Learn how to handle a gift in a business context
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Becky: Giving a Gift in an American Business Setting. Becky here. |
| John: Hi, I'm John. |
| Becky: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to handle a gift in a business context. The conversation takes place in an office. |
| John: It's between Linda and Paul Handerson. |
| Becky: The speakers are acquaintances in a business setting, therefore, they will speak formal English. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Linda: Please accept this gift from Green &Blue. |
| Paul Handerson: Thank you. That is very kind of you. |
| Linda: Not at all! We periodically give a collection of the newest samples to our clients. |
| Paul Handerson: Good to know! |
| Linda: If you want to sample some of our older products, please let me know. |
| Paul Handerson: That's very kind of you. |
| Becky: Listen to the conversation one more time, slowly. |
| Linda: Please accept this gift from Green &Blue. |
| Paul Handerson: Thank you. That is very kind of you. |
| Linda: Not at all! We periodically give a collection of the newest samples to our clients. |
| Paul Handerson: Good to know! |
| Linda: If you want to sample some of our older products, please let me know. |
| Paul Handerson: That's very kind of you. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Becky: It’s always nice to get a gift, even if it’s just a business one. |
| John: Right! Business gifts aren’t given every day, but they are still pretty common. |
| Becky: What kinds of things do you need to consider before you give someone a business gift? |
| John: You should think about who you are giving them to. If you’re a boss, try to buy a gift that includes all of your employees. |
| Becky: What about if you’re buying for clients? |
| John: Just remember that clients sometimes talk to each other, so if you give a gift to one client and not to another... |
| Becky: That could get awkward! What kinds of gifts are good? |
| John: It’s good if you can give personalized gifts that suit the person you’re giving them to. |
| Becky: But don’t give them gifts that they need to spend money to use. |
| John: Right. It might seem like a good idea to give a golf lover vouchers for free lessons, but not if they have to pay to join the golf club first. |
| Becky: Sometimes, people aren’t allowed to accept gifts. |
| John: That’s right. Some companies, especially public ones, have rules against receiving gifts, or about the value of the gifts. |
| Becky: Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Becky: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is... |
| John: to accept [natural native speed] |
| Becky: to willingly receive |
| John: to accept [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: to accept [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next, we have... |
| John: gift [natural native speed] |
| Becky: a present, an object given to someone else |
| John: gift [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: gift [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Then, there’s... |
| John: kind [natural native speed] |
| Becky: nice, sympathetic |
| John: kind [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: kind [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next up is... |
| John: periodically [natural native speed] |
| Becky: from time to time |
| John: periodically [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: periodically [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next, we have... |
| John: collection [natural native speed] |
| Becky: a group of objects accumulated together |
| John: collection [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: collection [natural native speed] |
| Becky: And lastly... |
| John: products [natural native speed] |
| Becky: something sold |
| John: products [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: products [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Becky: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is... |
| John: periodically |
| Becky: ...meaning "from time to time." |
| Becky: This is an adverb. |
| John: You can use it to mean “occasionally” or “from time to time.” |
| Becky: We use it to describe actions that happen more than once, but not on a set schedule. |
| John: It’s a pretty formal expression, so you won’t really hear it in daily conversation. |
| Becky: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| John: Sure. For example, you can say “The in-house newspaper is published periodically.” |
| Becky: Okay, what's the next word? |
| John: collection |
| Becky: ...meaning "a group of objects accumulated together." |
| Becky: This is a noun. |
| John: It’s used for a group of objects that are purposefully assembled. |
| Becky: Yeah, random objects that just happen to be together aren’t a collection. |
| John: We usually talk about “collections” of things like stamps, records, fashion items, and so on. |
| Becky: There is also a related verb. |
| John: Yes, “to collect.” This is the action of gathering objects together. |
| Becky: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| John: Sure. For example, you can say “We went to the art museum to see a collection of Picasso's paintings.” |
| Becky: Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Becky: In this lesson, you'll learn about how to handle a gift in a business context. First, let’s look at giving gifts. |
| John: It’s not unusual to give gifts, but as we heard earlier, it’s possible that some people can’t accept gifts. |
| Becky: If you don’t know for sure, it might be wise to ask if gifts are accepted. |
| John: You can do this using the sentence patterns “Can you…?” and “Is/Are there…?” |
| Becky: Okay, let’s hear some full sentences. |
| John: “Can you accept gifts?” |
| Becky: “Is there a rule against you receiving gifts?” |
| John: You can also use “are there” in that last question, just remember to make it plural! “Are there any rules against you receiving gifts?” |
| Becky: Yeah, “rule” is one of those words that you can use in singular or plural and it doesn’t really matter which you use. So, now you know they can accept gifts, here is something you can say when you give a gift. |
| John: “Here is a token of my appreciation.” |
| Becky: Or, “I have a small gift for you.” |
| John: That sentence isn’t as polite, but by saying it’s a “small gift,” we’re being humble. |
| Becky: Which in turn, makes it polite. You might want to explain a little bit about the gift, too. You can use “from” to say where you got the gift. |
| John: “These cookies are from Canada.” |
| Becky: “This gift is from the CEO.” Now, let’s look at receiving gifts. |
| John: Of course, you should start by saying “thank you.” |
| Becky: Of course! Here are some ways you can say “thank you.” |
| John: “Thank you for the kind gift.” |
| Becky: “Thank you, it’s much appreciated.” Depending on time and place, you might not be able to properly look at the gift right away. |
| John: In that case, you can say “I look forward to opening it later.” |
| Becky: But if you do look at the gift, you should make a comment about the gift itself. |
| John: Yes, and sound happy. |
| Becky: Always sound happy and thankful, even if you don’t want or like the gift! What kind of thing can we say, John? |
| John: “Wow, you shouldn’t have!” or “That looks amazing, thank you!” |
| Becky: Remember to sound sincere! |
Outro |
| Becky: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| John: See you! |
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