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BEP 17c – Presenting an Argument in English (1)

Business English, Communication, English for Meetings /

It’s our 4th anniversary and to celebrate, we’re bringing back one of our most popular podcasts as voted for by you, the listeners. We’ve freshened up the examples and explanations, and we hope you’ll enjoy this new version.

When you’re making an argument, you’re trying to get others to see your point of view. To do this, you need to present your argument – and it’s supporting details – in a clear and organized fashion. Otherwise, it’s going to be difficult for your audience to follow your argument or support you.

Today, we’ll look at ways to make an initial recommendation and begin an organized argument. Then, we’ll talk about how to sequence the points of your argument, how to add new points, and how to emphasize points so they have a greater impact on your listeners.

Here’s the scenario for our dialog. Jim, Dan, and Jack work for an American guitar manufacturer. Jack believes the company should build a new factory in Costa Rica to save money on production costs. Let’s hear how he organizes and supports his argument.

Listening Questions

1. What is Jack’s recommendation?
2. According to Jack, why is the company losing money?
3. How does Jack explain that labor costs are more expensive than raw materials?

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Skills 360 – Tips for your First Job Interview: Difficult Questions

Business English, Business Skills 360, ESL Podcast, Job Interview English /

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

This is the fourth and final part in our 360 series on your first job interview. Today we’re going to tackle a few of those really tough questions that interviewers like to ask.

Getting ready. That’s the key. You need to spend time preparing for your interview and crafting good answers to the questions you’re going to face. I’ll go through five common difficult questions today and you can prepare your answers.

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

Advanced, Business English, ESL Podcast, Job Interview 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?

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Skills 360 – Tips for your First Job Interview: Research

Business English, Business Skills 360, ESL Podcast, Job Interview English /

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

This is the third part in our 360 series on your first job interview, and we’re going to be looking at the topic of research. And by that I mean the research that you should be doing before you step into the interview. Okay, so let’s get started…

When you prepare for an interview, you want to arm yourself with knowledge in three key areas. Number one is the position itself. Number two is the company. And number three is the industry.

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BEP 168 – Interview in English for your First Job (2)

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

BEP 168 - job interview in english

This is the second of a three-part Business English Pod series about interviewing for your first job in English.

Interviewing in English for a job is a lot like a sales meeting. You need to sell yourself to the employer by convincing them that you have the knowledge, skills, and experience they need. But when you’re interviewing for your first job, it gets a little trickier as you probably don’t have that much work experience. So, you need to show the interviewer why your college experience makes you the best candidate for the job.

In this lesson, we’ll focus on ways to highlight that experience and relate it to the job during an interview in English. We’ll talk about extra-curricular activities, internships, and gap years. And, we’ll look at ways to differentiate yourself from the competition and prove that you’re the best person for the job.

In today’s dialog, we’ll rejoin Owen, who is interviewing for a test engineer position at IBH, an electronics company. He’s in the middle of a panel interview with Erica and Cindy, two HR reps, and George, who’s in charge of engineering at the printers division of IBH.

Listening Questions

1. Name one thing Owen did for his school’s robotics team.
2. Why did Owen decide to intern at Lu Tech?
3. What did Owen do during his gap year?

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