Workplace English Podcast - Workplace English Training E-Platform

Most formal business meetings are chaired by an individual who structures the meeting and ensures that different roles are assigned to the participants in the meeting. The chairperson also manages the opening and closing remarks of the meeting, which are both essential to the outcome of the discussion. Chairing a meeting involves knowing how to make remarks and comments at the right times, getting the conversation back on track if any deviates, and making opening and closing remarks that emphasise the main points of the discussion. Usually, it is only formal business meetings which are chaired, which means that the chairperson’s language also has to be more or less formal in nature. The language and usage of expressions depend on what kind of meeting is being chaired. Business meetings that are internal to a company can utilize more informal language, while meetings in which clients are present are usually more formally organised and conducted. In this podcast lesson, we will examine the usage of language expressions in six different aspects of chairing a business meeting.

Many of you will be working for international companies where you come into daily contact with foreigners. Whether you’re working face-to-face with a foreign colleague in your office, or just bump into a foreigner you know in your company canteen, a corridor, a lift or when you are arriving or leaving work, you’ll need to make some conversation. You don’t always need to talk about work, although this is what you have in common and it is easier to talk about things that you both know about. Social conversations are important when you want to build better relationships with people and when you want to develop closer friendships. If you want to become more than just work colleagues, you’ll need to talk about things other than work! Situation You're now going to listen to two dialogues. In the first dialogue, Barbara Powers and Lee Lu, colleagues in Parma, a large multinational banking company, meet for the first time. Lee has recently been transferred to the Beijing office where Barbara is a manager.

Giving a verbal report is often an urgent task that comes up when your manager cannot wait for a written report. A verbal report may need to be prepared quickly since it is usually related to issues that are urgent and need to be resolved as soon as possible. In a verbal report, keep in mind that the results or findings are usually presented first, and suggestions and recommendations are given later. A verbal report is less formal than a presentation, and the listener may often interrupt you to ask for clarifications or for your opinion or suggestions. A verbal report is usually a combination of a mini-presentation and a question and answer session. You should be sure of your facts and be prepared to answer questions clearly and informatively. You should also be able to offer solutions and recommendations for the issue you’re reporting on. Situation 1 You will now listen to a dialogue between Jason, a supervising executive at an engineering site, and his manager Liz. Liz has asked Jason to give her a verbal report on a complaint made by a client.

Presentations are an important aspect of working in a business environment. Since they give you an opportunity to showcase your abilities and thoughts, they should be planned well and organized in such a way that your main points are highlighted constantly. One of the best ways to do this is to end your presentation effectively. Remember, audiences tend to remember best what they hear last! An effective conclusion can help your listeners to quickly recollect your main points, and also set the stage for a discussion on the topic you have covered. Here are some points to keep in mind for an effective conclusion to a presentation: Always provide a brief summary of your main points (no more than two to three sentences). Include recommendations for further research or exploration if possible. End by checking with your audience if they need clarifications, or if they have any comments or questions. Situation You are now going to listen to a conversation with three participants. Tara is a language trainer at a large company. She has just completed a presentation on issues which need to be addressed by the company’s training department in the coming month. Alex and Rebecca are members of Tara’s team who ask her for clarifications.

In this podcast lesson, we'll be looking at some of the phrases you can use when you're saying goodbye to someone - either for a short time, or for a long time. In our example, Victor is from another country, and he's about to go back home. At a conference, he meets Sam and Lin. After completing all the listening and language exercises, you can download the podcast which includes the dialogues as well as detailed explanations of all the language points.

In this podcast lesson we're going to focus on questioning techniques once again. Questioning is the most important way of exchanging information in business situations. Since there are many situations where questions are used in gaining information, there are, of course, many different ways of asking questions. The most important thing to consider when asking questions concerns your relationship with the person you are speaking to. Obviously, the closer you are to someone, the more informal your questions can be. It’s advisable, though, to be more polite than is usually necessary if you are unsure how polite or formal to be. Informal, direct questions may be considered impolite in certain situations with certain people; formal, indirect questions can often be considered inappropriate in other situations. Would you use the same type of questions with your subordinate as you would with a customer? Would you question your boss in the same way you'd question your colleague? It's doubtful.

In this episode we look at how to discuss options and choices in meetings. We've looked before at formal meetings but today's meeting is a more informal one, to discuss a specific issue within the same department. The discussion is more free-flowing, or uncontrolled. Situation 1 You're going to listen to a short extract from a business meeting in which a number of colleagues are discussing various options concerning the Internet side of their business operations. During the meeting, the colleagues put forward and discuss various options concerning the best course of action to take both in the short term and long term.

Introduction There are a number of ways in which cold calls can be effective. One is for the selling organization to start with a high quality, up-to-date database consisting of qualified potential clients that have an interest in the product being sold. Another is to use cold calls as a "step in the door". Rather than using the call to try to close a sale, it is used as the initial contact in a long-term relationship. This has the effect of removing the sales pressure from calls and making the goal of the call to build trust. Situation Salesman Kyle Brant calls two different companies for the first time to try to set up a sales meeting. Notice how he introduces himself. Notice also how he find his “way in,” his connection to make what he’s selling more appealing to the potential customer.

Introduction Many of you will be working for international companies where you come into daily contact with foreigners, some of whom will be native English speakers. Whether you’re working face to face with a foreign colleague in your office, or just bump into a foreigner you know in your company canteen, a corridor, a lift or when you are arriving or leaving work, you’ll need to make some conversation. You don’t always need to talk about work although this is what you have in common and it is easier to talk about things that you both know about. Social conversations are important when you want to build better relationships with people and when you want to develop closer friendships. If you want to become more than just work colleagues, you’ll need to talk about things other than work! Situation Marcel and Donna, two colleagues at AEN Publicity, are chatting at the water-cooler. They don’t really know each other very well, but are quite happy to exchange a few words. The conversation is very informal so you may come across some interesting new words and expressions.

Introduction When you call a customer on the telephone to makes a sales pitch, you are essentially cold calling, and the customer is not likely to know what your call is about until you explain why you are calling. It is important to explain and ask for the customer’s permission to continue with your pitch, but also to present the information in such a way that the customer agrees to hear you out. In this podcast lesson, we will look at a few ways to present your sales pitch in a manner that will help you to keep the customer’s attention and get a positive response. Remember that the key to a successful sales pitch is to be persuasive in a way that does not sound aggressive. To do this, you should ensure that your tone is pleasant and conversational, but also informative. Asking relevant questions and paying attention to what the customer says can help you while making your sales pitch. Situation You’re now going to listen to a dialogue between Michael, a customer service executive at an electronics store, and Sarah, a customer who has purchased a computer from the store. Michael is calling Sarah to pitch a new offer for an extended warranty on her purchase.

Introduction We’ve become creatures of telephone habits. Having made and received thousands of telephone calls in our lifetimes, it is easy to assume that we have reasonable telephone skills. Most people do not even think there are any special challenges of telephone communication. When all parts of the communications process work effectively together, telephone communication is clear and useful. Sometimes, however, even a well-practiced communication process can go wrong. Problems can occur in any of the following four parts of sending a message: Trouble sending: The sender doesn't speak clearly, speaks in a heavy accent or speaks too quickly. What happens to the message? Will it be received? Trouble with the message content: The message is confusing, disorganized or irrational. Is it likely that the receiver will understand what is being communicated? Trouble with the channel: There is background noise or a bad line. Will the message be transmitted effectively? Will it be received? Trouble with the receiver: The receiver is not listening closely, has fallen asleep or is distracted. Will the message be understood? In this podcast lesson, we’re going to focus on trouble with the channel, where because of background noise or a temporary loss of signal, the message is sometimes lost or cannot be heard clearly. Situation You’re now going to listen to Beatrice, from Sterling Associates, take a call from a client, Dan Tomkins. Dan wants Beatrice to reschedule a meeting for him.

At some point in your presentation you will be expected to answer questions from your audience. They might have some important questions that need to be answered before they buy into your message. Handling their questions with authority can make the difference for you between a successful presentation and a waste of time. This is the opportunity for the audience to test your knowledge on the topic and commitment to your message. To some people the question-and-answer session can be the most exciting part of the presentation. To others it can be their worst nightmare simply because they have to speak on the spot without notes. In fact, there are some presenters who purposely avoid the question-and-answer session all together. In this podcast lesson, you’re going to listen to the final part of two business presentations. You decide whether the presenters handled the question and answer sessions with authority.

Introduction Speculating means guessing. When we make a guess about something, we may have some additional information which helps us to guess more accurately and with some degree of certainty. On the other hand, we may not have this information and in such cases our guess will be more uncertain. Modal verbs allow us to speculate about past, present and future events. The modal verb you use depends upon how certain or uncertain you are. When speculating, you should consider carefully the grammatical structures used. A review of the language focus page is recommended. In this podcast lesson we shall focus on speculating about past situations using modal verbs. Situation You’re now going to listen to a conversation between John and Mary. John asks Mary for help in understanding the client files of a colleague who has recently left the company.

Introduction Often in business things don’t go according to plan. Sales fall, meetings are rescheduled, budgets are cut, orders are cancelled, flights are delayed. So just how do we inform our colleagues or customers about bad news? How should we apologise and how should we react to an apology? In this podcast lesson, we’re going to use a telephone conversation between a buyer and a supplier to illustrate some of the common language used when giving and reacting to bad news. Situation  Andrea Suchy, a clothes buyer for a large shop in London, is calling one of her suppliers, Prebdel Manufacturing in Hong Kong, to cancel a recently placed order. Because the company has recently declared a profit warning, the purchasing department is being required to reduce its purchases by 25%. However, the order with Prebdel was placed one week before this and it might be too late to cancel. You’re now going to listen to Andrea as she tries to cancel her order without damaging her business relationship with Prebdel.

One of the most important things to remember about business communication is that it takes place among people and that everyone’s opinions and feelings should be seen as equally important if the communication process is to be successful. In this business speaking lesson, we focus on how to avoid misunderstandings by keeping communication open and smooth. You will now listen to a conversation Susan has during a meeting with a client, represented by James and Michelle. They are about to complete a business deal that will allow Susan’s company, which deals in ceramic kitchen products, to supply goods on a regular basis to the chain of home stores.