Business English

Teil 1: E-mails in English

An E-mail's Anatomy

• Subject Lines That Work
• Common Salutations and Openings
• Ending an E-mail
• Signatures and Disclaimers
• E-mail Techniques: about CC and BCC

A Reader-friendly Approach

• When to Use E-mail and When Not?
• Structuring the Information
• Formal or Informal?
• Netiquette Guidelines
• How to Deal with Attachments

Common Business Situations

• Requesting Information or Favours
• Hotel or Conference Enquiries
• Giving Enquiries
• Change of Address
• Appointments
• Invitations
• Sending Agendas and Minutes
• Refusing a Request
• Complaints
• Apologies
• Congratulations and Season's Greetings
• Thanks
• Payments and Reminders
• Making Offers
• Delivery and Incoterms
• Numbers and Currency Symbols

Practical Reference

• Useful Vocabulary and Key Terms
• Abbreviations and Acronyms
• E-mail Features

Teil 2: Phone Calls in English

Getting Started and Ending a Conversation

• Calling according to plan
• After the greeting
• I beg your pardon?
• Connecting people
• Answering the phone
• Ending a conversation

Typical Situations and How To Deal with Them

• Taking and leaving messages
• Appointments
• Telephone spelling
• Taking down names and numbers
• Electronic addresses
• Answering machine and voice mail
• Mobile telephones

Special Situations

• Conference calls
• International trade
• Sales and finances
• Travel enquiries
• A job interview by telephone

Practical Reference

• Intercultural communication
• Pronunciation
• Telecommunications terminology
• Key terms: the company
• Telephone sources on the Internet
• Country codes and dialling codes for well-known cities

Teil 3: Presentations in English

Preparation

• Developing an international viewpoint
• Preparing yourself, the person
• Putting yourself in your audience's shoes
• Organising facilities
• Your presentation structure
• How to prepare good slides

Greetings and introductions

• What to say when you enter
• Introducing your presentation well
• Introduction components
• Dealing with handouts
• Taking care of technical problems

Main section: skills and techniques

• Using your voice well
• Making transitions
• Explaining slides and diagrammes
• Business English terms
• Dealing with questions
• Handling interruptions and disturbances

Ending your presentation

• Making a good finish
• Ending components
• Saying goodbye

Useful examples

• Basic outline ‒ non-specific content
• Product presentation

Teil 4: Meetings in English

Preparing a meeting

• Inviting people to a meeting
• Making meeting arrangements
• Rescheduling, cancelling or confirming a meeting
• Making the agenda
• Hands-on organisation

Arriving at the meeting

• Arriving in reception
• Introducing oneself and others
• Small talk
• Setting up the meeting room

Conducting a meeting

• Opening the meeting
• Guiding the discussion
• Bringing about a decision
• Closing the meeting

The meeting itself

• Roles at a meeting
• Active participation and asking for more informatio
• Expressing agreement and disagreement
• Making suggestions and having your say
• Enquiring and resolving misunderstandings
• Diplomacy and politeness
• What to do in case of language problems
• Voting

After the meeting

• Making the minutes
• Following up the meeting

Special types of meetings

• Meetings with customers
• Negotiations
• Briefing and brainstorming
• Jours fixes and kick-offs
• Telephone conferences
• Literature

Teil 5: Negotiations in English

Negotiating skills

• Preparation and planning
• Getting acquainted
• Opening phase
• Main phase
• Agreement phase
• Asking questions
• The art of listening
• When things get tough
• Tables, graphs or charts
• Telephone negotiating

Cross-cultural negotiations

• Relation orientation
• Sociolinguistic influences
• Negotiating internationally
• Local negotiation techniques
• Strategic negotiating framework

Country-specific negotiating

• Introduction
• China
• Czech Republic
• France
• India
• Italy
• Japan
• Netherlands
• Poland
• Russia
• Spain
• United Kingdom
• United States
• Cross-cultural differences
• Practical reference

Teil 6: False Friends in Business English

False friends for beginners

• Different types of false friends
• Degrees of confusion
• Applying for a job
• Your CV
• The interview

False friends in business communication

• On the telephone
• In e-mails
• In letters
• In meetings
• Making presentations
• Negotiating

False friends on a business trip

• At the airport
• At a restaurant
• When shopping
• Small talk

False friends in different departments

• Human resources
• Logistics
• Finance and accounting
• Sales and marketing
• Production

Useful false friends to know

• Internet resources

Teil 7: Appendix

Practical Reference

• Linguistic Characteristics
• Linguistic Differences: UK-USA
• English around the world
• Tables and Overviews
• Electronic Guidelines on Internet

False friends game

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