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BEP 36c – English for Presentations: Questions and Answers (1)

Business English, Intermediate English, Presentation in English /

BEP 36c LESSON - English for Presentations: Questions and Answers 1

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on how to deal with the question and answer session at the end of a presentation in English.

A presentation can be planned, organized, scripted, and rehearsed. But that’s simply not possible with the questions you might get at the end of your presentation. Sure, you can try to anticipate what people might ask, but you never really know. They may refer to specific points in your presentation and challenge you on these points.

For this reason, you need the skills to handle whatever you’re faced with. And sometimes that means overcoming doubt or resistance to your ideas. You might have to use buffers to deal with tough questions and concede certain points to your audience. You may also find yourself clarifying a point and paraphrasing your audience’s questions.

In this lesson, we’ll listen to the Q&A following a presentation in English by Nick, a sales director for a steel company. Bryan and Cindy are posing some difficult questions. Nick, and his boss Max, are using several techniques for dealing with these questions.

Listening Questions

1. How does Nick respond at first when Bryan asks a tough question about the survey results?
2. Cindy begins to ask a question about retraining the salespeople. What does Nick say to clarify what he meant?
3. How does Nick deal with Cindy’s question about measuring success?

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BEP 35c – English Meetings: Clarifying What Was Meant

Business English, English for Meetings, ESL Podcast, Functions, Intermediate English /

BEP 35c LESSON - English Meetings: Clarifying Meaning

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on clarifying in English meetings. Previously we looked at how to clarify what was said when you didn’t hear properly. Today we’re going to look at how to clarify what someone means in order to avoid misunderstandings.

Life would be simple if everyone said what they meant clearly and directly. But that’s not the way things work. People often speak indirectly or use words that are a bit confusing. For this reason, we often need to clarify what people mean.

There are several ways to do this. You can tell someone you don’t understand. Or you might confirm an idea or restate what someone says if you think you might understand. And it may take some time to work out the general meaning or the meaning of a specific word.

Today we’ll listen to a meeting between Michael, Rachel, and Ryan. Michael is leading the meeting and talking about the disappointing launch of a new product. During the conversation, it’s not always clear what people mean. For this reason, they use several different expressions for clarifying what was meant.

Listening Questions

1. What expression does Michael use about the “numbers” that Ryan tries to clarify?
2. What does Ryan ask about that Michael wants to clarify?
3. What word does Michael use that Rachel asks about near the end of the conversation?

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BEP 34c – Clarifying and Confirming What Was Said

Business English, ESL Podcast, Functions, Intermediate English /

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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BEP 31c – English for Meetings: Responding to Suggestions

Business English, English for Meetings, ESL Podcast, Functions, Intermediate English /

BEP 31 LESSON - English for Meetings: Responding to Suggestions

Welcome back to Business English Pod. Today’s lesson is the second in a series about handling suggestions in English meetings. Last time we looked at how to make suggestions. And this time we’re going to look at how to respond to suggestions.

Business is a team sport. And behind every successful team is a healthy internal dialog and debate. If you want to succeed in business and be a good team player, you need opinions and the skills to express them effectively. But that doesn’t only mean making your own suggestions. It also means responding to other people’s suggestions.

So in this lesson, we’ll learn different ways of responding to suggestions. That includes responding positively, by accepting or praising the idea. It also includes rejecting ideas or casting doubt on them.

In today’s dialog, we’ll listen to a marketing team meeting at a sports shoe company. The four colleagues are talking about a new ad campaign. They are making suggestions for a “spokesperson,” or recognizable figure to promote their shoes. During the discussion they use a variety of techniques and language to respond to suggestions.

Listening Questions

1. What does Miguel think of Sven’s idea to hire an overweight business executive as a spokesperson?
2. How does Karen react to Miguel’s suggestion of hiring a famous sports star?
3. What is the group’s response to Karen’s final suggestion of hiring a golfer?

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BEP 29c – Meetings in English: How to Disagree

Business English, English for Meetings, Functions, Intermediate English /

Welcome back to Business English Pod This lesson is the second part of our series on agreeing and disagreeing. Today we’re going to look at how to disagree.

In the board room or the break room, it’s great to be able to support other people’s ideas by agreeing. But you won’t get far in business if you just agree with everything. You need to be able to disagree confidently and politely. Only then can you convince people that you have an even better idea.

In this lesson, we’re going to talk about how to disagree in meetings in English. Sometimes you’ll need formal polite expressions, and sometimes you can use shorter more informal expressions. And to take things to the next level, you can learn how to disagree using the “yes… but” approach. Another effective technique is to use questions to disagree. As you can see, you’ve got lots of options for disagreeing.

In today’s dialog, we’re going to listen again to a conversation between Gene, Louis, and Carina. They work for a pharmaceutical, or drug company, and they’re talking about the tests of a new drug. During their conversation, they use many different expressions for disagreeing

Listening Questions

1. How does Carina start her first statement to show she disagrees?
2. What negative question does Carina use to show disagreement about the test results?
3. How does Gene disagree with Carina’s statement that there may still be issues with the new drug?

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