Васильчева А. В.

 

Васильчева А. В.

(г. Луганск, ЛНР) 

TEACHING MODERN BUSINESS ETIQUETTE

The job market is extremely competitive and skilled employees are high in demand. University education exposes students to new research and technology, encourages creativity and self-sustainability of their capabilities, builds initiative and leadership skills that can be used for life and lets students face other cultures and backgrounds. It goes without saying, that foreign language skills, including comprehension, expression and communication, will always be needed.

One of the main aims of a modern foreign language teacher is to bring the real world of international business into the language-teaching classroom. That is the only way to help learners to develop their communication skills in the key business areas of presentations, meetings, negotiations, telephoning and social English.

Social etiquette rules can be read about, can be discussed a hundred times, but they will never be applied properly without true-to-life practice. That is why the most efficient way of teaching social etiquette is a role-play. It requires a lot of time to prepare, but it gives students the very practical skills they need. Moreover, students are encouraged to use their own experience and opinions while playing and this fact helps to maximize their involvement and learning.

As we know, the tone of a business relationship can be set by an initial introduction. It is important to make a good impression right from the first handshake. The typical introduction role-plays at schools usually contain only useful phrases, their order and pronunciation. That is why university teachers have to pay more attention to students’ behaviour during the conversation: the way students move, the social distance they keep, etc. It is important to teach students that people must be introduced in order of professional rank – the person of highest authority is introduced to others in the group in descending order, depending on their professional position; clients should be introduced first. When possible, students should stand up when introductions are being made. The name and title of the person being introduced are followed by the name and title of the other person. Of course, during a real-life conversation these rules are sometimes broken, but knowing they exist provides a starting point. It is also worth remembering that many aspects of etiquette are not universal – cultural norms vary from country to country. A firm handshake may be appreciated in the USA, the UK and Australia, but a French businessperson is more likely to offer a single, tight handshake. In Japan, it is more usual to bow [1].

Students also must learn to treat business cards with respect. They must get used to exchanging them with one or two hands (depending on the situation), to take a moment to read them and to store them carefully.

Teaching negotiating is another crucial task. It is important to make students understand that explaining and exploring problems requires good communication skills. As well as the ability to explain problems and offer advice, the successful resolution also requires the ability to actively listen. During such a role-play the teacher must make sure that the students give the speaking person their full attention, as it is not possible to listen well when multitasking; are aware of the person’s body language; show that they are engaged with what the person says by nodding or adding brief verbal comments such as: go on, ok, etc.; paraphrase or repeat back key information (“So what you're saying is ...”, “Do you mean that…?”); ask questions to clarify or gain more information.

Teaching presentation skills must not be limited to introducing key phrases for starting a presentation, including greetings, introducing the topic and talking about the parts and aim of the presentation. Attention should also be paid to the gestures students use, the way they speak, move and interact with multimedia equipment.

Quarantine restrictions and distance learning also give university teachers a great opportunity to improve students’ abilities to communicate online: during phone calls, conference calls, meetings via Skype/Zoom/Webex/Google Meet etc.

First, a teacher should make students aware of online etiquette. A key distinguishing feature of an online course is that communication can occur via the written word. Because of this the body language, voice, tone, and instantaneous listeners’ feedback of the traditional classroom might be absent. Students should be taught to think carefully about the content of their message before contributing it. Once sent to the group there is no taking it back. Typing in caps is impolite because it is considered as shouting or screaming online. Grammar and spelling errors reflect on them and their audience might not be able to decode misspelled words or poorly constructed sentences. Being as concise as possible when contributing to a discussion will help a student’s point of view not to be missed in a flood of text.

Second, it is important to teach them to deal with problems they face: the Internet connection failure, people speak too fast, vocabulary problems, etc. A teacher can make a list of phrases like: “Speak slowly, please”, “Do you mean…?”, “Sorry? Could you repeat that please?” and ask students to decide which phrases they can use if: a) they want the person to repeat; b) they do not understand anything the person says; c) the person speaks too fast. These phrases can be used during online classes so that students get used to them and start using them correctly. This would also be a good point to show how important it is to prepare before making calls in English.

Third, teachers can provide students with exposure to non-native English accents which they may find challenging to understand, but which will help them to build confidence in their own speaking.

We often associate communication with verbal skills only, but in many situations tone, body language and gestures can be as important as the spoken words. That is why students should not stick to their desks during their foreign language course. They must feel free to move around and use non-verbal communication too. Furthermore, students must be taught that doing some background research to get acquainted with local etiquette and social customs can avoid causing offence.

ЛИТЕРАТУРА

1.  Martin, J. S. Global Business Etiquette: A Guide to International Communication and Customs, 2nd Edition / J. S. Martin and L. H. Chaney. – Oxford : Praeger, 2012. – 229 p.