1/2020 Spotlight 57ENGLISH AT WORK
Dear Ken
Communication expert KEN TAYLOR answers your
questions about business English. Here, he talks about
festive greetings and has advice on how to deal with
audience hostility.MEDIUM AUDIO PLUSSend your questions
about business English
by e-mail with “Dear
Ken” in the subject line
to: language@
spotlight-verlag.de
Each month, I answer
two questions Spotlight
readers have sent in.
If one of them is your
question, you’ll receive
a copy of my book: Dear
Ken... 101 answers to
your questions about
business English. So
don’t forget to add your
postal address.Dear Ken
I just read your advice in Spotlight
13/18 about writing Christmas
cards. (As you can see, I’m a little
behind with my reading! )
In December last year, I went to
New York in order to improve my
English. At the language school
I attended, we actually had a discus-
sion about this topic — and it seems
to be a matter of fact that some peo-
ple do get upset if you wish them
“Merry Christmas”. This might be
typical of New York, but the teach-
er recommended saying or writing
“Happy holiday(s)” in order to keep
everybody happy.
Best regards
AndreDear Andre
Thank you for your e-mail about dif-
ferent Christmas greetings.
I’m sure your American teacher is
much more familiar with the situa-
tion in the US than I am. So, maybe
you should follow your teacher’s
advice and wish your American
friends “Happy holiday(s)”.
It might also be a generational
thing. Young people seem a bit
more sensitive about these issues
than older people.
Personally, I’ve never had a problem
wishing people “Merry Christmas”
and will probably continue to do so.
Thanks again for your comments.
All the best
KenDear Ken
What do you advise me to do when faced with a hostile
audience or hostile questioning during a presentation?
I work in human resources in an international compa-
ny and sometimes have to present bad news to work
groups — such as the need for downsizing and redun-
dancies. The reactions I get are sometimes very difficult
to deal with.
Do you have any tips that might help?
With best wishes
HenningDear Henning
Hostile questioning is difficult to deal with — especially
if more than one person in the audience is involved.
I have a few suggestions, however, that might be helpful:
⋅ Stay calm and don’t respond by getting angry
yourself. This is easier said than done, of course,
but if you manage to stay calm, it will help to calm
your questioners down. It also makes a positive
impression on the rest of your audience.
⋅ Be firm in your replies — try not to sound hesitant.
⋅ When you answer, look at the whole audience, not
just your questioner. This will help to convince
people in the audience who have not yet made up
their minds about how to react.
⋅ Don’t tell your questioner not to be angry — this
usually has exactly the opposite effect.
⋅ Show empathy with your questioners’ concerns.
Say that you understand them, but this does not
mean that you have to agree with them.
⋅ If more than one person in the audience starts
speaking, act like a meeting facilitator. Try to
prevent cross-audience dialogue, which can easily
escalate the hostility.
Whatever you do, it’s always a difficult situation. Good
luck when you next have to present bad news.
Kind regards
Kenconcern [kEn(s§:n]
, Sorge, Anliegen
downsizing
[(daUn)saIzIN]
, Stellenabbau
facilitator [fE(sIlEteItE]
, hier: Moderator(in)
get upset [get Vp(set]
, sich aufregen
hostile [(hQstaI&l]
, abweisend, feindselig
matter of fact
[)mÄtEr Ev (fÄkt]
, Tatsache
redundancy
[ri(dVndEnsi] UK
, EntlassungENGLISH AT WORKFoto: Gert Krautbauer
KEN TAYLOR
is a communication
consultant and
author of 50 Ways
to Improve Your
Business English
(Lulu Publishing).
Contact:
[email protected]