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BEP 219 – Arguing in Meetings in English (1)

Business English, Communication, English for Meetings /

BEP 219 -Arguing in Meetings in English 1

In this Business English Pod lesson, we’re going to look at language and skills for arguing in meetings in English.

Does everyone in your office always agree all the time? When someone makes a suggestion, does everyone just smile and nod in agreement? When you bring forward an idea, do people just accept it? Well, if you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you are in an extremely unusual workplace. People are people. And people butt heads. They disagree, they argue, and they fight. You can’t get around it. But you can learn to deal with it.

To hold your own, you need to learn how to argue effectively. If you’ve got an opinion, you need to defend it. And if you have a problem with something a colleague has done, you need to let them know. This can make for some difficult discussions and meetings, but this is just a part of life and business.

So how can you argue effectively? Well, you need several skills which we’ll look at today. We’ll learn how to interrupt someone, finish something we’re saying after someone else has interrupted us, and cast doubt on something someone has said. We’ll also learn some useful expressions for backing up an accusation and trying to keep the discussion focused. When an argument breaks out, these are the kinds of skills you need.

In this lesson, we will hear a meeting between three people in the retail business talking about a recent promotional event. Apparently, the event wasn’t a great success. Paula and Gavin disagree about why things didn’t work out, while their boss Matt tries to work out the truth and keep the discussion focused.

Listening Questions

1. What does Gavin think was the general reason for the event’s failure?
2. Why does Gavin mention “the papers and the radio spots”?
3. At the end of the dialog, what does Matt want to do?

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Skills 360 – Organizing your Ideas (Part 2)

Business English, Business Skills 360, Communication, Management English /

Welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast for today’s lesson on organizing your ideas.

Last week we looked at several ways to brainstorm ideas. But once you have a big list of ideas, what are you going to do with them? That’s what we’ll talk about today.

We’ll look at how to organize your ideas around your objective and put them into groups of related points.

Discussion Questions

1. What are the different situations in your work in which you have to persuade people?
2. How much time would you normally spend preparing for a one-hour presentation?
3. What techniques do you use to develop and organize your ideas?

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Skills 360 – Organizing your Ideas (Part 1)

Business English, Business Skills 360, Communication, Management English /

In today’s lesson, were going to look at how to organize your ideas.

When it comes to ideas, you’ve probably got lots of them. And sure, they’re important to you. But are they important to others? Well, they could be, but only if they’re clear and organized. You’ve probably been frustrated when people run on at length about what they think using vague language. And you’ve probably tuned out when someone jumps around chaotically from idea to idea without tying it all together with a purpose. That just doesn’t work. And sometimes it’s not the best ideas that win, but the ones that are most clearly articulated.

Today we’ll look at a few different frameworks for generating ideas. In this case, we’re using a form of organization to actually get the ideas flowing.

Discussion Questions

1. Do you have any special ways of brainstorming ideas?
2. Think of someone who you think speaks well. How does he/she organize ideas?
3. Do you ever write out lists of advantages and disadvantages or pros and cons?

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BEP 218 – Discussing a Website Redesign

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, English Collocations, IT and Tech /

In this Business English Pod lesson, we’ll look at vocabulary and collocations for discussing the redesign of a website.

In the Internet age, every company needs a web presence. The foundation of this presence is a good website. This is where customers and the public can go to find information, engage with each other and the business, and, in many cases, purchase products and services.

It’s essential that your website is designed to convey the right image and send the right message. Not only does it have to look great, but it needs to be usable as well. This means that it must be laid out in a way that will help people find what they’re looking for with ease. Internet users have a very short attention span, so if they can’t get around your site easily, they’ll quickly move on to something else.

Before we listen, let’s talk a little about collocations. A collocation is a group of words that native speakers often use together. A correct collocation sounds natural, while an incorrect collocation sounds unnatural. For example, in English we say “go online” to talk about using the Internet. But we can’t say “proceed online” or “travel online,” even though “proceed” and “travel” mean “go.” Those simply aren’t natural expressions.

You’ll hear many useful collocations in today’s dialog. As you listen, try to pick out these natural combinations of words. Then we’ll explain what they mean and how to use them in the debrief.

We’re going to hear a conversation between a website designer named Andy and his client Penny. Penny’s company has contracted Andy to redesign their site. They are looking at the new website and discussing its features.

Listening Questions

1.  What does Penny think of the website’s layout?
2.  Why does Andy show Penny the website on his tablet?
3.  What does Penny need to learn to do with the website?

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BEP 217 – Internal Job Interview in English (2)

Business English, Job Interview in English, Management English /

BEP 217 - Job-Interview English: Internal Interviews 2

This is the second part of our Business English Pod lesson on internal job interview English.

Let’s think about the purpose of an interview for a second. For the company that’s hiring, the interview lets them find out more about the candidates. Who are they? How do they communicate? What can they contribute to the company? For the people applying for the position, it’s a chance to show their personality. They can build on what appears on their resume, emphasizing important accomplishments and abilities. All this may seem obvious, but the important thing to remember is that this is a competition.

Many people, one position. So part of your purpose is to show why you’re better than the other applicants. And when you’re applying within the company you already work for, you may have an advantage. You know more about the company, and they know more about you.

In an internal interview, you need to use this advantage properly. You’ll hear some of the same questions as other applicants, but you may be able to respond with better answers. In this lesson, we’ll learn some of these ways of responding. This will include techniques such outlining your strategic vision, showing loyalty, and showing leadership. It will also include disagreeing politely and talking about career goals.

In the dialog, we will rejoin Graham, Seth, and Michelle, who work in a software company called BitSoft. Seth and Michelle are interviewing Graham for a managerial position.

Listening Questions

1. What is the first suggestion Graham makes?
2. Why does Graham say he has stayed at BitSoft?
3. What does Graham say he eventually wants to become in his career?

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