3 Prove the following ideas (use the text if necessary):

• Markus is grateful that Louis found some time to speak with him

• Markus’s main objective

• Markus agreed to an alternative

• Markus deserved the new title and pay rise

• Louis had a counter proposal

• Markus wanted the problem to be resolved at once

• Markus got some necessary information beforehand

• Markus knows the principles of negotiating

• Louis tried to use the last-minute strong-arm tactics to make Louis lose the focus.

• The negotiations resulted in verbal agreement

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A Business meeting

1 Listen to the dialogue.

- Hello, Gary. How are you?

- Fine! And yourself?

- Can’t complain. Did you have time to look at my proposal?

- No, not really. Can we go over it now?

- Sure. I’ve been trying to come up with some new production and advertising strategies. First of all, if we want to stay competitive, we need to modernize our factory. New equipment is long overdue.

- How much will that cost?

- We have several options ranging from one hundred thousand dollars all the way upto half a million.

- Ok. We’ll have to discuss these costs with finance.

- We should also consider human resources. I’ve been talking to personnel as well as our staff at the factories.

- And what’s the picture?

- We will probably have to hire one or two engineers to help us modernize the factory.

- What about advertising?

- Marketing has some interesting ideas for television commercials.

- TV – isn’t that a bit too expensive for us? What’s wrong with advertising in the papers, as usual?

- Quite frankly, it’s just not enough anymore. We need to be more aggressive in order to keep ahead of our competitors.

- Will we be able to afford all this?

- I’ll took into it, but I think higher costs will be justified. These investments will result in higher profits for our company.

- We’ll have to look at these figures more closely. Have finance draw up a budget for these investments.

- Will do.

2 Listen and repeat.

Proposal – A proposal presents new ideas and strategies.

Equipment – Factory equipment is expensive but it lasts long time.

Modernize – Our equipment is old; we need to modernize.

Long overdue – A new car is long overdue. We should have bought one long ago.

Options – We have several options – we can advertise on TV, on the radio, or in the papers.

Competitive – In order to stay competitive with other companies, we must modernize.

Investments – Wise investments will make us more competitive.

Budget – We have enough money for television advertising in our budget.

3 Watch the video and be ready to find the right answer:

1. What time is it?

- Almost seven o'clock

- Seventeen o'clock

- Almost seven thirty

- Time to go to bed

- Time to do your homework

2. According to the video, when will you be ready to attack the day?

- When you've had five minutes under the shower

- When you've had a large cup of coffee

- When you have a clear head

- When the army comes to town

- When the circus comes to town

- Once you're in a good mood

3. Why did you forget to close the windows and lock the car door?

- Because you're afraid of arriving late

- Because you met a friend

- Because you live in a safe neighborhood now

- Because you're afraid of spiders

- Because you're not afraid of anything

4. What's wrong with stressed people?

- They only think about their work.

- They don't take time to relax.

- They only think about going on vacation.

- They don't take time to smell the roses.

5. Why does the person hesitate to answer the phone?

- Because it's usually a colleague with a lot of questions to ask

- Because it might be a crank caller

- Because it's usually a colleague that wants to go for a drink

- Because it's a bad time

6. What is the problem with the company?

- Every task is urgent.

- The colleagues aren't nice.

- Every task is overwhelmingly difficult.

- There is no problem, everything is perfect!

7. On the telephone, what do you and your colleagues agree on?

- The point of view to be defended at the next meeting

- The restaurant you will go to tonight

- The terms of a contract

- A new project

- An invitation to go to the bullfight

8. Why would a superior ask the workers to start a task again?

- Because there is no unity among the staff

- Because there is no coherence in the document

- Because he is in a bad mood

- Because he doesn't like the staff

9. What did you have to do before the meeting?

- Reread the argumentation.

- Make a few copies.

- Get a haircut.

- Write the argumentation.

- Learn the argumentation by heart.

10. Why is your superior very satisfied?

- Your work is impeccable.

- It was worth getting up this morning.

- You invited him to the movies.

- Your car has been stolen.

- You kept the whole team waitin

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