Podcast Archive

In today’s podcast lesson we are going to discuss takeovers. You may be experienced in takeovers or be just a novice in the business world, but can you talk about them in English? Aaron, Christy and our host Kris will introduce the business English of takeovers. (Watch out for a future lesson on resisting takeovers!)

LINK TO DOWNLOAD THIS LESSON(right-click, save as) :
epod_biz18_C5.mp3(12.07mb)

Difficulty Level: Advanced | Popularity: 88 | Rating: 8.5
TOPICS: takeovers | FUNCTIONS: describing problems, advantages|disadvantages
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In today’s podcast we will begin to look at the kind of business English that’s useful for participating in meetings and how you can run a meeting using English. We will demonstrate some phrases with which you can organize, focus and finish meetings.

LINK TO DOWNLOAD THIS EPISODE (right-click, save as) :
epod_biz17_A7.mp3(14.75mb)

Difficulty Level: Lower Intermediate | Popularity: 105 | Rating: 8.7
TOPICS: recruitment, hiring|firing, hr | FUNCTIONS: agreeing|disagreeing
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In this podcast lesson we are going to listen to people discussing an ethical issue in English. The issue is whether or not it is the company’s responsibility to help someone with a personal problem, which in today’s example is a drinking problem. On our website you can find more background reading on business ethics.

LINK TO DOWNLOAD THIS LESSON (right-click, save as) :
epod_biz16_B6.mp3(12.90mb)

Difficulty Level: Upper Intermediate | Popularity: 96 | Rating: 9
TOPICS: ethics, managing people, hr | FUNCTIONS: agreeing|disagreeing, cause and effect, making suggestions
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In today’s podcast lesson we are going to hear ways of interrupting and clarifying what people say during a meeting. It is important to clarify points as they arise so that there is no misunderstanding. In a similar way sometimes we need to interrupt during a meeting so that we can give our ideas or opinions as issues arise. It is very common in English/American meetings for people to interrupt when necessary. This contrasts with meetings in many other cultures in the world where no one is able to interrupt, particularly if the boss or manager is speaking.

LINK TO DOWNLOAD THIS LESSON (right-click, save as) :
epod_biz15_A6.mp3(7.23mb)

Difficulty Level: Lower Intermediate | Popularity: 102 | Rating: 9.5
TOPICS: sales | FUNCTIONS: agreeing|disagreeing, clarifying|defining, making suggestions
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In today’s podcast lesson we will be looking at how to describe trends in English. In business a trend is the general direction of things such as the prices of goods or sales volumes. Trends can be thought of in varying lengths including short, intermediate and long term. If one can identify a trend, it can be highly profitable, as you can read and predict where a market might be heading.

LINK TO DOWNLOAD THIS EPISODE (right-click, save as) :
epod_biz14_B5.mp3(8.71mb)

Difficulty Level: Upper Intermediate | Popularity: 97 | Rating: 9
TOPICS: sales, economics | FUNCTIONS: trends, summarizing
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Most companies have some sort of business plan outlining the goals, purpose and future directions. Part of a manager’s duty is to discuss with their employees about what is being done to achieve these goals and how people plan to reach these goals faster or to the best benefit of the company. Managers do this to make sure people are working towards the targets and to make sure everyone is working towards the same goal. In today’s lesson you will hear several different ways to ask and reply to questions related to future planning.

LINK TO DOWNLOAD THIS LESSON (right-click, save as) :
epod_biz13_A5.mp3(8.14mb)

Difficulty Level: Lower Intermediate | Popularity: 96 | Rating: 8.5
TOPICS: strategy, planning | FUNCTIONS: asking questions, predicting
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Sometimes saying and listening to numbers can be really difficult, especially the bigger the number. It is very important in a business situation to get your numbers right. You can just imagine the problems that might occur if you order a thousand instead of a hundred. In today’s lesson we are going to practice listening to some numbers in the form of percentages, dollars and decimals.

LINK TO DOWNLOAD THIS LESSON (right-click, save as) :
epod_biz12_A4.mp3(11.50mb)

Difficulty Level: Lower Intermediate | Popularity: 98 | Rating: 8
TOPICS: sales | FUNCTIONS: dealing with numbers
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Brainstorming with a group of people creates new ideas, solves problems, motivates and develops teams. Use brainstorming well and you can achieve excellent results in improving organization, performance, and staff development. In today’s Business English lesson we are going to listen to a team brainstorming ideas. As you listen, see if you can hear some of the stages in the brainstorming process.

LINK TO DOWNLOAD THIS LESSON(right-click, save as) :
epod_biz11_C4.mp3(9.06mb)

Difficulty Level: Advanced | Popularity: 127 | Rating: 8.3
TOPICS: marketing, advertising, innovation | FUNCTIONS: paraphrasing, making suggestions, agreeing|disagreeing
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With the rising dominance of the service sector in the global economy, customer service has grown in importance. In today’s Business English lesson we are going to listen to a conversation dealing with customer complaints. In the first dialogue, listen for what is wrong and how the customer service representative could be more helpful and friendly. In the second dialogue, study the improvements made.

LINK TO DOWNLOAD THIS LESSON(right-click, save as) :
epod_biz10_B4.mp3(12.82mb)

Difficulty Level: Upper Intermediate | Popularity: 102 | Rating: 9
TOPICS: customer service | FUNCTIONS: describing problems, active listening
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A big part of business is negotiation: formal discussions between groups in order to reach an agreement. Negotiations may occur between companies, clients, customers and so on. They may be over products, services, prices, quality or any number of other things. In today’s lesson we will listen to negotiations between two people over some work that needs to be done.

LINK TO DOWNLOAD THIS LESSON (right-click, save as) :
epod_biz9_A3.mp3(14.35mb)

Difficulty Level: Lower Intermediate | Popularity: 109 | Rating: 9
TOPICS: negotiating | FUNCTIONS: compromising
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