Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on business English idioms related to strengths and weaknesses.

Job interviews, performance reviews, hiring decisions, promotions, pay raises… what do all of these important aspects of work and business revolve around? Well, one major theme is people’s strengths and weaknesses. If you can’t assess strengths and weaknesses very well – either your own or other people’s – you’re bound to make some bad decisions.

So it’s no wonder you hear so many business conversations about what people can and can’t do, or what they’re good at and what they’re not good at. And in these conversations, you’re bound to hear lots of idioms. English has tons of expressions for talking about strengths and weaknesses. And in today’s lesson, we’ll take a look at some of these business English idioms.

In the lesson, we’ll rejoin a conversation about hiring a new communications director at a mining company. Three managers are talking about the strengths the new director will need, as well as the weaknesses of the previous director, which they want to avoid. They use many useful English idioms during their discussion.

Listening Questions

1. What type of attitude does Annette say the new communications director needs?
2. What type of person does Drew think they need to deal with controversy?
3. At the end of the dialog, what kind of person does Annette say they should avoid?

Download: Podcast MP3

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on business English idioms related to strengths and weaknesses.

Walk into any office or staff room and listen to what people are talking about. There’s a good chance you’ll hear people talking about other people. And in many cases those conversations are about what they’re good at, and what they’re not good at. In other words, you’ll find people talking about other people’s strengths and weaknesses.

And it not just gossip. We talk about people’s strengths and weaknesses every time we make a hiring decision, assemble a project team, or delegate tasks. We even talk about our own strengths and weaknesses in these same contexts. Whatever the situation, and whoever you’re talking about, there are lots of English idioms for discussing strengths and weaknesses. And it’s some of these idioms we’ll learn today.

In the lesson, we’ll hear a business conversation between three managers at a mining company. They’re creating a job posting for a new communications director, and they’re discussing the strengths a good Director will have and the weaknesses they want to avoid. They’re also discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the past communications director. The three colleagues use many idioms related to strengths and weaknesses during their discussion.

Listening Questions

1. According to Annette, what did they think of the previous communications director when they hired him?
2. What does Drew say about Carl’s skills with social media?
3. What does Laura say the new director will have to do, especially with an expansion and so much work in the future?

Download: Podcast MP3