Business English (eBook)

Lisa Förster Lisa Förster ist ausgebildete Übersetzerin und Dolmetscherin für Englisch und Französisch. In ihrem Übersetzungs- und Sprachtrainingsbüro arbeitet sie mit einem Team aus qualifizierten Übersetzern und Dolmetschern zusammen. Außerdem bietet sie Fachsprachenkurse zu Business English an. Ian C. Lewis Ian C. Lewis ist Dozent für interkulturelle Studien an der Universität für angewandte Wissenschaften in Amsterdam. Annette Pattinson Annette Pattinson ist staatlich geprüfte Übersetzerin für Englisch und als Lektorin und Layouterin in der Verlags- und Übersetzungsbranche tätig, mit Schwerpunkt auf mehrsprachigen Büchern und Zeitschriften. Sander Schroevers Sander Schroevers ist Spezialist im Bereich der internationalen Kommunikation. Er ist ein gefragter Sprecher auf internationalen Konferenzen und Seminaren und hat bereits zahlreiche Bücher auf dem Feld der europäischen Kommunikation herausgegeben. Gegenwärtig arbeitet er auch als Präsident des IECIE-Gremiums, dem Europäischen Institut für Internationale Unternehmenskommunikation (l'institut européen de communication internationale d'entreprise) in Paris. Stephanie Shellabear Die Autorin lebt seit 1992 in München und hat bis 2005 in der Mode-, Consulting- und Computerbranche gearbeitet. Sie ist qualifizierte Teacher of English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) und Mitglied des britischen Chartered Institute of Linguists - Translation Division. Seit 2005 unterrichtet sie Englisch und arbeitet als Übersetzerin. Jaquie Mary Thomas Jaquie Mary Thomas stammt aus Oxford (England) und ist als Diplom-Sozialpädagogin auf Erwachsenenbildung spezialisiert. Sie ist als "Teacher of English as a Foreign Language" zertifiziert und von dem International Cultural Institute (Portland, USA) in "Intercultural Foundations" ausgebildet. Ihr Institut "International Communication Training" berät und schult Mitarbeiter und Führungskräfte von internationalen Konzernen.

Cover 1
Inhaltsverzeichnis 7
?Teil 1: E-mails in English 19
1 ?An E-mail’s Anatomy 21
1.1 ?Subject Lines That Work 21
1.2 ?Common Salutations and Openings 22
1.2.1 ?Salutations 22
1.2.2 ?Opening sentences 25
1.2.3 ?Small talk 26
1.3 ?Ending an E-mail 27
1.3.1 ?Closing remarks 27
1.3.2 ?Correct closing expressions 28
1.4 ?Signatures and Disclaimers 29
1.4.1 ?Signatures 29
1.4.2 ?Disclaimers 30
1.4.3 ?Out-of-office assistant 31
1.5 ?E-mail Techniques: about CC and BCC 31
2 ?A Reader-friendly Approach 33
2.1 ?When to Use E-mail and When Not? 33
2.2 ?Structuring the Information 34
2.2.1 ?Writing effectively for the monitor 34
2.2.2 ?Less is more 34
2.2.3 ?Techniques to make e-mails better structured 35
2.3 ?Formal or Informal? 37
2.3.1 ?Colloquial language 38
2.3.2 ?More personal style 38
2.4 ?Netiquette Guidelines 39
2.5 ?How to Deal with Attachments 40
2.5.1 ?Best ways to deal with attachments 40
2.5.2 ?Useful phrases 41
2.5.3 ?Avoiding attachments 42
3 ?Common Business Situations 45
3.1 ?Requesting Information or Favours 45
3.1.1 ?Useful phrases 46
3.2 ?Hotel or Conference Enquiries 47
3.2.1 ?Useful vocabulary 48
3.3 ?Giving Enquiries 50
3.3.1 ?FYI: for your information 50
3.3.2 ?Answering requests 50
3.3.3 ?Useful phrases 51
3.4 ?Change of Address 52
3.5 ?Appointments 52
3.5.1 ?Useful phrases 53
3.6 ?Invitations 54
3.6.1 ?Useful phrases 55
3.6.2 ?Indicating date and time 56
3.7 ?Sending Agendas and Minutes 59
3.8 ?Refusing a Request 61
3.8.1 ?Useful phrases 61
3.8.2 ?Stylistic stand back: negative ? positive 62
3.9 ?Complaints 62
3.10 ?Apologies 63
3.10.1 ?Useful phrases 63
3.11 ?Congratulations and Season’s Greetings 64
3.12 ?Thanks 65
3.13 ?Payments and Reminders 65
3.13.1 ?Useful phrases 66
3.13.2 ?Useful vocabulary 67
3.14 ?Making Offers 67
3.15 ?Delivery and Incoterms 68
3.16 ?Numbers and Currency Symbols 69
3.16.1 ?Indicating larger numbers 70
3.16.2 ?Monetary and currency symbols 70
4 ?Practical Reference 73
4.1 ?Useful Vocabulary and Key Terms 73
4.1.1 ?Digital vocabulary 73
4.1.2 ?Vocabulary: function keys 73
4.1.3 ?Key terms: e-mails 74
4.2 ?Abbreviations and Acronyms 74
4.3 ?E-mail Features 80
4.3.1 ?Formatting e-mail for foreign screens 80
4.3.2 ?Templates 81
4.3.3 ?Identifying international e-mails 82
4.3.4 ?Legal implications of e-mail 83
4.3.5 ?Responding to e-mail 84
?Teil 2: Phone Calls in English 85
5 ?Getting Started and Ending a Conversation 87
5.1 ?Calling according to plan 87
5.1.1 ?Beginning a call 87
5.1.2 ?Telephone scripts 88
5.2 ?After the greeting 89
5.2.1 ?Small talk 92
5.2.2 ?Getting past the secretary 93
5.2.3 ?Obtaining information 93
5.3 ?I beg your pardon? 95
5.4 ?Connecting people 96
5.5 ?Answering the phone 97
5.6 ?Ending a conversation 97
6 ?Typical Situations and How To Deal with Them 101
6.1 ?Taking and leaving messages 101
6.2 ?Appointments 102
6.3 ?Telephone spelling 104
6.4 ?Taking down names and numbers 107
6.5 ?Electronic addresses 109
6.6 ?Answering machine and voice mail 111
6.7 ?Mobile telephones 113
6.7.1 ?Recognising mobile numbers 114
7 ?Special Situations 115
7.1 ?Conference calls 115
7.1.1 ?Hours for international business calls 121
7.2 ?International trade 122
7.3 ?Sales and finances 128
7.4 ?Travel enquiries 131
7.5 ?A job interview by telephone 134
8 ?Practical Reference 137
8.1 ?Intercultural communication 137
8.2 ?Pronunciation 138
8.2.1 ?Speech 140
8.3 ?Telecommunications terminology 140
8.4 ?Key terms: the company 142
8.5 ?Telephone sources on the Internet 143
8.5.1 ?National telephone numbering plans 144
8.6 ?Country codes and dialling codes for well-known cities 145
?Teil 3: Presentations in English 147
9 ?Preparation 149
9.1 ?Developing an international viewpoint 149
9.1.1 ?Things can be different 149
9.1.2 ?Accept that differences exist! 150
9.1.3 ?Opposite behaviour may not mean opposite values 150
9.1.4 ?Use cultural generalisations with care 151
9.1.5 ?When and how to adapt to others’ cultural style? 152
9.2 ?Preparing yourself, the person 154
9.2.1 ?How to deal with nerves 154
9.2.2 ?Dealing with »language« nerves 156
9.2.3 ?Your English isn’t good enough? 156
9.2.4 ?Everyone else speaks better English than you? 156
9.2.5 ?What if you forget the words? 157
9.2.6 ?What if you can’t understand the audience? 159
9.3 ?Putting yourself in your audience’s shoes 160
9.4 ?Organising facilities 163
9.4.1 ?Be prepared 163
9.4.2 ?Organising the setup 163
9.5 ?Your presentation structure 165
9.5.1 ?Circular vs. linear structure 165
9.5.2 ?Timing 166
9.5.3 ?Structure ? main components 167
9.5.4 ?Structure in detail 168
9.6 ?How to prepare good slides 169
10 ?Greetings and introductions 171
10.1 ?What to say when you enter 171
10.1.1 ?Meeting people for the first time 172
10.1.2 ?Making conversation 172
10.2 ?Introducing your presentation well 173
10.3 ?Introduction components 175
10.3.1 ?Openings 175
10.3.2 ?Objectives 176
10.3.3 ?Overview 177
10.3.4 ?Organisation 177
10.4 ?Dealing with handouts 177
10.5 ?Taking care of technical problems 178
11 ?Main section: skills and techniques 181
11.1 ?Fixing your body language 181
11.1.1 ?International viewpoint 181
11.1.2 ?Body language basics 182
11.2 ?Using your voice well 183
11.2.1 ?International viewpoint 183
11.2.2 ?Two key techniques 183
11.2.3 ?Advanced techniques 184
11.3 ?Making transitions 185
11.3.1 ?Between slides 185
11.3.2 ?Between sections 186
11.3.3 ?Between breaks 187
11.3.4 ?After the break 188
11.4 ?Explaining slides and diagrammes 188
11.4.1 ?Text slides 189
11.4.2 ?Charts and diagrammes 189
11.5 ?Business English terms 191
11.5.1 ?Reasons behind events 191
11.5.2 ?Results 192
11.5.3 ?Change and development 193
11.5.4 ?Problems 194
11.5.5 ?Making comparisons 197
11.5.6 ?Plans and goals 198
11.5.7 ?Useful Vocabulary 198
11.6 ?Dealing with questions 199
11.6.1 ?International viewpoint 199
11.6.2 ?English language points 203
11.6.3 ?Preparation and procedure 204
11.7 ?Handling interruptions and disturbances 209
11.7.1 ?Getting attention at the beginning 210
11.7.2 ?Audience member working on laptop 210
11.7.3 ?Interruptions from people coming in 211
11.7.4 ?Useful comments 211
11.7.5 ?Audience member on a telephone call 211
11.7.6 ?Outside noise 212
11.7.7 ?Audience members talking 212
11.7.8 ?Unwelcome interruptions from audience 213
11.7.9 ?Heating and light disturbances 213
12 Ending your presentation 215
12.1 ?Making a good finish 215
12.1.1 ?International viewpoint 215
12.1.2 ?English language points 216
12.2 ?Ending components 216
12.3 ?Saying goodbye 218
12.3.1 ?International viewpoint 219
13 ?Useful examples 221
13.1 ?Basic outline ? non-specific content 221
13.2 ?Product presentation 222
?Teil 4: Meetings in English 225
14 ?Preparing a meeting 227
14.1 ?Inviting people to a meeting 227
14.1.1 ?Suggesting a meeting 227
14.1.2 ?Responding to a request for a meeting 228
14.2 ?Making meeting arrangements 228
14.2.1 ?Who would like to meet when? 229
14.3 ?Rescheduling, cancelling or confirming a meeting 230
14.3.1 ?Rescheduling 230
14.3.2 ?Cancellation 231
14.3.3 ?Confirming a meeting 231
14.4 ?Making the agenda 233
14.4.1 ?Compiling the agenda 234
14.4.2 ?Submitting items for the agenda 234
14.4.3 ?Circulating the agenda 235
14.5 ?Hands-on organisation 236
14.5.1 ?Giving travel directions 237
14.5.2 ?Giving information on local accommodation 237
14.5.3 ?Finding out about visitors’ special dietary requirements 238
14.5.4 ?Finding out about visitors’ technical requirements 239
14.5.5 ?Booking meeting facilities 239
14.5.6 ?Intercultural considerations 240
15 ?Arriving at the meeting 245
15.1 ?Arriving in reception 245
15.1.1 ?Receiving visitors on arrival 245
15.1.2 ?Lift talk 246
15.2 ?Introducing oneself and others 247
15.2.1 ?»How do you do?« and »How are you?« 248
15.2.2 ?Introducing others 248
15.3 ?Small talk 249
15.3.1 ?How’s business ? and life? 250
15.3.2 ?Effortless small talk 251
15.4 ?Setting up the meeting room 252
16 ?Conducting a meeting 253
16.1 ?Opening the meeting 253
16.1.1 ?Introductions and apologies 254
16.1.2 ?Introducing the agenda and the objectives of the meeting 254
16.1.3 ?Initiating the discussion 255
16.2 ?Guiding the discussion 255
16.2.1 ?Dealing with dominant participants and interruptions 255
16.2.2 ?Encouraging quiet participants to contribute 256
16.2.3 ?Reminding participants to be brief 256
16.2.4 ?Keeping to the agenda 257
16.2.5 ?Summarising and concluding an item 257
16.2.6 ?Moving on to the next agenda item 258
16.3 ?Bringing about a decision 258
16.3.1 ?How to reach consensus 258
16.4 ?Closing the meeting 259
16.4.1 ?Initiating further action 259
16.4.2 ?Bringing the meeting to a close 260
16.4.3 ?Thanking the attendees 261
17 ?The meeting itself 263
17.1 ?Roles at a meeting 263
17.1.1 ?Assigning and accepting roles 263
17.2 ?Active participation and asking for more information 264
17.2.1 ?Interrupting politely 264
17.2.2 ?Asking for more information 265
17.2.3 ?Active listening 266
17.2.4 ?Responding to questions 267
17.3 ?Expressing agreement and disagreement 268
17.3.1 ?Agreeing with an opinion 268
17.3.2 ?Diplomatic disagreement 269
17.3.3 ?Expressing criticism 272
17.3.4 ?Straight talking 273
17.4 ?Making suggestions and having your say 274
17.4.1 ?Expressing your opinion 274
17.5 ?Enquiring and resolving misunderstandings 276
17.5.1 ?Asking for repetition 276
17.5.2 ?Summarising for clarification 277
17.5.3 ?Recapping and confirming 277
17.6 ?Diplomacy and politeness 278
17.6.1 ?It’s bad news, I’m afraid … 278
17.6.2 ?Polite questions 279
17.6.3 ?A diplomatic game of give and take 280
17.7 ?What to do in case of language problems 282
17.8 ?Voting 282
18 After the meeting 285
18.1 ?Making the minutes 285
18.1.1 ?Tips for minute-taking 286
18.2 ?Following up the meeting 288
19 ?Special types of meetings 289
19.1 ?Meetings with customers 289
19.1.1 ?Getting in touch 289
19.1.2 ?Identifying your client’s needs 289
19.1.3 ?Explaining your proposal in detail 290
19.1.4 ?Anticipating objections 290
19.1.5 ?Ending the visit 290
19.1.6 ?Attentive hosts 291
19.2 ?Negotiations 291
19.2.1 ?Useful phrases 293
19.2.2 ?Useful grammar 295
19.3 ?Briefing and brainstorming 296
19.3.1 ?Briefings 296
19.3.2 ?Brainstorming sessions 297
19.4 ?Jours fixes and kick-offs 298
19.4.1 ?Jours fixes 298
19.4.2 ?Kick-off meetings 299
19.5 ?Telephone conferences 299
19.5.1 ?Agenda 299
19.5.2 ?Starting a conference call 300
19.5.3 ?Controlling the meeting 301
19.5.4 ?Ending a telephone conference 303
19.5.5 ?Feedback on the TC 303
19.6 ?Literature 304
?Teil 5: Negotiations in English 305
20 ?Negotiating skills 307
20.1 ?Preparation and planning 307
20.1.1 ?BATNA: Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement 309
20.1.2 ?Parameters 310
20.1.3 ?A negotiation agenda 310
20.1.4 ?Promoting the climate 312
20.1.5 ?Knowing the participants 313
20.2 ?Getting acquainted 313
20.2.1 ?Introducing oneself and others 315
20.2.2 ?Business cards 316
20.2.3 ?Addressing others 317
20.2.4 ?Socialising and small talk 318
20.3 ?Opening phase 319
20.3.1 ?Stating the purpose 320
20.3.2 ?The agenda 322
20.4 ?Main phase 322
20.4.1 ?Bargaining 322
20.4.2 ?Marking transitions 325
20.4.3 ?Linking words 326
20.4.4 ?Interrupting 327
20.4.5 ?Rephrasing 328
20.4.6 ?Referring back 328
20.4.7 ?Making your point clear 329
20.4.8 ?Summarising 329
20.4.9 ?Adjourning 331
20.5 ?Agreement phase 332
20.5.1 ?Reaching an agreement 332
20.5.2 ?Ensuring agreement 333
20.5.3 ?Disagreeing 334
20.5.4 ?We agree, but… 335
20.5.5 ?No subdivided agreement 335
20.5.6 ?Closing remarks and next steps 335
20.6 ?Asking questions 336
20.6.1 ?Clarifying 337
20.6.2 ?Question categories 337
20.6.3 ?Question the facts 339
20.6.4 ?Avoiding asking questions 340
20.7 ?The art of listening 340
20.8 ?When things get tough 341
20.8.1 ?Reducing tension 341
20.8.2 ?Anger management 342
20.8.3 ?Dealing with impasses 343
20.9 ?Tables, graphs or charts 344
20.10 ?Telephone negotiating 346
21 ?Cross-cultural negotiations 349
21.1 ?Relation orientation 349
21.2 ?Sociolinguistic influences 350
21.3 ?Negotiating internationally 353
21.4 ?Local negotiation techniques 355
21.5 ?Strategic negotiating framework 356
22 ?Country-specific negotiating 359
22.1 ?Introduction 359
22.2 ?China 359
22.3 ?Czech Republic 361
22.4 ?France 362
22.5 ?India 363
22.6 ?Italy 364
22.7 ?Japan 366
22.8 ?Netherlands 367
22.9 ?Poland 368
22.10 ?Russia 369
22.11 ?Spain 371
22.12 ?United Kingdom 372
22.13 ?United States 373
22.14 ?Cross-cultural differences 374
22.15 ?Practical reference 377
22.15.1 ?Financial numbers 377
22.15.2 ?Language transfer 379
22.15.3 ?British and American English 380
?Teil 6: False Friends in Business English 383
23 ?False friends for beginners 385
23.1 ?Different types of false friends 385
23.2 ?Degrees of confusion 386
23.3 ?Applying for a job 387
23.4 ?Your CV 388
23.5 ?The interview 390
23.5.1 ?Some typical questions 390
23.5.2 ?What’s wrong? 391
24 False friends in business communication 393
24.1 ?On the telephone 393
24.2 ?In e-mails 394
24.2.1 ?Find the false friends 394
24.3 ?In letters 395
24.4 ?In meetings 396
24.4.1 ?Typical phrases in meetings ? with false friends 396
24.5 ?Making presentations 398
24.6 ?Negotiating 399
25 ?False friends on a business trip 401
25.1 ?At the airport 401
25.2 ?At a restaurant 402
25.2.1 ?Typical phrases in restaurants ? with false friends 402
25.3 ?When shopping 403
25.3.1 ?Better phrases for shopping 404
25.4 ?Small talk 406
25.4.1 ?Phrases for business situations 406
26 ?False friends in different departments 409
26.1 ?Human resources 409
26.2 ?Logistics 410
26.3 ?Finance and accounting 412
26.4 ?Sales and marketing 413
26.5 ?Production 414
27 ?Useful false friends to know 417
27.1 ?Internet resources 450
?Teil 7: Appendix 453
28 ?Practical Reference 455
28.1 ?Linguistic Characteristics 455
28.1.1 ?The proper use of capital letters 455
28.1.2 ?Using apostrophes 456
28.1.3 ?Using the spelling check 457
28.2 ?Linguistic Differences: UK-USA 458
28.3 English around the world 461
28.4 ?Tables and Overviews 462
28.4.1 ?Types of companies 462
28.4.2 ?Official holidays and translations 464
28.4.3 ?Country-specific holidays 465
28.4.4 ?Translated geographical names 467
28.4.5 ?Temperature conversion table 468
28.4.6 ?Weights and measures 468
28.5 ?Electronic Guidelines on Internet 469
29 False friends game 470
?Die Autoren 473
?Weitere Literatur 474