In this Video Vocab lesson, we look at English for human resources, or HR. People who work in HR think about a company’s headcount and how to recruit new employees or headhunt people from other companies. We’ll look at ideas such as job descriptions, as well as compensation and benefits, and how these differ from incentives.
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This is a preview of one of the lessons from our Business English Course:
The lesson looks at language for asking for and giving opinions in English in both formal and informal business situations. You can check out the original lesson here: BEP 27 – Giving Opinions in English
The Business English Kickstart Course covers the 3 main Business English Skills of meetings, presentations and talking on the phone with 20 lessons appropriate for intermediate English Speakers. The course is available on the Udemy platform which provides desktop and mobile access.
Download: Podcast VideoPlay the Business English Negotiations Game and test your English for negotiations.
This game is based on the language and ideas in our recent series on strategic negotiations:
BEP 241 & 242, BEP 249 & 250, BEP 268 & 269
Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on successfully completing a strategic negotiation.
Negotiating a strategic partnership can take a lot of time and energy. And if you succeed, you need to cement that new partnership and make sure it gets off a good start. So whether you kick off your new arrangement with a party, a ceremony, or a meeting, you need to acknowledge the people and all the hard work that went into building the relationship.
So what might you do to cement a partnership? Well, today we’ll learn how to show enthusiasm for a new partnership and how to compliment a new partner. We’ll also look at how to emphasize both opportunities and expectations. And finally, we’ll learn how to make a toast.
In the dialog, we’ll hear representatives of two companies at a reception to start off a new partnership. Representing the auto parts company called Sigma is Mike, the lead negotiator on the new partnership, and Grant, a company executive. We’ll also hear Lisa, who represents NVP, the Japanese distributor that has just partnered with Sigma to sell auto parts in India.
Listening Questions
1. How does Lisa compliment Sigma? What is she impressed by?
2. What does Lisa expect in order for all the hard work to pay off?
3. At the end of the dialog, Grant makes a toast. What does he make a toast to?
Download: Podcast MP3
Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on how to overcome a setback during a strategic negotiation.
In a negotiation, things don’t always work out the way we hope. Sometimes we face obstacles that just can’t be overcome. In this situation, you’re faced with a choice – do you walk away, or do you think outside the box and try to save the relationship? After all in a strategic negotiation, it’s the relationship you build between the parties that is really important.
In this back and forth of overcoming obstacles, there are several techniques you can use. We’ll learn how to present a problem and how to introduce a different opportunity. We’ll also look at giving evidence for a proposition and narrowing the focus of the proposition. And finally we’ll cover how to request more time to think about things.
In the dialog, we will hear Mike, who works for an auto parts company called Sigma. Mike is talking with Lisa, the lead negotiator for NVP, a Japanese distributor. Sigma and NVP were trying to negotiate a partnership to distribute Sigma’s products in east Asia. The key to that deal was Sigma getting out of an existing arrangement with a Chinese distributor called Wuhan Auto. Today we’ll hear Mike and Lisa try to overcome that obstacle.
Listening Questions
1. What new opportunity does Mike present to Lisa?
2. What evidence from the World Bank does Mike use to back up his idea?
3. Mike narrows the focus of his idea. What product market does he propose partnering in?
Download: Podcast MP3
