This is the second of a two-part Business English Pod lesson on business networking.
Networking is all about people and connections. You never know when someone you meet at a conference or trade show may be able to help your business in the future. Likewise, you may be able to help someone else out. So building and maintaining a network of business contacts is essential.
But once you meet a prospective contact, how do you maintain that connection? This is what we’ll focus on today. We’ll talk about ways to steer a conversation toward a lead. We’ll also cover ways to shoot for a meeting and be persistent. And we’ll look at the other side and discuss ways to politely leave a conversation.
Today’s lesson is mainly about sales, but these functions can be easily applied to other situations.
前回, we met Ian, a sales rep for a pharmaceutical company, and Marissa, a pharmacy manager at Children’s Hospital. They met at a conference and Marissa mentioned her frustration with her current pharmaceutical supplier. Deliveries are often late and are sometimes packaged incorrectly. She’s concerned about getting supplies for her hospital’s vaccine clinics. And that’s where the conversation resumes today.
リスニングの質問
1. What supplies does Marissa’s pharmacy need? 2. Why does Ian suggest grabbing a cup of coffee? 3. What is Marissa’s schedule like right now?
This is the first of a two-part Business English Pod series on giving bad news and layoffs.
If a person gets “laid off”, it means they will lose their job. But it’s not the same as being fired. Layoffs usually occur because of outside forces. A poor economy might cause a company to reduce its staff. Or changes in the industry may make some types of jobs unnecessary. After a merger, there might be redundancies, or duplicates. Two people may be doing the same type of job. If the company only needs one person in that position, the other could be laid off.
Nobody likes giving bad news. And a conversation about layoffs can become awkward and emotional. そこで今回のレッスンでは, we’ll talk about ways to prepare an employee for bad news so that you can soften the shock. We’ll also cover ways to get to the point and how to respond to an angry or emotional employee. ついに, we’ll go over some language to clearly explain the reasons for a layoff.
Angela and David work at a hotel resort that is having some financial difficulties. Angela is a manager and David is the head chef at Zapata’s, one of the resort’s restaurants. 残念ながら, Angela has to tell David he’s being laid off.
リスニングの質問
1. Why has management decided to close 2 restaurants? 2. What type of food does Zapata’s serve? 3. 具体的には, why is Zapata’s closing?