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BEP 271 – Brainstorming Meetings (Part 2)

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on running an effective brainstorming session.

The basic idea of brainstorming is quite simple: you have a problem to solve and you bring together a group of people to generate ideas. You don’t evaluate those ideas immediately, you just want to generate as many ideas as possible. And with the right focus, a good facilitator, and respect for the process, brainstorming can bring out some great ideas.

Today we’ll look at some useful language and techniques for group brainstorming sessions. For facilitators, we’ll look at encouraging more ideas and resisting evaluation. For participants, we’ll cover qualifying your own ideas, introducing an unusual idea, and praising other people’s suggestions.

In the dialog, we’ll rejoin Sally, Melissa, Noah, and Eric, who work for a coffee shop faced with increasing competition. The group is trying to come up with ways of attracting more customers to the shop. Sally is the store manager, and she’s facilitating the session.

Listening Questions

1. Melissa introduces an idea that she says might be “a small thing.” What is it?
2. Noah questions Eric’s suggestion about being more creative with product names. How does Sally deal with Noah’s reaction?
3. How does Noah respond to Melissa’s idea about a delivery service?

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BEP 270 – Brainstorming Meetings (Part 1)

Business English, Communication, English for Meetings / June 21, 2015

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on running a brainstorming meeting.

Brainstorming sessions can be a great way to generate new ideas, whether you’re naming a new product, thinking of ways to cut costs, or figuring out ways of solving tricky business problems. But running – and participating in – a brainstorming session can be a challenge. Groups need to feel comfortable and open, but still maintain focus. And everyone involved needs be diplomatic about how they suggest and respond to ideas.

Fortunately, there are techniques and language that you can use to make brainstorming more effective. Today we’ll look at some of this language. We’ll cover language the facilitator can use to invite new ideas, ask for clarification, and qualify ideas. And we’ll also look at useful techniques for participating, such as building on someone else’s idea and introducing new ones.

In the dialog, we’ll hear several people who work at a coffee shop in a busy commercial area. The shop is facing increased competition and they want to brainstorm ways of attracting new customers and keeping their current customers coming back. The brainstorming session is being led by Sally, who’s the manager of the shop. We’ll also hear Melissa, Noah, and Eric, who are employees.

Listening Questions

1. Noah mentions an loyalty program. Melissa uses this idea to introduce another one. What is it?
2. What new idea does Eric introduce that relates to “relationships and such?”
3. How does Sally respond to Eric’s new idea?

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Business English Course – Lesson 1: Giving Opinions in English

Business English, English for Meetings, English Video / May 20, 2015

This is a preview of one of the lessons from our Business English Course:

The lesson looks at language for asking for and giving opinions in English in both formal and informal business situations. You can check out the original lesson here: BEP 27 – Giving Opinions in English

The Business English Kickstart Course covers the 3 main Business English Skills of meetings, presentations and talking on the phone with 20 lessons appropriate for intermediate English Speakers. The course is available on the Udemy platform which provides desktop and mobile access.

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BEP 24c – Diplomatic English (Part 2)

Business English, Communication, English for Meetings / April 26, 2015

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on using diplomatic, or indirect, language.

What do I mean by diplomatic language? Well, imagine you’re in a meeting and you disagree with someone. Is it okay to say “I disagree with you?” Well, maybe in some situations. But usually we need to be less direct. For example, you could say “I’m not so sure I agree with that.” Using “not so sure” makes it softer, or more diplomatic.

This kind of language is really important when we talk about problems, right? And we can use careful language to downplay a problem. What is “downplay?” That means to make a problem seem less serious. For example, maybe your coworker is worried about a computer problem. You could downplay the problem by saying “there’s no reason to think it will happen again.” You didn’t say there isn’t a problem, right? You just made it seem less serious.

So, what kind of careful language will you learn today? Well, you’ll learn how to disagree carefully and how to guide people to a key idea. You’ll also learn how to interrupt politely, downplay a problem, and highlight the main point.

In the dialog, you’ll hear a teleconference between four managers who work for a guitar company. In our last lesson, we heard Jack talking carefully about a problem at the factory. Some workers got sick, and the other managers were worried because the workers complained to the government. Now those managers want to know more about what might happen to the factory.

Listening Questions

1. Jack thinks the others are exaggerating, or overstating, the problem. What does he say before he tells them this?
2. Dan interrupts Jack when he’s talking. How does Dan do this? What does he say?
3. According to Jack, are these new problems?

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BEP 24c – Diplomatic English (Part 1)

Business English, Communication, English for Meetings / April 19, 2015

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on how to use diplomatic English. That means language that is careful, or not too direct.

This lesson is part of our new series of fresh takes on some of our older lessons. We’ve kept the same dialog but have new explanations and practice for our lower level learners.

Now, as I said, diplomatic language is careful, polite, and not too direct. For example, imagine you’re talking to your boss about a problem. You could just say “We have a problem.” But you want to be careful, right? So how about saying: “We might have a slight problem.” Using words like “might” and “slight” makes it softer, or more diplomatic, don’t think? Now imagine you’re the boss and your employee is explaining a problem, but you don’t understand. Well, you could say “I don’t understand.” But doesn’t that sound kind of short and direct? You don’t want to start an argument, you just want to understand. So you can try something like: “I’m afraid I’m not quite sure what you mean.” Don’t you think that sounds softer?

This is the kind of language we’re going to learn and practice today. You’ll learn how to ask probing questions carefully and how to ask for clarification when you don’t understand. You’ll also learn how to minimize, or make something seem smaller or less serious than it really is. And finally you’ll learn how to disagree carefully using “yes, but” statements.

In the dialog, you’ll hear a teleconference meeting between four managers who work for a guitar company. Jack is the production manager at the guitar plant, or factory. He’s talking to Jim, Dan, and Angie at the company’s headquarters. They’re talking carefully about some recent problems at the plant.

Listening Questions

1. How does Jim ask Jack about the problem at first?
2. Jack doesn’t want to say “some workers couldn’t breathe” because that sounds too serious. What does he say instead?
3. At the end of the dialog, Dan wants to disagree with Jack. What does he say before he disagrees?

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