They say there’s one rule of conversation that you should always follow in business – don’t talk about politics, sex or religion. Eigentlich, Jedoch, it seems like 90% of casual conversations are about just those things – politics, sex and religion. Also in dieser Folge, we’ll be focusing on one of these topics – politics. We’ll be learning some language that will help you cope with this difficult topic.

There’s a trick to talking about politics in business. In international business culture, it’s usually better not to express strong opinions. The focus is generally on the exchange of information rather than on debate, because the main goal is to maintain harmonious relations. Häufig, we state our opinions non-committally. That means we don’t commit ourselves to an opinion – mit anderen Worten, we don’t voice a strong view one way or the other. Stattdessen, we prefer to be vague, or ambiguous. This strategy helps avoid conflict.

So in this podcast, in addition to covering some general phrases and vocabulary for discussing politics, we’ll be studying how to soften your questions and be non-committal when necessary.

We’ll be listening to Ricardo and Lars, alte Kollegen, die sich auf einer internationalen Konferenz wieder getroffen haben. Sie sprechen über die politische Situation in ihren Heimatländern, Brasilien und Dänemark.

Fragen zum Zuhören

1) Ricardo sagt, er habe gehört, dass die dänische Regierung ziemlich weit sei “Rechts”, das ist, konservativ. Aber Lars scheint zu glauben, dass das auch eine gute Seite hat. Was ist es?
2) Lars erwähnt, dass Brasilien seine Bewerbung um die Ausrichtung der Weltmeisterschaft gewonnen hat. Ricardo sagt, dass Brasilien in welchen Bereichen noch viel zu tun hat?
3) Lars spricht über ein bestimmtes Problem “aufgetaucht”, das ist, erschien oder ereignete sich während der Präsidentschaft des brasilianischen Präsidenten Lula. Was ist es?

Download: Podcast MP3

In many countries, having a drink after work with colleagues is a popular way to relax: This kind of socializing helps us get to know each other and to build team spirit. To attract customers who are just getting off work, many bars and clubs have a “happy hour.” This is a promotion in the early evening, usually lasting an hour or so, when pubs and bars offer a special prices on drinks, sowie “buy one get one free” oder “all drinks half price.” So in this business English podcast, we will explore language that we can use to socialize with colleagues during happy hour or during other informal occasions.

Whether you drink alcohol or not, in many places around the world you will likely be invited to the bar or pub with colleagues. It’s important to know how to offer to buy drinks for others and how to make polite excuses when you’ve had enough or when it’s time to go. The same skills are also useful for other types of after-work social activities.

Im Dialog, we join Greg, a manager, and three people in his team – Joanna, Gary, and Ben – as they order.

Fragen zum Zuhören:

1) Who is paying for the first round of drinks? How can you tell?
2) Who is the person who doesn’t drink?
3) When it’s time for her to go, what excuse does Joanna make?

Download: Podcast MP3