The differences between written and spoken English

1. Practice. There are, of course, significant differences between written and

Jane Lee: I must say, I had a really good meeting with Mr. Rodriguez. I think he
might be the man for us. He seems to know the market very well, and he already
does business all over South America.
Peter Morgan (Managing Director): Which countries exactly?
JL: Argentina, Venezuela, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Brazil mainly. He knows the
import regulations for the different countries, but I would expect that – we wouldn’t be
considering him if he didn’t! But he also seems to know things like who matters in each
country, how they do business there, how we can avoid
giving offence without knowing it, any problems there may be about payment, all that
kind of thing. He is already agent for quite a few companies – Wilson Fabrics, Richmond
Consumer Products and Simon Black Ltd – but they’re all in competition with us, so it
doesn’t matter – sorry, I mean none of them is in competition with us. Oh by the way, I
forgot to mention that he’s based in Argentina, which is our fastest-expanding market in
the area.
Sarah Brown (Financial Director): This all sounds too good to be true. Will he
accept our usual commission?
JL: Yes, initially, but instead of being paid a fixed percentage, he would want to be able
to negotiate his commission on a sliding scale eventually.
James Robinson (Operations Director): Sorry, Jane, what do you mean ‘negotiate his
commission on a sliding scale’?
JL: He would like his percentage commission to rise as our turnover in his territory. Now
I know what some of you may be thinking – why pay him more
than our other agents? Well, perhaps we should be paying them in the same way. After
all, if Rodriguez increases our turnover significantly, then he probably deserves more.

Now look at what Jane might have written.

On 25 July I met Mr. Carlos Rodriguez of Carlos Rodriguez Import SA, Buenos Aires,
who has expressed an interest in becoming our agent in South America. I found the
meeting both informative and productive. The main points we discussed are as follows.
Market penetration. He seems to know the South American market well, and he already
does business in many of the countries there, in particular Argentina, Venezuela,
Colombia, Ecuador and Brazil. He appears to have a sound knowledge the business
climate of each country. He is based in Argentina, which is our fastest-expanding market
in the area.
Existing agencies. His existing agencies include Wilson Fabrics, Richmond
Consumer Products and Simon Black Ltd. None of these companies is in competition
with us; indeed, their products complement ours, and no other agent has as good a track
record as he does.
Commission. The commission arrangements he wants, however, are slightly different
from our usual ones. Although he is prepared to accept our standard
commission initially, he would like the percentage to rise as he increases our turnover in
his territory – the details would have to be negotiated, but that is the principle behind his
request. And as long as the turnover levels at which the new rates would operate are set at
a sensible level, I believe the system would work to our advantage – he would have an
additional incentive to work hard for us, and if the turnover does increase we could afford
to pay him more. Of course, we might receive complaints from some of our other agents
if they were to learn that we were paying him at a higher level, but it would be worth
considering giving all our agents a similar incentive.

Can you see the differences between the two versions?

2. Practice. You work in the publicity office of a market town. You receive a
phone call from Mr. Lyndon Charles, who is thinking of visiting the town, but
who wants to know what attractions you can offer. This is what you say in
reply.
It really depends on what you’re interested in and when you want to come.
We’ve got a very good theatre, which usually has variety shows in summer and
plays in winter. And if you’re interested in cultural things, there’s also a good
museum and the church is famous for its carvings. And just outside town there’s a
medieval castle. Oh, you’ve got young children, have you? Yes, they may not be
interested in the church and the museum. But they may like the castle, because
it’s supposed to be haunted. There’s also a super play park, with a water feature.
And within fairly easy driving distance there are two theme parks. The play park in
town, by the way, is free, but you’d obviously have to pay at the theme parks. Of
course, they would also have fun on the beaches nearby – the nearest is about
ten minutes’ drive. Yes, it’s sandy, not pebbly. And do you like walking? You do?
Well the countryside around here is beautiful, and there are some lovely walks
through the woods – and also along the coast, of course, although there’s a lot of
up and down along this stretch of the Coast Path.
Mr. Charles asks if you can put all this information in writing. Write him a
letter summarizing your telephone conversation.