Vocabulary exercises:

1. Study the list of synonyms to the noun “reprimand” and make up your own short situations with these words. Each situation should contain not more than 4 sentences.

1. reprimand ['rɛprɪmɑːnd] - a formal expression of disapproval

2. rebuke[rɪ'bjuːk] - an expression of sharp disapproval or criticism

3. reproach - the expression of disapproval or disappointment

4. blame - responsibility for a fault or wrong

5. reproof I [rɪ'pruːf] - an expression of blame or disapproval

6. disciplinary action , дисциплинарное взыскание, дисциплинарная мера (мера воздействия, применяемая к работнику, военнослужащему и т. д. за нарушение правил и норм поведения, принятых в организации; в качестве таких мер воздействия могут использоваться выговоры, вынесение предупреждений, временное отстранение от обязанностей и т. д.)

7. A warning is something which is said or written to tell people of a possible danger, problem, or other unpleasant thing that might happen.

2. Which of the words given above are more or less neutral in meaning? Which ones can be used even in everyday situations/ Which words are proper mostly to business life? Which words are clear negative?

3. Here are the definitions of two words which are pronounced nearly similarly. Be careful using them in your speech, please.

deferential [de̱fəre̱nʃ(ə)l] - Someone who is deferential is polite and respectful towards someone else.

differential [ˌdɪf(ə)'ren(t)ʃ(ə)l] -constituting a specific difference; distinctive

4. Use the key words from the text in bold type to make up a summary on the text.

Chapter 4. Making conversation.

The text given below is rich in phrasal verbs and interesting collocations the definitions of which have to get carefully studied. These hints will be helpful for you:

1. err on the side of - display more rather than less of (a specified quality) in one's actions.

2. err [ɜː] - заблуждаться, ошибаться; допускать ошибку To err is human. — Человеку свойственно ошибаться. Syn: be mistaken , blunder

3. err on the right side -act so that the least harmful of possible mistakes or errors is the most likely to occur

4. (to begin) an exchange - an act of giving one thing and receiving another (especially of the same kind) in return; a short conversation or an argument

5. setting [se̱tɪŋ] -A particular setting is a particular place or type of surroundings where something is or takes place. (In a business setting -в рамках бизнеса)

6. A cliché ['kliːʃeɪ]- is an idea or phrase which has been used so much that it is no longer interesting or effective or no longer has much meaning. Origin: mid 19th cent.: French, past participle (used as a noun) of clicher ‘to stereotype’

7. dominate ['dɒmɪneɪt] - have power and influence over ■ be the most important or conspicuous person or thing ■ have a commanding position over; Origin: early 17th cent.: from Latin dominat- ‘ruled, governed’, from the verb dominari, from dominus ‘lord, master’

8. mutual interests - взаимные интересы.You use mutual to describe a situation, feeling, or action that is experienced, felt, or done by both of two people mentioned. You use mutual to describe something such as an interest which two or more people share. Origin: late 15th cent.: from Old French mutuel, from Latin mutuus ‘mutual, borrowed’; related to mutare ‘to change’ •• Usage Traditionally it has long been held that the only correct use of mutual is in describing a reciprocal [rɪ'sɪprək(ə)l] relationship: mutual respect, for example, means that the parties involved feel respect for each other. The other use of mutual meaning ‘held in common’. This latter use has a long and respectable history, however. It was first recorded in Shakespeare, and has since appeared in the writing of Sir Walter Scott, George Eliot, and, most famously, as the title of Dickens's novel Our Mutual Friend. It is now generally accepted as part of standard English

9. emotion-charged - [tʃɑ͟ː(r)ʤd] If a situation is charged, it is filled with emotion and therefore very tense or exciting.

10. nosy - (also nosey) (nosier, nosiest) showing too much curiosity about other people's affairs

11. at hand - close by ■ readily accessible when needed ■ close in time; about to happen

12. do with [with modal] would find useful or would like to have or do (I could do with a cup of coffee) ■ (can't/won't be doing with) be unwilling to tolerate or be bothered with

13. 1) I'm afraid you'll have to do with a lot less now that our money is gone — Боюсь, что тебе сейчас придется довольствоваться малым, поскольку денег уже нет

14. He can do with anything — Он довольно неприхотлив

15. What have you done with my gloves? — Куда ты дел мои перчатки? What have you done with my wife? — Куда ты дел мою жену? What did the porter do with our luggage? — Куда этот носильщик засунул наш багаж?

16. head off 1) If you head off a person, animal, or vehicle, you move to a place in front of them in order to capture them or make them change the direction they are moving in. 2) If you head something off, especially something unpleasant, you take action before it is expected to happen in order to prevent it from happening.

17. toe – the part of your shoe or sock that covers your toes. To put a toe in the water about most matters means to dare asking questions on everything little by little in a very polite manner.

18. to strike / touch the right chord — задеть чувствительную струнку; сыграть на каком-л. Чувстве

19. without striking a negative chord – «не наступая на больную мозоль» (the same: «without hitting a raw nerve»

20. to have the nerve (to do smth.) — иметь нахальство, наглость (сделать что-л.) Syn: gall I, audacity , impudence , cheek

21. haunt [hɔ͟ːnt] haunts, haunting, haunted 1) If something unpleasant haunts you, you keep thinking or worrying about it over a long period of time. 2) Something that haunts a person or organization regularly causes them problems over a long period of time.

22. air dirty laundry with someone – means to gossip about intimate things, or ask personal questions. Origin: early 16th cent.: contraction of Middle English lavendry, from Old French lavanderie, from lavandier ‘person who washes linen’ (see launder)

23. to be all ears — превратиться в слух; слушать с напряжённым вниманием to be on one's ear — быть раздражённым to give ear to smb. — выслушать кого-л. to have long / itching ears — быть любопытным to keep one's ears open — прислушаться; насторожиться

24. to be out on your ear – to think carefully about your own problems, not what is happening around.

25. straighten out 1) If you straighten out a confused situation, you succeed in getting it organized and tidied up. “ He would make an appointment with him to straighten out a couple of things”. Syn: sort out , clear up

26. He's sadly mistaken, I'd like to straighten him out — Он глубоко заблуждается, и я хотел бы открыть ему глаза на действительное положение вещей Thank you for straightening me out — Спасибо за то, что ты меня просветил

Text:

Not only it is polite to include the descriptions while introducing people, it facilitates conversation since everyone starts off with at least one or more facts to begin an exchange. There are two parts of making conversation in a business setting that it is quite important to be concerned about: speaking and listening.

There is that old cliché that a good conversationalist is someone who lets other persons talk about themselves. That’s a bit simplistic and a bit too one-sided but it does make a point that a real conversationalist should not dominate a conversation. If one has to err on the side of one extreme or the other, it is better to err on the side of listening more and speaking less.

The general rule is to talk about topics that are of mutual interest and appropriate in a work setting – everything from business general trends to art, opera, music, movies, sports or best selling books.

While conversing with someone outside the company with whom you hope to do business, stay away from controversial or emotion-charged topics such as politics, religion, women’s rights as well as specific questions about someone’s income or the cost of their house or rental. There will be no benefit as soon as a businessman seems nosey or gets into heated arguments that sway a potential client away because of the ideas that really have little to do with the business at hand.

One way to head off such compromising conversations is to put a toe in the water about most matters by asking questions. “Have you ever lived in the country?” – is good way of finding out how much it might be said for or against the country without striking a negative chord. If such a question hadn’t been asked, a bad conversationalist risks to hit a raw nerve talking about how much he hates the country and how eager he is to find an apartment in the city.

Listen – because it is polite and because it is a way to learn a lot about the person who is speaking, whether a colleague, employee or superior. It is easier to learn more by listening than by speaking, but of course it is also necessary to speak enough, so it is a true conversation and not a monologue. One way to show interest is to repeat back to the speaker an idea or statement he or she has just made, but in different words. It would be a good thing to nod a head or occasionally say “uh-uh” so your silence is not misinterpreted as indifference.

Executive communication should avoid volunteering or asking intimate personal details of a worker’s life, such as marital woes or parent’s medical problems. Most of the times those topics are too personal to ask or volunteer in an office or work setting. If you are the one being inappropriately asked such personal matters, politely decline to answer by saying: “I do not think that is an appropriate question.”

The key element is that a person is responsible for the answers, not for someone else’s questions.

Avoid volunteering intimate inappropriate details about yourself in a work situation because it can only come back to haunt you later. It is, quite simply, inappropriate executive work behaviour. Such conversations are offensive and a violation of etiquette in an office setting.

For example, a co-worker airs his dirty laundry with you hoping to elicit from you an airing of your own dirty laundry. Do not fall for this tactic. You maybe trustworthy in keeping your co-worker’s personal business to yourself, but he may go right to the boss with your intimate information and you may be out on your ear before you even have time to straighten things out.