Welcome back to 925 English for another lesson on English phrasal verbs. In today’s lesson we’re going to look at phrasal verbs for changing the topic.
Remember, a phrasal verb is just a combination of a verb and a preposition with a special meaning. Last time we looked at some phrasal verbs related to beginnings. Today, I want to turn to phrasal verbs for changing the topic of conversation.
No doubt you’re aware of different communication styles, but do you think everyone has just one style? More likely your style on a good day looks different from your style on a bad day. Your style during a regular staff meeting might be different from a meeting where you’re going to read the riot act. Indeed, your style in a crisis should be different from your day-to-day communication.
Clearly, different situations require different approaches and different kinds of language. And underlining everything here is the importance of relationships. If you’re a solo entrepreneur working with your own money and with no staff, well, chances are you’re not listening to a podcast about communication styles!
Think about the different conversations you had at work yesterday, with your boss, with colleagues, with clients, and with your direct reports. Think about how those people spoke to you. Guaranteed, you will notice that these different people had different communication styles. One person might have been cheery and chatty while another was brusque and efficient.
Now, think about how you responded to these people. Was your communication style consistent in all situations? Probably not. And it shouldn’t be! The best workplace communicators are adaptable. They change their style to suit the situation and the audience. And that adaptability is critical for success.
In business development, as you build relationships with prospects, you’re on the look-out for problems you can solve or gaps you can fill. And when you find one, you’ll likely want to submit a proposal to the potential client. But clients rarely come back and accept your proposal as it is.
Indeed in the consulting world, it can take a lot of work just to get from the proposal to signing the contract. You need to discuss your proposal and close the deal. To help you get there, it’s a good idea to show enthusiasm for the project and invite questions. And during this process you’ll most likely need to educate the client about costs. You may also find yourself managing client expectations and asking some of your own questions.
In today’s dialog, we’ll listen to a conversation between Nick, an HR consultant, and Andria, an HR manager. Andria’s company is experiencing high turnover, and she’s looking for an outside perspective. Nick has submitted a proposal to help Andria’s company understand staff engagement. Now they’re discussing the specifics of the proposal with the aim of coming to an agreement.
Listening Questions
1. When Nick invites questions, what does Andria ask about? 2. What does Nick say to manage Andria’s expectations about the timeline? 3. What important information does Nick ask for at the end of the conversation?
Once you’ve done the hard work in business development of attracting prospects and building relationships, what comes next? The ultimate goal, of course, is to make a sale. And the best business development professionals know how to turn a prospect into a client.
In the consulting world, making a sale isn’t simply about touting the benefits of a product. It’s more about understanding your client and matching support and solutions to their specific needs. So when it comes to an initial conversation, you need to ask about the background, goals and budget. That will help you suggest the right approach. And as part of building rapport, you might want to normalize the client’s problems and show understanding by echoing their words.
In today’s dialog, we’ll listen to Nick, an HR consultant, as he talks with a potential client, Andria. Nick met Andria at an event and has been slowly building a relationship with her. They’re now discussing a specific project.
Listening Questions
1. What problem does Nick tell Andria is quite common? 2. What words does Andria use that Nick repeats back to her as he confirms his understanding? 3. What expression does Nick use to diplomatically raise the issue of budget?
The pandemic battered many industries, including entertainment. But when theaters, concert venues, and museums shut down, the streaming wars ramped up. Besides Netflix, Disney, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV signed up thousands of new subscribers a day. In the dying days of the pandemic, however, the question has become whether they can keep them. For Netflix, the king of streaming, the news in 2022 hasn’t been good, as Gizmodo explains:
The most popular streaming service in the world reported on its Q1 earnings call that it had lost 200,000 subscribers where it originally expected to gain 2.5 million. It forecast doom and gloom for next quarter as well, with a predicted loss of two million more. The company has started laying off employees and shutting down productions in order to stave off further declines.
This 925 English lesson will be our first to focus on English phrasal verbs. And we’re going to kick off with some phrasal verbs for talking about beginnings.
If you’re not sure what a phrasal verb is, well I just used one. I said we’re going to “kick off.” “Kick off” is a phrasal verb because it has a verb – “kick” – and a preposition – “off” and when used together the meaning is different from the individual words.
There are hundreds of these little two-word combinations in English. We use them all the time. And their meaning isn’t always clear from the two words they’re made of, so it’s a great idea to study them.
925 English is a series of English video lessons for beginners (CEFR level A2). With 925 English you can learn business English expressions and phrasal verbs for business and work.
Think of the people close to you, particularly your family members, and consider how they spend money. Does everyone have the same approach? Or do they all handle things differently? Chances are, you can easily think of differences in peoples’ approaches to money management. And it shouldn’t be surprising to learn that money is one of the top sources of conflict in a relationship.
This is true in business just as it is in families. How a company uses its financial resources is a huge strategic concern. Does the company risk some to get some? Or does the company favor saving and safety? And does the short-term strategy differ from the long-term strategy? These are all important questions, and it’s no wonder that English has so many idioms to talk about how people spend money.
In today’s dialog, we’ll rejoin Shelly, Martin, and Vince, three managers at a tech company. They are talking about how their company should spend money on staffing. And as we’ll hear, they don’t really agree on the best approach. During their conversation, they use many business English idioms related to spending money. 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. What does Martin say about companies that already work in the sector they are considering? 2. How does Martin describe office space on the south side of the city? 3. How does Vince describe the company’s possible future situation of having lots more money to spend?
As a wise person once said: it takes money to make money. In other words, you need to invest money and spend it in order to make more. On the other hand, spending money unwisely can eat into your profits. So, from both perspectives, figuring out how to spend money is one of the keys to business success.
And it should come as no surprise that spending money is a common topic of conversation in any business. It’s not just the folks in the purchasing department who think about it. Everyone has an opinion about how their company should and shouldn’t commit its resources. And for this reason, English has many idioms we use to describe the different approaches to spending money.
In today’s dialog, we’ll hear a conversation between three managers at a tech company: Shelly, Martin, and Vince. The company has just landed a big new project, and so they anticipate having more money to spend soon. But the three aren’t all in agreement about how they should spend that money and they use many different idioms to express their opinions. Try to pick out some of these business English idioms as you listen, and we’ll explain them later in the debrief.
Listening Questions
1. According to Martin, what approach to spending is now in the past? 2. What does Vince believe about competing in a new and different sector of the market? 3. How does Martin describe the salaries of the two positions they previously discussed hiring?
In today’s 925 English lesson, we’re going to learn how to express support for an idea in English.
In business, it’s very important to be able to express your ideas confidently. That doesn’t just mean coming up with new ideas. It can also mean expressing what you think about other people’s ideas. In our last lesson, we learned how to express doubt. Today, we’re going to look at the other side, and talk about how to express support for an idea.
Now, sometimes you want to show moderate support, or just a bit of support. In this situation, you can use expressions like “I guess” or “I suppose” before stating your support. And when you state your support, you might use expressions like “I can see your point” or “That’s a good way to look at it.”
925 English is a series of English video lessons for beginners (CEFR level A2). With 925 English you can learn business English expressions and vocabulary for business and work.
