Business English

Office of Miller, on Oct.13-05.
Subject:
New office buildings
Present:
Mr Chester: Chairman
Absent:
Mr Macquire
Ms Shawn: Public relations
Guest:
Mr Horst
Mr Wells: Human Resources
Mr Jones: Financial Director
Mrs Simpson: Secretary
The chairman opened the meeting, confirmed the minutes of the last meeting and underlined the importance of coming to a decision. He asked Mr Jones to start the discussion by giving his opinion on the building site.
Mr Jones said he had investigated the area and thought that the accessibility was a problem. He added that a new motorway was planned but that this plan would take too long to wait for. Mr Wells suggested to look for another location and reminded the board of the extra travelling time this site would imply (implizieren). He continued to say that he was already working many extra hours. The chairman interrupted him and summoned (forderte auf) him to stick to the subject. Ms Shawn agreed with Mr Wells and stressed the importance of the vicinity (Nähe) of an airport or railway station, considering the international character of the company. Mr Jones objected to this because he thought these places were too expensive.
    Es gibt im Englischen ein vielfältiges Angebot an so genannten operativen Verben wie die Verben to agree oder to underline, womit sich der Verlauf einer Diskussion abwechslungsreich und genau schildern lässt. Hat jemand z. B. ziemlich lange gesprochen und viele Argumente vorgebracht, dann kann man diese wie folgt erfassen: He began by saying that … He continued … He then pointed out … Mr x went on by saying … He concluded by observing that …
Useful verbs
    Neutral reporting / Neutral berichten
He said / stated / observed that …
She pointed out that …
The chairman asked if / whether …
Mr Bloom answered / replied …
The speaker argued …
He reminded the board …
    Emphasis / Betonung
He underlined / emphasized / stressed …
She warned / cautioned …
He urged …
The chairman summoned the speaker …
    Opinions / Meinungsäußerung
He admitted / acknowledged …
She believed that …
Mr Smith shared the view / opinion of …
He claimed that …
The chairman denied that …
The director suggested / proposed …
    Negotiations / Verhandlungen
    Bei den weniger formellen Kundentreffen (customer meetings) wird direkt verhandelt (negotiated) über Angebote offers und Vertragsbedingungen (conditions / terms of contract). Man versucht einander zu überzeugen, ohne dabei unhöflich zu werden (siehe „Wie Sie Ihre Meinung sagen“, Seite 84). Will man sein Argument betonen, setzt man im Englischen oft das Hilfsverb „do“ vor das Hauptverb: I do think we should try to compromise (Ich denke wirklich, wir sollten versuchen, einen Kompromiss zu finden).
    Example
    A: Delivery will be in 6 weeks with a discount of 2 % if you place your order this month.
    B: That sounds like a good offer but we need the goods in 2 weeks. Couldn't you shorten the delivery period?
    A: Sure, but then we would have to raise the price.
    B: I see what you mean, but we do need these products this month. Could I make a suggestion?
    If you deliver in 3 weeks, we could discuss another order for the coming season.
    A: Fine, if you could confirm this in writing. I'll talk to our legal department and ask them to set up the contract.
Useful phrases
    Making offers / Angebote machen
We were thinking of … / suggest …
The best offer we can make you is …
We could offer you a discount of 2 %.
We grant a price reduction of 2 %.
We can deliver the goods in 6 weeks.
Our deal includes maintenance.
    Rejecting the offer / Angebot abweisen
I'm afraid we cannot accept that.
There's no question of our being able to accept.
We feel that the price is rather high.
We cannot agree to what you propose.
That is not negotiable.
We had much better offers from other companies.
You'll have to do better than that.
    Conditions / Bedingungen
If you shorten delivery, we could …
We may be able to … but only if you …
Provided you … we might …
We accept, on the condition that …
Unless you … we will not be able to …
    Winning time / Zeit gewinnen
That sounds fine but I'll have to confer with my boss first.
I should like to think this over.
Could you keep that offer open for 2 more weeks?
I'm afraid I don't have the authority to decide.
I would like to discuss this proposal with my partner.
I'm afraid I need some more information.
    Reaching agreements / Übereinstimmung erzielen
I'm pleased to say we