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BEP 119c – Telephone English: Making an Appointment

Business English, Intermediate English, Telephone English /

BEP 119c - Telephoning: Making an Appointment

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on making an appointment over the telephone.

Despite the many options for communication, the telephone is still the fastest and easiest way to do get some things done. This is true in business as much as it is in personal life. There are many reasons to skip the back and forth of email or texting and just call someone.

One good reason is to make an appointment. It could be a business meeting, a conversation with your lawyer, a visit to a client, or a doctor’s appointment. In this case, the real business needs to happen in person. But that in-person appointment needs to be arranged and agreed on.

When we make an appointment over the phone, we often say our reason for calling before asking for a meeting. And it’s a good idea to give a clear reason for that meeting or appointment. You’ll also have to discuss existing plans and suggest times for the meeting.

In today’s dialog, we’ll hear Gordon Knight calling to make an appointment with Penny Yip. Gordon works for a pension fund, while Penny works for an investment company. Gordon met Penny at a recent conference and now wants to follow up and meet her when he is in Malaysia.

Listening Questions

1. What does Gordon tell the assistant about his reason for calling?
2. What does Gordon tell Penny about his reason for meeting?
3. What time does Penny suggest they meet?

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BEP 89c – Telephone English: Making Arrangements

Business English, ESL Podcast, Intermediate English, Telephone English /

BEP 89c - Telephone English: Making Arrangements

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on making arrangements on the telephone.

Communication can be hard enough with a person who’s right in front of you. It gets even harder when you’re on the telephone and you can’t see the person. And if it’s all in a language other than your native language, well let’s just say things aren’t easy!

When talking on the telephone, clarity is critical. You can see how important it is to be clear when you make arrangements. If you’re talking about times and places and making plans, confusion could lead to missed appointments, missed flights, or missed opportunities.

Some skills are useful in all phone conversations, like asking if someone is busy when you call them. Other skills are especially useful for making arrangements, like interrupting someone to confirm information and asking about preferences. You might also have to reassure people and show flexibility when making arrangements.

In today’s dialog, we’ll join a telephone conversation between Marco and Adriana. Marco works for an Italian fashion company called Viva. Adriana works for Foxtrot, Viva’s distributor in the U.S. Marco is calling to make arrangements for a visit to the U.S. for an expo, or trade show.

Listening Questions

1. What does Marco ask Adriana before he begins discussing their travel arrangements?
2. When Marco begins telling Adriana about his flight plans, how does she interrupt him?
3. How does Marco respond to Adriana’s question about the kind of food they want to eat?

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BEP 419 – English for Projects: Managing Conflict with Contractors 2

Business English, IT English and Tech, Project Management /

BEP 419 LESSON - English for Project Management: Conflict with Contractors 2

Welcome back to Business English Pod for the second part of our look at managing conflict with subcontractors. In this lesson we’re going to focus on dealing with scope creep, cost disputes and conflicting priorities.

When things go sideways with contractors, it’s rarely because of one big mistake. It’s usually a thousand small disagreements that pile up. Different expectations, unclear goals, or shifting priorities can spoil what’s supposed to be a healthy collaboration. Learning to manage these conflicts will help you keep projects on track and maintain trust.

When problems come up, smart project managers don’t avoid the hard conversations. Instead, they face things head-on. This requires good communication skills, and fortunately, these skills can be learned.

Some of the things you might face are conflicts over the scope of a project or resources. And don’t be surprised if you disagree on money, or costs. Learning to face these issues directly is one thing. But you also need to learn the art of compromise and seek constructive solutions.

In today’s dialog, we’ll join a telephone conversation between a project manager named Celia and a subcontractor named Raj. Celia works for a software development company that has hired Raj’s team to build a payment gateway module for a new banking app.

Listening Questions

1. What piece of work do Celia and Raj disagree about, in terms of whether its part of the project scope?
2. What compromise does Celia suggest on the issue of costs?
3. At the end of the dialog, what solution does Celia state that she wants to see to prevent further problems?

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BEP 418 – English for Projects: Managing Conflict with Contractors 1

Business English, IT English and Tech, Project Management /

BEP 418 LESSON - English for Projects: Managing Conflict with Contractors 1

Welcome back to Business English Pod for the first in a two-part lesson on English for project management and dealing with subcontractors. In this lesson we’re going to look at how to manage conflict with an external contractor.

Very few projects run perfectly smoothly. There are just too many variables involved to expect nothing to go wrong. One of the trickiest variables in any project is the people involved. And some of the trickiest people issues are conflicts with subcontractors or external vendors.

Conflict with subcontractors is almost inevitable. Different companies have different goals, priorities, and communication styles. Project managers who know how to handle tension early can prevent escalation and maintain a productive working relationship. And this can keep everyone focused on results instead of resentment.

Managing conflicts well requires a very tricky balance. You need to address issues and accountability head-on, while remaining diplomatic. You need to set expectations but steer away from too much blame. And it can be very helpful, as you do this, to reference documents to achieve clarity.

In today’s dialog, we’ll listen to a telephone conversation featuring a project manager named Celia at a software development company. Her company has outsourced the payment gateway module of a new banking app. Now she’s talking to Raj from the subcontractor about their first delivery, which doesn’t meet expectations.

Listening Questions

1. What are the problems that Celia introduces directly near the start of the dialog?
2. What document does Celia refer to in order to clarify their agreement?
3. At the end of the dialog, Celia sets some clear expectations. What’s the timeline she expects for the actions she mentions?

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925 English Lesson 35 – Answering the Phone

Youtube video

In this 925 English lesson, we’re going to learn some expressions for answering the phone in English.

Using the telephone is an important part of business. But the way we communicate is a little different from in-person conversations. We have some special expressions we use to answer the phone, ask for clarification, and get a callback.

At the start of a phone call, it’s a good idea to make sure the other person knows who you are. You can identify yourself in a few different ways. Besides saying “my name is,” we often use the expression “this is” before our name. But don’t try to use this expression in person. I only say “this is Tim” when I’m talking on the phone.

925 English is a new series of English videos for beginners (CEFR level A2). With 925 English you can learn business English expressions for work.

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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 34c – Clarifying and Confirming What Was Said

Business English, ESL Podcast, Functions, Intermediate English /

Business English - BEP 34c - Clarifying What Was Said

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on how to clarify what was said during a conversation.

Communication is rarely easy. There’s so much that can go wrong in a conversation, especially on the phone. We might not hear someone well, we might hear them incorrectly, and we might not understand words or expressions in the same way. For that reason, we need to be able to clarify what was said.

There are a few basic ways to clarify that are extremely useful. We can use “WH” questions, like who, what, where, when, and why. We can ask people to repeat what they said and repeat things for people when they haven’t understood us. And we can use tag questions to confirm that we’ve heard correctly.

Today we’ll listen to a telephone conversation between three colleagues: Benny, Wim, and Andre. They are speaking on the phone for the first time in a while. During their conversation, they use several expressions to clarify what was said.

Listening Questions

1. What does the receptionist say that Benny doesn’t understand right away?
2. What question does Benny ask that Wim needs repeated?
3. What question does Benny restate about the river in Rotterdam?

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BEP 384 – Business by Phone 4: Unexpected call

Business English, Intermediate English, Telephone English /

BEP 384 - Business English for Telephone 4: Unexpected Call

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on doing business by phone. Last time we looked at a routine check-in call with your boss. Today we’ll focus on spontaneous, or unexpected, phone conversations.

You might start a telephone conversation with an idea about how it will go and what you will talk about. And many routine conversations are pretty straightforward. But what happens when the conversation gets into things you haven’t anticipated? What if the other person asks you tough questions that you don’t have easy answers for? In particular, what if your boss is pressuring you to justify your decisions?

There are a few things that you might have to do to succeed in this situation. For starters, you might need to just pause and gather your thoughts. Next, you might find yourself explaining your assumptions and clarifying some of the specific aspects of your decision. You might also try explaining what would have happened it you hadn’t made the decision you did. And finally, it’s a good idea to be able to accept feedback graciously and politely.

In today’s dialog, we’ll rejoin Sonny, a English for logistics manager in Asia working for an American clothing company. Sonny is talking with his supervisor Cam. If you listened to our last lesson about a routine check-in, you’ll notice a big difference with this conversation. This time, Sonny has to think on his feet and deal with some tough questions.

Listening Questions

1. What assumption does Sonny make about delivery times?
2. What does Sonny say might have happened if he didn’t make a tough decision?
3. What will Sonny do differently in the future based on the feedback he gets?

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BEP 383 – Business by Phone 3: Routine Check-in Meeting

Business English, Intermediate English, Telephone English /

BEP 383 - Business English for Telephone 3: Routine Check-in

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on doing business by phone. This is the first of a pair of lessons on routine and spontaneous business phone conversations.

Now what do I mean when I say “routine” and “spontaneous” phone conversations? Routine means something we do often or something that follows a set pattern. But spontaneous means suddenly, without any planning. Having a spontaneous conversation in English is very challenging. Today we’ll start with a more routine weekly check-in, and our next lesson will show you how to handle more unexpected situations.

A weekly check-in is a chance to talk with your supervisor about how your work is going. That might include reporting your progress or the status of different projects or work. It might also mean sharing your successes and asking for help or guidance with challenges. And if you’re like most people, there’s always lots to talk about, so you may also have to request time to look at a specific issue.

In today’s dialog, we’ll join Sonny, a logistics manager for a clothing company called Boston Vintage. Sonny works in Asia and is talking on the phone with his supervisor Cam, who works in the U.S. Their conversation is a weekly check-in about recent work, challenges, and progress.

Listening Questions

1. What topic does Sonny request time to discuss during the call?
2. What does Sonny report that he is making some progress on?
3. What success is Sonny happy to report?

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Skills 360 – Time Management 1: Prioritizing and Scheduling

Business English, Business Skills 360, Management English /

Business English Skills 360 - Time Management (1)

Welcome back to the Business English Skills 360 podcast for today’s lesson on time management.

When we talk about “management” and “managers,” we’re usually thinking about managing people. And that involves many different skills. But all these skills are useless if the manager can’t manage his or her own self. So good management starts with good self-management. And an essential part of self-management is managing your time effectively, which in turn depends on effective scheduling.

So, as a manager, how do you set a schedule that works? Well, that starts with prioritizing. You can think of tasks on two dimensions: importance and urgency. The first key to good time management is avoiding things that are neither urgent nor important. That includes daily distractions, trivial tasks, and anything minor that simply wastes time. The second key is to minimize things that seem urgent but are not important. A lot of meetings, emails, phone calls, and interruptions fall into this category.

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925 English Lesson 36 – Ending a Phone Call

925 English, A2, Business English, English Video, Telephone English /
Youtube video

In today’s 925 English video lesson, we’re going to learn how to end a phone call in English.

Last time, we looked at lots of useful expressions for answering the phone and starting a call. But what about ending a call? If you’ve finished your conversation, what can you say to end the call politely?

Well for starters, one thing you want to avoid is just suddenly saying goodbye. To end a business call professionally, there are three simple steps to follow. First you signal that you want to end, secondly, you review your action points, and finally you say goodbye.

925 English is a new series of English video lessons for beginners (CEFR level A2). With 925 English you can learn business English expressions and phrases for work.

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