Business English

Business English Pod lessons are suitable for all levels of business English. The lessons look at all kinds of workplace English skills for meetings, presentations, telephoning, negotiating, socializing, travel, and business conversation.

BEP 34c – Clarifying and Confirming What Was Said

Business English - BEP 34c - Clarifying What Was Said

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on how to clarify what was said during a conversation.

Communication is rarely easy. There’s so much that can go wrong in a conversation, especially on the phone. We might not hear someone well, we might hear them incorrectly, and we might not understand words or expressions in the same way. For that reason, we need to be able to clarify what was said.

There are a few basic ways to clarify that are extremely useful. We can use “WH” questions, like who, what, where, when, and why. We can ask people to repeat what they said and repeat things for people when they haven’t understood us. And we can use tag questions to confirm that we’ve heard correctly.

Today we’ll listen to a telephone conversation between three colleagues: Benny, Wim, and Andre. They are speaking on the phone for the first time in a while. During their conversation, they use several expressions to clarify what was said.

Listening Questions

1. What does the receptionist say that Benny doesn’t understand right away?
2. What question does Benny ask that Wim needs repeated?
3. What question does Benny restate about the river in Rotterdam?

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Skills 360 – What is DEI: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Skills 360 LESSON - DEI: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Welcome back to the Business English Skills 360 podcast for today’s lesson on the impact and implications of DEI – or diversity, equity, and inclusion – on the workplace.

As part of the “social” aspect of ESG, DEI has exploded in importance in recent years. Over 50% of employees in the US believe this increasing attention is warranted. And, as we discussed in our last lesson, customers are increasingly discerning when it comes to ethical performance.

So, it’s not just your HR manager who’s thinking about this anymore. The companies that are excelling in this area have it baked in at every level. And that includes commitments at the C-suite level. Given this explosion of attention, it’s worth unpacking exactly what we mean by these terms, and what it means for the workplace.

“Diversity” refers to the presence of different people in an organization. And while we might immediately think about gender and race, we’re also talking about age, disabilities, religion, and sexual orientation, just to name a few. Diverse organizations have many different people. “Inclusion” is an atmosphere where all these people feel a sense of belonging. And where there are systems in place to make them feel welcome and valued.

“Equity” can often get confused with “equality,” but it’s really not the same. Equity acknowledges that not everyone has the same starting point, and that some people might need additional support to take advantage of opportunities. So companies committed to equity focus on systems and processes that create fairness and recognize those different starting points.

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Skills 360 – What is ESG: Environmental, Social and Governance

Skills 360 LESSON - ESG: Environmental, Social and Governance

Welcome back to the Business English Skills 360 podcast for today’s lesson on “ESG,” or the environmental, social, and governance commitments companies make.

Along with DEI, which we’ll talk about next time, ESG is one of those acronyms that seems to be everywhere these days. Some companies have made huge strides in ESG, and many of them are reaping the rewards. Others have just started down the path. And then there are some that are resisting, for better or worse. Whatever the situation in your company is, it’s important for you to know what ESG is all about.

On a very simple level, ESG is about paying attention to the non-financial impacts, risks, and opportunities in business. The “E” in ESG stands for “environmental.” This refers to a company’s impacts on the environment, its greenhouse gas emissions, its care for natural resources, and its resilience in the face of climate change.

The “S” in ESG stands for “social.” This pillar is all about the company’s relationship with it stakeholders, both internal and external. That includes employee engagement, as well as relationships with the surrounding community and its people. Finally, the “G” in ESG stands for “governance.” This is all about ethical and accountable leadership, board oversight, equity, and transparency.

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BEP 405 – English Idioms about Animals (2)

BEP 405 LESSON - English Idioms about Animals (2)

Welcome back to Business English Pod the second part of our series on English idioms related to animals.

English can be a difficult language to learn. One reason, which you’ve likely discovered, is that there are so many different ways to say something. It’s not just a variety of individual words, but also the variety of idioms. Idioms can be tricky. You might hear someone say “it’s a dog eat dog world” and wonder: why are they talking about dogs?

In fact, a “dog eat dog world” is not about dogs at all. This is an idiom that describes a tough competitive environment. Just like the business world in which you’re trying to learn English so you can compete. English is full of expressions like this. And it turns out that we have dozens of idioms related to animals.

In this lesson, we’ll rejoin a conversation among three colleagues in a large corporation. Ruby, Dylan and Kyle have been discussing the Chief Investment Officer position in their company, as well as the world of investments. In their conversation they use many idioms related to animals. See if you can spot some of these as we go through the dialog, and we’ll explain them later in the debrief.

Listening Questions

1. How does Dylan describe his investment advisor’s work habits?
2. What does Ruby say to communicate to her colleagues that she doesn’t have special information to share?
3. What does Dylan believe the company needs to do to prove they’re serious about IT transformation?

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BEP 404 – English Idioms about Animals (1)

BEP 404 LESSON - English Idioms about Animals (1)

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on English idioms related to animals.

Like all our lessons, this one is focused on language that you can use at work and in business. When you work like a dog, you can’t waste your time learning expressions you’ll never use. And when it comes to idioms, you should focus on the ones that are commonly used and widely understood. Like the one I just used: “to work like a dog.”

In fact, there’s a ton of idioms in English that mention animals, especially dogs. That’s probably because so many of us keep them as pets. But we’ve got idioms about cats, horses, snakes, fish, cows, bears and countless other animals. And learning these idioms can add to your language toolbox and make you sound more natural. Besides, a well-placed idiom can add a lot of impact to a sentence.

In this lesson, we’ll listen to a conversation between Dylan, Ruby, and Kyle – three colleagues in a large corporation. They’re talking about the Chief Investment Officer position in their company. They discuss the former person in the role, people who applied for the job, and the person who got it. In their conversation they use many idioms related to animals. See if you can spot some of these, and we’ll explain them later in the debrief.

Listening Questions

1. How does Ruby describe Greg, the person in finance who applied for the Chief Investment Officer job?
2. How does Dylan describe Brett, the former Chief Investment Officer?
3. What expression does Ruby use to describe the current challenging market?

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