Workplace English Podcast

In this podcast lesson, we’re going to look at how to respond to telephone enquiries, and how to handle requests from callers. To respond properly to enquiries, you should be able to answer the caller’s questions and give them the information they are looking for. To handle requests, you should be able to tell the caller what you will do to fulfill their request, and when you will do it. We will also look at what you can say when you are unable to help callers fulfill their requests. To handle enquiries or deal with requests in a polite and efficient manner, it’s a good idea to become familiar with some common functional expressions. We’ll introduce you to some of these expressions in the lesson. Situation 1 Anna is a sales executive at a showroom which sells cameras. Let’s listen to how she handles a telephone call from Daniel, a caller who has an enquiry and a request.

In this podcast we’re looking at negotiating. A negotiation is a discussion that should result in an agreement or business contract. The discussion is usually between two parties - or organisations - trying to reach an agreement satisfactory to both. Here we'll just look at some of the general skills needed when negotiating and some of the key language used.

Meeting new people is an important part of working in a business environment. The contacts we make on an everyday basis help us to expand our knowledge about our business and create a network of people who we can turn to for help or advice with our work-related concerns. You are now going to listen to a dialogue between two people from different companies who meet for the first time at a business conference. Note how they talk about their companies and the roles they play at their places of work. Sally is a senior manager with an e-publishing company and Josh is a project manager with a similar company. Josh has just given a presentation on the latest venture that his company is going to be involved in. Sally approaches him during a coffee break.

Introduction Small talk is essential in business. Whether you’re speaking to a colleague, a client or a customer, a little social chat will help to strengthen the relationship you have with them. Small talk doesn’t need to be limited to informal situations such as over lunch or dinner. It is most effectively used when meeting someone for the first time, before and after formal meetings and even at the start of business telephone conversations. In these situations, the main purpose of the small talk is to break the ice and help create a more relaxed atmosphere. In this podcast lesson, you’re going to hear a rather informal conversation between colleagues. The conversation never gets too informal, like it would between close friends; however, the language used is quite colloquial at times. Later on, we’ll look at some of the more informal language and show you how to use it in different contexts. Situation  Richard Bent and Cristine Keen are work colleagues. They are having lunch near their office and are discussing the situation related to the new accountant in their department.

Introduction When you call a customer on the telephone to makes a sales pitch, you are essentially cold calling, and the customer is not likely to know what your call is about until you explain why you are calling. It is important to explain and ask for the customer’s permission to continue with your pitch, but also to present the information in such a way that the customer agrees to hear you out. In this podcast lesson, we will look at a few ways to present your sales pitch in a manner that will help you to keep the customer’s attention and get a positive response. Remember that the key to a successful sales pitch is to be persuasive in a way that does not sound aggressive. To do this, you should ensure that your tone is pleasant and conversational, but also informative. Asking relevant questions and paying attention to what the customer says can help you while making your sales pitch. Situation You’re now going to listen to a dialogue between Michael, a customer service executive at an electronics store, and Sarah, a customer who has purchased a computer from the store. Michael is calling Sarah to pitch a new offer for an extended warranty on her purchase.

 Internal disputes may arise in your workplace when two people are hostile toward each other’s opinions, or if they cannot work out a disagreement. When handling a serious disagreement between two people, you should ensure that you listen to each person’s point of view, and try to arrive at a consensus that will be agreeable to both of them. You can do this by using sympathetic language that shows them both that you are respectful of their points of view. Try to find a consensus of opinion that is agreeable to both parties, and which shows them how to work out a compromise. Stress the fact that it is important to work out the dispute in a harmonious way so that their work does not suffer.     SITUATION 1 You will now listen to a conversation in which James, a vice-president at an investment consultancy, tries to work out a dispute between Jack and Eliza, two project managers.  

Introduction There are a number of ways in which cold calls can be effective. One is for the selling organization to start with a high quality, up-to-date database consisting of qualified potential clients that have an interest in the product being sold. Another is to use cold calls as a "step in the door". Rather than using the call to try to close a sale, it is used as the initial contact in a long-term relationship. This has the effect of removing the sales pressure from calls and making the goal of the call to build trust. Situation Salesman Kyle Brant calls two different companies for the first time to try to set up a sales meeting. Notice how he introduces himself. Notice also how he find his “way in,” his connection to make what he’s selling more appealing to the potential customer.

  Discussing someone’s performance refers to analysing their strengths and weaknesses. Managers often have to discuss the performance of those in their team. This is usually because a manager’s appraisal goes on an employee’s record and also helps to identify if an employee is ready for a promotion. When discussing someone’s performance, remember to keep the conversation professional. Focus on the person’s work-related skills, and not on his or her personal details or habits. Give reasons and examples to support your opinions, so that others know that you are not biased. You may also have to discuss someone’s performance face-to-face with that person. In such a situation, you need to be a little more tactful and polite when talking about their skills, especially their weaknesses and the areas in which they need to improve. Even if you have something negative to say, you can put it across in positive terms. The second dialogue in today’s lesson will show you how you can do that. Situation 1 You will now listen to a conversation between two managers, Jennifer and Andrew, who are discussing the performance of their team members Carolyn and Ling. They need to make a decision on which one to promote.

A meeting to discuss a business proposal is usually an integral part of creating a business plan. While it is common for the proposal to be written by one person, it is also common for team members or prospective clients to be available during such meetings to give their opinions and input on what they feel should be changed or included. The person who has written the proposal should be prepared to answer questions on the content and should be open to the revisions that may be necessary. The functional language involved in such a discussion focuses around two key areas. Firstly, we often find the conditional tense being used in such discussions, since the proposal has not been accepted yet. Secondly, auxiliary and modal verbs (also known as helping verbs) are commonly used along with words and phrases indicating personal opinions and suggestions as the speakers speculate about the future.   An unsolicited proposal is one that is created by a small company or charitable organization that wants to collaborate with a larger firm to increase the scale of its activities, and that approaches larger firms independently with its proposed course of business. In this dialogue, you will hear a conversation that two members of a non-governmental organization (NGO) have with a prospective charitable donor. Joyce has written the proposal and is discussing the details with her colleague, Nicholas, and the prospective donor, Michelle. Before moving on to the listening exercise, read the outline of the proposal below.

Giving a verbal report is often an urgent task that comes up when your manager cannot wait for a written report. A verbal report may need to be prepared quickly since it is usually related to issues that are urgent and need to be resolved as soon as possible. In a verbal report, keep in mind that the results or findings are usually presented first, and suggestions and recommendations are given later. A verbal report is less formal than a presentation, and the listener may often interrupt you to ask for clarifications or for your opinion or suggestions. A verbal report is usually a combination of a mini-presentation and a question and answer session. You should be sure of your facts and be prepared to answer questions clearly and informatively. You should also be able to offer solutions and recommendations for the issue you’re reporting on. Situation 1 You will now listen to a dialogue between Jason, a supervising executive at an engineering site, and his manager Liz. Liz has asked Jason to give her a verbal report on a complaint made by a client.

Making successful negotiations is an important part of working in a professional context. It is important to remember that you should define your position clearly before you enter a negotiation. In order to define your position, you need to be sure about the following aspects of your position:  What you are negotiating for, or what you want; What compromises you are willing to make; What you are willing to lose; and What your bottom line is, that is, the least that you are willing to negotiate for. Remember, a successful negotiation is usually one that starts well. So the initial discussions are critical in terms of how you and your business associates create favorable impressions of each other. In this podcast lesson, you’re going to listen to two dialogues. In the first dialogue the participants set the scene for the negotiation by both sides outlining their positions. In the second dialogue, the participants clarify each other positions. At no point during these two initial stages does any actual negotiation occur.  

Introduction In this podcast lesson, we’re going to listen in on a business meeting where colleagues are making plans for the future. We’re going to focus on three main areas of language in this lesson. First, we show you how to ask for and give opinions and we’ll point out the difference between opinions and suggestions, which are often confused. Second, we’ll show you how to make simple suggestions using common functional expressions. And finally, we’ll show you how to make plans using the future simple tense ‘will’ and ‘going to.’ ‘Will’ and ‘going to’ are also often confused. They have similar, yet slightly different uses. We’ll make the differences between these two future forms clear. Situation 1 You're now going to listen to two colleagues, Liz and Sam, having a short business meeting. They are meeting to discuss the details of a new company newsletter. Here they discuss the aim of the newsletter and possible content.

There is a time and a place to talk about employee attitude and performance. Often this is done in an informal situation, sometimes when a manager is new or is taking over a team of new employees. There are many ways of discussing employees and how they are performing. Let’s listen in as Darlene, the department manager, and her assistant, Richard, discuss a number of employees.

Internal conflicts can arise in the workplace about commonplace issues when employees feel that their expectations are not being met. There may be many reasons for an employee feeling dissatisfied or unhappy, and if such issues are not resolved, they can create a bad atmosphere in the workplace. Communication is an important aspect of expressing and identifying needs, and of resolving them before they grow into larger problems. Clear communication regarding conflict in the workplace is a two-way process in which both parties express their concerns and pay attention to each other’s points of view to ensure that they communicate efficiently. The key to effective communication in the resolution of conflicts in the workplace is to keep emotions out of the zone of communication as far as possible, and to focus on the practical aspects of the conflict in order to resolve it successfully. It’s always important to consider the point of view of the other party and to ensure that you communicate to the other person that you are able to appreciate their point of view on the situation. Keep in mind also that conflict can often be resolved in informal situations such as a conversation during a coffee break, and not necessarily during a meeting. In this lesson, we will focus on three key areas of conflict resolution: empathizing with the other person’s concerns, clarifying their position, and making practical suggestions to work out the problem. You will now listen to a dialogue between Jack and his manager Anna, who are making small talk before a business meeting. During the course of the conversation, Jack asks Anna about the status of his application for a transfer to a different city.

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.

When you think about it, so much of business involves influencing others. Sometimes, the influence effort is effort-less. On other occasions, though, you will encounter objections. In this podcast, you will hear techniques that work, that help you get your message across. They will make your job of persuading others easier. Basically, when presenting an argument the recommendations are: 1.     Remain professional at all times. 2.     Restate the comment. 3.     Convert the objection to a question, if possible. 4.     Turn the objection around. 5.     Cite research. 6.     Anticipate objections. 7.     Involve others. In the two situations that we’re going to look at, we’ll see how these recommendations are put into action.

In this podcast lesson, we will look at the many types of questions you can ask while interviewing someone. Some questions are open-ended and others are close-ended, and there are a number of categories of questions, such as past-performance questions, negative-balance questions, and judgement-call questions. A successful interview is one that combines different types of questions to get comprehensive information from the person being interviewed, and that assesses the job applicant’s capabilities effectively. Situation You will now listen to an extract from an interview between Lila, an HR manager at an investment bank, and Edgar, who has applied for a position at the company.

Introduction Quite often in business, a deal can be concluded without having a face-to-face business meeting. Where the terms of a deal are not so complex, or a deal has already been partially reached, much of the final negotiation can be done over the phone. In more complex situations, however, face-to-face negotiations are usually necessary. If you would like to change the terms of an existing agreement, before you make your call to finalize the agreement, you should be clear about your starting and finishing positions. Do the calculations in advance and work out what a satisfactory outcome to the negotiations would be for you. Be aware of all the factors that have an impact on the deal; in most cases there will be some flexibility with these factors. Situation  Jenny Bond of United Wholesalers in London has just received the following fax from Bernard Chan of NEG in Hong Kong. NEG supplies fork-lift trucks. FAX Re: Special Order of 20 Fork-lift Trucks Dear Jenny We regret that our standard vehicles are not suitable for your purpose, but confirm that we can manufacture to the specifications you have forwarded. Unless you can increase your order from 20 vehicles, however, there will be a substantial charge for this service. Please let us know if you would like to pursue the matter further. Yours sincerely International Sales DirectorBernard Chan Jenny then telephones Bernard to see if he will accept an order of 25 trucks so they can finalise an agreement. Let’s listen in on their conversation.

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.

Introduction You might think that ending a conversation is as simple as saying “Goodbye,” but it’s a little more complex than that. It’s also quite different from culture to culture. In western culture, we inform the person we are talking to gently by giving hints that we need to go or want the conversation to end. We try our best to avoid ending a conversation abruptly. Certain phrases are used to indicate that someone has to go or would like to end a conversation. To end a conversation politely is quite a difficult skill to master, actually! In this podcast lesson, we’ll show you how to end a conversation politely according to western culture. Situation You’re now going to hear a conversation between John and Naomi. They’ve just come out of a conference.