Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on decision-making meetings in English.
Making a group of people agree on an important business decision can seem like a difficult task. And it is. People come to the table with different values, visions, opinions, experiences, and priorities. But these differences also make decisions stronger. If we can get groups to agree, to reach consensus, then our decisions are, on the whole, wiser and better.
So how do we bring a group to consensus on a decision? There are a variety of techniques that we can use. In this lesson we’ll look at eliminating an option, highlighting a final choice, and testing for consensus. We’ll also cover expressing reservations and presenting an alternative.
In the dialog, we’ll rejoin Scott, Anne, David, and Kelly, who work at an engineering firm that needs to choose a new tech support company. With Scott leading the meeting, the group has been discussing four different options. In our last lesson, the group already eliminated one option, and at the beginning of this lesson, you’ll hear them eliminate one more, bringing the options down to two.
Listening Questions
1. What does Scott say the discussion has focused on?
2. Why does Kelly suggest they choose Brightstar?
3. What two advantages does David mention about Alamo?
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