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BEP 300 – External Meetings in English (Part 1)

Advanced, Business English, Meeting English, Popular Lessons / March 4, 2017

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on taking part in an external meeting in English.

When you think of business English meetings, you might immediately think of staff meetings, project meetings, or other internal meetings with people in your company. But in business we often have to work with outside companies or organizations so we have to deal with external meetings as well.

External meetings in English can be quite tricky situations. Because everyone might have different goals and opinions, you need to be very diplomatic. You want to be careful not to promise too much while trying to get others to commit. In this way, external meetings are a lot like negotiations, where you try to make an agreement that is in your favor.

In this back and forth of negotiation, you have to convince other people of your position. And when they attempt to convince you of something, you have to respond skillfully. That could mean remaining non-committal, when you don’t want to give a clear yes or no answer. It might also mean saying that you don’t have the power or responsibility to make a decision.

But if everyone remains non-committal and says they can’t make decisions, how can people come to an agreement? Well, sometimes you need to introduce creative solutions or ideas. But even when someone presents a good idea, you shouldn’t always just agree right away. Like I said, this is sort of like a negotiation. So you might want to express doubts about an idea, rather than just accepting it immediately.

In today’s dialog, we’ll hear a meeting between several people discussing the construction of a strip, or small shopping, mall. Jennifer is the architect on the new development, and Carlos is a consulting engineer. They need to come to agreement with Frank, who represents the local government. The meeting is chaired by Nicky, the project manager.

Listening Questions

1. Why does Jennifer think the city should give the developer a break on the number of turn lanes?
2. Who does Frank say insists on having two turn lanes?
3. What solution does Carlos suggest?

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BEP 291 – English Interview Skills 3: Goals and Expectations

Advanced, Business English, Interview English / July 9, 2016

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on talking about your goals and expectations in a job interview.

In a job interview in English, you’ll surely have to answer questions about your experience and your background. And you’ll be trying to convince the interviewers that you’re the person they are looking for. But what are you looking for? And how does the job you’re applying for fit into your plans?

Your goals and expectations matter. Interviewers want to know that you’re the right fit for each other. So you should be prepared to talk about your plans and what you’re looking for. You should also be ready to talk about the industry, and about the company you’re hoping to work for.

Today we’ll learn some of the techniques and language you can use to talk about your goals and expectations in an English job interview. We’ll look at how to answer a question about career goals, and to answer a negative question. We’ll also cover how to show knowledge about the industry and ask good questions about the company. And finally, we’ll look at how to give salary expectations and talk about your intangible priorities, which means what you’re looking for besides money and benefits.

In the dialog, we’ll rejoin Ryan, who’s interviewing for a job at a software company. He’s being interviewed by Sandra and Victor, who want to know about Ryan’s goals and expectations.

Listening Questions

1. What is Ryan’s career goal?
2. What question does Ryan ask about the company?
3. What are Ryan’s salary expectations?

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BEP 290 – English Interview Skills 2: Handling Difficult Questions

Advanced, Business English, Interview English / July 2, 2016

Hello and welcome back to Business English Pod. My name’s Edwin, and I’ll be your host for today’s lesson on dealing with difficult questions in a job interview.

In an English interview, even simple questions about your experience and background can be difficult to answer well. Even though you’ve done your preparation, you might feel nervous or uncomfortable. And then, to make it even more challenging, the interviewer asks you a difficult question.

Sure, everyone expects the question about a personal weakness. That’s one that you need to have a good answer for. But you might also get a range of other difficult questions that you can’t prepare for. And so you need to think on your feet and give the best answer you can.

Today we’ll look at some of the techniques and language for interview English you can use when faced with these difficult questions. We’ll learn how to answer hypothetical questions and leading questions. We’ll also cover softening language for talking about a weakness and stalling for time with a difficult question. And finally, we’ll look at how to explain how you’re different from other candidates and how to connect an idea back to an earlier idea.

In the dialog, we’ll rejoin Ryan, Sandra, and Victor. Ryan is interviewing for a job at a software company, while Sandra and Victor are giving him some difficult questions to deal with.

Listening Questions

1. How does Ryan answer the question about what he “would” do in a certain situation?
2. How does Ryan describe his weakness?
3. What does Ryan think makes him different from other people?

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BEP 289 – English Interview Skills 1: Talking about Experience

Advanced, Business English, Interview English, Popular Lessons / June 25, 2016

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on talking about your work experience during a job interview in English.

An interview in english might just be one of the most stressful experiences in our working lives. The stakes are high, because there’s a job on the line. And it’s our one and only shot to show people why they should choose us over all the other applicants.

So how do you convince someone you’re the best candidate? Well, you need to answer their questions, of course. But you also need to look behind the questions to see what the interviewer is trying to learn about you. And you need to take the questions as opportunities to impress.

Fortunately, there are techniques and language you can learn to help you make a great impression. You can highlight transferable learning from your previous experience. You can also highlight accomplishments and their impact as well as describing your personality. And finally, you can show why you want to work for the company. In today’s lesson, we’ll learn how to use these techniques in a job interview.

In the dialog, you’ll hear Ryan, who’s interviewing in English for a job at a large software company. Two managers from the company – Sandra and Victor – are asking questions about Ryan’s experience and personality.

Listening Questions

1. What does Ryan say he learned at his previous job?
2. Ryan describes one of his accomplishments. What does he say was the impact of that accomplishment?
3. How does Ryan describe his own personality?

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BEP 288 – Sales English 4: Dealing with Doubts

Advanced, Business English, Sales / May 29, 2016

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on dealing with a customer’s doubts about a proposed solution during the sales process.

Customers rarely agree to buy after an initial pitch. Sales typically involves a lot more work than just the initial approach. You need to get to know the customer, understand their needs and offer them good solutions. And somewhere along the way, you’ll have to deal with their questions and doubts. After all, people want to be sure they’re making the right choice, and that they’re spending their money wisely. And even when you’ve shown them all the right reasons to buy from you, they might still be on the fence. So what can you do?

Well, there are a few useful techniques that can help you deal with a customer’s doubts. We can ask about reasons, and propose solutions. We can also relieve their fears and anticipate their concerns. And finally, we can show them why the other alternatives are not good choices. In today’s lesson, we’ll learn how to use these techniques.

In the dialog, we’ll rejoin Aaron, a salesman at a commercial refrigeration company. He’s been talking with a hotel about providing cooling systems for their restaurant and bar. Aaron has taken the time to get to know his customer, and he’s submitted a proposal that he thinks matches their needs. But now the customer has some doubts. Besides Aaron, you’ll hear Eva, the hotel manager, and William, the contractor who’s renovating the hotel.

Listening Questions

1. What is Aaron’s solution to Eva’s first concern?
2. What other concern of Eva’s is Aaron able to guess?
3. Why does Aaron think that not choosing his solution for the freezer is a bad idea?

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