How to make and respond to suggestions
Making and responding to suggestions
Choosing the right way to phrase suggestions depends on the context of the conversation. Being able to give an opinion about the best course of action or to advise someone about what you think they should do means using the appropriate language. You can do this by using the following phrases.
How/What about ... ? OK, let's do/ try that.
Couldn't you / we ... ? Sounds good to me.
Why don't you ... ? But what if ...?
If I were you ... The only thing/ problem is ...
I suggest/ think you should ... It's a good idea, but ...
It might be better to ... You're right.
Case Study
Springfield is a chain of traditional department stores, selling a wide range of goods including clothing, electronic goods, kitchen items and china and glass. They have stores in all the major cities, occupying large and expensive buildings in city centre locations. But shoppers are deserting them. Sales have fallen by nearly 30 per cent, and they are losing market share to smaller, more specialised chains with a more modern image. The company hasn't made any profit for the past three years.
1 The senior managers of Springfield hold a brainstorming meeting to find a solution to the problem of falling sales. Read an extract from their meeting.
Leader:As you know, our profits have been poor in the last year. If we want to return to making good profit, we'll have to find a way to revive sales. So – any suggestions?
Director A: I think we should introduce more discount sales. They always attract customers.
Leader: But that's not good for profits. Our margins are low enough already!
Director B: Perhaps we could close down the larger stores and relocate to smaller buildings in out of town locations.
Leader: Hmm - That could save a lot of costs! ... Close down larger stores.
Director C: Maybe we could decorate our stores in a more modern style. That might bring in more people.
Leader: Yes, that's a good idea. Do you think we should have a more exciting image - more glitzy?
Director B: Hmm - I don't like glitz!
I Do you think the leader performed his role effectively?
2 How did he respond to suggestions from the other managers? What did he say to each?
Now read the second extract.
Leader: As you know, our profits have been poor in the last year. If we want to return to making good profit, we'll have to find a way to revive sales. So - any suggestions?
Director A: I think we should introduce more discount sales.
Leader: Right. Introduce more discount sales.
Director B (Bob): That's crazy. If we sell at a discount we'll just lose money!
Leader: Bob, we're just collecting ideas at the moment. If we stopped to evaluate each idea, it would take too long - and people wouldn't be as creative. So it's better not to make judgments for now, OK? So - any other ideas?
Director C: Maybe we could decorate our stores in a more modern style.
Leader: Decorate the stores. OK — go on.
Director A: How about if we change the displays more often and make them more exciting!
Director B: Why don't we organise some special events sometimes?
Director C: Yes — What if we held some fashion shows and invited celebrities to come?
Leader: OK, OK – give me time to write
3 How did the leader ask for suggestions and ideas? What did he say?
4 How did the leader react when one participant criticised someone else's idea?
5 Do you think the leader's responses in the second extract were more effective in generating ideas? Why? /Why not?
Making suggestions
2 We make tentative suggestions when (a) we want to be very polite or (b) we are afraid that other people might not like our idea. Which of the following suggestions are tentative?
❑How about if we change the displays more often.
❑Why don't we hold some special events?
❑What if we held some fashion shows?
❑I think we should introduce more discount sales.
❑I don't suppose we could invite some celebrities?
❑Perhaps we could decorate in a more modern style.
❑I suggest we move to smaller buildings.
Responding to suggestions
3If you show your own opinion when responding to ideas - whether you are positive or negative - you may discourage further suggestions. Which of the responses below show the speaker's opinion and which are neutral (showing no opinion)? What else could you say?
❑ OK. Any other ideas? ❑ Right - I've got that. What else?
❑ Yes - I like that! ❑ That's a good idea!
❑ That's crazy - it would never work ❑ That's interesting. Go on!
4 Look at the suggestions and conditional sentences. Find and correct the mistakes.
brainstorming
1What about to brainstorm different ways of cutting costs?
2 If we would advertise more, we would be better known.
3 We would save money if we will move our back-office work overseas.
4 If I would be you, I'd identify the major cost areas.
5 We might be better off if we will consult with the unions.
6 If we will reduce overheads, we may reach our targets.
7 If we won't get more contracts, we have to take serious steps.
8 I suggest employing consultants to help us decide what action to take.
How to make presentations
Short presentations
The ability to make a short presentation of your ideas is a key business skill that enables you to communicate statistical information, present ideas and persuade people of the strengths of your argument. To do this effectively you need to prepare.
1 Make a plan of your talk. This should include at least three sections:
- introduction
- development
- conclusion
2 Write detailed notes of what you will say, showing
- key points and keywords
- transitions between the different sections
- visual aids you will refer to
- the action points you will stress
3 Practise your presentation to make sure that
- you use simple and clear language
- your talk does not go over the time available
- you will not need to read from your notes
1Look at these expressions. In which part of a presentation would you expect them to be used?
1 Finally I'd like to remind you that we...
2 If you have any questions I'll be happy to answer them at the end.
3 On this next slide you can see how our results have improved ...
4 Before I start my talk I'd just like to thank ...
5 This brings me to the next point ...
6 I'll discuss each point briefly and then give you my recommendations.
7 I hope you have found my comments useful and ...
8 This chart gives a comparison of potential returns on investment ...
Attitudes to timing
Some cultures place a lot of importance on events starting and finishing on time. Others believe things should take as long as they need and are flexible with itineraries and schedules. What effect could this have on meetings, presentations and appointments? What is normal in your country?
Structure for a short presentation: Seven easy steps to an effective presentation.
2 Prepare a short introduction
A Finnish construction company, AYT, is hoping to win a contract to build an apartment block in Poland. Leena Perttonen, AYT's marketing manager, will have three minutes to present an overview of AYT and its strengths to the Polish developers. Leena's presentation will cover the following three main areas:
1 General information about the company
2 International experience
3 Reasons for AYT's success
Step 1 Preparation
Prepare a short introduction for Leena and present it to the rest of the group. You should consider the following questions when preparing the introduction.
1 How should Leena introduce herself?
2 What is the subject of the presentation?
3 What is her purpose in making this presentation to this audience? 4 What is the 'menu' of main points that she will include?
Step 2 Presentation
Now present your introduction to the rest of the group.
3Give a short presentation
Step 1 Preparation
Prepare a 3-minute presentation giving an overview of your own company, or one part of your company. (Follow the steps on page 15)
You may include the following points:
-General information (activities, size, location)
-On going activities / projects
-Future plans
Step 2 Presentation
Give your presentation to the rest of the group.
How to refer to visuals
Referring to visuals
Visual aids such as graphs, bar charts, pie charts and flow charts are an important and effective way of structuring and communicating presentations that include a lot of statistics. The following phrases are useful for drawing the Listeners' attention to particular details.
As you can see, ...... led to the ... you see here ...
You'll notice that, ...... is obvious on this part of the graph here.
This part of the graph clearly shows ...This slide shows the ...
1Look at the graph showing the performance of the WorldCom share price 1992-2002 and match the changes with the time periods 1992-2002 and match the changes with the time periods.
Then read and check your answers.
2 Use the following expressions to describe the performance of the Enron share price 1991-2001.
fluctuated mildly a sharp increase reached a peak
rose steadily drooped slightly a dramatic and sudden fall
______
3 Journalists use dramatic verbs that describe the direction, speed and degree of change. What information do these verbs give?
4 Choose one of the graphsbelow and prepare a short description of it. You may want to use the verbs above or some of the following phrases:
fell sharply/ slightlyrose steadilyfluctuated mildly
a sudden increasea dramatic fallreached a high/ a low
Next prepare an interesting way to introduce your graph.
5 Refer to the graph and explain what it shows to the others in your group. Remember to speak with emphasis. You may want to use the following phrases.
As you can see ...You'll notice that ... This part of the graph clearly shows ...
Formal and informal presentations
Some cultures expect presentations to be formal and technical. Others find this dull and ineffective and prefer a more entertaining style of presentation. What are they like in your country? How might these attitudes affect the dress, style and use of visual aids in presentations in different countries?
How to show cause and effect
Showing cause and effect
When talking about the consequences of events and situations it is useful to explain the reasons why we think something happened or will happen in the future. Look at the following examples.
Building the terminal will lead to massive environmental damage.
The IDB put off the $75m loan due to lobbying by environmentalists.
A demonstration would result in lots of publicity.
Jobs will be created as a result of the inward investment The pollution was caused by a factory further up the river.
1 Read two short dialogues. What are the people talking about? Which phrases do they use to show cause and effect?
Conversation 1
Hi, Andres, it's Shirley here. Have you got a second?
Sure. How can I help?
I was wondering if you'd received any news about those new orders that we were
expecting for next month?
Well, in fact I just got confirmation from Brazil this morning. They now say they want two hundred units by the end of the month. That's fifty more than we were expecting.
Two hundred! Wow! That's not going to be easy. It'll mean that we'll have to put
production staff on to extra time and maybe even subcontract some of the work.
Conversation 2
Hey, David, I don't seem to be able to connectto the network. Do you have any idea what's going on?
Yeah. I just called the IT department to find out and they told me the entire computer network will be down for the rest of the day.
Did they tell you what the problem was?
Apparently there's a virus attack going on and it's caused the whole system to close down automatically. They say it will be several hours before they can fix it.
It couldn't happen at a worse time for me. I'm supposed to send my monthly report out today.
Dealing with unclear situations
Some cultures try to avoid unclear situations by use of fixed rules and procedures. Other cultures tolerate uncertainty and believe you need to be flexible to deal with problems as they arise. How might this affect business practices? Which attitude is more common in your country?
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