II Business communication: speaking 8 Eating out 7 von 24 Having a business meal M 1 Bilder 1 und 2. Thinkstock; 3. CartoonStock.com What wine goes well with a limited 1 expense account 2? Vocabulary 1 limited: begrenzt 2 expense account: das Spesenkonto 3 taken aback: überrascht, aus der Fassung gebracht 1. Who are the people in the pictures 1 to 3? Where are they and what are they doing? 2. Have a closer look at the cartoon. Why does the man on the left seem taken 3 aback? 3. Have you ever been to a business lunch or dinner? Tell us about it.
8 von 24 Eating out Business communication: speaking 8 II M 2 Dining etiquette When eating out with a business partner, you want to make a good impression 1. There are some rules for business meals that you should keep in mind. How to be a great business dinner host 2 1. Choose a restaurant that is neither too cheap nor too expensive. Make sure there is also vegetarian food on the menu. It s a good idea to ask your guest beforehand what kind of food he or she likes. 2. If you go to the restaurant together with your guest, you as the host enter the restaurant first. If you don t arrive together, be there early. 3. You may encourage 3 your guest to order a starter 4 and a dessert. Only order those courses 5 for yourself if your guest is ordering them. 4. Do not drink too much alcohol. 5. As a host, it is your job to give a signal to start eating. If your guest is served 6 before you are, tell him or her to start eating while the food is still hot. 6. Cut up your meal with a knife and fork. Then lay down the knife, hold the fork with your right hand and eat with your fork. 7. Never eat anything with your left hand because your left hand is considered unclean. 8. Switch off your mobile phone. 9. Leave the room if you need to blow your nose 7. 10. Don t order food that is difficult to eat, e.g. spaghetti or lobster 8. 11. Don t talk business until after the meal. 12. Pay the bill discreetly 9. 1. Read the twelve rules about business meal etiquette. Which of them are not typical in Germany? 2. What do you think: Where do these other rules come from? 3. Which rules don t you agree with? Discuss with your partner. 4. Have a look at these people. Because of their religion they have a special diet 10. Match the speech bubbles with the pictures. Jew Hindu Muslim I m Turkish. My religion forbids me to eat pork and to drink alcohol. The meat I eat has to be halal, which means that the animal is slaughtered 11 in a certain way. I eat a kosher diet. That means I don t eat pork or shellfish 12, for example. And I don t mix meat with milk products such as a cream sauce. I m from India. Many people of my religion are vegans 13. So we don t eat meat or any other animal products like cheese or yoghurt. 1 to make a good impression: einen guten Eindruck machen 2 host: der/die Gastgeber/-in 3 to encourage: ermuntern 4 starter: die Vorspeise 5 course: der Gang 6 to serve: bedienen 7 to blow one s nose: sich die Nase putzen 8 lobster: der Hummer 9 discreet: unauffällig 10 diet: die Ernährung 11 to slaughter: schlachten 12 shellfish: die Krustentiere/die Schalentiere (z. B. Krebse) 13 vegan: der/die Veganer/-in
II Business communication: speaking 8 Eating out 13 von 24 What would you recommend? M 5 You are eating out with a foreign business partner who is not very familiar with German dishes so you describe the dishes to him. Client Ask for a recommendation Can you recommend 1 anything from the menu? Ask for an explanation What s that? Politely say why you wouldn t like it and ask for something with a specific ingredient 2 I m afraid I don t like pasta dishes. Maybe you could recommend something with meat? I ve heard Germany is famous for its sausages. Accept the suggestion 4 and ask for a dessert recommendation 5 That sounds great! What about dessert what would you recommend? Accept and thank your host for the recommendations Yes, I think I ll have that. Thanks for your help. Host Recommend something Sure. I d recommend the Maultaschen. Describe the dish It s a kind of ravioli stuffed with meat, spinach or herbs. This dish is typical for the southwest of Germany. Suggest 3 another dish and describe it In that case why don t you try Bratwurst? It s a grilled sausage. It typically comes with sauerkraut, which is pickled cabbage. Suggest a dessert My favourite is Rote Grütze. It s a pudding made from red fruit such as red currants 6 and cherries. It s served with custard or whipped cream. 1 to recommend: empfehlen 2 ingredient: die Zutat 3 to suggest: vorschlagen 4 suggestion: der Vorschlag 5 recommendation: die Empfehlung 6 red currant: die rote Johannisbeere 1. Read out the dialogue with a partner. (Don t read out the underlined parts.) 2. Choose a different dish you would like to recommend to your guest and practise the dialogue with a partner. Follow the underlined instructions. Swap roles a couple of times.
16 von 24 Eating out Business communication: speaking 8 II M 7 Entertaining your client a role play Do a role play to practise entertaining 1 your client in a restaurant. Waiter Show your customers the way to their table. Give them the menu. Ask for and take their orders. Serve them. Host You have booked a table for your client and yourself. Ask for the menu. Help your client, who doesn t speak German, to choose a meal. Let your client order first, then order something for yourself. Engage your client in small talk*. Start with a food topic, if you like. Pay the bill and give a tip. * to engage s.o. in small talk: jdn. in Smalltalk verwickeln Client Your German business partner has invited you to a restaurant. Ask him/her for help with the menu. You don t speak German. Order. Engage your host in small talk*. Start with a food topic. At the end of the meal, thank your host. * to engage s.o. in small talk: jdn. in Smalltalk verwickeln Fotalia 1 to entertain: bewirten 1. Work in groups of three. Take turns being the waiter, the host and the client. Read the prompts on your role card. Then act out the role play. 2. After each role play, give each other feedback: Host & client Was the waiter friendly and professional? Waiter Were the host and the client friendly and professional with you as well as with each other? Did the host explain the dishes well to the client? Did the host and the client engage in small talk? Did they ask each other questions? Did they react to what the other person said?