Take The Terror Out Of Telephoning

Activate your business English... (Don’t understand ? No problem - English/German Translations at the end of this article... NOVEMBER 2008

ACCESS LANGUAGE LAB LTD.

PART 2

“Middle age is when you're sitting at home on a Saturday night and the telephone rings and you hope it isn't for you” Ogden Nash

Take the terror out of telephoning... ‘But how?’, I hear you ask. Well, let’s start at the beginning. I started my business in Germany in 2003 and in those days, there were times when I would sweat in terror when the telephone rang - I hated doing business in German. It made me feel incompetent, uncomfortable and a bit stupid. I was very good at my job (I felt) but that didn’t matter because every time I spoke German in a business situation I was as nervous as a total beginner. I still have big challenges with speaking German and don’t practise enough so I understand how my

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customers feel (most of my German friends speak English with me and I speak English all day at work – there is little chance to practise unless I am very proactive and sometimes, I am a bit lazy!). How do we deal with this frustration? The equation is this: Proactive Preparation = less frustration.

1. 2. 3. 4.

visualise conversation dictionary notes role-play out loud.

What do I mean by ‘Proactive Preparation?’ 1. 2. 3. 4.

visualise conversation dictionary notes role-play out loud.

1.Visualise having the conversation in your head. This doesn’t work every time but what will happen is certain words and key phrases will come up again and again. For example, for me that could be language like: Anfrage Vorschlag Bedürfnisse

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2. I would then translate these words in preparation for a telephone conversation. If you add them to an Excel table – call it English for Telephoning or add them to your personalised dictionary (see article: 4 ways to dramatically increase your (business) vocabulary or go to my blog - http://a-ll.blogspot.com ).

Type to enter text Type to enter text Type to enter text

By visualizing how you would like to conversation to occur, you have defined your goals: like driving a car, it is easier to arrive if you have a destination. 3. Make honest notes about the areas you could have problems with: a. unknown vocabulary b. unknown grammar. c. Unknown data. Get on the internet and do some research: www.Quickdic.org is for very good for vocabulary translation. www.Aboutenglish.com has some good grammar tips. Look at your company’s website in English (if there is an English version) and compare the language with your own communication. This sounds like hard work but the truth is harder: without this preparation you waste time, feel incompetent and are less efficient. You don’t usually need to do this more than once or twice. You’ll find that there are about 200 words which are really important for you. Once you have these words in your Excel table you can refer to them again and soon there will be no need. 4. Write a possible dialogue in advance of your telephone conversation and say it out loud. This WILL help you to feel more prepared. Saying complicated words will be easier if you practise them in advance. I sometimes record myself on my computer and listen to the CD in my car to help me remember certain words and phrases. Of course, it is better

to have a native speaker to model (www.LEO.org has a pronunciation tool to help you say words correctly. However, what is more important is that you don’t feel nervous about saying words for the first time during an important conversation.

Good luck and remember: there are approximately 1.5 billion English speakers in the world and only ¼ of them are native speakers. This means that you are probably a better English communicator than most people you will speak English to! If these tips don’t help, I will be very surprised: feel free to contact me and let me know how it works for you. If you feel you need more help for successful English communication contact Access Language Lab Ltd. on 06150 97 91 999 / [email protected] / www.a-l-l.com / Skype – Cydnie Thompson / Cydniet Why not visit one of our English courses which specialises in expanding your word range and communication skills? At Access Language Lab Ltd, we give you maximum practise in realistic business English simulations. We provide you with the chance to use what you learn immediately.

For much more information on how to send the message you want the world to hear, contact Access Language Lab Ltd on 06150 9791999 / 06157 930643 or [email protected]. WWW.A-LL.com

English-German Translations Access Language Lab wishes you words which...

add

hinzufügen

approximately

circa

* touch others and call them to positive action.

certain

gewisse/bestimmter

challenge

Herausforderung

defined

definiert/bestimmt

destination

Ziel(ort)

didn’t matter

Es was egal

during

während

equation

Gleichung

expanding

ausdehnen/erweitern

frustration

Frust

goals

Ziele

incompetent

uncompetent

key phrases

Schlussel

lazy

foul

native speaker

muttersprachler

occur

geschehen

personalised

personifizierte

practise

uben

preparation

Vorbereitung

pronunciation

Aussprache

record

Aufnehmen (Band)

refer

zurückgreifen auf/verweisen auf

remember

errinern

research

Vorschung

skills

Fähigkeiten

sweat

schwitzen

translate

übersetzen

truth

Wahrheit

visualizing

veranschaulichen/visualisieren

waste

verschwenden

* create new possibilities and inspiration for whoever hears them. * support you in achieving your goals and helping others to do the same. * aid you in 'moving mountains' and overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles. * help you to be what you were born to be. With respect from Cydnie Thompson English communication developer

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I’d be happy to speak with you about your English training needs. Please feel free to contact me on 06150 97 91 999 [email protected]