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Řídit obchodní poradu je umění. A co když je navíc v angličtině?

  9:01
Server Lidovky.cz vám ve spolupráci s jazykovou agenturou Skřivánek v pravidelné pondělní lekci kurzu byznys angličtiny poradí, jak si poradit i s tímto oříškem. V druhé novoroční lekci se dozvíte, jaké umění je správně vést poradu a na co si dát pozor. Správné odpovědi najdete jako vždy na konci lekce.
Porada - ilustrační foto.

Porada - ilustrační foto. foto: ČTK

Chairing a meeting requires a combination of several learnable skills. It is a very demanding task but it can be facilitated if you remember several rules:

Fill in missing words into the meeting rules:

• ____ actively

• One person should ____ at a time

• Allow no ____ conversations

• Questions are as valuable as ____

• Link or ____ on each other´s ideas

• ____ everyone to speak

• Keep the discussion on ____

• ____ attention to agenda and time

Before you read the article, try to guess the characteristics of a good chairperson:

A good chairperson should be...

a F_ _ _ L _ _ _ _ _ R

I_ P_ _ _ _ AL

T_C _ _ U _

A_ _ _ RT _ _ _

F_ _ M

a C_ _ D _ _ _ O _



Read the following paragraph and fill in antonyms for these adjectives and adverbs:

unassertive --------  biased ---------  closed ended --------  irrelevant

open-minded -----------  unproductively -----------  polite

The chairperson functions as a facilitator whose role is to listen E____, ask O____ questions and involve others equally. There are several options for this, you initiate a "go around” (an opportunity for all participants to speak briefly to the item), you can ask for pros and cons, hopes and fears, or opportunities and challenges in relation to a particular proposal, you can initiate a round of brainstorming or you can ask the participants to describe their R____ experience. A chairman can be likened to a judge because he/she has to stay I____ and listen to the ideas of others. A chairman should be A____ as well because nobody should dominate the meeting; you have to be firm but not R____ or D____.

Read the following paragraphs and match the words with their definitions:

AIM -- AGENDA ---TO ISSUE --- TO STICK --- ACTION POINT --- TO ALLOCATE

  • Documented event, task, activity, or action that needs to take place
  • To divide and give out (something) for a special reason or to particular people, companies
  • A purpose or intention toward which one's efforts are directed
  • A list or program of things to be done or considered
  • To hold to something firmly
  • To put forth or distribute usually officially

One of the most important things is to have clear aims and objectives set. Regular meetings without specific aims are not very effective. Each meeting should have its own agenda issued to all participants in advance and at the meeting there has to be a minute taker who is clear about what he/she is supposed to do.

If there is a larger number of participants, remember to highlight or distribute a few rules, so that the meeting does not finish because everybody is speaking at the same time and nobody is listening. Also, everybody should be introduced if the participants do not know each other.

Stick to the time as well. If the meeting is supposed to start at 10 am, start at 10 am no matter who is present.

If this is a follow-up or on-going meeting, first task on the agenda to be discussed should be the action points from the previous minutes.

Each problem should be discussed in about four steps. First, you should identify the issue or the problem, second, you should understand and analyse the problem, then you should encourage brainstorming of possible options and finally, come up with a decision.

Throughout the whole meeting, chairman´s task is to keep everybody to the point so that irrelevant or unimportant topics are not being discussed. Good time management is a part of this process as well because you have to decide about the importance of each item on the agenda and allocate enough time to it for an appropriate discussion.

At the end of the meeting, the minute taker should have the opportunity to check details with the participants and before these minutes are being issued, you as the chairperson should go over it.

Each meeting should be closed with a summary. The chairperson can use summarizing not only to finish up the whole meeting but also to end a discussion or to limit the need for a discussion. Moreover, the chairman should summarize proceedings with an emphasis on decisions taken and future plans.

To conclude, a chairman should be tactful but assertive and be able to facilitate an effective meeting because a good chairperson should be like a conductor in an orchestra who is able to control all aspects of the meeting with little effort and if a few rules are obeyed then the meeting will definitely be successful.

Test your knowledge HERE

Correct answers

Fill in missing words...: Listen, speak, side, answers, build, Encourage, track, Pay

Try to guess the characteristics...: a facilitator, impartial, tactful, assertive, firm, a conductor 

Fill in antonyms...: Effectively, Open ended, Relevant, Impartial, Assertive, Rude, Dogmatic

Match the words...:
AIM - A purpose or intention toward which one's efforts are directed
AGENDA - A list or program of things to be done or considered
TO ISSUE - To put forth or distribute usually officially
TO STICK - To hold to something firmly
ACTION POINT - Documented event, task, activity, or action that needs to take place
TO ALLOCATE - To divide and give out (something) for a special reason or to particular people, companies

Jazyková agentura Skřivánek

Skřivánek je největší jazykovou agenturou ve střední a východní Evropě. Na trhu jazykových služeb působí již od roku 1994. Kanceláře a učebny agentury Skřivánek najdete v 22 městech ČR a v dalších 13 zemích světa.
Jako jedna z největších překladatelských agentur v Evropě se Skřivánek stal uznávaným specialistou na evropské a asijské jazyky. Zaměstnává více než 400 kvalifikovaných jazykových odborníků a nabízí odborné překlady do všech jazyků.
Kromě různých typů kurzů pro veřejnost zajišťuje Skřivánek i výuku na klíč pro firmy a jednotlivce, jazykové audity, pobytové a zahraniční kurzy nebo přípravu na jazykové zkoušky pro děti i dospělé. Více informací najdete na www.skrivanek.cz

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