Les mots clés et expressions:

Seminar

Definition: a training course, a meeting with a group of people to discuss a particular topic.

Translation: Séminaire

Everything went like clockwork

Definition: it all ran smoothly, everything went according to plan.

Translation: Tout est allé comme sur des roulettes

Guest speaker

Definition: person to conduct the presentation, professional outside person to inform the team about the given topic.

Translation : Orateur d’honneur

To be held

Definition: to take place, to happen, to occur.

Translation: Avoir lieu

To attend

Definition: to be present at, to turn up at.

Translation: Assister à

What’s the expected audience size ?

Definition: How many people will be present ? What capacity are you planning for ?

Translation: Combien de personnes attendons-nous ?

Dress code

Definition: attire, dress, clothes (business versus casual).

Translation: Tenue vestimentaire

To rent a conference room

Definition: to book an auditorium, to hire a training hall.

Translation: Louer une salle

To book accommodation

Definition: to reserve hotel rooms, to book overnight stops.

Translation: Réserver l'hébergement

To hire a caterer

Definition: to organise meals with an outside company, to have food and refreshments brought in by a catering company.

Translation: Faire appel à un traiteur

Training aids

Definition: equipment to be used in the seminar, props to help in the carrying out of the session.

Translation: Supports de formation

To cover costs

Definition: to account for expenditure, to make up for spending.

Translation: Rentrer dans les frais

To put down a deposit

Definition: to make a down payment, to leave an initial sum of money to confirm a booking.

Translation: Verser des arrhes

To pay a guarantee (UK) / To pay a security deposit (USA)

Definition: to lay down a security payment, to pay a certain amount of money which will be returned to the user upon satisfactory completion of the event.

Translation: Payer une caution

To pay in advance

Definition: to settle the bill before the event, to pay up front, to pay beforehand.

Translation: Régler en avance

Checklist

Definition: a list of items to do or already done, a written note to help remember what’s done and what’s still to do.

Translation: Liste de contrôle

To check that all equipment is in good working order

Definition: to make sure that everything works correctly, to check that everything operates properly.

Translation: Vérifier que tout est en bon état de fonctionnement

Name tag

Definition: a name label, a name badge, a small piece of card attached to an individual showing his/her name and perhaps company and job title.

Translation: Etiquette

Schedule of events

Definition: a programme of activities, a plan listing what’s happening and when.

Translation: Programme des événements

To organize outings

Definition: to plan excursions, to set up trips to visit the area.

Translation: Prévoir des sorties

To send out a reminder

Definition: to circulate a reminding note, to send a note to remind all people involved.

Translation: Envoyer un rappel

What availability do you have ?

Definition: Which dates are free ? When is the room/the speaker available ?

Translation: Quelles disponibilités avezvous ?

To remain within the budget and time frame

Definition: to respect the budget and time period, to stick to the budget.

Translation: Respecter le budget et le délai

Local transportation

Definition: transport on the spot, vehicles to be used or hired for moving round once there.

Translation: Transport sur place

Special diet

Definition: restricted food intake, specific types of food to avoid for health complaints, allergies or cultural restrictions.

Translation: Régime spécial

Directions

Definition: The way to go, details of how to get somewhere.

Translation: Plan d’accès

Handouts

Definition: photocopies, leaflets for each participant to be used during the seminar.

Translation: Photocopies

Les usages à respecter:

• The maxim of the 5 W’s and 2 H’s is frequently used in the UK whereby the information gathering will only be complete when an answer is provided for each of the

following seven interrogative words : who, what , where, when, why, how, how much ?

• «Allow time to take time» is a common UK idiom whereby time is set aside for participants to be able to enjoy the time away from the office and have the opportunity to

bond with other colleagues present by taking part in special team building exercises.

Quelques règles de bon anglais:

Going through a checklist

When going through the tasks to do or done, the Present Perfect Tense (have/has + past participle) is usually used :

1) In a question or negative reply with «yet» :

– Have you booked the hotel rooms yet ? No, I haven’t booked them yet.

– Have you checked flight times yet ? No, I haven’t checked them yet.

2) And in an affirmative reply with «already», but with no specific mention of time :

– I have already hired the caterer.

– Julie has already sent the pamphlets to be printed.

Note that the Simple Past is used when the action is finished and we know «when» :

– I reserved the conference room yesterday.

– Brian ordered the food this morning.

Exercice:

Use the expressions you have learnt in this lesson to fill in the missing word(s), then check the result below.

1. When preparing for a seminar, it’s a good idea to write ............ in order to know exactly where the state of organisation stands and what still remains to be done.

2. Don’t forget to circulate ............ to all participants so that they can find the training venue.

3. The seminar is going to ............ at The Rex Waters Lodge.

4. I haven’t got enough ............ for everybody here. I’ll have to go and print some more.

5. We were hoping to hold the seminar towards the end of November. ............ around this period ?

6. Now I know the dates and the numbers involved, all I have to do is ............ for about 30 people. 

7. The resources for this training are very tight indeed. I really don’t know how I’m going to be able to ............ and still successfully achieve the goal.

8. We could always get sponsors to advertise their products during the seminar to help .............

9. We have two conference rooms available. One for 80 people and the other for 40 people. ............ of your seminar ?

10. Good Morning. My name is Peter Tooly. I have come to ........... the seminar on Time Management.

11. Could you please ............ to all staff about the ............ : strictly business attire, no jeans allowed !

12. So, how did it all go ? Couldn’t have wished for anything better. ............

13. I must remember to ............ for those who live too far away to travel to and from the seminar everyday.

14. Susan, could you try to .......... for lunch on both days but they must take into account the .......... of our Japanese guest. He can’t eat anything with traces of nut.

15. As long as all train tickets are booked in advance we can always look into .......... once we’re actually on the spot.

16. The room is equipped with all the usual........... such as overhead projector, flip chart, wipe board, etc.

17. It’s a good idea to .......... before the seminar starts to avoid any glitches during the presentations.

18. Private seminar groups often insist on all participants wearing ........... so that they can be recognised and identified.