INGLES COMERCIAL - CREDIT 1 MANUAL - FP A DISTANCIA ANDALUCIA - GRADO SUPERIOR GESTION COMERCIAL Y MARKETING

INGLÉS COMERCIAL I

Santillanaformación

GESTIÓN COMERCIAL Y MÁRKETING

1. Finding a new job

• Greetings ........................................................................................................3• Requesting information ...................................................................................5• Cities and countries.........................................................................................7 • Differences in spelling ....................................................................................9• Write a curriculum.........................................................................................12 • Presentation letters ......................................................................................14

2. Learning about figures • Companies organization ...............................................................................16• Schedules......................................................................................................17 • Quantities......................................................................................................19 • Compare .......................................................................................................20 • Doing business with other cultures ...............................................................22• Imperatives ...................................................................................................24

3. Working routines

• Everyday work ..............................................................................................27• Market research............................................................................................29 • Personal interest and lifestyles ....................................................................30• Past Simple ..................................................................................................33• Changes ......................................................................................................36• Present Perfect.............................................................................................38

4. Telephoning

• Good manners .............................................................................................41• Speak on the phone ....................................................................................43• Useful expressions on the phone ................................................................45• Work and home life .....................................................................................48• The Future ..................................................................................................50• Ing forms .....................................................................................................52

5. Planning new products

• Business presentation..................................................................................55 • Organizing points ........................................................................................59• Past Perfect.................................................................................................63 • Future plans.................................................................................................67 • Product designing and description ..............................................................69• How to write and advert ..............................................................................72

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INDEX

Inglés Comercial I

Inglés comercial I

1 Finding a new job Greetings When we meet someone in a business situation we need to be specially careful because the impression we cause on the other person can help or on the contrary, hinder our objective. Different degrees of politeness depend on the situation and the nationality of the people we are dealing with. As a general rule, Americans tend to be more informal and they like to treat their business acquaintances casually very soon. British, however, differentiate clearly business from friendship. You may think that shaking hands is the only logical way of greeting someone, well, you are wrong. Asians bow and Arabs do not like to be touched by a business woman so, things are not so easy! Even the distance you must keep when talking is a cultural convention. Latin and Mediterranean people get closer, British like middle distances and Orientals stand up as far as possible. Do not try to approach and do not move your hands and arms while you are speaking to reinforce your words, they consider this type of body language menacing and frightening. In the old days it was very common to use the expression “I’m pleased to make your acquaintance”, and when two people met for the first time they asked each other “How do you do?” repeating the sentence without really answering it. Although some old people still use them, they are considered too polite today. The ceremony of interchanging visiting cards is also important for them. Do not give it a quick look and put it into your pocket, but hold it showing your appreciation and respect.

When you meet someone for the first time you can use a formal or an informal greeting.

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Formal and informal greetings

Formal Informal Formal answer

Informal answer

How do you do?

How are you?

I’m pleased to meet you

Very well thank you, and you?

I’m fine, thanks, and you?

• These sentences are a different way of greeting someone:

It's good to meet you. Nice to meet you.

• You should always use Mr. + Surname/Mrs. + Surname until the other person tells you to use his/her name with the following sentence:

Please, call me John. Please, just Alice.

• These sentences are a different way of greeting someone:

It’s good to meet you. Nice to meet you.

• You should always use Mr. + Surname/Mrs. + Surname until the other person tells you to use his/her name with the following sentence: Please, call me John. Please, just Alice.

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Requesting information We can ask people about their works and this is not considered curiosity but a way of showing interest. Socializing in a convention or a meeting is a substantial part of an executive’s job. In fact, the ability to get information from a colleague or a competitor is not easy to acquire, you need some sort of psychological disposition not to frighten your opponent by an intensive questioning. Expert’s advice that you should listen to the speaker with a broad smile and assertive movements proving that you are keeping an interest in his words. Sometimes reassuring sentences like “I see”, “I think so” “Really?”, or more informally “No kidding?” can be interpreted as a hint to go on. Why do we want all this knowledge about people we are not interested in? Well, in many occasions we only find out garbage, but there may be new job offers, some news about our own company that the executive board did not want to reveal to its own employees, gossiping about markets’ behavior, joint ventures, company’s mergers and all sorts of things that we can learn from an inoffensive talk.

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These strategies are not at all modern, an ancient Chinese military strategist wrote a book titled Sun Tzu Management, and his ideas which came from military training are still as relevant to the business world as they were for war purposes when the book was written. He goes as far as justifying industrial espionage with these words “Although some people have condemned such activities, my personal feeling is that all is fair in war”. He mentions some useful ways of obtaining information from men who know the enemy position: 1- Getting information from potential recruits. 2- Conducting false job interviews. 3- Hiring people away from competitors. 4- Planting spies. 5- Encouraging key customers to talk. 6- Taking factory tours. 7- Taking competitors’ products apart.

GRAMMAR POINT When asking about a company these questions will come in handy. Learn them by heart with their answers.

They usually start with a question word followed by a form of the verb “to be” or an auxiliary: do/does, did, have/has. Prepositions go at the end of the questions and not at the beginning as in Spanish, so avoid common errors such as “In what company do you work?”

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Asking about company What is your job? I’m a secretary

What do you do for a living? I’m a receptionist

What do you do? I’m a lawyer

What do you work as? I’m an accountant

What division are you in? I’m in sales

What department are you in? I’m in marketing

What is your position/post in the company?

I’m an export manager

What business are you in? I’m in clothing

Work

Who do you work for? I work for I.B.M.

What does your company make? It makes cars

What does your company produce?

It produces software

What does your company manufacture?

It manufactures television sets

What does your company sell? It sells houses

Products

What does your company design?

It designs furniture

Cities and countries Read this text, it is a job advertisement: a General Manager for Africa. "A large international energy company is looking for a general manager to run its East African office, based in Nairobi. You will work closely with technical and operational specialists and play a leading role in all the company's commercial activities in the region. You should be a graduate with a working knowledge of English. You must also have excellent communicative and interpersonal skills.

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In addition to a performance-related salary, we provide an attractive benefits package. Please, reply with C.V. to: Nicholl Executive Search. PO Box 2002, London, UK". Now let’s have a look at the applicant’s description:

• A 25-year-old graduate. • From Harvard Business School who grew up in Kenya. • A 40-year-old communications consultant who has worked in 12 different

countries. • A 35-year-old major in the South African army who is looking for a new career.

PRECEDENCE AND ORIGIN As you saw in the text there are many references to cities, universities, regions and countries. It is usually so when “talking business”. You will need to express or ask about the precedence of a product, a person, a survey or even a list of figures.

In English, all words (nouns and adjectives) relating to countries or nationalities begins with a capital letter. This chart lists what is probably the most widely-accepted number of continents (7), and shows the associated adjective and the noun used for a person from each continent:

Continent Adjective Person Africa African an African Antarctica Antarctic Asia Asian an Asian Europe European a European North America North American a North American Oceania Oceanian an Oceanian

South America South American a South American

Look at some of the expressions in the text. They all refer to origin:

• To run its East African office. • Based in Nairobi. • In the region. • Graduate from Harvard. • Grew up in Kenya.

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Here you have some of the most common questions about precedence:

• Where are you from? • Where do you come from? • Where is your company based? • Where are your company’s headquarters? • Where is your company main office? • Where did you grow up? • Where did you graduate?

Adjectives -ish group

ian-an group -ese group

British Brazilian Chinese

Spanish Australian Japanese

Polish Italian Portuguese

Irregular adjectives

Greece Greek

Holland Dutch

France French

U.S.A. American

When answering to these questions you will often need adjectives of origin. They use different endings, although some are irregular. Adjectives are always written with a capital letter.

Differences in spelling When writing or reading we can find a lot of differences in spelling in the same word. If you look up in the dictionary words such as:

• Analyze • Prioritize • Organization

You will find them written with “z” or with “s” and both spellings are right. The same happens when you have words such as: “colour”, “odour”, or “harbour”, they can also be: “color”, “odor” and “harbor”. Why is this so? The answer is easy: American English has tried to simplify spelling as much as possible and has intended to write words as close to their pronunciation. That tendency usually causes trouble in written English and it is very difficult to be consistent when writing, as British themselves have accepted some of the modifications but not others.

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In business English the spelling is very often closer to the American ways because the U.S.A. are the first economic power and their influence in the world is very strong, so, apart from specific vocabulary, we can learn some of the most frequent spelling differences:

• Words ending in “-re” such as “centre, “Theatre” in British English, are written: “center” and “theater” in American English.

• Words containing “-s” such as “organize”, analyze” are written with “z” in American English.

• Words with “ou” are simplified in “o” in American English. • Words with double consonants, such as “programme” are written with a

single consonant in American English. But, words such as “instalment” are written with a double consonant “installment” in American English. English alphabet These are the English letters and their correct pronunciation. You have to learn them very well to spell fast. It is very common to spell surnames, cities and street names. On the telephone you will hear: How do you spell it/that? Can you spell that for me please?

Remember: In English the letter “ll” does not exist. If you find it in a word you must spell it /dabol él/. The letter “ñ” can only be found in Spanish. They usually spell it like an “n” so, if your name contains an “ñ” keep calm! However the words “traveller, travelling and travelled” from the same stem, are written with a single “l” in American English. This inconsistency prevents grammar rules from being effective and forces us to check the spelling whenever we are in doubt.

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A = éi B = bi:

C = sí: D = di: E = i: F = ef G =

dzi: H = éik

I = ái J = dzéi

K = kéi L = él M =

ém N = én O = óu

P = pi:

Q = KJÚ R = ÁR

S = ÉS T = TÍ: U =

JÚ: V = VI: W = dabljú

X = eks

Y = WAI Z = ZÉD

A = éi B = bi:

C = sí:

D = di:

E = i: F = ef G = dzi:

H = éik

I = ái J = dzéi

K = kéi

L = él

M = ém

N = én

O = óu

P = pi:

Q = KJÚ R = ÁR

S = ÉS

T = TÍ:

U = JÚ:

V = VI:

W = dabljú

X = eks

Y = WAI Z = ZÉD

When giving addresses, surnames, etc. or when speaking on the phone, you can have some problems because the other person does not know how to write correctly what you are saying. In that case, you need to spell that problematic word to avoid misunderstandings. Therefore the practice of spelling is very common in English. People will ask you: How do you spell that? Or, Can you spell that for me, please? Whenever there might be a misunderstanding, a name or a word that they have never seen. English is not easy English is not an easy language because throughout the years English speakers have extended their language across different continents, they were mostly soldiers and tradesmen, not scholars, therefore language accuracy was not one of their aims. That is one of the reasons why the same word can be found written with different spellings depending on each country. While Britain was the head of the Empire, British colleges and universities dictated what was acceptable and what was not. You can easily find lists of words that are different in both countries although most of them are well understood in Britain as well as in the United States, here are some of them:

British English American English underground subway

lift elevator

lorry truck

holiday vacation

autumn fall

tap faucet

shop store

film movie

cinema movie theatre

shopping centre mall

trousers pants

toilet rest room

taxi cab

reception desk reception counter

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Write a curriculum When we want to find a job we need to plan carefully what we should do. First of all, we need to have a degree, a diploma or some sort of official qualification that proves that we have received the training required for the post we are applying for. Secondly, we have to point out any working experience that we may have acquired. If we are still young, part-time jobs will help us to prove that we are willing to work and we do not depend entirely on our family’s support. When writing a curriculum we need to organize the information about ourselves. First of all, it must include name, surname address, a telephone number where you can be reached easily, your date of birth and nationality is also important. Many companies, when looking for a new employee, specify the required age. Common and optional components of a Resume Resumes have many different styles and formats, but essentially contain similar information. Below are the common and optional components of a resume. As you go through this tutorial, each component will be described in more detail and examples will be given.

Common components

Heading Name, address, phone number, & e-Mail

Career objective Shows your job target

Education Describes academic achievement

Experience Paid and volunteer experience

Activities Professional, educational, or civic activities

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Optional components

Skills / Summary of qualifications

List relevant skills and qualifications

Functional skills Used with functional / combination resumes

Honours / Awards Contains educational and related honours

Certifications / Licenses

Those which are pertinent to your objective

Others Additional qualifications related to your goal

The chronological resume format is the most common and easiest to write. It's also the resume format that many employers and recruiters prefer. Do not forget your age, and place of birth. Your nationality is also important, as well as a picture, because in many occasions, personal appearance is determinant. Educational qualifications should follow, mark clearly the year in which you obtained the degree, or finished the course. List all your qualifications even if you think that some of them are not really relevant for the type of job you are interested in, sometimes the person who is going to read your curriculum can be impressed by some aspects that you have considered unimportant. Don’t forget to mention the foreign languages you can speak. Today a good competence in English can make a big difference. Finally, do not hesitate in enclosing a description of your interests. They will show that you are a person of your time, and what is more important, that you have social abilities that can be well-used, specially if your job involves dealing with people. Use dynamic action verbs such as: accomplished, collaborated, encouraged, established, facilitated, founded, managed, etc. Do not use the subject "i", use tenses in the past. Except for your present job. Example: conducted routine inspections of on site equipment. A presentation letter should be attached to your C.V. you must refer to the post, and where have you learn about it: a newspaper, an employment agency…etc.

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If you are given the chance to attend a personal interview, try to learn as much as possible about the company, what they produce, where they are located, what their corporative image is and any details that show that you have done your homework. Be friendly and well-mannered, do not forget that you are being evaluated, but remain clam and confident. Remember that doing well at a job interview is also a matter of practice. Most words indicating jobs and professions are usually formed by adding an ending to a base that can be a verb or a noun. The most common endings are: -er, -or, -ist Some professions do not have any endings: “architect”, “pilot”, “air host”. Notice that the –er ending is the most active.

Professions endings

-er -or -ist

Engineer Doctor Journalist

Butcher Investor Capitalist

Teacher Solicitor Anthropologist

Worker Auditor Stylist

Baker Actor Typist

Police officer

Groccer

Writer

Lawyer

Stockbroker

Manager

Designer

hairdresser

Presentation letters A letter of application, or presentation, also called the “covering letter” can be as important as the C.V. because it often provides the first direct contact between a candidate and an employer. If this letter is not well written and presented, it will make a poor impression.

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It is very important that you seem interested in the company, so it is a good idea to find out about its products, branches or subsidiaries, as well as its latest results. You also should give the impression of being an active person, willing to join their team. That’s the main objective of a presentation letter; it speaks for you, before you have the chance to speak for yourself. It will show a possible employer how well you “sell” yourself. Read this presentation letter: Dear Sir/Madam, I am writing to apply for the post at the sales department as advertised in the New York Times on July 27th, 2004. I did a degree in business Administration at the University of Yale. Since I graduated I have worked for “Canon”. I am familiar with your company’s corporate image and I am enthusiastic and cooperative although I am also capable of working alone. I enclose my curriculum vitae and a recent picture. I am looking forward to hearing from you. Yours faithfully, Laura Sánchez Presentation letters should go together with C.V.s. They point out your personal qualities and let your employer know a little more about your expectations. They cannot be very long, and they have to follow a pattern:

• Greeting. Always use Sir/Madam if you do not know the name of the person you are writing to.

• Stating the objective of your letter. If you are answering to a telephone conversation or to an advertisement, do say so, and make reference to it, date and name of the publication.

• Point out your qualifications and personal strengths. • Closing sentence. It has been established by convention “I’m looking

forward to…” • End with “yours faithfully” if you do not know the person’s name, or with

“yours sincerely” if you have had some previous relation or know them.

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2 Learning about figures Companies organization When describing companies and their organization, charts are very useful. They help us visualize the company’s hierarchy and structure. It can be pyramidal, where a chief executive or a manager is at the top and some departments are more important than others, or it can be horizontal, where the departments are all at the same level each one with a manger, and interact on equality bases.

Organization charts describe processes as well; they are effective visual aids and are a good option to explain a company’s methods and plans. We can find these charts usually printed in brochures so that we understand easily what they are doing or how they are structured. They use square or rectangular boxes connected by lines or arrows.

Pie charts are essential to represent figures and percentages in the easiest possible way. As you know, they are circles divided by radial lines. The complete circle should amount to a 100%.

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Read this text: Our market share fell by 2% last year, but on the other hand our turnover increased by 10 %, due to some savings in energy bills that dropped to a half. The number of employees went down by a 4% because retirements have not been covered by new recruitments. However the productivity is a 6% higher as the number of days lost decreased by a 10%. On the contrary, distribution cost went up because of the rise in the price of oil. We conducted a survey on customer satisfaction and the results were that a half of them declared themselves “very satisfied” and a 30% were “reasonably satisfied”, less than a third of them thought that some improvement was needed. Americans read quantities in “hundreds” 1200 = American: twelve hundred British: one thousand two hundred In quantities “hundred” and “thousand” are always singular When reading percentages the preposition “of” is used and we read: “... per cent of ...” With fractions we use: “a/one half”, “a/one third” “a/one quarter” and after ¼ , the number below is an ordinal: 1/6 “one sixth”. Negative numbers are read with the word “minus” before them. Decimals have a “point”: 12.5 “twelve point five”. But we do not read “point” with money: 4.25 € “four twenty-five euros”. About/around are used to say approximate numbers. There are around 25 people in our store. About 50% of the population like our products.

Schedules Today, schedules are everywhere and not only to tell us when do we start work or when do we finish it, they are at airports, railway and bus stations… etc. To avoid misunderstandings they usually use four digits to tell the time from 00:00 to 24:00, leaving out traditional clocks which only have twelve hours on display. When doing business with people from foreign countries you need to have always into account the time difference that may exist between your countries as it

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wouldn’t be a good idea to phone someone in the middle of the night. Also have in mind their everyday schedules, the time they begin their day, lunch and dinner hours… since a lot of business is made at a restaurant table. As you know, Americans and most Europeans have lunch at about 12:00 and dinner around 6:00 p.m. So if you are entertaining visitors do not keep them waiting until 3:00 for lunch or 10:00 for dinner. They will probably be starving and not interested in business at all. Read this text about schedules. Before the industrial revolution took place, the working hours were marked by the sun. When it rose everybody went to the fields until sunset. Darkness meant the end of the journey. There were no holidays and people laboured from Monday to Sunday. Electricity changed all this; factories could keep on without having to stop at night. Workers had to suffer exploitation and abuse from employers. Even children worked 15 or 16 hours daily. It was not until the twentieth century that labour was regulated by laws which established a fixed number of hours a worker could do, a number of days of paid holidays, health care and other benefits that some companies offer their staff as an incentive. Nowadays some people work shifts; others have morning jobs, from 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Others have a day in two parts from 9:30 to 1:30 and in the afternoons from 5:30 to 8:30. There are night jobs from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. Part-time jobs for people who can’t work all day long. Flexi-time jobs, that allows you to arrive or leave at different times, as long as the total amount of hours in a week is right. Technological Revolution will allow people to work at home. Tele-working will be common in a near future and it won’t be necessary to commute every day.

FLIGHT DEPARTURES

FLIGHT DESTINATION TIME GATE INFORMATION

AR254 MADRID 3:58 10 CLOSED

BV521 LONDON 4:00 5 DELAYED

DD755 LISBON 4:35 8 NOW BORDING

AM356 BOSTON 5:15 23 CLOSED

IB435 NEW YORK 5:45 17 WAIT IN LOUNGE

SP856 MEXICO CITY 6:02 9 LAST CALL

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CARDINAL NUMBERS Cardinal numbers express figures, telephone numbers, years and times. Figures: 18721 – “eighteen thousand, seven hundred and twenty-one”. British write “and” between hundreds and tens, also, between thousands and tens. Americans don’t. Telephone numbers: are read one by one. When a number is repeated, we say “double”. 4335967 “four, double three, five, nine, six, seven” Years: are read in pairs, with the preposition “in”. In 1998: “nineteen ninety-eight”. Times: on schedules we give the time in figures. But in normal conversation we use: 10:15 = a quarter past ten. 9:45 = a quarter to ten. 6:30 = half past six. 11.40 = twenty to twelve.

Americans use “after” instead of the British Past and “of” instead of “to”. To know the time use these questions: What time is it? What’s the time? Have you got the time?

Quantities It is always difficult to explain how to use quantities in English because nouns are countable or uncountable. These are grammatical terms but sometimes do not respond to the logic. Let’s take an example: although it is perfectly possible to count money. The word “money” itself is grammatically uncountable; therefore you cannot say “a money”, or “two monies”. However, you can count currencies such as pounds, euros or dollars. Which of my knowledge is money too? In general, we can say that countable nouns can be used in the plural but not uncountable nouns. The problem is that there are some special cases where a word can have both uses like “hair”.

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It is not the same to have only one hair that to have short red hair. Other uncountable nouns can have countable equivalents: “travel” cannot be plural but “trips” can be counted easily. And, what about “goods”, “scissors”, “valuables”, “earnings”? Well believe it or nor, they only can occur in the plural.

GRAMMAR POINT To ask about quantities we use: How much for uncountable nouns and how many for countable nouns. To answer we can use:

• Uncountable: little/ a little. Much.

• Countable: Few/ a few. Many. “A lot of”/ “a lot”/ “lots of” and “plenty of” can be used for both.

Some express indeterminate quantities. It is used in positive sentences or in questions when the expected answer is “yes”. Any is used in negative and interrogative sentences. some + plural = countable some + singular= uncountable any + plural= countable any + singular = uncountable Most uncountable or mass nouns include:

• Substances: gold, plastic, water... • Abstract ideas: progress, safety, .... • Verbal nouns: brainstorming, timing, ....

We can refer to parts of a mass by using a suitable singular expression in front of the noun: “A piece of”, “a glass of”, “a bottle of”, “a pair of”... etc.

Compare In this text, a sales manager is explaining to his colleagues why they can afford such operating margin.

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“This is a leading company, our customers are well aware that we only use the best materials and they are satisfied with our quality standards. That is the reason why they are ready to pay a higher price for any item with our brand on it. I do not think our gross profit is excessive if you take into account that although our complements and clothes are more expensive than others, they are also more resistant, colours are more solid and do not fade away with use. Whereas results have plunged in other organizations, our finances are healthier than ever”. When we compare two things we use the comparative form of adjectives. When we compare more than two things, or a thing within a group, we use the superlative form.

• Comparatives

-Short adjectives add –er ending to their base form. -Long adjectives compare using the structure “more...than” -Two syllable adjectives ending in –y, compare with –ier. The rest compare

like the long ones.

• Superlatives

-Short adjectives: the –est -Long adjectives: The most- -Two syllable adjectives ending in –y: the –iest. - The rest, like the long ones.

• When two things are equal we can use:

-The same. -As....as -Similar.

• Inferiority can be expressed by “less....than” (two things) or “the least....”

(One thing within a group).

• To compare sentences we can use whereas or while. “British are formal whereas / while Americans are casual”.

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Some adjectives are irregular: Good – better – the best Bad – worse – the worst Far – farther/further – the farthest/furthest Other adjectives double the last consonant before adding –er or –est. Big – bigger – the biggest Sad – sadder – the saddest Fat – fatter – the fattest They follow this pattern consonant + short vowel + consonant

Doing business with other cultures Holidays are also a very important part of a country’s culture and it is a good idea to learn more about them when you are dealing with people from a particular country. Western people assume that on Sundays we take a rest from our weekly obligations, but this is not quite true. If you are doing business with Muslim colleagues or clients, you should respect their Fridays and if your client is from Israel, he or she will not work on Saturdays. Since these days are related to religious duties they differ from one religion to another and we tend to forget it. As we do not realize that Christmas is only a holiday period for Christians. It is also important to remember National holidays such as the 4th of July for the Americans, their Independence Day. The 14th of July for the French., when they celebrate the French Revolution. The 5th of November, Guy Fawkes Day for the British, the 1st of May … Don’t forget it is never a waste of time finding out as much as possible about the people you are going to work with.

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Tips to help stop you falling into the culture trap:

Tips when doing business in multicultural communities

Speak slowly and clearly Mind your manners

Check and recheck Don’t be funny

Be direct Convey consideration and goodwill

Be specific Don’t make hasty judgments

Give them time Think people are not foreigners

Read this text: “A few years ago when I was a young consultant at a prestigious law firm, our advice was required to divide a huge inheritance among several heirs who lived in the United States. Most of the properties where located in the south of England, including a magnificent manor house, surrounded by three acres of farming land. After many conversations, all theirs agreed on a date to fly to London and visit the properties: 6/7/2004. On June seven, we were at Heathrow airport waiting for the British solicitor who was supposed to receive us all. When I phoned him, He was very surprised to hear that we had flown in advance, because we were not expected until the sixth of July. I could not imagine what had happened and how I could have mistaken the date. I did not remember that they where British and we were not”.

GRAMMAR POINT • Dates are written using ordinal numbers when referring to the day, and

cardinal numbers when referring to the month. • With dates we use the preposition “on”.

BRITAIN AMERICA

On the first of June On June, 1

On 1st of June On June, the first (June, 1st)

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• Americans write the month first and tend to avoid ordinal numbers, which can cause some trouble in business letters and appointments.

• To avoid errors look at the differences. • To talk about a period of time use from ... to

Month and seasons

Month Short Form Days Season

1 January Jan. 31

2 February Feb. 28 Winter

3 March Mar. 31

4 April Apr. 30

5 May May 31

Spring

6 June Jun. 30

7 July Jul. 31

8 August Aug. 30

Summer

9 September Sep. 30

10 October Oct. 31

11 November Nov. 30

Autumn

12 December Dec. 31 Winter

Imperatives Read this article about Chicago: “Chicago is known as the second largest city in the United States, but for drama it is first rate. The city has over a hundred professional theatres, where you can see many of America’s new writers and actors. Check out the Victory Garden Theatre. Chicago is also the place to go for food from the old World, try “Berghoff” for German cuisine or go to “Greek Islands” for Mediterranean flavours, but If you want

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a great view and a meal to match, reserve a window table at the 40th floor Everst Room in the Loop. But Chicago is best seen on foot. Visit the shops on North Michigan Avenue or take an early morning walk in the parks along Lake Shore Drive. In the summer, swim in the lake and don’t forget to bring a sweater, because the city’s famous winds can cause extreme changes in temperature”. Entertaining visitors usually implies showing them around and telling them what to do, where to go and how to do it. After work, many people like to know what a place has to offer and executives change easily into tourists when they have some spare time.

IMPORTANCE OF THE INSTRUCTIONS Instructions are important in different situations:

• When explaining something to someone or advising what to do, as in the examples from the text:

Try Berghoff for German cuisine. Go to Greek Islands. Reserve a window table at the 40th floor Everest Room in the Loop.

• When teaching someone how to operate a device or use an instrument.

-In commands and prohibitions. -When giving directions. -Similar.

Learn how to use them reading attentively the next grammar hints. You can find many imperatives in this text; they are easily recognized because they are verbs without a subject and can only be used in their base form. At work we need imperatives when writing faxes, messages or giving instructions.

IMPORTANCE OF THE INSTRUCTIONS To ask about quantities we use: How much for uncountable nouns and how many for countable nouns.

• Direct orders -Affirmative: Answer the phone. -Negative: Do not/Don’t answer telephone.

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• Indirect orders: they are given to a third person not present. We need an

introductory verb such as: “tell or ask”. -Tell/Ask + complement + infinitive with “to”. -Tell him to fax the letter = affirmative. -Ask her not to open the door = negative. -Let/make are followed by infinitive without to = Let me speak freely.

After reading this text you may have the impression that it’s a description from a tourist office or a travel agent, well, you are wrong. It is a set of instructions offered by a local worker to one of his colleagues who will be visiting the town.

Look at these directions. Help a colleague to get to his hotel.

• Get out of the subway. • Cross the street. • Walk along the street. • Past the first and second turnings. • At the Grand Building, turn left. • The Star Hotel is next to the Grand Building. • It takes only two minutes to get there.

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3 Working routines Everyday work Read this text about working women: “Many working mothers today are doing three jobs, while their man is doing only one. Usually a man expects to take it easy at home after a hard day’s work. Perhaps a woman should expect the same. Today in Britain 70 per cent of women have jobs outside their homes. A recent survey shows that full-time housewives spend an average fifty-five hours on household jobs, while women who work outside the home spend an average thirty hours a week on housework. Nobody enjoys doing housework when they could be doing something more interesting. A man doesn’t usually worry about getting the place clean before doing something more interesting. A recent survey shows that only in one; out of seven marriages, husband and wife share housework equally. It is important to share hours, not jobs. But sometimes it is women’s fault, many men complain that their wives do not let them help at home and they feel frustrated because when they try to help they are strongly criticized, so they take the easiest way and give up trying”. Remember Present Simple Positive statements. The third person singular adds an “s” (or “es” sometimes).

I / you / we / they work

he / she / it works

Negative statements: The third person singular does not have any ending. The auxiliary can be contracted: don’t / doesn’t.

I / you / we / they Do not / don’t

he / she / it Does not / doesn’t work

Questions. The third person singular does not have any ending.

do I, you, we, they Do

does he, she, it Does

In conversation, we can give a short answer to the questions instead of full sentences.

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I, you, we, they Do Yes

he, she, it Does

I, you, we, they Don’t / do not

No he, she, it Doesn’t / does

not

GRAMMAR POINT As you can see this text uses the Present Simple tense to describe present activities and situations. As a general rule, we use this tense for routine actions and permanent situations, but sometimes it is difficult to decide if we should use Present Simple or Continuous.

• Present Simple refers to routine actions while Present Continuous expresses the moment of speaking. Henry works for a delivery company. Every day he collects and delivers packages. The man is packing some parcels, he is waiting in reception.

• Present Simple shows general activities while Present Continuous refers to

current projects.

I work for a firm of recruitment consultants. At the moment, we are working on new test for the personnel department of a large company.

• Permanent situations are expressed using the Present Simple. Temporary

ones are in Present Continuous.

Peter deals with suppliers. I’m dealing with a new supplier. He is in town.

• Facts (Present Simple) show changes (Present Continuous).

As a rule, an increase of productivity leads to a greater competitively in prices. Re- placing of industries is leading to the loss of qualified employment in developed countries.

• Stative verbs (which describe states rather than actions) are not normally

used in the continuous form.

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-Verbs of thinking: believe, doubt, guess, imagine… -Verbs of the senses: hear, smell, sound, taste…. -Verbs of possession: belong to, own, possess. -Verbs of emotion: dislike, hate, like, prefer, regret… -Verbs of appearance: appear, seem…

Market research Read this text about market research: “Companies carry out market research to find out what people think about their products or services. It is always valuable to know what potential consumers feel about social issues. Once they have obtained this information, they use it to create products and services that consumers actually want, and what is most important, to select the most suitable media for advertising them. Sometimes, companies do some research themselves, but larger organisations often take on an agency to collect the data they need. They usually decide on the type of people to interview and the questions to ask them, they also decide where interviews should be conducted. Then, they put forward a market research plan to the client for approval. After, the information recorded from each questionnaire is analysed and results are put together in an easy-to-read report with charts and diagrams. This is presented to the client who must never be disappointed”.

NRS SOCIAL GRADE DEFINITIONS (UK) NRS stands for National Readership Survey (NRS Ltd, who with IPSOS and RSL, agree these definitions). The NRS social grade definitions have been in use for decades, and have become established as a generic reference series for classifying and describing social classes, specially in for consumer targeting and consumer market research.

GRAMMAR POINT In this text we can find many frequency adverbs that are used with Present Simple, to express how often an action takes place. Their order in the sentence is fixed by grammar. They must be placed before the lexical verb. Except when the lexical verb is “to be”.

Look at these examples: They don’t usually sell their products in Asian markets. The inflation rate is always growing.

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The company has sometimes sold its property. We never copied industrial designs. But: Workers are often tired of their routines.

• If we want to ask about frequency, we can use these structures:

How often

How many times + Auxiliary + subject + verb

+ comp.

Look at these examples: How often do you visit the factory? How many times have you travelled to Europe?

• We can also use expressions with “every”, and “time”.

Every: every week, every day, every year, every other day… Time: Once, twice, three times, four times… many times These expressions are usually placed at the end of the sentence, or at the beginning separated by a comma.

Personal interest and lifestyles Read this article on lifestyles: “At the altar of the machine”, by Charles Handy. “Consider these numbers: 42% of workers feel used up by the end of the day. Another 69% would like to have a more relaxed life. Parents spend 40% less time with their children than they did 30 years ago. The rise in per capita consumption in the last 20 years is 45% but the decrease in the quality of life is 51%. Only 21% of the young think they have a very good chance of achieving a “good life”. The numbers are American but the British already work longer hours, but not necessarily better than every other country in Europe. They don’t all enjoy it. In a survey by the Institute of Management, 77% considered their hours were stressful, 77% worried about the effect on their family and 74% about their relationship with their partner. They have concluded that stress costs Britain 40 million working days a year and 7 billion pounds in health care. But nobody can avoid it. It seems that overworking is the price we have to pay for the privilege of living in big cities in the, so called, first world”.

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INSIGHT SOCIAL VALUE GROUPS (UK) The insight Value Group Ltd carried out a vast study of UK social values and change, and upon its findings established this social value scale. It draws heavily from Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. This is the Insight Value Group scale, which claims to be an accurate representation of the groups that exist in the UK today.

Insight Social Value Groups

Social value group Characteristics

Self actualizes

Focused on people and relationships, individualistic and creative, enthusiastically exploring change, “in a framework of non-prescriptive consideration for others”.

Innovators Self-confident risk-takers, seeking new and different things, setting their own targets to achieve.

Esteem seekers Acquisitive and materialistic, aspiring to what they see are symbols of success, including things and experiences.

Strivers

Attaching importance to image and status, as a means of enabling acceptance by their peer group, at the same time holding onto traditional values.

Contented conformers

Wanting to be “normal”, so follow the herd, accepting of their circumstances, they are contented and comfortable in the security of their own making.

Traditionalists

Averse to risk, guided by traditional behaviors and values, quiet and reserved, hanging back and blending in with the crowd.

Disconnected Detached and resentful, embittered and apathetic, tending to live in the 'ever-present now.

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GRAMMAR POINT There are several ways of expressing likes and dislikes in English.

• We can use verbs followed by an –ing form.

Like Dislike Love Don´t like

Enjoy Hate

As in these examples: I love travelling abroad. I enjoy going shopping. I hate getting up early in the mornings.

• We can express preferences with the verbs: prefer and like best.

• Also with the structure: would + “rather than”.

I prefer swimming to running. I like selling best. He would rather stay in the firm than leave.

• Many idiomatic expressions also show different degrees of preference,

likeness or willingness to do something.

Can't stop: I can't stop eating these crisps. Can't help: He can't help being the best. Can't stand: I can't stand working late. Don't mind: He doesn't mind working in the centre. Feel like: I feel like going out tonight. Don't feel like: I don't feel like starting all over again.

Levy Strauss The San Francisco firm of Levi Strauss & Co. were the first to make jeans. In 1850, Levi Strauss, a twenty-year-old immigrant from Bavaria, heard about the gold strike in California and went there. He planned to make money by selling cloth to the people who were looking for gold. Strauss brought over heavy canvas which he hoped to sell for tents and wagon covers. However, when he arrived in California he soon ran across prospectors who said, “Don’t you have any pants?” We already have tents, but we really need strong pants that won’t rip or tear. We haven’t found any good ones yet”.

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Strauss was an adaptable and enterprising person. The men’s comments convinced him to change his original plans. He turned his supply of canvas into strong, long-lasting work trousers. Miners bought the pants as quickly as Strauss could make them. They praised the new pants and soon began to call then “Levi’s” after the tailor who made them. It wasn’t surprising to see why they were and immediate success. Decades have passed, but the original Straus design is still basically the same. Of course, there have been a few minor alterations. For example, copper rivets were added to all the places that might rip or tear with hard use, like pockets. This innovation was originally designed to satisfy a customer called Alkali Ike. Alkali was a prospector who insisted on filling his pockets with rock samples. As a result, he was always destroying his pants. The rivets solved that problem. Another change was the fabric. Strauss stopped using canvas and changed to tough cotton from France called Serge de Nimes. Soon this French name was modified and the fabric got the name it has today: denim.

Past Simple Read this text about a shoe factory. As you can see the text uses the Past Simple. “The factory was founded at the beginning of the twentieth century by three friends. When they returned from the First World War, they decided to earn their living by doing what they had learnt in the army; shoe repairing. They rented an old warehouse in their home town and started mending their neighbours’ footwear. After two decades, another war took place, but they were not young enough to fight, however they found a new way to help their country, they made strong leather boots for soldiers and thus, the business boomed. They set up a new factory and bought new machinery, more than fifty employees were recruited, most of them women. When the war ended, the need for shoes did not end with it, and the three friends continued to make good shoes throughout the fifties until the mid-sixties. At that point, new trends had changed the way people dressed and what young people liked to wear, these customers seemed not to be interested in old designs and preferred sports shoes. The company survived badly for almost thirty years more, but in 1998 they were bankrupt. Some of the former owners’ grandchildren, who had attended a prestigious business school, decided to reorganize the old company and turn it into a profitable business again”.

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GRAMMAR POINT See how the Past Simple is formed and its uses: The Past Simple (positive) is formed by using the Past tense form. Regular verbs Add –d or –ed to the bare infinitive to form the past tense. For negatives and questions we use the auxiliary “did” and the bare infinitive. The short form of the negative is commonly used in speech and informal writing. Common mistakes: using the Past tense form in negatives and in questions. Wrong: Did you checked the figures? No, I didn’t checked them. Right: Did you check the figures? No, I didn’t check them. Irregular verbs Some verbs do not add –ed to the bare infinitive to form the Past Simple, but change in other ways: Present: –go Past : –went Past Participle: –gone Completed actions The Past Simple is used to talk about completed actions in the past: Singapore branch lost 800 million dollars. Time expressions with prepositions The Past Simple is often used with past time expressions, they must refer to a concrete time. At 6 o’clock / the end of the year / Christmas On Tuesday / 15th May / New year’s Day In January / 1998 / summer

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Time expressions without prepositions Yesterday, yesterday afternoon, last Monday, next month, a few days ago, ago, the day before yesterday, when I was young. Remembering verbs Regurlar Past: work

I worked You worked He / she / it

worked We worked

They worked

I didn’t work You didn’t work

He / she / it didn’t work

We didn’t work They didn’t work

Did I work? Did you work? Did he / she / it

work? Did we work?

Did they work? Irregular Past: go Affirmative: I / you / he / she / it / we / they went

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Negative: I / you / he / she / it / we /they didn’t go Interrogative: Did I / you / he / she / it / we /they go? Past Simple of to be witch follows a different pattern: Affirmative: I / he / she / it was

you / we / they were Negative: I / he / she it wasn’t / was not

you / we / they weren’t were not Interrogative: Was I/ he / she / it?

Were you / we / they?

Changes

Read about an old company and focus on the time expressions used:

The company has changed a lot since its beginnings. The factory used to produce all the materials in the United States. “When we were producing something we all knew where the fabrics came from”. One of the workers said. The director used to know the names of every simple member of the staff. “It was like a family”. “He used to go around on Fridays and see how everybody was getting along”, pointed out Mr. Jones, who used to work there until he retired ten years ago. A designer from the company said “we used to have a lot of design staff and researchers. We could complete most projects 100% inside the company, and we used to employ a lot of secretaries. Everything had to be typed out by hand and repeated if there was a mistake”, another worker added “we used to have fixed hours for everybody in the company, office workers came in at nine and went home at five, as the rest of us”. While we were talking a young manager came into the room and invited us to go to the canteen. You see, interrupted and old man, that’s new too, we used to have separate dinning rooms. Management used to eat in the Executive Restaurant and workers in the canteen.

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GRAMMAR POINT When we want to talk about an action that took place in the past on regular basis, that is to say, that happened very often, was a habit or a permanent characteristic we use the expression.

Used to + verb Look at these examples: I used to have long hair when I was young. The company used to spend a lot in publicity. My boss used to phone me after work.

To ask about past habits we need the auxiliary did.

It is a common mistake to use this structure for present habits, but it is wrong. When talking about present habits, we have to use: Present Simple + usually. Look at these examples: Do you usually type your letters? I don’t usually travel by train. He usually shaves in the mornings. Time clauses These both clauses are used to talk about an action or activity that was already in progress at a particular moment of time in the past and was interrupted by another action.

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When + Past Simple While + Past Continuous

Look at these examples: He was checking the accounts when he spotted the error. While he was checking the accounts he spotted the error. As you can see the action in progress is in Past Continuous and the action that interrupts it is in Past Simple.

Present Perfect

Read this text about consumer’s habits.

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“The Iraqi war and the terrorist’s attacks on different targets worldwide have caused a fear to flight, specially to Islamic countries.

This trend has affected the economy of tourist places like Egypt, that has been one of the favourite destinations for British and Germans. However, yesterday the Egyptian authorities announced a devaluation of its currency, the Egyptian pound, as a way to restore the confidence in its economy and also as a desperate attempt to recover the Europeans who flooded its temples and pyramids. Egypt cannot afford to lose its tourist industry. Another side effect of this war has been suffered by a well known multinational which produces toys for children. The oil prices have increased, with the consequent rise of the inflation rate. Salaries have remained steady and consumers have lost purchasing power. The consequence is that consumers want to save their money, in case things get worse. Children will have to wait”. As you can see, the Present perfect is used combined with simple Past and present. See how it works:

GRAMMAR POINT The Present Perfect tense is formed by using the Present tense of the auxiliary “have” and the Past Participle. The short forms of the positive “’ve”, “s”, and the negative “haven’t” or “hasn’t” are commonly used in speech and informal writing. The Present Perfect often links a present situation with something that happened at an unspecified time in the past. Therefore we cannot use specific time expressions such as “yesterday”, “ago”, “last week”… etc. with this tense. Example: I have sent them the samples (they still have them). We use the Present Perfect to talk about recent events: There has been a collapse in the Japanese stock market this morning. Just The Present Perfect is often used with the word just between the auxiliary and the Past Participle, to talk about recent news or actions, when the exact time is not mentioned.

Have + just + Past Participle Can be translated as: “acabar de…”. I´m sorry! Mr. Smtih is not here. He has just left.

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Been/gone When we use the verbs been/gone there is a little difference, as it is shown at the examples: I’m afraid Mr. Jones is not here at the moment. He has gone to a meeting in London. (He is still at the meeting). Amanda has been to the travel agent. She has your tickets for Hong-Kong. (She went to the travel agent and has returned).

Person Affirmative Negative

I / you / we/ they have gone haven’t gone have not gone

he / she/ it has gone hasn’t gone has not gone

Interrogative

Have I / you / we/ they gone? Has he / she/ it gone?

Ever / never The Present Perfect is often used with ever and never to talk about general life experience. Has he ever worked abroad? I have never been abroad. Already / yet Already is used in positive sentences. It indicates that something was taken place earlier than expected. She has already shown me the figures (Not: She has shown me already the figures). Yet is used in questions and negatives, it is placed always at the end of the sentence. Have you talked to Peter yet? I haven't talked to him yet. For / since We use for to talk about the duration of periods of time and since to talk about when a period started. I have been here since December. I have been here for a year.

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4 Telephoning

Good manners When running a business, telephone manners are essential to keep customers satisfied even when they call to complain about us. A lot of business is lost due to the way clients are treated on the phone. It is important to teach your employees some telephoning skills starting with the voice’s tone. We must never speak neither in a low voice nor shouting. We should sound warm and helpful, and never begin our sentences with a “no”. Negative sentences should be avoided as well as imperatives because they are too strong, if you need to give an instruction always use “please”, it is a magic word. In the case you don’t know the answer to a question, never say so because the other person may thing that you don’t know much about your own company or worst, that you are not interested at all in giving out any information. Many customers make strange or impossible demands, but instead of saying “We can’t do that”, try to offer an alternative, don’t impose anything, and give advice. While you ask or check something, you may need to leave a person waiting for you, make sure that he or she knows that you are doing your best to solve their problem, and if it takes you longer than you expected, don’t hesitate, leave what you are doing, go back to the telephone and reassure the customer, because if you don’t do it, they may think that you have neglected them. Apologize if the person is very excited or if they rise their voice, but do not do the same, a client may think that he has the right to be rude to you as you represent the company, don’t take it personally, and don’t react aggressively, you cannot forget that answering the phone is an important part of your job and you project the company’s image. Your attitude on the telephone will be taken as your company’s attitude towards the customers.

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GRAMMAR POINT

These are some important things to have into account when you answer the telephone at your work.

• While speaking, try to avoid imperatives, it is more polite to use modal auxiliaries such as can, could, ...

• The Future Simple is very useful in reassuring sentences: “I’ll see”, “I’ll

check”, “I’ll put you through”, “I’ll be back in a moment”, “I’ll be right back”....

• Work on your tone. It must be warm and obliging never aggressive.

• When you practise telephone conversations, do not use negative sentences, or if you have to, try to offer some positive alternative.

• When you give information, it has to be clear and well organized. Do not

hesitate on the phone and do not interrupt your sentences.

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Karen

Rectángulo

• The person we are talking to may want to write down what we are saying, therefore, you should not speak too fast, and if we include names, brands or addresses you should spell them carefully. Take your time and don’t sound impatient.

• Repeat the information without looking bored. What is obvious for you, may

be completely new for other people.

Language and phrases used in telephone English

Introducing yourself This is Ken.

Ken speaking

Asking who is on the telephone

Excuse me, who is this? Can I ask who is calling,

please?

Asking for Someone Can I have extension 321?

(extensions are internal numbers at a company)

Could I speak to...? (Can I - more informal / May I - more

formal) Is Jack in? (informal idiom

meaning: Is Jack in the office?)

Connecting Someone I'll put you through (put through - phrasal verb meaning '"connect")

Can you hold the line? Can you hold on a moment?

How to reply when someone is not available

I'm afraid ... is not available at the moment.

The line is busy... (when the extension requested is being

used). Mr. Jackson isn't in... Mr.

Jackson is out at the moment...

Taking a Message Could (Can, May) I take a

message? Could (Can, May) I tell him

who is calling? Would you like to leave a

message?

Speak on the telephone

It is evident that speaking on the phone when you are using a foreign language is not the same that speaking face to face because we cannot interpret the gestures,

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the body language and the movement of the lips which help us in a direct dialogue. In addition, the person who is at the other end of the line often speaks too fast and does not vocalize well. We also have to take into account the different regional accents, and what’s more, interferences in the line, noises, interruptions and distortion of the voice. What can we do to understand better? There are several useful hints to improve our skills on the telephone:

• First of all, learn to concentrate on the important words. Key elements to remember.

• Secondly, use your logic abilities, as you usually do when speaking your mother tongue. These abilities are: -Prediction. -Deduction. -Logic conclusion. In this way you can guess the meaning of something that you have not understood directly.

• Thirdly, you have to be prepared for the possibility that the conversation may

take an unexpected turn, do not get nervous and keep your attention if it happens so.

When you are not very familiarized with the telephone you should prepare a list with the questions you need to ask and you can jot down the answers. It is very important that you lose your fear of making a fool of yourself. Ask for repetition and spelling if something is not clear enough. A good way to be sure of everything is to repeat the information in order to check that we have got everything right. Finally, write down words or ideas which may be useful afterwards. Before calling you can practice aloud what you want to say, so that you can check that you know how to pronounce everything clearly. If we have doubts we can look the word up in a dictionary. Once you have made several phone calls, you will see how your self confidence increases and you don’t get so nervous on the telephone. Steps to prepare a telephone call

About the company • Number you are calling to and name of the company. • Person you want to speak to.

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• Position. • Extension number if you know it.

Useful expressions

• Can you put me through the ...... department, please? • Could I speak to Mr/Mrs. ........., please? • I don’t know the extension number. • I think he is on extension number..........

Things to ask

• When • Where • How long • How much • How can I pay • Will you...

Explanations

• Your letter was dated.... • My colleague and I think. • As we agreed. • I need some further information about. • It’s really important for us. • Can you confirm....? • Do we have to .....?

Closing

• Thank you very much for your help! • Thank you, you have been most helpful! • Thank you for your interest!

Useful expressions on the phone When you call someone the conversation is always going to follow some sort of pattern. There are useful expressions which can help you in each stage of the process. You should learn how to predict what you are going to say on the phone, that will give you confidence and you will understand better.

STARTING THE CALL • Identifying who is speaking.

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We tend to use the personal pronoun “I” when we want to identify ourselves. But this is a common error, In English we should start by a demonstrative “this” or using the name and “speaking”. Here you have some examples: This is John Ford. John Ford speaking. John Ford, is that Julia Roberts?

• Sometimes you need to know the speaker’s name, then you can ask:

Who is speaking, please? Can I have your name, please?

SAYING WHO YOU WANT TO SPEAK TO • To ask about a person we can use:

Could I speak to....? Can I speak to ....? I’d like to speck to…?

• Or if you know the extension number or the department where the person you are calling is just say: Extension.... please. Sales department, please.

No problem When the person we are looking for is available and there are no problems you will receive this answer: Hold on, please I’ll put you through to Mr./Ms. ____

REASON FOR CALLING When you are finally speaking to the person you asked for, you will have to say your name and position again, in case the other person hasn’t understood it correctly. Then you have to explain your reason for calling.

These sentences can be useful: I’m calling to... I’d like to have some information about.... I’d like to know how can I...? I’d like to comment with you some aspects about... Could you please tell me if... Problems There are many problems when you are talking by phone or when your work requires his often uses.

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Sometimes we cannot reach the person we want to speak to, the reasons can be varied:

The extension is engaged at the moment, will you hold on? He is not available at the moment. He is in a meeting right now. He is off work, and won’t be back until... He is not in his office at the moment... The line is busy. I’m afraid she is on the other line. I’m afraid she is out of town. I’m afraid she is on holiday.

In these situations you should always offer the caller an alternative:

Could you call back later? Can I take a message? Would you like to leave a message?

Sometimes, the caller himself offers to take some action:

I’ll hold. I’ll call back later. Could you take a message? Could you give him/her a message? Can you put me through to her/his secretary? Can you ask him/her to ring me next...?

In case you have some language problems you can tell the other person to speak slower:

Sorry, I’m not English/I don’t speak English very well Can you speak more slowly? Could you say that again, please? Sorry, I don’t understand. Can you repeat, please?

Do not hang up without making sure that you have got the information right. Use these sentences to help you:

Please, let me repeat the time / name / address... Will you please let me repeat...? I’ll say that again; please, tell me if it is correct. Tell me if I got it right Can you please spell it for me please? I’ll spell it to see if it is right.

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To finish the conversation, show your appreciation and give you thanks to the person who has helped you:

Thank you for your kindness. Thank you for your time. Thank you for your help. You have been most helpful. Appreciate your help / attention.

Work and home life Read this text on how to achieve a balance between your work and your home life. “Wherever you work, getting into good working habits now can pay dividends in the future. Effective time management skills can help us through a stressful day. The key to creating a happy working life which will boost your wellbeing is to adopt a flexible and organized approach to work. You can keep a work diary, you could start by listing all the tasks you do regularly and how long it takes you to do them, you can try to identify any wasted time. You can also add a deadline to each task and review the list once a week. You can plan the most challenging activities when you are feeling at your best but do not plan out your whole day; you may want to keep your home life separated from your work. It’s a good idea to create an area at home where you can open your post, pay your bills and carry out any other tasks that feel like work, then, the rest of the house can be a place to unwind. Relax, set aside some time for yourself every week, whether it is a regular visit to the gym, listening to your favourite CD or if you need more time to chill, you can take a long weekend or midweek break. Closer to home, consider taking a part-time or evening course, not only does it feel great to learn something new, it can also earn you valuable CV points. How can we help? For stress-free banking we can make it easier to manage your money: online banking can help you check your account balance and statements, transfer money, pay bills, apply for a loan, open a e-savings account.... and much more. To find more you can visit us”.

GRAMMAR POINT If you read the text attentively you will notice the constant use of the model auxiliaries “can”, “could” and “may”.

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They all take a bare infinitive and can be used in questions inverting the subject-verb order. The negative forms are “cannot”, “could not” and “may not”. Modal auxiliary verbs may sound difficult but in fact they're easy. They are invariable (no conjugation). The main verb is always the "bare infinitive" (the infinitive without "to"). They can be contracted in spoken English or informal writing. “Could” is the past form of “can”. We cannot use these modals in some tenses, in those cases; we express ability or possibility with “be able to”. Be able to Be able to is not a modal auxiliary verb. We include it here for convenience, because it is often used like "can" and "could", which are modal auxiliary verbs. Notice that be able to is possible in all tenses, for example:

• I was able to drive... • I will be able to drive... • I have been able to drive... • I have been able to drive...

Notice too that be able to has an infinitive form: I would like to be able to speak Chinese. Ability

• For present ability we use “can”: We can start now if you wish.

• For future ability we use “can” with a future time expression:

Next year, we can launch a new model.

• For past ability we use “could”: We couldn’t access all the files in the old building.

Possibility Both “can” and “could” express present and future possibility “can” is stronger than “could” (podría).

• For present possibility:

We can identify a wide range of options.

• For future possibility: We don’t know what can happen next week.

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• For impossibility:

They didn’t meet yesterday, so they couldn’t have made the decision. Permission “May” and “can” express permission so we don’t want to have any ambiguity we use “may” for permission and “can” / “could” for ability and possibility.

• Present permission: Only members can enter the building site.

• Past permission:

Only the manager could authorize visits when I worked there.

• Present prohibition: Personnel can’t take more than on hour for lunch.

• Past prohibition:

When I was there, we couldn’t take more than an hour for lunch.

The Future

Read this text about the future: “Have you ever wondered how things will change in the future? If the answer is “yes”, then you are one of the optimistic human beings who think that mankind will survive on this planet despite the terrible prospects of scientists from the entire world. Of course, there are those who believe that men will have bigger brains, and thus, they will be able to speak telepathically, they will produce flying vehicles and will have robots to do all the boring or dangerous tasks that burden us today. But all this is still science-fiction. There is no proof that a better technology results in a wiser way of life, only busier. It is possible that many illnesses which kill us nowadays, will have a proper treatment in the future but if we are made not to last, what seems obvious is that, with machines doing most of the work our leisure time will increase. On line services will provide people with rail and air tickets, as well as with their home entertainment. They will allow us to do the shopping without leaving our armchair, and we will live isolated from other human beings most of the time. Even going to a school will be optional, because on line teaching facilities will be available for everybody.

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Students will have access to all the universities and libraries from their homes. Work will also be different, but in this case, the future has already started. It is likely that some shops will close in the retail sector as on-line shopping facilities will become common. Note that when we have a plan or intention to do something in the future, we usually use other tenses or expressions, such as the Present Continuous tense or going to. Trading will be different too, as goods will be delivered directly into the consumer’s house, therefore, retailers, wholesalers and other intermediaries will disappear. People will work from their homes and commuting won’t be necessary, relieving the cities from the problems of heavy traffic. Oil consumption will decrease due to the lack of private demand. Most countries will use clean energies and the atmosphere will recover from the damages caused in the 20th Century. But as I said in the beginning you are just an optimist!”

GRAMMAR POINT If you look closely at the text you will find out that most sentences use the modal will always followed by a base form of the verb.

Structure of will

Subject Auxiliary verb Main

verb

Affirmative I will open the door.

You will finish before me.

Negative She will not be at school tomorrow.

We will not leave yet.

Question Will you arrive on time?

Will they want dinner? In the negative form “will not” can be contracted “won’t”. In questions “will” is placed before the subject word. In positive sentences the contraction “’ll” can be used after all subjects, but only in speech. “Will” is used to talk about future and willingness.

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It is used:

• To indicate an activity decided at the time of speaking.

• To indicate a neutral activity in the future or a part of a process.

• After verbs of mental activity.

• After adverbs of certainty, probability and possibility.

• In request for action or information: Will you hold? Will you call me back later?

• In replies to requests:

Of course, I will.

• In offers: I’ll fax the information.

• In promises:

Don’t worry; I will help you with that.

Ing forms Read the following text: “More and more people are taking a carrier break these days. But whether they are planning to spend it on study leave or maternity leave, volunteering or travelling, the one thing these options all have in common is that they cost money. Unless you are independently wealthy, it’s unlikely that you will be able to finance more than a couple months away from work without saving scrupulously for the future. According to a recent survey by a leading bank, 10 per cent of employers now offer career breaks to their staff, so it is worth checking whether your company has such a policy. If there isn’t an official scheme, you may still be able to negotiate it, but bear in mind that benefits such as pension contributions, life insurance and health insurance; if you belong to a private company; may be put on hold while you are away.

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If your employer isn’t at all keen on letting you go, it is worth pointing out that your carrier break could work out well for them too as the chances that you return refreshed with new experiences, a new approach and new ideas to share are high. But if you need to earn as you travel, consider working abroad. It could be a good option; however, you must not forget to sort out a work permit before you set off. In some European countries belonging to the European Union you may not need it, nevertheless if you are not sure where to go, or the requirements needed for working in a certain country you can visit its embassy. Another option is voluntary work, where projects aim at passing on business skills. As well as receiving their travel cost and living expenses, volunteers receive an allowance when they return home to help with resettlement and job-hunting”.

GRAMMAR POINT The verb + ing can be seen in the Present Continuous, but in English it is used in many other cases, in some of them Spanish would use an infinitive, that’s why sometimes we do not use it correctly.

• They can be adjective forms

An interesting product. An outstanding professional.

• Present Participle

I heard the manager giving a speech.

Do you see the difference in these two sentences? In one, "reading" is a gerund (noun). In the other "reading" is a Present Participle (verb). - My favourite occupation is reading. - My favourite niece is reading.

• Noun forms Trading is essential in today’s economy.

In this case it functions as a noun and can be called a verbal noun, but Spanish would use and infinitive or an equivalent noun. -It can be the subject of a verb: Leading a team requires a strong personality. -It can be the object of certain verbs such as: dislike, miss, risk, avoid, enjoy, post pone, suggest, regret, delay… That would involve redesigning the programme.

-After a preposition:

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I’m interested in buying some shares. - After certain phrases: (not) worth, spend / waste time, have trouble /

difficulty: I can’t bear / stand wasting my time.

Notice that –ing forms can also be found in forbidding signs and as a part of a noun: No smoking in the meting room. This club offers a swimming-pool among its facilities.

INGLÉS COMERCIAL I PLANNING NEW PRODUCTS©

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5 Planning new products

Business presentation A presentation is a formal talk to one or more people that "presents" ideas or information in a clear, structured way. Most people are not used to speak in front of an audience; they have never had the opportunity to do it, although we have attended many conferences not only at work but also at school or university. All presentations have a common objective. People give presentations because they want to communicate in order to:

• Inform • Train • Persuade • Sell

Sitting there among a crowd of people has given us the chance of criticizing the weaknesses of the lecturer, but what happens when we are at the other side? Even the best ideas may seem dull when we fail at presenting them. Some of these tips can be important and help you get started:

• One of the most important things is to have a good personal appearance. Dress up neatly but discreetly.

• Do not use any garments that catch your listeners’ attention more than your words.

• Do not move without a reason or you will distract your audience.

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• Speak clearly, and smile frequently. • If you show some visual aids, give time so that your public can read or take

notes.

• You can also prepare hand-outs with a lay out of what you are going to say therefore, you would prevent people from writing down what you are saying and not getting right what is coming next.

• You can practice speaking aloud in front of a friend or in front of the mirror to know first hand how others will view you.

Rehearsal Rehearsal is a vital part of preparation. You should leave time to practise your presentation two or three times. This will have the following benefits:

• You will become more familiar with what you want to say. • You will identify weaknesses in your presentation. • You will be able to practice difficult pronunciations. • You will be able to check the time that your presentation takes and make any

necessary modifications. If you have never prepared a presentation, follow this pattern to help you.

A SUCCESSFULLY PRESENTATION Objective Before you start to prepare a presentation, you should ask yourself: Why am I making this presentation? Do you need to inform, to persuade, to train or to sell? Your objective should be clear in your mind. If it is not clear in your mind, it cannot possibly be clear to your audience. Audience Who am I making this presentation to? Sometimes this will be obvious, but not always. You should try to inform yourself. How many people? Who are they? Business people? Professional people? Political people? Experts or non-experts? Will it be a small, intimate group of 4 colleagues or a large gathering of 400 competitors? How much do they know already and what will they expect from you? Venue Where am I making this presentation? In a small hotel meeting-room or a large conference hall? What facilities and equipment are available? What are the seating arrangements?

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Time and length When am I making this presentation and how long will it be? Will it be 5 minutes or 1 hour? Just before lunch, when your audience will be hungry, or just after lunch, when your audience will be sleepy? Method How should I make this presentation? What approach should you use? Formal or informal? Lots of visual aids or only a few? Will you include some anecdotes and humour for variety? Content "What should I say?" Now you must decide exactly what you want to say. First, you should brainstorm your ideas. You will no doubt discover many ideas that you want to include in your presentation. But you must be selective. You should include only information that is relevant to your audience and your objective. You should exclude all other ideas. You also need to create a title for your presentation (if you have not already been given a title). The title will help you to focus on the subject. And you will prepare your visual aids, if you have decided to use them. But remember, in general, less is better than more (a little is better than a lot). You can always give additional information during the questions after the presentation. Structure A well organised presentation with a clear structure is easier for the audience to follow. It is therefore more effective. You should organise the points you wish to make in a logical order. Most presentations are organised in three parts, followed by questions.

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Structure

Beginning

Short introduction

• Welcome your audience

• Introduce your subject

• Explain the structure of your presentation

• Explain rules for questions

Middle Body of presentation • Present the subject itself

End

Short conclusion • Summarise your presentation

• Thank your audience

• Invite questions

Questions and Answers

STARTING ADVICES • Say who you are and your position.

As you all know, I’m _____________ the sales manager. I’m talking to you today as the leader of this project.

• Welcome your audience and introduce any visitors or speakers who may

cooperate with you.

Welcome here. Thanks for coming today. It’s good to have Mr../Mrs _______ here with us.

• Explain the reason for listening.

By the end of this session you’ll know the details for our project. Mr.___________, asked me to explain the project to you.

• Start with a personal story, an interesting fact or a funny remark.

I read something interesting the other day. A funny thing happened to me the other day.

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On the way here I saw…

• Explain the plan for the session, letting people know now long it will take and if there are any breaks. How many speakers there will be… There’ll be a smokers’ break in an hour. We will finish this session at 10 and will start at 10:30.

• Clarify if you will accept questions while you are speaking or if they will come

at the end of the session.

• Also inform your listeners if the hand-outs will be distributed at the beginning or at the end.

If you have any questions, please fell free to stop me. There’ll be time for questions at the end. I’ve prepared some hand-outs, here you are. Did everyone get a copy? Please take a leaflet. Help yourselves to a brochure / hand out…

• And finally, you can start.

If you are ready, let’s start. If everyone is ready, I’ll start. Let’s get into work / features.

Organising points When you want to give information it must be well organized. You can use a temporal scheme or go from the general to the specific. You can present options and choose one of them giving your opinion about why that is the best one. Nervous Most speakers are a little nervous at the beginning of a presentation. So it is normal if you are nervous. The answer is to pay special attention to the beginning of your presentation. First impressions count. This is the time when you establish a rapport with your audience. During this time, try to speak slowly and calmly. You should perhaps learn your introduction by heart. After a few moments, you will relax and gain confidence. When you give your presentation, you should be - or appear to be - as spontaneous as possible. You should not read your presentation! You should be so

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familiar with your subject and with the information that you want to deliver that you do not need to read a text. Reading a text is boring! Reading a text will make your audience go to sleep! So if you don't have a text to read, how can you remember to say everything you need to say? With notes. You can create your own system of notes. Some people make notes on small, A6 cards. Some people write down just the title of each section of their talk. Some people write down keywords to remind them. The notes will give you confidence, but because you will have prepared your presentation fully, you may not even need them! After reading both texts, maybe you’ll understand better what I mean when I say that a good presentation needs to be logical and easy to understand. The first text shows the speaker’s hesitation and the lack of a well established intention. Read these two presentations: Option A “Good, well, can I start? I’ll start. Can you hear me all right? Now, probable the most important thing I have to say is that, in fact, the company’s results are quite good this year. Can you see this graph? Oh, you can’t at the back, well, I’m sorry but I don’t have any hand outs or anything, you’ll have to trust me. Actually, results are good, but I’ll tell you a bit more about it later. Where was I…? Oh yes, we should start by the figures. Is that a good idea?” Great audience Porpose: talk about new working practices Four parts: a. Health and safety regulations. b. Security measures. c. Salary and working conditions. d. Management meetings. Questions at the end Layouts Introduce chart Option B “Good morning ladies and gentleman. As you all know, I’m Fred Perry, marketing manager. I’m here today to tell you about our company’s publishing campaign. I’ve divided my presentation into four parts. Firstly, I’ll talk about publicity costs; secondly, I’d like to examine our performance over the past year. Thirdly, I’ll look at our prospects for the next year, the new product’s image and finally I’ll make some recommendations.

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It will take me about forty-five minutes and I’ll be happy to answer any questions you many have at the end of my presentation. Right, I’d like you to pass these hand outs over…. And please, now look at this graph…” Great audience Purpose: talk about new working practices Four parts: a. the product b. the launch c. advertising and promotion Questions during the presentation Visual aids

TIPS TO CONCLUDE A PRESENTATION These tips will help you to conclude your presentation:

• Making a final point As a final point… Let me raise a general issue… To conclude, I’d like to introduce a final point…

• Giving your professional opinion In my experience… This proves that… I think / believe…

• Summarising main points, advantages and disadvantages

On the one hand… on the other. There are some advantages... The main disadvantage is… To conclude… To sum up…

• Giving a final recommendation

I recommend… I suggest… I advise… My professional opinion is…

• Stating sources

I used examples, statistics from...

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In addition to

• Thanking people for listening and telling them how to contact you Thank you for your attention / for coming / for listening. We have time for a few questions before we finish… Please, feel free to contact me at...

QUESTIONS Questions are a good opportunity for you to interact with your audience. It may be helpful for you to try to predict what questions will be asked so that you can prepare your response in advance. You may wish to accept questions at any time during your presentation, or to keep a time for questions after your presentation. Normally, it's your decision, and you should make it clear during the introduction. Be polite with all questioners, even if they ask difficult questions. They are showing interest in what you have to say and they deserve attention. Sometimes you can reformulate a question. Or answer the question with another question. Or even ask for comment from the rest of the audience.

Useful expression for conclusion

Function Possible language

Summing up

-To conclude,... - In conclusion,... - Now, to sum up... - So let me summarise/recap what I've said. - Finally, may I remind you of some of the main points we've considered.

Giving recommendations

-In conclusion, my recommendations are... - I therefore suggest/propose/recommend the following strategy.

Thanking your audience

-Many thanks for your attention. -May I thank you all for being such an attentive audience.

Inviting questions

-Now I'll try to answer any questions you may have. - Can I answer any questions? - Are there any questions? - Do you have any questions? - Are there any final questions?

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Past Perfect Read this text about David Reiss: “Reiss was voted high street Fashion Retailer of the year, after the event, industry insiders agreed that there was no retailer more deserving of the title. Originally Reiss offered clothes from a variety of brands, mostly imported, but all the height of the current trends. By the time Reiss set up his first store, the 1980s had arrived and menswear had never looked so diverse. At the time there was less competition and as their clothes were great the business took off and they opened several more stores. The recession at the end of that decade and the beginning of the 1990s meant that he had to step back and seriously assess how to move forward. It was then that Reiss made his crucial decision. He focused only in his own brand and identity, getting rid of all the other brands they supplied. He put a full design team in place and they did all the manufacturing. He looked at everything, from the way his staff and stores looked, to what he offered in his shops. Reiss is certain now that ensuring brands consistency in location, store design, the store environment and marketing, has been one of the most important decisions he ever made. Staying true to his new identity and never compromising the integrity of the brand meant that they were once again in a position to grow. Reiss also had decided to move against the tide of price-cutting and discounts that so many retailers had introduced in an effort to increase their market share. He, instead, introduced the luxury feel that his clothes still have today. His strategy worked. Public perception of the Reiss brand began to change and the more experiences Reiss had to learn from, the more the brand gained strength. From the shop he had opened in the 80s he has reached the top, with more than 33 stores across the U.K. or maybe not?”

GRAMMAR POINT If you read the text closely, you will see that it describes a series of past actions an events, using Past Simple, Present Perfect and Past Perfect. We can describe Past Perfect as the “most ancient past”. We use it to talk about activities that happened at a time before the past. Past Perfect is formed by the past of the auxiliary “have”, and the Past Participle of a verb.

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Positive form I, you, he, she, it, we, they / had / finished / the project. The auxiliary can be contracted with the subject in spoken or informal writing English. I’d started a new business on my own. Negative form I, you, he, she, it, we, they / had not / finished / the project I can also be contracted “hadn’t”. Interrogative form Had / I, you, he, she, it, we, they / finished / the project? Uses: • To indicate an activity at a time before the past.

He had opened his shop when the recession started. • To report a present tense after a past tense verb.

The financial Controller said that they had had a good year. • After the following time conjunctions: “after”, “before”, “once”, “until”, “when”,

“as soon as”. • We often use a Past Simple when the sequence of events is clear.

After the new logo was designed, our image improved

Equipment when doing a presentation

The overhead projector (OHP) displays overhead transparencies (OHTs or OHPTs). It has several advantages over the 35mm slide projector:

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• it can be used in daylight

• the user can face the audience

• the user can write or draw directly on the transparency while in use

The whiteboard (more rarely blackboard or green board) is a useful device for spontaneous writing - as in brainstorming, for example. For prepared material, the OHP might be more suitable.

The flipchart consists of several leaves of paper that you 'flip' or turn over. Some people prefer the flipchart to the whiteboard, but its use is limited to smaller presentations.

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The Slide projector - which must be used in a darkened room - adds a certain drama. Some slide projectors can be synchronised with audio for audio-visual (AV) presentations. These projectors are typically used for larger presentations. The majority take 35mm slides or transparencies (as seen here), but projectors for 6x6cm slides are also available.

Transparencies are projected by an overhead projector or a slide projector onto a screen - in this case a folding screen which can be packed up and transported.

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The notebook computer is increasingly being used to display graphics during presentations. It is often used in conjunction with an overhead projector, which actually projects the image from the computer screen onto the wall screen.

Handouts are any documents or samples that you 'hand out' or distribute to your audience. Note that it is not usually a good idea to distribute handouts before your presentation. The audience will read the handouts instead of listening to you.

Future plans Read this text about a company’s plans. “At this point, we have to prepare a global expansion if we want to become a worldwide based company. We have opened outlets in many big and medium-sized cities in our country, and recent studies show that we cannot continue growing. We all know that when growth stops, decline follows. However, we have to measure carefully all our steps. It is better to walk slowly than having to step back.

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We are buying stores which have been closed for different reasons, but which are in the right location and environment. We are going to redecorate them, following a well-established pattern: comfort and elegance. In addition, we are going to launch an aggressive advertising campaign in all the best-selling magazines. We are also going to promote special campaigns, sponsoring cultural and sport events. In a month, we are going to be present in 15 European capitals, with a flagship store in each major city and outlets in some other parts of the country. We are going to expend a huge amount in design. But marketing is also a priority. People will see us as a leading brand offering quality and good service. Our publishing executives are flying to Europe within a few weeks. We are leaving a period of our history and entering a new way of doing business. The company will need you all to accomplish this project and the reward will be shared by all of us”.

GRAMMAR POINT When we want to express plans or activities in the future we can use the structure:

to be + going to + verb

Possitive form

am

he, she, it is

we, you, they are

Going to close the shop

Negative form

I am not / ’m not

he, she, it is not / isn’t

we, you, they are not / aren’t

Going to close the shop

Interrogative form

Am I

Is he, she, it

Are we, you, they

Going to close the shop ?

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We use “going to” for

• To indicate an action that has already been decided: They are going to expand the business next year.

• To indicate intention:

We are going to look for cheaper workers in the East.

• To indicate a future activity based on the present situation: Interest rates have just risen, so we are not going to be able to make the investment.

It usually goes with future markers such as:

On + day / date In + month / year

And it is translated into Spanish as “ir a + infinitive”. It is usually combined with the future simple (will) and other future forms (Present Continuous + Future time expression: “I’m leaving tomorrow”).

Product designing and description This product design brief is written by Tony Wills, a leading designer, writer and speaker on the subject: “Product development is not as profitable as it can be if it is treated as a one-off exercise, it is much more effective as a rolling programme. Many of our clients either start the next design project as soon as the last one is finished or run multiple projects in parallel. In this way they can guarantee a steady flow of new products to the market, and create plenty of opportunities for the sales teams to show something new to their customers. Even more exciting is when designers are used to help steer a company into uncharted territory, generating concepts for products that have no antecedents but instead exploit a new technology or process, or address a problem not answered by any other product on the market. Outside designers can be used to bring fresh thinking to a project, with the potential to challenge the traditional methods and processes of a particular industry and to contribute experience gathered across a wide variety of industries. The end

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results of such collaborations are frequently products with a unique identity and a strong market differentiation.” Read these advertisements to learn how different products are described: Denim Designs It’s the fabric of the moment, but today, unlike in the past, denim is not just for jeans. This material is now appearing on a variety of clothing, from glamorous pants to sexier pieces like bustiers. Considered young and up to date, denim is also dominating the accessories market with popular items like watches and sneakers. Stingray chic Environmentalists beware! The latest material being used for accessories is the skin of the stingray fish better known as shagreen. In fact, Cartier, has come out with a shagreen jewellery holder and Bill Blass has launched a line of watches with shagreen bands. So what’s the attraction? Many customers like shagreen because it resembles pavé set gems, explained celebrity jeweller Stephen Webster. Describing objects is essential when we want to write or to understand an advertisement. In many occasions comparisons are used, as well as French or Italian words which dominate the world of fashion. It is not difficult if you stick to facts.

GRAMMAR POINT We can describe objects attending to:

• Measure • Material • Shape • Colour • Other features

EXPRESSIONS ACCORDING TO PRODUCTS

Meassure How heavy is it / How much does it weight? How long is it / What’s its length? How wide is it / What’s its width?

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How high is it / what’s its height? How deep is it/ what’s its depth? Material What is it made of? It’s made of…

Metal (steel, iron, copper, gold, silver,…). Leather (mink, cow, crocodile,…). Wool (cashmere, Shetland,…) woollen (of wool). Plastic. Glass. Clay. Porcelain. Paper (carton, cardboard,…). Fabric, cloth (denim, velvet, corduroy, cotton…). Rubber. Stone (diamond, sapphire, ruby). Animal skin.

Is it hand-made? / Is it natural or synthetic? Shape What shape is it / what’s its shape?

It’s a circle / circular. It’s a square / square. It’s a triangle / triangular. It’s a semi-circle / semi-circular. It’s a rectangle / rectangular. It’s an oval / oval. It’s a sphere /spherical. It’s a cube / cubic. It’s a cylinder / cylindrical.

Color What colour is it? / What’s its colour?

It’s burgundy / maroon. It’s beige. It’s apple green / grass green / dark green. It’s navy blue / dark blue. It’s golden. It’s gold-plated. It’s canary yellow. It’s phosphorescent.

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Other features What is it like?

It’s user-friendly. It’s wonderful. It’s efficient. It’s silent / quiet. It’s active. It’s automatic. It’s waterproof. It’s fashionable / trendy. It’s comfortable. It’s heavy. It’s light It’s huge / big. It’s small / tiny. It’s long-lasting. It’s great, nice, wonderful, fantastic, terrific. It’s safe. It’s guaranteed. It’s electronic / solar / laser / battery operated / powered. It’s classic. It’s modern. It’s typical. It’s easy to handle / to store / maintain. It’s bright / it shines.

How to write an advert

Publicity is so important today that we cannot imagine our daily life without advertisements. They are everywhere, on the radio, on the television, on the roads, on the bus-stops. We can’t help looking at the smiling faces that is willing to sell us something. Although some people may think that all the adverts look alike nothing is more untrue. Publicists are experts in using colours, language and symbols to attract our attention. However, sometimes, they don’t succeed and the campaign has to be retired. One example was a telephone company which advertised a certain telephone with dwarf people. An association complained because they considered it humiliating.

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A perfume campaign that used the image of a naked woman was also a failure because it offended a significant part of the population and used women as sexual objects. In Saudi Arabia, a Western air company which promoted its flights to the Arabic peninsula using an unveiled air hostess who was serving alcohol in the plane was a big mistake because alcohol is forbidden by religion and women’s hair cannot be showed in public. The history of marketing has some significant disasters, such as the “Emu”. A name chose for a new Australian air company which had to close. All Australians knew that the Emu is a bird which can’t fly. On the contrary, the bull chosen by a leading winery to advertise its brandy has become protected by Spanish legislation as a cultural sign. What makes a good campaign? How can we be sure that the image we are using will be a success and will identify the product and make people wan to buy it?

ADS STRATEGIES Advertising is probable as old as the products. It persuades us to buy. The first advertisements were oral. People with something to sell shouted the product’s name in the street for everyone to hear. Written ads developed early too, for instance, there is some notice of a Greek ad mentioning a cloth shop, over three thousand years ago, and in ancient Rome ads announced circuses. In the Middle Ages, advertisers used drawings as their clients didn’t know how to read. When the printing and the newspapers appeared ads became more and more important, growing, as education and reading skills developed in the general population. The radio and television made adverts a substantial part of our lives and the base of our economy. The writers of the best ads use many different ways to persuade the public and call their attention. In some ads, actors, singers…etc. recommends products. The advertiser hopes that the public will believe the person because he or she is famous. Another method focuses on the customer’s emotions these ads try to make people feel bad because they don’t do something important, such as serving their children good food or calling their families on the phone. Another method is the scientific approach, which uses tests and graphs, doctors or other high qualified professionals, to show that a certain product works well. Anything is valid if it sells!

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MARKETING RULES Obviously we can’t, but there are a few common sense rules that any publicist or marketing executive must follow: How to write an advert You need to know the cultural background of the people who are going to be your customers. Therefore, you won’t make them angry by using symbols or attitudes which are not acceptable in their culture.

• Target market Who do you want to sell the product to? Women, men, children, professionals, middle-class housewives? The type of advertisement will depend on the public it aims at.

Spending a lot of money and using famous people can be a good option to increase sales or reposition a product, but as a general rule it does not assure success. People are not dumb, they can buy it once, but if the product does not fulfil their expectations they won’t buy it again no matter who announces it or how much money you spent in marketing.

• Image You have to decide what type of image you want to give to your product: casual, formal, fashionable, modern, for everybody, not for everybody.

• Create a need

Think of the needs the product will meet. Make the client aware of a need he or she may not know that he or she has. You can start with sentences such as: Have you ever wanted…? Have you ever imagined…? Have you ever tried…? Are you looking for…? Aren’t you tired of...? Wouldn’t you like to…?

Change a product’s image only when it is absolutely necessary, or when the first launching has proved a failure. Don’t confuse your potential buyers. You need to tell them that they should buy it and do it soon or it will disappear from the shelves, because other people have been faster or more intelligent.

• Features and benefits Describe the product characteristics and name the benefits it will provide to you. You can use verbs like:

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Means that… Makes sure that… Helps you to …

• Action End your advert with an imperative or giving more information about the product at a certain address or telephone number: For more information…. call / visit us at. Come to your …. today. Buy them now, before it is too late. Discount for the first callers.

WRITING TECHNIQUES FOR ADVERTISEMENTS

• Offer an impressive benefit, quickly and simply The best adverts are those which offer an impressive, relevant benefit to the reader. This promise should ideally contain the business brand name, take no longer to read than is normal for the media and be clearly the most striking part of the advert.

• Make the material easy to read

Do not distract the reader from the text by overlaying images or using fancy fonts. Use simple language, avoid complicated words, and keep enough space around the text to attract attention to it.

• Get the reader involved

Refer to the reader as ‘you’ and use the second person (‘you’, ‘your’ and ‘yours’ etc) in the description of what your business does for the customer to get them visualising their own personal involvement. Describe the service as it affects them in a way that they will easily relate to it.

• Try to incorporate something new

People respond better and are more easily attracted initially to a concept that is new or original.

• Stress what is unique

You must try to emphasise what makes your service special. Unless your code of practice prevents you from claiming superiority over your competitors, you should put as much emphasis as you can behind your USP’s (unique selling points).

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• Must be believable This is usually best accomplished by explaining ‘why’ and ‘how’ you are able to do the things you are offering, in support of your claims.

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