BUSINESS CONFERENCE TIGHT-BUDGET CONFERENCE
MATERIÁLY PRO UČITELE
L: Hello, boss! B: Hello Larry! Any news on the conference centre front? L: I’ve been…I’ve sent you a couple of e-mails about it. Did you have time to look… B: I’m afraid I haven’t had time to have a look. L: That’s fine. It’s gone really well. There is a few different options. I’m trying to keep our budget low like we talked about. So it seems like these small independent conference centres are actually quite a bit cheaper than the big hotels. And there’s a couple that I’ve been focusing in on which seem to have good services, good space. One’s near the Heathrow international than the other one is closer to the centre of the town. I’m not sure you would rather… B: I think I’ll prefer the conference centre to be nearer the centre rather than by the airport. I don’t think it’s very interesting area. When I’m going to be in the conference the whole time, I’m sure the people would appreciate the possibility of visiting London. L: Well, in fact where this conference centre…the one that’s in the centre it’s just a short taxi or Tube ride to the historical part of the city so that’s good. B: All right. So that’s good. And is the hotel where I’m staying reasonably near or… L: Yes, that was one of the reasons I looked at it. It’s just around the corner so it would be a short walk if you would prefer to have everyone staying in the same place, we can do… we can go with the conference centre-hotel combination but all those are about 30% more expansive than the … B: Well, perhaps it’s not a good idea. I mean I would have preferred it but if there’s such a difference in price we will perhaps stick to this separate conference centre. Give perhaps people a choice of hotels or suggest hotels where they could stay in vicinity. L: O.K. I’ll look into that. B: Excellent. And the conference centre seats how many people? L: We were looking between 50 or 100 or the rooms that I’ve been looking for…Do you have an idea of a more specific number? B: I think it’s going to be about 70, 70 people. L: So I’ll ask them for their advice on what kind of room is best. And do you want to be… do you want catering every day or… B: Well, that’s for three days. I thought it would be nice to have a reception at the end of the three-day series of conferences. L: That’s a good idea.
B: And than provide perhaps soft drinks and tea and coffee on the other days. So if you can look into catering arrangements for the last day, I would appreciate that …to see what’s on offer and how much it costs… L: And should I look into… B: Well, think of a buffet or sort of more like Swedish table sort of buffet. Perhaps you could look into the options available. L: And also with drinks. We will buy some wine and beer and… Do you want to go that far or do you want to have the… B: I would look into the catering firm. I think that would simplify matters. Always it becomes too complicated. And another important thing to think about is our presentation…whether we should actually film a short video or… L: O.K. B: Do you know whether Collin has anything prepared? L: I don’t… we haven’t decided 100% which way he’s going to go with that. And I wasn’t sure if you actually wanted the video or if that was just an idea… B: Well, it’s an idea. And I think perhaps it’s a good way of approaching the subject. I think that…It seems to me a good friendly way to present ourselves. L: O.K. I think that the clients will really appreciate it will look like it’s something extra, you know, you’re going the extra mile… B: No, I think it could be more entertaining than just having simply a formal introduction with perhaps some photographs. L: Power point again. O.K. Collin does a great work so I’m sure he can prepare something. B: I must get on to Collin about that and perhaps we could hold a meeting with him, perhaps tomorrow, tomorrow morning. L: So we can e-mail each other and we’ll try to arrange it. I’m flexible in terms of the time point. B: Well let me just have a look at my diary…where was it?...let’s have a look…How about 9:30 tomorrow morning? L: That’s fine. B: Yeah? O.K. Well, if you could tell Collin about that, I’d really appreciate that. So excellent. Thank you for your good work, Larry. L: O.K. See you tomorrow. B: Yes, bye. L: Bye
L: Dobrý den, šéfe! B: Dobrý den, Larry! Něco nového ohledně toho konferenčního centra? L: Poslal jsem vám o tom pár emailů. Měla jste čas se na to podívat? B: Obávám se, že jsem na to neměla čas. L: To nevadí. Šlo to opravdu dobře. Je tu několik možností. Snažím se držet rozpočet při zemi, jak jsme se dohodli. Takže, zdá se, že tahle malá nezávislá konferenční centra jsou docela o dost levnější než velké hotely. A na pár z nich jsem se soustředil. Mají dobré služby i prostory. Jedno je blízko letiště Heathrow, to druhé je blíž centru města. Nevím, jestli byste radši… B: Myslím, že bych dala přednost tomu aby to konferenční centrum bylo blízko středu města raději než u letiště. Myslím, že to není zajímavá oblast. Když budu celou dobu na té konferenci, myslím, že by lidi ocenili možnost návštěvy Londýna. L: Vlastně tam, kde to konferenční centrum… to v centru je od historického centra snadno dosažitelné taxíkem nebo metrem, takže to je dobré. B: A ten hotel, kde budu bydlet je nějak rozumně blízko? L: Ano. To byl jeden z důvodů, proč mě to zaujalo. Je to hned za rohem, takže by to bylo na krátkou procházku a kdybyste chtěla, aby všichni bydleli na jednom místě, mohli bychom zkusit kombinaci konferenčního centra a hotelu, ale ty jsou všechny o 30% dražší než… B: No, to asi není dobrý nápad. Ano, dala bych tomu přednost, ale jestli je rozdíl v ceně takový, tak se budeme spíš držet toho odděleného konferenčního centra. Dejte lidem výběr hotelů nebo jim navrhněte hotely, kde by v okolí mohli bydlet. L: Dobře, já se na to podívám. B: Skvělé. A kolik lidí to konferenční centrum pojme? L: Hledali jsme něco mezi 50 a 100 nebo tedy ty prostory, na které jsem se díval já…Máte představu o konkrétnějším čísle? B: Myslím, že to bude pro 70 lidí. L: Tak já je požádám o radu, jaký prostor by byl nejlepší. A chcete každý den catering nebo… B: No, je to na tři dny. Myslela jsem, že by bylo hezké uspořádat na konci té třídenní série konferencí recepci. L: To je dobrý nápad. B: A ve zbývající dny nabízet nealko nápoje, kávu a čaj. Takže bych ocenila, kdybyste se mohl podívat na možnosti cateringu na ten poslední den… co se nabízí, kolik to bude stát… L: A měl bych se podívat na…
B: Zaměřte se na raut nebo něco jako švédský stůl. Mohl byste se podívat, jaké jsou možnosti. L: A taky pití. Koupíme nějaké víno a pivo… Chcete zajít takhle daleko nebo chcete mít… B: Já bych hledala cateringovou firmu. Myslím, že by to bylo jednodušší. Vždycky se to tak zkomplikuje. A další důležitá věc, nad kterou bychom se měli zamyslet, je naše prezentace… jestli bychom měli natočit krátké video… nebo L: Dobře. B: Nevíte, jestli Collin něco připravil? L: Nevím… ještě jsme se stoprocentně nedohodli, jak postupovat. A nebyl jsem si jistý, jestli to video opravdu chcete nebo jestli to byl jen nápad… B: Tak je to možnost. A myslím, že to možná je dobrý způsob, jak to téma pojednat. Myslím, že… zdá se mi to jako dobrý a přívětivý způsob, jak se prezentovat. L: Dobře. Myslím, že klienti opravdu ocení, že to bude něco zvláštního, že se obzvlášť snažíme… B: Myslím, že by to mohlo být zábavnější než jenom formální úvod s fotografiemi. L: Zase Powerpoint. Dobře. Collin to umí skvěle a jsem si jistý, že něco připraví. B: Musím si o tom s Collinem promluvit a možná bychom se s ním mohli setkat, možná zítra ráno. L: Tak si můžeme poslat email a zkusíme to zařídit. Já jsem ohledně času konání flexibilní. B: Já se jen podívám do diáře… kdepak je?...Tak se podíváme…Co takhle zítra v 9:30? L: To je dobré. B: Opravdu? Dobře. Ocenila bych, kdybyste o tom Collinovi mohl říct. Takže skvělé. Děkuju za vaší dobrou práci, Larry! L: Dobře, takže se uvidíme zítra. B: Dobře. Na shledanou! L: Na shledanou!
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EXERCISE 1 Discuss and share your answers to the following questions: 1. What skills do you think makes a great organizer? What additional skills would you need if you wanted to do the job? How would you develop them? 2. Would you enjoy organizing actions, conferences, meetings, or business presentations as your job? Why or why not? 3. Imagine you want to invite a group of investors to your school to persuade them to sponsor your school. What things would need to be arranged? What arguments would you use to convince them to invest their funding into your needs? How would you organize their day in your school? Discuss your ideas with the class.
EXERCISE 2 Are these statements TRUE or FALSE? 1. The boss read Larry’s e-mails. 2. It is more expensive to organize a conference in a big hotel than in an independent conference centre. 3. The boss would prefer to hold the conference in a conference centre near the airport. 4. The boss will stay in a hotel near the conference centre. 5. Larry should send the participants a list of hotels which are near the conference centre. 6. The boss decided to serve drinks during the conference but no meals because it costs too much. 7. Larry shouldn’t look for a catering company because it would be too complicated. 8. Larry and Collin were supposed to prepare a video about their company but they weren’t sure how to do it.
EXERCISE 3 Listen and fill in the missing text. 1. So it seems like these small independent conference centres are actually cheaper than the big hotels. And there’s a couple that I’ve been which seem to have good services, good space. 2. Well, in fact where this conference centre…the one that’s in the centre it’s just a short taxi or to the historical part of the city so that’s good.
ride
3. I mean I would have preferred it but if there’s such a difference in price we will perhaps this separate conference centre. Give perhaps people a choice of hotels or suggest hotels where they could stay in the . 4. And than provide perhaps soft drinks and tea and coffee on the other days. So if you can catering for the last day, I would appreciate that … 5. Well, think of a options available.
or sort of more like
6. I would look into the
sort of buffet. Perhaps you could look into the
firm. I think that would
7. Well, it’s an idea. And I think perhaps it’s a good way of 8. No, I think it could be more some photographs.
matters. the
.
than just having simply a formal introduction with perhaps
EXERCISE 4 Match the following English expressions with their Czech equivalent. 1. QUITE A BIT
A) BLÍZKOST
8. BUFFET
H) ZJEDNODUŠIT
2. FOCUS IN ON
B) PROZKOUMAT
9. CATERING
I) DRŽET SE NĚČEHO
3. TUBE
C) RAUT
10. SIMPLIFY
J) PŘEDMĚT
4. STICK TO
D) ZÁBAVNÝ
11. APPROACH
K) METRO V LONDÝNĚ
5. VICINITY
E) ŠVÉDSKÝ STŮL
12. SUBJECT
L) ZAMĚŘIT SE NA
6. LOOK INTO
F) USPOŘÁDÁNÍ
13. ENTERTAINING
M) DOCELA DOST
7. ARRANGEMENTS
G) STRAVOVÁNÍ
14. SWEDISH TABLE
N) PŘISTUPOVAT K
PHRASE BOOK Use the vocabulary list to develop questions you could ask the speaker in a mock interview. With a partner, take turns being the speaker and a Manager of a Conference facility in England. Role play asking and answering your questions about booking the catering at their facility. APPROACH
A style of doing something.
ARRANGEMENTS
Agreements between one party and another for the delivery or development of a certain product or service.
QUITE A BIT
Colloquial expression in the diminutive emphasizing more than alot.
STICK TO (IT)
Colloquial expression to indicate perseverance.
LOOK INTO (IT)
Idiomatic expression to indicate that the person will perform the proposed action in the future.
SWEDISH TABLE
Czechs use this phrase to describe a Swedish style of meal which is called a smorgasbord. Many kinds of dishes are served all at once, usually as a celebratory event.
EXERCISE 5 ROLE PLAY 1.
Watch the video again and try to remember as much as you can about what was discussed.
2.
Create your own dialogue with a follow-up phone call to the boss. Use some of the expressions from the video Larry has not been able to follow the boss’s directions for the catering. He needs to convince the boss of some major changes to the directions he gave him. Larry found an alternative menu at a cheaper price. Larry explains to his boss, “The problem is that……”Use your imagination to complete the sentence and create a role play that uses humor to solve Larry’s problems. Take turns being the boss and Larry. Perform your dialogue.
EXERCISE 6 GRAMMAR AND SYNTAX TEST 1.
2.
3.
The speaker in the video said: ” And is the hotel where I’m staying reasonably near or… “ …Does the underlined sentence suggest the speaker: A)
is staying in the hotel right now.
B)
has arranged to stay in the hotel in the future
C)
is considering the option to stay in the hotel.
Make logical connections between the beginnings and endings of the following sentences. I’m flying to London next week.
A) I checked the schedule but I haven’t booked the tickets yet.
I’m going to fly to London next week.
B) I’ve just got the idea.
I’ll fly to London next week.
C) I collected my tickets yesterday. My flight leaves at 9:30 a.m.
Are the future tenses used correctly in the following sentences? A)
I’m sorry I can’t join you tonight. I’m visiting my grandmother. She is expecting me for dinner.
B)
What about our summer holiday? I must admit I haven’t thought about it. I know! We’ll go to Greece.
C)
I’m going to take a week off. I talked about it with my wife yesterday. I need to ask my boss if it’s O.K.
4.
Think of three activities you may have been thinking about recently but haven’t planned yet. Then think of three activities you have planned for the next months. Use going to write about the first three and present continuous to make sentences about the latter three.
5.
Use the vocabulary list from Exercise 4 to make a list Larry must still do for his boss to plan out the conference centre activities.
WHILE YOU WATCH EXERCISE 2 1. FALSE, 2. TRUE, 3. FALSE, 4. TRUE, 5. TRUE, 6. FALSE, 7. FALSE, 8. FALSE EXERCISE 3 1. So it seems like these small independent conference centres are actually quite a bit cheaper than the big hotels. And there’s a couple that I’ve been focusing in on which seem to have good services, good space. 2. Well, in fact where this conference centre…the one that’s in the centre it’s just a short taxi or Tube ride to the historical part of the city so that’s good. 3. I mean I would have preferred it but if there’s such a difference in price we will perhaps stick to this separate conference centre. Give perhaps people a choice of hotels or suggest hotels where they could stay in the vicinity. 4. And than provide perhaps soft drinks and tea and coffee on the other days. So if you can look into catering arrangements for the last day, I would appreciate that … 5. Well, think of a buffet or sort of more like Swedish table sort of buffet. Perhaps you could look into the options available. 6. I would look into the catering firm. I think that would simplify matters. 7. Well, it’s an idea. And I think perhaps it’s a good way of approaching the subject. 8. No, I think it could be more entertaining than just having simply a formal introduction with perhaps some photographs. 8. Thanks, thanks a lot and you have my e-mail, yeah, we’ll be in touch. AFTER YOU WATCH EXERCISE 4 1M,2L,3K,4I,5A,6B,7F,8C,9G, 10H,11N,12J,13D,14E
AFTER YOU WATCH EXERCISE 6 1.
B
2. 1C, 2A, 3B I’m flying to London next week. I collected my tickets yesterday. My flight leaves at 9:30 a.m. I’m going to fly to London next week. I checked the schedule but I haven’t booked the tickets yet. I’ve just got the idea. I’ll fly to London next week.
3.
A) WRONG – I will visit my grandmother. B) CORRECT C) CORRECT
