Activity 1. Introduce yourself in a similar way

English people do not usually introduce themselves, except in impersonal introductions.

For example:

I am Police Officer James, and I am arresting you for speeding along the motorway at 120 miles an hour.

"I'm Bill Rightwing, your co-pilot on this flight to New York.

I'm Samantha, your tour guide on this exciting tour to Paris.

When you meet foreigners it is common to shake hands and use some polite phrases, such as:

How do you do? (This is very formal and used with certain nations: such as the British or Japanese or when you are introduced to people who are much older or very high in the company hierarchy), It's a pleasure to meet you.; Nice to meet you.; I've been looking forward to meeting you. We use formal introductions on formal occasions. For important business situations, meeting important people or (some!) weddings and funerals, formal language is safest.

For example:

Ø Mr Thimes, this is Professor Jackson.

Professor Jackson. I'm pleased to meet you.

Ø Mr Thimes, may I present Professor Jackson.

How do you do?

Ø Allow me to present Professor Jackson.

I'm delighted to meet you, Professor. My name is Bill Thimes.

General/Neutral introductions

Ø Mr Thimes, do you know Professor Jackson?

How are you, Professor?

Ø Bill, this is Jessica Jordan.

I'm pleased to meet you.

Ø Bill Thimes, Jessica Jordan.

It's nice to meet you.

Sometimes it is hard to know if you should use the first name, (Tom); the title (Professor) or the formal name (Professor Jackson). English people have the same problem! When you are not sure, use the more formal name, or just call the other person "you". Sometimes the other person will help you and say (for example) "Please call me Jessica". We use general introductions for people we might never meet again, for meetings which are not very important, or for meeting people like ourselves – for instance the people we will work with.

 

Activity 2. Role play a scene of introducing your schoolmates to one another: try to be formal.

 

Activity 3. Look at this dialogue between Martin, a student of mechanical engineering from Munich, Germany, who has come to Birmingham to do his work placement there. He is introduced to Mr. Brown by David Lynch, his mentor at the company. The dialogue is mixed up (except for the first line), try to put it in the correct order. After that practise it in groups of three:

David: Mr. Brown, this is Martin Schiller from Munich. Martin, this is Mr. Brown, head of this department.

Mr. Brown: I’m glad you liked it. And I hope you enjoy your time with us, too. Have you been shown around yet?

Martin: Yes, I did. It’s very lovely here.

Mr. Brown: Hello Martin. Nice to meet you. Welcome to Birmingham. When did you get here?

Martin: No, not yet.

Mr. Brown: Good. And how was your journey?

Martin: It’s a pleasure to meet you. Thank you. I arrived at 8 o’clock last night.

Mr. Brown: Well, then, I suggest David gives you a tour first and then we can discuss what you are going to do while you’re here.

Martin: Oh, very good, thank you for asking. I came by car so I managed to see a bit of the country already.

Mr. Brown: I see. I hope you liked it.

Martin: Right. I’ll see you later, then.

Activity 4. Read the text and get ready to do exercises.

MEETING PEOPLE

We already mentioned that different nationalities have different rules and several specifics. Below you can read a story that might help you behave appropriately when you travel on business. Although there are certain rules how to behave in a certain country it also depends on people you will be meeting, especially now when the globalization process brings all a lot closer day by day.

Nobody actually wants to cause offence but, as business becomes ever more international, it is increasingly easy to get it wrong. There may be a single European market but it does not mean that managers behave the same in Greece as they do in Denmark.

In many European countries handshaking is an automatic gesture. In France good manners require that on arriving at a business meeting a manager shakes hands with everyone present. This can be a demanding task and, in a crowded room, may require gymnastic ability if the farthest hand is to be reached.

Handshaking is almost as popular in other countries – including Germany, Belgium and Italy. But Northern Europeans, such as the British and the Scandinavians, are not quite as fond of physical demonstrations of friendliness. But the situation is changing also in these countries and handshaking has become a routine. It is also not true that people from these countries are reserved and cold, but the fact is they are more and more open and extremely friendly. In Europe the most common challenge is not the content of the food, but the way you behave as you eat. Some things are not just done. In France is a not good manner to raise tricky questions of business over the main course. Business has its place: after the cheese course. Unless you are prepared to eat in silence you have to talk about something – something, that is, other than business deal which you are chewing over in your head. Italians give similar importance to the whole process of business entertaining. In fact, in Italy the biggest fear, as course after course appears, is that you entirely forget you are there on business. If you have the energy, you can always do the polite thing when the meal finally ends, and offer to pay. Then, after a lively discussion, you must remember the next polite thing to do – let your host pick up the bill. In Germany, as you walk sadly back to your hotel room, you may wonder why your apparently friendly hosts have not invited you out for a meal. Don’t worry, it is probably nothing personal. Germans do not entertain business people with quite the same enthusiasm as some of their European counterparts. The Germans are also notable for the amount of the formality they bring to business. As an outsider, it is often difficult to know whether colleagues have been working together for 30 years or have just met in the lift. If you are used to calling people by their first names, this can be a little strange. To the Germans, titles are important. Forgetting that someone should be Herr Doktor or Frau Direktorin might cause serious offence. It is equally offensive to call them by a title they do not possess.

In Italy the question of title is further confused by the fact that everyone with a University degree can be called Dottore – and engineers, lawyers and architects may also be called by their professional titles. The cultural challenges exist side by side with the problems of doing business in a foreign language. Language, of course, is full of difficulties – disaster may be only a syllable away. But the more you know of the culture of the country you are dealing with, the less likely you are to get into difficulties. It is worth the effort. It might be rather hard to explain that the reason you lost the contract was not the product or the price, but the fact that you offended your hosts in a light-hearted comment over an aperitif. Good manners are admired: they can also make or break the deal.

 

Activity 5. Decide whether these statements are true or false according to the story:

– In France you are expected to shake hands with everyone you meet. Yes, at meetings.

– People in Britain shake hands as much as people in Germany.

– In France people prefer talking about business during meals.

– It is not polite to insist on paying for meal if you are in Italy.

– Visitors to Germany never get taken out for meals.

– German business people don’t like to be called by their surnames.

– Make sure you know what the titles of the German people you meet are.

– Italian professionals are usually addressed by their titles.

– A humorous remark always goes down well all over the world.