Workplace English Podcast - Workplace English Training E-Platform

In business meetings, you may often need to argue that something needs to be done, undone, changed, etc. And to be taken seriously, you’ll need to clearly explain your argument in order for it to be accepted. You’ll also need to know how to respond to questions and criticism, especially if you haven't made your case clearly and backed it up with facts, figures and logical reasoning.

When busy at work, we don’t always have time to return calls right away. Many times, too, a colleague or co-worker will ask us to do something and not leave us with enough time. So how can we politely “stall for time”? How can we say politely that we need more time to complete a job? Listen to this podcast lesson and we'll teach you!  

Entertaining is considered an important aspect of business communication. Not all professional interactions take place in an office environment, and knowing how to entertain business associates in informal environments, such as in bars and restaurants, is an important part of the communication process. While communication with clients in social settings is not as structured as that in professional settings, it does have its unwritten rules about etiquette and language usage. Since different social settings require different aspects of communication, it’s a good idea to know what to say and how to behave in such situations. You are now going to listen to a dialogue between Sheila, a consultant in Mumbai, and Jeremy, a British client with Sheila’s company who is visiting the city.

Introduction Accepting an invitation is easy. Refusing an invitation is more difficult. In business situations, it’s particularly important to know how to refuse an invitation politely so you don’t cause offence to the person who is inviting you. In this podcast lesson you’re going to learn how to make, accept and refuse invitations in a business setting. Situation You’re now going to listen to a short dialogue. Mary and David have just met each other at a business conference. During the conversation, Mary invites David to dinner.

Today’s listening is from the beginning and end of a meeting held to discuss some urgent building work at a factory. It’s going to be run in a more formal style with firm direction from the chairperson because it involves making a decision about an expensive investment. Other types of meetings that benefit from having someone to lead the discussion are Teleconferences – having a chairperson can help make sure people speak in turn rather than all at once!

Asking for information is an important aspect of business communication. It is especially important to be clear and direct while seeking information over the telephone, since not being face-to-face with the speaker may cause misunderstandings or mistakes in noting down details. Additionally, it is also important to verify or confirm the details that we receive, so that we can be sure that we have got the correct information.   You are now going to listen to a dialogue between Violet, the receptionist of a library, and Ryan, a potential member who has called in to ask about the process of getting a membership.

Introduction Persistent callers are people who keep calling until they can speak to a certain person. It may be your job to answer the phone and speak several times to the same caller. The caller may be trying to sell something, or may want to talk to someone in your office for a specific reason. Even if the same person calls many times, you should speak to them politely but firmly. There are many ways in which you can politely tell a caller that they do not need to call again, or that they can leave a message for the recipient. In this lesson, we will look at how to use specific words and phrases to deal with persistent callers. Remember that you need to remain polite and patient while talking to callers, even if they call many times. Situation You will now listen to a conversation between Sandra, a secretary, and Paul, a persistent caller.

When you think about it, so much of business involves influencing others. Sometimes, the influence effort is effort-less. On other occasions, though, you will encounter objections. In this podcast, you will hear techniques that work, that help you get your message across. They will make your job of persuading others easier. Basically, when presenting an argument the recommendations are: 1.     Remain professional at all times. 2.     Restate the comment. 3.     Convert the objection to a question, if possible. 4.     Turn the objection around. 5.     Cite research. 6.     Anticipate objections. 7.     Involve others. In the two situations that we’re going to look at, we’ll see how these recommendations are put into action.

In this podcast lesson you're going to listen to an employment interview. Pay close attention to the questions asked by the interviewer – he uses a range of common interview question types.   Situation Vivian Ren is a Human Resources Assistant Manager for a large international accounting company; she has been looking for a new position as she feels her current job isn't challenging enough after being in the position for over eight years. She has been asked to an interview by a large airlines company for the Head of the Human Resources.

In the modern business world, teleconferencing is an essential means through which business associates in different places communicate with each other. Teleconferencing may be done through audio or both audio and video channels, and is a cost-effective way of conducting business meetings with colleagues and associates who are in different parts of the same country or the world. Because teleconferencing is dependent on long-distance communication and sometimes unreliable technology, problems in communication can often arise. For example, participants may not be able to hear each other because of audio problems. Also, a frequent concern is that native speakers of English tend to speak very quickly, and non-native speakers may find it difficult to follow what they are saying over a conference call. In such cases, it is useful to know how to interrupt politely, ask for clarifications, and handle general problems in communication. SITUATION 1 You will now listen to a teleconference with three speakers who are all from the same company, but work in different locations. Jack, a senior level associate at a global insurance agency, is facilitating the teleconference from his office in London. The participants are Jack’s colleagues Michelle from Hong Kong and Patrick from Edinburgh.

Making successful negotiations is an important part of working in a professional context. It is important to remember that you should define your position clearly before you enter a negotiation. In order to define your position, you need to be sure about the following aspects of your position:  What you are negotiating for, or what you want; What compromises you are willing to make; What you are willing to lose; and What your bottom line is, that is, the least that you are willing to negotiate for. Remember, a successful negotiation is usually one that starts well. So the initial discussions are critical in terms of how you and your business associates create favorable impressions of each other. In this podcast lesson, you’re going to listen to two dialogues. In the first dialogue the participants set the scene for the negotiation by both sides outlining their positions. In the second dialogue, the participants clarify each other positions. At no point during these two initial stages does any actual negotiation occur.  

Imagine you have just entered an elevator. As the doors start to close, a man enters and smiles briefly. A moment later, he starts to chat and asks what you do. The response you give is called an “elevator speech.” As the name suggests, the speech must be short enough to provide essential details before the door opens again and the man gets off on his floor. There are certain things all elevator speeches have. You must tell your name. You must also give the name of your company. And then, you must tell why your company is different from or better than other companies out there. You could tell, for example, a unique approach you take. Or, you could explain the types of problems you solve. You could even tell a story that shows a successful result you had with a given client. In this podcast lesson, we'll teach you how to create a professional elevator speech.

Telephone selling forms a major part of many companies’ sales strategy. Some people find the technique comes naturally but for others it is very difficult and they need to make a conscious effort to develop the necessary skills. In this podcast lesson we present you with two telephone dialogues showing the right way and the wrong way to handle this type of call.

Concluding a deal is the final part of a business negotiation, and often takes place after several talks and discussions have been held to negotiate every aspect of the deal. Participating in the conclusion of the deal usually means that you have been present at earlier discussions, or are familiar with the possibilities that have already been discussed. While concluding the deal, both parties are aware of each other’s positions and no new conditions are usually applied. The final discussion is conducted in a positive style because each stakeholder wants to get his or her conditions accepted without making the other feel defeated, which may lead to the deal not being signed at all. In this lesson, we will examine two different deal conclusions, one which is accepted and another which is rejected. In each case, we see that there is a service or goods provider and buyer. Apart from price, there are other factors such as delivery dates, quantities, and other product or service details that are finalized at the conclusion of each deal. Situation You will now listen to a dialogue between Susan, the owner of a clothing store, and Brian, who represents a design store. Susan and Brian are concluding a deal their companies have been negotiating over the past few weeks.

Introduction You might think that ending a conversation is as simple as saying “Goodbye,” but it’s a little more complex than that. It’s also quite different from culture to culture. In western culture, we inform the person we are talking to gently by giving hints that we need to go or want the conversation to end. We try our best to avoid ending a conversation abruptly. Certain phrases are used to indicate that someone has to go or would like to end a conversation. To end a conversation politely is quite a difficult skill to master, actually! In this podcast lesson, we’ll show you how to end a conversation politely according to western culture. Situation You’re now going to hear a conversation between John and Naomi. They’ve just come out of a conference.