12. Role play ‘Discussing of the main clauses of the contract’

Work in pairs. Imagine that one of you has been employed by a landscape design company and you should discuss the details of your employment contract with your employer. Study the information contained in the Appendix IX and discuss the following:

- date of commencement of work

- place of work

- job function

- probationary period

- hours of work

- salary

Use the following phrases:

Employer Employee

I’d like to discuss with you… I’d like to know…

What would you say to… I’m afraid I can’t agree with that.

Do you agree to…? I’m not quite sure about that.

I suggest… I’m sorry but I have to say that…

I can offer you… Could you offer me…?

Do you have any May I ask you for…?

objections to…?

APPENDICES

Appendix I

Useful clichés that can help you write your own covering letter:

I was interested to see your advertisement for (position) in (paper) / on (site).

I am applying for the position of (position), which was advertised (date) in (paper).

(Name) advised / informed me of a (position) that is available at your company.

I was referred to you by (name), who informed me of a (position) that is available at your company.

(Name) informed me that you are / your company is / (name of the company) is looking for someone with (skills).

(Name) suggested I contact you regarding the position of (position).

When I read your advertisement for (position) in (paper) / on (site), I could not help noticing how well your requirements align with my experience / education / background / skills / career interests /

The position seems to fit very well with my experience / education / background / skills / career interests / ...

I am very interested in applying for the position (of ...)

My experience / education / background / skills / ... make me an ideal candidate for the position.

I have the experiences / skills / ... you desire (in your advertisement).

From my enclosed CV / Resume you will find that my experiences / skills / ... meet the requirements you have outlined for the position.

I believe that my enclosed CV / resume will demonstrate that I have the experiences / skills / ... you seek.

While my enclosed CV / resume provides a good overview of my experiences / skills / ..., I have also listed some specific skills that meet your requirements for the position.

According to your advertisement, your position requires (skills). These skills I have developed during ... (experience).

I understand the position requires (skills). I ...

I recently graduated from (university) with a degree in (field).

Since 2002 / For 2 years I have been working for (company).

As (current job) for (company), I have developed my skills and experience as (job title).

Prior to my current position, I was working for (company), where I ... (jobs, tasks, skills).

Throughout my career I have acquired a thorough knowledge of ...

I have solid experience in ...

I have more than ... years of ... experience.

My experiences / skills / ... will provide your company with a highly productive (job title).

I have always had a strong interest in ...

My experience in (field) have convinced me that (future position) is a career option I would like to explore.

My high degree of motivation has been appreciated by my previous employers.

Thanks to my high degree of motivation I was quickly promoted to positions of greater responsibility.

The enclosed CV / resume elaborates on the details of my skills and experience.

I would like very much to talk with you concerning a position at your company / (name of the company).

I am eager to talk with you about the contribution I could make to your firm.

I would appreciate the chance to meet with you to discuss how I could be a vital part of your company.

I would welcome the opportunity to discuss these and other qualifications with you.

If you would like to schedule an interview or otherwise discuss my interest in this position, please call me at the number listed above.

If you are interested, please contact me at (number).

You may reach me at the above phone number or email address.

I am sure my services would be useful to you.

I will call you in a few days / next week / in early July / ... to discuss an interview.

Should you have any questions before that time, feel free to call me at the number listed above / to contact me via the email address listed above.

I look forward to meeting you (to talking with you, to hearing from you soon).

I look forward to meeting with you to discuss the ways my skills may best serve your company.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Your consideration is greatly appreciated.

Appendix II

Questions that can be asked by the interviewer:

Could you tell me about yourself?

How would you describe your personality?

Why are you interested in our company?

Can you describe one or two of your most important accomplishments?

What would you say has been your greatest achievement so far? Why did you leave your previous job?

What is important to you in a company?

What are your strong points for this position?

What are your major weaknesses?

Why do you think you would be good at this job?

Do you prefer working alone or in groups?

What has been your most valuable experience?

Can you describe for me a difficult obstacle you have had to overcome? How did you handle it? How do you feel this experience affected your personality or ability?

How would you describe yourself as a person?

What things give you the most satisfaction at work?

What things frustrate you most? How do you usually cope with them?

Have you ever been in a situation in which you lost your temper?

How do you deal with difficult people?

In your work experience, what have you done that you consider truly creative?

Do you belong to any clubs, associations, or groups?

What do you like to do in your spare time?

What standards of success do you set yourself in your job?

What are the most important rewards you expect from your career? Have you ever done any public or group speaking? How did it go?

Describe your most significant success or failure in the two last years.

Describe your ideal boss.

Questions that can be asked by the applicant:

What will be my responsibilities?

Who will I report to? Who will be my supervisor?

What do you expect me to do in my company role?

Who are your customers/clients?

Where is the company going? What are it's plans for expansion?

Appendix III

Useful phrases and vocabulary for writing business letters:

Salutation	Dear Mr. Brown Dear Ms White Dear Sir Dear Madam Dear Sir or Madam Gentlemen
Starting	We are writing - to inform you that ... - to confirm ... - to request... - to enquire about ... I am contacting you for the following reason. I recently read/heard about... and would like to know ... Having seen your advertisement in ..., I would like to ... I would be interested in (obtaining / receiving) ...
Referring to previous contact	Thank you for your letter of March 15. Thank you for contacting us. In reply to your request, ... Thank you for your letter regarding ... With reference to our telephone conversation yesterday... Further to our meeting last week ... It was a pleasure meeting you in London last month. I enjoyed having lunch with you last week in Tokyo. I would just like to confirm the main points we discussed on Tuesday.
Making a request	We would appreciate it if you would ... I would be grateful if you could ... Could you please send me ... Could you possibly tell us / let us have ... In addition, I would like to receive ... It would be helpful if you could send us ... I am interested in (obtaining / receiving) ... I would appreciate your immediate attention to this matter. Please let me know what action you propose to take.
Offering help	Would you like us to ...? We would be happy to ... We are quite willing to ... Our company would be pleased to ...
Giving good news	We are pleased to announce that ... I am delighted to inform you that .. You will be pleased to learn that ...
Giving bad news	We regret to inform you that ... I’m afraid it would not be possible to ... Unfortunately we cannot / we are unable to ... After careful consideration we have decided (not) to ...
Complaining	I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with ... I am writing to complain about ... Please note that the goods we ordered on (date ) have not yet arrived. We regret to inform you that our order №° ----- is now considerably overdue. I would like to query the transport charges which seem unusually high.
Apologizing	We are sorry for the delay in replying to ... I regret any inconvenience caused (by) ... I would like to apologize for the (delay, inconvenience)... Once again, please accept my apologies for ...
Thanking	It is very kind of you to… I am writing to thank you very much indeed for... May I take this opportunity of thanking you for... Thank you for contributing so much to... I sincerely appreciate your kindness... Please accept my sincere (deep) appreciation for your help. I wish to express my appreciation for all your efforts... I am most grateful to you for helping me. I am truly grateful for your advice. Thank you for letting me know that... I am grateful to you for sending us this extremely useful and well-documented information on... Thank you for inviting me to your firm office and introducing me to its staff. This is to thank you again for your wonderful hospitality and to tell you how much I enjoyed seeing you.
Orders	Thank you for your quotation of... We are pleased to place an order with your company for.. We would like to cancel our order № ... Please confirm receipt of our order. I am pleased to acknowledge receipt of your order № ... Your order will be processed as quickly as possible. It will take about (two/three) weeks to process your order. We can guarantee you delivery before ...(date). Unfortunately these articles are no longer available / are out of stock.
Prices	Please send us your price list. You will find enclosed our most recent catalogue and price list. Please note that our prices are subject to change without notice. We have pleasure in enclosing a detailed quotation. We can make you a firm offer of...
Referring to payment	Our terms of payment are as follows... Our records show that we have not yet received payment of... According to our records... Please send payment as soon as possible. You will receive a credit note for the sum of...
Enclosing documents	I am enclosing... Please find enclosed... You will find enclosed...
Closing remarks	If we can be of any further assistance, please let us know. If I can help in any way, please do not hesitate to contact me. If you require more information... For further details... Thank you for taking this into consideration. Thank you for your help. We hope you are happy with this arrangement. We hope you can settle this matter to our satisfaction.
Referring to future business	We look forward to a successful working relationship in the future. We would be (very) pleased to do business with your company. I would be happy to have an opportunity to work with your firm.
Referring to future contact	I look forward to seeing you next week. Looking forward to hearing from you, ... Looking forward to receiving your comments, I look forward to meeting you on the (date). I would appreciate a reply at your earliest convenience. An early reply would be appreciated.
Ending business letters	Sincerely, } Yours sincerely,} for all customers / clients Sincerely yours,} Yours faithfully,} in more formal letters Regards, for those you already know and/or with whom you have a working relationship

Appendix IV

Useful phrases and vocabulary for telephone business conversations:

Introducing yourself

Good morning, ABC Company.

Hello. This is…from…

This is John Brown speaking.

Hello, my name’s… . I’m calling from…

Asking who is on the telephone

Excuse me, who is this?

Can I ask who is calling, please?

Requesting someone

I’d like to speak to…, please.

Could I speak to…, please?

Could I have the…Department, please?

Is… there, please?

Can I have extension 321? (extensions are internal numbers at a company)

Giving the reason for a call

I’m phoning for some information on…

I’d like some more detailed material…

I’d like to meet someone from CNT…

I’d like to make an appointment with…

I’d like to discuss…

I’m calling to complain about…

Connecting someone

I'll put you through (put through - phrasal verb meaning ‘connect’).

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

Saying someone is not available

I’m sorry (I’m afraid) he/she’s not available…

Sorry, he/she’s away/not in/in a meeting/in Milan.

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

Leaving and taking messages

Could you give him/her a message?

Can I leave him/her a message?

Please tell him/her…

Please ask him/her to call me back…

Can I take a message?

Would you like to leave a message?

If you give me your number I’ll ask him/her to call you later.

Offering your help in other ways

Can anyone else help you?

Can I help you perhaps?

Would you like to speak to his assistant?

Shall I ask him to call you back?

Asking for repetition

Sorry, I didn’t catch (your name/your number/your company name/etc.)

Sorry, could you repeat your (name, number, etc.)

Sorry, I didn’t hear (understand) that.

Could you spell (that/your name), please?

Acknowledging repetition

Okay, I’ve got that now.

I see, thank you.

Making arrangements

Could we meet some time next month?

When would be a good time?

Would Thursday at 5 o’clock suit you?

What about July 21st?

That would be fine.

No, sorry, I can’t make it then.

Sorry, I’m too busy next week.

Changing arrangements

We’ve an appointment for next month, but…

I’m afraid I can’t come on that day.

Could we fix an alternative?

Explaining the problem

There seems to be…

We haven’t received…

The… doesn’t’ work.

The quality of the work is below standard.

The specifications are not in accordance with our order.

Threatening

If the problem is not resolved…

-we’ll have to renegotiate the contract.

-we’ll contact other suppliers.

-the consequences could be very serious.

Handling complaints and other problems:

Asking for details

Could you tell me exactly what…?

Could you tell me…?

What’s the…?

Apologizing

I’m sorry to hear that.

I’m very sorry about the problem/delay/mistake…

Denying an accusation

No, I don’t think that can be right.

I’m sorry but I think you’re mistaken.

I’m afraid that can’t be true.

Confirming information

So…

Can I check that? You said…

Can you/Can I confirm that by fax?

Ending a call.

Right. I think that’s all.

Thanks very much for your help.

Do call if you need anything else.

I look forward to… seeing you/your call/your letter/

your fax/our meeting.

Goodbye and thanks.

Spelling

If you need to spell your name, or take the name of your caller, the biggest problem is often saying vowel sounds:

‘a’ is pronounced as in ‘may’

‘e’ is pronounced as in ‘email’ or ‘he’

‘i’ is pronounced as in ‘I’ or ‘eye’

‘o’ is pronounced as in ‘no’

‘u’ is pronounced as ‘you’

Saying consonants

‘g’ is pronounced like the ‘j’ in ‘jeans’

‘j’ is pronounced as in ‘DJ’ or ‘Jane’

‘w’ is pronounced ‘double you’

‘x’ is pronounced ‘ex’

‘y’ is pronounced ‘why’

‘z’ is pronounced ‘zed’ (rhymes with ‘bed’ in British English), or ‘zee’ (rhymes with ‘sea’ in American English).

Tip: Keep a note of how you say these letters by your telephone.

Giving numbers

Here's a phone number: 0171 222 3344

And here’s how to say it:

‘Oh-one-seven-one, triple two, double three, double four.’

OR

‘Zero-one-seven-one, triple two, double three, double four.’

Pausing

When you say a seven digit number, separate the number into two blocks of three and four, pausing after each block.

Each digit is spoken separately, unless it’s a double or triple. If the second part of the number was ‘5555’, you'll probably find it easier to say ‘double five – double five’.

Saying email addresses

@ is pronounced ‘a’'. For instance, caimin@clara.net is “caimin, at, clara, dot, net”.

/ is “forward slash”.

- is called a “hyphen” or a “dash”.

_ is an “underscore”.

Appendix V

Useful phrases for socializing:

Welcoming visitors

Welcome to…

My name’s…

Arriving

Hello. My name’s …from…

I’ve an appointment to see…

Sorry – I’m a little late/early.

My lane was delayed…

Introducing someone

This is… He/She’s my Personal Assistant.

Can I introduce you to…? He/She’s our Project Manager.

I’d like to introduce you to…

Meeting someone and small talk

Pleased to meet you.

It’s a pleasure.

How was your trip? Did you have a good trip/flight/journey?

How are things in (London)?

How long are you staying in (New York)?

Is your hotel comfortable?

Is this your first visit to (Moscow)?

Offering assistance

Can I get you something?

Do you need anything?

Would you like a drink?

If you need to use a phone or fax, please say.

Can we do anything for you?

Do you need a hotel/a taxi/etc.?

Asking for assistance

There is one thing I need…

Could you get me…?

Could you book me a car/taxi/hotel…?

Could you help me arrange a flight to…?

Can you recommend a good restaurant?

Saying what’s on and what’s available

There’s a good film/play/concert/on at…

We have a good theatre in the city…

There are some…

-interesting museums/public buildings…

-good restaurants

Are you interested in…

-eating out?

-visiting/seeing…?

Inviting

Would you be interested in going to see…

I’d like to invite you to have dinner this evening. Is that a good idea?

Responding to an invitation

That would be very nice.

I’d like that.

Thank you. That would be a pleasure.

Declining an invitation

I’d like to, but I’m afraid…

That would be nice, but unfortunately…

-I’m rather tired…

-I have an appointment this evening…

-I’m rather busy…

-I have some work to do…

Stating preference

I like (Japanese) cuisine very much…

I think I’d like to…

I think I’d prefer…

At the restaurant

What shall we order?

Shall we have…?

I recommend…

Would you like…?

Why don’t you try…? It’s a local specialty.

The (fish) sounds nice.

I think I’d like to try…

I think I’ll have…

I’d rather have…

I like it very much.

It’s delicious.

I’m pleased you enjoyed it.

Could you bring us the bill, please?

I’ll pay/This is on me.

Appendix VI

Useful phrases for making up presentations:

Section of presentation	Language
Greeting	Good morning, ladies and gentlemen…
Introducing the topic	The subject/topic of my talk is ... I'm going to talk about ... My topic today is… My talk is concerned with...
Overview (outline of presentation)	I’m going to divide this talk into four parts. There are a number of points I’d like to make. Basically/ Briefly, I have three things to say. I’d like to begin/start by... Let's begin/start by... First of all, I’ll... … and then I’ll go on to… Then/ Next... Finally/ Lastly ...
Finishing a section	That’s all I have to say about... We’ve looked at...
Starting a new section	Moving on now to… Turning to... Let’s turn now to… The next issue/topic/area I’d like to focus on… I’d like to expand/elaborate on … Now we'll move on to... I’d like now to discuss... Let's look now at...
Analyzing a point and giving recommendations	Where does that lead us? Let’s consider this in more detail... What does this mean for...? Translated into real terms... Why is this important? The significance of this is...
Giving examples	For example,... A good example of this is... As an illustration,... To give you an example,... To illustrate this point...
Summarizing and concluding	To sum up ... To summarize... Right, let’s sum up, shall we? Let’s summarize briefly what we’ve looked at... If I can just sum up the main points... Finally, let me remind you of some of the issues we’ve covered... To conclude... In conclusion... In short... So, to remind you of what I’ve covered in this talk, … Unfortunately, I seem to have run out of time, so I’ll conclude very briefly by saying that ….. I’d like now to recap...
Paraphrasing and clarifying	Simply put... In other words....... So what I’m saying is.... To put it more simply.... To put it another way....
Invitation to discuss / ask questions	I’m happy to answer any queries/ questions. Does anyone have any questions or comments? Please feel free to ask questions. If you would like me to elaborate on any point, please ask. Would you like to ask any questions? Any questions?

Appendix VII

Useful language for conducting business negotiations:

Welcoming / Relationship building

I would like to welcome you to… .

On behalf of ... I would like to welcome you to...

It’s my pleasure to welcome you to...

How was your flight?

Would you like something to drink?

Suggesting a procedure

I would like now to begin by suggesting the following procedure / agenda.

To start with, I think we should establish the overall procedure.

Does that seem acceptable to you?

Is there anything you'd like to change?

Is this okay with you?

Proposing

Our basic position is...

There are several options…

We propose / suggest…

Regarding your proposal, our position is...

Would it be possible…

How do you feel about…

Do you think you could consider…

Responding to suggestions

As far as your proposal is concerned, we think that...

May we offer an alternative? We propose that...

We’d like to make an alternative proposal. We propose that...

From where we stand, a better solution might be...

Considering that I would like to suggest…

Now that you mentioned it…

Agreeing

I agree with you on that point.

That’s a fair suggestion.

You have a strong point there.

I think we can both agree that...

I don’t see any problem with/harm in that.

Objecting

I understand where you're coming from; however,...

If you look at it from my point of view...

I’m afraid I had something different in mind.

That’s not exactly how I look at it.

From my perspective...

I’d have to disagree with you there.

I’m afraid that doesn't work for me.

Reasoning

This is because …

The reason for that is …

… is essential and vital for our customers.

We have to / must have …

This is a must!

Money is all-important!

Reassuring

Let me reassure you that ...

I can promise you that ...

Have no doubts that we will ...

Giving a hint

Our main concern is…

It is vital / crucial that…

Our intention is…

We might like to…

I am willing to accept… if…

It would be an alternative to…

We can trade this against…

There a few things we can compromise…

Clarifying

… is correct, isn’t it?

Is it alright with you, if…

It seems that…

Do you suggest…

Are you suggesting that…

Do you mean…

Does it mean…

If I understood you correctly…

What exactly do you mean by… ?

I’m not sure I fully understand your point.

What do you mean by…

Could you clarify one point for me?

Would you like to elaborate on that?

Could you be more specific?

So what you’re saying is that you...

In other words, you feel that...

Let me make sure I understand what you’re saying.

Is that an accurate summary of where you stand?

Would you say that is a fair representation of your position?

Can we summarize your position up to this point?

Identifying obstacles

The main thing that bothers us is...

One big problem we have is...

The main obstacle to progress at the moment seems to be...

Let’s take a closer look at this problem.

What exactly is the underlying problem here?

I would like to analyze this situation and get to the bottom of the problem.

Compromising

How flexible can you be on that?

I’m ready to sign that if you can… .

In return for this, would you be willing to...?

May we offer an alternative?

We are ready to accept your offer; however, there would be one condition.

We feel there has to be a trade-off here.

We would be willing to..., provided, of course, that...

We’d be prepared to.... However, there would be one condition.

What do you think is a fair way to resolve the situation?

Would you be willing to accept a compromise?

Delaying

We would have to study this. Can we get back to you on this later?

We’ll have to consult with our colleagues back in the office. We’d like to get back to you on it.

We’ll have to get back to you on it.

I don’t have the authority to make that decision by myself.

Refusing a proposal

I am afraid we couldn’t agree to that.

I’m sorry, we can’t accept that.

I’m afraid your offer doesn’t go far enough.

I’m sorry, but we must respectfully decline your offer.

No, that’s out of question.

No. I am not interested.

That would be very difficult for us because… .

That’s not really a viable option for us.

That’s totally unacceptable.

Unfortunately, we must decline your offer for the following reasons.

Accepting a proposal

We are happy to accept this agreement.

This agreement is acceptable to us.

I believe we have an agreement.

We are happy to accept this agreement.

I’m all in favor of that.

I think we have a deal.

I think we will have to agree to…

We can only agree with you there.

I have to admit that you’re right.

I am willing to work with that.

That’s a deal!

It sounds like an alternative / option / possibility…

That sounds reasonable.

Closing / summarizing

Can we review what we have agreed on so far?

Now, let’s just take a moment to review what we’ve discussed.

So, what we’ve finally decided on is… .

Let’s make sure we agree on these figures (dates / etc.).

Can we check these points one last time?

Let’s just confirm the details, then.

Final greetings

It has been a pleasure doing business with you.

We look forward to cooperating with you again.

Language points

During a negotiation, you're likely to hear “if” sentences, as the negotiation moves from the stage of exploring issues to the stage of making a deal.

If you increased the order size, we could / would reduce the price. (2nd conditional – exploring the issue)

So, we’ll reduce the price by 5% if you increase the order by 5%. (1st conditional – making a deal)

You might also hear “unless” (=if not), “as long as” and “provided (that)” instead of if:

As long as you increase your order, we can give you a greater discount.

Unless you increase your order, we won't be able to give you a bigger discount.

Provided you increase your order, we can give you a bigger discount.

Appendix VIII