ENGLISH HANDOUTS 2

SECOND SEMESTER

I. EXPRESSING IDEAS

A)

Introducing Your Idea

First/ In the first place…
First of all…
To begin with/ To start with
Secondly…
As regards…
As for…
In the first part of my presentation
I’m going to deal with…
My second part will be devoted to….
The article raises the problem of…
I will first begin with + V-ing…, then…
A problem that is often raised is that of…
The advantages and the drawbacks
This brings me to my second point

B)

Presenting Your Arguments in a Logical

Sequence
On the one hand…
On the other hand…
As a result…
As a consequence…
That’s why…
Thus…
The reason why…
It implies that…
However/ Then again…
Still/Yet…
In spite of/ Despite…
As opposed to…
Although…
Even though…
Unlike…
In the same way…
In keeping with…
Let me make a parenthesis about …
Now let me come back to my main topic.
Either…or…
Whereas…
Unless…

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 Neither…nor…
Otherwise…

C)

Quoting a Text or an Author

I quote.
I have a quotation.
According to…
Quote, unquote.
For example/For instance…
To illustrate my point…

D)

Giving Your Opinion

In my opinion…
As far as I’m concerned…
Personally…
My feeling is that…
I have no particular opinion on the subject.
The question is to know whether…or…
One must bear in mind the fact that…
One should consider the fact that…
Obviously…
In other words…
To some extent…
I can’t help thinking that…
I have mixed feelings about the subject.
Anyhow/ In any case…
If one weighs the pros and cons…
One may wonder if/ whether…
That is to say…
What I mean is…
I feel that…
I’m afraid that…
I am convinced that…
Without a doubt…
Absolutely/ Definitely…
Rather…
Possibly…
The author may have intended to…

E)
Concluding
To conclude/ In conclusion…
As a conclusion, I would say that…
One may conclude that…
All things considered…
Finally…
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 As a matter of fact/ Actually…
To summarize…
In a word…
F)

Expressing Agreement and Praise

I think you are right.
I totally agree with you.
I couldn’t agree with you more.
We are of the same mind on the subject.
I approve of his choice.
I share your point of view.
People rightly think that…
It is a forceful argument.
He let himself be convinced.
This idea is relevant, convincing.
I must admit I was prejudiced.
They go along with our general policy.
We have finally reached an agreement.
She has given her approval.
He gave his consent/assent.
He seems to have given in to their arguments.
It was a great, fantastic, terrific initiative.
What a wonderful idea!/ It’s such a great idea!
I am absolutely convinced that…
Absolutely!/ Quite so!
You were quite right to point out…
Whether you agree or not, you can’t deny
that…
I am in favour of…

II. WORDS IN CONTEXT

Eng. Rom.
He gets his knowledge across well.
We are overworked.
He graduated from Harvard.
I try to keep myself informed.
They don’t take part in class discussion.
He is a hard worker.
She is head and shoulders above the others.
The situation is giving cause for concern.
They adopted a series of measures.
They took long-term/ short-term measures.
It gave rise to many objections.
The predictions have turned out wrong.
There is a boom in sales.
Inflation has come down considerably.
Business is slack.
It’s an area with good prospects.
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Competition brings prices down.
It represents a major economic challenge.
They are burying their heads in the sand.

III. LEXIS. INFORMATION

1) Customer Service

What is good customer service? Is responsibility over once the sale is made? If estimates
are correct that it costs five times as much to acquire a new customer than to keep an
existing one, then achieving customer satisfaction should be the goal of every
organisation.

Forward-thinking organisations welcome customer complaints and feedback as valuable

sources of information which can be used to improve the business. By responding to
customer requests with ‘tell us what you want and we’ll supply it’, the US has turned
service excellence into a fine art, with the customer firmly placed at the heart of the
business.

2)Business Etiquette

On the whole, the Romanian speaker will find fewer differences when conducting business
in the UK and in the US than with the business cultures of other countries. A less formal
approach may be adopted in some areas – Americans will usually apply first name terms –
but there are many similarities. Punctuality is expected – particularly in the US – and
lateness will meet with disapproval. The personal zone- that is, the distance we feel most
comfortable with when standing next to someone at a social engagement or business
meeting – is similar, at between 50 cm and 120 cm.

In the UK, there will be some small talk before turning to business matters; in the US, they
will quickly get down to business. In the UK and in the US, the hand is generally offered
in greeting, only on the first introduction and not at subsequent encounters.

3)The Story’s Good, But Is It True?

Public relations have gained a poor reputation, but is it entirely fair? When things go
drastically wrong, there is little doubt that someone needs to pick up the pieces and in
many cases, this will be the public relations specialist. Better, then, to have one focal point
for disseminating information rather than a series of sometimes conflicting and potentially
misleading interviews with assorted spokespeople.

Crisis management is one aspect of public relations that has a high profile in many leading
organisations. Deciding on a comprehensive strategy that can be applied in the event of a
crisis, will allow senior management to concentrate on tackling the problem rather than
simply fire-fighting. A carefully planned and properly executed crisis management plan
may make all the difference!

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IV. TEXT COMPREHENSION

1) IDENTIFYING COMPANY TYPES

TYPE OF COMPANY CHARACTERISTICS

FOREFRONTER Innovative and proactive. This type of organization truly

Consistently anticipates customers’ needs and understands marketing. It invests in research and product
gets its products to the market first. development and devises innovative solutions.

FOLLOWER Lacks pioneering spirit. This type of company might attain

Dislikes taking risks. Prefers to play it safe and success, but its attitude will always limit achievement. A
see which way the market will go before more proactive approach would improve marketing
deciding whether to take any action. success.

FOSSIL Conservative, insular, and complacent. Such organizations

Has always conducted business in the same need to develop a more outward focus. Activity must be
way and sees no reason to change. driven by customer need, not company habit and tradition.

Creating the right image. Look at the various aspects of your business that customers use to
form their view of you. These might include your premises, the telephone manner of staff, and your
publicity materials. Examine each of them in detail and work out what kind of image is being
conveyed to your customers. Is that the image you want to put across? If not, draw up a plan of
action for bringing your desired image into line with your actual image.
Fitting PR into the mix. Public relations (PR) is often regarded as the fifth ‘P’ of the
marketing mix, standing for perception. A good image is a prerequisite for successful marketing.
An attractive product at the right price will not guarantee a sale. Customers do not like to buy from
companies with poor reputations. Use PR techniques to enhance your image and shape positive
customer perceptions. Consider ways of boosting your image: perhaps your organization could
support or sponsor a charity, a worthwhile cause, or local venture, for example.
Collecting data. Many organizations have huge customer bases, but it is those who respond
to customers’ needs to be treated as individuals who are most likely to succeed. By collecting and
processing customer data to produce a customer profile and identify customer segments, you can
tailor-make products and services for particular groups of key customers. Meet identified customer

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need and you will sell more products and lose fewer customers. A better understanding of your
customers will also enable you to target publicity more accurately.

2) ORGANIZATIONAL SKILLS

Using Stress Positively

A crisis can descend out of the blue, or build up over months. It can affect everyone in an
organization, or may be entirely personal, but it is important not to allow yourself to slump into
despair. In fact, you can turn the stress of a crisis to your advantage. Because stress raises your
levels of adrenaline, you can harness that extra energy to resolve the emergency successfully, if that
is feasible. Begin by assessing what can actually be done and whether the crisis can be cured. Then
start to recover from the disaster. You will benefit from the healthy stress of constructive
achievement under pressure.

Taking Action
On taking action to reach your goals, you have two options. One is to follow your chosen
path regardless of events. The other is to observe all the outcomes, and to adapt your plan, radically
if need be, to improve the chances of success. The first sometimes works, but equally can lead to
disaster. The second course contains the risk that, by pulling back in the face of adversity, you will
miss the initial objective when it could have been reached. The correct approach uses elements of
both options. Provided the objective still makes sense, concentrate your drive on reaching that goal.

Being Positive
Any decision, from starting an enterprise to accepting a new job, has an upside and a
potential downside. When facing any risk, adopt the best mental attitude and concentrate on the
positive potential, the upside. But be aware that there is always a downside. It is best to always
consider, even if subconsciously, what will happen if the worst comes to the worst. If the downside
is personally unacceptable, look for ways of limiting the risk.

Mastering Mindset
Drive and energy suggest physical attributes. It is true that, just as some people are born
with greater physical powers, so certain psychological gifts are innate. But there is a critical
similarity between the physical and the mental. Everybody can choose and reach a target for
personal success. By concentrating on that objective, you will generate drive towards achieving the
end. You can multiply your energy by channeling it towards the purpose on which your mind is set.

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V. LEXICAL FAMILIES
High
Aware
Deep
Power
Energy
Explain
Entertain
Pursuit
Understand
Competition
Rely
Apologize
Hinder
Inhabit
Reason
Redeem
Threat
Breath
Account
Persuade

VI. BUSINESS IDIOMS

BUSINESS IDIOMS MEANING EXAMPLES

If you explore all avenues,

Explore all avenues you try out every possibility e.g. We can’t say it’s impossible until we’ve
in order to obtain a result or explored all avenues.
find a solution.
If you decide to fast track
something, such as a task or
Fast track something project, you give it high e.g. In view of the number of homeless, it was
priority so that the objective decided to fast track the construction of low-cost
is reached as quickly as housing.
possible.

Get it down to When you learn to do e.g. Entertaining his business associates is not a
a fine art something perfectly, you get problem; he’s got that down to a fine art!

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 it down to a fine art.

Get the show on the If you manage to put a plan e.g. Ok! We’ve got all we need, so let’s get the
road or idea into action, you get show on the road!
the show on the road.

When someone takes the

Take the floor floor, they rise to make a e.g. ‘When I take the floor, my speech will be
speech or presentation. short,’ he said.

If something takes a
Take a nosedive nosedive, it drops or e.g. The stock market took a nosedive when the
decreases in value very property market began to weaken.
rapidly.

Think outside the People who think outside the e.g. Our competitors are more creative than us –
box/ out of the box box, try to find innovative they really think outside the box.
ideas or solutions.

Nothing ventured, This expression means that e.g. He’s going to ask his boss for a promotion
nothing gained you cannot expect to achieve even though he has little chance of obtaining
anything if you risk nothing. satisfaction – nothing ventured, nothing gained!

The term win-win refers to a e.g. There were smiles all round when the contract
Win-win situation or proposition was signed – it was a win-win situation.
where both or all parties
benefit from the outcome.

Make headway If you make headway, you e.g. Investigators have made little headway in their
make progress in what you research for the causes of the catastrophe.
are trying to achieve.

If someone or something
Make inroads e.g. Foreign cars have made inroads into the
makes inroads, for example
in a new field or area, they European market.
advance successfully or
make progress.