This is the first in a series of Business English Practice Pods that review and extend the language that is covered in the regular podcast. Practice pod dialogs will revise key language but in different situations. Also, they give you more opportunities to practice what you’ve learned.
We’ll hear several phrases from Sports Idioms 1 & 2, plus a few new ones, being used in a new context – a business meeting.
Download BEP 43 INT – Meetings: Opening and Managing Meetings (Part 2)
This is the second in our two-part intermediate Business English Podcast series on opening and managing meetings. In the first episode, we looked at how to open a meeting. In today’s podcast we’re going to cover how to manage the discussion.
Martin, the GM of Daneline Singapore, is discussing with his staff how to make up a budget shortfall. He has just asked Sandra to kick off the first item on the agenda – outsourcing the cleaning.
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 Study Notes |
 Phrases & Practice |
BEP 43 INT – Opening and Managing Meetings 2 – Quiz BEP 43 INT – Opening and Managing Meetings 2 – Gap-fill |
Listening Quiz:BEP 43 INT – Opening and Managing Meetings 2 (Click a question to see the answer)
This is the first in a two-part intermediate Business English Podcast series on opening and managing meetings. In this episode, we’ll look at how to open a meeting. In the second part you will learn how to manage the discussion.
The listening takes place in the Singapore offices of Daneline, an international shipping company. Martin, the GM, is chairing a meeting with Sandra, David and Sam to discuss a budget shortfall. Shortfall means their budget has fallen short of expectations. In other words, they don’t have enough money, so they need to make some cuts. To chair a meeting is to lead the meeting. We can say that Martin is the chairperson. So in these two episodes on opening and managing meetings, you’ll be learning language for chairing meetings.
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Study Notes |
Phrases & Practice |
BEP 42 INT – Opening and Managing Meetings – Quiz BEP 42 INT – Opening and Managing Meetings – Gap-fill |
Listening Quiz:BEP 42 INT – Opening and Managing Meetings (Click a question to see the answer)
Download BEP 35 INT – Meetings: Clarifying Meaning
In BEP 34, we talked about clarifying what was said, for example, “What did you just say? I didn’t catch that.”
In today’s Business English Pod show, we’ll look at clarifying what was meant, for example, “What do you mean by that?” or “What I’m trying to say is …”. Clarifying the meaning is an important part of all communication because it helps us avoid misunderstanding.
Download BEP 34 INT – Meetings: Clarifying What Was Said
This is the first in a two-part Business English Podcast series on clarifying. To clarify means to make clear.
Today we’ll look at phrases and skills for clarifying what was said. For example, “I didn’t quite catch that. Could you say that again?” This is useful when you don’t hear clearly or when someone speaks too fast.
Then, in the second podcast, we’ll be looking at language for clarifying what was meant, for instance “What exactly do you mean by that?”
The listening today is from a shipping company. You’ll hear Wim Zeldenhuis and Andre De Vries in Rotterdam call their American colleague Benny McClenahan in Boston.