Workplace English Podcast - Workplace English Training E-Platform

• BEP42: Clarifying and Confirming Instructions

  When you’re given verbal instructions, it’s essential that you clarify anything you don’t understand or are unclear about. Even if you feel you’ve understood everything correctly, it’s a good idea to repeat back the instructions to whoever gave them to you to ensure that you haven’t misunderstood or missed anything. This will help to minimize any errors you might make whilst you are carrying out the instructions. In this podcast lesson, you’re going to listen to two dialogues. In the first dialogue the instructions given are quite brief and straightforward. In this case, the listener waits until all the instructions have been given before making any clarifications. In the second dialogue, the instructions are longer and more detailed. In this dialogue, the listener clarifies the instructions at appropriate points while they are being given. When listening to the dialogues, make a note of some of the common expressions used to clarify and confirm the instructions.

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• BEP 67: Saying 'No' in the Right Way

  Introduction Most of us find it difficult to say ‘no’ when someone asks us for a favour, don’t we? It’s difficult to say ‘no’ when you know someone needs your help. It becomes even more difficult to say ‘no’ in the workplace, because you don’t want to offend anyone. However, it’s possible to refuse to do something in a polite and nice way that does not annoy anyone, hurt their feelings or cause offence. In this lesson, we will look at how to say ‘no’ in the workplace in a way that ensures that the other person can see your point of view. You can do this by speaking factually, firmly and using a calm and polite tone. Situation 1 You will now listen to two versions of a conversation between Jim and his boss. In the first version, Jim is not able to say ‘no’, and ends up having to do the favour and also make his boss feel that he is doing it unwillingly.

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• BEP 39: Entertaining: Practical English in a Bar and Restaurant

  Entertaining is considered an important aspect of business communication. Not all professional interactions take place in an office environment, and knowing how to entertain business associates in informal environments, such as in bars and restaurants, is an important part of the communication process. While communication with clients in social settings is not as structured as that in professional settings, it does have its unwritten rules about etiquette and language usage. Since different social settings require different aspects of communication, it’s a good idea to know what to say and how to behave in such situations. You are now going to listen to a dialogue between Sheila, a consultant in Mumbai, and Jeremy, a British client with Sheila’s company who is visiting the city.

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• BEP 53: Making Comparisons

  A common task in business is to compare things such as costs, service, reliability, performance, etc. It's only through making comparisons that we can make decisions about which is the cheapest, the most reliable, and the best buy. The characteristics of a product or service are described by adjectives, such as 'cheap,' 'heavy,' 'wide', 'reliable,' etc. So it's important for you to know how to compare adjectives. In this podcast lesson, we’ll look at a number of ways commonly use to compare adjectives. You’re going to hear the Human Resources Manager, Marion, and the Technical Support Manager, Alex, have a meeting to compare three English language training consultants – Empire English, Superior Speaking and Accent on English. They have to decide which company to use. They will talk about each company, how long the company has been in business and how successful the company has been. They will also talk about the price of the training, the training materials, and the experience of the trainers.

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• BEP32: Small Talk Before a Business Meeting

  “Results depend on relationships. That’s what Don Petersen says. He is the ex-CEO of America’s Ford Motor Company. You will find that being able to make small talk—especially before a business meeting—will help build good relationships. And, good business relationships will help you get the results you want. Think of small talk as an engraved business card: small but impressive. Impressive, that is, if you do it well. SITUATION 1 Listen now to small talk used by Dan, who is about to make a presentation featuring his leadership training firm. He especially wants to win approval from Susan Lynch, head of employee relations for a multinational firm. Pay attention to Dan’s manner and manners as well.

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