False Friends - Taschen Guide

the deadline is …
The date for the next meeting is …
    Important
    The sentence above contains the word ‚date‘. In this case it is completely correct because this time it is about Datum and not Termin.
What is the correct term?
    Don't say this:
Say:
write the protocol
    die Benimmregeln schreiben
write/take the minutes
    das Protokoll schreiben
a pause
    eine Atempause
a break
    eine Pause
cakes
    Kuchen
biscuits/cookies
    Kekse
block
    Klotz
notepad
    Block
bureau
    Amt
office
    Büro
What is your meaning?
    Was ist Ihre Bedeutung?
What is your opinion?
    Was ist Ihre Meinung?
What is the ground?
    Was ist der Boden?
What is the reason?
    Was ist der Grund?
arguments
    Streitigkeiten
points of view
    Argumente
arrange ourselves
    sich ordnen
come to an arrangement
    sich arrangieren
eventually
    schließlich
perhaps
    eventuell
punctually
    pünktlich
point by point
    punktuell
a notice
    ein Aushang
a note
    ein Notiz
    Do you keep your meeting agendas, papers, notes, and perhaps business cards, a notepad, and a pen in a medium-sized, flat object that you normally carry under your arm or in yourhand? What would you call it in English? Many German speakers are tempted to call it a ‚map‘, because of the German term Mappe. If you ask an English speaker ‚Is it ok if I put my map down here?‘, he or she will think you want to put on the table a very large piece of folded paper showing towns and roads: eine Landkarte. The word you need is ‚folder‘ , or ‚file‘ , or if it is made of leather: ‚briefcase‘ .
    Making presentations
    For natural performers, this is a chance to shine. But for the less confident among us – especially where English is concerned – this can be a daunting situation. See what effect these typical false friends have.
Better phrases for presentations
    Avoid saying this:
Say this instead:
Good morning everyone. I want to say how lucky I am to be here today.
    … was ich für ein Glück habe, heute hier zu sein. )
    ↓ ↓
Good morning everyone. I'd just like to say how great it is to be here to talk to you today.
    … wie glücklich ich bin, heute hier zu sein.
The theme of my presentation is …
    Die Titelmelodie / Das Motiv meiner Präsentation ist … ↓
The subject of my presentation is …
    Das Thema meiner Präsentation ist …
First, I will talk about …; next I will tell you about …; and last I will give you some stuff to think about.
    Zuerst will ich über … sprechen und als nächstes will ich Ihnen über …. erzählen. Zum Schluss will ich Ihnen etwas Zeug zum Nachdenken geben . ↓ ↓
Firstly, I'd like to talk about …; then I'll go on to tell you about …; and finally I'd like to provide you with some food for thought.
    (Ich will and ‚I will‘ are often used as if they were identical, but of course they are not. ‚I'd like to‘ has a better ring to it – it shows that you are taking your audience into consideration.)
Can we move the beamer a little? It blends in this position.
    Können wir den BMW ein wenig umpositionieren? So wie er steht, mixt er . ↓ ↓ ↓
Could we move the projector a little? It's shining right in my eyes at this angle.
    Können wir den Beamer ein wenig umpositionieren? So wie er steht, blendet er mich.
    Important
    If you are showing an unfinished presentation to your colleagues with information that you plan to change soon, do not write on it ‚To be overworked‘. It could be that you were overworked when you wrote the presentation ( Sie waren überarbeitet ) but the correct text is ‚To be updated‘ (or ‚revised‘ or ‚amended‘).
    Negotiating
    Negotiating is all about two sides reaching an agreement. Watch out for false friends and make sure that your wishes are understood.
    Example: Negotiation containing false friends
    Holly: Hello, Pia. Come in and have a seat.
    Pia: Thanks. Holly: So, what did you want to talk to me about?
    Pia: I know we normally talk about these things in the yearly evaluations, but they are not for another six months.
    Holly: Go ahead.
    Pia: Because the theme is important to me, I wanted to talk to you sooner about becoming a salary raise. I have been in the department for five years and my pay is still the same. This is relatively low for our branch when you think of the work that I do and my engagement.
    Holly: I can understand your situation. However, business was bad the last two years and we are now only just beginning to increase turnover again. We aren't quite out of the woods yet.
    Pia: Yes, I understand