Some coaching ideas to use with Business English learners
A mood check — People who are difficult to deal with
Objective: to help learners talk about their own emotions and the moods of difficult
people.
Think about a person with whom it is difficult - for you - to deal with.
1. What is his/ her prevailing mood?
2. What would you say is the colour of this mood?
3. How do you feel when you are with them or when of think of them?
4. Do you carry that feeling (emotion) to other aspects of your life?
5. What does their mood do to the quality of your life?
6. How does this impact on your communication skills?
7. Role play what you have to say to them. Prepare: language, emotion and body.
Body: How do you need to stand, to feel comfortable. How deeply do you want to
breathe? How can that be monitored in a conversation?
If any sign of the negative mood or emotion becomes prominent, try to shift
position, posture and breathing.
Clarity in Communication - Our self-image in delivering a message
Objective: to help learners develop a clear message. This activity can be done to restore
a broken communication line and/or to make new requests.
Background:
It is easy to assume that we are being clear about what we want, but from the
perspective of our interlocutors, are we?
Have our requests been clearly and unambiguously stated so that there is a shared
understanding of what is required? Do we speak from our own concerns, about what is
missing for us and why it is important, or are we pointing the finger at them? Is our selfimage such that we can convey what we want, feeling valid and worthwhile, and in a
"solid and definite" body, without being overbearing?
Task: Think about an employee whom you believe could improve how he/she does
things for you.
Make some observations about how clear you think you have been when asking to do
things: Specifying time, providing context, being specific and clear about what to
expect, providing scope to negotiate, and standards you expect.
Also think about the mood and mindset you were I .and observe the impact your
request has had. Can you make improvements? How?
Our perspective of their perspective
Objective: to make learners aware of the perspective of their interlocutor and how this
impacts on communication.
How do you think the others are seeing things, especially yourself? What do they need
to see and hear from you so that they will get the message?
Should you deliver it directly, and if so, what words, voice tone, facial expressions need
to accompany our speaking?
What is going on in their worlds? (give facts, not assumptions) Do they seem happy,
what sort of mood and body do they live in? How can we incorporate these
considerations into our approach?