Fill in the gaps with the words from the box.

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Divided, put, responsible, leads, department heads, screen, aware, imagine, parts, introduce, schedules, suggestions, regarding, draw, present, consequences, first of all, mean, topic, concerns, sum up, finally, specific, go about, identify, run through, understand

1. Let me ____________ myself. My name is…

2. I’m here today to ___________our new system which makes the process of dealing with complaints easier.

3. As you can see on the __________, our __________ today is project documentation.

4. I’m ____________ that you all have very tight____________, so I appreciate you taking the time to come here.

5. Today’s topic will be very important for you as __________________ since I’ll need your help to evaluate and select candidates for training.

6. I’ve _________ my talk into three main __________. __________, I’ll tell you something about the history of our company, after that I’ll describe how the company is structured and __________, I’ll give you some overview of the range of services we’re ready to provide.

7. __________ you worked in a small to medium-sized company and were ___________ for drafting the same documents all the time. How would you __________it?

8. What I’d like to do today is to make some ____________ on how to make our handbooks to meet the needs of our clients.

9. I’d like to quickly ___________ the problems and then make some suggestions on how we can deal with the___________.

10. Let’s now turn to the next question which __________ filing different applications.

11. Let me give you some details ___________ our subsidiary.

12. Before I move on, let me just __________ what I’ve said so far.

13. This ____________ directly to my second point.

14. I’d like to __________ your attention to the following statistics of lost cases.

15. So, to _______ it in the words of famous H. Gordon Selfridge, “The customer is always right”.

16. In conclusion, I’d like to ______________ my main points once again.

17. You were talking about staff problem. What exactly do you ________ by it?

18. I’m afraid, I don’t quite __________ your question. Could you be a bit more ________?

Exercise 2.

Complete the sentences with correct prepositions.

1. Thank you all _____ coming all this way.

2. I’ve divided my presentation _________ several parts.

3. First of all, I’ll give you an overview ________ our current position in the market.

4. In the second part of my presentation I’ll focus ________the project status.

5. Point three deals ________ court decisions that might create a precedent later.

6. After that I’ll move on _______ the next point.

7. The purpose of my talk today is to update you _____ new developments in our legal department.

8. What I want to do is to present alternatives ______ existing procedures.

9. According _____ the survey, our clients are not happy ______ the range of services we currently provide.

10. In addition, ______ this, I’d like to say that our business in subsidiaries is going very well.

11. So, what are the reasons ______ our failures?

12. What I’d like to point _____ here is that it was completely our fault and next time we should be more careful with the figures.

13. Before I stop, let me go _______ the key points covered in my speech.

14. We just have time ________ a few questions.

15. So, that was the plan of further development. Now let’s go and put it _______ practice!

Exercise 3.

Put the words in the right order to make expressions that might be used during a presentation.

1. Shall/OK/get/we/started?

2. My/today/subject/presentation/of/satisfaction/is/the/customer.

3. Will/presentation/thirty/my/about/take/minutes.

4. Issues/on/three/focus/I’ll.

5. By/looking/of/current/will/the/status/case/we/the/start/at.

6. Move/now/to/point/next/let’s/on/the.

7. All/topic/as/today/is/you/know/our/customers’ complaints.

8. Be/additionally/cases/discussing/most/will/we/the/important.

9. Said/brief/give/I/you/earlier/a/I’ll/as/overview.

10. At/closer/table/let’s/this/a/look.

11. Attention/draw/your/facts/like/I’d/to/to/following/the.

12. Stress/change/is/important/I’d/how/to/like/this.

13. Now/end/presentation/approaching/I’m/of/the/my.

14. Summarize/me/important/let/the/results/most.

15. Points/again/go/I’d/through/like/to/the/main.

Exercise 4.

Match the two parts to make sentences.

1.Feel free to 2. This won’t take more 3. I’ll be passing out 4. There is no need to 5.There will be time 6.Here we can see how many 7. Let’s have a closer look 8. I’d like to point out how 9. I’d like to highlight the 10. So, just how good 11. I’d like to draw your 12.Now let’s 13. Remember that story I told you 14. Let me go back to 15. Good point, but I’d prefer 16. I’m afraid that’s

a. important this statistics is for us. b. not my field. c. get down to business. d. for questions after my talk. e. at the pictures on the next slide. f. what I said at the start of this talk. g. is the quality of this legal advice. h. attention to the figures in the left-hand column. i. than 20 minutes of your time j. handouts in a few minutes k. clients have complained about our work. l. right at the beginning of my speech m. take notes. Everything is on the slides which I’ll send you later. n. main problem areas o. not to discuss that today. p. ask questions at any time

Exercise 5.

Use phrases which are typical of presentations to answer the following questions. Sometimes variants are possible.

1. What phrases would you use to welcome the audience and introduce yourself? How would your choice of words depend on the audience?

2. What phrases would you use to introduce the topic of your presentation?

3. Which phrases would you use to sequence the points of your presentation?

4. How would you indicate the end of the section and say what is coming next?

5. How would you refer to the points you’ve mentioned before?

6. What phrases would you use to indicate that your presentation is coming to its end?

7. What phrases would you use to summarize the key points?

8. How would you invite questions from the audience?

9. How would you clarify the question?

10. What phrases would you use to avoid answering the question or to postpone it?

Exercise 6.

Choose a problem in the sphere of law you are interested in or going to work in and make a presentation. Follow the checklist while preparing and structuring your presentation.

CHECKLIST Introduction · Welcome the audience · Introduce yourself (name, position/function) · State your topic · Say why your topic is important for the audience · Describe the structure of your talk (the main points and when you will be dealing with them) · Say how long the presentation will be · Say when you will answer questions · Say whether there are handouts or the slides you will send later TIP: Remember how to make effective openings: start with a rhetorical question, a story or an amazing fact, or give the audience a problem to think about. Main part · Briefly state your topic and objectives again · Then introduce your main points and give details · Signal the beginning of each part · Signal the end of each part · Refer to the slides or other visuals. Tell your audience what they illustrate. Explain and clarify if it is necessary · Signal the end of the main part Conclusion · Signal the end of your presentation · Summarize the key points · Explain their significance · Make your final statement · Invite questions TIP: Remember how to make effective conclusions: end with a question or a quote from a famous person, finish a story you started at the beginning of your talk or call the audience to action. Dealing with questions · Think what questions you may expect and how you could deal with them · Listen carefully and make sure you understood the question correctly · Paraphrase the question if it is necessary · If you want to postpone the question, say why politely · If you don’t know the answer to the question, say so and offer to find out · Check that the questioner is satisfied with your answer

UNIT 3.

Lead-in

Before reading the text please answer the questions below.

1. What is the importance of telephoning skills for practicing lawyers?

2. Are there any ways to make a positive impression while handling calls? In your opinion, is this impression important?

3. What is the main drawback of telephone communication? How can this negative influence be weakened?

Telephoning

Notwithstanding that messaging and email may have overtaken telephone conversations as a way of communicating, telephone skills remain important in developing professional relationships and providing services. They are skills required of lawyers from the first day of their practice. It is common for many first interviews to take place and initial instructions to be given by telephone. It is also a means by which transactions and matters are progressed, either on a one-to-one or telephone conference basis. In light of this, you as a lawyer should take every opportunity to practise a professional telephone manner and try not to become too dependent on email. It may feel like an easy way of avoiding having to think on your feet, but the fact is that some matters are better handled by speaking to a client. Delivering an unpalatable message, such as that you are not going to meet the deadline, is a kind of matter that is tempting to deal with by email so that you do not have to deal with the client’s immediate reaction. However, this is precisely the kind of issue, which is better handled by telephone. It is much easier to avoid errors in tone by telephone; emails may often be misconstrued and if the subject matter is delicate, this can be exacerbated. In addition, if you can call a client to deliver an unpalatable message, you will demonstrate to that client that you are an honest and confident lawyer with good communication skills, and most clients will appreciate this.

Every time a prospective client or referral source interacts with you or your firm by telephone, he or she comes away with a positive, neutral or negative impression. Making people feel important and letting them know you care leaves them with a positive impression, so how you and your law firm handle telephone calls speaks volumes. The person who first answers the phone becomes the greeter for the entire firm. Setting a friendly, warm tone is important because doing so sets the stage for the interaction that follows. When the person answering the phone is friendly, the caller is likely to reciprocate. Many companies that train people how to answer the phone suggest physically smiling before answering the phone. The smile can literally be heard in a person’s voice and articulation. The policy in many companies is to let the phone ring no more than three times. If you cannot answer the phone within the allocated time, offer an immediate apology to the caller. Doing this you inform your client or colleague that you are aware of the delay and of the caller’s probable annoyance, thus defusing it. If the caller has forgotten to introduce himself, there is a subtle way to get this information. You may politely ask him or her who is calling and once the speaker gives the name, be sure to use it in your response.

When you answer the phone, you may need to take a message. The key goal of this task is accuracy – getting the correct phone numbers, dates, meeting times, names of people. To ensure this accuracy you may need to repeat what you have written down to the caller. Most callers will appreciate it because the repetition helps to assure them that the correct information will be transmitted to the recipient of the message. If you do not understand what the caller has said, because he talks fast, has a speech impediment, has a strong accent, or there are interfering noises, do not be embarrassed to ask him to repeat what you did not understand or to ask him to slow down or speak up.

Try to demonstrate that you are actively listening to and empathizing with the person with whom you are interacting. When a client calls, you must give him or her your full and undivided attention; put yourself in the client’s shoes and try to see things from his or her perspective. Keep distractions and background noise to a minimum; when you are on the phone, do not type, tidy your desk or arrange your papers. During longer conversations, it is a good idea to take notes and pause at key points to summarize what you have just heard to show that you are listening ('So what you mean is...', 'If I understood you correctly, you want to... '). This can also help your client to move forward in the conversation. Wait until the other person has stopped talking before you decide what to say next. If you are constantly thinking about your response, you will not be able to concentrate on what they are saying. Use phrases like 'let me see', 'I see what you mean', or 'I just need to think for a moment' to give yourself time to think about what to say next.

If you are making a call, speak clearly, at a moderate pace and try to be polite and friendly. Start your conversation by stating your name and the purpose of your call. Your initial greeting is especially important if you are not well known to the person you are calling, and it is even more important if you have never met the person you are calling. You only get one chance to make your “first impression.” After your introduction, be sure to ask, “Is now a good time to talk? ” If you get a positive answer, give the person an idea how long the conversation is likely to last and get to the point as quickly as possible. If it is an inconvenient time for the recipient, schedule an appointment when the person will be available to speak with you. If you get a voicemail while making a call, get ready to leave a message. When leaving a message, speak slowly and clearly, state your name - spell it, if necessary - and the purpose of your call, keep your message short and to the point, indicate the best time to call you back, leave your call-back number at both the beginning and end of your recorded message, be sensitive to confidentiality as others might hear the message you leave.

One of the particular problems with telephoning is that you cannot see the person you are speaking to. You therefore do not have the benefit of the nonverbal clues given by body language, which assist communication in face-to-face situations. This makes it especially important for both parties to speak clearly and use simple terms. You, as a lawyer, should avoid jargon and slang words if you do not want to mislead or puzzle your client. The tone of verbal communication is very important, as it helps you to convey a range of messages: empathy, sympathy, humour, etc. Even if you are concentrating on something, try not to slip into a monotone. Make sure you vary the tone of your voice to add interest. People tend to mirror the emotions, so if you are pleasant to them, they are more likely to be pleasant to you.

Making a phone call in English requires mastering vocabulary and phrases typical of formal telephone communication. Preparation in advance will help you to organize your ideas and provide support for you if you get confused. Remember, that practice makes it perfect.

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