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BEP 236 – English Idioms of Luck and Opportunity (1)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, Business Idioms /

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on English idioms related to luck and opportunity.

Some people have good luck, some people have bad luck, and some people have no luck at all. But what exactly is luck? And how important is it? Some successful business people will tell you that it’s very important. Donald Trump has said that “everything in life is luck.” But other people will tell you that luck is just what happens to people who work hard. In fact, there’s an old saying that luck is what happens when “preparation meets opportunity.”

And opportunity is another word and idea we hear about a lot in business. Opportunities are the good chances that come our way. We can “seize” opportunities, which means we accept them. Or we can let them go. What we do with opportunities is completely up to us.

But whatever you think about luck and opportunity in business, they are both common ideas and words. And not just on their own, but as parts of common English idioms. And it’s these idioms of luck and opportunity that we’ll look at in today’s lesson.

You will hear a conversation between Jim and Oscar, two colleagues who are taking the bus home from work together. Jim and Oscar are chatting about their day and some recent developments in their office. In their conversation, you will notice many idioms related to luck and opportunity.

Listening Questions

1. What does Oscar suggest about buses after 5:00pm?
2. Why does their colleague Ethan have “tough luck”?
3. At the end of the dialog, what does Oscar seem to suggest to Jim?

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BEP 222 – Idioms of Success and Failure 2

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, Business Idioms /

This Business English Pod lesson is the second in our series on English idioms related to success and failure.

80% of new businesses fail within the first five years. Those don’t seem like very good odds, do they? But new businesses continue to be born every day. And every one of them is started with a dream of success. Yes, the possibility of success motivates us, inspires us, and keeps us going to work every morning. Or is it the fear of failure that does this? Do we keep trying because if we don’t, we might fall on our face and disappoint everyone around us? Either way, success and failure are two sides of the same coin.

At work and in business, we almost have an obsession with success and failure. Just think of your conversations about colleagues past and present. What is it you talk about? Well, you might talk about their health and their families. But you probably spend more time talking about whether they’ve made a million bucks yet.

Fortunately, English has lots of great expressions for talking about this common topic. We looked at a few in our last episode, and today we’ll learn lots more.

In the dialog, we’ll rejoin Sam and Dylan, two former colleagues who have been talking about their own successes and failures. Today we’ll hear Sam and Dylan discussing the fortunes of someone they both know named Cameron Smith.

Listening Questions

1. What did Cameron do when his photo-sharing app was successful?
2. What happened as a result of Cameron’s lack of management skills?
3. What did Cameron’s investors decide to do?

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BEP 221 – Idioms of Success and Failure 1

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, Business Idioms /

In this Business English Pod lesson, we’ll look at business English idioms related to success and failure.

Every business has its ups and downs. And so does every person. In other words, sometimes we succeed and sometimes we fail. Another common way of saying this in English is “You win some and you lose some.” Nobody wins all the time, even the great success stories that we read or hear about.

Think of a successful entrepreneur. Now, do you think that person achieved great success on their first try? In 99% of cases, the answer is no. Every successful businessperson learned through failure. Now have a look at your favorite business news site. You’ll see that almost every story can be put into either the category of success or failure. Businesses either grow or shrink but they don’t remain the same.

It’s clear that success and failure are important and common topics. And to talk about them, there are lots of great English idioms.

In this lesson, we’ll hear a conversation between Sam and Dylan, two former colleagues. They have just run into each other and are catching up on their recent experiences. In their conversation, you will notice many idioms related to success and failure.

Listening Questions

1. How is Sam’s work going?
2. How does Dylan feel about his recent investments?
3. What happened to the wireless company that Dylan was involved in?

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BEP 211 – Business English Idioms: Colors (2)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, Business Idioms, ESL Podcast /

Welcome back to Business English Pod for this lesson on English idioms. Today we’re going to be talking about English idioms related to color.

What do I mean by ‘colorful idioms’? I mean expressions that either use the word ‘color’, or mention a specific color. English is full of these expressions. We have color idioms that describe people, moods, situations, activities, and frequency. We even have some that relate specifically to money and finances.

That’s right. Color is important in all parts of life, including business. Just ask your tailor. He might advise you to wear a dark blue suit to show authority, a grey suit to convey security, or a brown suit to show openness. So, just as you should pay attention to color in your clothes, you should be mindful of color in your speech.

In today’s lesson, we’ll continue with a conversation between Mike and Rachel. They’re talking about the possibility of Rachel changing positions, and her interview experience. In their conversation, you will notice that both Mike and Rachel use several business English idioms related to color. Make a note of these idioms, and we’ll go through the conversation again and look at what they mean.

Listening Questions

1. Why was Rachel embarrassed at her interview?
2. What did Rachel accomplish that Mike is impressed by?
3. What does Mike think Rachel should decide about the job offer?

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BEP 210 – Business English Idioms: Colors (1)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, Business Idioms /

In this Business English Pod lesson we’re going to look at business English idioms related to colors.

Every culture attaches special meaning to different colors. But different cultures attach different meanings. Take the word “red” for example. In English, when we say “in the red,” we mean in debt or operating at a loss. But to Chinese, “red” indicates good luck or gains in the financial markets. So, in English it’s negative, but in Chinese it’s positive. It could be pretty easy to make a mistake, either in speaking or in understanding.

In English, we can find idioms related to almost any color. But two colors are more common than others: black and white. In most cases, black comes with a negative meaning and white comes with a positive meaning. In most cases, that is. In this series we will see one idiom using the word “black” that has a positive meaning.

In today’s lesson, we’ll hear a conversation between Mike and Rachel, two colleagues at a large company. We will hear them casually discussing some of their recent experiences at work. And in their conversation, you will notice many idioms related to color. Try to keep a mental note of the idioms you hear, and we’ll go through them in the debrief to explain what they mean and how you can use them.

Listening Questions

1. What kind of mood was Mike in earlier in the day?
2. What did Dan do at a party?
3. What does Mike say is one positive outcome of the situation?

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