ONLINE COMMUNICATION

Barry Dunne

Instructor Business English

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SHEQ MOMENT - HYGIENE
1. Wash your hands regularly with
water and soap or sanitizer.
2. Wash your hands for up to 30
seconds.
3. Disinfect working surfaces
regularly.
4. Disinfect your mobile phone
regularly.
5. Use moisturiser if you have dry
skin.

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COURSE CONTENT
Already covered:

Jobs and departments

To do:

Online communication

Company growth

Corporate culture

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CONTENT
Unit 2, pages 14 - 17

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SESSION OBJECTIVES
To be better able to:

Skim and scan an article for key

information

Distinguish between formal and

informal language in emails

Write an email of apology.

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DEPARTMENTS – WORD ASSOCIATION

recruitment, training, staff __________

welfare

bookkeeping, payroll, balance

sheet __________

hardware, software, systems __________

finding, testing, laboratory __________ and _________

plant, equipment, factory _________

promotion, advertising, social _________

media

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ANSWERS TO FOLLOW

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DEPARTMENTS – WORD ASSOCIATION

recruitment, training, staff Human Resources

welfare

bookkeeping, payroll, balance

sheet Accounting

hardware, software, systems IT

finding, testing, laboratory Research and Development

plant, equipment, factory Production

promotion, advertising, social Marking

media

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ONLINE COMMUNICATION

Unit 2

Page 14 - 17

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ADVERTISING
How do companies advertise their products and
services?

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ADVERTISING
What does word of mouth mean in advertising?

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WORD OF MOUSE

You are going to read an

article called Word of Mouse.
What do you think this
means?

Skim the article quickly to

find out.
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WORD OF MOUSE
Scan the article for information about:

Adam Brimo
Dave Carroll
Hugh Bainbridge
Paul Patterson
United Airlines

What does the article say about them?

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THE POWER OF WORD OF
MOUSE
Read the four questions on Page 16 (Exercise 4).

Scan the article for detail.

Answer A, B or C.

You have 10 minutes.

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COMPARE ANSWERS

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QUESTION 1
According to the Nielsen Company’s research,
which is most likely to make someone buy a
product?
A a recommendation from a friend
…70% of customers trust opinions they find
online…which is…only slightly lower than opinions
of friends.

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QUESTION 2
According to Paul Patterson, in the digital age,
companies need to
B respond more quickly to customer complaints
Companies just need to react faster in case a
customer decides to contact other customers
online.

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QUESTION 3

What does Hugh Bainbridge feel about the effect

of online opinions?
C They do not harm brands if there is no good
cause for complaint.
…brands are only damaged when a large number
of customers are clearly unhappy.

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QUESTION 4

What point does the story about Coca-Cola

illustrate?
B Companies can use consumers to create online
content for them.
…they flew Dusty to Atlanta to meet their
management team…a Facebook page run by a
passionate fan and a good PR story for Coca-Cola.

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What are you able to do on these websites?

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POSTING OPINIONS ONLINE

Have you ever posted an opinion online? If

so, what was it about?

How much are you influenced by online

opinions before buying or booking
something?

How often do you visit product or service fan

pages on Facebook or Instagram?

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FORMAL AND INFORMAL EMAILS

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MATCH THE VERBS – PAGE 17, EXERCISE 1
1. talk about a. assist

2. ask b. contact someone

3. ask for c. enquire

4. help d. meet

5. think about e. purchase

6. get f. request

7. buy g. inform someone

8. get together h. receive

9. let someone know i. discuss

10. get in touch with someone j. consider

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COMPARE ANSWERS
MATCH THE VERBS
1. talk about i. discuss

2. ask c. enquire

3. ask for f. request

4. help a. assist

5. think about j. consider

6. get k. receive

7. buy l. purchase

8. get together m. meet

9. let someone know g. inform someone

10. get in touch with someone b. contact someone

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FORMAL AND
INFORMAL PHRASES
Page 17, exercise 4

Separate the formal and informal phrases.

Put the phrases in the order they appear in the email.

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COMPARE ANSWERS

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FORMAL EMAIL

Dear Mr. Morris,

I would like to arrange a meeting to discuss the schedule for
training day.
My diary is very full for next week but perhaps you could
suggest a suitable time for the week after.
Looking forward to your reply.
Susan Jackson

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INFORMAL EMAIL

Hi Andy,
Can we get together sometime to talk about the schedule
for training day?
I’m pretty booked up next week but I could manage the
week after.
Let me know.
Sue

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WRITING PRACTICE
Page 17, exercise 5

You have arranged a meeting with a member of staff from

another department. Unfortunately you cannot now attend.
Write an email to your colleague:
• Explaining why you cannot meet

• Apologising for the change of plan

• Suggesting an alternative day and time.

Write at least 50 words.

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SESSION OBJECTIVES
You are better able to:

Skim and scan an article for key

information

Distinguish between formal and

informal language in emails

Write an email of apology.

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