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Episode 3 - Getting Acquainted. In this episode we look at the things you can say to someone you've just met. (Học về các thứ mà bạn có thể nói với một người mới gặp trong môi trường kinh doanh)

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In this episode we look at the things you can say to someone you've just met.


WAITER: Another drink sir?

WALTER: No thank you.

SUE: Excuse me - is anyone sitting here?

WALTER: No - please have a seat.

SUE: That's better - my feet are killing me!

WALTER: Have you been here long?

SUE: No, but I just flew in this morning, and I haven't had a chance to sit down since then.

WALTER: Oh, where have you come from?

SUE: From Manila.

WALTER: Is this your first visit to Australia?

SUE: No, I have been once before, but it was a long time ago.

WALTER: And have you been to Sydney before?

SUE: No, it's an amazing city.

WALTER: Yes, it has its points. But you're lucky to live in Manila. It's a fascinating city.

SUE: What about yourself? Do you live in Sydney?

WALTER: No, I live in Melbourne. I'm just here for the conference.

SUE: I'm going to Melbourne later. What's the weather like there?

WALTER: Not too good in winter, but at the moment it should be okay.

So, how's your hotel?

SUE: It's good. Very convenient - just near the harbor.

WALTER: Have you seen the Opera House yet?

SUE: Yes, we flew right over it!

WALTER: Excuse me - there's someone I must talk to. (stands) It's been very nice to meet you. I'm Walter by the way.

SUE: You too. I'm Sue. Perhaps we'll meet later.

WALTER: I hope so.



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Today we're looking at a typical conversation you might have with someone you've only just met – at a conference for example. What sort of thing can you talk about – and what topics should be avoided? Let's look at how Walter and Sue get acquainted.
Sue breaks the ice – or starts the conversation.
Excuse me – is anyone sitting here?
No – please have a seat.

That’s better – my feet are killing me!


We can tell from how Sue speaks to Walter, that they haven’t met before. She is very polite, and so is he. But then she says something more personal, and this is the ‘icebreaker’.
That’s better. My feet are killing me.
Sue is letting Walter know two things – firstly – that she is tired, and secondly that she is willing to have a friendly conversation with him. By making a more personal, or casual remark, she is inviting him to respond.
Have you been here long?

No, but I just flew in this morning, and I haven’t had a chance to sit down since then.
Walter asks ‘Have you been here long?’

To start a conversation like this, it’s fairly safe to talk about what people have just done.

For this, we use the present perfect –‘have’. Practice with Walter some typical questions like this you could ask.

Have you been here long?

Have you been to Sydney before?

Have you seen the Opera House?

Have you tried any restaurants?

Questions that start with ‘have you’ are yes/no questions, so they have a rising tone:
Have you been here long?

When answering these questions in a situation like this it is helpful to add some information, not just say yes or no.

If you just say ‘yes’ or ‘no’, people may think you don’t really want to talk.
Have you been here long?

No.

Oh.
Instead – notice how Sue helps the conversation along by giving some extra information.
Have you been here long?

Episode 4 - Any Other Business. In this episode we look at how to chair a meeting. You can watch the video or just listen to the audio. (Học cách điều hành một cuộc họp)

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In this episode we look at how to chair a meeting. You can watch the video or just listen to the audio.

DENISE: Has everybody got a copy of the agenda?

Would you mind taking minutes John?

JOHN: Not at all.

DENISE: Good. Well, then let's get started.

First of all, thank you everyone for attending at short notice.
As you know, the objective of this meeting of the Capital Works Committee is to discuss a proposal for some urgent building work at our Southside plant. As we've got to reach a decision which may involve spending, we'll run it as a formal meeting.
Now, you've read the proposal, so without further ado, I'd like to open it up for discussion.
Perhaps if we can start with you Tan - what's your view?

TAN: Well, I'm not convinced that the work is as urgent as this report suggests, so perhaps we should.

DENISE: So, to sum up - I think we are all aware that some urgent work does need to be done, and we will need to work on a longer term plan for a major refit.

Well, if there's no more discussion - we'll put it to a vote. We're recommending that tenders be called for the urgent work needed. All those in favour?

All those against?

Then that's agreed.. Any other business?
Then we'll close the meeting. Thankyou everyone. The next meeting will be in two weeks, at the same time.



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Meetings. We love them or hate them – but we have to have them. Of course there are many different kinds of meetings –from an informal chat, to a Board meeting, or even an Annual General Meeting – and some are more formal than others – and so the language used in them changes.

Today we’re looking at a more formal meeting – and in particular at the role of the chairperson – or the person who runs the meeting.

Our Chairperson is Denise. Let’s look at how she starts things off.
Has everybody got a copy of the agenda?

Would you mind taking minutes John?

Not at all.

Good. Well, then let’s get started.
Denise first makes sure everyone has an agenda – or a list of the items to be discussed at the meeting.

Then she asks someone to take minutes – or keep a record of the meeting. Then she announces the start of the meeting – she officially begins it.

Let’s practise some useful phrases for these three purposes…
Has everybody got a copy of the agenda?

Does everyone have an agenda?

Everybody should have received an agenda.

Would you mind taking minutes John?

Could somebody take the minutes please?

Well, then let’s get started.
What does the chairperson do after formally beginning the meeting?
First of all, thank you everyone for attending at short notice. As you know, we needed to convene this meeting of the Capital Works committee to discuss a proposal for some urgent building work at our Southside plant. As we’ve got to reach a decision which may involve spending, we’ll run it as a formal meeting.

Episode 5 - Hear Hear! In this episode we look at how to keep to the point in meetings. You can watch the video or just listen to the audio. (Học cách giữ trọng tâm, tập trung vào vấn đề trong một cuộc họp)

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In this episode we look at how to keep to the point in meetings. You can watch the video or just listen to the audio.


TAN: Well, I'm not convinced that the work is as urgent as this report suggests, so perhaps we should.

LIN: Oh come on - the building is practically falling down!

DENISE: Sorry Lin - I don't think Tan had finished. We'll get to you in a minute.

LIN: Sorry.

TAN: As I was saying, perhaps we should get a second opinion before we spend any money.

DENISE: Thank you Tan. What's your opinion Walter?

WALTER: Well, as far as I'm concerned, it's a question of safety. So I think we should go ahead.

TAN: Are you suggesting that someone could get hurt?

WALTER: In my opinion, yes. If you ask me, there is a serious risk of an accident. And it's not a recent problem.

TAN: Are you implying we should have done something earlier?

WALTER: Much earlier. It's a real concern.

LIN: Hear hear!

TAN: In that case, I agree - we should do something now.

JOHN: I think so too.

DENISE: Thank you Walter. Well, if there's no.

BARBARA: Excuse me Madame Chairperson.

DENISE: Yes Barbara.

BARBARA: What about the problem with parking? There were no places again this morning.

WALTER: Maybe if you got to work on time.

DENISE: All comments through the chair if you don't mind Walter. Parking isn't on the agenda for this meeting - perhaps you could suggest it for our next meeting Barbara. Well, if there's no more discussion - we'll put it it to a vote.

JOHN: Hear hear!



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Today we're looking again at meetings. In meetings, especially formal meetings, it's important to keep the discussion relevant, and to the point. So we're looking at some words and phrases that a Chairperson might use to stop irrelevant discussion and interruptions. We're also looking at ways of stating an opinion, and agreeing or disagreeing.

First of all - notice how Tan states that he doesn't agree with the report.
Well, I'm not convinced that the work is as urgent as this report suggests.
Tan says 'I'm not convinced.' He means he disagrees with the report. But by saying he's 'not convinced' - he is leaving himself open to another point of view.

Let's look at some phrases you can use to express disagreement.
I'm afraid I'm not convinced.

I don't entirely agree.

I'm not sure about that.

I can't agree with you there.

I don't think that's quite correct.
Notice that all of these ways of disagreeing are polite. If you use stronger terms of disagreement - it can sound rude, or argumentative.
Well, I'm not convinced that the work is as urgent as this report suggests, so perhaps...

Episode 6 - What are the Options? In this episode we look at the options or choices that have to be made. You can watch the video or just listen to the audio. (Chúng ta xem xét về những lựa chọn, những quyết định có thể được đưa ra)

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In this episode we look at the options or choices that have to be made. You can watch the video or just listen to the audio.

DENISE: Now we're looking at the options for handling our on-line orders. They're going through the roof and frankly the lead-time for delivery is blowing out. We need to improve our performance in this area. Any suggestions?

TAN: Well, as I see it, we have three options. The obvious one is to employ more people to do the job. Another alternative is to automate the system more - cut down on the physical handling.

JOHN: And the third option?

TAN: We could outsource.

DENISE: What are the pros and cons?

BARBARA: Well, looking at increasing staff versus automation, we have to consider the cost. Automating has a higher capital cost than putting on more staff. On the other hand, employing more people is more expensive over a long term. If we keep growing, it'll cost more in the long run.

DENISE: How likely is it that we'll see continued growth?

TAN: I'd say it's a certainty.

JOHN: I'd say a high probability. Nothing's certain in business.

DENISE: So what about the third option?

TAN: Outsourcing? Well, it does take the problem off our hands. But we lose contact with our customers.

DENISE: What about the bottom line?

BARBARA: Outsourcing is the cheapest option, and the easiest - in the short term. But if we want to keep the operation in-house, the best option is automating our system. The only down side is, we're taking a risk that our business will keep growing.

JOHN: Which we hope it will.

DENISE: We certainly do.



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We've looked before at formal meetings. Today's meeting is a more informal one, to discuss a specific issue. The discussion is more free-flowing, or uncontrolled. Let's look first at some of the language used by Denise when she introduces the problem.
Now we're looking at the options for handling our on-line orders. They're going through the roof and frankly the lead-time for delivery is blowing out. We need to improve our performance in this area.
Denise says 'we're looking at the options'.

'Options' are different solutions, or answers, to a problem. What is the problem? 'On-line orders are going through the roof'.

'On-line orders' are orders for goods received through the internet, and if they're 'going through the roof', they are increasing in number very rapidly.

The 'lead-time' for delivery is the amount of time it takes from when the order is received to when it's delivered, and if it's 'blowing out' - that time is becoming too long. We use the expression 'blowing out' for something which is becoming too great, in a bad way.

Episode 7 - A Report on Progress. Today's focus is on the verb tenses used in reports. You can watch the video or just listen to the audio. (Bài học này tập chung vào thì của động từ được dùng trong báo cáo)

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Today's focus is on the verb tenses used in reports. You can watch the video or just listen to the audio.

DENISE: Today we're looking at our new widget plant being built at Southside. I've asked Barbara to report on progress and bring us up to date and up to speed. Barbara?

BARBARA: Thanks Denise. I'll just outline the process we've been through, identify some problems, and give you an estimate on completion time and the outcome financially.

JOHN: Is it good news or bad news?

BARBARA: Bear with me. Now, if you recall, after a feasibility study, we put the project out to tender eighteen months ago, and selected Ezybuild as our project manager.
Work commenced about fifteen months ago, and it's been progressing to schedule until recently.

DENISE: What's the problem?

BARBARA: Unfortunately there are three: Firstly, there's been a delay in materials - specifically steel because of industrial issues at the suppliers. Secondly, we've lost days due to the weather. And finally, there's been a resulting cost blowout.

JOHN: So what are we going to do?

BARBARA: Well, they've managed to get another supplier now. I suggested moving the completion date back. That way, there's no penalty, and they agreed to re-deploy their workers until building can start again.

JOHN: Smart thinking.

BARBARA: We've been waiting for the rain to stop - but we can't control the weather!

DENISE: And the cost?

BARBARA: At this stage, just a small overage. But I'll be watching it very closely over the next few months. With no more delays, we're expecting to complete the project just one month behind schedule.

DENISE: Good work Barbara.

JOHN: Humph



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Today's episode is a focussed meeting with a specific purpose. Barbara has been asked to report on the progress of a project. Our focus today is on the verb tenses she uses to report. Firstly, let's look at how Denise asks for Barbara's report.
Today we're looking today at our new widget plant being built at Southside. I've asked Barbara to report on progress and bring us all up to date and up to speed.
Denise says 'Today we're looking at our new widget plant'.

She uses the present continuous tense.

'We're looking' or 'We are looking' - because she's telling them what they are doing, and what they are going to do at the meeting now.

She doesn't use the simple present 'we look', because that is used for regular actions.

Then she says 'I've asked Barbara to report'.

She uses the present perfect tense: 'I have asked' because she asked Barbara to report before the meeting, and Baraba is about to give her report.

We'll look more at present perfect later.

And she wants Barbara to bring them 'up to date' and 'up to speed'.

These are common expressions - to bring someone 'up to date' is to tell them what has happened up to the present. And to bring someone 'up to speed' is to make sure they know all the relevant facts.