Curso de Business English

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PROGRAMA DE EDUCAÇÃO CONTINUADA A DISTÂNCIA 
Portal Educação 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CURSO DE 
BUSINESS ENGLISH 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Aluno: 
 
EaD - Educação a Distância Portal Educação 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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CURSO DE 
BUSINESS ENGLISH 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Atenção: O material deste módulo está disponível apenas como parâmetro de estudos para este 
Programa de Educação Continuada. É proibida qualquer forma de comercialização ou distribuição 
do mesmo sem a autorização expressa do Portal Educação. Os créditos do conteúdo aqui contido 
são dados aos seus respectivos autores descritos nas Referências Bibliográficas. 
 
 
 
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SUMÁRIO 
 
 
 
1. Comunicação empresarial 
1.1. E-mail 
1.2. Carta 
1.3. Telefone 
1.4. Reunião de Negócios 
1.4.1. Agendando reuniões 
1.4.2. Participando de reuniões 
1.4.3. Interrupções 
1.4.4. Concordando e discordando 
 
1. BUSINESS COMMUNICATION 
 Means of communication have changed and developed over the years 
compared to a few decades ago. In the early years of business, communication was 
done basically verbally or at most through letters. Nowadays we have a variety of 
ways to communicate with each other, especially in an organization. With the coming 
and usage of the internet those means have widespread even more and 
internationally. In this chapter we will discuss some means of communications such 
as e-mail, letter, telephone calls and business meetings. 
 
1.1 E-mail 
 This agent of communication became available to the public in the late 90’s 
facilitating communication between people from different countries. We must be 
careful when using this communication tool. It has been perceived as an informal 
way of writing but cannot be seen as so in a business environment, therefore, certain 
expressions must be left out such as “gonna” or any other of that kind. 
 To a certain extent e-mails are easier to be written for they remove a few 
details like address and date that cannot be forgotten in a letter, however, under your 
name, your position and telephone number must be added. Your message must be 
understandable, clear and its appearance well balanced. 
 In an e-mail there are four pre-requisites for an efficient message which are: a 
salutation, a general message (the body), closing and signature. Below is an 
 
 
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example of an e-mail sent to a staff committee reminding them of the upcoming 
meeting. 
Dear committee members, 
This e-mail is to communicate the confirmation of our meeting on Friday the 22nd of 
July. The meeting will take place in the conference room on the 4th floor at 14:30. 
Hope to see all of you there. If you cannot be present, please inform us by replying to 
this e-mail. 
Sincerely 
Rachel Donavan 
Secretary 
(01) 5673-8923 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1.2 Letters 
Contrary to the e-mail, letters have been around for a very long time and in some 
circumstances cannot be replaced by e-mail or any other means of communication. 
 
It is still used for formal requests 
or public statements; although its 
format is a little different the basic 
components are the same. When 
writing a letter we must inform: 
1. The address where it was 
written from at the top right corner 
of the paper together with the date 
(remember in the USA we put the month first) 
2. The address to which it is being sent to on the left 
 
 
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3. The greeting is on the left margin. When writing in a business context the 
greeting must start with “Dear Mr. Johnson”, however, if it is someone you already 
know very well the greeting may start with “Dear Julian”. When writing to an 
organization as a whole it is also possible to use the following greetings: “Dear 
Editor”, “Dear Publisher”, “Dear Colleagues”. 
4. The body of your letter should also start on the left margin under the greeting. 
The letter must not spare words, but should also be as straight forward as possible. 
Business people do not have time to read long and confusing letters. The ideal 
number of paragraphs in a business letter is maximum five. 
5. The signature can follow words or expressions such as: Sincerely, Regards, 
Respectfully, Kind thanks and Truly. 
 
8495, 5th Avenue, Office 45 
New York, NY 20367 
March 15, 2010 
 
 
 
 
Mr. Alphonse Germanian 
President and CEO 
BioDynamics Llc. 
1525 Broadway, Suite 4500 
New York, NY 10034 
 
Dear Mr. Germanian: 
 
As Chairperson of the Corporate Conscience Campaign - Helping the Homeless in New 
York, I am writing to thank you personally for your company's support in last month's fund-
raising effort. 
 
As I indicated when we spoke on the phone two weeks ago, the campaign was considered a 
resounding success, raising a total of $1.65 million to-date, significantly exceeding our target 
of $1 million. Some donations are still trickling in, so we could end up close to a total of $2 
million. 
 
BioDynamics was an influential leader throughout the entire three-month campaign. In fact, 
we could not have succeeded without the generous support of your company, both 
financially, and through your organizational and administrative assistance. Your Team 
Leader, Kathryn Gomez was particularly impressive, going above and beyond what we could 
have expected of someone performing as a volunteer while continuing on with her day-to-day 
duties. Please convey my special thanks to Kathryn. 
 
I would also ask you to convey my sincere thanks and congratulations to all of those other 
people in your company who contributed in any way to the Helping the Homeless Campaign. 
Please tell them that the sum of their contributions resulted in a major success that they 
should all be proud of taking part in. 
 
 
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I believe that the 27 companies that participated in this effort have set a new standard for 
social responsibility in this community, and have set a powerful example that will inspire 
other companies and organizations to do the same. 
 
I look forward to seeing you at the Mayor's special thank you reception next month. 
 
Yours sincerely, 
 
 
Jackson Pritchard 
Fundraising Chair 
 
 
3.3 Telephone 
Undoubtedly the telephone is the fastest way of getting an information or 
entering into contact with someone. Before making a telephone call you must first 
know exactly with whom you wish to speak to. If necessary, speak to the secretary 
beforehand and ask for that information. Once your telephone call is has been made 
identify yourself and inform to whom you wish to talk to. When that person comes to 
the telephone make sure to identify yourself again and give them enough information 
so that they may know whom they are speaking to. While talking be concise, straight 
to the point and polite giving pauses so that the person may understand your line of 
thought. Once you have finished give them time to answer your questions or 
requests, thank them for their time and hang up the 
telephone. 
 
Using the telephone is less complicated but 
being immediate has its downsizes. There is not 
much time to think of what one is going to say. A 
conversation can take a different turn and one never 
knows how that person is going to react. However, 
remember that a call must not be too long either. Here 
is an example of a concise telephone conversation fulfilling its purpose with only a 
few sentences. 
 
You: Hello, I’m George, calling from Usanet, mayI please speak to Mr. Johnson? 
Secretary: Just a moment please. 
 
 
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Mr. Johnson: Hello? 
You: Hello Mr. Johnson, here speaking is George from Usanet, we spoke last week about a 
possible meeting. 
Mr. Johnson: Oh, that’s true, I remember. I had to look at my agenda and see which day 
would be best. Just a moment, let me have a look. 
You: No problem, take your time. 
Mr. Johnson: Let me see….It looks like Monday afternoon would be better. 
You: Would 3 p.m be good for you? 
Mr. Johnson: Yes, sounds like a good time! 
You: Good then, I’ll be there on Monday at 3 p.m. 
Mr. Johnson: Ok, 
You: Good-bye, have a nice afternoon. 
Mr. Johnson: Thank you, goodbye. 
 
 
True or false? 
E-mail is a very useful tool of communication, but must be used wisely (T). 
E-mails can be used to communicate, however it is informal (F). 
Letters are always a better option when trying to communicate an information (F). 
When using the telephone it is important to identify yourself after the other person 
has identified themselves (F). 
Fax was not mentioned, however, it is used as a communication tool (T). 
 
3.4 Business Meetings 
 A business meeting is when some sections of an organization meet to discuss 
topics previously elaborated. There are two kinds of meetings, internal and external. 
Internal meetings involve company personnel different than external when members 
of other companies are present. 
Meetings are important for co-workers to comprehend what their colleagues 
are developing in the specific areas. Business meetings are crucial to our careers 
because of the opportunity to present yourself, your ideas, accomplishments and 
demonstrate how well you can work with others. 
The following section of this course will help you schedule a meeting, use 
certain expressions in conference rooms, how to participate, how to interrupt and 
 
 
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how to agree or disagree with what is being said or presented. Remember that a 
scheduled meeting must be prepared beforehand as much as possible. 
 
3.4.1 Calling a meeting 
Before scheduling a meeting you have to analyze if it’s the best solution at the 
moment or if maybe a memo would be enough. Too many meetings might be 
tiresome and end-up not being effective. When deciding that a meeting is necessary, 
prepare what needs to be discussed and make the purpose of the meeting clear. 
There are many ways you can inform about the meeting, a few of them have already 
been discussed: e-mail, telephone calls and even letters. Make sure your memo is 
sent a few days in advance informing the place, hour, topics to be discussed and its 
purpose so that all participants may become engaged in attending. 
Avoid discussing many issues which leads to becoming less productive, losing 
attention and focus. One hour and a half is a good length of time for a meeting and 
once all the agenda has been discussed, thank participants for their attendance. 
 
3.4.2 Participating in meetings 
This section was reserved for expressions to be used in meetings and how to 
prepare the introduction of a meeting. Once everyone has entered the room and are 
seated you must catch their attention by a greeting like “Good morning everyone, I 
would like your attention now…thank you”. You must officially start the meeting by 
maybe saying “Now, to business” or “Shall we begin?”. 
When their attention is on you, it is time to read the objectives to be discussed 
during the meeting. Introduce the first topic and give participants the chance to 
comment. Encourage by saying “Is there anything you would like to add?” or “Mark, 
you have an interesting point of the subject, would you like to share it with us 
please?”. 
 
3.4.3 Interruptions 
In case more than one person speaks at the same time you could maybe 
intervene saying “Just a second, you will also get your chance” or “Hold on to that 
thought, we will be going back to that in a minute” or even “Could we have one at a 
time please? It’s difficult to understand everyone at the same time.” 
 
 
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It is also possible that some people may want to change the subject, 
depending on timing you may allow it, if not, you may bring the meeting back to focus 
by saying “Let’s first discuss the topics in hand and if we have time I’ll be more than 
glad to discuss about other subjects” or simply “In a moment”. Sometimes someone 
may say something you are not sure of “I’m not sure I understood, could you please 
say it again?” or maybe “Could you make your objective clearer?” 
Meetings must finish at the proposed time. Near the scheduled ending time, 
do everything you can to sum it up after one hour and not more. To summarize your 
meeting use expressions such as “To sum up, we have all voted on……” or simply 
“Are we then all agreed?”. Also give participants the opportunity to send you any 
further question or doubts by e-mail or telephone “If any of you still have a question 
you can e-mail me or call me, I’ll be at your disposal, thank you everybody!”. 
 
 
 
3.4.4 Agreeing or Disagreeing 
Everyone has the right to either agree or disagree with what is being 
presented, but how we do it may affect the outcome of the situation. Either agreeing 
or disagreeing with a statement or with someone must always be done respectfully. 
 
 
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To accept criticism is not always easy, therefore here are a few respectful and polite 
ways to agree or disagree in a meeting. 
 
Agreeing: 
• I agree with… 
• I somewhat agree with…. 
• I completely agree with… 
• That’s precisely my point! 
• Without doubt! 
• I couldn’t agree more with you on that 
• That’s the way I feel! 
 
 
Disagreeing: 
• I disagree 
• I more or less disagree 
• I considerably disagree 
• Up to that point I agree with you, but…. 
• I understand what you are saying, however… 
• I’m afraid I can’t agree… 
• Are you sure? We should double-check that. 
 
Combine each expression for each purpose: 
To summarize ( 4 ) 1. Good morning everyone thanks for 
the attention. 
To begin ( 1 ) 2. Is there anything you would like to 
add? 
To intervene ( 5 ) 3. Could you please say it again? 
To encourage ( 2 ) 4. Do we all agree? 
To clarify ( 3 ) 5. Just a second, you’ll also get your 
chance. 
 
 
 
 
 
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3.4.5 Connectors 
Connectors are words that help join sentences, connect ideas, details or clauses 
together in order to make one’s sentence clear. To better use and remember them 
they have been divided into seven categories being: (1) Addition/Exclusion/Choice; 
(2) Opposition/Contrast; (3) Cause/Effect; (4) Comparison; (5) Time; (6) 
Condition/Hypothesis; (7) Specifics. 
 
Adittion/Exclusion/Choice Examples 
Additionally We had problems with our visas; 
additionally our ticket was no longer 
available. 
Furthermore He didn’t show up. Furthermore it 
started raining! 
Either or He either comes on time or is fired, 
I won’t have it again! 
In addition He was late for the meeting and in 
addition he forgot to bring the 
presentation. 
 
Opposition/Contrast Examples 
In spite of In spite of having time he still didn’t 
attend the meeting. 
Although He was hired although he wasn’t the only 
qualified applicant. 
Instead of He should assist the secretary instead of 
talking on the phone. 
however He shouldn’t have compromised our 
plans, however he decided to. 
 
Cause/Effect Examples 
Due to I didn’t exit the building due to the 
amount of smoke 
 
 
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Because of I need to make an elaborate report 
because of the meeting. 
So that Do not extenuate the situation we are in 
so that we may leave earlier. 
In order to He called a staff meeting in order to 
discuss a few things. 
 
Comparison Examples 
Like In business, like in life, you must plan 
each move strategically. 
As-as- He was as negligent as her in his duties. 
As if She wrote an application letter as if the 
job was already hers. 
Rather than I would rather look for that report than do 
nothing. 
 
 
Time Examples 
As As the CEO arrived, everyone ran back 
to their posts. 
While He pretended to be elaborating a balance 
sheet while his co-worker was answering 
the phone. 
As long as We will keep our contract with them, as 
long as they continue to deliver similar 
results. 
Then I’m going to wait until the deal is set, then 
I will go home. 
 
Condition/Hypothesis Examples 
Even though Even though he offers me a 30% 
discount, it still won’t be a good bargain. 
Considering that She presented a good meeting 
considering that she was very nervous. 
Whether Whether we like it or not the company is 
not opening any new vacancy. 
 
 
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Once Come to my office once you’ve finished 
making that phone call. 
 
Specifics Examples 
Whose I wonder whose budget this is. 
Which He didn’t show up which means that is 
probably fired. 
That You need to do someone that will solve this 
problem. 
What A new quality system is what we need. 
 
Which connector does NOT symbolize TIME? 
a) Since 
b) Then 
c) As 
d) For the moment 
e) Due 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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REFERÊNCIAS BIBLIOGRÁFICAS 
 
 
1. http://www.ubs.com/1/e/investors/10q1/0004.html - Union Bank of Switzerland. 
2. http://www.sou.edu/it/plangov/index.html -Southern Oregon University. 
3. http://whatcomlegacy.org/timeline.html - WhatCom Legacy Organization.