Welcome back to the Skills 360 for today’s lesson on how to get the most out of a conference.
The digital age has changed the way we communicate and build relationships. And while it’s great to be able to connect with someone on the other side of the world by email, phone, or chat apps, face to face contact is certainly not dead. In fact, in this hyperconnected world, face to face contact is even more valuable, and one of the best opportunities for face time is at a conference.
Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on English for project management meetings. In this lesson, we’re going to look at delivering an initial test build to the client.
In our last lesson, we looked at how important it is to set clear expectations with a good project kickoff meeting. But no matter how well you’ve educated the client about your work process, you’ve still got work to do when you deliver an initial test build. You can’t just hand it over to the client and wait for their feedback. It would be nice if project management was that simple, but it’s not. Handing off an initial test build needs to be dealt with carefully.
For one thing, you need to manage the client’s expectations. That means making sure they understand that you’re not delivering a final product. Rather, you’re giving them something to try out, or test. In this way, project management involves collaboration, or working together with a client. And that’s something you will want to emphasize when you deliver the initial test build.
Collaboration is especially important during the testing process. And it’s a good idea to outline the procedures very carefully for the client. If you don’t, then you’re likely to encounter obstacles. When you hand over a test build, you might also discover the client’s needs have changed. Or that they want something new. In this case, it’s important to clearly identify a change in the project scope. And you need to make sure the client understands that there may be cost overruns connected to a change of scope.
In today’s dialog, we’ll hear Martin, a project manager with OptiTech. He’s been leading the development of new software for a logistics company. Martin is having a teleconference with Zara, a manager at the client company, and Liam, their IT manager. They are discussing OptiTech’s initial test build.
Listening Questions
1. At the start of the conversation, what does Martin want to focus on when they look at the initial test build?
2. What does Martin say is the first step in the testing process?
3. How does Martin respond to Zara and Liam’s request for “load tendering tools?”
Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson, which continues our look at a project kickoff meeting.
Anyone who’s been involved with projects should know just how important it is to have good communication with a client. And good communication starts right at the beginning, at a project kickoff meeting. That’s when you’ll have the chance to make sure a client understands how you work and how the project should run.
In our last lesson, we looked at some of the basics that you need to cover in your first project meeting. Today, we’ll look at some more ways of increasing your chances of avoiding problems and ensuring that a project runs smoothly. In many cases, it can be a good idea to actually bring up potential obstacles in your meeting. If you see something that might impact the timeline or the budget, you can let the client know about it. And that might mean that you have to educate the client about your work process.
When you educate a client about your development process, you might find yourself using too much technical language. But if you want the client to really understand, you might have to rephrase that information in simpler terms. Of course, you don’t want to focus too much on potential problems. And for that reason you should know how to redirect a discussion away from problems and toward other issues. For example, you might need to ask the client for important information to get the project started.
In today’s dialog, we’ll rejoin Martin and Jill. Their company, OptiTech, is starting a new project to develop software for a logistics company. Martin and Jill are kicking off the project by holding a teleconference with Zara, the manager of the client company, and Liam, their IT manager. In this part of the dialog, Martin and Jill are making sure Zara and Liam understand potential obstacles and the development process.
Listening Questions
1. What does Martin say is the cause of some potential obstacles?
2. What is Jill’s simple explanation of a technical idea that Zara didn’t understand?
3. When Martin redirects the discussion away from obstacles, what does he say he wants to discuss?
Welcome back to Business English Pod for our new series on English for project management. For our first lesson we’re going to look at a kickoff meeting at the start of a project.
Whether or not you’re a project manager, you surely know that every project is a unique and complex process. Seeing a project through to completion, on time and within budget, takes a huge range of people skills and business know-how. And sometimes during a big project it might feel like everything is working against successful completion.
But there are ways to minimize some of these challenges. This is particularly true at the beginning of a project when it’s important to make sure you get off to a good start. For one thing, you’ll need to meet with the client to make sure the ground rules of the project are clear. Otherwise, you’ll be dealing with confusion mid-project. Kicking off a project effectively also means outlining protocols, or important procedures, and explaining lines of communication. After all, when a problem or challenge does arise, everyone should know exactly who to talk to and how to make the necessary changes.
The kickoff meeting is also a time for everyone to make their priorities clear. If you are the client and sticking to the timeline is more important than keeping to the budget, you should make that known right from the start. Of course, there may be competing priorities. And as a project manager, you may have to manage client expectations carefully, which might involve setting some conditions when you agree to something.
In today’s dialog, we’ll join Martin and Jill, who work for a software company called OptiTech. Their company is holding a teleconference to kick off a project to develop custom software for a logistics company that will help them manage and track shipments. Martin is the project manager, while Jill is the lead developer. On the call, we’ll also hear from Zara, a manager at the logistics company, and Liam, their IT manager. Together, they are all trying to get the project off to a good start.
Listening Questions
1. How does Martin say that Jill should deal with technical issues?
2. What does Zara emphasize as her company’s priority in the project?
3. Near the end of the conversation, what condition does Martin attach to the successful management of the timeline?
In today’s 925 English lesson, we’re going to learn how to disagree with ideas in English.
People disagree with each other’s ideas all the time. In fact, disagreement isn’t just natural, it’s necessary. How else can we sort out the good ideas from the bad ones? But disagreeing with people isn’t always easy. If you’re not careful, you can make people feel hurt or angry. So how can you do that? How can you tell someone you don’t like their idea without upsetting them?
925 English is a new business English course for beginners. 925 English lessons focus on English phrases and expressions that you can use in work and business. Each 925 English lesson features English phrases you can use in different situations and advice on why and how we use them in Business English.
Speaking English well isn’t just about speaking correctly. It’s about choosing words that make an impact, and about influencing people’s thoughts and feelings. And if you study the habits of great speakers, you’ll hear them use emphasis effectively. A great speaker won’t just say he “recommends” something. Instead, he might say he “strongly recommends” something. That word “strongly” triples the impact.
But how would you know that we say “strongly recommend” and not “heavily recommend” or “deeply recommend?” Well, “strongly recommend” is the natural combination of words that native speakers use. These natural combinations of words are called collocations. A collocation is just two or more words that native speakers commonly use together. And you can learn collocations of emphasis to sound more natural and increase the impact of what you say.
In this lesson, we’ll listen to the end of a presentation on the topic of leadership. Maria is summarizing her main points. During her presentation she uses several collocations to emphasize her ideas. Try to pick out these collocations, and we’ll talk about them later in the debrief.
Listening Questions
1. Maria asks her listeners to think of a person. What type of person does she ask them to think about?
2. What does Maria say about a great speech that isn’t supported by action?
3. What does Maria think about people’s search for meaning in work?
If you want to make an impact when you speak, you need to learn the importance of emphasis. I mean, if sales increased, that’s great. But what if they increased a lot? Or you might be concerned about something, but what if you’re very concerned? “A lot” and “very” are used for emphasis. But you don’t want to only use “a lot” and “very.” If you use any word or expression too much, it will lose its impact.
In this lesson, we’ll listen to the end of a presentation about the financial performance of an airline. The speaker is talking about what the company can expect to see in the coming year. And during the presentation, as well as during the question and answer session, the speakers give emphasis to their ideas using “collocations.”
A collocation is just a pair or group of words that go together naturally. For example, instead of saying something “increased a lot,” you can say it “increased sharply.” The words “increase” and “sharply” often go together. And if you want to say you are “very concerned,” you can say “deeply concerned.” That’s a natural way of emphasizing the idea of being “concerned.”
Native speakers use these word combinations naturally. And if you want to sound natural, it’s a good idea to learn these collocations. As you listen to the dialog, try to pick out some of these collocations, and we’ll talk about them later in the debrief.
In the dialog, we’ll hear Leo, the presenter, talking about some of the key financial indicators the airline uses to track its performance. We’ll also hear two managers, Rita and Mike, ask questions at the end of the presentation.
Listening Questions
1. What does Leo say the company has achieved in terms of costs?
2. How does Rita feel about the positive attitude concerning profits?
3. What does Leo say about non-fuel cost growth in their company, compared to other companies?
Scrum involves working in sprints, or short cycles, to develop a product rapidly. Key roles in scrum include the scrum master along with the product owner, as well as product teams, which create the product by working through the sprint backlog.
In today’s 925 English lesson, we’re going to learn how to agree with ideas in English.
Every day, in life and work, we have to decide whether we agree or disagree with other people’s ideas. It might be in a serious discussion about who to hire or how to cut costs, or in a simple conversation about where to go for lunch. And when you hear an idea that you like, you want to show your support for it, right?
925 English is a new business English course for beginners. 925 English lessons focus on English phrases and expressions that you can use in work and business. Each 925 English lesson features English phrases you can use in different situations and advice on why and how we use them in Business English.
Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on discussing strategic change.
The world of business and the economy are constantly changing. And businesses need to respond with their own changes, or risk getting left behind. But change can be difficult both for people and for organizations. As a leader of people in a changing organization, you might face resistance. So you need to be able to manage change well. And that often involves effective discussions with others in the company about strategic change.
Of course, change is easier when the general feeling in a company is positive. And that’s why you might need to gauge morale when you’re talking with others. That will help you figure out how to manage the change. But managing change doesn’t mean promising that it will be easy. Instead, you should carefully warn others about possible difficulties.
Another thing you should do is to be clear about messaging. Change is a lot easier if everyone has the same idea about what’s happening and why. It’s also a lot easier if you can show the benefits of the changes. And that’s why you should talk about change as an opportunity that can help the company, and its people. If you can successfully show people that change is an opportunity, then you should get a positive response when you ask people whether they’re committed to the changes at hand.
In today’s dialog, we’ll hear Cam and David, who work for an American clothing company called Boston Vintage. David is the manager of the company’s Shanghai office. Cam is a production manager who is visiting China to meet with the company’s staff and look at new production facilities. In an earlier conversation, Cam told David that the company has made the strategic decision to focus on Southeast Asia rather than China.
Listening Questions
1. How does Cam gauge morale, or ask about the overall feeling among staff?
2. What is the basic explanation for the change that Cam wants David to communicate?
3. According to Cam, why is this change an opportunity for David?
