BEP 395 – Strategic Decision-Making (1)

BEP 395 LEZIONE - Making Strategic Decisions 1

Bentornato a Pod di inglese commerciale for today’s lesson on strategic decision-making. This is the first of a pair of lessons on business strategy.

Every day, business leaders face tough decisions that involve difficult trade-offs. Should we put our time and money into a new opportunity or build capacity in our current operations? Should we partner with company X or company Y? Should we expand east or west?

These decisions are often informed by an overall corporate strategic plan. But that plan can’t account for all possible futures. Big picture plans don’t make the decisions but rather support decision-making. And when the world seems more uncertain, complex, and volatile than ever, the stakes are high for every decision.

There’s lots to consider when making a strategic decision. Per i principianti, we need to think about how the decision aligns with our main goals. For new opportunities, we need to think about growth potential, costs, and profit margins. And we need to be sure we have the right competitive advantage to pursue the opportunity.

Nella finestra di dialogo di oggi, we’ll listen to a conversation between Paolo, Adrian, e Michelle. They work for a solar panel company that has focused on commercial projects and corporate clients. Now they’re debating the strategic merits of a possible move into the residential market.

Domande d'ascolto

1. After talking about overall goals, what does Paolo get very excited about?
2. What topic does Adrian have many questions about?
3. Alla fine della conversazione, why does Paolo believe they will be successful in the residential market?

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BEP 28c – Riunioni in inglese: How to Agree

BEP 28c - Riunioni in inglese: How to Agree

Bentornato a Pod di inglese commerciale. Today’s lesson is the first in a series about agreeing and disagreeing. This is part of a broader project to take another look at some of our older lessons.

Success in business can depend on how your opinions align with other people’s ideas. Per questa ragione, agreeing and disagreeing are essential communication skills. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the board room, the meeting room, or the staff room, you need to know how to agree and disagree effectively.

Oggi, we’re going to focus on agreeing. Infatti, there are many ways to agree with someone! Sometimes we want to use a short expression. Sometimes we need something longer and more polite. Sometimes we want to show energy and enthusiasm. And sometimes we want to use an example or repeat someone else’s idea. It really depends on the situation.

Nella finestra di dialogo di oggi, we’ll hear a conversation between three people who work for a pharmaceutical, or drug company. Gene, Louis, and Carina are talking about the results of a new trial for a drug called Zorax. Nella loro conversazione, they use many different expressions for agreeing.

Domande d'ascolto

1. How does Louis agree with the idea that the drug will be a “big seller?”
2. What is one word that means “excellent” or “very good” that is used to agree?
3. What idea does Gene repeat with emphasis at the end of the conversation?

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Notizie di inglese commerciale 52 – ChatGPT

Notizie di inglese commerciale 52 - ChatGPT

In questo Inglese commerciale Lezione di notizie che guardiamo Vocabolario inglese commerciale related to artificial intelligence and ChatGPT.

For a while, it seemed like the hype around artificial intelligence had died down. But a recent development in AI has taken the world by storm. It’s called ChatGPT, and unless you live in a cave, you’ve surely heard about it. But what exactly is it? As the Guardian explains:

Trained by AI and machine learning, ChatGPT is designed to provide information and answer questions through a conversational interface. OpenAI said the new AI was created with a focus on ease of use. “The dialog format makes it possible for ChatGPT to answer follow-up questions, admit its mistakes, challenge incorrect premises, and reject inappropriate requests.

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BEP 394 – English Idioms about Body Parts (2)

BEP 394 - English Idioms about Body Parts (2)

Bentornato al Business English Pod per la lezione di oggi su idiomi di inglese commerciale based on the human body.

In your time studying English have you ever heard the expression “to learn something by heart?” Maybe you had to learn an English song by heart. Or maybe it was verb conjugations, or a list of vocabulary that your teacher made you learn “by heart.” And maybe you know that learning something by heart means memorizing it, which is kind of strange when you consider our memory is in our brain, not our heart!

But “to learn by heart” is an idiom. And English has thousands and thousands of idioms. It’s one thing that makes English really hard to learn. But you’ll find that Modi di dire inglesi tend to rely on certain themes or metaphors, like body parts. And today we’ll look at some idioms that refer to brains, ears, hearts, hands, lips, fingers, and even heels.

In questa lezione, we’ll rejoin a conversation between Maria and Trevor. They are friends and former colleagues who are meeting for coffee to chat about their work situations. In their conversation they use many different idioms related to human body parts. See if you can spot some of these idioms as you listen, and I’ll explain them later in the debrief.

Domande d'ascolto

1. How does Maria describe her CEO?
2. What does Trevor say when Maria tells him she has a secret?
3. What has Maria seen happen to other companies that makes her afraid of starting her own?

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BEP 393 – English Idioms about Body Parts (1)

BEP 393 - English Idioms about Body Parts (1)

Bentornato al Business English Pod per la lezione di oggi su Modi di dire inglesi related to different parts of the body.

Now you probably already know that when I said “head over to” the website, I meant you should go look at the website. Even if you didn’t know that particular expression, you could probably guess the meaning from my sentence. “Head over tois a kind of idiom, and English has a lot of idioms, as you’ve probably noticed!

Infatti, there are many common sources of idioms. And one interesting source is the human body. There are a few body parts in particular that have generated a lot of idioms. English has dozens of idioms just with the words “head” and “hands.” But there are idioms using all different parts of the body, and that’s what we’re going to learn about today.

In questa lezione, we’ll listen to a conversation between two friends and former colleagues: Maria and Trevor. They’re meeting for coffee and are eager to catch up after not seeing each other for a while. Maria and Trevor talk about their different work situations. Durante la loro conversazione, ne usano molti Modi di dire inglesi related to the human body. Vedi se riesci a individuarne alcuni mentre andiamo attraverso la finestra di dialogo, e li spiegheremo più avanti nel debriefing.

Domande d'ascolto

1. How does Trevor agree with Maria’s assessment of her old boss Roger?
2. How does Maria describe her ten years of working at Trevor’s company?
3. What does Maria say about the attitude of the people she works with?

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