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BEP 301 – External Meetings in English (Part 2)

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on communicating effectively in an external meeting in English.

Everyone talks about the importance of good communication skills in business. And one situation that clearly demonstrates this importance is external meetings. An external meeting is one where you meet with people or groups outside your own company. That might mean another firm or organization that you’re collaborating with. Or it might mean the government or other regulatory agencies.

In external meetings, there’s a lot of push and pull. Everyone at the table might have a different agenda, or different goals. And these goals might be in competition. If I get more of what I want, it might mean you get less of what you want.

Being successful in external meetings might involve steering the topic of conversation. To do that, you need good ways of introducing new topics or issues. And when others steer the conversation, you might not like where it goes. For that reason, you might have to stall if you need more time to respond or if you don’t want to commit to something. You might also want to avoid answering a question altogether.

So if everyone’s trying to steer the conversation, how does anything get done in an external meeting? Well, in some cases you just have to be insistent. I mean, you have to say “listen, this is the way it has to be.” Coming to agreement might also require you to give in to pressure, since you can’t always get everything you want. So you might need some good ways to back off a position or opinion that you were arguing for.

In today’s dialog, we’ll rejoin a conversation about the development of a new shopping mall. We’ll hear Nicky, the project manager, and Jennifer and Carlos, the architect and engineer who are working for the developer. They are meeting with Frank, who represents the local government. In this situation, there’s a lot of push and pull between the developer’s side and the city government side.

Listening Questions

1. What issue does Jennifer interject with before the group discusses timelines?
2. What does Frank say to avoid answering Jennifer’s question about parking spaces?
3. When Frank backs off his previous stance, what does he say to show hesitation or reluctance?

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BEP 300 – External Meetings in English (Part 1)

Advanced, Business English, English for Meetings, Popular Lessons / March 4, 2017

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on taking part in an external meeting in English.

When you think of business English meetings, you might immediately think of staff meetings, project meetings, or other internal meetings with people in your company. But in business we often have to work with outside companies or organizations so we have to deal with external meetings as well.

External meetings in English can be quite tricky situations. Because everyone might have different goals and opinions, you need to be very diplomatic. You want to be careful not to promise too much while trying to get others to commit. In this way, external meetings are a lot like negotiations, where you try to make an agreement that is in your favor.

In this back and forth of negotiation, you have to convince other people of your position. And when they attempt to convince you of something, you have to respond skillfully. That could mean remaining non-committal, when you don’t want to give a clear yes or no answer. It might also mean saying that you don’t have the power or responsibility to make a decision.

But if everyone remains non-committal and says they can’t make decisions, how can people come to an agreement? Well, sometimes you need to introduce creative solutions or ideas. But even when someone presents a good idea, you shouldn’t always just agree right away. Like I said, this is sort of like a negotiation. So you might want to express doubts about an idea, rather than just accepting it immediately.

In today’s dialog, we’ll hear a meeting between several people discussing the construction of a strip, or small shopping, mall. Jennifer is the architect on the new development, and Carlos is a consulting engineer. They need to come to agreement with Frank, who represents the local government. The meeting is chaired by Nicky, the project manager.

Listening Questions

1. Why does Jennifer think the city should give the developer a break on the number of turn lanes?
2. Who does Frank say insists on having two turn lanes?
3. What solution does Carlos suggest?

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BEP 293 – English Collocations for Implementing a Plan (2)

Business English, English Collocations, English for Meetings, Project Management / October 1, 2016

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on English collocations related to implementing a plan.

Everyone knows that you have to plan for the future. But many “plans” are only that: they are just plans. But a plan is only useful if it leads to action. Or, as a wise man once said: a plan without action is a dream wasted. In order to not waste that dream, we need to implement the plans we create.

In today’s lesson, we’ll hear a discussion about how to implement a marketing plan. And you’ll hear lots of common expressions we use when talking about implementation. These expressions are called “collocations,” which just means a set of words that usually go together. For example, have you heard the expression “put something into action?” That’s a common collocation that means “to implement.” We don’t say “make something into action” or “activate something.” It’s always “put something into action.”

You can learn these natural combinations of words used by native speakers. Studying English collocations will help you sound more natural and expand your active vocabulary. As you listen to today’s dialog, try to catch some of these collocations, and we’ll go over them later in the debrief.

In the dialog, we’ll rejoin Carlos, Viv, Byron, and Marion, who are discussing how to implement a marketing plan. In the last lesson, they talked about some of their online marketing activities. Today, they’re going to talk about some other parts of the plan, including the timeline.

Listening Questions

1. Why does Carlos mention that Marion is a strong writer?
2. What does Carlos say about the importance of the CRM?
3. What does Viv think about the timeline on the CRM activities?

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BEP 292 – English Collocations for Implementing a Plan (1)

Business English, English Collocations, English for Meetings, Project Management / September 24, 2016

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on English collocations related to implementing a plan.

In business, good planning is important, whether you’re talking about a long-term strategy or a short-term project. But a plan itself means nothing without action. It’s not what you decide to do that matters, but what you actually do. And what you actually do with a plan is called “implementation.” Implementing a plan is all about deciding who will do what, and when they will do it.

In this lesson, we’ll listen in on a meeting about how to implement a marketing plan. During the discussion, you’ll hear lots of useful expressions that we call “collocations.” A collocation is a natural combination or group of words. For example, I’ve already used the collocation “to implement a plan.” We don’t say “do a plan” or “activate a plan.” The natural expression is “to implement a plan.”

Native speakers use collocations like this automatically, and you can learn to use them as well. By studying English collocations, you’ll improve your vocabulary and sound more fluent. As you listen to the dialog, try to pick out some of these collocations and we’ll discuss them later in the debrief.

In the dialog, we’ll hear Carlos, Viv, Byron, and Marion. The small company they work for has just had a new marketing plan developed by a consulting company. Now they are meeting to figure out how to implement the plan.

Listening Questions

1. Carlos asks for volunteers on one aspect of the plan. What exactly does he want the volunteers to do?
2. As there’s lot to do on the website, what does Byron need to do as the lead?
3. What is Carlos going to do in three weeks time?

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BEP 20c – Presenting a Cohesive Argument

Business English, English for Meetings, Persuasion / September 10, 2016

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s business English lesson on presenting a cohesive argument.

You may have lots of great ideas. But those ideas aren’t worth much if you can’t convince other people that they’re great. And that takes more than just excitement and energy. To convince others, you need to present a cohesive argument.

So what is a cohesive argument? Well, it’s a series of logical reasons to support an idea. A cohesive argument helps you convince others of your position by providing a set of supporting points presented in a logical manner. If you do not provide a cohesive argument, then you’ll have trouble getting other people to support you.

A good argument might start by showing research and giving some context for the issue. Then you can talk about precedents for your idea, which means other times that it has been done successfully. It’s also good to think about what people might be concerned about, and address that before they even have a chance to bring it up. And finally, you can tell people why your idea is necessary. With a cohesive argument like this, you’re sure to have more support for your idea.

In today’s dialog, we’ll hear Jack, who’s presenting a proposal to move his company’s production to Costa Rica. In our last lesson, we heard Jack and several others discussing the idea. Jack’s argument was a bit disorganized and drew criticism from the others. He didn’t manage to convince them that moving production overseas was a good idea. In this meeting, the team has to make a decision on the issue. So Jack really needs to present a good argument.

Listening Questions

1. What has Jack done in preparation for the meeting?
2. Why does Jack mention the company Intel?
3. Jack talks about one thing that other people might be concerned, or worried about. What is it?

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