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BEP 237 – English Idioms of Luck and Opportunity (2)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, Business Idioms /

In today’s Business English Pod lesson, we continue our look at English idioms related to luck and opportunity.

What do you say to a friend who is on his way to an important job interview? If you’re like most people, you’ll say “good luck.” But does your friend really need luck to succeed? Well, it’s clear that luck is not the only factor in success, but it does seem important in some cases. It might have been good luck that your friend saw the job posting online one day. But then again, it might be bad luck that your friend trips on his way into the interview.

In any case, making the most of a good opportunity like a job interview certainly seems to involve some luck. Think back on your own career. You can probably think of your own examples of good and bad luck, and how that affected your success with certain opportunities.

In English, we have many common expressions related to luck and opportunity. In our last lesson, we learned some great idioms such as “lucky break,” “tough luck,” and “opportunity knocks.” In this lesson, we’ll learn many more.

In the dialog, we will rejoin Jim and Oscar, two colleagues riding the bus home after work. They are talking about their own opportunities and luck, and they use many useful idioms.

Listening Questions

1. What does Jim think of his chances of getting the job?
2. What does Jim think would be difficult?
3. What does Oscar say about moving into management?

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BEP 236 – English Idioms of Luck and Opportunity (1)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, Business Idioms /

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on English idioms related to luck and opportunity.

Some people have good luck, some people have bad luck, and some people have no luck at all. But what exactly is luck? And how important is it? Some successful business people will tell you that it’s very important. Donald Trump has said that “everything in life is luck.” But other people will tell you that luck is just what happens to people who work hard. In fact, there’s an old saying that luck is what happens when “preparation meets opportunity.”

And opportunity is another word and idea we hear about a lot in business. Opportunities are the good chances that come our way. We can “seize” opportunities, which means we accept them. Or we can let them go. What we do with opportunities is completely up to us.

But whatever you think about luck and opportunity in business, they are both common ideas and words. And not just on their own, but as parts of common English idioms. And it’s these idioms of luck and opportunity that we’ll look at in today’s lesson.

You will hear a conversation between Jim and Oscar, two colleagues who are taking the bus home from work together. Jim and Oscar are chatting about their day and some recent developments in their office. In their conversation, you will notice many idioms related to luck and opportunity.

Listening Questions

1. What does Oscar suggest about buses after 5:00pm?
2. Why does their colleague Ethan have “tough luck”?
3. At the end of the dialog, what does Oscar seem to suggest to Jim?

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Skills 360 – Top 10 Business English Skills (2)

Business English, Business Skills 360 /

Welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast for business English.

In today’s lesson, we’re going to continue our look at the 10 key characteristics of the successful business leader.

And just like last time, we’re going to match these qualities to useful words or phrases that you can use in your everyday work life.

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Skills 360 – Top 10 Business English Skills (1)

Business English, Business Skills 360 /

Welcome back to Skills 360. It’s great to be back for a new season of podcasts from Business English Pod.

For today’s lesson, we’re going to take a look at 10 key skills or characteristics that every successful business leader needs. You’ve probably heard this kind of list before, but I want to do something a bit different. I’ve matched these key skills with simple but powerful words or phrases that you can use every day. In business, competition is fierce, and you want every advantage you can get, right? So let’s find out how you can get a leg up.

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BEN 24 – China Credit Crunch

Business English, Business News, Finance and Accounting /

BEN 24 - China Credit Crunch

The global financial spotlight is focused squarely on China with its economy and banking system beginning to show signs of weakness. Interest rates hit all-time highs, while the central bank stood by and watched, as Reuters reports.

The People’s Bank of China has engineered a tightening of cash in money markets after seeing interest rates spike to 25 percent or higher for some deals. This was done in order to try to rein in excessive credit growth, especially in the lightly-regulated “shadow banking” sector.

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BEP 235 – English for Conferences 3: Actively Participating

Business English, Socializing, Training /

Conference English Training

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on attending a conference.

Conferences in English and other corporate events can be fantastic learning opportunities. They can also be good chances to connect with other people in your field. But just how good they are depends on more than just the speakers, the workshops, and the other participants. How much you get out of an event depends in large part on what you as a participant do.

You need to put your best foot forward, get engaged in the activities, and meet the people around you. In this way, you’ll learn a lot and make some good connections. But if you sit back, don’t ask questions, and just wait for others to talk to you, you’ll miss out on a great opportunity.

Today we’ll learn some techniques that can be very useful at any kind of event such as a conference, a networking social, or a fundraiser. We will learn how to ask good questions and show you’re engaged. We will also learn how to ask people about their background, give a compliment, and connect a topic to your own experience.

In the dialog, we’ll rejoin a regional HR conference of a large American company. We’ll hear Hanna, a conference attendee, during a workshop. Then we’ll hear Hanna approaching the presenter – Brent – later during lunch.

Listening Questions

1. What concept does Hanna express interest in?
2. What is the first topic of discussion between Hanna and Brent during lunch?
3. What does Hanna think Brent did well?

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BEP 234 – English for Conferences 2: Hosting a Social Event

Business English, Sales English, Socializing /

English Conference Party Socialize

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on hosting social events at a company conference.

Conferences and other corporate events are about much more than just speakers and workshops. They’re a chance for people to network, to socialize, and to have some fun. Every good host knows this. And every good host works hard to make sure that people are enjoying themselves.

If you think about it, hosts actually have a pretty tough job. They have to organize activities and people while maintaining a smile. They have to solve frustrating problems with a positive attitude. It’s a tricky balance, but there are techniques you can learn to help you get that balance right.

Today we’ll learn a few useful techniques that will help you to be a good host. We’ll learn to ask people about needs, elicit feedback on the event, and make yourself available for help. We’ll also learn to keep conversations going and connect people.

In the dialog, we’ll revisit a company’s regional HR conference. The host is Amy, VP of HR at the company’s Chicago office. She’s organizing people during the evening conference event. We’ll hear Amy talking with two of the participants: Tom and Hanna.

Listening Questions

1. What topic does Amy invite more detail from Tom about?
2. How do Tom and Hanna meet?
3. What does Amy encourage Tom and Hanna to do at the end of the dialog?

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BEP 233 – English for Conferences 1: Opening Presentation

Business English, Communication, Presentation in English /

Conference Presentation in English

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on hosting a conference in English.

If you’ve ever had to play host, for a conference, a meeting, a fundraiser, or any other type of event, you know it’s a lot of work. There’s months of planning and preparation, all for a single day or single weekend. And you want things to be perfect. You want the attendees to have a fabulous time. You want no problems or glitches.

Of course, it rarely works out that way. There are always problems to solve, but as the host, you can’t lose your cool. You’re the face of the event, and you’ve got to smile and make sure everyone has a great time. So, how can you do that?

Today we’ll look at some of the techniques you need to be a great host. In particular, we’ll focus on giving an opening address to kick off a conference or other event. We will learn how to officially welcome people, introduce the theme, outline goals and events, and introduce a speaker.

In the dialog, you’ll hear the official start to a conference that has brought together a company’s HR personnel from throughout the American midwest. The opening address is being delivered by Amy, the company’s VP of Human Resources in Chicago. You will hear the techniques Amy uses as host of the conference.

Listening Questions

1. What is the first goal of the conference that Amy mentions?
2. What are some of the events in Day 1 of the conference?
3. What kind of information does Amy give about the keynote speaker?

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Skills 360 – Giving and Receiving Feedback (Part 2)

Business English, Business Skills 360, Communication /

Welcome back to Skills 360 for today’s lesson on receiving feedback with a positive attitude.

How do you feel when you hear something like this from your manager: “Listen, I really need to talk to you about the work you’ve been doing on that big project.” If you’re like most people, your heart starts beating a little faster and your mind starts racing. In fact, this is a common reaction to the idea that we’re about to receive feedback. We naturally don’t like it. But it’s important, so we need to learn how to receive feedback constructively.

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Skills 360 – Giving and Receiving Feedback (Part 1)

Business English, Business Skills 360, Communication /

Welcome back to Skills 360 for today’s lesson on giving feedback.

Say “feedback” and a lot of people will immediately think of a performance review. You sit down with someone you manage and explain what they’re doing well and what they need to improve. It’s a situation we’ve all been in, on both sides of the desk.

However, feedback is much more than what we do in a structured and scheduled situation. Feedback is an ongoing process, and we give feedback to everyone around us, not just those who report to us. That includes colleagues and co-workers, and our managers or superiors. Feedback happens every day, between everyone in a company.

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