07/05/2016

BBCLearningEnglish|AskaboutEnglish

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BusinessEnglish
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Pronunciation
Quizzes

MayurfromIndiaasks:

TheFlatmates

Groupdiscussions

Howtolanguagefor
discussions

Iwillhavetofaceinterview
andgroupdiscussionsin
ordertogetrecruitedintoa
company,canyouplease
tellmehowtospeak
effectivelyinagroup
discussion.

Talkingbusinessmeetings

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CatherineChapmananswers:
HiMayur,
Thanksforyourquestion!Lotsof
peoplefeelnervousabout
participatingingroupdiscussions,
butthereareafewsimple
techniquesthatcanmakeyouan
effectiveparticipant.
Herearemytoptipsforparticipatinginagroup
discussion:
1.Prepare
Ifyouknowwhatthetopicofthediscussionwillbe,there
isalotyoucandotoprepareinadvance.Youcanread
roundthetopictomakesureyouareawareofthemain
issuesandarguments,andspendsometimedecidingwhat
yourownpositionis.IfyoucanfindanyEnglishlanguage
audioorTVmaterialsaboutthetopic,makesureyou
watchit!Youcanalsodosomevocabularyresearcharound
thetopicsothatyoucantalkaboutitconfidently.Makea
listofthenouns,verbsandadjectivesthatyouthinkwill
beusefulandpractisetheirpronunciation.Alotof
onlinedictionarieshavepronunciationhelp.

Modalsandconditionals
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2.Listen
Aneffectivediscussionisoneinwhichpeoplelistento
eachother.Listeningisaveryimportantdiscussionskill:
makesureyoulistenandrespondtowhatotherpeople
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havetosay.Agooddiscussionisoneinwhichpeople
shareandtalkaboutdifferentopinionsandviewpoints.It's
notacompetition!
3.Don'tdominate
Manypeoplemakethemistakeofthinkingthatinorderto
beeffectiveinadiscussion,theyhavetospeakalot.In
fact,thisisn'tthecase.Indiscussions,qualityismore
importantthanquantity:inotherwords,whatyousayis
oftenmuchmoreimportantthanhowmuchyousay.If
yougiveotherpeopleachancetosaywhattheythink,and
thenrespondwithapolite,intelligentcommentwhichyou
areabletobackup,youwillgaintherespectofyour
colleagues.
4.Backupyourpoints
Ifyoumakeapointinadiscussion,youmaybeaskedto
explainorsupportit.Youcandothisinanumberofways:
byprovidingfactsorstatisticstosupportyourideaby
quotingexpertopinionbyreferringtoyourown
experienceorsimplybyexplainingwhyyousaidwhatyou
said.Butmakesureyouarepreparedtosupportwhatyou
say,andtrytoavoidmaking'empty'points.
5.Learnsomeusefulphrases
Therearelotsofusefulphrasesthatyoucanusein
discussions.Herearejustafewofthem:
oAgreeing:You'reabsolutelyrightaboutthat.
oDisagreeing:I'msorry,Idon'tseeitthatwayatall.
oInterrupting:Sorry,doyoumindifIsaysomething
here?
oDealingwithinterruptions:CouldIjustfinishwhat
I'msaying?
oAskingforanexplanation:Wouldyoumindtellingus
whatexactlyyoumeanbythat?
oAskingformoreinformation:Wouldyoumindsaying
alittlebitmoreaboutthat?
oAddingmoreinformation:AnotherpointI'dliketo
makeis...Therearemanymorephrasesyoucanlearn
andusetohelpyoufeelmoreconfidentindiscussions.
Findoutmorehere
6.Bepolite
ThewordsargueanddiscussinEnglishhavedifferent
meanings.Peoplemaygetangryandbehaverudelyor
shoutorgetaggressiveinanargument.Inadiscussion,
especiallyonewithcolleagues,it'simportanttostaycalm
andbepolite,evenifyoufeelstronglyaboutthetopic
underdiscussion.Usingwordslikeplease,thankyou,I'd
liketo...MayI...?Wouldyoumind...?Couldyou...?Make
yousoundpoliteandrespectful.
7.Take/makenotes
It'sagoodideatohaveapenandpaperhandy.Youcan
jotdownanyusefulorimportantwordsorideasthatmight
comeinhandylaterinthediscussionorafterwards.
8.Speakclearly
Mostpeoplearehappytoforgiveafewgrammarmistakes
whentheyaretalkingtoaforeigner.However,theyhave
muchlesspatiencewhentheycan'tunderstandsomeone
becausetheyaretalkingfartooquickly,ormuchtoo
slowly,orwhentheyhavepoorpronunciation.So,practise
yourpronunciationandspeakclearlyandconfidently.If
youneedtimetocollectyourthoughts,youcouldsay
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somethinglikeHmmm...justletmehaveaminuteto
thinkaboutthis.OryoucouldsayCouldyoujustrepeat
thatplease?togetabitmoretimetothink.
9.Relax!
RememberMayur,adiscussionisnotacompetition:it'san
opportunitytoshareideasinapositiveenvironment.If
youarerelaxed,youwillbemorelikelytofeelconfident
andenjoythediscussionandthebestwaytomakesure
youarerelaxedinadiscussionistoprepareforit!
Preparingforadiscussioncanmakethediscussionalot
easier.You'llbeabletospendlesstimetryingtothinkof
vocabularyandideas,andmoretimelisteningtoothers
andparticipatinginthediscussion.Speakslowlyand
clearly,don'tworrytoomuchaboutlittlegrammar
mistakes,andremembertolistenandrespondtoother
people.ThanksagainforyourquestionMayur,andgood
luckinyourjobsearch!
AboutCatherineChapman
CatherineChapmanhasaBA(hons)inCommunication
Studies,CTEFLA,DELTAandaMastersDegreein
EducationalTechnologyandEnglishLanguageTeaching
withManchesterUniversity(UK).ShehastaughtEFL,EAP
andITskillsinseveralcountries,workedinELT
managementandhasdevelopedwebbasedELT/EAP
materialsprojectsininstitutionsincludingIstanbul
TechnicalUniversity(Turkey)andNewcastleUniversity
(UK).ShenowworksasanELTWriterforBBCLearning
English.

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