Business English Vocabulary | Business English Pod

BEP 335 – English for Discussing Change Management (1)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, English Collocations, Management English / January 26, 2019

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on English collocations for discussing change management.

Change is a constant. Nowhere is this more true than in business. Just look at the list of Fortune 500 companies from 50 years ago. You might be surprised by how many of those well-known companies are now gone. So what’s the difference between a company that survives and one that dies? A lot of it is about how they manage change.

In this lesson, we’ll listen to a meeting featuring three colleagues who are trying to figure out how to restructure their company. During the discussion, you’ll hear lots of useful expressions that we call “collocations.” And what is a collocation? Well, it’s just a group of words that go together naturally. You heard me use the expression “restructure a company.” That’s a collocation. The words go together as one expression.

Native speakers learn collocations naturally. They simply repeat expressions that they’ve heard hundreds of times. If English is your second language, however, it might not come so automatically. But, by studying collocations, you can improve your vocabulary and sound more fluent at the same time. As you listen to today’s conversation, try to pick out some of these business English collocations and we’ll discuss them later in the debrief.

In the dialog, we’ll hear Jake, Finn, and Lauren. The company they founded has grown, and now they need to carefully manage the transition to a larger company.

Listening Questions

1. What does Finn think is required to manage change in their company?
2. What does Lauren say is the first step in change management?
3. What does Jake believe is driving change in the company?

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BEP 331 – English Idioms for Giving Advice and Warnings (2)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, Business Idioms / October 20, 2018

Welcome back to Business English Pod. My name’s Edwin, and I’ll be your host for today’s lesson on business English idioms for giving advice and warnings.

People don’t usually deal with problems or make big decisions on their own. No, they usually turn to those around them for advice. And unless you work alone on an island, you probably find yourself giving advice to others on a regular basis. Could be a colleague coming by your office to chat about a difficult project. Or it might be a friend calling you up for help with a workplace conflict.

But we sometimes find ourselves giving advice even when it’s not asked for. You might be chatting with an employee and realize they’re about to take a big risk. Or a co-worker might be about to accept a bad deal. Whatever the case, it’s your job to warn them about the hazards of their choices.

When you give advice, you can rely on the usual language of suggestions, and expressions like “should” and “how about doing” something. But we also have a lot of English idioms for these situations. And it’s these idioms of advice that we’ll look at today.

In the dialog, we’ll hear a conversation between two work friends, Ryan and Dana. Dana has had ongoing problems with another colleague named Jane. She’s telling Ryan all about the latest developments in the conflict. And Ryan is giving both advice and warnings to her about her approach to the problem. In their conversation, they use lots of useful business English idioms.

Listening Questions

1. What does Ryan think Dana should do instead of avoiding Jane?
2. What does Ryan say about Dana’s plan to send Jane an email?
3. Dana misunderstands some of Ryan’s advice. What does she incorrectly think he is telling her to do?

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BEP 330 – English Idioms for Giving Advice and Warnings (1)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, Business Idioms / October 9, 2018

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on Business English idioms for giving advice and warnings.

Everyone needs a bit of advice from time to time. Maybe we’re dealing with a difficult colleague, or maybe we’re deciding whether to accept a job offer. At some point we all turn to a colleague, a mentor, a boss, or a friend for a bit of guidance. And sometimes we get advice when we’re not even looking for it. These same people might warn us about things we aren’t even aware of.

At some point, all of us will be called to serve on the other side of the advice equation. Colleagues and friends may come to us for help when they have problems. Our job is to advise, to warn, and to guide them. Whichever side of the equation you’re on, there’s lots of useful Business English idioms for these situations. It’s these English idioms for advice and warnings that we’ll learn today.

In the lesson, we’ll hear a conversation between two friends. Sheldon is having difficulties at work and is considering quitting his job. His friend Tanya is providing some advice and guidance on Sheldon’s situation. She uses many English idioms of advice and warning in their discussion.

Listening Questions

1. What did Tanya previously advise Sheldon to do?
2. What does Tanya think Sheldon should do instead of quitting his job?
3. At the end of the dialog, what does Sheldon say about his own approach?

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Business English News 41 – Data Privacy

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, Business News, IT and Tech / July 21, 2018

The digital age has brought unprecedented access to information and new online services. And in exchange, people have proven very willing to provide personal information and to have their online activities monitored. But is it worth it? As Wired reports, more and more people are questioning this trade-off:

The US has found itself in the middle of a data privacy awakening, and you can credit the recent spate of headline-grabbing scandals as the kick-starter. Cambridge Analytica illicitly took the personal information of up to 87 million Facebook users and turned it into targeted political ads. And Equifax let slip the sensitive details of 148 million Americans because it couldn’t be bothered to patch a known vulnerability.

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BEP 324 – English for Discussing Company Performance (2)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, English Collocations, Finance and Accounting / May 13, 2018

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s Business English vocabulary lesson on how to describe company performance.

Every company’s goal is to make a profit. But how they go about that is different. Different industries, different business models, different approaches – There’s no simple recipe for success. And there’s no simple, single way to measure whether a company is performing well.

Instead, we look at many different factors when we measure company performance. We’ve also got a lot of different expressions in English for discussing the topic. And many of these English expressions are what we call “collocations.”

What’s a collocation? Well, it’s just a natural combination of words. Ever heard the expressions “turn a profit” or “boost the bottom line?” We don’t say “grow a profit” or “up the bottom line.” Those simply aren’t natural collocations. And if you say something like that, you won’t sound natural.

So studying collocations is a great way to sound more natural with your vocabulary. You can learn combinations of words, rather than single words on their own. As you listen to the dialog today, try to pick out some of these collocations, and we’ll discuss them later in the debrief.

In the dialog, we’ll rejoin a meeting at a private equity firm. Three colleagues, Maria, Claudia, and Taylor, are talking about some of the companies they’ve invested in. They’ll use lots of great collocations as they discuss the performance of these companies.

Listening Questions

1. What does Claudia think about SmartMoney?
2. What does Taylor think they should do before selling off SmartMoney?
3. What has Claudia been focusing on with Byron Industries?

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