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BEP 73 – English Idioms: Business is War (1)

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

Business and war. War and business. It’s no accident that many business strategies and management techniques were first developed in the military. Actually, it’s quite natural that we think about business competition in terms of war. Companies fight each other for market share. We strategize about how to win the battle. You try to attack my market position, and I defend it. Business is full of such war idioms. Though it’s not the only way we think about business, it is certainly the main way we talk about it. Therefore, to communicate effectively in a business environment, we need to learn these war idioms.

In today’s dialog, the management at Luminex, a producer of LCD TVs, is discussing how to respond to a attack on their market position by a competitor, Meyers. Traditionally, Meyers has been strong in the premium (high value) market and Luminex has been strong in the mid-range market. Recently, however, Meyers has tried to take mid-range market share from Luminex.

Pay attention to the war idioms that the meeting participants use as you listen. Don’t worry if they don’t make sense to you the first time you listen. After you’ve heard the idioms explained in the debrief, go back and listen again, and the dialog should be much clearer.

Listening Questions

1) The first two speakers talk about “always being on the defensive” and “taking way too much flak.” What do they mean and what do they propose doing?
2) How does Jane’s point of view differ from the first two speakers?

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BEP 72 – Telephoning: Voicemail Messages

A2, Business English, ESL Podcast, Intermediate English, Telephone English /

When you call someone but they aren’t there, often their voicemail “picks up” or answers the phone. Then you have to leave a message. Anyone who uses the phone in their job has to deal with voicemail.

Have you ever started to leave a message on someone’s voicemail, then when you heard the “beep” sound, you didn’t know what to say? When you’re speaking a foreign language, talking without preparation can be challenging, especially when you cannot see or hear the person you’re talking to. But with a little practice, you’ll be a voicemail pro.

That’s what we’ll be studying in this Business English lesson – standard phrases and language for voicemail messages, so that next time you here that “beep” you’ll know exactly what to say.

First we’ll hear a bad example. Justin Thomas works for a shipping broker called Trivesco. Brokers are “middlemen” – in this case Justin is a “newbuildings” broker, which means he helps people buy and sell new ships. Justin is calling Sylvie Peterson, a manager at the shipbuilding company Schmidt and Larsen. In the second example we hear Justin’s colleague, Mark Rand, leave a more professional message.

Listening Questions (Good Message)

1) What is Mark Rand hoping to talk to Sylvie about?
2) When will he be available to take Sylvie’s call?
3) How does Mark put a positive finish on the message?

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BEP 71 – Mergers: Office Gossip and Reported Speech

Business English, ESL Podcast, Grammar, Socializing /

This is the second in a two-part Business English Podcast lesson that follows some of the internal discussions that take place in a company going through a merger.

Today’s episode focuses on casual office conversation and gossip. Office gossip is a type of informal conversation in which we tell secrets or rumors about other people or other departments. Gossip is often called water cooler chitchat, since the water cooler is where colleagues meet by chance and discuss things that are happening in the office. You might also want to review some of our previous shows on socializing for more language to use in these types of conversations.

For the listening today, we rejoin Jack at the guitar manufacturer headquarters, after his short but difficult chat with his boss Jim. Jack is in the cafeteria when a co-worker meets him there by chance.

Listening Questions

1) What did Frances hear from Joanna?
2) Who did Michelle take off with?
3) Where does Frances tell Jack she has to go?

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BEP 70 – Mergers: Breaking Bad News

Advanced, Business English, English for Meetings, ESL Podcast /

This is the first in a three-part Business English Pod series that explores the use of many different language techniques in the context of a merger. Today’s episode focuses on vague, diplomatic language and probing questions. Vague and diplomatic language was introduced in podcasts BEP 24, BEP 51 and BEP 52, so you might wish to review those to refresh your memory.

In addition, we’ll be covering probing questions, which we first looked at in BEP 64. To probe is to explore or investigate, so probing questions are used to gather more detailed and targeted information. And I should also point out that there are two speaking practices at the end of this podcast – an action packed episode indeed.

For this series, we again visit our U.S.-based guitar manufacturer, which has a production plant in Costa Rica. In this episode, we find out that the company is merging with a larger guitar manufacturer. To merge is to join together. When two companies join together, we call this a “merger.”

The new owners want to cut costs, which might mean cutting jobs. So, an important question in the mind of our old friend Jack is – who is going to be fired? We join Jack and his boss Jim, who meets Jack by chance in the hallway of the company headquarters.

Listening Questions:

1. Who will Jack be meeting with after his chat with Jim?
2. What city might the Costa Rican plant move to?
3. Why do the new owners want to move the factory out of Costa Rica?

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BEP 69 – Telephone English: Leaving a Message

Business English, ESL Podcast, Intermediate English, Telephone English /

This lesson has been updated in anew series: BEP 69A Redux & BEP 69B Redux.

People are busy. When you telephone people, they often aren’t there to take your call, so you need to leave a message. And almost everyone has to answer the telephone and take a message sometimes. Doing so professionally leaves a good impression on your customers, colleagues and boss.

Today we will hear a bad example and a good example of taking and leaving a telephone message.

Justin Thomas is with Trivesco, a major shipyard, or maker of ships. He is calling Sylvie Peterson at Daneline, a shipping company. Sylvie is a sales and purchase (S&P) broker. A broker is a middleman or negotiator. Sylvie specializes in negotiating the purchase of “newbuildings” or newly built ships. Amy, the receptionist, answers the phone.

Listening Questions

Bad Example
1) Does Amy answer the phone professionally?
2) Is Justin prepared?

Good Example
1) How does Amy answer the phone?
2) What is Mark calling about?
3) How does Amy make sure that she has got Mark’s correct phone number?

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