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BEP 353 – Business English Coaching 2: Setting Goals

Advanced, Business English, Human Resources, Training / January 29, 2020

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on setting goals during a coaching session.

You’ve probably heard that an important part of coaching is listening and showing empathy. A good coach tries hard to understand the person he or she is trying to coach. That helps build trust, which creates a constructive relationship. But what is that relationship for? What kind of work does that trust allow?

Once you build a good relationship as a coach, then you can start talking about improvements. After all, coaches don’t exist just to hear about people’s problems. Their whole purpose is to help people get better. And a big part of getting better is setting goals, which is something a good coach can help with.

So how do we work with someone on their goals? Well, that might start with asking about their motivation. After all, goals have to be directed at something. If someone’s motivated by the idea of getting a promotion, then the goals have to relate to that. And that underlines the fact that they are the other person’s goals. We don’t set goals for them. We ask them about their goals. Then we can help them break their goals into smaller objectives.

Of course, another important role of a coach is to give encouragement. So when we help someone set goals, we are in a good position to show confidence in their ability to meet them. And finally, we might ask them about their next steps. That is, what are the concrete activities that the person will take as she tries to accomplish her goals?

In today’s dialog, we’ll rejoin two lawyers: Marion and Rachel. Marion has been coaching Rachel as she learns how to be a better lawyer. In the previous lesson, we heard Marion trying to figure out Rachel’s challenges. Now we’ll hear her help Rachel set some goals.

Listening Questions

1. What does Marion ask Rachel about at the start of the conversation?
2. What short-term objective does Rachel identify for herself?
3. What does Marion say she is “sure about” and has “no doubt about?”

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BEP 352 – Business English Coaching 1: Needs Analysis

Business English, Human Resources, Management English, Training / January 19, 2020

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on English for coaching.

Everyone understands the importance of a good coach in sports, but what about a good coach at work? In fact, coaching is an important part of every manager’s job. Managing people isn’t just about telling them what to do and how to do it. A good manager helps employees develop and reach their full potential, just like in sports. And that requires an open and constructive coaching relationship.

Coaching involves an ongoing dialog between you and the employee. Together you’ll assess the situation, set goals, monitor those goals, and adjust your activities and objectives as you go along. Yes, I said “together.” The 21st century manager isn’t the same as the 1980s manager. The relationship is different. You have to be the boss without being bossy. You need to maintain your authority and the employee’s autonomy at the same time. That’s a fine line to walk.

Coaching often begins with a needs analysis. That is, you’re meeting with an employee to figure out what is working well, what’s not working at all, and what can be improved. That conversation will involve a lot of open-ended questions. It will also involve showing empathy, which is an important part of leadership.

When you talk about the employee’s performance, it’s important to give very specific examples of behavior. It’s also important to ask for their perspective on those behaviors. Ultimately, you want to get the employee to agree about what his or her challenges are. Only then can you move on to talk about solutions.

In today’s dialog, we’ll hear Marion, an experienced lawyer, coaching a younger lawyer named Rachel. Marion and Rachel are having an open discussion about Rachel’s performance, and trying to establish what her needs might be.

Listening Questions

1. Why does Marion mention her own experience at her first job?
2. What example of Rachel’s performance does Marion bring up for discussion?
3. After assessing the problem, what does Marion ask Rachel at the end of the conversation?

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925 English Lesson 32 – How to Generalize in English

925 English, A2, Business English, English Video, ESL Podcast / January 7, 2020

In today’s 925 English video lesson, we’re going to learn how to make generalizations in English.

Don’t you hate it when people say things like “Americans are rude?” I mean, not all Americans are rude. And people in other countries are rude too. It’s simply not helpful to say something is true of a whole group of people. When it’s negative like that, it feels wrong.

But it can be helpful to describe a group of people, as long as we are clear that it’s not everyone we’re talking about. We call this a “generalization.” For example, “many of my friends work in finance.” I’m making a generalization about my friends. And it doesn’t have to be people. If I say “most of our online sales come from Europe,” I’m generalizing about sales.

925 English video lessons for beginners (CEFR level A2). With 925 English videos you can learn business English phrases for work.

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Skills 360 – How to Get a Year-End Bonus (2)

Business English, Business Skills 360, Human Resources / December 11, 2019

Welcome back to Business English Skills 360 for today’s lesson on how to make sure you get a great year-end bonus.

When I say “bonus,” I’m not talking about a Christmas card from the boss with a $20 gift certificate for Starbucks. I’m not talking about tokens of appreciation. I’m talking about a nice fat year-end bonus that says your employer believes you’re worth investing in.

In our last lesson, I talked about how to demonstrate your value through your approach to work. Today, I want to focus not just on your approach, but on the work itself. When all is said and done, it’s your performance that will be valued above all else. So how can you show that?

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Skills 360 – How to Get a Year-End Bonus (1)

Business English, Business Skills 360, ESL Podcast, Human Resources / November 30, 2019

Welcome back to Business English Skills 360 for today’s lesson on how to secure a great year-end bonus.

We all know that money’s not the only workplace incentive, but it sure is an effective one. Nothing beats a nice cheque at the end of the year to say “thanks for all the hard work.” That bonus can help us enjoy the holiday season more, and feel better about heading back to the office when the holiday is over.

So, how can you make sure you get that bonus? Or how can you increase the size of your bonus? Well, first of all, if you just started thinking about this now, you might be out of luck. You can’t just suck up to your boss in December and expect to be rewarded. If you’re looking for an easy workaround to hard work, I’m sorry to disappoint you.

And if you think that you deserve a bonus because you showed up on time every day and never ducked out early, then think again. If you make hamburgers at McDonalds, then your employer pays you for your time, in the form of a wage. But in professional settings, where people earn salaries, it’s not your time that your employer pays for. It’s your value.

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