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BEP 286 – Idioms for Describing Personality and Character (2)

Business English, Business Idioms, Human Resources /

BEP 286 - Business English Idioms for Describing Personality 2

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

Think about all the different people you live and work with. There are probably some you get along with well, and others you don’t. There are some you would hire but not invite for dinner, and others you’d invite for dinner but would never hire. And the difference between all these people is probably their personality.

Different personalities make for more than just an interesting life; they make conversations interesting. Listen to the conversations around you in the staff room or at the café, and what do you hear? People talking about people. And because we talk so much about people, English has lots of idioms for describing personality. We’ll learn how to use some of these idioms in today’s lesson.

We will rejoin a conversation between three colleagues: Lola, Shane, and Anne. They’ve been trying to decide who in their company they should send on an overseas placement to Korea. They use lots of great idioms in their discussion of the different personalities under consideration.

Listening Questions

1. What does Lola think Marco would do well?
2. In Shane’s opinion, why isn’t Simone a good candidate?
3. What do the speakers say about Hank’s personality?

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BEP 285 – Idioms for Describing Personality and Character (1)

Business English, Business Idioms, Human Resources /

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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BEP 278 – English Idioms for Negotiations (Part 2)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, Business Idioms, Negotiating /

BEP 278 English Idioms for Negotiations 2

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on English idioms for discussing negotiations.

Making deals and coming to an agreement can be tricky business. We give, and we take. We win a little, and we lose a little. And both sides hope that they can get more than they need to give up. This is the tough competition known as negotiation, a competition that puts the drama in the world of business.

And like any kind of drama or competition, we love to talk about it. Who won and who lost? Who got what? How much did they pay? And just how did they get such a good deal? In English, we have lots of idioms to talk about negotiations. Today we’re going to take a closer look at some of these idioms and how to use them.

We’re going to rejoin a conversation between two colleagues, Jose and Neil. Neil has been talking about a tough negotiation he’s been going through with a company from Singapore.

Listening Quiz

1. How does Neil say he’s going to respond to the other company’s demands on payment terms?
2. According to Jose, why might the other side be negotiating with another firm besides Neil’s company?
3. What is Neil’s biggest fear?

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BEP 277 – English Idioms for Negotiations (Part 1)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, Business Idioms, Negotiating /

BEP 277 - English Idioms for discussing Negotiations 1

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on idioms related to negotiations.

Negotiation is at the heart of business. We negotiate salaries, partnerships, prices, terms, timelines, business deals, and pretty much everything, in fact! And to do this, we discuss, we persuade, and we make trade-offs all in the name of closing the deal.

Yes, almost everything in business is a kind of negotiation, a push and pull in which we try to get what we want. And it should come as no surprise that in English we have a lot of different idioms for talking about negotiations. Today we’ll look at some of these idioms and how to use them.

You will hear a conversation between two colleagues, Jose and Neil. They are talking about some negotiations they’ve been involved in recently. In particular, Neil has been experiencing some challenges in a negotiation with a company from Singapore.

Listening Questions

1. What surprising demand does Neil say the other company made early on?
2. After explaining his own experience with a Brazilian company, what does Jose suggest Neil try?
3. What does Neil think he might have to do instead of doing what Jose suggests?

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