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BEP 260 – Complaining on the Telephone 1

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on complaining over the telephone.

We all know the frustration that comes with not being satisfied with a product or service? And have you had your frustration build up because the problem keeps happening? At some point, we have to stop just complaining to our friends or colleagues about it and complain directly to the company. After all, you pay good money for something, and you want to be happy with it.

So you call the company up and you try to deal with the problem over the phone. It’s not an easy task, but there are some techniques that you can learn to make your complaints more effective. In today’s lesson, we’ll look at politely explaining a problem, rejecting bad excuses, and talking about the impact of the problem. We’ll also learn how to reference previous discussions about the problem and how to ask for a solution.

In the dialog, we will hear Donna, who works for a food products company called Fuller Foods. She’s calling Mike, an account manager with a company that distributes fruit. Donna is unhappy with the service she’s been getting and wants to complain about it.

Listening Questions

1. What excuse for the problem does Mike give at first?
2. What is the impact of the problem that Donna is complaining about?
3. What important question does Donna ask Mike at the end of the dialog?

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Skills 360 – Dealing with Criticism (Part 2)

Business English, Business Skills 360, Communication / November 2, 2014

Welcome back to the Skills 360 for today’s lesson on how to deal with criticism.

Unless you’re perfect, you have room to improve. That doesn’t sound like a difficult idea to accept, but what is difficult is when other people point it out to us. So, in today’s lesson, I want to focus on validity. That is, on whether the criticism is valid, justified, or reasonable. If it is, then we should treat it as helpful and constructive. And if it’s not, then we might need a different approach.

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Skills 360 – Dealing with Criticism (Part 1)

Business English, Business Skills 360, Communication / October 26, 2014

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Welcome back to the Skills 360 for today’s lesson on how to deal with criticism.

Criticism is something we all have to face. During a performance review, we have to listen as our boss criticizes our work. In meetings, people criticize our ideas. And every day we might hear people criticize us in the staff room and over the phone. We might also hear praise in these situations, but more often than not it’s the sting of criticism that lingers. And let’s face it: hearing people criticize our work, or criticize us, is never really easy.

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English for Meetings Mobile App

Announcements, English for Meetings, Mobile Learning / October 19, 2014

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BEP 259 – Difficult Interview Situations 2

Business English, Job Interview in English / October 12, 2014

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on dealing with difficult interview situations.

Imagine you’re in a job interview, answering questions about your experience. Things seems to be going pretty well, but suddenly you say something you wish you hadn’t. Maybe you mentioned a big mistake you made at a former job. Or perhaps you said something bad about your former employer. You watch the interviewers face to see how she reacts, and your heart starts to race.

These are not unusual situations. We’ve all faced them. And if you stay calm, there are some good ways to recover. In today’s lesson, we’ll look at some useful techniques for these types of situations. We’ll look at admitting to a past mistake, explaining what we’ve done following a failure, and highlighting what we’ve learnt from the experience. We’ll also look at toning down a negative statement and emphasizing positive ideas after saying something negative.

We will hear two short dialogs today. In the first, we’ll rejoin Simon and Charlene. Simon is interviewing for a job as bank manager. In the second dialog, we’ll hear Sara and Nick. Sara is interviewing for a position as a buyer with a big retail chain.

Listening Questions

1. What mistake did Simon make at his previous job?
2. What did Simon do after making a mistake?
3. What does Sara think her previous employer needed to do better?

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