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BEP 180 – Handling a Crisis 2: Strategizing

Business English, Communication, Management English /

In this Business English Pod lesson, we’ll see how important it is to strategize and plan when you’re handling a crisis.

Any crisis is a test of business strength. To be more specific, it’s a test of people in business. There’s nothing like a crisis to show us who can handle the pressure and who will crack. Can your business come through a crisis well? Do you have people with the right leadership skills and decision-making abilities to handle the crisis successfully? Let’s see how our team handles things.

Our last episode was about taking control in a crisis. We heard Sandy and Mike report a factory accident to their boss Frank. Frank handled that early part of the crisis well. He calmed his employees down, gave them clear orders, and reassured them.

Today, we’ll see how they develop a strategy to handle the crisis. Mike has been instructed to call the company’s VP of Communications in Singapore. Her name is Monika Jing, and she’ll show some clear thinking in assessing the problem and making a plan going forward.

Listening Questions

1. Who has Mike talked to about the incident?
2. What does Mike say could happen if the situation is really bad?
3. What does Monika want Mike to do while she contacts other people?

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BEP 179 – Handling a Crisis 1: Taking Control

Business English, Communication, Management English, Teleconference English /

This is the first in a series of Business English lessons on handling a crisis.

Imagine this: it’s four o’clock in the morning and you’re sound asleep. The phone rings. It’s one of your managers. There’s been a terrible accident! What do you do? What do you say?

At some point in your career, you will have to deal with a major crisis. It could be a labor strike or an environmental disaster. And there are minor crises, like missing an important delivery or running out of paper, that can happen every day. These events can certainly do damage, but how much? That depends on how you deal with them.

Good crisis management is the key. Your success and reputation depend on it. So in this lesson, we’ll look at what happens when a crisis breaks, or begins. This is all about “Taking Control in a Crisis.” We’ll cover some useful techniques and language to deal effectively with that early morning phone call about an accident.

We’ll hear Sandy and Mike, who work at a factory in China that has just had an accident. Sandy is the plant manager, while Mike is the lead production engineer. A pipe has burst, releasing gas and injuring two workers. Now Sandy and Mike are calling their boss, Frank Menzies, in the U.S. Let’s listen as Sandy and Mike deliver the bad news and Frank takes control of the crisis.

Listening Questions

1. Why isn’t Mike on the call at the beginning?
2. What information about the incident does Frank want to know?
3. What does Frank instruct Mike to do at the end?

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BEP 178 – English Presentations: Making an Impact (2)

Advanced, Business English, Persuasion, Presentation in English /

English Presentation

This is the second in a two-part usiness English Pod series about adding impact to your business English presentations.

Nobody likes a long and boring presentation. In fact, a long and boring presentation can do a lot of damage. People might actually feel less convinced of your idea. And that’s certainly not what you want. It doesn’t matter if you’re giving a presentation at a staff meeting or a sales presentation to a potential client. You have to make an impression. Most business people have to sit through a lot of meetings and presentations, and it can be difficult to impress them. So how are you going to make them sit up and listen? How are you going to convince them of your idea?

You need impact. Fortunately, there are specific things you can do to add impact. And that’s what we’re talking about today.

In our last episode, we heard Ben talk about the problem of too many documents on too many computers in too many locations. He finished by suggesting that he has a solution to this problem. In today’s lesson, Ben will continue his presentation. He’s going to talk about cloud computing, which he thinks can solve many problems in the department. He’ll use several different techniques for adding impact.

Listening Questions

1. What are the benefits of the system that Ben is suggesting?
2. Why does Ben mention several large companies such as IBM and Dell?
3. What does Ben think that people should spend less time doing?

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