In this Business English Podcast we’re going to listen to a teleconference between the head office management of a US guitar manufacturer and the manager of their new Latin American plant.
Key language structures explained are: diplomatic language and using probing questions. We also introduce some useful English phrases for starting a teleconference meeting, interrupting and clarifying.
In the final episode of our three-part Business English Pod series on supporting your argument or position in meetings, we look at language used to make your statements more persuasive.
Jack is going to summarize his proposal for the move to Costa Rica and hopes to get a final recommendation on the outsourcing project to present to the Board. He must persuade the managers to proceed, and answer the objections raised at the last meeting.
Key language: Persuasive arguments and effective use of language to support your arguments.
Welcome to the second part of our Business English Pod series on how to support your position or argument in meetings.
Our friend Jack is giving an update on the Costa Rican project. Dan is against the idea, because as production manager, he doesn’t want to lose all his staff. The HR manager, Angie, also doesn’t want to lay off her US staff, and is worried about the difficulty of hiring workers in another country. Jack tries to defend his plan, but has difficulty supporting his argument.
Key Language: emphasizing, minimizing, supporting points & vocal stress.
In the first part of our ESL Business English Podcast series on making and supporting your arguments in meetings, we cover the key language used to organise your thoughts and support your ideas.
In later episodes (BEP 19 & BEP 20) we’ll look deeper into the topic and provide further examples of language you can use to support your position.
The first of our regular business English news podcasts for English learners looks at how people communicate at work and the different factors that can effect how communication takes place. The news story is followed by a discussion of the key English vocabulary and an explanation of the meaning of the words in the context of this article.
We suggest that you first listen to the reading and make a note of any words you are not familiar with. Then read a copy of the article and see if you can guess the meaning of the words by looking at how it is used. Finally, listen to the explanation and discussion of the vocabulary and see if you guessed correctly. You can get a transcript of the artcile by clicking the link below (right-click to save and download).