1. Vocabulary

a skill- an ability that has been acquired by training  — умение, навык

a desire- a wish, желание

negotiation — is a business-oriented conversation where two sides argue, discuss  to reach some agreement.- переговоры

to work in a mailroom — to work as a secretary or receptionist;

to get across — to communicate successfully;

give somebody an edge — to provide somebody with a slight competitive                     advantage; стимулировать одобрять усиливать

to stay run of the mill — to continue doing the same things, to stay stagnant;

run of the mill — ordinary or routine (обыденный, обычный)

to get slashed — to be cut, reduced;  — быть сокращённым, урезанным

economic downturn — business decline, slump, economic recession; экономический спад

scaled down staff — colleagues with a lower rank or position; сокращать, уменьшать

 

2

You can’t do business without business skills. Logical, isn’t it? But having good business skills doesn’t necessarily mean you have to have an MBA, have gone to University or had any formal business education. It does mean, however, that you have (or have the desire and drive to attain) certain skills which most successful business people have. These skills are basic skills such as communication, e-mailing, telephoning, meetings, negotiation and line management. They are also likely to include advanced skills such as conferencing, presentation, influencing, conflict management, leadership, critical thinking, and teambuilding.

Business skills are important at whatever level you work within an organisation: from working in a mailroom to running the company, good skills make you attractive to fellow-workers and employers. Business skills, whether acquired in a formal setting, a training room or even the school of life can make a huge difference because good skills will give you the ability to communicate effectively with colleagues, get your ideas across, make people want to listen to you, and what is more, hear what you have to say.

Business skills give you an edge in the way you work with clients, plan a marketing campaign, challenge the competition, bring in new business, etc. Lack of them could mean you stay run of the mill. More and more companies expect their employees to attend training courses because the better skilled their people are, the better their chances are of survival in a very tricky time in our economy. Training budgets are often the first things to get slashed during an economic downturn. The smart companies know that quite the opposite needs to happen: their people need to acquire more business skills to be able to cope with added pressures, scaled down staff and higher expectations.

However you get them, good business skills will last you your entire career and may even have a good impact on your personal life as well!

 

3. Текст: TAKING AND GIVING MESSAGES

3.1.  Vocabulary

 

1)voicemail – a telephone system tha

t connects callers directly to an extension or department and can record messages for that person or department;

2)answering machine – an electronic device that is attached to a telephone and that automatically answers callers with a prerecorded message and records their messages for later playback;

3)company headquarters – the main office of a company;

4)business hours – the hours that a business is open or closed during the week;

5)monitored for quality control – employees’ conversations with customers are listened to by a 6)supervisor to insure that the employee is treating the customer in a professional, courteous matter;

7)weekdays – the days of the week except Saturday and Sunday;

8)area code – three digit number that identifies each telephone service area in the country;

9)sales representative – someone who contacts existing and potential customers and tries to persuade them to buy goods or services;

10)extension – an internal telephone line;

11)fine art – a great skill;

12)to jot down – to write down quickly;

13)memo – memory storage;

14)crucial – extremely important;

15)to spell out – to explain something in a very clear way with details;

16)frustrating – causing frustration; a feeling of anger or dissatisfaction;

17)to mumble – to speak quietly in a way people can’t understand what you say;

18)unintelligible – incomprehensible, not able to be understood;

19)reassuring – restoring confidence and relieving anxiety;

20)feedback – a response by the receiver to the sender’s communication;

21)follow-up questions – questions designed to pursue the answers given to primary questions.

  

3.2. Leaving a message on an answering machine or Voice Mail

Though the world has gone tech-savvy, phone still remains an imperative part of all communications. It connects a person directly to the other and also helps in conveying information. While you cannot be around the phone all the time, an efficient way to make up for the unavailability would be to appoint someone who can take the message from the caller (if any). Though this might sound a simple task, there is an art in taking phone messages as well. It shows the interactive skills of the person appointed for the task. So, while appointing someone, ensure that the person is efficient in taking calls. There can be nothing more annoying and frustrating than to be handed a crumpled piece of paper, with semi-legible words written on it and being told that it’s important. Phone message should be accurate and detailed, at the same time, allowing the owner to spend little or no time in deciphering the note.

When you call someone but they aren’t there, often their voicemail “picks up” or answers the phone. Then you have to leave a message. Anyone who uses the phone in their job has to deal with voicemail.

Have you ever started to leave a message on someone’s voicemail, and then when you heard the “beep” sound, you didn’t know what to say? When you’re speaking a foreign language, talking without preparation can be challenging, especially when you cannot see or hear the person you’re talking to. But with a little practice, you’ll be a voicemail pro.

 

Терминологический комментарий

tech-savvy — knowing a lot about modern ​technology, especially ​computers:

The ​state ​needs more tech-savvy ​workers for its ​hi-tech ​industries.

message — an official communication, as from a chief executive to a legislativebody:

the president’s message to Congress.

 

voicemail- a computerized system for answering and routing telephone calls; telephone messages can be recorded and stored and relayed

 

 

Практические задания

Практические задания к текстам «Business skills»

«Taking and giving messages»

 

1. Answer the questions. Выберите ответ на вопрос из предложенных вариантов.

(??)What do people need business skills for?

 (?) It’s challenging and rewarding.

(?)  To work within an organisation

(?) It’s conferencing, presentation, influencing

 

(??). What are the basic business skills? Advanced?

(?) It’s formal business education

(?)  To work within an organisation

(?)It is conferencing, presentation, influencing, critical thinking, and teambuilding

 

(??).What ability will good business skills give to you?

(?) To give you the ability to communicate effectively with colleagues

(?)  The survival in a very tricky time in our economy.

(?) Quite the opposite needs to happen

2. (??)Match the words from the text and their synonyms. Подберите к данным словам синонимы.

(~) career ~ job

(~) challenge ~ difficulty, problem

(~) challenging ~ demanding

(~) a desire- a wish

(~)to get across ~ to communicate successfully,  , , ,

(~) extra hours ~ overtime

(~) get paid ~ earn

(~) hire ~ employ

(~) rewarding satisfying

(~) route ~ way

(~)to get slashed — reduced ____________________________________________________________

 

3. Match English phrases from the text with their Russian equivalents. Подберите русские эквиваленты к английским словосочетаниям

(~)management~ менеджмент, управление

(~) difficult matter~ сложный вопрос

(~) employee~ служащий, работающий по найму

(~) to be aware of the disadvantages~ знать недостатки

(~) to deal with ~ иметь дело с….

(~) overcoming these challenges~ преодолевать сложности

(~)company~ компания, товарищество, фирма

(~)get paid ~ зарабатывать, приносить чувство удовлетворения

(~)  provide you with a great sense of satisfaction~

(~)  to get across ~ прийти к успешному соглашению

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