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BEP 338 – Teleconference English: Participating in Online Meetings

Advanced, Business English, English for Meetings, Popular Lessons, Teleconference English / March 12, 2019

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on participating in online meetings and teleconference calls in English.

It’s hard to overstate just how important the phone and laptop are to 21st century business. Can you imagine your work life without these tools? Probably not. If you’re like most people, the majority of your English work conversations happen with the help of technology. And this includes meetings. More often than not, people don’t get together in person, but virtually.

But when you can’t see the people in a meeting, it’s suddenly more difficult to get your voice heard. You can’t lean forward or raise your hand to show you want to speak. Instead, you need to find verbal ways of jumping into the conversation. In many cases, this also means identifying yourself so others know who is talking.

In an online meeting in English, you have to be very clear about what you’re talking about. That might mean skipping back to a comment from earlier in the conversation. And you have to be clear who you’re talking to, by directing a comment at a specific individual. And finally, because technology never seems to be perfectly reliable, you might find yourself apologizing for technical difficulties.

In today’s dialog, we’ll hear a manager named Gabi leading a teleconference with salespeople from across the U.S. They’re having an online meeting to plan a sales conference. The participants will use different strategies to participate effectively.

Listening Questions

1. Why does Heather apologize during the meeting?
2. Why does Manuel say “Manuel here in KC” at the start of a comment?
3. When Heather rejoins the conversation, what earlier topic does she want to talk about again?

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BEP 337 – Teleconference English: Running Online Meetings

Advanced, Business English, English for Meetings, Teleconference English / March 2, 2019

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on teleconferences and running online meetings and conference calls in English.

With today’s technology, people don’t have to be in the same room to have a meeting. We can connect with people around the world by phone or video chat apps like Skype. Amazing, isn’t it? Until it suddenly isn’t amazing, because people don’t know who’s saying what, others are having technical difficulties, and people are leaving and joining the meeting without anyone knowing.

A good conference call requires a good facilitator. Someone to make sure everyone knows who’s in the meeting and gives everyone the chance to speak. That means facilitating introductions at the start of the meeting and encouraging quiet people to share their ideas. After all, it’s pretty easy to hide or be ignored during an online meeting.

Sometimes there are technical problems that can get the meeting off track. At those times, it’s best to ask someone else to try to solve the problem so you can continue running the meeting. And just like any meeting, the facilitator should be encouraging input from everyone, including those who join late. It’s your job to integrate those latecomers into the meeting so they can participate too.

In today’s dialog, we’ll hear an English teleconference led by Gabi. People from across the U.S. are joining the call to plan their company’s upcoming sales conference.

Listening Questions

1. What does Gabi ask people to include in their short self-introduction?
2. What problem does Gabi ask someone to help solve?
3. What does Gabi do when someone joins the meeting late?

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925 English Lesson 25 – Asking for and Giving Directions

925 English, A2, Business English, English Video, Functions / February 20, 2019

In today’s 925 English video lesson, we’re going to learn how to ask for and give directions in English.

It would be great if the map apps on our phones were perfect. But even with the help of technology, we can get confused in a new city, a new neighborhood, or a new office building. And when we do, we need to be able to ask for help.

One simple way to ask for directions in English is to ask if someone “knows where something is.” Or you can just say that you’re looking for a certain place, whether it’s a building, or a room inside a building. One other polite way to ask for directions is with the expression “could you tell me how to get to” a place.

925 English is a course of video English lessons for beginner level (CEFR A2) English learners. With 925 English lessons you can learn business English expressions to use in work and business.

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BEP 336 – English for Discussing Change Management (2)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, English Collocations, Management English / February 9, 2019

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on English collocations used to discuss change management.

In the 21st century the pace of change is very fast. And businesses have to fight to keep up, to adapt to changes in both the world and the economy. In meeting rooms around the world, people are debating issues of change. How do we attract and retain millennials? How do we make good use of emerging media? How do we become more efficient? How can we outsource? The list of questions goes on and on.

In today’s lesson, we’ll listen to a meeting in a company that has experienced a lot of growth. But with success comes growing pains. They’re talking about restructuring their company, and trying to figure out exactly how to go about it.

During their discussion, you’ll hear many English expressions that we call “collocations.” A collocation is a natural combination of words. For example, you’ll hear people talking about making a “smooth transition.” We don’t say “soft” transition or “clean” transition. Native English speakers always say “smooth transition” because that’s what they grew up hearing, so now it’s a natural collocation.

Even if you didn’t grow up with English, you can learn these natural expressions. By studying business English collocations, you’ll improve your vocabulary and sound more fluent. As you listen to the dialog, try to pick out some of these collocations and we’ll discuss them later in the debrief.

In the dialog, we’ll hear Lauren, Finn, and Jake. They’re trying to determine how to take the company they founded to the next level. In particular, they’re talking about how to involve company employees in their discussions about change.

Listening Questions

1. According to Finn, what do they need to show employees rather than just telling them?
2. Besides talking to employees, what does Lauren think they will need to assess?
3. What does Jake say they will do during the “discussion phase” of the process?

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BEP 335 – English for Discussing Change Management (1)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, English Collocations, Management English / January 26, 2019

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on English collocations for discussing change management.

Change is a constant. Nowhere is this more true than in business. Just look at the list of Fortune 500 companies from 50 years ago. You might be surprised by how many of those well-known companies are now gone. So what’s the difference between a company that survives and one that dies? A lot of it is about how they manage change.

In this lesson, we’ll listen to a meeting featuring three colleagues who are trying to figure out how to restructure their company. During the discussion, you’ll hear lots of useful expressions that we call “collocations.” And what is a collocation? Well, it’s just a group of words that go together naturally. You heard me use the expression “restructure a company.” That’s a collocation. The words go together as one expression.

Native speakers learn collocations naturally. They simply repeat expressions that they’ve heard hundreds of times. If English is your second language, however, it might not come so automatically. But, by studying collocations, you can improve your vocabulary and sound more fluent at the same time. As you listen to today’s conversation, try to pick out some of these business English collocations and we’ll discuss them later in the debrief.

In the dialog, we’ll hear Jake, Finn, and Lauren. The company they founded has grown, and now they need to carefully manage the transition to a larger company.

Listening Questions

1. What does Finn think is required to manage change in their company?
2. What does Lauren say is the first step in change management?
3. What does Jake believe is driving change in the company?

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Skills 360 – Levels of Formality in English (Part 2)

Business English, Business Skills 360, Communication / January 15, 2019

Welcome back to Business English Skills 360 for today’s lesson on the different levels of formality in spoken English.

Think about how you speak in your first language. Do you talk the same way to your colleagues as your wife? Or the same to your friends as your boss? Of course not. Different people, and different situations, mean different levels of formality.

We can think about four different levels of formality in spoken English. First, is “formal” English. This is what you might use when you’re giving a public presentation or speech. Next is what we call “consultative,” which is basically professional conversation like talking to your colleagues in a meeting. Then there is “casual,” which is the style you use when talking with your friends. And finally, there’s “intimate” language, which is used with your spouse or family members.

But what if you’re not sure about whether the situation requires formal or more casual language? Well, in that case, stick to language that you know is neutral. And remember, neutral language is acceptable at all levels. Also note that there are individual differences in formality. Different people have different conversational styles. Some tend to be more formal, while others are more casual.

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Skills 360 – Levels of Formality in English (Part 1)

Business English, Business Skills 360, Communication / January 5, 2019

Welcome back to Business English Skills 360 for today’s lesson on levels of formality in spoken English.

Imagine you are looking for a job, and you have an interview at a big company. You walk into the interview room and say to the panel of interviewers: “hey there, how’s it going?” Believe me, that’s a bad first impression.

Or what if you go to the bar to meet an old friend and when you see him you extend your hand and say “Good evening, and how do you do?” Chances are your friend is going to ask you whether you’re feeling okay.

In both these situations, the problem is that you used the wrong level of formality or register. You simply can’t use the same expressions, words, and idioms in every situation. You need to gauge the situation and adapt how you speak accordingly.

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BEP 334 – Project Management English 10: Internal Debrief Meeting

Business English, English for Meetings, Project Management / December 11, 2018

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on project management English for debriefing a project with your team.

Project management can be a messy business. You can plan, but you can’t really predict all the challenges and obstacles that will come up. So on every project, and especially in agile project management, you have to learn and adapt as you go along. And at the end, it’s a good idea to discuss what you’ve learned in a project debrief meeting. If you’re following an agile approach, you might also hold sprint retrospectives, which are like mini-debriefs at the end of each sprint. Whether it’s a project debrief or one of these sprint retrospectives, you’ll cover similar topics.

A project debrief meeting might start out with a review of the project goals. You want to look back and see what you set out to do in the first place. Then you can talk about successes during the project. What did you do well? What would you do again? From there, you can move on to discuss mistakes, and what you’d like to change in the future. And finally, you’ll want to summarize everything that you’ve learned. The whole idea, of course, is that you’ll be able to do things better next time.

In today’s dialog, we’ll hear a project manager named Martin, who’s running a debrief meeting at the end of a software development project. We’ll also hear Jill and Sumita, two of the engineers who’ve worked on the project. Together, the group is discussing the work they’ve done and what they’ve learned.

Listening Questions

1. After discussing the project goals, what does Martin ask about?
2. The discussion of mistakes leads Martin to ask a related question about what topic?
3. What does Martin do at the end of the meeting?

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925 English Lesson 24 – How to Clarify Meaning in English

925 English, A2, Business English, English Video, ESL Podcast, Functions / December 1, 2018

In today’s 925 English video lesson, we’re going to learn some ways of clarifying what someone means.

Sure, you can just nod and smile when you don’t understand. People do that all the time. But they also feel foolish later, especially when the speaker realizes what has happened. Or when you have to ask a question that clearly shows you didn’t understand the first time.

Sometimes it’s just a matter of one word you don’t know. In this case, don’t be afraid to stop someone for clarification. You can always begin by saying you’re sorry, then just ask what the word means. Or you can say you’re “not quite clear what you mean by” a certain word.

925 English is a course of video English lessons for beginner level (CEFR A2) English learners. With 925 English lessons you can learn business English expressions to use in work and business.

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BEP 333 – Business Development 4: Following Up with Partners

Business English, Sales English, Socializing / November 17, 2018

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on how to follow up with potential partners.

Everyone knows that business is a competitive world, sometimes brutally competitive. But it’s not all “dog eat dog,” as they say. Good business people know that one of the keys to success is collaboration. You find other people and businesses that are doing great things, and you cooperate so that you both benefit.

In fact, forging good partnerships is an important aspect of business development. And every partnership begins with a conversation in English. Or a few conversations, I should say.

Once you’ve identified someone as a potential partner, you’ll want to follow up, by phone or in person. And that conversation might involve asking about the person’s work activities, before steering the conversation toward your own field of work and what your company is doing. From there, you can carefully move toward the idea of working together. You might even propose a small joint effort to get the partnership going.

In today’s dialog, we’ll hear Nick, a business development executive with Quest HR. Nick is talking to Ian, who works with a management consulting firm. The two met at a conference, and Nick quickly identified Ian’s company as a potential partner. Now Nick is trying to figure out how they might be able to work together.

Listening Questions

1. What does Nick say his company believes is the secret to success?
2. What does Nick suggest Ian do if he’s interested in the work of Nick’s company?
3. What joint effort does Nick propose at the end of the conversation?

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