Business English Tip of the Week

Below we suggest some basic study skills to help you improve all aspects of your English.

Listening

• listen for the general idea
• listen for important details
• listen for grammatical forms
• listen to tapes or radio programs about your personal interests
• check your progress with comprehension questions

Reading

• read quickly for the general idea (skimming)
• read silently without moving your mouth
• read carefully for important details
• notice word order and grammatical patterns while reading
• find the most important words and highlight only these words
• read about your personal interests in English
• check your progress with comprehension questions

Vocabulary

• repeat new words by speaking and writing
• gesture while repeating a new action verb
• list new words by topic
• read dictionary entries thoughtfully
• check dictionaries for all the meanings of a word
• check other similar-sounding or similarly-spelled words
• write hard-to-remember words on cards
• sort vocabulary cards into topics
• sort vocabulary cards alphabetically
• sort vocabulary cards by how well you know the words
• think about ways you can use a new word in your life
• make an example sentence to use a new word
• speak or write your new words in real communication
• chart words by meanings – with similar and opposite meanings
• cut apart long compound words and identify prefixes, roots and suffixes
• study variant forms of prefixes, roots and suffixes

Pronunciation

• test your hearing of similar but distinct English sounds
• use a mirror to see if your tongue and lips are in the correct position
• repeat difficult phrases to exercise your mouth muscles
• copy English speech rhythm with a drum or nonsense syllables
• check your progress by dictation to a native speaker

Grammar

• compare the charts and explanations of one grammar point in different books
• compare English word order and grammar forms with your language
• use computer grammar practice for quick feedback
• listen for grammar
• practice grammar in speaking
• check progress with grammar tests

Speaking

• rehearse model recorded conversations
• relax to develop fluency
• meet people who use English for conversation
• use English at certain times with friends or family members
• arrange a conversation practice group
• give a little speech about something of personal importance

Writing

• study spelling rules
• learn cursive writing or italic calligraphy
• write your personal story in English
• write letters to a pen pal
• write a letter to a newspaper or politician
• write stories and practice irregular past tense forms
• write a report after reading something interesting
• translate something from your language then compare your English with a native speaker's translation to study word order and communication style.

Taking telephone messages well is a skill that saves time for both the caller and the receiver.

If you need to take a message for someone, get as much information as possible. Always include:

• The date and time of the call.
• The full name of the person calling (ask for correct spelling).
• The company the caller is from.
• The phone number and time available for callback.
• The purpose of the call.

Give enough information to the caller so they know what to expect, such as when the person they are trying to reach will return.

When taking a message, avoid saying, “I’ll have him call you back when he returns.” It would be better to say, “I’ll make sure he gets your message when he returns.”

Bear the following points in mind when leaving a telephone message

• Don't speak too fast!
• Pronounce and spell your name clearly.
• Slow down when saying your telephone number and pause somewhere in the sequence of providing your number.
• Give your company name, title and reason for calling.
• Let them know when to call you back.

There are times when writers are uncertain about what will happen and need to refer to future events as possibilities or probabilities, not as future certainties.

Here, we'll briefly review the language used to show how 'probable' future events are, i.e. what is the chance that they will happen.

We can use certain modal verbs followed by the bare infinitive (i.e. the infinitive without 'to') to refer to the future. These modal verbs can be used in the active and passive voice.

May / Might + bare infinitive

May and might are used to express the uncertain possibility of an action in the future. May expresses stronger possibility than might.

Could / Can + bare Infinitive

We use can and could to express future possibility when the possibility is related to suggestions, plans or projects.

Can expresses stronger possibility than could. However as the can of possibility is easily confused with the can of ability, may/could are usually used to avoid confusion.

Which meaning is intended? To avoid such confusion use may.

Could is also used to express a conditional possibility, i.e. the possibility of something happening or not depends on something else happening.

When welcoming a visitor to your office, you should offer to take their coat or umbrella (if they have one), offer them a seat, and offer them something to drink. There are a number of ways of making offers in English. The common ones start with these phrases:

Let's look at how each of these phrases is used in context:

Choose the most appropriate phrase to suit the context in which the offer is made.

Use the following checklist to ensure that your e-mail reflects your professionalism and increases your credibility within your company:

1. Company e-mail is the appropriate choice for this document. The e-mail, which may reside in your system's memory and be accessible to people other than the intended reader:

• Contains information that pertains only to your job responsibilities or to company-approved functions. You followed company guidelines for using e-mail for personal communications.
  
• Contains no confidential or sensitive information. It could be made public or subpoenaed without embarrassment to your company or you, the writer.
  
• Is not a way of avoiding talking to someone in person or by telephone. Don't let e-mail replace human interaction that builds relationships and allows you to observe or hear people's reactions to what you are saying.
  
• Contains no reprimanding or emotional wording. Constructive criticism is received best in one-to-one, in-person coaching sessions.
  
• Requires immediate response.
  
• Is not information required by the reader for long-term reference.

2. The distribution list is appropriate:

• All those who should receive the information have been copied. For example, you have not relied upon the primary reader to distribute the information to his/her direct reports if you require them to have the information.
  
• Those who do not need to know the information have not been copied.

3. You have respected your reader's time and edited the e-mail for clarity. You:

• Eliminated wordiness; eliminated any "streams of consciousness."
  
• Used short words, sentences, and paragraphs.
  
• Used precise, factual wording.
  
• Translated technical jargon and acronyms as appropriate for the distribution list.
  
• Deleted any unnecessary "document trail."

4. You have used professional presentation, tone, and courtesy. You:

• Used a simple format that will convert well to all computer systems/programs.
  
• Used upper- and lower-case letters rather than all capitals. Upper and lower case letters are easier to read; using all capitals seems like yelling. The rule of thumb is to put no more than eight words in all capitals; you have saved all capitals for emphasis or headings.
  
• Have written the e-mail from your reader's point of view. Your wording is considerate and polite; it is objective and direct without being abrupt.
  
• Used words that are appropriate for a business environment.

5. You have organized the e-mail strategically. You ensured accurate and complete content. You:

• Provided a subject heading and opening purpose statement that predict the document's content.
  
• Anticipated and answered your reader's questions, providing background information when it helps your reader understand your message.
  
• Double-checked the accuracy of facts and figures.
  
• Clearly and explicitly asked for action or described what you will do next.
  

6. You have proofread the e-mail. You:

• Used correct, consistent punctuation.
  
• Used your spell checker and double-checked the spelling of people's names and of company products and services.
  
• Replaced "brief hand" abbreviations such as "w/" and "info" with standard spellings.
  
• Ensured your precise use of all vocabulary, especially of any unfamiliar vocabulary gleaned from your computer's thesaurus.
  
• Checked grammar (especially subject-verb agreement) and usage (for example, commonly confused words such as "there" and "their").
  
• Checked sentence structure (especially to correct any fragments or run-on sentences).
  

In English (as in most languages), we can ask either open-ended questions or closed questions.

Closed questions are questions which generally only require a yes/no answer. When you are asked a closed question, try to add some extra information to your answer; otherwise, conversations can quickly come to an end:

Open questions are questions, often using a WH- word, in which the speaker is asking for MORE information than just yes or no. Open questions are very useful in helping to develop a conversation. In a way, you are forcing the person you are speaking with to provide you with longer answers:

When welcoming visitors it's best to use a combination of open and closed questions. Perhaps start off by asking a few closed questions about your visitor's flight, hotel, etc. Then ask a few open questions to get your visitor to open up and speak more expansively about things.

There are many words that appear similar in English. In order to avoid mistakes you have to learn from your mistakes. Find out what the correct word is and then use both the correct and incorrect words in sentences so that you can remember the difference.

Here, we'll look at a number of pairs of words that are often confused due to the closeness of their appearance. Each word appears with an example sentence to clearly show how its use differs from the word(s) it is commonly confused with.

Past vs Passed

Here's why: 'Past' as a noun refers to the period before the present. 'Passed' the past tense of the verb to pass refers to the act of passing. It is important to note that 'Past' can also be used as an adjective, adverb or a preposition. See correct examples below:

Beside vs Besides

Here's why: 'Beside' means to be at the side of. 'Besides' means in addition to, or moreover, as in the example above, where the idea is that others in addition to the person being reproached would like to get through the line. Other correct examples are:

Continual vs Continuous

Here's why: There's a very subtle shade of difference here. 'Continuously' refers to something that goes on without any interruption whatsoever. 'Continually' refers to something, often annoying actions that recur at frequent intervals. In this case, the meaning is that many calls came in, possibly at short intervals. So 'continually' is correct. Other correct examples are:

Respectful vs Respective

Here's why: 'Respective' is a term of separation or comparison, as in they went to their respective seats, and they were paid in accordance with their respective ranks. 'Respectful' means to be full of respect. So in this case, where respect for one's wishes is the issue, 'respectful' is the appropriate choice. Additional correct examples are:

A business telephone call is a dialogue - a two-way exchange of information. When you are not listening, you will probably either be explaining something or asking questions to get information.

Questioning as a Telephone Skill

Questioning is a systematic process that enables you to find out information. In business telephone calls, ask questions to accomplish two aims:

1. To get the information you need.
2. To verify or confirm information you've received.

Of course, you'll ask these questions in a conversational way and not make it sound like an interrogation. There are two types of questions often used in business telephone conversations, namely direct and indirect.

Direct Questions

Sometimes your telephone call will be designed to find out very specific pieces of information. In such calls, you need to ask a series of direct questions.

"What date have you selected for the regional meeting?" "Will Mr. Jones be able to make his 2 pm appointment?" "Does that time suit you?"

Direct questions are straight forward. They focus the conversation on a limited topic, and they obtain specific information.

Direct questions (sometimes called closed questions) can be answered with a few words, such as "yes" or "no".

Indirect Questions

In some telephone conversations, you need to find out more general information, share ideas or discuss opinions.  For these situations, you would ask a series of indirect questions.

"Why have you chosen to stay with your present supplier?" "What are your goals this year?" "How is your company organized?" "When last did you have an appointment with us?"

Indirect questions encourage general, wider-ranging responses.  They open up avenues for further thought and discussion.

Indirect questions (sometimes called open questions) cannot be answered with a word or two.  They are designed to get the other person to talk freely, at some length, and in his or her own way.

Using Direct and Indirect Questions

When is each question type most appropriate?

• Direct questions are used when trying to find out specific information, come to an agreement, or confirm information received.
• Indirect questions are used when trying to determine needs, uncover problems or understand issues or concerns.

Guidelines for Effective Questioning

Learning how to use questions effectively on the phone takes practice. Here are a few basic guidelines.

1. Select the appropriate questions.

Plan a general line of questioning before you make the call. Ideally, you'll identify the information you need, then prepare questions to get the conversation moving along. You cannot anticipate every question, but you can make an educated guess.

2. Listen to the answers to your questions.

Remember, questioning is one of the broader skills you use in a professional business conversation.  Don't tie yourself too tightly to a strict line of questioning.  Don't start forming your next question until you've listened to the answer to the last one.  Be sure you don't answer the questions yourself.

3. Timing is important.

In a telephone conversation, timing is everything.  Avoid interrupting the conversational flow with a question out of context, but take advantage of conversational opportunities when they arise.

4. Continue questioning to confirm or verify information.

Verifying is a special aspect of questioning. To verify, summarize what has been said (what you heard the other person say), then ask for confirmation with a question.  Here are some examples: Summarize: "So the appointment will be on Thursday at 2.30...." Confirm: "...is that correct?"

5. Avoid conducting an inquisition.

There is a very small difference between an intense question and answer telephone call, and an inquisition. If you ask too many questions without adding your own comments, your listener will feel as though he/she is being interrogated.  It's best to acknowledge each answer briefly or comment in a relevant way before asking another question.

6. Don't think too much about the types of questions.

Although it's useful to know and use the direct and indirect questions, don't concern yourself too much about the types themselves. After all, it is the answer, not the question that is the most important. Remember that your telephone contact may not respond in the way you expect. Don't panic if he/she replies with a one-word answer to your best indirect question!  Take note of the information and change your questions accordingly.

The past perfect tense is used to refer to actions that took place and were completed in the past. The past perfect is often used to emphasise that one action, event or condition ended before another past action, event, or condition began.

Each of the highlighted verbs in the following sentences is in the past perfect.

All the events in this sentence took place in the past, but the act of closing the shop takes place before John arrives at the shop.

Here the praise ("had told ") precedes the finding ("found") of the restaurant. Both actions took place sometime before the moment of speaking or writing.

In this sentence, both actions take place in the past, but the using up of the paper ("had used up ") preceded the ordering of the new paper.

Common Usage Errors

A common error is to use the past perfect tense unnecessarily to refer to past events.

Yes, I had already given them my reply.

In the above example, the past perfect is used unnecessarily instead of the present perfect, perhaps because had given seems more 'past' than have given.

Here's another example of misuage of the past perfect:

Several years ago, we had sold fax machines, but we don't any more.

Here, the past simple sold is sufficient (even though we sold fax machines is before we don't any more) because you are not comparing the two past times.

TIP: It is best to avoid the past perfect tense unless you are sure how to use it. In fact it is not used very much in business writing.

Shorter is nearly always better. Short words are clearer than their wordy alternatives. When you have a number of wordy phrases in a letter, memo, email, etc., the document loses clarity. Short doesn't mean simple - it means that you've considered the language you are using carefully with your reader in mind.

Replace these wordy phrases with their concise alternatives.

You should also watch out for redundancies like these below. Don't repeat yourself!

International business suffers from a serious overuse and incorrect use of capital (uppercase) letters. Here are examples of incorrect capitalization.

Be sure to visit our Web Site. All the Company Employees are to attend the meeting. We are the largest Province in the country. Our Bookkeeper paid the invoice. She went to University in Japan.

Here are some guidelines for the use of capital letters:

Names of People

Family Title as Part of the Name

Family Title Instead of the Name

Days of the Week

Months of the Year

Holidays

Note: the names of the seasons are NOT capitalized.

My favourite season is autumn. My favourite season is Autumn.

Cities

States / Provinces

Buildings, Parks, Zoos

Languages, Countries, Nationalities

Job Titles and Company Departments

When speaking or writing in a business context, it is very important to be aware of tone. Tone has to do with not the meaning of words but how they are said or written. For example, if you invited three close friends over to watch a football game, the language you might use with them would be very different than the language you might use if you met the Queen of England or a very well-known politician. The difference in the way you'd say things to the Queen and your friends is called tone.

Think for a minute about your native language. How might you say these sentences (in your native language) differently, depending on who you were with:

We make things more formal, of course, by adding words like "please" and "kindly". We also make it more formal by adding phrases such as "Could you....", " Would you mind...," "I was wondering if you could..." etc.

Sometimes tone has to do, then, with being more polite. Sometimes, though, it's not a matter of politeness, but of formality. Some words are just more formal than others. Consider the following list of words, for example, which are rather informal. On the right are words that are similar in meaning but reflect a more formal tone.

Keep in mind that this is certainly not a complete list. While it's incorrect to say that the words on the left are impolite, they are less formal. That means you would almost never use these words in a formal business letter, but you wouldn't use the formal words on the right if you were spending time with your friends at home. Also note that in North American and British/Australian/South African business circles, it is usually fine to be somewhat informal when speaking; this is not the case when it comes to writing, however.

Rule 1

You may end a sentence with a preposition. Just do not use extra prepositions when the meaning is clear without them.

That is something I cannot agree with. How many of you can I count on? Where did he go (to)? Where did you get this (at)? I will go later (on). Take your shoes off (of) the bed. You may not look out (of) the window. Cut it (up) into small pieces.

Rule 2

Use on with expressions that indicate the time of an occurrence.

Rule 3

0f should never be used in place of have.

I should have done it. I should of done it.

Rule 4

Between refers to two. Among is used for three or more.

Rule 5

Into implies entrance, in does not.

When making requests, it's necessary to be polite. In most situations, the standard request phrases "Would you...?" or "Could you .....?" are acceptable. For example:

However, in certain situations, where the request will trouble or inconvenience someone, it is a good idea to use a stronger, more polite request phrase. The most common phrase is "I'd appreciate if you/we could...." Here are some examples:

If the request is very difficult, use the phrase "I'd really appreciate if it you/we could..." Listen to these examples:

Note: we don't say "I'd very appreciate it if you could." Use "really" instead of "very."

The other common phrase for making difficult requests is "I would be grateful if you could..." This phrase is used in the same way as "I'd appreciate it if you could..." Listen to these examples:

And if the request is very troublesome for someone, use the phrase "I'd be really/very grateful if you could...." This phrase is used in the same way as "I'd really appreciate if you could..." as in these examples:

Why do we have to be so polite?

This is probably a cultural thing. In Western culture, people expect politeness. If your request sounds more like a command, then you're likely to cause offence, and there's a good chance they'll say "no." If you make a request and indicate your appreciation, your request is much more likely to be granted. Of course, much depends on the context of the conversation you have and the relationship you have with the person you're speaking to.

Emailing Someone who Doesn't Know You

There are a few important points to consider when writing email, especially when emailing someone who doesn't know you.

Once you have exchanged emails with a person on a given subject, it is probably OK to leave greetings out of your follow-up emails. Here are some other points to consider about continuing email conversations: