BEP 285 – Idioms of Personality and Character 1

BEP 285 - Business English Idioms for Describing Personality 1

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on Business English idioms for describing people’s personality and character.

In English we have a saying that “it takes all sorts to make a world.” This means that the world is made up of many different people and different personalities. And every company or organization needs different personalities for different roles and different kinds of work. This diversity of personality in the workplace is a popular and interesting topic of conversation, as you surely know from listening to your colleagues.

Whether we’re discussing which job applicant to hire or gossiping after hours about coworkers, we all talk about personalities. And English has lots of great idioms for describing personality and character, which is what we’ll look at in this lesson.

You will hear a conversation between three colleagues: Lola, Shane, and Anne. They are trying to figure out who to send to South Korea to work in their company’s office there. As they discuss the different possibilities, they use a lot of different idioms for describing personality.

Listening Questions

1. Why won’t they send David overseas?
2. What do the speakers say about Paula?
3. How does Shane seem to feel about Douglas?

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Skills 360 – How to Influence People (2)

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Business English for Influencing People 2

Welcome back to the Skills 360 for today’s lesson on language and techniques for influencing people.

The power to influence can allow you to do many wonderful things, such as lead people, change their minds, motivate them to action, and negotiate successfully. These are abilities that can help you in life and in business. Now, it might seem like some people naturally have more influence than others, but that’s not always the case. Many powerful people have learned how to influence people using specific techniques.

In our last lesson, we had a look at what you should talk about and how you should talk about it. Today, I want to take a closer look at some language techniques that can open the door to greater influence. And these techniques all help build rapport or trust with the person you’re talking to.

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Skills 360 – How to Influence People (1)

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Business English Skills and Techniques for Influencing People

Welcome back to the Skills 360 for today’s lesson how to influence people.

There are many different reasons why you might want to influence people. Maybe you’re trying to get their support for your idea, or maybe you want to inspire them, or maybe you want to convince them to do something. Whatever the case may be, I think you’ll find the techniques we’re going to learn today very useful for winning people over.

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VV 48 – English Vocabulary for Manufacturing 2

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In this lesson we’ll look at Business English vocabulary related to the manufacturing process. This includes research and development, or R&D, as well as making prototypes. Next we’ll look at different approaches to manufacturing, including lean manufacturing, total quality management, or TQM, and Six Sigma. And most manufacturers follow a set of standards called ISO, especially ISO 9001 and ISO14001. Finally, we’ll look at a variety of manufacturing processes, such as machining, molding and extruding.

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VV 47 – English Vocabulary for Manufacturing 1

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In this English Video lesson, we’ll look at business English vocabulary related to manufacturing. Companies manufacture goods in plants, or factories, where they put together raw materials or various parts and components into a final product. We’ll cover ideas such as fabrication, as well as the assembly line, where goods are assembled. Manufacturers rely on quality control, or QC, to ensure the quality of their finished goods.

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