Business English Pod / Intermediate English / Page 8

BEP 139 – Sailing Idioms: Company Performance (2)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, Business Idioms, Intermediate English /

This is second of a two-part Business English Pod series on business idioms related to the sea, ships, and sailing.

You’ll often hear sailing idioms used in business discussions. A company is compared to a ship and employees are the ship’s crew.

In the last episode, two colleagues named Lakisha and Warren were talking about the decline of Trussock’s, an engineering firm. They felt that Trussock’s problems were caused by the new CEO’s poor management. It seemed he had no concrete business plan and employees were confused and very unhappy. Today, Lakisha and Warren discuss ways that Trussock’s could become a viable, or successful, company again.

Listening Questions

1) What does Lakisha think should happen with Trussock’s management?
2) How might Trussock’s employees help the company’s situation?

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BEP 138 – Sailing Idioms: Company Performance (1)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, Business Idioms, Intermediate English /

In this Business English Pod episode, we’re going to look at how business idioms related to ships and sailing can be used to describe company performance.

The image of a ship is a powerful one in business. The ship is like a company – a huge entity that must be steered toward success, maintained properly, and carefully guided away from dangers like storms and rocks. Employees are often seen as a crew of sailors, a group that must work together as a team. So sailing idioms frequently appear when we discuss business in English.

Today’s episode starts a two-part series on sailing idioms. Lakisha and Warren are two colleagues discussing the decline of Trussock’s, an engineering firm that has been faltering since a new CEO took over.

Listening Questions

1) What are the major differences between Trussock’s old CEO and the new CEO?
2) What do Lakisha and Warren think will help change the situation at Trussock’s?

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BEP 137 – Company Tour: Showing a Visitor Around

Business English, ESL Podcast, Intermediate English, Marketing English, Sales English /

In today’s Business English Pod episode, we’re going to look at language for showing a visitor around your office or factory.

There are many reasons that someone might visit a factory and take a tour. They might be a prospective client who wants to see where the products are made, or perhaps someone from head office is on an inspection tour, or it could be an official inspection to make sure you are following government or internal standards. If it’s your job to give the tour, you’ll want to make sure everything goes smoothly. So in today’s episode we’ll looking at language for guiding people on a tour and pointing out areas of interest.

We’ll be listening to Ingrid taking Carl on a tour of a factory where GC cleaning products are produced. Carl is from the head office of GC and he’s inspecting the factory where Ingrid works. His job is to make sure that the company’s factories are all up to standard and capable of handling future orders. As the dialog starts, Carl has already arrived at the factory and met Ingrid, who is ready to start the tour.

Listening Questions

1) What time of day does Carl arrive for his tour?
2) What is the problem with the detergent production line?
3) What role does newspaper play in the production of detergent in this factory?

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BEP 136 – Meetings: Making a Progress Report

A2, Business English, English for Meetings, ESL Podcast, Intermediate English, Project Management /

In this Business English Pod episode we’re going to look at making a project progress report during a meeting.

All managers need written progress reports from their staff, but it is often necessary to make a verbal progress report during a meeting. A verbal report can be thought of as a combination of a presentation and a question and answer session.

When making a progress report, you’ll need to start with the overall status of the project, and then go on to explain how much of the work has been completed, at what stage the work is now, what remains to be done and, of course, what problems might have arisen. Because the format is “live”, people may interrupt to ask questions or make comments and you should be sure of your facts when you go into the meeting.

We’ll be listening to Angela, who works in the Operations department of her company. Blaine & Co. They plan to move to a new head office and the renovation, or preparation, of their space is currently underway. Angela has visited the new office and spoken with the key people on-site. As the dialog starts, she is called upon to give a verbal report on the progress of the renovation.

Listening Questions

1) What did Angela do to prepare for this meeting?
2) Will Blaine & Co. be able to move as planned?
3) Where will Blaine & Co. get money to cover the extra costs?

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