BEP | Business English Pod :: Learn Business English Online

BEP 407 – Financial English 5: Comparing Opportunities

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson, the fifth in our series on financial English. In this lesson, we’ll focus on selling a client on a new investment opportunity.

Some people would say that selling is all about convincing someone that they want or need what you’ve got. But that’s just half of it. A car salesman might convince you that you want a new car. But then he has to show you why his car is better than the others. And that it’s worth the money he’s asking.

Things get a little trickier when it comes to selling financial services. Investing isn’t just about the current value, but about how that value will grow in the future. So, compared to selling a car, there’s just a lot more at stake!

In this situation, you’ll need to do a good job of assessing risk and comparing an opportunity to other opportunities. You’ll also need to work with clients who’ve done some research. That means warning them against bad information and showing them alternatives. It also means reducing pressure on the client so that you don’t scare them off.

In today’s dialog, we’ll rejoin a conversation between Robert, an investment advisor, and his client Jessica. Robert is attempting to sell an opportunity to Jessica and steer her away from bad information.

Listening Questions

1. What does Robert say is the difference in risk between a classic and an alternative hedge fund?
2. What does Robert say about corporate bonds after Jessica mentions that she’s read about them?
3. What does Robert suggest as an alternative to corporate bonds?

Premium Members: PDF Transcript | Quizzes | PhraseCast | Lesson Module

Download: Podcast MP3

BEP 406 – Financial English 4: Pitching a New Opportunity

Business English, Finance and Accounting, Sales English / April 14, 2024

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson, the fourth in our series on financial English. In this lesson, we’ll focus on pitching a new opportunity to a client.

In certain ways, selling financial services is just like selling any other kind of product. You connect with people and you match your solution to their needs or desires. And, of course, you show how that solution is worth the money it costs. But with financial services, these activities are usually much higher stakes.

Working with other people’s money requires you to work on maintaining a strong relationship. It’s not a one-off purchase, but an ongoing transaction. You need to let them know how their investments are doing and show clients you understand them as people, including their concerns.

Then, when the time is right, you can pitch new opportunities. If you’re smart, you can set up a real win-win situation with your clients. If they earn more money, then you earn more money, and you both end up better off.

In today’s dialog, we’ll listen to a conversation between Robert, an investment advisor, and his client Jessica. Robert wants to give Jessica an update on her current investments before introducing a new opportunity involving a hedge fund.

Listening Questions

1. What expression did Jessica use previously that Robert now brings back up in order to pitch her a new opportunity?
2. What does Robert say is the main benefit of a hedge fund?
3. How does Robert respond when Jessica expresses concerns that a hedge fund requires a big investment?

Premium Members: PDF Transcript | Quizzes | PhraseCast | Lesson Module

Download: Podcast MP3

Business English News 56 – Deglobalization

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, Business News / April 1, 2024

In this Business English News lesson on the trend toward deglobalization, we look at business English vocabulary related to economics and global trade.

The past few years have been a very interesting time for the world economy. A pandemic has exposed the vulnerabilities of global supply chains. Geopolitical tensions around the world have intensified, stoking inflation. In response to these disruptive forces, we are seeing a new international dynamic emerge, as Shroders reports:

A decades-long process of globalization is coming to an end as the world becomes more protectionist, favoring opportunities closer to home. Multinational corporations are diversifying where they produce goods and relocating closer to home. This trend represents backtracking from the globalized model of extended supply chains that have defined international trade in the past few decades.

Many saw globalization as an unassailable model for economic development, one that brought universal benefits. And there are many who see deglobalization, as it’s being called, as either regressive or bad for business. But the cracks in the globalized economy are evident.

Free Resources: PDF Transcript | Quizzes | Lesson Module

Download: Podcast MP3

BEP 34c – Clarifying and Confirming What Was Said

Business English, ESL Podcast, Functions, Intermediate English / March 17, 2024

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on how to clarify what was said during a conversation.

Communication is rarely easy. There’s so much that can go wrong in a conversation, especially on the phone. We might not hear someone well, we might hear them incorrectly, and we might not understand words or expressions in the same way. For that reason, we need to be able to clarify what was said.

There are a few basic ways to clarify that are extremely useful. We can use “WH” questions, like who, what, where, when, and why. We can ask people to repeat what they said and repeat things for people when they haven’t understood us. And we can use tag questions to confirm that we’ve heard correctly.

Today we’ll listen to a telephone conversation between three colleagues: Benny, Wim, and Andre. They are speaking on the phone for the first time in a while. During their conversation, they use several expressions to clarify what was said.

Listening Questions

1. What does the receptionist say that Benny doesn’t understand right away?
2. What question does Benny ask that Wim needs repeated?
3. What question does Benny restate about the river in Rotterdam?

Premium Members: PDF Transcript | Quizzes | PhraseCast | Lesson Module

Download: Podcast MP3

Skills 360 – What is DEI: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Business English, Business Skills 360, Management English / March 3, 2024

Welcome back to the Business English Skills 360 podcast for today’s lesson on the impact and implications of DEI – or diversity, equity, and inclusion – on the workplace.

As part of the “social” aspect of ESG, DEI has exploded in importance in recent years. Over 50% of employees in the US believe this increasing attention is warranted. And, as we discussed in our last lesson, customers are increasingly discerning when it comes to ethical performance.

So, it’s not just your HR manager who’s thinking about this anymore. The companies that are excelling in this area have it baked in at every level. And that includes commitments at the C-suite level. Given this explosion of attention, it’s worth unpacking exactly what we mean by these terms, and what it means for the workplace.

“Diversity” refers to the presence of different people in an organization. And while we might immediately think about gender and race, we’re also talking about age, disabilities, religion, and sexual orientation, just to name a few. Diverse organizations have many different people. “Inclusion” is an atmosphere where all these people feel a sense of belonging. And where there are systems in place to make them feel welcome and valued.

“Equity” can often get confused with “equality,” but it’s really not the same. Equity acknowledges that not everyone has the same starting point, and that some people might need additional support to take advantage of opportunities. So companies committed to equity focus on systems and processes that create fairness and recognize those different starting points.

Members: Lesson Module | Quiz & Vocab | PDF Transcript

Download: Podcast MP3