Present Simple, needs analysis and functional language review
Choose one of the verbs below but don’t say which one you have chosen. Describe present/ usual habits associated with that thing (e.g. how often, times and days, people who do it, how long, what you do it to, etc) until your partner guesses which verb you are talking about. For example, with “Apologise”, you could say “Japanese people do this a lot. They usually bow when they do this. Some American businesses don’t like their employees to do this when there is a complaint.” etc until your partner guesses. They can only guess once per hint.
Agree
Apologise
Attach
Attend conferences/ trade fairs/ training/ meetings
Be late/ on time/ early
Calculate
Carry a wallet/ mobile phone/ business cards
Read
Write reports/ minutes/ agendas
Chair meetings
Greet
Receive
Correct/ Edit
Clean
Complain
Copy/ Photocopy
Deal with complaints
Decide
Describe your job/ company/ department/ product(s)
Dictate
Disagree
Do overtime
Exchange business cards
Explain
Fax
File/ Organise/ Reorganise
Give advice/ recommendations
Give bad news
Have meetings with customers/ clients/ colleagues/ suppliers
Input data/ figures
Install/ Download
Invite
Leave messages
Make appointments/ Arrange…
Meet new people
Meet people again
Negotiate
Offer a discount/ free gifts/ food and drinks/ someone a seat
Phone/ Telephone/ Call
Present
Print out
Refuse/ Reject
Repair
Request
Sign
Socialise with colleagues/ your boss/ clients/ customers/ suppliers
Stamp documents
Staple
Take dictation
Take messages
Take notes
Talk about/ Discuss
Thank
Tidy up
Travel abroad/ domestically/ for work
Type up a report/ a PowerPoint presentation
Use a computer/ calculator/ projector/ laser pen/ photocopier
Wear a tie/ a jacket/ a waistcoat/ cuff links/ a security badge
Discussion
Which things above do you do most often? Are there any things you often do which are missing from the list?
Are there any things above which you very rarely or never do? Does anyone in your company do those things?
How do the jobs of other people in your team vary from yours?
Are there any cultural differences above, e.g. the importance of business cards? What about gender differences?
Which things do you or will you most often have to do in English? What language can you use to do the things in italics that you often have to do? Brainstorm suitable phrases, e.g. “We would like to apologise for…” etc for apologising.
How does a typical business email start and end?
———————————
PDF version for easy saving and printing: Common Business English verbs Present Simple (note: slightly older version)
Related pages
TEFLtastic 
Why are some verbs in italic / kursiv?
As it explains in the instructions, you can get students to brainstorm suitable phrases for doing those things in English, e.g. requesting language. Have just written a bit more explanation on the worksheet, but didn’t have time to change the pdf version.