Business English Pod / Advanced / Page 8

Skills 360 – Making the Most of Personal Learning 1

Advanced, Business English, Business Skills 360, Training /

Welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast.

The Skills 360 Podcast is now available in iTunes:
Free iTunes Subscription

We’ve got a great lesson today on making the most of personal learning. We’ll start by looking at setting SMART goals and personalizing your studies with a personal learning plan. We’ll also look at how you can vary your input by using a variety of sources and study what is interesting and relevant to both you and your job.

Discussion Questions

1. What are the different things you do to study or practice English?
2. What aspect of English would you most like to improve?
3. What do you find are the best online resources for studying English?

Free Resources: Transcript | Quizzes | PDF Transcript

Download: Podcast MP3

BEP 178 – English Presentations: Making an Impact (2)

Advanced, Business English, Persuasion, Presentation in English /

English Presentation

This is the second in a two-part usiness English Pod series about adding impact to your business English presentations.

Nobody likes a long and boring presentation. In fact, a long and boring presentation can do a lot of damage. People might actually feel less convinced of your idea. And that’s certainly not what you want. It doesn’t matter if you’re giving a presentation at a staff meeting or a sales presentation to a potential client. You have to make an impression. Most business people have to sit through a lot of meetings and presentations, and it can be difficult to impress them. So how are you going to make them sit up and listen? How are you going to convince them of your idea?

You need impact. Fortunately, there are specific things you can do to add impact. And that’s what we’re talking about today.

In our last episode, we heard Ben talk about the problem of too many documents on too many computers in too many locations. He finished by suggesting that he has a solution to this problem. In today’s lesson, Ben will continue his presentation. He’s going to talk about cloud computing, which he thinks can solve many problems in the department. He’ll use several different techniques for adding impact.

Listening Questions

1. What are the benefits of the system that Ben is suggesting?
2. Why does Ben mention several large companies such as IBM and Dell?
3. What does Ben think that people should spend less time doing?

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

Download: Podcast MP3

BEP 177 – English Presentations: Making an Impact (1)

Advanced, Business English, Persuasion, Presentation in English /

Presenting in English>

This is the first in a two-part Business English Pod series about adding impact to your business English presentations.

We’ve all sat through boring presentations before. And we’ve all worried during our own presentations that others might be feeling that way. So what can we do to prevent this?

A presentation needs impact. It needs to make the audience feel something, understand something, or believe something. And it needs to make them want to do something. Fortunately, there are some simple techniques and language that you can learn that will add impact to your presentations. And then people will look at you, and not out the window.

In this lesson, we’ll hear part of a presentation delivered by Ben. Ben is going to talk to his colleagues and managers about cloud computing. But first he is going to identify a problem and then show that there needs to be a solution to that problem. Only then can he help them understand what cloud computing is and what benefits it might bring to the company.

Listening Questions

1. What happened to Ben on Monday morning?
2. Where is Ben’s stuff stored?
3. What does Ben say about the number of documents in their department?

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

Download: Podcast MP3

Skills 360 – Tips for Successful Presentations 2

Advanced, Business English, Business Skills 360, Presentation in English /

Welcome back Business Skills 360 – the podcast that looks at the other side of Business English.

This is the second part of our series on effective English presentations. Last week, we talked about keeping it short, simple, engaging, and real. Much of that happens in the preparation. Today, we’re going to talk about what happens when you stand up in front of that audience and have to start speaking.

Your first goal should be to make a connection with each and every listener. That connection is the pathway along which your message travels. If you have a good connection, there’s a good chance your message will sink in. To make this connection, you have to do two things: you need to control the audience’s attention and you need to engage their minds. And to do these two things, you have three tools: your voice, your props such as PowerPoint – and your body or movement.

Discussion Questions

1. What is the most difficult part of speaking in front of a group of people?
2. What different types of visual aids are commonly used in presentations?
3. When you give a presentation, do you usually stand in one place or move around?

Free Resources: PDF Transcript | Quiz

Download: Podcast MP3

BEP 169 – Interview in English for your First Job (3)

Advanced, Business English, ESL Podcast, Job Interview in English /

BEP 169 - english interview

Welcome back to Business English Pod for this business English lesson, the last of a three-part series on English Interviews for your first job.

When you’re in an interview in English, everything is focused on you – your education, your skills, and the qualities that make you the best candidate for the job. But it’s also important for you to focus on the company you’re interviewing with. After all, you’re interviewing for more than a job. You’re interviewing for a spot on the company team. Employers want to know how you’ll fit in with the office culture and see if your values are consistent with theirs.

In this episode, we’ll talk about ways to show you’ve researched the company. We’ll also cover language to show you’re a good fit and for discussing your long-term career goals. Finally, we’ll look at ways the company might explain next steps in the hiring process.

Once again, we’ll join Owen, who is interviewing for a test engineer position at a company called IBH. He’s in the middle of a panel interview with Erica and Cindy, two HR reps, and George, who’s the head of engineering. Today, the interview wraps up.

Listening Questions

1. Why is Owen interested in working for IBH?
2. What does Owen say about collaborative spirit?
3. What is one of Owen’s long-term career objectives?

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

Download: Podcast MP3