English for personal assistants - part 10 ppt

Expressions for ongoing support
᭿
Task 4
Match the expressions below to the type of support,1–8,listed above.
A. We had said the end of April for the draft documentation to be out. How realistic is
this now in the light of recent holdups?
B. So, Emma, how do you feel it’s going?
C. I’d like to revisit some of our earlier decisions.
D. Please email me whenever you want to bounce an idea off someone. You’ve also
got the email addresses and phone numbers of all the people involved in the
project – so don’t hesitate to use them.
E. I’d like to sit down and talk through how we’re going to overcome this particular
problem.
F. Are you absolutely sure you’ve got everything you need?
G. I’ll put all this down in black and white to make sure you’re quite clear as to the task
and your responsibilities.
H. Thank you, that’s a job well done as we can see from the very successful outcome.
The process of delegation
Plan well in advance
⇓
Identify the skill or knowledge needed
⇓
Choose the person for the task
⇓
Explain the task and give clear instructions
⇓
Give authority
⇓
Provide support/feedback
Empowering and ongoing support 45
Organising a conference

᭿
Task 5
Imagine you have to organise a conference. Put the following stages into a logical
order by writing the numbers 1 to 12 next to the stages. There may be more than one
way of ordering these stages, so don’t worry if your suggestion is not exactly the same
as the one in the answer key. The first one has been done as an example.
Decide on promotion
Order flowers
Run through the day and check all details
Calculate an effective budget
Order catering
Define layout and seating of venue
Develop the programme
Contingency plans for bad weather/latecomers etc.
Order conference material/presentation kits
1 Define the aims and target audience
List equipment needed
Select date and venue
Linking words and phrases/Describing a process
When we describe a simple process, whether it is how to delegate successfully within
an office or how a factory produces, for example, paper cups, we usually need to
connect our ideas using linking words for sequencing and adding steps. However,
when a process or system is more complicated, we may also need to use linkers of
reason, purpose, and result, depending on how much detail we have to go into.
There is a summary of linking words and phrases in Appendix A, page 157.
᭿
Task 6
You are going to email a colleague who is developing the programme for a
conference. You would like to make the following points as a result of your
experience of the last conference.

46 Delegating
᭤
programme should be varied
why? danger times: after lunch – energy at low ebb
result – lack of enthusiasm
solution: move speakers round;
select topics or type of activity carefully;
think about the length of session;
Additional note: housekeeping requirements? water, equipment?
Additional note: I’ll need that information for booking
Study the email below and complete each gap with a suitable linking word or phrase.
In addition, say which type of linker you have chosen. Choose from: sequencing,
adding, reason, purpose or result. The first one has been done as an example.
1. as a result result
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Dear Sasha
How are you getting on finding speakers and putting together the programme for the
conference?
I’ve just been looking through some feedback from the last conference and (1) as a
result, I’d like to point out the importance of variation within the programme. This is
essential (2) deal with what I call dangers times; e.g., after lunch, (3) this
is when delegates’ energy is low and (4) enthusiasm is at a low ebb. We need,
(5) to put speakers in different rooms to energise them and (6) be very

careful about the topic or type of activity we choose to put in these slots. We could
also perhaps reduce the time span of the first session after lunch, (7) we might
find delegates falling asleep!
(8) , we should bear in mind any housekeeping requests, e.g., water and
equipment requests, (9) we can include these in the booking to the venue.
Best wishes
Tom
Empowering and ongoing support 47
᭿
Scenario for Task 7
You have been asked to give an introductory talk to new junior members of staff from
your offices around Europe on the subject ‘Organising a conference’. You have
prepared the following talk and because it’s in English you’ve decided to write it out
in full.
48 Delegating
Organising a conference
Once the target audience and goals for the conference have been established, you’ll
then be able to determine your approach to organising the conference. Right from
the outset, as soon as you’ve chosen the venue, get support from the venue staff.
They know what resources they have and they do this on a full-time basis.
Budgeting plays a vital role. An effective budget is crucial to the success of the
conference. Work out your costs. How much is needed for fixed costs, for example,
the venue hire, speakers’ fees and so on. Then calculate the amount needed for
variable costs, such as additional hotel accommodation, extra delegates’ packs etc.
Again, check your figures with the venue staff and ask for their input. And always
allow a contingency of at least 10% to cover unforeseen expenses.
If the conference is to be attended by delegates from overseas offices or by
delegates who are not employees of the company, it needs to be promoted through
news releases. The Internet is a good resource. Advertisements in specialist
magazines and journals need to be placed well in advance. Mail shots of publicity

literature can be sent to likely participants. Although the draft program may include
the phrase
speaker to be announced
, it is crucial to secure top quality speakers
early to ensure a successful promotion campaign. A central system must be set up
to receive and track replies, handle bookings, and act as a communications centre.
Conference material is a very important supportive tool. Develop a central theme –
a conference identity, much the same as a corporate identity, and use the layout or
coloured paper for all communications, for example, name tags, registration cards,
note paper, brochures, etc. Delegates will need to be provided with presentation
kits with all the relevant documentation: programmes, talk summaries, notepads,
handouts, and promotional items as giveaways. Decide what the kits should contain
and get these ready for distribution at the conference.
All practical arrangements, for example, the layout and seating at the venue,
provision of equipment, and catering can be discussed with the venue staff. As the
conference date approaches, a detailed run-through of the day is essential. Make a
checklist that you can refer to on the day to make sure that nothing has been
overlooked, for example, flowers. These can either create a wonderful atmosphere
or make your conference venue look more like a funeral parlour!
Speaking in chunks of meaning
When speaking, whether it is a talk at a conference, a presentation at an in-house
meeting or giving instructions to juniors, how we speak can make a huge difference to
the listener’s ability to ‘hear’ what you are saying. One important technique is to make
sure that you group words into ‘sense groups’, i.e., divide sentences into parts so that
each part carries a ‘chunk’ of meaning. We usually pause slightly between these parts.
Punctuation signals how text can be divided up but very often sentences can be
further divided. For example, the first paragraph of the talk above may be divided up
as indicated by the slash marks. Of course, there is not only one right way of dividing
up speech.
Once the target audience/ and goals for the conference/ have been established,/ you’ll

then be able/ to determine your approach/ to organising the conference./ Right from the
outset,/ as soon as you’ve chosen the venue,/ get support from the venue staff./ They
know what resources they have/ and they do this on a full-time basis./
When we are nervous or feeling under pressure, it’s particularly important to be able
to control our breathing, allowing plenty of pauses to breathe as we speak. The result
is a fluent and confident-sounding speaker who engages the listeners.
᭿ Task 7
Insert slashes in the rest of the talk on page 48 to indicate chunks of meaning.
Highlighting important words
When we speak, we usually stress or highlight the words which carry important
meaning. For example, in the first paragraph of the talk, the underlined words would
probably be stressed.
Once the
target audience/
and
goals
for the conference/ have been established,/ you’ll
then be able to
determine
your approach/ to organising the conference./
Right
from the
outset,/ as
soon
as you’ve chosen the
venue
,/ get
support
from the venue staff./
They

know what
resources
they have/ and they
do
this on a
full-time
basis./
᭿
Task 8
Now underline words which you would stress in paragraph 2.
Budgeting plays a vital role. An effective budget is crucial to the success of the
conference. Work out your costs. How much is needed for fixed costs, for example, the
venue hire, speakers fees and so on. Then calculate the amount needed for variable
costs such as additional hotel accommodation, extra delegates’ packs etc. Again, check
your figures with the venue staff and ask for their input. And always allow a
contingency of at least 10% to cover unforeseen expenses.
Empowering and ongoing support 49