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BEP 33 ADV (Transcript) – Presentations: Closing Down & Summarizing

In this Business English Podcast episode, we look at language for closing down and summarizing your presentation.

As we mentioned previously in BEP 101 (Click this link to listen to the podcast), a strong introduction is important to give your audience a reason for listening. Similarly, a strong conclusion is very important to leaving your audience with a great impression and giving them a clear message about what action to take.

So what structure should you use to close down a presentation? We suggest this simple format:

1. Give your audience a clear signal that your are going to finish.
2. Briefly summarize the main points of your presentation.
3. State your recommendation or give your call to action—let your audience know what you want them to do.
4. Finish off by thanking your listeners and inviting questions or discussion.

Transcript & Study Notes.

BEP 32 ADV (Transcript) – Meetings: Brainstorming & Discussing Ideas

In this Business English Podcast we take another look at the language used to suggest and discuss ideas in meetings and teleconferences. We’ll also provide further language for diplomatic disagreement and agreeing action points at the end of the meeting.

The teleconference is run by Jim as a type of meeting called a “Brainstorming” meeting, which is useful for gathering and openly discussing ideas as the format is more relaxed.

Transcript & Study Notes.

BEP 31 INT – Meetings: Accepting and Rejecting Suggestions

This Business English podcast is the second part of a two-part series on making, rejecting and accepting suggestions. In the first episode BEP 30 ), we looked at how to make suggestions. In this episode, we’ll cover appropriate ways to reject and accept suggestions. Accept means to agree to a suggestion and reject means to disagree.

As you’ll remember, the listening takes place at a sports shoe company called Stratos. You’ll be listening to Karen, a marketing manager, meet with three members of her team, Charles, Sven and Miguel. They are choosing a celebrity spokesperson for a new product.

Transcript & Study Notes.

BEP 30 INT – Meetings: Making Suggestions

Today’s intermediate Business English Podcast is part of a two-part series on making, rejecting and accepting suggestions (see BEP 31 ). In this ESL podcast, we’re focused on the language used to introduce your ideas and make suggestions.

The dialog takes place at a sports shoe company called Stratos. You’ll be listening to Karen, a marketing manager, meet with three members of her team, Charles, Sven and Miguel. They are choosing a celebrity spokesperson for a new product. Celebrity means a famous person and spokesperson is someone who gets paid to be in an advertisement for a product.

Transcript & Study Notes.

BEP Business News 06 – Offshoring

This business English news podcast examines the topic of offshoring jobs. ‘Offshoring’ means to move part of a company’s operations (usually supporting functions such as finance or HR) to another country – literally ‘off shore.’ Another commonly used term related to this topic is ‘outsourcing’ – this means to use a different company to handle some supporting tasks. The key difference is that outsourcing doesn’t necessarily mean the work is done in a different country.

The topic of offshoring, or outsourcing work overseas, is certainly a popular one these days, and many people in Western Europe and North America are quite concerned that this practice will lead to less job opportunities in their countries. However, our story details a report from a well know management consultancy that concludes these concerns may be exaggerated or ‘overblown’.

Transcript & Study Notes.