Business English Pod (9to5English) / Business English / Page 93

Skills 360 – Networking Skills (Part 2)

Business English, Business English Skills 360, Socializing /

Welcome back Business Skills 360 for the second part of our look at networking skills. In this episode, we’re going to focus on “network maintenance,” or how to make sure your network is healthy, organized, and effective.

You see, passing out business cards is not enough. I can spend all week attending events and talking to people and manage to hand out 200 business cards but still not have a healthy and effective network. To do that, you need to maintain your network. You need to take care of it and reinforce its connections. You need to work your network. Just how can we do that?

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Skills 360 – Networking Skills (Part 1)

Business English, Business English Skills 360, Socializing /

Welcome back to Business Skills 360 – the podcast that looks at the other side of Business English.

Today’s Business Skills 360 lesson is about business networking, and goal-setting for networking events. To get the most out of your networking, you need to go into these events with a clear objective so that you can make good use of the opportunity. We set goals for everything else, so why not networking?

To brush up on your Business English for networking, check out BEP 155 & 156.

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BEP 17 (Redux) – Presenting an Argument (Part 2)

Business English, Communication, Meeting English /

This is the second of a two-part Business English Pod series on presenting an argument.

This podcast is one of the most popular as voted by you, the listeners. And to celebrate our 4th anniversary, we’re giving it another go by updating the examples and explanations. We hope you enjoy it!

When you’re presenting an argument, it’s important to back up what you’re saying. You need to have relevant facts and examples at your fingertips and think ahead to what your opponents might say. It’s also helpful to know how to talk in broad terms and give your argument some contrast. Finally, it’s good to know how to conclude your argument in a clear, concise way.

In this lesson, we’ll explore these points in detail. We’ll talk about ways to give powerful examples. We’ll also look at language for making contrasting points and generalizations. And, we’ll show you how to finish up your argument, either formally or informally.

Last time, we met Jack and Dan, who work for an American guitar manufacturer. Jack thinks moving production to Costa Rica would be a good financial move for the company. But Dan isn’t so sure.

Listening Questions

1. Why are shipping costs increasing? Give one example.
2. Why does Dan think that moving production to Costa Rica would be more expensive?
3. What is happening to the company’s market share?

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Download: Podcast MP3[/tp]

BEP 17 (Redux) – Presenting an Argument (Part 1)

Business English, Communication, Meeting English /

It’s our 4th anniversary and to celebrate, we’re bringing back one of our most popular podcasts as voted for by you, the listeners. We’ve freshened up the examples and explanations, and we hope you’ll enjoy this new version.

When you’re making an argument, you’re trying to get others to see your point of view. To do this, you need to present your argument – and it’s supporting details – in a clear and organized fashion. Otherwise, it’s going to be difficult for your audience to follow your argument or support you.

Today, we’ll look at ways to make an initial recommendation and begin an organized argument. Then, we’ll talk about how to sequence the points of your argument, how to add new points, and how to emphasize points so they have a greater impact on your listeners.

Here’s the scenario for our dialog. Jim, Dan, and Jack work for an American guitar manufacturer. Jack believes the company should build a new factory in Costa Rica to save money on production costs. Let’s hear how he organizes and supports his argument.

Listening Questions

1. What is Jack’s recommendation?
2. According to Jack, why is the company losing money?
3. How does Jack explain that labor costs are more expensive than raw materials?

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Skills 360 – Tips for your First Job Interview: Difficult Questions

Business English, Business English Skills 360, ESL Podcast, Interview English /

Welcome back to Business Skills 360 – the podcast that looks at the other side of Business English.

This is the fourth and final part in our 360 series on your first job interview. Today we’re going to tackle a few of those really tough questions that interviewers like to ask.

Getting ready. That’s the key. You need to spend time preparing for your interview and crafting good answers to the questions you’re going to face. I’ll go through five common difficult questions today and you can prepare your answers.

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