The course is designed to develop participants’ language and communication skills in a professional context. The course focuses on active speaking and writing skills and communication strategies. In order to provide a framework for the course, language areas may include:

• Expressing technical data accurately
• Describing processes and procedures
• Explaining cause and effect
• Presenting key facts and figures
• Demonstrating and giving clear instructions
• Referring to technical drawings and charts
• Problem-solving, advising and consultancy
• Costing and budgeting
• Project management
• Client relations

The key language skills and communication strategies you will learn in the course include:

• effective communication skills for meetings and negotiations
• effective participation in discussions
• giving presentations
• persuading and compromising
• summarising
• written communication including email, reports and formal letters
• effective telephoning skills
• hosting visits, socialising, meeting and greeting
• making proposals, offers, suggestions
• opening/closing meetings

When professional people are speaking with their counterparts, discussion often turns to broader matters. The course reflects this with practice in the context of a range of topical issues such as:

• current affairs
• social, political and environmental issues
• political systems and developments
• written communication including email, reports and formal letters
• effective telephoning skills
• hosting visits, socialising, meeting and greeting
• making proposals, offers, suggestions
• opening/closing meetings

Professional hospitality, entertaining visitors and handling social situations are important for many professional people. Areas covered include:

• meeting and greeting
• dealing with enquiries and offering advice
• arranging and cancelling appointments/social engagements
• travel arrangements, bookings and reservations
• giving and understanding directions
• restaurants and pubs
• small talk