Business English Pod (9to5English) / Business Idioms / Page 5

BEP 309 – English Idioms for Describing Innovation (Part 1)

Business English, Business Idioms /

Business English Pod 309 - English Idioms for Describing Innovation

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on English idioms for describing innovation.

In the 21st century, companies that fail to change will likely fail to survive. For this reason, corporate leaders are constantly thinking and talking about change and “innovation.” Of course, when we hear the word innovation we immediately think about technology. And while it’s true that technology is changing the world of business at an amazing pace, innovation is about more than just adapting to the digital age.

Companies innovate in all sorts of ways. We see changes in how businesses are organized, how they communicate, how they learn, and how they build relationships with customers. Innovation is simply about doing things in new ways. And in English we have many idioms to describe innovation, as we’ll hear in today’s lesson.

In the dialog, we’ll hear a conversation between three colleagues at a telecoms company. Kristina, Kevin, and Fran are chatting over coffee about all the recent innovations in the company. They’ll use lots of different idioms in their conversation. Try to pick out these idioms as you listen, and we’ll talk about them later in the debrief.

Listening Questions

1. What innovative idea or service does Fran think the company should not pursue?
2. In what area does Fran say their company is ahead of other companies?
3. In which area does Kevin believe their company is very innovative?

[tp no_translate=”y”]Premium Members: PDF Transcript | Quizzes | PhraseCast | Lesson Module

Download: Podcast MP3[/tp]

BEP 297 – English Idioms for Describing Work Experience (2)

Business English, Business Idioms, Human Resources /

Business English Pod 297 Lesson - English Idioms for Describing Work Experience 2

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on English idioms for describing work experience.

In business, success depends on putting the right people in the right positions. And decisions about who does what often comes down to work experience. Some jobs are too important to give to someone lacking experience. For other jobs, you might want a person with less experience and a fresh approach.

So, whether you’re hiring new staff, delegating tasks, or putting together a project team, you’ll be talking about experience. And English has many useful idioms to describe work experience. In today’s lesson, we’ll learn some of these expressions.

We’ll hear a conversation between three colleagues: Lola, Shane, and Anne. The group has been discussing who to send to the company’s South Korean office. Previously, they have talked about the personality of the different candidates. Now they’re comparing the candidates based on work experience.

Listening Questions

1. Why do Shane and Anne think Douglas wouldn’t be a good choice for the position?
2. What does the group think about Paula as a possible choice?
3. Why would Kendra be a good choice for the post in South Korea?

[tp no_translate=”y”]Premium Members: PDF Transcript | Quizzes | PhraseCast | Lesson Module

Download: Podcast MP3[/tp]

BEP 296 – English Idioms for Describing Work Experience (1)

Business English, Business Idioms, Human Resources /

BEP 296 - English Idioms for Describing Work Experience (1)

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on English idioms for describing work experience.

In business, success depends on putting the right people in the right positions. And decisions about who does what often comes down to work experience. Some jobs are too important to give to someone lacking experience. For other jobs, you might want a person with less experience and a fresh approach.

So, whether you’re hiring new staff, delegating tasks, or putting together a project team, you’ll be talking about experience. And English has many useful idioms to describe work experience. In today’s lesson, we’ll learn some of these expressions.

We’ll hear a conversation between three colleagues: Lola, Shane, and Anne. The group has been discussing who to send to the company’s South Korean office. Previously, they have talked about the personality of the different candidates. Now they’re comparing the candidates based on work experience.

Listening Questions

1. Why do Lola and Anne think Hank might not be a good person for the position?
2. What positive comment does Shane make about Simone?
3. What makes Simone a potentially poor choice for the position?

[tp no_translate=”y”]Premium Members: PDF Transcript | Quizzes | PhraseCast | Lesson Module

Download: Podcast MP3[/tp]

BEP 286 – Idioms of Personality and Character (2)

Business English, Business Idioms, Human Resources /

BEP 286 - Business English Idioms for Describing Personality 2

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on English idioms related to people’s personality and character.

Think about all the different people you live and work with. There are probably some you get along with well, and others you don’t. There are some you would hire but not invite for dinner, and others you’d invite for dinner but would never hire. And the difference between all these people is probably their personality.

Different personalities make for more than just an interesting life; they make conversations interesting. Listen to the conversations around you in the staff room or at the café, and what do you hear? People talking about people. And because we talk so much about people, English has lots of idioms for describing personality. We’ll learn how to use some of these idioms in today’s lesson.

We will rejoin a conversation between three colleagues: Lola, Shane, and Anne. They’ve been trying to decide who in their company they should send on an overseas placement to Korea. They use lots of great idioms in their discussion of the different personalities under consideration.

Listening Questions

1. What does Lola think Marco would do well?
2. In Shane’s opinion, why isn’t Simone a good candidate?
3. What do the speakers say about Hank’s personality?

[tp no_translate=”y”]Premium Members: PDF Transcript | Quizzes | PhraseCast | Lesson Module

Download: Podcast MP3[/tp]

BEP 285 – Idioms of Personality and Character 1

Business English, Business Idioms, Human Resources /

BEP 285 - Business English Idioms for Describing Personality 1

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on Business English idioms for describing people’s personality and character.

In English we have a saying that “it takes all sorts to make a world.” This means that the world is made up of many different people and different personalities. And every company or organization needs different personalities for different roles and different kinds of work. This diversity of personality in the workplace is a popular and interesting topic of conversation, as you surely know from listening to your colleagues.

Whether we’re discussing which job applicant to hire or gossiping after hours about coworkers, we all talk about personalities. And English has lots of great idioms for describing personality and character, which is what we’ll look at in this lesson.

You will hear a conversation between three colleagues: Lola, Shane, and Anne. They are trying to figure out who to send to South Korea to work in their company’s office there. As they discuss the different possibilities, they use a lot of different idioms for describing personality.

Listening Questions

1. Why won’t they send David overseas?
2. What do the speakers say about Paula?
3. How does Shane seem to feel about Douglas?

[tp no_translate=”y”]Premium Members: PDF Transcript | Quizzes | PhraseCast | Lesson Module

Download: Podcast MP3[/tp]