Business English Pod / Articles by: BEP / Page 46

BEP 302 – Business Trip 5: Socializing with your Boss

Business English, Socializing /

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on socializing in english with your boss.

If you’re like most people, you might find socializing with your boss a little uncomfortable. It’s not like socializing with your friends or colleagues, which is an opportunity to relax and have fun. With your boss, you might have to be a bit more careful, both with what you say and how you act.

But this doesn’t mean you can’t be yourself or engage your boss on a more personal level. In fact, socializing with your boss is a really great opportunity to get to know each other better. And that can only help your position and career.

One thing you might want to do if your boss is visiting from afar is to point out things that might be interesting, like places of interest or aspects of culture. That can help break the ice. And it’s a good idea not to talk about yourself too much. Show interest in your boss; you can even ask about his or her professional background.

When you do talk about yourself, you might want to bring up your own history if the conversation provides a natural opportunity. But don’t be boastful. Be sure to respond with modesty if your boss praises you. And if you’re lucky, and your boss seems interested, you might even have the chance to bring up some ideas for the company.

In today’s dialog, we’ll hear David and Lily, who work at the Shanghai office of an American clothing company called Boston Vintage. They’re hosting their boss Cam, who is a production planner with the company. He’s been visiting China to talk with his staff about company strategy and to investigate some potential production facilities.

Listening Questions

1. What place of interest does Lily point out to Cam?
2. How does David respond to Cam’s praise of his team’s work?
3. How does Lily introduce the fact that she has some ideas for improving the company?

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925 English Lesson 9 – Talking about your Ideas in English

925 English, A2, Business English, English Video /
YouTube video

In today’s 925 English lesson, we’re going to learn how to talk about your ideas in English.

You might be full of great ideas about your company, your products, or how to connect with your customers. But those ideas aren’t very useful if you can’t tell other people about them.

925 English is a new business English course for beginners. 925 English lessons focus on English expressions that you can use in work and business. Each 925 English lesson features English phrases you can use in different situations and advice on why and how we use them in Business English.

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BEN 38 – Automation and the Rise of AI

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, Business News, IT and Tech /

Throughout the course of history, society has often been hesitant to accept widespread change. A day doesn’t pass without a new technological advance being reported. This has led many to worry about the effects of artificial intelligence, or AI, on our daily lives.

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BEP 301 – External Meetings in English (Part 2)

Advanced, Business English, English for Meetings /

BEP 301 - English for Meetings 2

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on communicating effectively in an external meeting in English.

Everyone talks about the importance of good communication skills in business. And one situation that clearly demonstrates this importance is external meetings. An external meeting is one where you meet with people or groups outside your own company. That might mean another firm or organization that you’re collaborating with. Or it might mean the government or other regulatory agencies.

In external meetings, there’s a lot of push and pull. Everyone at the table might have a different agenda, or different goals. And these goals might be in competition. If I get more of what I want, it might mean you get less of what you want.

Being successful in external meetings might involve steering the topic of conversation. To do that, you need good ways of introducing new topics or issues. And when others steer the conversation, you might not like where it goes. For that reason, you might have to stall if you need more time to respond or if you don’t want to commit to something. You might also want to avoid answering a question altogether.

So if everyone’s trying to steer the conversation, how does anything get done in an external meeting? Well, in some cases you just have to be insistent. I mean, you have to say “listen, this is the way it has to be.” Coming to agreement might also require you to give in to pressure, since you can’t always get everything you want. So you might need some good ways to back off a position or opinion that you were arguing for.

In today’s dialog, we’ll rejoin a conversation about the development of a new shopping mall. We’ll hear Nicky, the project manager, and Jennifer and Carlos, the architect and engineer who are working for the developer. They are meeting with Frank, who represents the local government. In this situation, there’s a lot of push and pull between the developer’s side and the city government side.

Listening Questions

1. What issue does Jennifer interject with before the group discusses timelines?
2. What does Frank say to avoid answering Jennifer’s question about parking spaces?
3. When Frank backs off his previous stance, what does he say to show hesitation or reluctance?

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BEP 300 – External Meetings in English (Part 1)

Advanced, Business English, English for Meetings, Popular Lessons /

BEP 300 - English for Meetings 1

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on taking part in an external meeting in English.

When you think of business English meetings, you might immediately think of staff meetings, project meetings, or other internal meetings with people in your company. But in business we often have to work with outside companies or organizations so we have to deal with external meetings as well.

External meetings in English can be quite tricky situations. Because everyone might have different goals and opinions, you need to be very diplomatic. You want to be careful not to promise too much while trying to get others to commit. In this way, external meetings are a lot like negotiations, where you try to make an agreement that is in your favor.

In this back and forth of negotiation, you have to convince other people of your position. And when they attempt to convince you of something, you have to respond skillfully. That could mean remaining non-committal, when you don’t want to give a clear yes or no answer. It might also mean saying that you don’t have the power or responsibility to make a decision.

But if everyone remains non-committal and says they can’t make decisions, how can people come to an agreement? Well, sometimes you need to introduce creative solutions or ideas. But even when someone presents a good idea, you shouldn’t always just agree right away. Like I said, this is sort of like a negotiation. So you might want to express doubts about an idea, rather than just accepting it immediately.

In today’s dialog, we’ll hear a meeting between several people discussing the construction of a strip, or small shopping, mall. Jennifer is the architect on the new development, and Carlos is a consulting engineer. They need to come to agreement with Frank, who represents the local government. The meeting is chaired by Nicky, the project manager.

Listening Questions

1. Why does Jennifer think the city should give the developer a break on the number of turn lanes?
2. Who does Frank say insists on having two turn lanes?
3. What solution does Carlos suggest?

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