PET 225 E-BOOK

Understand the rules
of conversations.

Understand ways to
improve

conversational
skills.

LEARNING
OUTCOMES

Understand the
suitable phrases to
use in conversations.

Understand the
importance of
conversation skills.

46

INTRODUCTION
TO

CONVERSATIONS

47

WHAT IS A
CONVERSATION?

48

Conversation is an
interactive communication
between two or more people.

Conversation is held between
two people or within a small

group of people.

49

BASIC RULES OF
CONVERSATIONS

50

BE FRIENDLY AND POLITE

Smiling, and being nice, will take
you a long way in conversational
terms.

CONVERSATION IS A
TWO-WAY STREET

The first and most important rule of
conversation is that it is not all
about you, but it’s not all about the
other person either. Instead, try
asking a question to establish
common ground. For example:
“What do you do?”, or even “Isn’t the
weather beautiful?”

RESPOND TO WHAT THEY
ARE SAYING

It’s important to focus on the other
person, and what they’re saying. You
also need to take into account their
body language.

51

USE SIGNALLING TO HELP
THE OTHER PERSON

When a conversation is flowing well,
it moves naturally from one person
to the other. However, if one or both
are finding it more of a struggle to
‘chat’, you may find it helpful to use
‘signals’ to show the other person
that it is their turn to talk.

CREATE EMOTIONAL
CONNECTION

Conversation is also a way to
explore whether you wish to know
someone better and build a
relationship with them. It can
therefore be useful to understand
how to use conversation to create
and build emotional connections.
The key is sharing appropriate
information.

Source: skillsyouneed.com 52

WAYS TO
IMPROVE
CONVERSATION

SKILLS

53

Source: lifeoptimizer.org

TALK SLOWLY

Typically, good talkers don’t rush
into a conversation. They take their
time when they reflect on something
and when they say it out loud. This
makes them come off as centered and
collected.

HOLD MORE EYE

CONTACT

Most people keep eye contact about
2/3 of the time or less when they talk.
It’s a very good idea to hold eye
contact just a bit more than that.
This will convey confidence and
interest in interacting with them.

GIVE UNIQUE

COMPLIMENTS

Charismatic people are able to
really pay attention to others, and
pay unique compliments. Do the
same and besides wooing others,
you may even help them find out

54things about themselves they

didn’t know.

EXPRESS YOUR

EMOTIONS

Don’t just present the facts, you’re
not a newspaper. Express your
feelings about those facts. Keep in
mind that it is at the emotional level
that people connect best.

OFFER INTERESTING

INSIGHTS

Good talkers can frequently tell
you things you didn’t know and
that you’ll find fascinating. This is
why it’s good to have knowledge
into fields such as psychology or
sociology, and bring such
knowledge out at the right
moments in a conversation.

USE THE BEST WORDS 55

Constantly develop your vocabulary
and practice communicating as
accurately as possible. It will help you
develop a way with words and allow
you to express yourself more easily.

SUITABLE
PHRASES TO BE

USED IN
CONVERSATIONS

56

Asking someone to say
something again

Pardon
I’m sorry I didn’t hear/catch what you said
Would/ Could you say that again, please?
Would/ Could you repeat what you said, please?

Saying something
another way

In other words,...
That's to say
What I'm trying to say is
What I'm getting at it

Checking someone has
understood you

Do you know what I mean?

… if you see what I mean 57
I hope that’s clear.

Do I make myself clear.

Source: eslbuzz.com

Source: eslbuzz.com

When you want to add
something

I’d like to make another point.
I’d also like to say…
Allow me to add something...
I also believe that...

When you want to
apologize

Sorry, I’m late.
I apologize for being late.
I’m afraid I’ve forgotten my workbook.
My apologies.

To show you are 58
interested

I see…
Really?
Oh, yes.
How interesting!
I know/ see what you mean.

WHY ARE
CONVERSATION
SPEAKING SKILLS

IMPORTANT?

59

Conversation creates
connection.

Conversation is the life-
blood of relationships.

Conversation is
necessary for

communication:

60

EXERCISE

61

Produce a conversation dialogue by
including the words below and practice it
with your friends.

62Source: eslflow.com

UNIT 4:
INTERVIEWS

63

WHAT
WILL

YOU
LEARN?

64

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Understand the correct
manner of speaking during

an interview.

Understand the ways to
improve interview
speaking skills.

Understand the suitable
phrases to use during
interviews.

65

INTRODUCTION
TO INTERVIEWS

66

An interview is a formal
meeting in which one or
more persons question,
consult, or evaluate
another person

It is also a meeting or

conversation in which a

writer or reporter asks

questions of one or more

persons from whom

material is sought for a

newspaper story,

television broadcast, etc.

Interviews are a structured
conversation where one
participant asks questions,
and the other provides
answers.

67

BASIC INTERVIEW
MANNERS

68

Watch your timing.

Do not be late or too
early to the interview.

Know their names.

Know the interviewers name as a sign of respect.
Greet them politely.

Body language

Your body language will betray some of your
feelings in the interview, so if you can take
control of your body, it could go a long way
towards smashing the interview.

Don't over-share

It’s important to be open and friendly as they’ll be
assessing how you’d fit into the team, but only
share relevant parts of your life with them.

69

HOW TO IMPROVE
INTERVIEW

SPEAKING SKILLS?

70

Do not be afraid to be yourself

Maintain professional speech whenever you
are talking about anything
personal. Don't go into too
much detail if talking about
yourself, spending only around
one minute doing so.

Act and speak professionally

Don't use any slang or
colloquialisms. Speaking like
you would with friends or
family is too casual for a job
interview. Avoid using any
filler words like “um” or “uh”.
It's acceptable to leave pauses
in your speech.

Stay positive

If a negative question or
detail comes up, talk about
the positive aspects of it.

71

Use appropriate language

Be aware of any inappropriate slang words or
references to age, race, religion,
politics, or sexual orientation—
these topics could send you out
the door very quickly.

Ask questions

Wrong answer. Part of
knowing how to interview is
being ready to ask questions
that demonstrate an interest
in what goes on. The best
questions come from listening
to what you're asked during
the interview and asking for
additional information.

Don't be overconfident

Even if you're putting on a
performance to demonstrate your
ability, overconfidence is as bad, if
not worse, as being too reserved.

WHAT PHRASES
SHOULD YOU USE

DURING
INTERVIEWS?

73

Describing your personality

Easy-going Trustworthy
Honest Committed
Hardworking Focused
Proactive Methodical

Describing your strengths

Organization Enthusiasm
Multitasking Speak foreign
Perform to a languages
deadline Able to work in a
Solve problems team

Describing your experience

I have five years’ experience as a ...
I worked in ... for ... years and was
promoted to ... in my ... year
I studied at the ...
I worked for ... as a ...

Source: ef.com

COMMON
INTERVIEW
QUESTIONS

75

Source: thebalancecareers.com

Do you work well with other
people?
Tell me about yourself.
Describe a difficult work
situation/project and how you
overcame it.
What have you learned from your
mistakes?
What do you expect from a
supervisor?
How do you handle stress and
pressure?
Do you prefer to work
independently or on a team?
Give some examples of your
teamwork in completing a critical
project.
Why are you the best person for the
job?

76

EXERCISES

77

TASK 1: ROLE PLAY

You heard that Starbucks is coming to your country and
is hiring, so you apply for a store manager position. Make
up a short CV for yourself. Then, give some thought to
the common interview questions below before doing the
interview.

78

79

80

UNIT 5:
OBTAINING
GOODS AND
SERVICES

81

WHAT
WILL YOU
LEARN?

82

Understand the Understand things
definition of services to avoid while

and goods obtaining goods and
services

LEARNING
OUTCOMES

Understand the Understand the main
suitable phrases to features of talk as

use in obtaining transaction in obtaining
goods and services. goods and services

83

INTRODUCTION
TO

OBTAINING
GOODS AND
SERVICES

84

What is the meaning of services?

Services are activities provided
by other people, who include
doctors, lawn care workers,
dentists, barbers, waiters, or

online servers, a book, a digital
videogame or a digital movie.

What is the meaning of goods?

Goods are items you buy that
are usually (but not always)
tangible, such as pens, books,

salt, apples, and hats.

SOURCE: ENGLISH POST.ORG 85

THINGS TO AVOID WHILE
OBTAINING GOODS AND

SERVICES!

!!!!!!

86

WHILE OBTAINING
GOODS AND SERVICES

KINDLY AVOID..

Being rude. Instead be sweet
and kind to ease the process.

Avoid scolding and shouting.

Haggling is not forbidden, but
know your limits.

Avoid using inappropriate,

vulgar language and cursing

words. 87

The main features of
talk as transaction
in obtaining goods
and services are:

88

THE FEATURES ARE..

It focuses on
primarily

information.

It mainly focuses on the
message and not the
participants.

Linguistic accuracy is
not always important.

SOURCE: WORLD OF BETTER LEARNING 89

Vocabulary to
Describe Products

and Services

90

SOURCE: ENGLISH POST.ORG 91

SUITABLE
PHRASES FOR
OBTAINING GOODS
AND SERVICES

92

SCENE 1:
PURCHASING

GOODS

93

Explanation of the difference

between two or more products

serving the same purpose

!QUESTIONS!
Tell me about (this product)
Can you give me some
information/details about
this?
What is special/unique about
this?
What are the specifications?
What is the differences
between this two products.
Why is it bigger than this?
Why the prices are different?

!ANSWERS!

Let me tell you about . . .

You can . . . with it

It is made of . .

This is equipped with . . .

The prices are different

because..

This one features . . .

This particular model . . . 94

SOURCE: ENGLISHPOST.ORG

Negotiation while buying goods

!QUESTIONS!
Can you give me some
discount?
Is this the fixed price?
Will you give price off for this
?
What are the other things that
has discount?

!ANSWERS!
These are after discount price.
There are no discount for
these products.
We can't give out the product
for that price.
The price you are asking for is
below retail price.
Sorry, I can't help you much in
tis matter.

SOURCE: ENGLISHPOST.ORG 95