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decided that it was too late, and the organizers moved it (4) to the 15 of March. There is nothing unusual in this practice – things just happen. When the Whole Sale Club Committee actually had a meeting, it was very productive, for the chairperson was in charge of it (5) very efficiently and the Committee made some significant decisions about changing some member rules. One Committee member did not go (6) to the meeting. But the quorum was OK. Note: urgent - срочный

Text 3

The Debates Happen to Be Very Stormy Sometimes

Vocabulary

Part I

The debates happen to be very stormy sometimes, and in this situation the chairperson should act as a referee whose job is to ensure fair play through careful watching and listening.

If you are a chairperson, you must ensure that the timid have a chance to say what they want (1), deal in a diplomatic way (2) with argumentative and be kind with a person who you have asked to take notes(3).

Make sure you stick to the time you have allowed (4) for each point (4) and keep things moving by not letting people

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wander off the subject(6). Get decisions made1 and recorded even if it is to postpone the matter until the next meeting. If someone at the meeting is being difficult2, offer to continue the discussion personally at a more appropriate time.

Notes: 1 – примите решение;

2 – если с кем-то на собрании трудно иметь дело…

3 – stick to time – придерживаться регламента.

Task 6

Read texts 2 and 3 again and memorize recommendations for the chairperson and rewrite the recommendations using synonymous expressions from the box. Use the modal verbs (must, should, have to).

minute-taker; tactfully; make their point,

you have allocated for each point; avoid digressions

Models of sentences to speak:

-You should / you must / you will have to …

-It‟s recommended …

-If I were a chairperson, I would …

-The best way to organize… is to …

-Never …. , when you ….

-The successful meeting demands …

-The best piece of advice for the organizers of the meeting is …

-When you want to organize a really productive meeting, …

-If I were to organize a meeting, I would …

-When you organize a meeting< you should follow certain rules, such as …

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Part II

How to Encourage People to Speak

Vocabulary

To kick the ball rolling and to keep it rolling during the meeting, there are some standard expressions to begin.

I.Opening the meeting. You may start by saying one of these:

II. Inviting people to speak. Inviting people to speak, a chairperson can use some encouraging phrases:

Would you like to open the discussion, Kate?

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Perhaps, you would like to get the ball rolling, Ivan?

Would you like to start, Ann?

III.Asking for someone’s opinion. The most appropriate expressions will be the following:

What‟s your opinion of …., Kate?

What do you think about this, Ann?

What are the general feelings on1 this?

Note:1,2 - pay attention to the preposition on in these expressions.

IV. Making your point. The participants of the discussion may use these expressions:

I believe we must have certain amount of freedom in this field.

As I see the situation, we can‟t allow…

It looks to me as if…

Task 6

Match the sentence beginnings (1-5) with the correct endings (a- e). All the sentences have the above recommended expressions.

Part III

Making Your Point: Agreeing or Disagreeing

There are no discussions without arguments. Whenever people discuss anything, some people may agree with you, but some disagree. There may be differences of opinions, but the main thing is to keep calm and remain courteous. It is OK to disagree but it isn‟t OK to be impolite or rude and to lose your temper.

Of course, when there is disagreement on important issues, some participants of the discussion can become angry and shout. Unfortunately, it is also a way of making your point. It is in the human nature but it is not a civilized way of discussing things if you want to come to some productive outcome.

Keep in mind that, first of all, your argument is a set of ideas that you use to prove your point, to show that what you are saying is true.

Note: the verbs agree or disagree demand the preposition with him/her/you.

Agreeing. Strong agreement. If you are very sure about the issue and intend to stand firm, you may say one of these:

Mild agreement. This will certainly sound more polite and appropriate for the situation of business meetings and talks.

Disagreement. Mild disagreement. These beginnings allow to introduce how you yourself see the situation without arousing the opposition from the very start.

Strong disagreement. This will show that you are really firm and can‟t change your mind about it.

at least for the present, in current conditions. Techniques to come to productive outcomes include hedging.

Hedging is a very common technique at meetings and negotiations. It is used when you avoid disagreeing directly. To hedge, you could say:

To reach anything productive: an agreement, consensus or compromise, facts and opinions are often checked and rechecked. Checking understanding, interrupting and referring back also may be expressed in some standard familiar ways instantly understood by everybody.

To interrupt someone politely, one should say:

All guidebooks on business meetings and talks say in plain words: DON’T CORNER! Whatever happens, all the participants should leave space to the other side to come out of the deadlock if they actually plan to reach some productive outcome, productive for both sides. Here the role of the

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chairperson is really great. He or she should say the right words concluding the meeting.

Task 7

Read the text and underline the expressions which are key words signaling there is a chance that some consensus may be found, at least in the future.

“Right. I‟m afraid we are running out of time so we are going to stop there. To go over what has been said there is a disagreement about allocating the finance for the department. I‟ve listened to both sides of the argument. I think I can sum it up by saying that there is the problem of creativity versus1 expenditures. We haven‟t come to a compromise so far. I‟ll let you know the solution to this problem by the end of the next month. So unless anyone has anything else to add, I think that‟s it.

Thank you all for coming.

Note: 1 - против

Task 8

Here are six extracts from newspapers report of a public meeting. Put the extracts into the correct order.

1

a compromise or a consensus. There was total disagreement. After four hours of heated discussion, Ms. Johns said, “It‟s been a very interesting discussion but we are running ….

2

out of time and we are going to stop there. I‟ll let you know the committee‟s decision about the solution to this problem by the end of the week.

3

So unless anyone has anything to add, I think that‟s it. wasa very

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useful meeting. Thank you for coming.”

4

There were strong differences of opinion at last night‟s meeting to discuss banning of cars from the center of Newtown. A lot of issues

5

saying it would improve the quality of life. It was not possible to come to

6

were covered and arguments of both sides were heard. To sum up the arguments, there were those who thought that banning cars in the downtown would damage shops and business in the town.

Others disagreed,

Text 5

Negotiations: Situations and Negotiators

Part I

Vocabulary