Real Talking at Wotk- ABE Volume 1 . Program 3

Now in these first programs we're concentrating on some basic communication functions.
In Program 1 we did Greetings and Introductions. In Program 2, we concentrated on Listening and Questioning, Making Requests, and Responding to Requests.Now, today we're going to focus on:

WISTAR: Mike, I count seventeen chairs. Do you think we can fit twenty-four comfortably around this table?
MIKE: Twenty-four can be seated around the table quite comfortably.
WISTAR: Oh, OK. Can we use these chairs, though?
MIKE: Not for twenty-four. You’ll have to use the banquet stackable chairs.
WISTAR: OK. I’ll have to let my client know that we can’t use the armchairs, then. The other thing the said that they needed would be audiovisual equipment.
MIKE: Oh, yes. Behind the curtain here we have a screen as well as a blackboard.
WISTAR: OK. I think that’ll do it. I’ll just give my client a call this afternoon and tell her what we’ve got available. I think they’ll probably book it.
MIKE: All right. Great.
WISTAR: Good. Thanks a lot.
MIKE: Um-hmm. You’re welcome.

Wistar checks on a banquet room. Follow the conversation.

WISTAR: *
YOU: Twenty-four can be seated around the table quite comfortably.
WISTAR: *
YOU: Not for twenty-four. You’ll have to use the banquet stackable chairs.
WISTAR: *
YOU: Oh, yes. Behind the curtain here we have a screen as well as a blackboard.
WISTAR: *
YOU: Um-hmm. You’re welcome.

Listen as Tom discusses the master schedule.

NARRATOR: Tom discusses the Master schedule.
TOM: These books are the master books for holding space for meeting and… and/or any kind of reception or luncheon or evening formalities….

Now It's your turn. You do the interviewing. Talk to Tom. Use the following dialogue.

YOU: Tom, could you explain what those books are for?
TOM: *

Tom and Kit discuss a booking

Now pretend you are Tom. Speak to Kit. Use the following dialogue.

Are you ready? Remember: You start the conversation.

This will be our last visit to the Four Seasons Olympic Hotel in Seattle, Washington. You’ll get an opportunity to participate directly in the lesson by practicing the U-Speak sections. So… let’s get started with today’s lesson.

Are you ready? Remember: Britta will start the conversation.

Are you ready? Remember: You will start the conversation.

YOU: Hi, Britta
BRITTA: *
YOU: How did you get started in catering?
BRITTA: *
YOU: So, what you do is arrange banquets and catering for the hotel?
BRITTA: *
YOU: Tell me some of the things you do.
BRITTA: *
YOU: What’s the most difficult part of your job?
BRITTA: *
YOU: When someone schedules a banquet, what factors do you take into consideration in planning a menu for them?
BRITTA: *

Now it's your turn. You do the interviewing. The only problem is that Britta is recorded on tape and she can't hear you, and she can't wait for you to speak, so you have to be ready to speak when your turn comes.

Are you ready? Remember - you have to say hello to Britta first.

TOM: I just got a call from a guy with GTE out of Connecticut…
KIT: *
TOM: … and can you do me a favor and check some space?
KIT: *
TOM: April - specifically the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth.
KIT: *
TOM: Do we have enough space to… to hold a meeting for twenty-five to thirty people?
KIT: *
TOM: It’s U-shaped.
KIT: *
TOM: Outside only

Now pretend that you are Mike. Talk to Wistar. Use the following dialogue:

TOM: They want to book a meeting in April, and I sort of glanced at the space already. What they need is ameeting on the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth, with the guest rooms coming in on the fourteenth, of course, and leaving on the seventeenth. They need a U-shaped set-up for twenty-five to thirty people, and the only one that’s available, really, at this point on the sixteenth and seventeenth is the Parliament.
KIT: OK.
TOM: The same sut-up on Wednesday….
KIT: Um-hmm.
TOM: … and exactly the same set-up on Thursday.
KIT: Great.
TOM: He’s not sure if they’re going to go all day on Thursday, but for now he wants us to book it and then he’ll let us know as the day gets closer.
KIT: All right. Fine. Great. Let me just check the space on those rooms for you.
TOM: OK.
KIT: In the fourteenth.
TOM: Yeah.
KIT: Out the seventeenth. No problem at all.
TOM: OK:
KIT: Great. I’ll take care of it.
TOM: So why don’t you go ahead and write up a contract and then send it to him? He said he’d sign it and send it back.
KIT: OK. Super.
TOM: OK. Thanks.
KIT: Thanks you.

The Concierge talks about tourist spots.

Narrator: What places in Seattle do you recommend to visitors?

IRENE: I love to send people to the Pike Place Market, as well as to Pioneer Square, for a walk along the waterfront, perhaps out to the Arboretum, and to tour around the University of Washington campus.

Now it's your turn.Use the following dialogue to speak.

YOU: What places in Seattle do you recommend to visitors?

IRENE: *

HOST: By now you should know who Britta is. She works for the Director of Marketing at the Olympic Hotel. We’re going to take a few moments now to have a short conversation with Britta. We’ll take turns interviewing Britta, just like we did with Irene in Program 1, and Tom in Program 2. I’ll do the talking first, and then it’ll be your turn to do the interviewing. Here we go….

HOST: Hi, Britta
BRITTA: Hello.
HOST: How did you get started in catering?
BRITTA: Well, basically I’ve been involved in the hospitality industry for the last seven years. I’ve worked restaurants, room service, banquets, a little bit of the Rooms Division area, but basically found that I was really interested in food and beverage only.
HOST: So, what you do is arrange banquets and catering for the hotel?
BRITTA: Yes, I do, and overseeing those.
HOST: Tell me some of the things you do.
BRITTA: I book wedding receptions, deal with some of the larger corporate groups and their major functions as well as some of the smaller things that they do throughout the year – awards dinners, anniversaries, that type of thing.
HOST: What’s the most difficult part of your job?
BRITTA: I would say the most difficult part is reading people’s minds and making sure that what they want is what you give them in the finished product.
HOST: When someone schedules a banquet, what factors do you take into consideration in planning a menu for them?
BRITTA: Well, a lot of it is due to the person’s, oh, their personal taste and what they’re interested in having, what time of the year it is, what foods are fresh in the market. There are quite a few variables that we take into consideration.

HOST: Well… how did you do? I hope you didn’t have too much trouble speaking at the right time. One of the most important things about this course, is that all the people aren’t professional actors. They’re real business people - doing their jobs and talking about the things they do. This is natural English. They’re not using scripts. Well, the time is up again, and it’s time to say goodbye. In our next lesson we’ll move on to Case Study number 2, and we’ll be visiting Seafirst Design, a company that specializes in designing and constructing office building for major corporations. And join us, won't you?

- Confirming the details
- Solving problems
- Interviews

Confirming the Details

Solving Problems (1)

Solving Problems (2)

Interviews