Functional language bank
1
Lead-in
Networking skills
Some business practices may differ from country to country. Here are some questions to
research before you meet business contacts:
1 When presenting yourself to new people, how much information would you expect to
include? Is it usual to list achievements as well as experience?
2 At networking events, would it be usual to take the opportunity to talk in detail about
products and services or would the initial discussion focus on small talk?
Introductions
Introducing yourself
Responding to an introduction
Hi/Hello, my name’s Martin.
It’s a pleasure to meet you.
Can I introduce myself? I’m Chris.
Pleased/Good/Nice to meet you.
I’m Sam, from the London office.
Presenting yourself
Sometimes it is necessary to present yourself to new colleagues or a team and share some
information about your experience and position.
Greeting
I’m very happy to be working with you all.
It’s great to be part of the team.
I’m delighted to be here in the Tokyo office.
Background
I was born in France and raised in Beijing, so I speak French and
Mandarin as well as English.
I studied in the USA and Australia before settling in Dubai.
I joined the company in March. Before that I worked at OJD
Electronics for three years in Accounts.
I’m usually based in Berlin but I’ll be working with you in the Rio
office for the next six months.
Role and
responsibilities
My current role is in training.
Interests
When I’m not working, I enjoy skiing and travelling.
I’m responsible for implementing the new computer system.
I was delighted to hear that there’s a company football team
because I’m keen on playing football when not working.
In my free time I like going to concerts and plays.
Referring to others
Like Katrina, my background is in statistics.
Like all of you, I want to find the most effective way to
communicate our findings.
My experience is similar to Harry’s in that I was an intern at the
company before joining full time.
I worked with Chloe in the Gdansk office.
Referring to the
company/project/
team
I’ve heard great things about this department.
Closing
If you need anything, just let me know.
It’s an honour to be working on this project.
Thanks for listening to me and I’m looking forward to getting to
know all of you over the coming days and weeks.
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Functional language bank
Showing
interest
There are different strategies for showing interest during a conversation. It is polite to keep
your attention focused on the speaker and to use body language (make eye contact, nod,
smile, etc.) as well as words to show that you are paying attention.
Commenting
Really?
That’s interesting!
Right.
OK.
I see.
Asking questions
Can you tell me more about the project?
Do you work with the PR team?
Clarifying
Did you say that you used to work in Singapore?
So, the team has weekly meetings. Is that face-to-face or
teleconferencing?
Showing your
research
I noticed on your website that you’ve opened an office in Geneva.
Repeating back
So you have a team-building course twice a year.
Your company brochure was very informative.
It’s interesting to hear that you used to work in marketing.
Body language
nodding
smiling
facing the person speaking
making occasional eye contact
Sales
Showing
customer
knowledge
So, I hear that you’ve branched out into events management.
Introducing your
company
We specialise in logistics solutions for small to medium-sized
companies.
I noticed on your website that you’re extending the product range.
You’ve recently moved offices, haven’t you?
My company builds websites for the events industry.
Our expertise is in digital strategy and live events.
Explaining how
your product or
service can help
Our services can help you to settle into your new offices quickly and
efficiently.
Our products enable you to optimise your network to improve
performance and minimise costs.
We provide solutions for transport and delivery problems to help you
improve customer satisfaction.
Your business will benefit if you can find more efficient vendors before
you lose customers.
Talking about
details
There are a variety of packages to fit different budgets.
We can install a new system within five days.
Our team works closely with you to monitor quality control.
Asking questions
Does that sound like it might be of interest?
Can your current supplier offer similar delivery dates?
Showing
conviction
I really believe that this could help your profit margin.
I am convinced that this would work well for your company.
There’s no doubt in my mind that this is the best product on the
market and I’d love you to see it in action.
I am absolutely certain that we can offer exactly what you are
looking for.
Suggesting next
steps
Would you be willing to talk about this further?
Perhaps we could set up a meeting to discuss this next week.
Can I arrange a product demonstration so that you can see how this
would benefit your company?
Business Partner B2 © Pearson Education 2018
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Functional language bank
2
Lead-in
Meeting skills
Some business practices may differ from country to country. Here are some questions to research
if you are attending meetings in a different country:
1 How formal will the meeting be? Some meetings can be more informal, similar to discussions,
while others will be clearly structured with a clearly defined focus and written agenda.
2 How will the meeting take place? When teams work in different geographic locations and
time zones, meetings might be a mix of using teleconferencing, telephone and face-to-face
interaction. In these scenarios, it is particularly important to make points clearly and to seek
clarification when needed.
Introductions
and opening
Participation
Welcoming
participants
Thank you all for coming today.
It’s great to see you all here today.
Thank you all for coming at such short notice.
Introducing
participants
Does everyone know each other?
Could we go round and say a little about our roles?
Most of you know each other, but I’d also like to welcome Hannah from Marketing,
who has kindly agreed to join us today.
Opening the
meeting
If we’re all here, let’s get started.
Since everyone is here now, let’s begin.
OK, let’s start by looking at the first point on the agenda.
Stating the
meeting
objectives
We’re here to discuss the new delivery software.
The main focus/goal of this meeting is to hear your ideas about ways to improve
customer care.
You’ll see from the agenda that we are here to agree changes to the ordering process.
Has everyone had a chance to look at the agenda?
By the end of this meeting, we should have ideas for our new advertising campaign.
Encouraging
participation
Kayo, you have experience with this market. What are your thoughts?
Klaus, it’d be useful to have your opinion on this.
What do you think, Luiz?
Christina, would you be able to explain the aim of the project?
We’d like to hear everyone’s ideas.
Does anyone have anything to add?
Could you expand on this point for us?
Can you elaborate on that?
How about considering flexitime?
Why don’t we open the sales lines an hour earlier?
It might be worth running a competition.
Maybe we could carry out a survey?
Have you considered speaking to the supplier?
One/Another thing to consider is the quality of the product.
One option might be to increase prices.
Adding to that idea/what Amy said, we could also focus on locally grown products more.
Agreeing/
Disagreeing
That’s a good point.
That could work.
That could be worth a try.
We could give it a go.
That’s an interesting suggestion. Let’s keep it in mind.
I can see your point, but that would be very difficult to implement.
An alternative view is that the team performed well in difficult circumstances.
I’m not keen on the idea of replacing all our equipment.
I’m not sure that would work.
We seem to have agreement on some of the key points but not on all the details.
We can all agree that (we want the project to be successful).
Clarifying
and
asking for
clarification
By that, I mean we need to increase the budget.
What I’m trying to say is, I’m not sure that would work.
To put it another way, we need to cut costs.
Can I check what you mean by ‘extend the schedule’?
Sorry, I didn’t catch that. Could you go over that again, please?
Can I check that I understood that point correctly?
Business Partner B2 © Pearson Education 2018
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Functional language bank
Managing a
meeting
Keeping to
the point
We seem to have moved away from the subject.
Let’s get back to the main topic, shall we?
So what’s your main point, Ana?
Let’s talk more about that next time we meet.
This is not on today’s agenda, so let’s leave it for our next meeting.
I’m afraid we’ll have to come back to this later.
Managing
time
We’re running out of time, so we need to move on to the next point.
Perhaps we need to discuss that topic in a separate meeting?
Time is pressing, so let’s make a decision.
That’s all the time we have on this topic.
We have a lot to discuss, so can we keep to the agenda and save any
additional points for the end?
Managing
interruptions
Let’s hear some other views on this.
We’ll come to you next, Sonja. Amal, please continue with what you
were saying.
We’ll come to that point in a moment, Mario.
Let’s let Ben finish his point.
Discussing
performance
Discussing
what went
well
Let’s start with the positives.
Overall, it’s been a very good year.
On the whole, it turned out to be a success.
Generally speaking, we are very pleased with the progress.
We were particularly impressed with how the project was managed.
I was pleased with the results.
I thought it went well.
I managed to get the supplier to agree to a revised delivery schedule.
As a result, we cut costs by 15 percent.
Discussing
what didn’t
go well
What areas do you think need to be improved?
So, what was the issue with the production line?
Can you tell me exactly what went wrong?
Why didn’t we contact the client?
The main issue was changes in the exchange rate.
The problem was due to misunderstanding the schedule.
Speaking openly, I think we should have planned better.
My big challenge was meeting the deadlines.
Focusing
on lessons
learned
How can we organise things differently next time?
What measures can we take to stop this happening again?
Next time we need to improve communication.
Next time I would arrange a briefing meeting at the start of the project.
We now know that we need to plan more carefully.
I’m confident that we can learn from this.
Closing a meeting
Summing up
That’s all we have time for today. Let’s sum up the main points.
To recap, we’ve agreed to work on the project for six months and then review.
We’ve discussed budgets and schedules, and agreed on the way forward.
Referring to
action points
and next
steps
We’ll meet again next week to discuss progress.
Closing
Thank you for coming, everyone. It was a very productive meeting.
We look forward to hearing updates at the next meeting.
Is everyone clear on what they need to do?
James, could you get a copy of the report to everyone by Thursday?
We made good progress today.
Thank you for your contribution and ideas.
Thank you all for your input today.
Business Partner B2 © Pearson Education 2018
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Functional language bank
3
Lead-in
Telephoning skills
Here are some questions to consider before participating in a business call:
1 What is the purpose of the call?
2 Who will I be speaking to?
3 What will I be expected to say/ask/contribute?
4 How long will the call last?
When exchanging complex information, it can be useful to make brief notes before the call,
which detail the aim of the conversation and key information that is required. Some business
practices may differ from country to country, so here are some questions to research before
you make telephone calls:
1 Should language be formal or informal? Is it more usual to use titles (Mr/Ms/Dr/Professor)
and surnames or first names?
2 Are business calls usually brief and fact-based or is some small talk expected?
Getting through
Making a call
Hello, my name is Hugo Ruiz from Danbro Marketing. Can/May I speak to the
Sales Director, please?
Good afternoon, this is Ewan Davies from the London office. I’d like to speak to
Mr Filinnesi, please.
Hi, Roberto. It’s Natasha from Finance here.
Hi, this is Alice. Is Marcus there?
Receiving a
call
Hello. You’re through to Ross Industries. How can I help?
Saying why
you are
calling
I’m calling to arrange a meeting to present our new product range.
Good morning. Danbro Marketing, Jill Hunter speaking. How may I help you?
Would it be convenient to discuss the data from the research project?
I’m calling about the new price list.
I have a quick query about the new software.
Do you have a moment to go over the sales figures?
Clarifying and asking
for clarification
Asking for
clarification
or repetition
Sorry, I’m having trouble following these figures. Can you go over them again?
I’m not sure I follow. Is the problem the delivery dates or the project deadline?
Are those figures in dollars or euros?
When you say ‘red button’, do you mean the one on the top or the one on
the side?
Sorry?/Pardon?
Could you repeat that, please?
I’m sorry, I didn’t catch what you just said.
Asking for
specific
details
What exactly does the information on page 3 refer to?
Checking
Can I double check that I’ve understood correctly?
More specifically, what’s your margin on this?
Could you spell that for me, please?
So, if I understand correctly, the temperature needs to be set at twenty-one
degrees?
Did you say 6.15?
Let me see if I got that right.
So, those were last year’s figures. Is that right?
I wrote down 4.3 percent. Is that correct?
Let me repeat the last point to make sure I got it right.
Dealing with
technical
problems
I lost you for a moment. Could you repeat the last point?
Sorry, I can hardly hear you – could you say that again?
The line’s really bad – did you say 6.15 or 6.50?
There’s a lot of background noise. Would you like me to go over any of
that again?
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Functional language bank
Taking or leaving a
message
Taking a
message
Sorry, Nadia isn’t in the office today. Can I take a message?
The Accounts Manager isn’t here at the moment. Would you like to leave
a message?
I’m afraid Mr Bower is not available at the moment. May I ask who’s calling?
I’ll give her your message as soon as she returns.
He’ll call you back as soon as he returns.
He’s in meetings all day. Would you like to speak to someone else
about this?
Leaving a
message
Can I leave a message, please?
Could you give him a message, please?
Could you tell him that Justine called about the sales seminar?
Can you ask him to call me back this afternoon?
Do you know when he’s expected back? OK, could you ask him to call me
back this afternoon?
Could you tell Khalid that it’s urgent, please?
Responding
to a message
This is Dr Aziz returning Professor Blake’s call.
Hi Caro, this is Austin from Media Solutions. I got your message about the
brochures.
Hi Ellie, I’m calling about your voicemail message.
Promising
action
I’ll send you an email to confirm the figures.
I’ll call you back a little later.
I’ll ask Ms Veits to call you as soon as she gets back.
If you give me your phone number, she’ll call you back.
Closing the call
Ending the
call
Thank you (very much) for your help.
Thanks for calling.
Thank you for your time.
Looking forward to seeing you at the conference.
Let me know if there’s anything else I can help with.
Business Partner B2 © Pearson Education 2018
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Functional language bank
4
Lead-in
Negotiation skills
Some business practices may differ from country to country. Here are some areas to research
before you prepare for a negotiation:
1 Ways of expressing agreement and disagreement or decision-making can differ from
culture to culture. Check that your understanding is the same as the person that you are
negotiating with.
2 How do negotiation styles differ? If there are difficulties in the negotiation, what can you
expect to happen? Would the negotiation continue or would it be better to have a break or
reschedule? How can you find areas of common interest to move forward?
Opening
Welcoming
Thank you for coming today.
It’s a pleasure to meet you.
Good to meet you/see you again. Are you well?
How’s business?
Can I get you anything?
How was your journey?
Thanks for agreeing to meet today.
Outlining
objectives
We’re here to discuss the new construction project.
What I’d like to discuss today is transport and delivery of the products.
We thought that we could begin by looking at delivery schedules.
Can I suggest that we start by looking at the project outline?
OK, let’s start by looking at the agenda.
Shall we have a look at the main points of today’s discussion?
Proposals/
Discussion
Making a
proposal
We think the best way is to reconsider the unit price.
It might be possible to extend the service contract.
Would it help if we reviewed the monthly payment terms?
If we increased the volume, perhaps you could agree to a 5 percent
discount?
How do you feel about increasing the discount?
Do you think you could consider reducing the unit price?
We propose/suggest a two-year contract.
As we see it, the main issue is quality, so …
Requesting a
proposal
Would you like to outline your proposal?
What do you have in mind?
Do you have any suggestions?
Would you like to suggest a course of action for us to consider?
We welcome any offer/suggestion that you would like to make.
Asking
questions/
Checking for
agreement
What about the delivery date?
How about increasing the quantity?
Would you be prepared to reconsider the payment terms?
How would you feel if we extended the deadline?
What do you see as the most important point?
What are your views on the delivery terms?
How does that sound?
Does that sound reasonable?
What do you think?
Agreeing to a
proposal
That seems reasonable/acceptable.
We can work with that.
I’m happy to agree to those terms.
We are happy to accept these terms.
I believe we have an agreement.
I can agree to that.
I think we have a deal.
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Functional language bank
Refusing a
proposal
That won’t be possible, I’m afraid.
I’m sorry, we can’t accept that.
I’m afraid we can’t agree to that (unless you increase the volume of the
order).
We’d find it difficult to complete the project by your proposed deadline.
No, that’s out of the question.
Unfortunately, our position is different from yours.
Explaining
concerns
My main concern is that the schedule is unrealistic.
Another issue is the transportation costs.
It’s important that we consider the time frame for the project.
I have some reservations about the workflow.
Dealing with
difficulties
Clarifying and
checking
Just to clarify, you mean the price would increase?
What do you mean by ‘upgrading the materials’?
So are your main reservations related to quantity?
I’m not sure I understand your position. Do you mean you are prepared to
offer us a discount?
Let me see if I understand what you’re saying.
I’m not sure I fully understand your point.
Could you be more specific?
Could you clarify the last point for me?
Am I right in thinking that the schedules would also have to change?
Exploring
options
I understand your reservations.
Would you be willing to extend the deadline?
Could we look at this from another perspective?
Perhaps there’s another way to approach this?
How would you feel about changing the site location?
Referring
to common
interest and
understanding
How can we identify a mutually acceptable outcome?
I think we can both agree on the excellent quality.
Our companies have the greatest respect for each other.
We have always had a good working relationship.
We both want to find a solution to this issue.
I know we’re both on the same wavelength about deadlines.
Compromising
It might be possible to extend payment terms.
Would it help if we paid invoices after thirty days?
If we lower the price, perhaps you could agree to increase the volume?
Some movement might be possible on price.
If you were prepared to increase your order to 50,000 units, we might be
able to offer you each component at €3.
We are ready to accept your offer. However, there would be one
condition.
Closing a
negotiation
Describing
the limit to
concessions
That’s the highest/lowest we are prepared to go.
Agreement has
been reached
It’s been a pleasure doing business with you.
Agreement
has not been
reached
I’m sorry that we couldn’t reach an agreement this time.
Outlining next
steps
We’ll be in touch to discuss how to proceed.
We can’t move on the delivery date.
This is a very positive outcome.
Perhaps we can discuss this again at a later date.
Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to reach an agreement. Perhaps …
So, we’ll send you a contract by email.
We’ll put in writing the terms and conditions we agreed today.
I’ll be in contact in the near future.
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