What was once a dream for science fiction fans is now inching closer to reality. Powerful companies are pouring money into what they hope will be the birth of a new delivery market. Google, Amazon, and a handful of others have embarked on a project that may change the way consumers receive products, and the commercial drone industry is poised to take off with far-reaching applications.
Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on how to use “signposting” language to connect the different parts of a presentation in English.
To understand signposting, think about the signs you see in the street. They tell you where you are going and what you are going to see next. In the same way, when we speak, we can use words and expressions that tell our listeners where we are going and what they’re going to hear. For example, at the start of a presentation, we might say “I’m going to talk about three main ideas.” Then your listener knows the organization of your presentation. And in the middle of your presentation, you might say “So, let’s move on now” – That tells your listener that you’re changing to a new topic.
In the dialog, you are going to hear part of a presentation by a man named David. The presentation is about a company’s sales “performance.” What do I mean by “performance”? Performance is how well a person or company does what it’s supposed to do. So if a person “performs” well in his job, he’s doing good work. And if a company is “performing poorly,” it’s not doing so well. So in this presentation, you’ll hear about “sales performance.” In other words, David is talking about how well the company is selling its products.
Listening Questions
1. How many parts is the presentation divided into? 2. What’s the first topic the presenter is going to explain? 3. What’s the second topic the presenter is going to explain?
In this Business English Pod lesson, we’re going to learn how to introduce a presentation in English.
And if you think this topic sounds familiar, you’re right! This lesson is the start of a new series where we’ll take a fresh look at some of our older lessons. We’re going to keep the original dialog and record new explanations and practices with the aim of making these lessons more accessible to some of our lower level learners.
In the dialog you’re going to hear a presenter named Claude. Claude is presenting an “analysis” of sales data. When we talk about “analysis” or use the verb “analyze”, we’re talking about looking closely at something to understand it. So Claude is looking closely at sales information and explaining what he sees to a group of managers.
Listening Questions
1. At the beginning of the presentation, what language does Claude use to sound friendly? 2. What is Claude’s job? 3. What does Claude “hope to” do? 4. What is the “final” part of the presentation going to be?
Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on discussing hiring and staffing needs.
At the heart of every great company is a great staff. But how do you get a great staff? How do you make sure you have enough of the right people in the right places to make the business a success? These are important questions that you need to answer when discussing staffing needs. Not just because labor is one of the biggest costs for most companies, but because people are the real backbone to any business.
In today’s dialog, you will hear the speakers use many different expressions that we call “collocations.” A collocation is simply a natural combination of words. Native English speakers commonly use these collocations as “chunks” of language, because it’s actually easier to remember them as a chunk than as individual words. For example, in business you might hear the expression “fixed costs” for business costs that don’t change from month to month. People don’t say “unchanging costs” or “solid costs” or “same costs.” Those just aren’t natural collocations. Everyone says “fixed costs.”
As you listen to the dialog, try to pick out some of these English collocations and we’ll discuss them later in the debrief.
In the dialog, we’ll rejoin a conversation between three managers at a fiber optics company. The company is planning to manufacture a new product, and they need to decide how to staff the project. You will hear Carla from finance, Hank from HR, and Paul, the production manager for the new product line. Last time we heard these three talk about hiring new staff or bringing people over from another division. Today they’re talking more specifically about the number of people and costs.
Listening Questions
1. How did they get the lead engineer for the new venture? 2. How does Paul think the company can save some money on hiring for the new project? 3. Why does Hank think it will be difficult to hire new workers?
Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on discussing hiring and staffing needs.
Any time we plan a new project, develop a new product, open a new office, or expand a business operation, we need to discuss staffing needs. How many people do we need? What type of work will they do? What qualifications do they need? Where can we find them? What will we pay them? These are all questions that must be resolved if we are to make sure we’ve got the right people in the right jobs.
As they discuss staffing, the speakers in today’s dialog will use many expressions that we call “collocations.” Learning collocations will help you improve your vocabulary and help you sound more natural in English. But what exactly is a collocation? Simply put, a collocation is a natural combination of words. It’s an expression that English speakers commonly use. For example, we often say that something “meets a need” or “fills a need.” That sounds natural. But if you say “take a need” or “makes our needs”, people won’t understand. Those combinations aren’t natural collocations.
As you listen to the discussion, try to pick out some of these English collocations and we’ll discuss them later in the debrief.
In the dialog, we’ll hear a conversation between three managers who work for a fiber optics company that is starting a new production line. Carla works in the finance department, Hank is the HR manager, and Paul is a production manager. Together, they’re talking about how to staff, or recruit new workers, for the new venture.
Listening Questions
1. Why does Carla think it will be difficult to bring in 15 new people? 2. What does Hank suggest about staffing the new project? 3. What kind of work does Paul say they will need to hire new people for?
