Sprachressourcenportal Österreichs
| Belegschaft | In Austria, there are two basic types of personnel: |
| Angestellte | employees and |
| Arbeiter, Arbeiterinnen | workers. |
| Gehalt | Employees receive a salary, while |
| Lohn | workers get wages. |
| Lohnsteuer | Both pay payroll tax and |
| Sozialversicherungsbeiträge | social security contributions. |
| Öffentlicher Dienst | In public (or civil) service, we have |
| Beamte | civil servants and |
| Vertragsbedienstete | civil service employees. |
| Arbeitsverhältnis / Arbeitsverträge | Many people don't have regular employment (contracts). |
| Saisonarbeit | Some do temporary work or have |
| Freier DV | a freelance contract or |
| Werkvertrag | a work service contract, |
| befristeter Vertrag | a fixed-term contract or |
| unbefristeter Vertrag | a permanent contract. |
| sich freinehmen | People take time off work. |
| sich einen Tag freinehmen | They take a day off or |
| auf Urlaub gehen | go on holiday. This is called |
| Erholungsurlaub | annual leave. Expectant mothers can also go on |
| Mutterschaftskarenz | maternity leave, or parents on |
| Elternkarenz | parental leave. |
| sich krankmelden | Sometimes people call in sick. |
| Krankenstand | They have to go on sick leave |
| Arbeitsunfähigkeitsmeldung | and bring a doctor's note. |
| in Pension gehen | Finally they retire so they are |
| Pension (Zustand) | in retirement and get a |
| Pension (Geld) | pension / retirement benefits. |
| Function | Phrases |
| Begin | OK, let's get down to business. |
Welcoming formalities | Thank you everyone for coming today. |
Apologies | I've received the following apologies for absence from … |
Agree on a minute-taker | Sarah will be taking the minutes today. |
State objective | As you can see, our main objective today is to … |
Establish discussion | I suggest we follow the items in the order of the agenda. |
Agree on timing | As for timing, I’d like to be finished by three o’clock. |
Begin the discussion | I'd like to go to point one on the agenda. I'd like to begin by saying … The first point I’d like to make is … These are the issues we would need / like to discuss: … |
| Function | Phrases |
Asking for people's opinions | What do you think about this? Does anyone have anything to add? What are your views on this? |
| Involving people | Paul, you've been very quiet. Would you like to comment? |
| Encourage | That's a good / valid / interesting point. |
| Repeat | I'm sorry; could you repeat that, please? |
Keeping control of the meeting | I think we're digressing; can we keep to the main points? Can we get back to the agenda? Could we move on to item 2 on the agenda? Can we come back to this point later? |
| Referring to time | We're running a little short of time. |
| Interrupt | Can I stop you there? I'd like to hear some other views. |
| Postpone | Can we leave this point for another meeting? |
| Moving on | OK. Can we move to the next point? |
| Clarifying | Could I just clarify something here? |
| Function | Phrases |
Asking for an agreement | OK. Can we agree to ...? Are we in agreement on this? |
Asking for a vote | Can we put this to the vote? Shall we vote? All in favour? All against? |
| Confirm the decision | Good. Then we have decided to... |
| Check | Is that clear? Does everyone agree? |
| Close agenda | OK. I think we've covered everything. |
| Summarising | Before we finish, I'd just like to summarise the key points. |
| Assign tasks | So, Petra, you will produce a report on ... for our next meeting, right? |
Date of next meeting | I'd like to propose that we meet again on ... Can we fix a time for the next meeting? |
| AOB (Any Other Business) | Is there any other business? |
| Closing the meeting | OK, we can finish here. Thank you everyone for coming. |
Giving your opinion
Strong | I'm convinced that we must... We have no choice but to... |
Neutral | In my opinion, we need to... My view is that we should... |
Moderated | I would suggest that we... Why don't we... |
Agreeing / Disagreeing
Agreement | I agree with you. I / we totally agree. Definitely. You really have a good point there. |
Moderated disagreement | I'm afraid I don't entirely agree with this. To a certain extent I agree, but ... I do see your point, but ... I'm afraid we can't go along with that. This is not entirely acceptable to us. I'm sorry but there's one point we'll have to discuss in more detail. |
Disagreement | I totally disagree. I can't agree with that. |
| Culture tip / warning | Remember, the directness with which you disagree has different values in different cultures. It could be regarded as an aggressive act! |
Responses
Positive | Absolutely. Good idea. |
Cautious | That might work. Possibly. |
Negative | I'm not sure. I don't think this will work. |
Clarifying
Summarising
Ending
Other skills
| Interrupting | (Excuse me,) Can I come in here? |
| Stopping an interruption | If I could just finish this point... |
| Adding | Can I add something? |
| Digressing | Can I digress for just a moment? |
| Focusing the discussion | I think we need to discuss this more in depth. |
Making requests and offers
| Formal | I was wondering whether I could leave a little earlier today. |
| I would greatly appreciate it if you could let me have your reply by tomorrow. | |
| Neutral (friendly) | Excuse me, could I just ...? |
| Could I borrow your pen, please? | |
| Would you like some coffee, perhaps? | |
| Excuse me; do you happen to have ...? | |
Would you mind passing this on? Reply: Of course not, here you are. | |
Would it be possible for me to leave one hour earlier? I’ve got a doctor’s appointment at 11. | |
| Informal | Can I get you a coffee? |
| Can you shut the door, please? |
You should record the following:
| abgeschwächt | moderated |
| abschweifen (vom Thema...) | to digress |
| Ausweis (Besucher-) | badge |
| Aufsichtsrat | supervisory board |
| behandeln (etw...) | to cover sth |
| eintragen (sich...) | sign in |
| Empfangssekretär | front desk receptionist |
| Empfehlung | recommendation |
| Gremium (beratend) | advisory board |
| etwas leiten | to head sth |
| Gastgeber | host |
| annehmen, vermuten | to assume sth |
| Gegenstand, Thema | subject/topic/issue (NOT theme!) |
| kurz und knapp | brief |
| Sonstiges | AOB (any other business) |
| Tagesordnung | agenda |
| Tagesordnungspunkt | item |
| unterstellt sein (jdm.) | to report to sb |
| verantwortlich sein gegenüber jdm. | to be accountable to sb |
| verfügbar, frei | available |
| vorsichtig | cautious |
| Vorsitzende / Vorsitzender | chair / chairperson |
| Vorstand | executive board |
| Protokoll | minutes (NOT protocol!) |
| Protokollführer | minute-taker |
| verteilen / schreiben | to circulate / to take the minutes |
| Vorschlag | proposal, suggestion |
| Zentrale | headquarters |
| zu klärende Fragen | matters arising |
| zusammenfassen | to summarise |
| Zusammenfassung | summary |
Ein Meeting ... absagen abhalten beenden beginnen eröffnen festlegen führen teilnehmen können teilnehmen an teilnehmen verschieben vereinbaren vertagen vorverlegen neu vereinbaren wieder aufnehmen |
cancel hold close kick off open fix chair make participate in attend postpone arrange adjourn bring forward reschedule resume ... a meeting |
| Function | Phrases |
Classic introduction | greeting – thanks audience for coming – name (job position) – presentation title/subject – objective – structure – main points – timing – say when you would like questions – link to first section |
Greeting | Good morning, everyone. I think we can get started. |
| Thanking | Thank you all for coming. |
| Personal details | My name is ... and I'm ... (position). |
| Subject of talk | The topic of today's presentation is ... |
| Objective | My main objective is to ... |
| Structure | I've divided my presentation into x parts. |
| Main points | First, I'll talk about ... Second, ... and lastly, ... |
| Timing | The presentation will take around ... minutes. |
Questions | If you have any questions,
|
| Handouts | I have some handouts for you at the end. |
| Function | Phrases |
| Linking to the first section | So, to begin, I'd like to look at ... |
| Ending a section | OK, that's all I wanted to say about that. |
| Opening a new section | If there are no questions, I'll move on to ... |
| Exploring several points | In relation to ... / Regarding ... / With respect to ... |
| Digressing | If I could just digress for a second, ... |
| Coming back | OK, let me come back to the main issue. |
| Function | Phrases |
| Signalling the end | OK, that brings me to the end of my presentation. |
| Summarising | Before I finish, I'd like to summarise the key points. |
| Inviting questions | So, if there are any questions, I'd be very happy to try to answer them. |
| Function | Phrases |
| Being positive | That's a good / interesting / complex / topical question. |
| Clarifying | Sorry, I'm not sure I understood. You're asking about ...? |
| Avoiding | I'm not sure, but I could certainly check for you, OK? |
| Checking | Did I answer your question? What do you think? |
| Encourage | Are there any more / any final questions? |
| Function | Phrases |
| Final statement | To conclude, I would like to say that ... |
Closing | Thank you very much for listening. Thank you. |
Good Planning - the "3 Ps" are:
| People | Who is my audience? Beware of cultural differences! |
| Place | Check equipment, room size, seating arrangement. |
Purpose | Why are you talking? To inform, educate, persuade, motivate, get feedback, ... |
Getting started
Organisation | When choosing content, follow a four-step process:
|
| Introduction | Start with something unusual, surprise your audience! |
Delivering
Verbal | Clear structure: use (easy) language, Keep It Short & Simple (KISS)! Impact: repeat, contrast, question, and engage |
Voice | Record yourself; mind volume (address far wall!), speed and intonation, use pauses for effect (no cow sounds “er” or “uh”!) |
Body | Mind cross-cultural factors; be confident and relaxed; move a little, keep eye contact, maximise your body square; use your fingers for counting (back of your hand to audience!), avoid tics! |
Finishing well
Summarise at the end! Provide short clear message for the audience to take home.
| Design of visuals | Delivery |
Too much text. Good presentations have little text but pics, charts, maps … | Reading from visuals, saying exactly the same thing as displayed. Writing long sentences on a flipchart. |
Illegible and / or inconsistent text, errors on slides | Talking without looking at the audience, or even presenting your back to them. |
Too many “seen before” cartoons | Standing where you block the view. |
Unclear or mismatched colours | Moving too quickly from one visual to the next. |
Visuals that all look the same | Not knowing how to use the equipment |
Often, “can I / can you” is considered too informal in professional contexts (in German, as for people who are “per du”). To be on the safe side, use the more formal “could I / could you”, and never forget to add “please”! Remember, the bigger the favour you ask, the longer the phrase.
Also, avoid the verb “want” in polite conversations or emails. Better use “would like” or “wish”.
Avoid the old-fashioned “would you be so kind as to…” as it may be understood as sarcasm today.
Your text should be brief, accurate, and clear. The minutes can be written in note or bullet form, but accuracy and clarity are vital in case of future disagreements. Make sure that you get all numbers and figures mentioned right!
When you are using so-called signposting phrases to indicate at which stage exactly you are, don’t use “at first” as it means that there will be some sort of change (e.g. “At first they hated each other, but then they became friends.”) Instead, you should say, “My first point is …” or ”First, I’m going to talk about…”
Delivering is said to be 7% verbal, 38% voice, and 55% body language.
Use just keywords on your notes, no complete sentences, and DIN A6 format or smaller!
Use easy words and grammatical structures you understand yourself!
Make the most of your visuals!