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OPTIONAL FOR DOING AT HOME
Exercise 3. Complete the sentences below with an appropriate verb from the box. (If necessary use a dictionary to find out the meaning of the verbs)
| Propose | Agree | come | Recap |
| Give | Add | recommending | explain |
| moving away | moving on | see | Tell |
| Advise | Schedule | proceed | comment |
| Losing | Review |
1. ?If I can just ______________, the main points so far have been the following: ...?
2. Correct me if I?m wrong but are you ______________ that we ______________?
3. Could you ______________ that in a little more detail please?
4. Perhaps I can ask you all to ______________ me your thoughts on that.
5. Can I just ______________ something to the point that?s just been made?
6. I?m afraid that we appear to be ______________ from the main issue.
7. I don?t really ______________ with that last point.
8. Before we go on to the next point, I think we should ______________ the main ideas that have come to so far.
9. I ______________ that we adjourn the meeting for today.
10. I think we?ve said enough on that point. ______________ to the next item on the agenda.
11. I?m afraid that is not the way I ______________ It at all.
12. Can you ______________ us exactly what that would involve?
13. Well, if no one has anything else to add then I think we can ______________ directly to?.
14. Would anyone else like to ______________ on that?
15. I think we?re ______________ track of the main problem here.
16. If I could just ______________ in here for one minute.
Unit 9
17. In other words you?d ______________ us to accept the offer.
18. Why don?t we ______________ the next meeting fir two weeks? time?
Exercise 5. How was the meeting?
Some colleagues are discussing a meeting they have just come out of.
Read the conversation and do the tasks given below.
| Anil: | I thought it was very productive. |
| Juliet: | Well, I thought it was a complete waste of time. I didn?t hear anything I didn?t already know. |
| Barbara: | I agree with Anil. I felt we had some very useful discussion, and that we reached an agreement that was good for both sides. We certainly covered a lot of ground. It was incredible the number of things we got through. |
| Juliet: | But there were too many digressions. John was rambling and kept wandering off the point. He just uses meetings as a chance to show off. Just like a lot of men: he just wanted to show how poweful he is and what a good talker he is. |
| Anil: | But to be fair, the chair really kept things moving: she encouraged people o be brief and to stick to the point and we achieved a lot in a short time. Anyway, I learned a lot and I think they listened to what we had to say. |
Exercise 6. Read the conversation again. Translate the following words and word combinations into the Russian language.
1. productive ????????????????????????.
2. a waste of time ???????????????????????..
3. useful discussions ??????????????????????
4. a lot of ground ????????????????????????.
5. to get through ????????????????????????.
6. many digressions ????????????????????????
7. ramble ???????????????????????????..
8. wander off the point ?????????????????????.
9. to show off ????????????????????????..
10. to be fair ???????????????????????......,
11. to keep things moving????????????????????..
12. to stick to the point ?????????????????????
Exercise 7. Replace the numbered expressions with the appropriate forms of the verbs from A (page 7). In some cases more than one verb is possible.
The meeting of the Tennis Club Committee was (1)organizedfor 1st March, but not everyone could (2) goto it, so it was (3) delayeduntil 31st March. One committee member said that this was too late, so eventually we (4) moved it to March 15. The chairperson (5) was in charge of it very efficiently, and we decided on some new membership rules. Only one committee member (6) did not go to the meeting.
Unit 9
| (1) | organized | |
| (2) | go | |
| (3) | delayed | |
| (4) | moved | |
| (5) | was in charge | |
| (6) | did not go |
Exercise 8. Mach up the phrases you might use in a meeting.
| 1. | I have received two ? | a) | ? a copy of the agenda? | |||||
| 2. | Has everybody received ? | b) | ? the meeting. | |||||
| 3. | If we can?t agree, I think we should take ? | c) | ? apologies for absence. | |||||
| 4. | It?s getting late, so I propose we close. | d) | ? the agenda. | |||||
| 5. | I think this would be a good time to break | e) | ? a vote. | |||||
| 6. | We have lots to discuss, so let?s stick to ? | f) | ? for lunch. | |||||
| 7. | It?s half past nine, so I?d better open ? | g) | ? side-tracked. | |||||
| 8. | Can we start by approving ? | h) | ? any other business. | |||||
| 9. | We seem to have reached ? | i) | ? handout. | |||||
| 10. | That?s interesting, but I think we?re getting | j) | ? the meeting. | |||||
| 11. | I?ll just give out this ? | k) | ? a unanimous decision. | |||||
| 12. | Before we finish, we need to deal with ? | l) | ? the minutes of the last meeting? | |||||
Part 3. AGENDAS
An agenda is a list of items (different things) to talk about at a meeting.
The agenda sets out the purpose of the meeting, the topics to be discussed, who leads on each topic and usually some logistical arrangement which may be reiterated (repeated) in a separate invitation.
The agenda should list all participants and any special roles they will have in the meeting. We?ll call those attending a meeting ?participants? and not ?attendees? which suggests someone attended to rather than taking an active part, or ?delegates? which implies that someone has delegated their attendance. Ideally, meeting participants should attend through choice!
Before the meeting someone sends out the agenda (sends copies to everyone
attending).
Exercise 1. Read the following agenda analysing the structure and paying attention to the explanation of the words marked (*, **, ***)
Unit 9
AGENDA
STAFF MEETING
DATE 25 March 20__
TIME
VENUE* Meeting room 3
Apologies for absence
Minutes** of the last meeting
1. Car parking
2. Company restaurant
3. Holiday dates
4. AOB***
*venue (= the place where the meeting will be)
** an official written record of what is discussed or decided at a formal meeting
***any other business (other things that people want to talk about)
Exercise 2. Read the agenda below.
What would you like to tell your colleague about the coming meeting?
AGENDA
SENIOR MANAGER?S MEETING
Subject: Changes in working practices
DATE 1 July
TIME 11.00am ? 12.30pm
VENUE Main Board Room, Head Office
1. Bonus scheme
2. Security
3. Open plan office
4. Hot-desking
Exercise 3. Read the agenda above again. Then read the conversation at the meeting and answer the questions below.
| Carl: | Can we move on to the third point on the agenda, the open-plan office? I know there are different opinions about this, so our main purpose will be to explore our views and see if we can reach agreement. Nancy, would you like to begin as I know you?re in favour of the idea. |
Unit 9
| Nancy: | It?s good for communication, people see each other at the office. It?s, I think, good for team spirit too. I think, there?s more interaction between people but what?s important is productivity, people work harder when they?re on display. |
| Max: | I really can?t agree with you there. I think that open plan offices there is the problem of privacy. |
| Carl: | OK, Max, thanks. Stefan, what do you think? |
| Stefan: | I agree with Max about privacy. What if you want to make a private phone call? |
| Carl: | We could use meeting rooms. |
| Stefan: | Meeting rooms? Yes, that?s true I suppose, but? |
| Max: | I don?t think that works. |
| Carl: | Let Stefan finish please, Max. |
| Stefan: | I?m just not happy about this proposal. I hope we?re not going to have a vote about this. I mean, I really think we need a report or some extra survey done on this. |
| Carl: | You?ve got a point there. Do we agree? |
| Nancy: | Yes. |
| Stefan: | OK with me. |
| Carl: | Right, so Max, would you prepare a short report please? Ask staff how they feel about the open plan idea, and report back to me by, say, August 1st, OK? Now, can we go to the next item on the agenda? |
| Max: | I was shocked to see hot-desk there, I think this is totally ridiculous. This will really upset people. It?s just won?t work. |
| Carl: | How do you feel about this, Nancy? Carl: |
| Nancy: | I?m pretty sure that hot-desking won?t work unless we go open plan. I think one depends on the other. I don?t think that hot-desking in closed offices works. But I think open plan without hot-desking is OK. |
| Stefan: | I don?t understand your point. Can you explain it a bit more clearly? |
Exercise 4. Discuss these questions:
1. Do they follow the agenda of the meeting?
2. Which points are they discussing?
3. What decision have they reached?
4. What does ?hot-desking? mean?
5. What does ?open-plan office? mean?
6. What does ?closed office? mean?
7. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the open plan office?
Exercise 5. Check your vocabulary. The following words are all used in the conversation above. Translate them into the Russian language
Unit 9
1. reach agreement
2. one depends on the other
3. the open plan office
4. to explore different views
5. to be in favour of something
6. team spirit
7. interaction between people
8. the problem with privacy
9. meeting rooms
10. to have a vote
11. to be totally ridiculous
12. hot-desking
13. to need some extra survey
WRITING.
Exercise 6. Write an email to your colleague who is on sick leave summarising the points agreed during the meeting above.
SCAN READING.
Exercise 7. Read the article on the importance of agendas for effective meetings. What information can you find on an agenda?
People hold meetings in business all the time, but not every meeting is as effective as it could be. The basis of an effective meeting is an agenda. People don?t always know what the meeting is about and an agenda helps you here.
An agenda tell you why you are having the meeting and gives it a clear structure. It should be circulated before the meeting so that everybody can plan and prepare. The agenda should state why the meeting is necessary, who will attend, when and where it is, and what will be discussed. Each item on the agenda is a task and should contain a verb which tells the participants what will happen. For example: ?Item 2: New advertising agency?. This doesn?t tell us very much. It is more effective to write: ?Item 2: Tony to present new advertising agency and costs. Team to approve new agency and costs.?
After ?Apologies for absence?, the agenda should start with routine items, such as ?Matters arising? from the last meeting. Difficult items which need more discussion should be in the middle. Ideally, the items should be timed so that the meeting finishes on time with results. The agenda should finish with ?Any other business?.
Unit 9
These are relevant issues which need to be discussed but perhaps are too recent to be included on the original agenda. After the meeting, the minute should be written and given to the participants. Action minutes give a short summary of what was discussed, and who will do what and which time.
Exercise 8. Read the article again and mark the statements T (true) or F (false):
1. The participants get the agenda when they arrive at the meeting.
2. The agenda tell you what the meeting is about.
3. You don?t know who is attending the meeting when you look at the agenda.
4. The items on the agenda tell you what will happen in the meeting.
5. The agenda should start with difficult items.
6. You should make a written record of the meeting.
7. Action minutes don?t tell you who is responsible for which task.
Date: 2016-06-12; view: 510
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| E) One ? to ? one meetings | | | C) Structured minutes |