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Learn essential business English with our audio eBooks

Our range of audio business English eBooks focus on the essential language you need for professional communication in meetings, presentations, and more. Each eBook combines clear explanations, practical examples, and audio lessons so you can build your skills and confidence in real workplace situations.

The new editions of Meeting Essentials and Presentation Essentials include updated content, new explanations and improved dialogs.

All eBooks are included with premium membership, or you can purchase individually for $15.95 each or $23.95 for both.

Presentations Essentials eBook
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Meeting Essentials eBook
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Presentation Essentials eBook features MP3 audio and PDF lessons on these essential English for presentations skills:

  • Introducing your presentation
  • Signposting and transitioning
  • Describing visuals and charts
  • Talking about trends and rates of change
  • Analyzing trends and making predictions
  • Summarizing and finishing off
  • Starting the Q&A
  • Answering questions
  • Redirecting questions
Meeting Essentials

Meetings Essentials eBook features MP3 audio with PDF transcripts on the following essential English for meetings:

  • Expressing opinions in meetings
  • Agreeing and disagreeing
  • Making suggestions
  • Accepting or rejecting suggestions
  • Clarifying understanding
  • Charing a meeting – starting off
  • Chairing a meeting – managing the discussion
  • Interrupting and resisting interruption
  • Finishing up and action points

Business English Pod eBooks are suitable for learners at an intermediate level (CEFR B1-B2), or those with a BULATS score of 40+ or an IELTS score of 4+ or a TOEIC score of 450+. However, the material is suitable for a range of levels. Intermediate learners can focus on building core language skills, while more advanced learners can develop fluency, expand vocabulary, and improve overall communication in professional settings.

eBook Meetings (Sidebar)

Meeting Essentials eBook

Learn essential business English for participating and leading meetings in English.

Learn business English for meetings so you can participate and lead meetings with confidence.

Meeting Essentials covers the full range of meeting skills, from expressing opinions, agreement and disagreement, to making suggestions and clarifying ideas. You will also learn how to run a meeting , including opening the discussion, managing participation, handling interruptions, and closing with clear outcomes. Each unit includes focused practice to help you build fluency and communicate more effectively in professional settings.

This 11-unit audio eBook includes downloadable PDF lessons and MP3 audio for every unit. Each lesson features realistic dialogs, clear explanations, and practical language you can apply immediately in workplace meetings. The 3rd edition includes updated content, new explanations, and newly produced audio recordings.

All eBooks are included with premium membership, or you can purchase Meeting Essentials individually for $15.95.

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If you are a premium member or you have purchased this eBook, use the links/buttons below to download the eBook PDF and audio files.

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Meeting Essentials

Meeting Essentials eBook features MP3 audio, PDF lessons on the following essential English skills for meetings:

  • Expressing opinions
  • Agreeing and Disagreeing
  • Making suggestions
  • Accepting or rejecting suggestions
  • Clarifying understanding
  • Chairing and starting a meeting
  • Managing the discussion
  • Interrupting and resisting interruptions
  • Finishing up with action points
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BEP 81c – Meeting English: Action Points and Wrapping Up

Business English, English for Meetings, Intermediate English /

BEP 81c - Meeting English: Action Points and Wrapping Up

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on finishing a meeting in English. We’ll learn how to summarize action points and wrap up the meeting.

A well-run meeting can be productive and useful. But a poorly run meeting can leave everyone feeling like their time has been wasted. And one of the big differences between good and bad meetings is how they end.

A good meeting doesn’t slowly run out of energy. Instead, there’s a clear ending to it. And people come out of the meeting with a strong sense of purpose and a clear idea of what they need to do. Without a sense of purpose, people might feel like the meeting generated a lot of discussion but nothing more.

Giving a strong finish to a meeting isn’t actually that hard to do. First off, you need to be clear that the meeting is about to end. That gives people a chance to collect their thoughts. Next, you can summarize the action points and assign tasks. You may also want to emphasize how important they are to give some extra motivation. Then you can wrap up the meeting with some closing thoughts.

In today’s dialog, we’ll join a meeting at a bank. The team has been discussing some recent issues and future plans. You will hear Lisa provide a strong finish to the meeting with James, Bryan, Charles, and Cecilia.

Listening Questions

1. What question does Lisa ask the group before stating the action items?
2. What does Lisa emphasize about James planned action?
3. What does Lisa say to officially end the meeting?

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BEP 68c – English for Meetings: Dealing with Interruptions

Business English, English for Meetings, Human Resources, Intermediate English /

BEP 68c - English Meetings: Dealing with Interruptions

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s English for meetings lesson on how to deal with interruptions during a meeting.

Meetings are a very important part of work life. They are where decisions are made, relationships are built, and work is coordinated. When meetings go smoothly, they can feel very productive. But meetings can easily become messy and unfocused.

In many cases, people compete for time and attention during meetings. They interrupt each other to give new ideas, disagree, or try to get their way. Knowing how to deal with interruptions is a critical skill if you want to participate fully in a meeting.

Interrupting people is easier if you learn some useful phrases. You can also learn language to help you stop an interruption and finish what you were saying. In some cases, you might need to concede someone else’s point, either partly or fully. When we concede a point, we are saying “okay, you’re right.” Sometimes that’s the key to moving on after an interruption.

In today’s dialog, we’ll join a meeting at a manufacturing company. Bill is the production manager and Mei Lin and Sam work in HR. They are discussing staffing and recruiting for a new production line. Bill is keen to hire new staff, but Sam and Mei Lin want to explore alternative approaches so there’s a lot of disagreement and interrupting during the meeting.

Listening Questions

1. What does Bill say is the purpose of the meeting?
2. What is one of the expressions Mei Lin uses to interrupt Bill when he’s speaking?
3. What does Bill say to get back to what he was trying to say after being interrupted?

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BEP 43c – Meeting English: Managing the Discussion

Business English, English for Meetings, Intermediate English /

BEP 43c - Meeting English: Managing a Meeting

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on how to manage the discussion during a meeting in English.

Bad meetings can waste time and leave everyone confused. But a well-run meeting can help create new ideas, solve problems, and move a project forward. Running a great meeting is about more than just following an agenda. It means guiding the conversation effectively.

If you’re running formal meetings as a manager or team leader, this skill is essential. But even if just you’re a team member who wants to make sure your team has good discussions, it’s good to understand what’s behind running a meeting. And you never know when it might be your job to facilitate.

Good meeting management often means keeping the discussion focused and inviting different viewpoints or opinions. It also means widening the discussion, moving to a new agenda item, and checking for agreement.

In this lesson, we’ll rejoin a meeting about budget cuts at an international shipping company. Martin, the General Manager, is facilitating the meeting. We’ll also hear Sandra, Sam, and David, three employees in the meeting.

Listening Questions

1. How does Martin respond to Sam’s comment about pizza?
2. What does Martin say once they have finished talking about the outsourcing issue?
3. At the end of the conversation, what question does Martin ask everyone if they agree on?

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BEP 42c – Meeting in English: Starting a Meeting

Business English, English for Meetings, Intermediate English /

BEP 42c - Meeting in English: Starting a Meeting

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on how to start a meeting in English.

Many jobs require us to spend a lot of time in meetings. Sometimes we might think there are too many meetings. In part, we might feel this way because a lot of meetings aren’t run very well or facilitated effectively.

There’s a good chance that you will have to run meetings some day, if you don’t already. You have a chance to make sure those meetings are effective by running the meeting well. Fortunately, running a meeting involves skills that you can learn.

Today we’ll focus on starting a meeting, which begins with getting people’s attention and acknowledging them. Next, you might clearly state the purpose or goals of the meeting before reviewing the agenda with everyone. Then you may invite someone to begin speaking about the first item on the agenda.

In this lesson, we’ll hear the start of a meeting about budget cuts at an international shipping company. The meeting is being led by Martin, the General Manager. We’ll also hear Sandra, David, and Sam, employees who are attending the meeting.

Listening Questions

1. What does Martin apologize for as he is acknowledging the meeting attendees?
2. What does Martin say is the objective of the meeting?
3. What does Martin invite Sandra to do at the end of the conversation?

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BEP 359 – Video Conference Meetings

Business English BEP 359 - Virtual Teams 1: Video Conference Meetings

Welcome back to Business English Pod for this lesson on English for video conference meetings.

The business world has seen an explosion in video conferencing in English. With tools like Zoom and Microsoft Teams, more and more people are working from home. And more and more meetings are happening virtually instead of in-person. Staff meetings, client meetings, project meetings, even social functions are happening online.

This shift in how we work in virtual teams brings many new challenges. And if you’re leading a team, or managing a group, or facilitating a meeting, you need a new set of skills in addition to the ones you already have. You have to manage the group in different ways, and manage the technology effectively.

This all begins with establishing ground rules at the start of a meeting. You’ll also want to provide clear advice on how to use different meeting software. And you might also have to interrupt the meeting to deal with sound or video problems.

Interacting in virtual meetings feels different. It doesn’t flow the same as a face-to-face meeting, so you might find yourself asking people to take turns, or trying to facilitate open discussion.

In today’s dialog, we’ll listen to a weekly check-in meeting at a business consulting firm. The meeting is being led by Heather, a skilled and experienced manager. We’ll also hear Dave, Cathy, and Adam, three members of her team. During the check-in, Heather has to juggle the technology and the people.

Lesson Content: PDF Transcript | Quizzes | PhraseCast | Lesson Module

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In addition to the above lesson, your free trial will give you access to the lesson materials for the lessons listed below.

BEP 327 – Expressing Opinions

BEP 327 - Expressing Opinions in Business English

Welcome back to Business English Pod for this lesson on expressing opinions in English.

Imagine you’re in a difficult meeting where everyone is disagreeing. Tension is high. And the boss turns to you and says “so what do you think?” In this situation, you need to express your opinion. But giving an opinion isn’t always easy, as you surely know. You’ve got to say it the right way.

But the right way has changed a bit. Ten to fifteen years ago business meetings were often quite formal. But many business English meetings today tend to be more informal. And you can see this change in the different ways of expressing your opinion in English. Sometimes we need to be cautious, while at other times we might want to be more direct or stronger. And there’s still a difference between giving opinions in a group setting and speaking informally.

When we want to be informal, we are often more direct. We say exactly what we think. But when we’re being formal or cautious, we tend to add words and expressions to soften our opinions. We also use words like “might” and “could” instead of “must” and “should.” Overall, we try not to sound too strong or direct.

In today’s dialog, we’ll hear a conversation between Kerry, Nick, Gregory, and Lola. Their company hired a freelance writer to do some work, but the writer hasn’t communicated with them lately. Kerry is asking the group for their opinions about what they should do.

Lesson Content: PDF Transcript | Quizzes | PhraseCast | Lesson Module

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In addition to the above lesson, your free trial will give you access to the lesson materials for the lessons listed below.

BEP 39c – English for Project Management: Reporting on Progress

Business English, Intermediate English, Project Management /

BEP 39c - Project Management English: Reporting on Progress

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on reporting on the progress of a project.

Project management isn’t just for people who consider themselves a “project manager.” No matter what kind of work you do, you’ll likely have to lead or participate in some kind of project. And if you are a project manager, then today’s lesson is particularly important.

Reporting on progress can happen in various settings, ranging from formal meetings with stakeholders to more casual interactions, like a quick chat at the water cooler or over a coffee. While the tone and format may differ, the core principles remain the same. Effective communication in these moments is crucial to keep everyone aligned and ensure no details slip through the cracks.

For example, you’ll likely want to ask for an update and confirm key details. You’ll also have to identify follow-up actions, assign responsibility, and establish clear deadlines. Ultimately, strong reporting and follow-up skills are essential to fostering accountability and driving projects to successful completion.

In this lesson, we’ll hear a project manager named Rudi giving updates to his boss, Wolfgang. They work for a company that maintains and modifies jetways, the bridges that connect airplanes to the airport gates. They’ve been working on a project to modify jetways at an airport for a large type of plane called an A380.

Listening Questions

1. How does Wolfgang respond to the possible problem that Joe has identified?
2. What actions does Wolfgang ask Rudi to take after he mentions Joe’s solution?
3. After they discuss costs and budget, what topic does Wolfgang ask about near the end of the conversation?

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