What’s your name? 

“When I’m talking to customers on the phone, what can I say I if I don’t know someone’s name? I’ve always felt that saying, “What's your name?” is not good enough, not polite enough, nor very professional. Could you, please, advise me?”  Technical Support Team Member, Ukraine

Yes, you are correct. Just saying, “What’s your name?” doesn’t come across as friendly and customer service oriented. Here are a few suggestions: 

1. Just one thing before we continue, please. I don’t know your name. Could you tell me your name, please? 
2. Excuse me, but I don’t believe I asked you your name. Could you, please, tell me your name? – The customer might interrupt you and tell you his or her name before you get to “could you ….” 
3. Oh, excuse me - your name - I don’t believe I have your name. Can you tell me your name, please?  
4. Oh by the way, I know you know my name is Joe, but I don’t believe I know your name. What is your name? 
5. Excuse me, but I don’t believe I’ve asked you what your name is. Could you, please, tell me your name? 
6. If you forget the customer’s name, you could say this: I’m sorry, but I can’t recall your name. I speak to so many people. Could you, please, tell me your name once again?

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Human Resources Letter Format 

A human resource generalist who is working to improve her professional writing skills is challenged by how to quickly get her ideas on paper without referring to background information related to what she is writing about. These communications happen to be related to disciplinary actions at her company. For her, this is cause for some uneasiness, and, therefore, she is working to improve her writing skills. Here’s what I’ve suggested up until now.

Format

1) Introduction: State the reason for the communication. State the problem and reason for the action taken.

2) Middle: Recount the series of events leading up to the action that is being taken. Wherever you are able to clarify the reason for the action against the employee in recounting the series of events, you should do so. The recounting of the series of events leading up to the action taken against an employee should also serve as the argument, or reasoning, for taking disciplinary action against an employee.

3) End: State the results or the possible results of the employee’s failure to follow company policy or wrongdoing.

Suggestions to approaching this writing 

If you are having some difficulty with this sort of communication, then here are some ideas and tips on how to approach this sort of communication. 

1. Start writing. Simply follow the outline: 1) introduction 2) middle 3) end.
2. Don’t be concerned about how you are going to connect your ideas or the form that your sentences are going to take. Just start by typing your ideas in a logical order.
3. Note: It’s normal to revise. Don’t expect your writing to be just the way you want it or the way it should be from the start. The process of revising and improving your writing could require three or possibly four drafts.
4. The more you practice writing by simply focusing on getting your ideas on paper, the more you will be able to focus on form, structure, and connecting your ideas, resulting in clearly expressed professional writing.
5. To be determined: Let’s see if we are able to review an anonymous email example sometime.  

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English Subjunctive Expressions - English Grammar 

Here are a few subjunctive phrases. We can think of them as fixed expressions. There aren’t many subjunctive phrases that we use in English. You’ll hear more articulate and well-spoken native speakers of English use these expressions. These expressions lend themselves to a more serious tone or a more formal tone. You can use Google to find examples of how those whose first language is English use expressions. Type the expressions in quotation marks, and use the highlighter option on your Google toolbar to quickly find examples of how we use these subjunctive phrases. Some people think that notions of subjunctive in English grammar are not relevant in contemporary English usage, but that's just a bunch of ridiculous nonsense in my not so humble opinion. :-D

"What we need in the United States is not division. What we need in the United States is not hatred. What we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness; but is love and wisdom and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country whether they be white or whether they be black." Robert F. Kennedy, Announcing the death of Martin Luther King

This quotation, from Robert F. Kennedy, is an example of anaphora.
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/figures/anaphora.htm

whether it be – It doesn’t matter whether or not – It doesn’t matter if
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22whether+it+be%22

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be it – It doesn’t matter whether or not – It doesn’t matter if
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22be+it+*+or%22&hl=en&lr=lang_enlang_ptlang_es&start=80&sa=N

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If need be – If it’s necessary … ….
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22if+need+be%22&hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&start=20&sa=N

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Suffice it to say – This is all that needs to be said, and I’ll say it.
http://www.answers.com/topic/suffice-it-to-say

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Far be it from me to differ/criticize/judge – I disagree, though maybe I shouldn’t. I’m telling you I disagree, though I acknowledge that maybe I shouldn’t.

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Come what may – It doesn’t matter what happens.
http://www.answers.com/come%20what%20may%20

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Be that as it may – It may be true, but … …
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22be+that+as+it+may%22&hl=en&lr=&start=10&sa=N

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So be it – Let it be so, I accept it as it is.
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22so+be+it%22&hl=en&lr=&start=90&sa=N

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Come Tuesday, ... ...  Come January, ... ...  – When Tuesday comes, ...  When January comes, ... ...

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As it were – Seemingly, in a way, as in He was living in a dream world, as it were. A shortening of "as if it were so,"
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22as+it+were%22&hl=en&lr=&start=20&sa=N

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Come rain or come shine – It doesn’t matter what happens. Something good could happen or something bad could happen, but that doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter whether it rains or the sun shines. http://www.last.fm/music/Ray+Charles/_/Come+Rain+or+Come+Shine

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TFK: In your opinion what is the coolest or most exotic animal you have ever gotten to work with? Hanna: Well I like all animals. All animals are different whether it be a fish, bird, reptile, or mammal. They all have their own tremendous attributes. They all have their own beautiful place in nature. But I am fascinated by elephants because of their social structure, their intelligence. I am fascinated by the largest land mammal on earth and I’m fascinated by whales and dolphins. I’m fascinated by birds how they fly. I’m fascinated by a lot of reptiles. 

http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/kidscoops/story/0,14989,1050238,00.html

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Business Leadership

Six qualities of great business leaders

1. Great business leaders are practical.
2. Great business leaders are always prepared and plan well.
3. Great business leaders know how to motivate people.
4. Great business leaders maintain high professional standards.
5. Great business leaders know they are part of a team and act that way.
6. Great business leaders are open-minded. 

Jason Reasoner, a great business leader

Jason Reasoner is an executive level manager, but more important is that Jason Reasoner is an executive level leader.

1) Jason has a keen sense of that which is practical to most effectively and efficiently get the job done. He understands very well how to delegate and make the best use of all resources available.

2) Jason is always very well prepared and plans in advance. However, he does not allow himself to be locked in to a method just because it is part of a plan. Sometimes we have to make changes and adjust to the needs of a particular project in the interest of doing what’s best for the client and getting the job done, and this is something Jason is well aware of.

3) Jason knows how to motivate people, bring out the best in them, and encourage them to give as much of themselves as they can. He understands how to communicate with individuals and adjusts his managerial style to meet individual needs. By understanding the people he manages and dealing with them as individuals, Jason commands a great deal of respect from those he manages. Jason knows that the people in his department are his most valuable resource; therefore, the people Jason manages, also, command a great deal of respect from him.  Jason is well aware that the people in his department can make or break his success.

4)  Jason always maintains high professional standards. He projects himself as a consummate professional. He possesses the knowledge and skill one would expect of the highest quality professional.

5) Jason supplies information and is always ready to assist others as needed. He's clearly a team player. Jason maintains the view that it’s never about “me”; it's always about us. There's no "us and them"; there's just us. Jason easily gives his time and shares his knowledge with those who come seeking it.

6) Jason is open-minded. He listens to, and works with, other people's ideas. He's willing to give others a chance to demonstrate their ability by allowing them to express their ideas, using them, or implementing them for the benefit of all involved or concerned .

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The New Boston Business Network: What’s new? 

Turn small talk into big talk. 

You will undoubtedly meet individuals more than once or twice in your networking activities. If you meet people you know, then you’ll likely hear this question: What’s new? Say something about your professional life, personal life, hobby life, or personal interests. Never say something like “same-old thing?” or “not much”. Give a real answer, and strike up a conversation.

What are four ways you could possibly reply to the question, “What’s new?” Write them down and carry them with you as a reminder. 

Here are some other questions that you can reply to in the same way:

• What'əve  yə  been up to?
• So what'əve  you been doin' lately?
• How'əve yə  been?
• So what's goin' on? I haven't seen you_w_in a while.
• So what's been goin' on? I haven't seen you_w_in_ə _while.
• So how's business? You'll obviously and surely talk about your business if someone asks you this question.

Here are some things to keep in mind whether you're talking to someone you've met before or someone you haven't met before. Or you could just be listening to a conversation and waiting for a chance to join in.

• Get others to talk about what they’re interested in.
• Be attentive to hints that people provide that will tell you what they’re interested in.
• People love to talk about themselves.
• Take an interest in what others are interested in.
• Keep people talking.
• Listen for what you might share in common with others.
• Start a conversation about something you discover you have in common with someone.
• Show people that you're sincerely interested in what they have to say whether it's business related or not business related.

Eventually, the conversation could turn to things that you're interested in. If you're not talking about something business related at the moment, eventually, the conversation could, or should, turn to something that is related to someone else's business or your business. Be attentive to when the conversation can become a business conversation if it's not a business conversation at the moment. Try to pick up on cues or ways to naturally segue from something that's not business related to something that's business related. Your conversation partner could be a step ahead and be the one to turn the conversation to something that is related to their business. And then you could even get the chance to start talking about your business. Be attentive to when and how you can turn small talk into big talk. Your next big business connection could be standing right next to you or be in the same room. Be ready to talk. What are you going to say?
 

♦  Business Network Presentations and Job Search

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What do you do?

Here are a couple ways to approach answering this question:  

1) Answer this question with one sentence, possibly two. Include the benefit of your service or product, how it helped people, or how it provides added value in your answer. Begin your answer with “I”.

Here are a few ways you could start:

• I work with ...  
• I lead ...
• I manage ...
• I provide ...
• I design ...
• I create ...
• I help ...

2) You could answer with a question. Here are some ways to start:

• Have you ever …?
• Do you know anyone who …?
• When was the last time …?
• What would you think if …?

These may not work for you, in which case you'll have to think of a question that works for a product or service your company provides.

Follow this question, or the answer to this question, with a four-sentence success story about how your company's product or service benefited another company or individual.

♦  Business Network Presentations and Job Search

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Ten ways you should be prepared to speak about your company or business

Here are ten ways in which you should prepare yourself to speak about your company or business for presentations and networking conversations.

1. Introduce yourself. Say what company you work for. Say what your company does. Say what your title or position is. Say what you do for your company.
2. Give an example of a product or service your company provides.
3. Tell what a benefit is of a specific product or service your company provides.
4. Highlight a specific quality or characteristic of a product or service your company provides.
5. Give two examples of how your product or service has helped an individual or has helped a company.
6. Talk about what you love about your work. What can you say about your work that makes it sound like you’re passionate about it? You love your work. Let people know and tell them why.
7. Talk about what makes your job challenging.
8. Talk about what makes your company successful. 
9. What are two things about your company that are intriguing and that will make people remember you and your company? Talk about them.
10. Do you have a call to action? How can you ask people you meet to connect with you or your company later on? What can you give them? What benefit can you offer? Think about what’s in it for them if they, for example, go to your website, give you their email address, or send you an email.

   ♦  Business Network Presentations and Job Search

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English Improves

Communicating better with customers at work

It's always great to know that people improve and that we have a positive impact on their day to day lives at work. Kien Tran had this to say at the start of a class one day. What Kien was saying actually turned into an English language lesson. I listened to what Kien was saying, and then I wrote a revised version with corrections on the white-board. Kien read it, and we worked on pronunciation. Anyway, it was great to hear Kien's optimistic and positive comments about how his English has improved.

"Jeff was the manager in Walpole, but he quit. Now there is no manager in Walpole. I think maybe one day I can be a supervisor or a manager. I can speak more English now, but I have to learn more English so that I can be a supervisor or a manager someday."

"I worked with Felix all day. Felix is training a new guy. Today was his second day. I was late for class today because Felix asked me to teach the new guy what to do. I was glad because I used English to teach him, and he understood me. My English has improved, and I’m communicating better with customers."

Kien Tran, Employee at Triton Wash Greater Boston MA

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Outgoing Message for Voicemail

This is Alena. Leave a message.

This is what I heard when I reached a student's outgoing voicemail message. The words sounded unclear and as though the speaker did not really care to say these words in the first place. Needless to say, this is not at all businesslike and needed to be changed.
 

I asked the student to come up with another outgoing message and write it out. Here's what the student wrote for an outgoing message:

"You've reached Alena. Please, leave a message in few seconds."

Is this an improvement? Perhaps, it is. Is it business language? No, it's certainly not good business English. Let's take a look at what goes into language correction and revision. It's practical to use a short text, such as an outgoing voicemail message, to show this process of "correction and revision".

Text Correction and Revision 

1) Grammar:

"You've reached Alena. Please, leave a message in few seconds." 

First, "a", indefinite article, is missing before "few seconds". Let's add it, and that'll take care of the grammar.

"You've reached Alena. Please, leave a message in a few seconds."

2) Appropriate Language:

Does she really mean to say "leave a message in a few seconds"? Soon the person calling will leave a message, and this will likely be in a few seconds, but is it necessary and does it seem normal to say "leave a message in a few seconds"? No, I would say not. So let's remove "in a few seconds".

"You've reached Alena. Please, leave a message .

Register: Now it's too short, and it may not sound polite. Let's add more. Here are a few possibilities.

1. "You've reached Alena. Please, leave a message , and I'll call you back as soon as possible.
2. "You've reached Alena. I'm not able to answer the phone now. Please, leave a message, and I'll return your call as soon as possible.
3. You've reached Alena. I'm either away from my desk or on another line. Please, leave a message, and I'll return your call as soon as I'm able.

Now that we have a few outgoing voicemail messages, it's time for speaking practice. Here are my suggestions based on what I heard when I listened to the original message.

• Clarity: Speak more clearly. This means enunciation and articulation. You have to work harder to make the sounds. We'll work on this.
• Volume: Speak louder. Your voice sounds soft and faint.
• Tone: Use a better tone, and sound more enthusiastic. Let the people calling you know through the tone of your voice that you want to hear their message.

We'll really have to work on these three items in order for you to sound more welcoming and as though you want people to leave a message. Right now, it doesn't like the callers' messages are very important to you.

Now it's time to work more on accent and pronunciation.

1. "You've reached Alena. Please, leave a message , and I'll call you back as soon as possible.
2. "You've reached Alena. I'm not able to answer the phone now. Please, leave a message, and I'll return your call as soon as possible.
3. You've reached Alena. I'm either away from my desk or on another line. Please, leave a message, and I'll return your call as soon as I'm able.

• The intonation usually falls at the end of a phrase or a clause.
• Link the syllables and the words together, and produce stronger longer vowel sounds. Short choppy vowel sounds are difficult to understand, especially without a proper intonation pattern, which in English is largely marked by a contrast in volume between content words, or information words, and structure words, or function words.
• The vowel sound in "leave" should not sound like the vowel in "live". It sounds like the vowel sound in "see". Let's try that again.
• In order to speak faster, use the weak form of function words: a, I'll, as.

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Minimal Pairs - short /a/ and short /e/ sounds 

IPA symbols for short "a" and short "e": 1) can = kæn 2) den = den 

A minimal pair is two words that differ in only one sound.

Some English language learners pronounce the short "e" sound like a short "a" sound. Or, in other words, some English language learners pronounce "bed" like "bad". Here are twelve sentences containing minimal pairs. With the coaching and guidance of an English language teacher, or native speaker of American English, ELLs can practice these sentences in order to learn to pronounce words with the short "e" sound correctly, and not make a word like "bed" sound like "bad".

1. Dan is sitting in the den.
2. Beth decided to take a bath.
3. Beth said she felt sad.
4. Ken opened the can.
5. Jan was talking to Jen.
6. Man is singular; men is plural.
7. Brad bought some fresh bread.
8. Matt met Jan and Jen at the movie theater.
9. Kent can't talk to you right now, but Ken can.
10. Pat has a new pet dog.
11. Jen bought a frying pan, and Jan bought a pen and pencil set.
12. They sat in the conference room and set up a time for their next meeting.

Context will typically prevent a listener from misunderstanding an English language learner who, for example, mispronounces "Beth", making it sound like "bath". Just the same, the more pronunciation errors one has in one's speech, the greater the chances are that one's speech might not be easily understood. Therefore, it's best to work towards correcting such pronunciation errors as this one and others. Doing so will help reduce one's accent. One might well say that accent reduction can mean correcting ones pronunciation errors: accent reduction or pronunciation error reduction. Reducing pronunciation errors helps reduce an accent.

Sometimes Portuguese speakers do not distinguish properly between the short "e" sound and the short "a" sound. I noticed this to be the case during a lesson with a student from Cape Verde. I came up with these minimal pairs, and these sentences, in order to help her distinguish between the two sounds and pronounce words such as bed, beth, Ken, den, Jen, men, and said correctly, which is to say with a short "e" sound and not a short "a" sound. The exercise was a success. Natalina, the pastry chef, was able to pronounce, for example, the name "Beth" correctly, not making it sound like "bath".

Another example of a minimal that presents students with a challenge is the short i sound and the long E sound. This means distinguishing between the vowel sound in "live" and the vowel sound in "leave". You can find a practice sheet for this minimal pair at The ESL EFL Pages here: minimal pairs - short i long e.pdf Download 

http://www.esleflpages.com/esl-pdf-accent-reduction-pronunciation-pages

Sometimes it is necessary and good to practice minimal pairs. However, presuming that this is necessary and proceeding as though it actually were necessary might not serve a practical purpose in English language learning and teaching. Some of the best lesson content emerges naturally, and it is not necessarily part of a plan. Therefore, we can decide what part of our "lesson plan" is after we've given the lesson - after the class.

Minimal Pair Quiz

Minimal Pair Practice

Minimal Pair - British Council

minimal pair - The Free Dictionary

Minimal Pair at Answers.com - Wikipedia

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