Come and meet Paul Jenkinson, a business English trainer in Sofia, Bulgaria. He’ll be presenting a series of workshops designed to boost your career prospects by enhancing your use of English for public speaking, conversation, emails, and interviews.
Paul graduated with an Honours degree in physics in 1988 before joining the BBC as a graduate trainee. Shortly afterwards he became a presenter on the BBC World Service with its global audience of almost 200 million people.
His main duties were as a news and current affairs broadcaster, although he presented programmes across all genres of BBC output. For several years he was also closely involved in the training of other presenters.
During his career Paul became increasingly aware of the power of English as a medium for international communication. Seeing the opportunity to share the methods used by highly effective communicators, he founded Forty38 Ltd in the UK to train organisations and individuals in how to use world class English to their advantage.
In 2018 Paul launched Forty38 ООД in Bulgaria to extend the range of these training courses into mainland Europe.
He is a fully qualified Cambridge English tutor.
Paul combines the unique advantages of having used spoken English on a global scale with ‘real world’ business experience. His courses are always highly practical and based firmly on what is required for success in the reality of the modern world.
When he isn’t working, Paul enjoys sailing and walking. He is an avid reader of history, and an enthusiastic amateur cook.
You can learn more by visiting his website: http://forty38.com/
Saturday, 27th July
Public Speaking - 10:00 - 17:00
Talking to an audience of people we don’t know is one of the most stressful experiences we can face. Yet there are so many occasions on which we are required to speak; from presentations and sales pitches at work, to wedding speeches and celebrations in our social lives.
We all admire great public speakers. Their apparent natural ease and confidence draws our attention. We perceive them to be leaders; people of authority who command our attention and respect.
The good news is that ANYONE can become a confident and effective public speaker. There are just a few simple rules and techniques used by all great communicators throughout history, and right up to the present day.
In our public speaking workshop we’ll be revealing the secrets of great oratory. You’ll be introduced to the two golden rules, and four techniques, that will transform the way you talk to your audience. Each element will be examined closely and illustrated with lots of real-life examples. We’ll look at how to cope with nerves, and how to prepare.
The workshop will be strongly focused on practical tasks and activities. You’ll be applying the techniques right from the start. Public speaking is a practical skill, and the emphasis on the day will be firmly on gaining as much practise as possible.
The day will be fun, energetic, inspirational, and surprising. By the end of the workshop you’ll know that far from being something to be dreaded, public speaking can become an opportunity to be relished.
Presentation Day – Saturday 24th August starting at 10:00
Our public speaking workshop will give you the tools used by the world’s greatest communicators. Like any skill, practise is essential. So that you can put your new abilities into effect, we’re giving you the opportunity to make a presentation in front of an audience. The presentation can be on any subject of your choice. It must be a maximum of six minutes in duration, and you may use any supporting audio-visual material you wish. The audience will judge your performance, and you’ll receive feedback telling you what went well, and what may require more attention.
FEE FOR THE WORKSHOP: 70 lv + 20 lv for extra presentation day
Places: 25
Saturday, 3rd August, 10:00 – 13:00
Pronunciation workshop
Speaking clearly is vitally important in any language. The more clearly we speak, the more easily we will be understood. Clarity is essential, and the key to clarity is good pronunciation.
English is an unusual language in many ways! It has combinations of letters that occur very frequently indeed, but which appear in almost no other language. As a consequence, the sounds of these combinations are very unfamiliar to non-native speakers. Yet there are others which are very easy indeed for speakers of other languages to master.
Most students learn English from non-native speakers, who in turn learnt English from other non-natives. Incorrect pronunciation is passed on, repeated, and amplified. Often, errors in pronunciation result in nothing worse than making the speaker harder to understand; but in some cases they can lead to a complete misunderstanding of what was meant.
In this workshop we’ll focus on the letters and combinations that most non-native speakers get wrong most of the time. You’ll be surprised at how easy some of them are to get right! We’ll look at lots of examples, you’ll practise all of the sounds many times, and be carefully guided to improve still further. There will also be a comparison between British, American and Indian English pronunciation. We’ll even show you how native speakers can confuse each other if their pronunciation isn’t sufficiently clear.
This workshop is a relaxed, light-hearted and informal exploration of what we mean by ‘good pronunciation’. As well as highlighting the key sounds that will lead to rapid improvement, we’ll consider broader questions regarding clarity, and suggest ways to continue getting better.
One thing’s for sure – after this workshop you’ll never think of pronunciation in quite the same way as you did before!
FEE FOR THE WORKSHOP: 40 lv.
Available Places: 40
Saturday 3rd August 2019 14:00 – 17:00
Conversation Workshop
For many people, the ability to have a fluent conversation in English is their ultimate ambition with regard to the language. Their reading and writing skills may be excellent, but when it comes to the real-time combination of speaking and listening, most people find it a vastly more daunting prospect.
There is no doubt that conversation is challenging. It is unpredictable, everything happens so fast, and we may not understand some of the vocabulary.
We can only claim to know a language when we can speak it. At that point, it moves away from being an academic study, to a highly effective tool for human interaction.
In this workshop we address the fundamental skills that form the art of conversation. What purpose does it serve? What makes a good conversationalist? How can we develop these abilities? We’ll consider how many English words you need to know to participate in real conversations, and which words they are! The workshop will also explain that in spoken English, HOW you say something frequently conveys more meaning than the words you use to say it. We’ll look at ways of buying yourself time to think while conversing, and the different language of formal and informal conversations.
It’s going to be an afternoon of experimentation and lively interaction. Through a series of activities and practise – and a few games! – you’ll discover that confident conversation in English is something that you can certainly achieve.
FEE FOR THE WORKSHOP: 40 lv
FEE FOR Pronunciation + Conversation: 70 lv
Available places: 40
Saturday 10th August 2019 10:00 – 17:00
Emails
When it comes to written English, emails are at the top of the list of things that we write most frequently. Email has so many advantages; it’s versatile, instant, and free.
In particular, email has become the dominant form of written communication within business. And as English is now the global language of trade and commerce, being able to correspond correctly in the language is an essential skill for anyone dealing with people outside their own country.
Email is very often the first contact we have with someone else. We may never meet them in person. Without the benefit of seeing each other face-to-face, how we are perceived is determined solely by the words that we write.
There is so much to consider. We have to be concise, professional, accurate, informative, and appropriate – and we have to do all that in English, too! Get it wrong, and at best we waste time and appear foolish, at worst we may cause offence or lose a contract.
Business, like English itself, is dynamic, and changes constantly. The language and expressions that were the norm a few years ago can now seem hopelessly old fashioned and out of place. Degrees of formality vary as well. If your emails are courteous, contemporary and concise they create an impression of you and your business that is professional, organised and in control.
In this workshop we’ll examine how emails are written in English in modern business culture. In addition to some standard formats that are useful in all circumstances, we’ll look at a large range of specific scenarios that are frequently the subject of emails. Particular attention will be paid to the subtle use of English that enables very forceful messages to be expressed with great politeness and effectiveness. Participants are encouraged to bring examples of email correspondence from their direct personal experience for which they would like advice and guidance.
By the end of the workshop, we’ll have provided many templates and expressions that can be used immediately across all types of business. These templates can be amended to suit the unique requirements of the writer.
You’ll have the confidence and reassurance of knowing that your emails are contemporary and world class, and that the English you use will present you and your organisation as highly
professional and authoritative.
FEE FOR THE WORKSHOP: 80 lv
Available places: 36
Wednesday 14th August 2019 19:00 – 20:30 (Interview techniques seminar)
Saturday 17th August 09:00 – 19:00 (Interview day)
Saturday 24th August 09:00 – 19:00 (Follow-up interviews)
We all want the perfect career; the job that will fulfil us on a personal level, be fascinating and challenging, and, of course, have a very large salary to go with it!
To get it, however, requires us to go through the application and selection process. Suddenly, we’re in direct competition with many other people who all want the same thing. How do we stand out from the crowd?
The fact is that your CV will get you noticed, but it will NOT win you the job. Success or failure is determined by a face-to-face interview. Your qualifications and experience are only part of what an employer is looking for. Just as important is your character and personality, your motivation and attitude. The only way to test this is to meet you in person, look you in the eye, and talk to you.
Most people make a lot of effort to ensure that their CV is constantly updated, yet they do almost nothing to prepare for the interview. This makes no sense at all. They wouldn’t think of taking part in a sports event, sitting an exam, or taking a driving test without putting in many hours of practise beforehand. But for something that could decide their future for years to come, they leave it to chance and hope that things will go their way.
The challenge, of course, is how to get that practise. How do you put yourself through the process that you will encounter in a real interview?
The solution is now here.
We’re giving you the opportunity to enhance your interview technique like never before. This is how:
(i) Interview Skills Seminar
We’ll examine and discuss the most important elements in successful interviews. This is far more than simply how to answer questions. We’ll consider what to wear, body language, coping with nerves, how to prepare, and much more. You’ll have the chance to share your experiences of job interviews, and to ask questions that will help you directly.
(ii) Face-to-Face Interview
A few days later you will take part in a one-to-one job interview. You will send us your CV beforehand, together with details of the position you are applying for and information about the organisation. We will prepare questions specific to your scenario. You will be interviewed under ‘as real’ conditions for twenty minutes. Following the interview you will be sent a written report giving feedback on your performance. We’ll analyse what went well, which areas require attention, and provide recommendations for improvement.
(iii) Follow-up Interview
To give you even more opportunity to practise you can choose to attend a second interview one week after the first. Now you can put those improvements into effect immediately. The follow-up interview lasts for fifteen minutes and will focus on those areas that required attention from the first interview. Once again, you’ll receive a written report analysing your performance.
In the modern business environment it’s not enough to be good at what you do. You have to stand out from the competition as a complete person.
Don’t let someone else get your dream job because they were better prepared than you. This could be the best investment in your career you’ll ever make.
FEE:
Package 1: The Interview Techniques seminar together with the Face-to-Face Interview. Cost 50 lv.
Package 2: The Interview Techniques seminar, the Face-to-Face Interview and the Follow-up interview. Cost 60 lv.
Available places: 25
We are waiting for you in CasaLibri at Tsar Asen 64 str.
Be part of the English Workshop by sending an email to: englishworkshop@colibri.bg
We have a very special Early bird offer:
10% reduction on each workshop
Sign up for all events:
10% reduction
Early bird for all events:
250 lv.
The workshop in Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/595803767581427/
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