Business English Pod (9to5English) / ESL Podcast / Page 26

BEP 75 – Performance Appraisals: Giving Feedback (1)

Advanced, Business English, ESL Podcast, Human Resources, Management English /

Performance appraisals – sometimes called job performance evaluations or reviews – are a powerful way to develop staff’s potential. These skills are important not just for HR (Human Resources) professionals, but for any manager or supervisor who has responsibilities over other staff.

For performance appraisals to succeed, however, it’s important that they are conducted in a structured way. In addition, it’s important that skill and diplomacy are used to handle the two main tasks of the appraisal – giving effective feedback and setting goals.

So this is the first in a two-part Business English Podcast lesson that focuses on structure, skill and diplomacy in performance appraisals. In this podcast, we will deal with giving feedback. In the second, we will handle setting goals.

This episode focuses on giving effective feedback that creates a positive environment and builds trust. These feedback skills are useful not only in performance appraisals, but also in any situation that requires making critical comments to someone about their work.

Wendy is a new hire at ConStar’s videoconference call center. She has been working there for about 10 months, including training, so now it’s time for her first six-month performance review. Derrick, the manager of the operations department, will be giving Wendy her appraisal.

As a “videoconference coordinator” for ConStar, Wendy’s job requires using special equipment to set up and connect videoconferences for Fortune 500 clients. ConStar’s customers hold regular remote meetings among multiple locations all around the world. Wendy’s job is to make the connections between locations and to solve customer’s problems when they call into the help desk.

What kind of feedback will Derrick give Wendy? She is really smart, but she tends to get hot under the collar when she works under pressure. That means, she gets upset when she feels job stress. Sometimes she loses her temper, and her colleagues have complained about it.

Listening Questions

1) How many meetings is Wendy handling per day at the moment?
2) What’s the main issue that Derrick wants to give Wendy feedback on?
3) What advice does Derrick give Wendy to help her correct the problem?

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BEP 74 – English Idioms: Business is War (2)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, Business Idioms, ESL Podcast /

This is the second in a two-part Business English Pod series on English idioms related to war.

Everywhere you look in business, you will find the language of war: We often think – and talk – about business competition in terms of attacking and defending, gaining and losing ground.

During the first business ESL podcast in this series, we studied many such war and military related idioms. We learned the meaning of “taking flak,” “reinforcing one’s position,” “laying low,” “making a move” and many others. In this podcast, we will continue exploring useful war idioms.

The dialog picks up where we left off at the Luminex management meeting. Jane has just explained that they need to think “strategically.” He explains that this means “laying low,” by which he means waiting to take action until the economy improves.

As you listen, pay attention to the war idioms Jane and her colleagues use. You may not understand them the first time. After you hear the debrief, go back and listen again, then things should be much clearer.

Listening Questions

1) What does Jane mean when she says their competitor, Meyers, is its own worst enemy?
2) The speakers describe their new strategy as an “ambush” that will “surround” Meyers. Why do they say this? What is the strategy?

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BEP 73 – English Idioms: Business is War (1)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, Business Idioms, ESL Podcast /

Business and war. War and business. It’s no accident that many business strategies and management techniques were first developed in the military. Actually, it’s quite natural that we think about business competition in terms of war. Companies fight each other for market share. We strategize about how to win the battle. You try to attack my market position, and I defend it. Business is full of such war idioms. Though it’s not the only way we think about business, it is certainly the main way we talk about it. Therefore, to communicate effectively in a business environment, we need to learn these war idioms.

In today’s dialog, the management at Luminex, a producer of LCD TVs, is discussing how to respond to a attack on their market position by a competitor, Meyers. Traditionally, Meyers has been strong in the premium (high value) market and Luminex has been strong in the mid-range market. Recently, however, Meyers has tried to take mid-range market share from Luminex.

Pay attention to the war idioms that the meeting participants use as you listen. Don’t worry if they don’t make sense to you the first time you listen. After you’ve heard the idioms explained in the debrief, go back and listen again, and the dialog should be much clearer.

Listening Questions

1) The first two speakers talk about “always being on the defensive” and “taking way too much flak.” What do they mean and what do they propose doing?
2) How does Jane’s point of view differ from the first two speakers?

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BEP 72 – Telephoning: Voicemail Messages

A2, Business English, ESL Podcast, Intermediate English, Telephone English /

When you call someone but they aren’t there, often their voicemail “picks up” or answers the phone. Then you have to leave a message. Anyone who uses the phone in their job has to deal with voicemail.

Have you ever started to leave a message on someone’s voicemail, then when you heard the “beep” sound, you didn’t know what to say? When you’re speaking a foreign language, talking without preparation can be challenging, especially when you cannot see or hear the person you’re talking to. But with a little practice, you’ll be a voicemail pro.

That’s what we’ll be studying in this Business English lesson – standard phrases and language for voicemail messages, so that next time you here that “beep” you’ll know exactly what to say.

First we’ll hear a bad example. Justin Thomas works for a shipping broker called Trivesco. Brokers are “middlemen” – in this case Justin is a “newbuildings” broker, which means he helps people buy and sell new ships. Justin is calling Sylvie Peterson, a manager at the shipbuilding company Schmidt and Larsen. In the second example we hear Justin’s colleague, Mark Rand, leave a more professional message.

Listening Questions (Good Message)

1) What is Mark Rand hoping to talk to Sylvie about?
2) When will he be available to take Sylvie’s call?
3) How does Mark put a positive finish on the message?

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BEP 71 – Mergers: Office Gossip and Reported Speech

Business English, ESL Podcast, Grammar, Socializing /

This is the second in a two-part Business English Podcast lesson that follows some of the internal discussions that take place in a company going through a merger.

Today’s episode focuses on casual office conversation and gossip. Office gossip is a type of informal conversation in which we tell secrets or rumors about other people or other departments. Gossip is often called water cooler chitchat, since the water cooler is where colleagues meet by chance and discuss things that are happening in the office. You might also want to review some of our previous shows on socializing for more language to use in these types of conversations.

For the listening today, we rejoin Jack at the guitar manufacturer headquarters, after his short but difficult chat with his boss Jim. Jack is in the cafeteria when a co-worker meets him there by chance.

Listening Questions

1) What did Frances hear from Joanna?
2) Who did Michelle take off with?
3) Where does Frances tell Jack she has to go?

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