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document.createElement('audio'); https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/bizpod/BEP-164c-Football-Idioms-2.mp3 Welcome back to Business English Pod. With the World Cup underway, we’re taking another look at one of our lessons on English idioms related to football. People have been competing in and watching some form of sports for thousands of years. Sports enduring popularity has helped it grow into a $2.3 trillion a year industry. And it’s expected to just keep on growing. Among all sports, there’s one that is far and away the most popular, and that’s football, or soccer. Almost half the global population counts themselves as fans of the sport. So it’s no wonder that something this popular has impacted the English language. Listen to any conversation in a sales meeting, around the water cooler, in the boardroom, or over drinks between colleagues and you’re guaranteed to hear idioms related to football. These idioms are so common that most people don’t think for a second about where they came from. They’re just a natural part of everyday language. In today’s dialog, we’ll rejoin Marilyn and Karl, two colleagues at a publishing firm. They are talking about Karl’s interest in a job at the company’s Sydney branch. Karl is hoping Marilyn can help him decide whether to apply for the job. As you listen to the dialog, try to answer the following questions: 1. How does Karl’s wife feel about moving to Sydney? 2. Why does Karl feel like he’s cheating on his own company? 3. What advice does Marilyn give at the end of the conversation? Premium Members: PDF Transcript | Quizzes | PhraseCast | Lesson Module Download: Podcast MP3>>> The post BEP 164c – Football Idioms (Part 2) first appeared on Business English Pod :: Learn Business English Online.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/bizpod/BEP068c-Interruptions.mp3 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? Premium Members: PDF Transcript | Quizzes | PhraseCast | Lesson Module Download: Podcast MP3>>> The post BEP 68c – English for Meetings: Dealing with Interruptions first appeared on Business English Pod :: Learn Business English Online.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/bizpod/BEP418-Contractors-1.mp3 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? Premium Members: PDF Transcript | Quizzes | PhraseCast | Lesson Module Download: Podcast MP3>>> The post BEP 418 – English for Projects: Managing Conflict with Contractors 1 first appeared on Business English Pod :: Learn Business English Online.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/bizpod/360.105-Persuasion-1.mp3 Welcome back to the Business English Skills 360 podcast as we look at how to develop a persuasive approach in business. Persuasion is one of the most valuable skills in business, enabling professionals to influence decisions, gain support, and advance ideas. But effective persuasion is not about slick talk or manipulation – it relies on sincerity and well-chosen techniques. Sincerity is the foundation. People are persuaded when they believe you genuinely believe what you are saying. If your audience senses dishonesty or hidden motives, trust quickly erodes. To demonstrate sincerity, share how you came to believe in your idea. For example, acknowledge initial doubts and explain what changed your perspective. Transparency also plays a major role. If you stand to benefit personally, acknowledge it openly while emphasizing broader benefits. This honesty builds trust and credibility. Once sincerity is established, persuasion comes down to tailoring your approach to your audience. Logical thinkers respond to structured reasoning, such as outlining clear criteria for a plan. Others may be more influenced by authority or social proof, in which case citing respected figures or supporters can be effective. The key is to understand what motivates the people you are trying to influence. Beyond adapting to individual mindsets, several techniques are broadly effective. Repetition reinforces ideas and makes them more memorable. For example, emphasizing a chain of cause and effect – like lowering costs leading to stronger growth – creates impact. Rhetorical questions are another powerful tool, framing choices in a way that guides the audience toward your conclusion without directly telling them what to think. In short, successful persuasion blends sincerity with strategy. Believe in your message, be transparent about your motives, and then apply techniques that resonate with your audience. With this balance of trust and skill, you can significantly enhance your ability to persuade in business. Members: Lesson Module | Quiz & Vocab | PDF Transcript Download: Podcast MP3>>> The post Skills 360 – Developing a Persuasive Approach (1) first appeared on Business English Pod :: Learn Business English Online.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/bizpod/BEP-416-Audit-1.mp3 Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson, the first in a two-part series on financial English for discussing an audit. Financial audits have a way of increasing stress within a company. Suddenly everyone’s paying attention as reports get checked, numbers are reviewed, and details that seemed minor yesterday become urgent today. Audits can feel intense, but they are a critical part of good business practice. Like many other financial processes, the world of audits has its own language or vocabulary. And much of this language comes in the form of “collocations.” Collocations are words that go together naturally. They are combinations of words that we learn as a group, rather than individually. For example, a minute ago I said “everyone suddenly pays attention.” We always use that verb “pay” with the noun “attention.” It’s a strong collocation. That expression includes a verb and a noun, but collocations can feature any word forms. “For example” is a collocation that has a preposition and a noun, for example. In today’s dialog, we’ll hear a conversation between Ray and Marcia. Ray is the Chief Financial Officer for an international company. Marcia is an auditor with an accounting firm hired to do an audit of Ray’s company. During their conversation about the upcoming audit, Ray and Marcia use many English collocations. We’ll explain these collocations later in the debrief. Listening Questions 1. What does Ray hope to do in the week following the 15th of the month? 2. What does Marcia want to “walk through,” or review, with Ray? 3. Ray asks about something that is a hot topic, in Marcia’s opinion. What does he ask about? Premium Members: PDF Transcript | Quizzes | PhraseCast | Lesson Module Download: Podcast MP3>>> The post BEP 416 – English for Accounting: Discussing an Audit (1) first appeared on Business English Pod :: Learn Business English Online.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/bizpod/BEP045c-Maintaining-Conversation.mp3 Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on how to keep a conversation going while socializing at work. Some people are natural talkers. They seem to be able to start conversations, and maintain conversations, so easily. You might think this is an ability people are born with. Either you have it or you don’t. Either you have a social personality, or you don’t. But conversation is actually a skill. And if conversation is a skill, then you can develop it through practice. In our last lesson, we practiced starting a conversation with someone. Once you’ve got the conversation started, it sure is uncomfortable if you don’t know how to keep it going. So we need a different set of skills and language to maintain the flow of conversation. One thing you might do in this situation is direct the conversation or change the topic. And to keep the other person engaged, you’ll want to show interest and comment on what they’re saying. That makes them feel good and want to keep the conversation going. Showing interest often means asking follow-up questions and showing empathy or personal care or attention. In this lesson, we’re going to go back to the first dialog we heard in the previous lesson, which featured Penny and George. Penny and George work for an international company called Multi-Fresh, which is hosting a conference for its employees. We’ll hear how Penny develops her conversation with George. Listening Questions 1. What is the word or topic that Penny uses to change the topic of conversation? 2. What experience of George’s does Penny show interest in? 3. How does Penny react when George tells her about how difficult his experience was? Premium Members: PDF Transcript | Quizzes | PhraseCast | Lesson Module Download: Podcast MP3>>> The post BEP 45c – Socializing: Keeping a Conversation Going first appeared on Business English Pod :: Learn Business English Online.