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Office English Today - PROFESSIONELL KOMMUNIZIEREN AUF ENGLISCH IM GESCHÄFTSALLTAG -

IT‘S AN ILLUSION! We spend an awful lot of time communicating. We have meetings. We use social media. We have helplines for our customers. We publish newsletters and do webcasts. You can‘t go anywhere without seeing people using their mobile phones and tablet computers. But, as Irish author George Bernard Shaw pointed out: “The biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place“. It‘s still one of the most difficult things to get right.

Advanced Communication, this special edition of Office English Today, looks at some important aspects of communication that you, Personal Assistant, need to make sure you have fine-tuned in English. It will make you a better communicator all round. Best regards Jean Lennox Editor-in-Chief

Jean Lennox was born in Manchester, UK. She has spent most of her working life in Germany as an executive assistant, technical translator and journalist in the financial sector. As well as being editor-in-chief of Smart Business English and Office English Today, she is a university teacher and examiner (MBA) and a qualified systemic coach and change manager.

Communication / ADVANCED * * *

So kommunizieren Sie effektiv und zielgerichtet mit Ihren Gesprächspartnern In our business life we communicate in one way, in our private life in another. In your business life, people will listen to you more closely if you let them know these 3 things in advance: I recently came across an interesting article by communication expert and author Dr John Lund on www.forbes.com. Apparently, in business settings, it‘s a good idea to let others know three things before we engage them in conversation. If they don‘t know them in advance, they could make excuses to not talk to you. Your boss in particular will want to know these things up front, because bosses in general want to know where a conversation is headed before they feel safe engaging in it. According to Lund, men always need to know these three things before entering into any kind of conversation, be it private or business. Women need this information in advance in a business environment:

1. Is what you want to talk about going to be painful?

2. How long is it going to take?

3. When you have finished talking, what do you want me to do?

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To help you do this in English, on the right are some examples of how you can give this upfront information.

How to prepare people in advance so they know what you want to talk about with them

Asking someone to help Do you have half an hour to spare? I need some advice about a job offer I‘ve had. I would like your opinion on whether I should accept it.

Making a sales call I know you don‘t have much time. Could you spare me one minute? I just want to schedule a second, ten-minute call to tell you about our new product line.

Setting up a meeting with your boss

Could we meet next week for ten minutes? I‘m not sure how you want me to handle the Chinese project. I‘d appreciate some more input from you.

If you need to reprimand someone

Sonja, this will take three minutes. It‘s about what you said at the meeting yesterday. I found it very strange and I need you to explain exactly what you meant.

Complaints / ADVANCED * * *

Es gibt unterschiedliche Beschwerdetypen: So gehen Sie richtig mit jedem um It doesn ́t matter how well you do your job or how excellent the products your company offers are; it is impossible to satisfy every customer. Some don ́t complain, but others look for reasons to complain. Read this article to find out how you should react to them. There are at least four different types of complainers, each of them motivated by different attitudes, beliefs and needs. This overview will help you to deal with each of them.

Type Description What you can do or say

1 The meek customer

Does not usually complain but might tell others about their bad experience with your company.

Make it easy for meek customers to complain by actively asking them for feedback. You can do this by means of an after-sales process such as routine customer service calls or asking them to fill in a questionnaire.

2 The aggressive customer

The opposite of the meek customer. Complains loudly and at length. Does not respond well to excuses or reasons why the product or service was unsatisfactory.

Listen completely, ask for more details and acknowledge the complaint. Take care not to be aggressive in return. ❑ Is there anything else you were not happy with? ❑ Why was that exactly?

3 The rip-off customer

This customer is not interested in fairness but in winning something additional. A sure sign of a rip-off artist is a repeated “not good enough“ response to your efforts to satisfy this customer‘s needs.

Remain absolutely objective. Use data to back up your response. Be sure any adjustment you offer is in keeping with what your company would normally offer under the circumstances. Sometimes, asking “What would be good enough?“ can help resolve issues.

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❑ We do have three emails that show that we tried to contact you for more details. It‘s unfortunate that we couldn‘t get hold of the information sooner, but we will certainly look into it now. ❑ What can I do to make things right?

4 The chronic complainer

The chronic complainer is never satisfied. There is always something wrong, and this customer‘s mission is to whine. But you can‘t forget that he or she is your customer.

Tactic: Listen patiently and completely. Never get angry. A sympathetic ear and a sincere apology will usually satisfy the chronic complainer. Unlike the rip-off customer, the chronic complainer does actually appreciate your efforts to make things right.

Finally, follow these three simple rules to make the customer a partner in the solution-making process:

1. Make the problem “ours“, not “yours“.

2. Don‘t blame anyone else, even if you know whose fault it was.

3. Ask the customer to suggest a solution.

Feedback / MEDIUM * *

Mit diesen Wörtern geben Sie anderen stilvoll Feedback – egal ob positiv oder negativ Sometimes you have to give feedback to colleagues or to a provider. Sometimes it goes well, sometimes it goes wrong. This overview will help you give positive and negative feedback to your subordinates in a useful and appropriate manner. Many people dislike giving feedback, and many employees dislike receiving it even more! But if you do it the right way, it can help your team to become even better – whether it‘s negative or positive. Giving feedback is a skill, and like all skills, it takes practice to get it perfect. This overview with useful phrases will help you on your way to becoming a feedback pro! On the left, you will see the most useful adverbs and adjectives together with the typical prepositions used. On the right, you will find examples of these phrases in use.

Which words to use Examples

Positive feedback ❑ satisfied with ❑ very pleased with ❑ delighted ❑ delighted with ❑ pleasantly surprised

❑ On the whole, I‘m satisfied with the results. ❑ I‘m very pleased with the way things worked out. ❑ I was delighted to see you got the system up and running so quickly. ❑ I was delighted with the way you handled things. ❑ I was pleasantly surprised to hear you‘re staying with us.

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❑ extremely happy with/about ❑ excited about

❑ I‘m extremely happy with/about the way things have developed recently. ❑ I‘m excited about the way things are going.

Negative feedback ❑ annoyed about/with ❑ disappointed with ❑ unhappy about/with

❑ I‘m very annoyed about what happened. ❑ I was annoyed with the whole team when I saw the results. ❑ I was disappointed with this month‘s results. ❑ I‘m unhappy about the whole set-up.

Expressing uncertainty

❑ not sure about ❑ still don‘t quite understand ❑ doubtful about ❑ confused about

❑ I‘m still not sure about this. ❑ I still don‘t quite understand what you mean. ❑ I‘m doubtful about the future of this project. ❑ I‘m confused about some of the details.

Asking questions / EASY *

Die Antworten, die Sie erhalten, sind so gut wie die Fragen, die Sie stellen If you are able to ask good questions, you improve the possibility of receiving good answers. Are you any good at asking questions? I‘m not asking if you know the correct English grammar (although I hope you do). I mean, are your questions specific enough to get good answers? When you ask a question, you need to communicate what kind of answer you want. For instance: Do you want facts? Do you want an expert opinion? Do you want help? Do you want suggestions? Do you want solutions? Once you know exactly what you want, you can formulate your question. If you want facts, you can use closed questions: ❑ How many cars did we sell today? ❑ What time does your flight leave? If you want more information than the bare facts, you need to ask open questions: ❑ What do you think we should do about Kevin? ❑ Why are you unhappy with this project? You may then want to follow up like this: ❑ What makes you say that? ❑ What do you mean, she‘s difficult to work with? Don‘t interrupt, unless you have to If you‘ve asked a question, you should, of course, wait for the answer. Only interrupt if you feel the other person is straying far from the topic:

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❑ I‘m sorry, what I heard you say is... when I thought we were talking about... ❑ Can I just go back to the last point we were talking about?

WORDS OF WISDOM Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.

Voltaire

Listening / MEDIUM * *

Aktives Zuhören ist wichtig für die Kommunikation – finden Sie heraus, ob es Ihnen liegt Dynamic listening skills are vital for good communication – do you have them? Find out now if you are an attentive and dynamic listener. Successful communication requires active listening. Active listening means focusing on the person who is talking to you and encouraging them to say more. It sounds easy, but it‘s far from it. This checklist will help you to find out whether you are a good listener. Read through statements 1-14 and decide if they apply to you always, usually, sometimes or never. Think carefully and be honest with yourself before you answer. Find out how you scored and for tips on how to be an even better listener below this checklist. Always

true Usually

true Sometimes

true Never True

1 If someone is talking to me, I take care not to let my eyes wander around the room.

2 When I am sitting next to someone I don‘t know, I try to find an area of common interest.

3 I find it difficult to multitask (e.g. checking my emails or tidying my desk) when I‘m talking to others.

4 I sometimes paraphrase what the other person has said to check that I have understood everything.

5 I make sure to smile and nod when the other person is talking to show that I am interested.

6 I believe that everyone has something to teach me or share with me that could be valuable for me, now or in the future.

7 If someone tells me about a project they are working on and it is in my field of expertise, I listen carefully to what they already know. If I feel

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they might need help, I ask them if they would like me to point them in the right direction.

8 I am good at listening to people‘s problems, but am cautious about giving advice unless asked. After all, what is right for me might not be right for them.

9 If someone tells me about a project they are working on and it is in my field of expertise, I immediately point this out to them and tell them what they should be doing.

10 When someone else is talking, I think about what I am going to say next.

11 I am good at giving advice to others, even when they don‘t ask for it.

12 I will stop someone mid-sentence if they say something I disagree with.

13 If I don‘t like the sound of someone‘s voice, I have difficulty listening to what they are saying.

14 I think it‘s impolite to ask questions of people I don‘t know.

WORDS OF WISDOM Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.

Stephen R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Are you a good listener? Check your results. For questions 1 to 7, give yourself 3 points for every time you said Always true, 2 points for every Usually true, 1 for Sometimes true and 0 points for Never true. For questions 8 to 14, it‘s 0 points for Always true, 1 for Usually true, 2 for Sometimes true and 3 for Never true. How did you do? 36 – 42 points: You are an excellent listener. People really enjoy talking to you and, even though you perhaps don‘t say much, you probably have a reputation as a good conversationalist. 25 – 35 points: You are usually a good listener although you are sometimes distracted. Try to focus even more closely on the other person. You could learn a lot. 18 – 24 points: You try hard but you are sometimes a little impatient. Try to focus even more closely on the other person. They might be more interesting than you think! Below 18: For some reason, you are not really listening when other people speak. This could be out of nervousness, or maybe you feel you have to contribute something to every conversation in order to

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look intelligent. Observe yourself next time you are listening to someone and make a conscious effort to be more attentive.

Listening / EASY *

So fragen Sie gezielt nach, wenn Sie etwas nicht verstanden haben – nur so gelingt gute Kommunikation It can be difficult sometimes in your native language to understand someone; in English, it can be even more difficult! However, communication can only occur if you fully understand what the other person said, so make sure you really do understand. An important part of active listening is admitting when you have not understood something. Your lack of understanding could be because you didn‘t hear the other person well enough, or perhaps what they said was too difficult or complicated, or they were talking about something you were not familiar with. This survival guide will help you politely ask for clarification at various language levels. There‘s simple English for when you‘re talking to non-native speakers or others whose English isn‘t as good as yours, and there‘s advanced English, which is particularly suited for use with native speakers. Survival guide: Checking that you have understood Simple English Advanced English

If the problem was acoustic I‘m sorry, I couldn‘t hear you. I‘m sorry, I didn‘t catch all that. Could I ask you to repeat it?

If the person was giving too much information at once

Could you please slow down a little?

Hold on, would you, please? I can‘t take all that in.

If you didn‘t understand the significance

Can you tell me why this is important, please?

I don‘t quite see how this affects me. Could you tell me, please?

f you find something difficult to believe

I don‘t understand. It sounds like a good offer to me.

So, let me get this straight. He offered you two thousand and you turned him down?

If you want to check that you understood

Could I just make sure I understand you?

Can I just run that by you in my own words to check that I have fully understood it?

Difficult conversation / ADVANCED * * *

So können Sie reagieren, wenn Sie wissen oder vermuten, dass jemand nicht ganz bei der Wahrheit bleibt “I don‘t believe you!“ When someone doesn ́t tell the truth, you can get into a difficult situation. This is what you can say in situations like this to avoid difficulty. Although lying is condemned in all societies, people apparently still do it a lot! According to research published in the Harvard Business Review at the beginning of 2015, Americans lie on average twice a day, although there is a huge variety in frequency. In fact, the distribution of lying follows Pareto‘s

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principle, with 20% of people telling 80% of the lies, and 80% of people telling the remaining 20%. I should imagine that the figures are probably the same on this side of the Atlantic. So what do you do if you believe that someone has given you false information? The answer is: it depends. It depends on the type of lie, and on the person. Apparently, many of us lie when we‘re under pressure. Frequent liars do it even when they‘re not. Lying gives them a kick, and it makes them feel in control, says Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, a professor of business psychology at University College London (UCL) and Columbia University. If we know someone lies a lot, he says, we should just accept it and try to live with it. “Systematic liars are as problematic as people who are systematically late: all you need to do is work out their typical patterns of behaviour and plan around them. Unless you want them to stop lying to you, in which case you can gently expose their deceptions to show them you are not as stupid as they think.“ But there are, of course, situations where you will need to question someone who you know (or believe) is not telling the truth. These useful phrases will make it easier for you: ❑ That‘s odd. I‘m not sure where you got that figure. If I read it rightly, we exported twice as many. ❑ You‘re probably right, but do you mind if I check that? I heard something different. ❑ Do you think you could be mistaken? I read yesterday that...

Communication channel / ADVANCED * * *

Damit Ihre Botschaft bei Ihrem Gesprächspartner ankommt, sollten Sie auf den Kommunikationstyp achten How to make sure you use the right communication channel – even in English. Do you ever get the feeling that people don’t understand you, even though you have explained what you had to say absolutely clearly? You might be using the wrong communication channel. In general, here are three channels through which different individuals tend to process information:

1. Visual: These types can understand better when they see something written down.

2. Auditory: Auditory types understand better when they hear something.

3. Kinaesthetic: They are the ones who understand aspects better if they can touch something.

Even if you don’t know which type you’re dealing with, or if you’re on the phone and can’t show anything, you can still appeal to each of the three communication types by your choice of words. Here are some examples that will show you how this works. ❑ Look at these figures. (visual) ❑ Listen to these figures. (auditory) ❑ How do you feel about these figures? (kinaesthetic) You can use the same kind of language when you respond to people. ❑ Yes, I see exactly what you mean. (visual) ❑ That’s very good to hear. (auditory) ❑ I can understand how you feel. (kinaesthetic) I am sure you will be able to think of plenty of other similar expressions to use that appeal to our different senses. Try them out and find out for yourself which ones work best.

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Communication power

So bringen Sie mehr “Power” in Ihre Kommunikation Here are 5 tips to help you seem more confident when you speak English. Do say Don’t say

Use affirmative language Sound confident by using affirmative language.

❑ When we... ❑ I’m going to... ❑ We intend to...

❑ If we... ❑ I want to... ❑ We’re planning

Avoid ineffective intensifiers Intensifiers are words like very, definitely and surely. People use them in an attempt to sound more convincing, but often the opposite is true.

❑ I believe ❑ I’m going to do that.

❑ Actually, I believe... ❑ I’m definitely going to do that

Don’t speculate Don’t invite other people to doubt what you’re saying, for instance by saying “I don’t really know, but...“. Don’t give an opinion unless you know something about the topic.

❑ I don’t know enough about that to have a clear opinion.

❑ I’m not an expert, but...

Skip qualifiers Qualifiers, such as “sort of“ and “kind of“ make you sound like a teenager.

❑ It’s difficult for me to say. ❑ It’s very important.

❑ It’s sort of difficult for me to say. ❑ It’s, like, very important.

Be solution-oriented When things go wrong, don’t panic, but look for a solution.

❑ Now, how shall we go ahead without... ❑ Let’s see how we can get out of this situation.

❑ We can’t manage without... ❑ This is terrible! What are we going to do?

Idioms / ADVANCED * * *

12 Redewendungen rund um die Kommunikation für Ihr Gespräch mit Muttersprachlern As a regular reader of Office English Today, you already know a lot of idioms. You also know how important they are in a conversation with native speakers. Here are 12 interesting idioms for you. Here are 12 popular idioms about communication in the form of an exercise. In the first part of the exercise, you need to choose the correct definition from the three alternatives. In the second part, complete each sentence by adding the missing word. You can check your answers below. Why do this exercise? Because these idioms will enable you to communicate at an even higher level with native speakers. Part 1 What do these people mean? Choose the best definition, a, b, c or d, for these popular idioms.

1. You‘ll be in Frankfurt soon? Drop me a line when you know your schedule. a) Send me a formal letter. b) Send me an email, a text or a short note. c) Call me on my mobile phone. d) Invite me to your meeting.

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2. Please keep me posted on how the project develops. a) Send me a letter by mail. b) Give me all the possible details. c) Let me know how I can help. d) Keep me up to date about progress.

3. How do I know about the merger? I heard it through the grapevine.

a) I read about it on the intranet. b) It‘s not official, but people are talking about it. c) I read it in a top-secret memo. d) I received an official letter from the company.

4. We seem to have got our wires crossed.

a) There must have been a misunderstanding. b) The Internet connection was too weak. c) I was trying to call you at the same time you were trying to call me. d) I must have had the wrong telephone number.

5. I wish he would stop beating about the bush.

a) I wish he would say exactly what he means. b) I wish he would tell the truth. c) He‘s been talking too long. He should stop now. d) I wish he‘d stop putting the blame on someone else.

6. I put my foot in it when I asked her why she had decided to leave the company.

a) I was very interested. b) It was none of my business. c) I asked an insensitive question. b) I wanted to demonstrate my support.

Part 2 Now choose the correct word from the four alternatives, a, b, c and d, to complete these sentences.

7. I like going to meetings with Natalie. She always gets right to the ________________. a) point b) centre c) spot d) middle

8. The politicians were talking at ________________ purposes. One of them was focused on

immigration, the other on education. a) cross b) other c) wrong d) different

9. I haven‘t actually talked to Alan yet. We‘ve been playing phone _________________ all day.

a) chase b) swap c) seek d) tag

10. It sounds complicated, I know. But to put it in a ____________ it will solve all your software problems. a) peanut b) nutshell c) walnut d) banana

11. If you think we‘re criticising your immigration policy, you‘ve got the wrong end of the

__________________. a) bread b) rope c) stick d) point

12. I wish I knew what Mario was talking about. To be honest, I can‘t make head nor

______________ of it. a) leg b) foot c) tail d) knee

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Idioms Correct answer German translation

1 b) To drop someone a line means to send them an informal written message. However, the meaning of this idiom is in the process of changing. Today, some people also use it when they want someone to call them on the phone.

Jmdm. ein paar Zeilen schreiben

2 d) To keep someone posted means to give them updates on how something is progressing.

Jmdm. auf dem Laufenden halten

3 b) If you hear something through the grapevine, you hear someone talking about it. It could be true, but it could possibly be idle gossip.

der Gerüchteküche entnehmen

4 a) If you‘ve got your wires crossed, you have had a misunderstanding.

aneinander vorbeireden

5 a) If someone is beating about the bush, they are discussing something but not getting to the point.  

um den heißen Brei herumreden

6 c) If you put your foot in it, you‘ve said something embarrassing or insensitive.

ins Fettnäpfchen treten

7 a) To get to the point means being very direct and focused.  

auf den Punkt bringen

8 a) If two or more people are at cross purposes, they are talking about different topics without realising it.  

aneinander vorbeireden

9 d) If you play phone tag with someone, you phone when they‘re not there, and they call you back when you‘re not there, and you call them again, but they‘re not there again, and so on and so on. Tag is the children‘s game “Fangen“.

Telefon-Pingpong

10 b) If you put something in a nutshell, you give a lot of information in a concise way.

kurz gefasst

11 c) If you have the wrong end of the stick, you are looking at something from the wrong angle.

in den falschen Hals bekommen

12 c) If you can‘t make heads nor tails (AE) / head nor tail (BE) of something, you can‘t understand it at all.

aus etwas nicht schlau werden

ABONNENTENBEREICH

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Dieses monothematische Supplement “Advanced Communication“ liegt der Ausgabe 9/2015 von Office English Today bei.

JOKE An American visiting London asked the hotel porter where the elevator was. “Ah, you mean the lift,” the porter replied. “No,” the American responded. “If I ask for the elevator, I mean the elevator.” “Well,” the porter answered, “over here we call them lifts. Look, there’s a sign that says ‘lift’.” “Now you listen,” the American said angrily, “Someone in America invented the elevator.” “That may well be,” the porter replied politely, “but someone here in England invented the language.

VOCABULARY ENGLISH DEUTSCH

Nouns environment Umgebung idle gossip Unnützer Klatsch und Gerede lack Mangel plenty of eine Menge pro Profi rip-off Abzocke subordinate Untergebene(r) Adjectives and adverbs at length ausgiebig attentive aufmerksam be it sei es distracted abgelenkt embrassing peinlich meek schüchtern up front im Voraus vital unerlässlich Verbs to admit zugeben to appeal to ansprechen to nod nicken to paraphrase umschreiben to reprimand so. jmdm. rügen to whine jammern