO CITY 6:02 9 LAST CALL
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CARDINAL NUMBERS
Cardinal numbers express figures, telephone numbers, years and times.
Figures: 18721 – “eighteen thousand, seven hundred and twenty-one”.
British write “and” between hundreds and tens, also, between thousands and
tens. Americans don’t.
Telephone numbers: are read one by one. When a number is repeated, we
say “double”.
4335967 “four, double three, five, nine, six, seven”
Years: are read in pairs, with the preposition “in”.
In 1998: “nineteen ninety-eight”.
Times: on schedules we give the time in figures. But in normal conversation
we use:
10:15 = a quarter past ten.
9:45 = a quarter to ten.
6:30 = half past six.
11.40 = twenty to twelve.
Americans use “after” instead of the British Past and “of” instead of “to”.
To know the time use these questions:
What time is it?
What’s the time?
Have you got the time?
Quantities
It is always difficult to explain how to use quantities in English because nouns are
countable or uncountable. These are grammatical terms but sometimes do not
respond to the logic.
Let’s take an example: although it is perfectly possible to count money. The word
“money” itself is grammatically uncountable; therefore you cannot say “a money”,
or “two monies”. However, you can count currencies such as pounds, euros or
dollars.
Which of my knowledge is money too? In general, we can say that countable
nouns can be used in the plural but not uncountable nouns. The problem is that
there are some special cases where a word can have both uses like “hair”.
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It is not the same to have only one hair that to have short red hair. Other
uncountable nouns can have countable equivalents: “travel” cannot be plural but
“trips” can be counted easily. And, what about “goods”, “scissors”, “valuables”,
“earnings”? Well believe it or nor, they only can occur in the plural.
GRAMMAR POINT
To ask about quantities we use:
How much for uncountable nouns and how many for countable nouns.
To answer we can use:
• Uncountable: little/ a little. Much.
• Countable: Few/ a few. Many.
“A lot of”/ “a lot”/ “lots of” and “plenty of” can be used for both.
Some express indeterminate quantities. It is used in positive sentences or in
questions when the expected answer is “yes”.
Any is used in negative and interrogative sentences.
some + plural = countable
some + singular= uncountable
any + plural= countable
any + singular = uncountable
Most uncountable or mass nouns include:
• Substances: gold, plastic, water...
• Abstract ideas: progress, safety, ....
• Verbal nouns: brainstorming, timing, ....
We can refer to parts of a mass by using a suitable singular expression in front
of the noun:
“A piece of”, “a glass of”, “a bottle of”, “a pair of”... etc.
Compare
In this text, a sales manager is explaining to his colleagues why they can afford
such operating margin.
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“This is a leading company, our customers are well aware that we only use the
best materials and they are satisfied with our quality standards. That is the reason
why they are ready to pay a higher price for any item with our brand on it.
I do not think our gross profit is excessive if you take into account that although our
complements and clothes are more expensive than others, they are also more
resistant, colours are more solid and do not fade away with use. Whereas results
have plunged in other organizations, our finances are healthier than ever”.
When we compare two things we use the comparative form of adjectives. When we
compare more than two things, or a thing within a group, we use the superlative
form.
• Comparatives
-Short adjectives add –er ending to their base form.
-Long adjectives compare using the structure “more...than”
-Two syllable adjectives ending in –y, compare with –ier. The rest compare
like the long ones.
• Superlatives
-Short adjectives: the –est
-Long adjectives: The most-
-Two syllable adjectives ending in –y: the –iest.
- The rest, like the long ones.
• When two things are equal we can use:
-The same.
-As....as
-Similar.
• Inferiority can be expressed by “less....than” (two things) or “the least....”
(One thing within a group).
• To compare sentences we can use whereas or while. “British are formal
whereas / while Americans are casual”.
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Some adjectives are irregular:
Good – better – the best
Bad – worse – the worst
Far – farther/further – the farthest/furthest
Other adjectives double the last consonant before adding –er or –est.
Big – bigger – the biggest
Sad – sadder – the saddest
Fat – fatter – the fattest
They follow this pattern consonant + short vowel + consonant
Doing business with other cultures
Holidays are also a very important part of a country’s culture and it is a good idea
to learn more about them when you are dealing with people from a particular
country.
Western people assume that on Sundays we take a rest from our weekly
obligations, but this is not quite true.
If you are doing business with Muslim colleagues or clients, you should respect
their Fridays and if your client is from Israel, he or she will not work on Saturdays.
Since these days are related to religious duties they differ from one religion to
another and we tend to forget it. As we do not realize that Christmas is only a
holiday period for Christians.
It is also important to remember National holidays such as the 4th of July for the
Americans, their Independence Day. The 14th of July for the French., when they
celebrate the French Revolution. The 5th of November, Guy Fawkes Day for the
British, the 1st of May …
Don’t forget it is never a waste of time finding out as much as possible about the
people you are going to work with.
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Tips to help stop you falling into the culture trap:
Tips when doing business in multicultural
communities
Speak slowly
and clearly
Mind your manners
Check and
recheck
Don’t be funny
Be direct
Convey consideration and
goodwill
Be specific Don’t make hasty judgments
Give them time Think people are not foreigners
Read this text:
“A few years ago when I was a young consultant at a prestigious law firm, our
advice was required to divide a huge inheritance among several heirs who lived in
the United States. Most of the properties where located in the south of England,
including a magnificent manor house, surrounded by three acres of farming land.
After many conversations, all theirs agreed on a date to fly to London and visit the
properties: 6/7/2004. On June seven, we were at Heathrow airport waiting for the
British solicitor who was supposed to receive us all. When I phoned him, He was
very surprised to hear that we had flown in advance, because we were not
expected until the sixth of July.
I could not imagine what had happened and how I could have mistaken the date. I
did not remember that they where British and we were not”.
GRAMMAR POINT
• Dates are written using ordinal numbers when referring to the day, and
cardinal numbers when referring to the month.
• With dates we use the preposition “on”.
BRITAIN AMERICA
On the first of June On June, 1
On 1st of June
On June, the first
(June, 1st)
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• Americans write the month first and tend to avoid ordinal numbers, which can
cause some trouble in business letters and appointments.
• To avoid errors look at the differences.
• To talk about a period of time use from ... to
Month and seasons
Month Short Form Days Season
1 January Jan. 31
2 February Feb. 28
Winter
3 March Mar. 31
4 April Apr. 30
5 May May 31
Spring
6 June Jun. 30
7 July Jul. 31
8 August Aug. 30
Summer
9 September Sep. 30
10 October Oct. 31
11 November Nov. 30
Autumn
12 December Dec. 31 Winter
Imperatives
Read this article about Chicago:
“Chicago is known as the second largest city in the United States, but for drama it
is first rate. The city has over a hundred professional theatres, where you can see
many of America’s new writers and actors. Check out the Victory Garden Theatre.
Chicago is also the place to go for food from the old World, try “Berghoff” for
German cuisine or go to “Greek Islands” for Mediterranean flavours, but If you want
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a great view and a meal to match, reserve a window table at the 40th floor Everst
Room in the Loop.
But Chicago is best seen on foot. Visit the shops on North Michigan Avenue or
take an early morning walk in the parks along Lake Shore Drive. In the summer,
swim in the lake and don’t forget to bring a sweater, because the city’s famous
winds can cause extreme changes in temperature”.
Entertaining visitors usually implies showing them around and telling them what to
do, where to go and how to do it.
After work, many people like to know what a place has to offer and executives
change easily into tourists when they have some spare time.
IMPORTANCE OF THE INSTRUCTIONS
Instructions are important in different situations:
• When explaining something to someone or advising what to do, as in the
examples from the text:
Try Berghoff for German cuisine.
Go to Greek Islands.
Reserve a window table at the 40th floor Everest Room in the Loop.
• When teaching someone how to operate a device or use an instrument.
-In commands and prohibitions.
-When giving directions.
-Similar.
Learn how to use them reading attentively the next grammar hints.
You can find many imperatives in this text; they are easily recognized because
they are verbs without a subject and can only be used in their base form. At work
we need imperatives when writing faxes, messages or giving instructions.
IMPORTANCE OF THE INSTRUCTIONS
To ask about quantities we use:
How much for uncountable nouns and how many for countable nouns.
• Direct orders
-Affirmative: Answer the phone.
-Negative: Do not/Don’t answer telephone.
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• Indirect orders: they are given to a third person not present. We need an
introductory verb such as: “tell or ask”.
-Tell/Ask + complement + infinitive with “to”.
-Tell him to fax the letter = affirmative.
-Ask her not to open the door = negative.
-Let/make are followed by infinitive without to = Let me speak freely.
After reading this text you may have the impression that it’s a description from
a tourist office or a travel agent, well, you are wrong. It is a set of instructions
offered by a local worker to one of his colleagues who will be visiting the town.
Look at these directions. Help a colleague to get to his hotel.
• Get out of the subway.
• Cross the street.
• Walk along the street.
• Past the first and second turnings.
• At the Grand Building, turn left.
• The Star Hotel is next to the Grand Building.
• It takes only two minutes to get there.
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3 Working routines
Everyday work
Read this text about working women:
“Many working mothers today are doing three jobs, while their man is doing only
one. Usually a man expects to take it easy at home after a hard day’s work.
Perhaps a woman should expect the same.
Today in Britain 70 per cent of women have jobs outside their homes. A recent
survey shows that full-time housewives spend an average fifty-five hours on
household jobs, while women who work outside the home spend an average thirty
hours a week on housework.
Nobody enjoys doing housework when they could be doing something more
interesting. A man doesn’t usually worry about getting the place clean before doing
something more interesting. A recent survey shows that only in one; out of seven
marriages, husband and wife share housework equally.
It is important to share hours, not jobs. But sometimes it is women’s fault, many
men complain that their wives do not let them help at home and they feel frustrated
because when they try to help they are strongly criticized, so they take the easiest
way and give up trying”.
Remember Present Simple
Positive statements. The third person singular adds an “s” (or “es” sometimes).
I / you / we / they work
he / she / it works
Negative statements: The third person singular does not have any ending. The
auxiliary can be contracted: don’t / doesn’t.
I / you / we / they Do not / don’t
he / she / it Does not / doesn’t
work
Questions. The third person singular does not have any ending.
do I, you, we, they Do
does he, she, it Does
In conversation, we can give a short answer to the questions instead of full
sentences.
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I, you, we, they Do
Yes
he, she, it Does
I, you, we, they Don’t / do not
No
he, she, it
Doesn’t / does
not
GRAMMAR POINT
As you can see this text uses the Present Simple tense to describe present
activities and situations. As a general rule, we use this tense for routine actions
and permanent situations, but sometimes it is difficult to decide if we should
use Present Simple or Continuous.
• Present Simple refers to routine actions while Present Continuous expresses
the moment of speaking.
Henry works for a delivery company. Every day he collects and delivers
packages.
The man is packing some parcels, he is waiting in reception.
• Present Simple shows general activities while Present Continuous refers to
current projects.
I work for a firm of recruitment consultants.
At the moment, we are working on new test for the personnel department of
a large company.
• Permanent situations are expressed using the Present Simple. Temporary
ones are in Present Continuous.
Peter deals with suppliers.
I’m dealing with a new supplier. He is in town.
• Facts (Present Simple) show changes (Present Continuous).
As a rule, an increase of productivity leads to a greater competitively in
prices.
Re- placing of industries is leading to the loss of qualified employment in
developed countries.
• Stative verbs (which describe states rather than actions) are not normally
used in the continuous form.
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-Verbs of thinking: believe, doubt, guess, imagine…
-Verbs of the senses: hear, smell, sound, taste….
-Verbs of possession: belong to, own, possess.
-Verbs of emotion: dislike, hate, like, prefer, regret…
-Verbs of appearance: appear, seem…
Market research
Read this text about market research:
“Companies carry out market research to find out what people think about their
products or services. It is always valuable to know what potential consumers feel
about social issues. Once they have obtained this information, they use it to create
products and services that consumers actually want, and what is most important, to
select the most suitable media for advertising them.
Sometimes, companies do some research themselves, but larger organisations
often take on an agency to collect the data they need. They usually decide on the
type of people to interview and the questions to ask them, they also decide where
interviews should be conducted.
Then, they put forward a market research plan to the client for approval. After, the
information recorded from each questionnaire is analysed and results are put
together in an easy-to-read report with charts and diagrams. This is presented to
the client who must never be disappointed”.
NRS SOCIAL GRADE DEFINITIONS (UK)
NRS stands for National Readership Survey (NRS Ltd, who with IPSOS and
RSL, agree these definitions). The NRS social grade definitions have been in
use for decades, and have become established as a generic reference series
for classifying and describing social classes, specially in for consumer targeting
and consumer market research.
GRAMMAR POINT
In this text we can find many frequency adverbs that are used with Present
Simple, to express how often an action takes place.
Their order in the sentence is fixed by grammar. They must be placed before
the lexical verb. Except when the lexical verb is “to be”.
Look at these examples:
They don’t usually sell their products in Asian markets.
The inflation rate is always growing.
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The company has sometimes sold its property.
We never copied industrial designs.
But:
Workers are often tired of their routines.
• If we want to ask about frequency, we can use these structures:
How often
How many times
+
Auxiliary + subject + verb
+ comp.
How often do you visit the factory?
How many times have you travelled to Europe?
• We can also use expressions with “every”, and “time”.
Every: every week, every day, every year, every other day…
Time: Once, twice, three times, four times… many times
These expressions are usually placed at the end of the sentence, or at the
beginning separated by a comma.
Personal interest and lifestyles
Read this article on lifestyles: “At the altar of the machine”, by Charles Handy.
“Consider these numbers: 42% of workers feel used up by the end of the day.
Another 69% would like to have a more relaxed life. Parents spend 40% less time
with their children than they did 30 years ago. The rise in per capita consumption in
the last 20 years is 45% but the decrease in the quality of life is 51%. Only 21% of
the young think they have a very good chance of achieving a “good life”.
The numbers are American but the British already work longer hours, but not
necessarily better than every other country in Europe. They don’t all enjoy it.
In a survey by the Institute of Management, 77% considered their hours were
stressful, 77% worried about the effect on their family and 74% about their
relationship with their partner. They have concluded that stress costs Britain 40
million working days a year and 7 billion pounds in health care. But nobody can
avoid it. It seems that overworking is the price we have to pay for the privilege of
living in big cities in the, so called, first world”.
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INSIGHT SOCIAL VALUE GROUPS (UK)
The insight Value Group Ltd carried out a vast study of UK social values and
change, and upon its findings established this social value scale. It draws
heavily from Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. This is the Insight Value Group
scale, which claims to be an accurate representation of the groups that exist in
the UK today.
Insight Social Value Groups
Social value
group
Characteristics
Self actualizes
Focused on people and relationships,
individualistic and creative,
enthusiastically exploring change, “in a
framework of non-prescriptive
consideration for others”.
Innovators
Self-confident risk-takers, seeking new
and different things, setting their own
targets to achieve.
Esteem seekers
Acquisitive and materialistic, aspiring to
what they see are symbols of success,
including things and experiences.
Strivers
Attaching importance to image and
status, as a means of enabling
acceptance by their peer group, at the
same time holding onto traditional
values.
Contented
conformers
Wanting to be “normal”, so follow the
herd, accepting of their circumstances,
they are contented and comfortable in
the security of their own making.
Traditionalists
Averse to risk, guided by traditional
behaviors and values, quiet and
reserved, hanging back and blending in
with the crowd.
Disconnected
Detached and resentful, embittered and
apathetic, tending to live in the 'ever-
present now.
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GRAMMAR POINT
There are several ways of expressing likes and dislikes in English.
• We can use verbs followed by an –ing form.
Like Dislike
Love Don´t like
Enjoy Hate
As in these examples:
I love travelling abroad.
I enjoy going shopping.
I hate getting up early in the mornings.
• We can express preferences with the verbs:
prefer and like best.
• Also with the structure: would + “rather than”.
I prefer swimming to running.
I like selling best. He would rather stay in the firm than leave.
• Many idiomatic expressions also show different degrees of preference,
likeness or willingness to do something.
Can't stop: I can't stop eating these crisps.
Can't help: He can't help being the best. Can't stand: I can't stand working
late.
Don't mind: He doesn't mind working in the centre.
Feel like: I feel like going out tonight.
Don't feel like: I don't feel like starting all over again.
Levy Strauss
The San Francisco firm of Levi Strauss & Co. were the first to make jeans. In 1850,
Levi Strauss, a twenty-year-old immigrant from Bavaria, heard about the gold strike
in California and went there.
He planned to make money by selling cloth to the people who were looking for
gold. Strauss brought over heavy canvas which he hoped to sell for tents and
wagon covers. However, when he arrived in California he soon ran across
prospectors who said, “Don’t you have any pants?” We already have tents, but we
really need strong pants that won’t rip or tear. We haven’t found any good ones
yet”.
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Strauss was an adaptable and enterprising person. The men’s comments
convinced him to change his original plans. He turned his supply of canvas into
strong, long-lasting work trousers. Miners bought the pants as quickly as Strauss
could make them.
They praised the new pants and soon began to call then “Levi’s” after the tailor
who made them. It wasn’t surprising to see why they were and immediate success.
Decades have passed, but the original Straus design is still basically the same. Of
course, there have been a few minor alterations. For example, copper rivets were
added to all the places that might rip or tear with hard use, like pockets.
This innovation was originally designed to satisfy a customer called Alkali Ike.
Alkali was a prospector who insisted on filling his pockets with rock samples. As a
result, he was always destroying his pants. The rivets solved that problem. Another
change was the fabric. Strauss stopped using canvas and changed to tough cotton
from France called Serge de Nimes. Soon this French name was modified and the
fabric got the name it has today: denim.
Past Simple
Read this text about a shoe factory. As you can see the text uses the Past Simple.
“The factory was founded at the beginning of the twentieth century by three friends.
When they returned from the First World War, they decided to earn their living by
doing what they had learnt in the army; shoe repairing. They rented an old
warehouse in their home town and started mending their neighbours’ footwear.
After two decades, another war took place, but they were not young enough to
fight, however they found a new way to help their country, they made strong
leather boots for soldiers and thus, the business boomed.
They set up a new factory and bought new machinery, more than fifty employees
were recruited, most of them women. When the war ended, the need for shoes did
not end with it, and the three friends continued to make good shoes throughout the
fifties until the mid-sixties.
At that point, new trends had changed the way people dressed and what young
people liked to wear, these customers seemed not to be interested in old designs
and preferred sports shoes.
The company survived badly for almost thirty years more, but in 1998 they were
bankrupt. Some of the former owners’ grandchildren, who had attended a
prestigious business school, decided to reorganize the old company and turn it into
a profitable business again”.
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GRAMMAR POINT
See how the Past Simple is formed and its uses:
The Past Simple (positive) is formed by using the Past tense form.
Regular verbs
Add –d or –ed to the bare infinitive to form the past tense. For negatives and
questions we use the auxiliary “did” and the bare infinitive. The short form of
the negative is commonly used in speech and informal writing.
Common mistakes: using the Past tense form in negatives and in questions.
Wrong: Did you checked the figures?
No, I didn’t checked them.
Right: Did you check the figures?
No, I didn’t check them.
Irregular verbs
Some verbs do not add –ed to the bare infinitive to form the Past Simple, but
change in other ways:
Present: –go
Past : –went
Past Participle: –gone
Completed actions
The Past Simple is used to talk about completed actions in the past: Singapore
branch lost 800 million dollars.
Time expressions with prepositions
The Past Simple is often used with past time expressions, they must refer to a
concrete time.
At 6 o’clock / the end of the year / Christmas
On Tuesday / 15th May / New year’s Day
In January / 1998 / summer
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Time expressions without prepositions
Yesterday, yesterday afternoon, last Monday, next month, a few days ago,
ago, the day before yesterday, when I was young.
Remembering verbs
Regurlar Past: work
I worked
You worked
He / she / it
worked
We worked
They worked
I didn’t work
You didn’t work
He / she / it didn’t
work
We didn’t work
They didn’t work
Did I work?
Did you work?
Did he / she / it
work?
Did we work?
Did they work?
Irregular Past: go
Affirmative: I / you / he / she / it / we / they went
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Negative: I / you / he / she / it / we /they didn’t go
Interrogative: Did I / you / he / she / it / we /they go?
Past Simple of to be witch follows a different pattern:
Affirmative: I / he / she / it was
you / we / they were
Negative: I / he / she it wasn’t / was not
you / we / they weren’t were not
Interrogative: Was I/ he / she / it?
Were you / we / they?
Changes
Read about an old company and focus on the time expressions used:
The company has changed a lot since its beginnings. The factory used to produce
all the materials in the United States. “When we were producing something we all
knew where the fabrics came from”. One of the workers said. The director used to
know the names of every simple member of the staff. “It was like a family”. “He
used to go around on Fridays and see how everybody was getting along”, pointed
out Mr. Jones, who used to work there until he retired ten years ago.
A designer from the company said “we used to have a lot of design staff and
researchers. We could complete most projects 100% inside the company, and we
used to employ a lot of secretaries. Everything had to be typed out by hand and
repeated if there was a mistake”, another worker added “we used to have fixed
hours for everybody in the company, office workers came in at nine and went home
at five, as the rest of us”.
While we were talking a young manager came into the room and invited us to go to
the canteen.
You see, interrupted and old man, that’s new too, we used to have separate
dinning rooms. Management used to eat in the Executive Restaurant and workers
in the canteen.
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GRAMMAR POINT
When we want to talk about an action that took place in the past on regular
basis, that is to say, that happened very often, was a habit or a permanent
characteristic we use the expression.
Used to + verb
I used to have long hair when I was young.
The company used to spend a lot in publicity.
My boss used to phone me after work.
To ask about past habits we need the auxiliary did.
It is a common mistake to use this structure for present habits, but it is wrong.
When talking about present habits, we have to use: Present Simple + usually.
Do you usually type your letters?
I don’t usually travel by train.
He usually shaves in the mornings.
Time clauses
These both clauses are used to talk about an action or activity that was already in
progress at a particular moment of time in the past and was interrupted by another
action.
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When + Past Simple
While + Past Continuous
He was checking the accounts when he spotted the error.
While he was checking the accounts he spotted the error.
As you can see the action in progress is in Past Continuous and the action that
interrupts it is in Past Simple.
Present Perfect
Read this text about consumer’s habits.
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This trend has affected the economy of tourist places like Egypt, that has been one
of the favourite destinations for British and Germans. However, yesterday the
Egyptian authorities announced a devaluation of its currency, the Egyptian pound,
as a way to restore the confidence in its economy and also as a desperate attempt
to recover the Europeans who flooded its temples and pyramids. Egypt cannot
afford to lose its tourist industry.
Another side effect of this war has been suffered by a well known multinational
which produces toys for children. The oil prices have increased, with the
consequent rise of the inflation rate. Salaries have remained steady and
consumers have lost purchasing power. The consequence is that consumers want
to save their money, in case things get worse. Children will have to wait”.
As you can see, the Present perfect is used combined with simple Past and
present. See how it works:
GRAMMAR POINT
The Present Perfect tense is formed by using the Present tense of the auxiliary
“have” and the Past Participle.
The short forms of the positive “’ve”, “s”, and the negative “haven’t” or “hasn’t”
are commonly used in speech and informal writing.
The Present Perfect often links a present situation with something that
happened at an unspecified time in the past. Therefore we cannot use specific
time expressions such as “yesterday”, “ago”, “last week”… etc. with this tense.
Example: I have sent them the samples (they still have them).
We use the Present Perfect to talk about recent events: There has been a
collapse in the Japanese stock market this morning.
Just
The Present Perfect is often used with the word just between the auxiliary and
the Past Participle, to talk about recent news or actions, when the exact time is
not mentioned.
Have + just + Past Participle
Can be translated as: “acabar de…”.
I´m sorry! Mr. Smtih is not here. He has just left.
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Been/gone
When we use the verbs been/gone there is a little difference, as it is shown at
the examples:
I’m afraid Mr. Jones is not here at the moment. He has gone to a meeting in
London. (He is still at the meeting).
Amanda has been to the travel agent. She has your tickets for Hong-Kong.
(She went to the travel agent and has returned).
Person Affirmative Negative
I / you / we/ they have gone
haven’t gone
have not gone
he / she/ it has gone
hasn’t gone
has not gone
Interrogative
Have I / you / we/ they gone?
Has he / she/ it gone?
Ever / never
The Present Perfect is often used with ever and never to talk about general life
experience.
Has he ever worked abroad?
I have never been abroad.
Already / yet
Already is used in positive sentences. It indicates that something was taken
place earlier than expected.
She has already shown me the figures (Not: She has shown me already the
figures).
Yet is used in questions and negatives, it is placed always at the end of the
sentence.
Have you talked to Peter yet?
I haven't talked to him yet.
For / since
We use for to talk about the duration of periods of time and since to talk about
when a period started.
I have been here since December.
I have been here for a year.
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4 Telephoning
Good manners
When running a business, telephone manners are essential to keep customers
satisfied even when they call to complain about us. A lot of business is lost due to
the way clients are treated on the phone. It is important to teach your employees
some telephoning skills starting with the voice’s tone.
We must never speak neither in a low voice nor shouting. We should sound warm
and helpful, and never begin our sentences with a “no”.
Negative sentences should be avoided as well as imperatives because they are
too strong, if you need to give an instruction always use “please”, it is a magic
word.
In the case you don’t know the answer to a question, never say so because the
other person may thing that you don’t know much about your own company or
worst, that you are not interested at all in giving out any information.
Many customers make strange or impossible demands, but instead of saying “We
can’t do that”, try to offer an alternative, don’t impose anything, and give advice.
While you ask or check something, you may need to leave a person waiting for
you, make sure that he or she knows that you are doing your best to solve their
problem, and if it takes you longer than you expected, don’t hesitate, leave what
you are doing, go back to the telephone and reassure the customer, because if you
don’t do it, they may think that you have neglected them.
Apologize if the person is very excited or if they rise their voice, but do not do the
same, a client may think that he has the right to be rude to you as you represent
the company, don’t take it personally, and don’t react aggressively, you cannot
forget that answering the phone is an important part of your job and you project the
company’s image.
Your attitude on the telephone will be taken as your company’s attitude towards the
customers.
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GRAMMAR POINT
These are some important things to have into account when you answer the
telephone at your work.
• While speaking, try to avoid imperatives, it is more polite to use modal
auxiliaries such as can, could, ...
• The Future Simple is very useful in reassuring sentences: “I’ll see”, “I’ll
check”, “I’ll put you through”, “I’ll be back in a moment”, “I’ll be right back”....
• Work on your tone. It must be warm and obliging never aggressive.
• When you practise telephone conversations, do not use negative sentences,
or if you have to, try to offer some positive alternative.
• When you give information, it has to be clear and well organized. Do not
hesitate on the phone and do not interrupt your sentences.
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• The person we are talking to may want to write down what we are saying,
therefore, you should not speak too fast, and if we include names, brands or
addresses you should spell them carefully. Take your time and don’t sound
impatient.
• Repeat the information without looking bored. What is obvious for you, may
be completely new for other people.
Language and phrases used in telephone English
Introducing yourself
This is Ken.
Ken speaking
Asking who is on the
telephone
Excuse me, who is this?
Can I ask who is calling,
please?
Asking for Someone
Can I have extension 321?
(extensions are internal
numbers at a company)
Could I speak to...? (Can I -
more informal / May I - more
formal)
Is Jack in? (informal idiom
meaning: Is Jack in the
office?)
Connecting Someone
I'll put you through (put
through - phrasal verb
meaning '"connect")
Can you hold the line? Can
you hold on a moment?
How to reply when
someone is not available
I'm afraid ... is not available at
the moment.
The line is busy... (when the
extension requested is being
used).
Mr. Jackson isn't in... Mr.
Jackson is out at the
moment...
Taking a Message
Could (Can, May) I take a
message?
Could (Can, May) I tell him
who is calling?
Would you like to leave a
message?
Speak on the telephone
It is evident that speaking on the phone when you are using a foreign language is
not the same that speaking face to face because we cannot interpret the gestures,
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the body language and the movement of the lips which help us in a direct dialogue.
In addition, the person who is at the other end of the line often speaks too fast and
does not vocalize well.
We also have to take into account the different regional accents, and what’s more,
interferences in the line, noises, interruptions and distortion of the voice.
What can we do to understand better? There are several useful hints to improve
our skills on the telephone:
• First of all, learn to concentrate on the important words. Key elements to
remember.
• Secondly, use your logic abilities, as you usually do when speaking your
mother tongue. These abilities are:
-Prediction.
-Deduction.
-Logic conclusion.
In this way you can guess the meaning of something that you have not
understood directly.
• Thirdly, you have to be prepared for the possibility that the conversation may
take an unexpected turn, do not get nervous and keep your attention if it
happens so.
When you are not very familiarized with the telephone you should prepare a list
with the questions you need to ask and you can jot down the answers.
It is very important that you lose your fear of making a fool of yourself. Ask for
repetition and spelling if something is not clear enough. A good way to be sure of
everything is to repeat the information in order to check that we have got
everything right. Finally, write down words or ideas which may be useful
afterwards.
Before calling you can practice aloud what you want to say, so that you can check
that you know how to pronounce everything clearly. If we have doubts we can look
the word up in a dictionary.
Once you have made several phone calls, you will see how your self confidence
increases and you don’t get so nervous on the telephone.
Steps to prepare a telephone call
About the company
• Number you are calling to and name of the company.
• Person you want to speak to.
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• Position.
• Extension number if you know it.
Useful expressions
• Can you put me through the ...... department, please?
• Could I speak to Mr/Mrs. ........., please?
• I don’t know the extension number.
• I think he is on extension number..........
Things to ask
• When
• Where
• How long
• How much
• How can I pay
• Will you...
Explanations
• Your letter was dated....
• My colleague and I think.
• As we agreed.
• I need some further information about.
• It’s really important for us.
• Can you confirm....?
• Do we have to .....?
Closing
• Thank you very much for your help!
• Thank you, you have been most helpful!
• Thank you for your interest!
Useful expressions on the phone
When you call someone the conversation is always going to follow some sort of
pattern. There are useful expressions which can help you in each stage of the
process.
You should learn how to predict what you are going to say on the phone, that will
give you confidence and you will understand better.
STARTING THE CALL
• Identifying who is speaking.
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We tend to use the personal pronoun “I” when we want to identify ourselves.
But this is a common error, In English we should start by a demonstrative
“this” or using the name and “speaking”. Here you have some examples:
This is John Ford.
John Ford speaking.
John Ford, is that Julia Roberts?
• Sometimes you need to know the speaker’s name, then you can ask:
Who is speaking, please?
Can I have your name, please?
SAYING WHO YOU WANT TO SPEAK TO
• To ask about a person we can use:
Could I speak to....?
Can I speak to ....?
I’d like to speck to…?
• Or if you know the extension number or the department where the person
you are calling is just say:
Extension.... please.
Sales department, please.
No problem
When the person we are looking for is available and there are no problems you will
receive this answer: Hold on, please I’ll put you through to Mr./Ms. ____
REASON FOR CALLING
When you are finally speaking to the person you asked for, you will have to say
your name and position again, in case the other person hasn’t understood it
correctly. Then you have to explain your reason for calling.
These sentences can be useful:
I’m calling to...
I’d like to have some information about....
I’d like to know how can I...?
I’d like to comment with you some aspects about...
Could you please tell me if...
Problems
There are many problems when you are talking by phone or when your work
requires his often uses.
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Sometimes we cannot reach the person we want to speak to, the reasons can
be varied:
The extension is engaged at the moment, will you hold on?
He is not available at the moment.
He is in a meeting right now.
He is off work, and won’t be back until...
He is not in his office at the moment...
The line is busy.
I’m afraid she is on the other line.
I’m afraid she is out of town.
I’m afraid she is on holiday.
In these situations you should always offer the caller an alternative:
Could you call back later?
Can I take a message?
Would you like to leave a message?
Sometimes, the caller himself offers to take some action:
I’ll hold.
I’ll call back later.
Could you take a message?
Could you give him/her a message?
Can you put me through to her/his secretary?
Can you ask him/her to ring me next...?
In case you have some language problems you can tell the other person to
speak slower:
Sorry, I’m not English/I don’t speak English very well
Can you speak more slowly?
Could you say that again, please?
Sorry, I don’t understand. Can you repeat, please?
Do not hang up without making sure that you have got the information right.
Use these sentences to help you:
Please, let me repeat the time / name / address...
Will you please let me repeat...?
I’ll say that again; please, tell me if it is correct.
Tell me if I got it right
Can you please spell it for me please?
I’ll spell it to see if it is right.
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To finish the conversation, show your appreciation and give you thanks to the
person who has helped you:
Thank you for your kindness.
Thank you for your time.
Thank you for your help.
You have been most helpful.
Appreciate your help / attention.
Work and home life
Read this text on how to achieve a balance between your work and your home life.
“Wherever you work, getting into good working habits now can pay dividends in the
future. Effective time management skills can help us through a stressful day. The
key to creating a happy working life which will boost your wellbeing is to adopt a
flexible and organized approach to work.
You can keep a work diary, you could start by listing all the tasks you do regularly
and how long it takes you to do them, you can try to identify any wasted time. You
can also add a deadline to each task and review the list once a week.
You can plan the most challenging activities when you are feeling at your best but
do not plan out your whole day; you may want to keep your home life separated
from your work.
It’s a good idea to create an area at home where you can open your post, pay your
bills and carry out any other tasks that feel like work, then, the rest of the house
can be a place to unwind. Relax, set aside some time for yourself every week,
whether it is a regular visit to the gym, listening to your favourite CD or if you need
more time to chill, you can take a long weekend or midweek break. Closer to
home, consider taking a part-time or evening course, not only does it feel great to
learn something new, it can also earn you valuable CV points.
How can we help? For stress-free banking we can make it easier to manage your
money: online banking can help you check your account balance and statements,
transfer money, pay bills, apply for a loan, open a e-savings account.... and much
more. To find more you can visit us”.
GRAMMAR POINT
If you read the text attentively you will notice the constant use of the model
auxiliaries “can”, “could” and “may”.
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They all take a bare infinitive and can be used in questions inverting the
subject-verb order. The negative forms are “cannot”, “could not” and “may not”.
Modal auxiliary verbs may sound difficult but in fact they're easy. They are
invariable (no conjugation). The main verb is always the "bare infinitive" (the
infinitive without "to").
They can be contracted in spoken English or informal writing.
“Could” is the past form of “can”.
We cannot use these modals in some tenses, in those cases; we express
ability or possibility with “be able to”.
Be able to
Be able to is not a modal auxiliary verb. We include it here for convenience,
because it is often used like "can" and "could", which are modal auxiliary verbs.
Notice that be able to is possible in all tenses, for example:
• I was able to drive...
• I will be able to drive...
• I have been able to drive...
• I have been able to drive...
Notice too that be able to has an infinitive form:
I would like to be able to speak Chinese.
Ability
• For present ability we use “can”:
We can start now if you wish.
• For future ability we use “can” with a future time expression:
Next year, we can launch a new model.
• For past ability we use “could”:
We couldn’t access all the files in the old building.
Possibility
Both “can” and “could” express present and future possibility “can” is stronger
than “could” (podría).
• For present possibility:
We can identify a wide range of options.
• For future possibility:
We don’t know what can happen next week.
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• For impossibility:
They didn’t meet yesterday, so they couldn’t have made the decision.
Permission
“May” and “can” express permission so we don’t want to have any ambiguity
we use “may” for permission and “can” / “could” for ability and possibility.
• Present permission:
Only members can enter the building site.
• Past permission:
Only the manager could authorize visits when I worked there.
• Present prohibition:
Personnel can’t take more than on hour for lunch.
• Past prohibition:
When I was there, we couldn’t take more than an hour for lunch.
The Future
Read this text about the future:
“Have you ever wondered how things will change in the future? If the answer is
“yes”, then you are one of the optimistic human beings who think that mankind will
survive on this planet despite the terrible prospects of scientists from the entire
world.
Of course, there are those who believe that men will have bigger brains, and thus,
they will be able to speak telepathically, they will produce flying vehicles and will
have robots to do all the boring or dangerous tasks that burden us today. But all
this is still science-fiction. There is no proof that a better technology results in a
wiser way of life, only busier.
It is possible that many illnesses which kill us nowadays, will have a proper
treatment in the future but if we are made not to last, what seems obvious is that,
with machines doing most of the work our leisure time will increase.
On line services will provide people with rail and air tickets, as well as with their
home entertainment. They will allow us to do the shopping without leaving our
armchair, and we will live isolated from other human beings most of the time. Even
going to a school will be optional, because on line teaching facilities will be
available for everybody.
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Students will have access to all the universities and libraries from their homes.
Work will also be different, but in this case, the future has already started. It is likely
that some shops will close in the retail sector as on-line shopping facilities will
become common.
Note that when we have a plan or intention to do something in the future, we
usually use other tenses or expressions, such as the Present Continuous tense or
going to.
Trading will be different too, as goods will be delivered directly into the consumer’s
house, therefore, retailers, wholesalers and other intermediaries will disappear.
People will work from their homes and commuting won’t be necessary, relieving
the cities from the problems of heavy traffic.
Oil consumption will decrease due to the lack of private demand. Most countries
will use clean energies and the atmosphere will recover from the damages caused
in the 20th Century. But as I said in the beginning you are just an optimist!”
GRAMMAR POINT
If you look closely at the text you will find out that most sentences use the
modal will always followed by a base form of the verb.
Structure of will
Subject
Auxiliary
verb
Main
verb
Affirmative I will open the door.
You will finish before me.
Negative She will not be
at school
tomorrow.
We will not leave yet.
Question Will you arrive on time?
Will they want dinner?
In the negative form “will not” can be contracted “won’t”.
In questions “will” is placed before the subject word.
In positive sentences the contraction “’ll” can be used after all subjects, but
only in speech.
“Will” is used to talk about future and willingness.
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It is used:
• To indicate an activity decided at the time of speaking.
• To indicate a neutral activity in the future or a part of a process.
• After verbs of mental activity.
• After adverbs of certainty, probability and possibility.
• In request for action or information:
Will you hold?
Will you call me back later?
• In replies to requests:
Of course, I will.
• In offers:
I’ll fax the information.
• In promises:
Don’t worry; I will help you with that.
Ing forms
Read the following text:
“More and more people are taking a carrier break these days. But whether they are
planning to spend it on study leave or maternity leave, volunteering or travelling,
the one thing these options all have in common is that they cost money.
Unless you are independently wealthy, it’s unlikely that you will be able to finance
more than a couple months away from work without saving scrupulously for the
future.
According to a recent survey by a leading bank, 10 per cent of employers now offer
career breaks to their staff, so it is worth checking whether your company has such
a policy.
If there isn’t an official scheme, you may still be able to negotiate it, but bear in
mind that benefits such as pension contributions, life insurance and health
insurance; if you belong to a private company; may be put on hold while you are
away.
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If your employer isn’t at all keen on letting you go, it is worth pointing out that your
carrier break could work out well for them too as the chances that you return
refreshed with new experiences, a new approach and new ideas to share are high.
But if you need to earn as you travel, consider working abroad. It could be a good
option; however, you must not forget to sort out a work permit before you set off.
In some European countries belonging to the European Union you may not need it,
nevertheless if you are not sure where to go, or the requirements needed for
working in a certain country you can visit its embassy.
Another option is voluntary work, where projects aim at passing on business skills.
As well as receiving their travel cost and living expenses, volunteers receive an
allowance when they return home to help with resettlement and job-hunting”.
GRAMMAR POINT
The verb + ing can be seen in the Present Continuous, but in English it is used
in many other cases, in some of them Spanish would use an infinitive, that’s
why sometimes we do not use it correctly.
• They can be adjective forms
An interesting product.
An outstanding professional.
• Present Participle
I heard the manager giving a speech.
Do you see the difference in these two sentences? In one, "reading" is a
gerund (noun). In the other "reading" is a Present Participle (verb).
- My favourite occupation is reading.
- My favourite niece is reading.
• Noun forms
Trading is essential in today’s economy.
In this case it functions as a noun and can be called a verbal noun, but
Spanish would use and infinitive or an equivalent noun.
-It can be the subject of a verb:
Leading a team requires a strong personality.
-It can be the object of certain verbs such as: dislike, miss, risk, avoid, enjoy,
post pone, suggest, regret, delay…
That would involve redesigning the programme.
-After a preposition:
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I’m interested in buying some shares.
- After certain phrases: (not) worth, spend / waste time, have trouble /
difficulty:
I can’t bear / stand wasting my time.
Notice that –ing forms can also be found in forbidding signs and as a part of a
noun:
No smoking in the meting room.
This club offers a swimming-pool among its facilities.
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5 Planning new products
Business presentation
A presentation is a formal talk to one or more people that "presents" ideas or
information in a clear, structured way.
Most people are not used to speak in front of an audience; they have never had the
opportunity to do it, although we have attended many conferences not only at work
but also at school or university.
All presentations have a common objective. People give presentations because
they want to communicate in order to:
• Inform
• Train
• Persuade
• Sell
Sitting there among a crowd of people has given us the chance of criticizing the
weaknesses of the lecturer, but what happens when we are at the other side?
Even the best ideas may seem dull when we fail at presenting them.
Some of these tips can be important and help you get started:
• One of the most important things is to have a good personal appearance.
Dress up neatly but discreetly.
• Do not use any garments that catch your listeners’ attention more than your
words.
• Do not move without a reason or you will distract your audience.
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• Speak clearly, and smile frequently.
• If you show some visual aids, give time so that your public can read or take
notes.

• You can also prepare hand-outs with a lay out of what you are going to say
therefore, you would prevent people from writing down what you are saying
and not getting right what is coming next.
• You can practice speaking aloud in front of a friend or in front of the mirror to
know first hand how others will view you.
Rehearsal
Rehearsal is a vital part of preparation. You should leave time to practise your
presentation two or three times. This will have the following benefits:
• You will become more familiar with what you want to say.
• You will identify weaknesses in your presentation.
• You will be able to practice difficult pronunciations.
• You will be able to check the time that your presentation takes and make any
necessary modifications.
If you have never prepared a presentation, follow this pattern to help you.
A SUCCESSFULLY PRESENTATION
Objective
Before you start to prepare a presentation, you should ask yourself: Why am I
making this presentation? Do you need to inform, to persuade, to train or to
sell? Your objective should be clear in your mind. If it is not clear in your mind,
it cannot possibly be clear to your audience.
Audience
Who am I making this presentation to? Sometimes this will be obvious, but not
always. You should try to inform yourself. How many people? Who are they?
Business people? Professional people? Political people? Experts or non-
experts? Will it be a small, intimate group of 4 colleagues or a large gathering
of 400 competitors? How much do they know already and what will they expect
from you?
Venue
Where am I making this presentation? In a small hotel meeting-room or a large
conference hall? What facilities and equipment are available? What are the
seating arrangements?
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Time and length
When am I making this presentation and how long will it be? Will it be 5
minutes or 1 hour? Just before lunch, when your audience will be hungry, or
just after lunch, when your audience will be sleepy?
Method
How should I make this presentation? What approach should you use?
Formal or informal? Lots of visual aids or only a few? Will you include some
anecdotes and humour for variety?
Content
"What should I say?" Now you must decide exactly what you want to say. First,
you should brainstorm your ideas. You will no doubt discover many ideas that
you want to include in your presentation. But you must be selective. You
should include only information that is relevant to your audience and your
objective. You should exclude all other ideas. You also need to create a title for
your presentation (if you have not already been given a title). The title will help
you to focus on the subject. And you will prepare your visual aids, if you have
decided to use them. But remember, in general, less is better than more (a little
is better than a lot). You can always give additional information during the
questions after the presentation.
Structure
A well organised presentation with a clear structure is easier for the audience
to follow. It is therefore more effective. You should organise the points you
wish to make in a logical order. Most presentations are organised in three
parts, followed by questions.
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Structure
Beginning
Short
introduction
• Welcome your audience
• Introduce your subject
• Explain the structure of your
presentation
• Explain rules for questions
Middle
Body of
presentation
• Present the subject itself
End
Short conclusion • Summarise your presentation
• Thank your audience
• Invite questions
Questions and Answers
STARTING ADVICES
• Say who you are and your position.
As you all know, I’m _____________ the sales manager.
I’m talking to you today as the leader of this project.
• Welcome your audience and introduce any visitors or speakers who may
cooperate with you.
Welcome here.
Thanks for coming today.
It’s good to have Mr../Mrs _______ here with us.
• Explain the reason for listening.
By the end of this session you’ll know the details for our project.
Mr.___________, asked me to explain the project to you.
• Start with a personal story, an interesting fact or a funny remark.
I read something interesting the other day.
A funny thing happened to me the other day.
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On the way here I saw…
• Explain the plan for the session, letting people know now long it will take and
if there are any breaks. How many speakers there will be…
There’ll be a smokers’ break in an hour.
We will finish this session at 10 and will start at 10:30.
• Clarify if you will accept questions while you are speaking or if they will come
at the end of the session.
• Also inform your listeners if the hand-outs will be distributed at the beginning
or at the end.
If you have any questions, please fell free to stop me.
There’ll be time for questions at the end.
I’ve prepared some hand-outs, here you are.
Did everyone get a copy?
Please take a leaflet.
Help yourselves to a brochure / hand out…
• And finally, you can start.
If you are ready, let’s start.
If everyone is ready, I’ll start.
Let’s get into work / features.
Organising points
When you want to give information it must be well organized.
You can use a temporal scheme or go from the general to the specific. You can
present options and choose one of them giving your opinion about why that is the
best one.
Nervous
Most speakers are a little nervous at the beginning of a presentation. So it is
normal if you are nervous. The answer is to pay special attention to the beginning
of your presentation. First impressions count. This is the time when you establish a
rapport with your audience. During this time, try to speak slowly and calmly. You
should perhaps learn your introduction by heart. After a few moments, you will
relax and gain confidence.
When you give your presentation, you should be - or appear to be - as
spontaneous as possible. You should not read your presentation! You should be so
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familiar with your subject and with the information that you want to deliver that you
do not need to read a text. Reading a text is boring! Reading a text will make your
audience go to sleep! So if you don't have a text to read, how can you remember to
say everything you need to say? With notes.
You can create your own system of notes. Some people make notes on small, A6
cards. Some people write down just the title of each section of their talk. Some
people write down keywords to remind them. The notes will give you confidence,
but because you will have prepared your presentation fully, you may not even need
them!
After reading both texts, maybe you’ll understand better what I mean when I say
that a good presentation needs to be logical and easy to understand. The first text
shows the speaker’s hesitation and the lack of a well established intention.
Read these two presentations:
Option A
“Good, well, can I start? I’ll start. Can you hear me all right? Now, probable the
most important thing I have to say is that, in fact, the company’s results are quite
good this year. Can you see this graph? Oh, you can’t at the back, well, I’m sorry
but I don’t have any hand outs or anything, you’ll have to trust me. Actually, results
are good, but I’ll tell you a bit more about it later. Where was I…? Oh yes, we
should start by the figures. Is that a good idea?”
Great audience
Porpose: talk about new working practices
Four parts:
a. Health and safety regulations.
b. Security measures.
c. Salary and working conditions.
d. Management meetings.
Questions at the end
Layouts
Introduce chart
Option B
“Good morning ladies and gentleman. As you all know, I’m Fred Perry, marketing
manager. I’m here today to tell you about our company’s publishing campaign. I’ve
divided my presentation into four parts. Firstly, I’ll talk about publicity costs;
secondly, I’d like to examine our performance over the past year. Thirdly, I’ll look at
our prospects for the next year, the new product’s image and finally I’ll make some
recommendations.
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It will take me about forty-five minutes and I’ll be happy to answer any questions
you many have at the end of my presentation.
Right, I’d like you to pass these hand outs over…. And please, now look at this
graph…”
Great audience
Purpose: talk about new working practices
Four parts:
a. the product
b. the launch
c. advertising and promotion
Questions during the presentation
Visual aids
TIPS TO CONCLUDE A PRESENTATION
These tips will help you to conclude your presentation:
• Making a final point
As a final point…
Let me raise a general issue…
To conclude, I’d like to introduce a final point…
• Giving your professional opinion
In my experience…
This proves that…
I think / believe…
• Summarising main points, advantages and disadvantages
On the one hand… on the other.
There are some advantages...
The main disadvantage is…
To conclude…
To sum up…
• Giving a final recommendation
I recommend…
I suggest…
I advise…
My professional opinion is…
• Stating sources
I used examples, statistics from...
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In addition to
• Thanking people for listening and telling them how to contact you
Thank you for your attention / for coming / for listening.
We have time for a few questions before we finish…
Please, feel free to contact me at...
QUESTIONS
Questions are a good opportunity for you to interact with your audience. It may
be helpful for you to try to predict what questions will be asked so that you can
prepare your response in advance.
You may wish to accept questions at any time during your presentation, or to
keep a time for questions after your presentation. Normally, it's your decision,
and you should make it clear during the introduction.
Be polite with all questioners, even if they ask difficult questions. They are
showing interest in what you have to say and they deserve attention.
Sometimes you can reformulate a question. Or answer the question with
another question. Or even ask for comment from the rest of the audience.
Useful expression for conclusion
Function Possible language
Summing up
-To conclude,...
- In conclusion,...
- Now, to sum up...
- So let me summarise/recap what
I've said.
- Finally, may I remind you of some
of the main points we've considered.
Giving
recommendations
-In conclusion, my recommendations
are...
- I therefore
suggest/propose/recommend the
following strategy.
Thanking your
audience
-Many thanks for your attention. -
May I thank you all for being such an
attentive audience.
Inviting questions
-Now I'll try to answer any questions
you may have.
- Can I answer any questions?
- Are there any questions?
- Do you have any questions?
- Are there any final questions?
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Past Perfect
Read this text about David Reiss:
“Reiss was voted high street Fashion Retailer of the year, after the event, industry
insiders agreed that there was no retailer more deserving of the title.
Originally Reiss offered clothes from a variety of brands, mostly imported, but all
the height of the current trends. By the time Reiss set up his first store, the 1980s
had arrived and menswear had never looked so diverse. At the time there was less
competition and as their clothes were great the business took off and they opened
several more stores.
The recession at the end of that decade and the beginning of the 1990s meant that
he had to step back and seriously assess how to move forward. It was then that
Reiss made his crucial decision. He focused only in his own brand and identity,
getting rid of all the other brands they supplied. He put a full design team in place
and they did all the manufacturing.
He looked at everything, from the way his staff and stores looked, to what he
offered in his shops. Reiss is certain now that ensuring brands consistency in
location, store design, the store environment and marketing, has been one of the
most important decisions he ever made. Staying true to his new identity and never
compromising the integrity of the brand meant that they were once again in a
position to grow.
Reiss also had decided to move against the tide of price-cutting and discounts that
so many retailers had introduced in an effort to increase their market share. He,
instead, introduced the luxury feel that his clothes still have today. His strategy
worked.
Public perception of the Reiss brand began to change and the more experiences
Reiss had to learn from, the more the brand gained strength.
From the shop he had opened in the 80s he has reached the top, with more than
33 stores across the U.K. or maybe not?”
GRAMMAR POINT
If you read the text closely, you will see that it describes a series of past actions
an events, using Past Simple, Present Perfect and Past Perfect.
We can describe Past Perfect as the “most ancient past”. We use it to talk about
activities that happened at a time before the past.
Past Perfect is formed by the past of the auxiliary “have”, and the Past Participle
of a verb.
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Positive form
I, you, he, she, it, we, they / had / finished / the project.
The auxiliary can be contracted with the subject in spoken or informal writing
English.
I’d started a new business on my own.
Negative form
I, you, he, she, it, we, they / had not / finished / the project
I can also be contracted “hadn’t”.
Interrogative form
Had / I, you, he, she, it, we, they / finished / the project?
Uses:
• To indicate an activity at a time before the past.
He had opened his shop when the recession started.
• To report a present tense after a past tense verb.
The financial Controller said that they had had a good year.
• After the following time conjunctions: “after”, “before”, “once”, “until”, “when”,
“as soon as”.
• We often use a Past Simple when the sequence of events is clear.
After the new logo was designed, our image improved
Equipment when doing a presentation
The overhead projector (OHP) displays overhead transparencies (OHTs or
OHPTs). It has several advantages over the 35mm slide projector:
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• it can be used in daylight
• the user can face the audience
• the user can write or draw directly on the transparency while in use
The whiteboard (more rarely blackboard or green board) is a useful device for
spontaneous writing - as in brainstorming, for example. For prepared material, the
OHP might be more suitable.
The flipchart consists of several leaves of paper that you 'flip' or turn over. Some
people prefer the flipchart to the whiteboard, but its use is limited to smaller
presentations.
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The Slide projector - which must be used in a darkened room - adds a certain
drama. Some slide projectors can be synchronised with audio for audio-visual (AV)
presentations. These projectors are typically used for larger presentations. The
majority take 35mm slides or transparencies (as seen here), but projectors for
6x6cm slides are also available.
Transparencies are projected by an overhead projector or a slide projector onto a
screen - in this case a folding screen which can be packed up and transported.
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The notebook computer is increasingly being used to display graphics during
presentations. It is often used in conjunction with an overhead projector, which
actually projects the image from the computer screen onto the wall screen.
Handouts are any documents or samples that you 'hand out' or distribute to your
audience. Note that it is not usually a good idea to distribute handouts before your
presentation. The audience will read the handouts instead of listening to you.
Future plans
Read this text about a company’s plans.
“At this point, we have to prepare a global expansion if we want to become a
worldwide based company. We have opened outlets in many big and medium-
sized cities in our country, and recent studies show that we cannot continue
growing. We all know that when growth stops, decline follows. However, we have
to measure carefully all our steps. It is better to walk slowly than having to step
back.
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We are buying stores which have been closed for different reasons, but which are
in the right location and environment. We are going to redecorate them, following a
well-established pattern: comfort and elegance. In addition, we are going to launch
an aggressive advertising campaign in all the best-selling magazines. We are also
going to promote special campaigns, sponsoring cultural and sport events. In a
month, we are going to be present in 15 European capitals, with a flagship store in
each major city and outlets in some other parts of the country. We are going to
expend a huge amount in design. But marketing is also a priority. People will see
us as a leading brand offering quality and good service.
Our publishing executives are flying to Europe within a few weeks. We are leaving
a period of our history and entering a new way of doing business. The company
will need you all to accomplish this project and the reward will be shared by all of
us”.
GRAMMAR POINT
When we want to express plans or activities in the future we can use the
structure:
to be + going to + verb
Possitive form
am
he, she, it is
we, you, they are
Going to close
the shop
Negative form
I am not / ’m not
he, she, it is not / isn’t
we, you, they are not / aren’t
Going to close
the shop
Interrogative form
Am I
Is he, she, it
Are we, you, they
Going to close
the shop ?
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We use “going to” for
• To indicate an action that has already been decided:
They are going to expand the business next year.
• To indicate intention:
We are going to look for cheaper workers in the East.
• To indicate a future activity based on the present situation:
Interest rates have just risen, so we are not going to be able to make the
investment.
It usually goes with future markers such as:
On + day / date
In + month / year
And it is translated into Spanish as “ir a + infinitive”.
It is usually combined with the future simple (will) and other future forms (Present
Continuous + Future time expression: “I’m leaving tomorrow”).
Product designing and description
This product design brief is written by Tony Wills, a leading designer, writer and
speaker on the subject:
“Product development is not as profitable as it can be if it is treated as a one-off
exercise, it is much more effective as a rolling programme. Many of our clients
either start the next design project as soon as the last one is finished or run
multiple projects in parallel. In this way they can guarantee a steady flow of new
products to the market, and create plenty of opportunities for the sales teams to
show something new to their customers.
Even more exciting is when designers are used to help steer a company into
uncharted territory, generating concepts for products that have no antecedents but
instead exploit a new technology or process, or address a problem not answered
by any other product on the market.
Outside designers can be used to bring fresh thinking to a project, with the
potential to challenge the traditional methods and processes of a particular industry
and to contribute experience gathered across a wide variety of industries. The end
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results of such collaborations are frequently products with a unique identity and a
strong market differentiation.”
Read these advertisements to learn how different products are described:
Denim Designs
It’s the fabric of the moment, but today, unlike in the past, denim is not just for
jeans.
This material is now appearing on a variety of clothing, from glamorous pants to
sexier pieces like bustiers. Considered young and up to date, denim is also
dominating the accessories market with popular items like watches and sneakers.
Stingray chic
Environmentalists beware! The latest material being used for accessories is the
skin of the stingray fish better known as shagreen. In fact, Cartier, has come out
with a shagreen jewellery holder and Bill Blass has launched a line of watches with
shagreen bands. So what’s the attraction? Many customers like shagreen because
it resembles pavé set gems, explained celebrity jeweller Stephen Webster.
Describing objects is essential when we want to write or to understand an
advertisement. In many occasions comparisons are used, as well as French or
Italian words which dominate the world of fashion. It is not difficult if you stick to
facts.
GRAMMAR POINT
We can describe objects attending to:
• Measure
• Material
• Shape
• Colour
• Other features
EXPRESSIONS ACCORDING TO PRODUCTS
Meassure
How heavy is it / How much does it weight?
How long is it / What’s its length?
How wide is it / What’s its width?
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How high is it / what’s its height?
How deep is it/ what’s its depth?
Material
What is it made of?
It’s made of…
Metal (steel, iron, copper, gold, silver,…).
Leather (mink, cow, crocodile,…).
Wool (cashmere, Shetland,…) woollen (of wool).
Plastic.
Glass.
Clay.
Porcelain.
Paper (carton, cardboard,…).
Fabric, cloth (denim, velvet, corduroy, cotton…).
Rubber.
Stone (diamond, sapphire, ruby).
Animal skin.
Is it hand-made? / Is it natural or synthetic?
Shape
What shape is it / what’s its shape?
It’s a circle / circular.
It’s a square / square.
It’s a triangle / triangular.
It’s a semi-circle / semi-circular.
It’s a rectangle / rectangular.
It’s an oval / oval.
It’s a sphere /spherical.
It’s a cube / cubic.
It’s a cylinder / cylindrical.
Color
What colour is it? / What’s its colour?
It’s burgundy / maroon.
It’s beige.
It’s apple green / grass green / dark green.
It’s navy blue / dark blue.
It’s golden.
It’s gold-plated.
It’s canary yellow.
It’s phosphorescent.
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Other features
What is it like?
It’s user-friendly.
It’s wonderful.
It’s efficient.
It’s silent / quiet.
It’s active.
It’s automatic.
It’s waterproof.
It’s fashionable / trendy.
It’s comfortable.
It’s heavy.
It’s light
It’s huge / big.
It’s small / tiny.
It’s long-lasting.
It’s great, nice, wonderful, fantastic, terrific.
It’s safe.
It’s guaranteed.
It’s electronic / solar / laser / battery operated / powered.
It’s classic.
It’s modern.
It’s typical.
It’s easy to handle / to store / maintain.
It’s bright / it shines.
How to write an advert
Publicity is so important today that we cannot imagine our daily life without
advertisements. They are everywhere, on the radio, on the television, on the roads,
on the bus-stops. We can’t help looking at the smiling faces that is willing to sell us
something.
Although some people may think that all the adverts look alike nothing is more
untrue. Publicists are experts in using colours, language and symbols to attract our
attention.
However, sometimes, they don’t succeed and the campaign has to be retired. One
example was a telephone company which advertised a certain telephone with
dwarf people. An association complained because they considered it humiliating.
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A perfume campaign that used the image of a naked woman was also a failure
because it offended a significant part of the population and used women as sexual
objects. In Saudi Arabia, a Western air company which promoted its flights to the
Arabic peninsula using an unveiled air hostess who was serving alcohol in the
plane was a big mistake because alcohol is forbidden by religion and women’s hair
cannot be showed in public.
The history of marketing has some significant disasters, such as the “Emu”. A
name chose for a new Australian air company which had to close. All Australians
knew that the Emu is a bird which can’t fly.
On the contrary, the bull chosen by a leading winery to advertise its brandy has
become protected by Spanish legislation as a cultural sign.
What makes a good campaign? How can we be sure that the image we are using
will be a success and will identify the product and make people wan to buy it?
ADS STRATEGIES
Advertising is probable as old as the products. It persuades us to buy. The first
advertisements were oral. People with something to sell shouted the product’s
name in the street for everyone to hear.
Written ads developed early too, for instance, there is some notice of a Greek
ad mentioning a cloth shop, over three thousand years ago, and in ancient
Rome ads announced circuses. In the Middle Ages, advertisers used drawings
as their clients didn’t know how to read. When the printing and the newspapers
appeared ads became more and more important, growing, as education and
reading skills developed in the general population. The radio and television
made adverts a substantial part of our lives and the base of our economy.
The writers of the best ads use many different ways to persuade the public and
call their attention.
In some ads, actors, singers…etc. recommends products. The advertiser
hopes that the public will believe the person because he or she is famous.
Another method focuses on the customer’s emotions these ads try to make
people feel bad because they don’t do something important, such as serving
their children good food or calling their families on the phone.
Another method is the scientific approach, which uses tests and graphs,
doctors or other high qualified professionals, to show that a certain product
works well.
Anything is valid if it sells!
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MARKETING RULES
Obviously we can’t, but there are a few common sense rules that any publicist
or marketing executive must follow:
How to write an advert
You need to know the cultural background of the people who are going to be
your customers. Therefore, you won’t make them angry by using symbols or
attitudes which are not acceptable in their culture.
• Target market
Who do you want to sell the product to? Women, men, children,
professionals, middle-class housewives? The type of advertisement will
depend on the public it aims at.
Spending a lot of money and using famous people can be a good option to
increase sales or reposition a product, but as a general rule it does not assure
success. People are not dumb, they can buy it once, but if the product does not
fulfil their expectations they won’t buy it again no matter who announces it or
how much money you spent in marketing.
• Image
You have to decide what type of image you want to give to your product:
casual, formal, fashionable, modern, for everybody, not for everybody.
• Create a need
Think of the needs the product will meet. Make the client aware of a need he
or she may not know that he or she has. You can start with sentences such
as:
Have you ever wanted…?
Have you ever imagined…?
Have you ever tried…?
Are you looking for…?
Aren’t you tired of...? Wouldn’t you like to…?
Change a product’s image only when it is absolutely necessary, or when the
first launching has proved a failure. Don’t confuse your potential buyers. You
need to tell them that they should buy it and do it soon or it will disappear from
the shelves, because other people have been faster or more intelligent.
• Features and benefits
Describe the product characteristics and name the benefits it will provide to
you. You can use verbs like:
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Means that…
Makes sure that…
Helps you to …
• Action
End your advert with an imperative or giving more information about the
product at a certain address or telephone number:
For more information…. call / visit us at.
Come to your …. today.
Buy them now, before it is too late.
Discount for the first callers.
WRITING TECHNIQUES FOR ADVERTISEMENTS
• Offer an impressive benefit, quickly and simply
The best adverts are those which offer an impressive, relevant benefit to the
reader. This promise should ideally contain the business brand name, take
no longer to read than is normal for the media and be clearly the most
striking part of the advert.
• Make the material easy to read
Do not distract the reader from the text by overlaying images or using fancy
fonts. Use simple language, avoid complicated words, and keep enough
space around the text to attract attention to it.
• Get the reader involved
Refer to the reader as ‘you’ and use the second person (‘you’, ‘your’ and
‘yours’ etc) in the description of what your business does for the customer to
get them visualising their own personal involvement. Describe the service as
it affects them in a way that they will easily relate to it.
• Try to incorporate something new
People respond better and are more easily attracted initially to a concept
that is new or original.
• Stress what is unique
You must try to emphasise what makes your service special. Unless your
code of practice prevents you from claiming superiority over your
competitors, you should put as much emphasis as you can behind your
USP’s (unique selling points).
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• Must be believable
This is usually best accomplished by explaining ‘why’ and ‘how’ you are able
to do the things you are offering, in support of your claims.
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INGLES COMERCIAL - CREDIT 1 MANUAL - FP A DISTANCIA ANDALUCIA - GRADO SUPERIOR GESTION COMERCIAL Y MARKETING

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