MEETINGS : GETTING STARTED

If you find opening meetings intimidating, have a look at the following model :

'Okay, everone - let's get down to business.
Everyone seems to be here, except Mike, who sends his apologies.
Did everyone get a copy of the agenda ? Good.
As you know, the purpose of this meeting is to come up with some ways of streamlining the recruitment process.

You'll see that there are 3 points on the agenda. Firstly, we'll review the current recruitment process and try to identify the main problems. Then, we'll hear from Sarah, who's been speaking to our consultants about some streamlining solutions. And finally, we'll discuss which solution would be the most appropriate for the group.

Okay, at this point, I'd like to hand over to Jack, who's going to outline the current recruitment process.'

WRITING FORMAL LETTERS

Look at the following example of a formal letter of complaint. Key words and expressions are highlighted in bold.

Dear Sirs,

I am writing to complain about a package holiday in Dubai that I booked with your company and from which I have just returned. Such was my disappointment with the holiday that I am demanding a full reimbursement of the £700 that I paid via your website on 17 May 2009. I am convinced that you will consider my demand to be totally justified when you read the following facts, which would put any reputable travel company to shame.

The outgoing flight from Heathrow Airport on 2 June, was delayed by some three hours and no effort whatsover was made by your representatives to keep us informed of the expected take-off time, nor was any explanation given for the delay. Moreover, in spite of the length of the delay, when we finally boarded the plane, which seemed to be old and poorly maintained, we were treated somewhat rudely by the cabin staff. To make matters worse, there was no in-flight entertainment and the in-flight meals were neither tasty nor fresh.

However, the most disappointing aspect of the holiday was the Beach View hotel, which your website described as a "luxurious palace with stunning sea-views, a private beach, superior comfort and haute cuisine". Firstly, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the Beach View has neither a beach nor a view, unless your consider a series of office blocks to be a desirable view. Secondly, your description of the hotel as being "luxurious" is outrageous since the hotel offers rather basic three-star accommodation and is clearly designed for low-budget travellers such as students and junior sales reps. As for your description of the hotel restaurant as "haute cuisine", this is a downright lie which merits the attention of the Serious Fraud Office, as does your dishonest claim that the hotel has a private beach.

Given the serious nature of the facts that I have outlined above, I should be grateful if you would reimburse me the full cost of this disasterous holiday within seven days. Should you require any further information about my unpleasant experiences, both on the outgoing flight and in the hotel, do not hesitate to contact me.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

John Spears

UBS, THE IRS AND SWISS BANKING

Watch this video and listen out for the following lexical structures:

To hand over
To be blacklisted
to shun
to stress
a crackdown
to look into
to be turned over
a whole bunch of
to pick up
on the heels of
to come clean
to come forward
a high stakes game

VOCAB & PRONUNCIATION: ORDEAL

An ordeal is a difficult and sometimes harrowing experience. Someone who is taken hostage would go through an ordeal. The experience may be so unpleasant and painful that the person involved may not expect to come out of the ordeal in one piece. However, the noun ordeal may also be used to stress how complicated or time-consuming a particular task was:
"Obtaining a residency permit really was an ordeal".

Have a look at this video, which focuses on the pronunciation of this word:

GRAMMAR RECAP: PASSIVE STRUCTURES

Passive constructions are commonly used in business English. Look at the following examples and notice how they focus on the object and the action rather than who (the agent) is performing the action. Passive verb-forms can be used with most tenses and are often found in written English such as reports, as well as presentations and progress reports.

The engines are assembled here.

The Comet model-range is currently being updated.

The finished product was being painted when we noticed the problem.

The project will have been completed by the end of next month.

Customers are going to be informed about the problem in writing.

The following passive structures are commonly used in spoken English:

I've been told that my services are no longer required.
We've been advised to invest in something less risky.
She was warned about the risk of drinking too much.
I have been given 3 days to come up with a solution.