These videos were made by Brian Rhodes, an English teacher from Canada. As Brian said, "These lessons are dedicated to my past and present students who enjoy analyzing and studying English grammar. Lots of students would rather just ‘use' the language, but some like to know the why's and how's of English." Our thanks to Brian for allowing BEP to share this excellent series of videos with our audience.
This lesson examines the use of perfect tenses in both the simple and continuous aspect - past, present and future forms. In grammatical terms, perfect tenses are used to refer to completed or finished events.
In this episode of Email Tune-up we're looking at an email from Jenny, who is responsible for her company's IT services. She has written the email to give her colleagues some bad news: the office email server will be "down" due to a technical problem. When a server goes "down", it means the server has been taken offline for maintenance because of a problem.
Each video lesson features a review of a real-life email from one of our members. If you'd like to submit one of your own emails for possible review, click this link to go to the information page.
Given our own issues with our web server, this podcast wins the award for most ironic post of the century!
In this episode of Video Vocab we take a look at financial and accounting vocabulary related to a company's balance sheet. First we'll hear a short article introducing the vocabulary. Then we'll go over each word in detail, with some example sentences to show how you can use the words. At the end of the video you'll have a chance to review and practice your new vocabulary.
Video Vocab is a series of short videos explaining the meaning of important business terms related to many of the topics that are part of every day business conversations.
Today we're looking at basic vocabulary related to finance and accounting. First we'll hear a short article introducing the vocabulary. Then we'll go over each word in detail, with some example sentences to show how you can use the words. At the end of the video you'll have a chance to review and practice your new vocabulary.
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In this part of our ongoing Business English Podcast series on negotiation skills, we will discuss how to overcome blockage in a negotiation.
Usually we think of blockage in terms of stumbling blocks, or obstacles, to agreement. But blockage can also be any impediment to creating maximum value. In other words, we?re not only interested in removing obstacles to a deal but also in removing obstacles to a better deal. Doing this successfully often requires thinking outside the box, that is, thinking creatively.
So in this episode, we'll study overcoming barriers. In particular, we'll focus on identifying stumbling blocks, exploring alternatives, and moving towards agreement.
Recall that Peter, owner of Textacular, has been trying to buy Maxine?s company, Gamester, as part of his strategy to roll up other small businesses. His ultimate goal is to increase the value of his own operation so he can sell it to a larger company for a handsome profit. In previous episodes, Peter had tried to acquire Maxine?s company, but talks reached an impasse when Maxine wouldn't climb down from or reduce her price of 15 million.
In today's listening, Peter calls Maxine back to restart talks. As you listen, focus on the language they use to remove obstacles to agreement.
1. How does Peter suggest restarting talks with Maxine?
2. What does Peter identifying as the main stumbling block to a deal?
3. What does Peter mean when he says, "It's not a question of growth for us, it's a question of survival."
4. What is Peter's key insight that enables Maxine and him to overcome their blockage?
In this Business English Podcast episode, we'll study the skills and language of bargaining. This podcast is part of an ongoing series on negotiation skills.
Bargaining is the process of swapping or trading concessions - in other words, "You give me something, and I?ll give you something in return." This is also called making offers and counter-offers. The goal is to reach a compromise - a result in which both sides benefit.
Today's listening focuses on a typical bargaining situation. Paul is a purchasing manager for a construction company. Tony is a supplier of anchor bolts - large metal screws used in building projects. They are in the middle of a telephone conversation in which they are negotiating an order. Tony has already opened the discussion and clarified Paul's basic needs. Now they need to agree on the quantity and price.
As you listen, focus on the language that they use to swap concessions and reach a deal.
1. What does Paul mean when he says he?ll be "throwing more business your way?"
2. Tony suggests a way of helping Paul get a higher discount. What is it?
3. When Tony says to Paul, "You drive a hard bargain!" what does he mean?
Doing business across borders requires precise coordination, especially in the era of "just-in-time" delivery where goods need to be shipped to the customer at exact times. When a product is made in one country, assembled in another, and sold in a third, the companies involved need to be in constant communication from start to finish. Making sure that orders are made and delivered on time is an essential part of international business, and a lot of the monitoring will be done by phone. So, in this episode we?re going to look at ways to check on the progress of an order over the telephone.
A while back in BEP 92 & 93 we met Bill, a buyer for Bancroft's, a chain of women's clothing stores in the U.S. He's placed a large order with Viva, an Italian fashion company, which is being coordinated by Catherine Traynor, Foxtrot's shipping manager. Foxtrot is Viva's U.S. distributor.
It?s now several months later and the order is due to be delivered. But Bill has just received a call from Bancroft?s warehouse to let him know that only half the order has been delivered so far. Now he's calling Catherine to check on the rest of the delivery.
1. How does Catherine let Bill know she's looking for information about his order?
2. Where is the second part of the shipment?
3. What does Catherine offer to do to avoid separate deliveries in future?
In this Business English Podcast, we'll be looking at the language used to make appointments on the telephone.
We live in the era of remote communication: teleconferencing, videoconferencing, and online meetings. More and more group efforts are getting done from a distance. In theory, at least, it's possible to work closely with anyone in the world without leaving our desks. Nevertheless, there's something about a face-to-face meeting that no virtual one can replace. We still need to shake people?s hands, read their body language, and make personal connections. That?s why - even today - one of the commonest uses for the telephone is to make appointments. In this episode, we?ll take a close look at making appointments on the phone.
Gordon Knight works for Bridgewater, a U.S. pension fund. (Pension funds are institutions that invest retirement savings.) At a recent conference, Gordon met Penny Yip, a senior financial analyst for the Asia Markets office of Solomon-Clyde. Solomon is a boutique - or small and specialized - global investment company that deals only with institutional customers - very large clients, like Bridgewater. Now, Gordon plans to be in Malaysia, and he phones Penny to set up an appointment to discuss possibilities for investment.
1. Where and when does Gordon say he met Penny?
2. When does Gordon suggest meeting with Penny?
3. Why does he want to meet with Penny?
4. What time do they finally agree on?
When you think of projects, what comes to mind? You might think of something quite complicated and extensive, like the new office project we'll be hearing about today. But in fact, most of the tasks we do in business are part of a project. Even something as simple as writing a proposal is a project in itself: First you collect data, then you analyze and evaluate the data before writing a draft. Finally, you edit the draft proposal and present a final version to the decision-makers. So knowing how to refer to different elements of a project and describe them with interesting collocations is important for practically everyone involved in business today.
Following on from our two video podcasts on basic vocabulary for project management (VV 07 & VV 08), today we're going to listen in to a briefing by Kerri, the manager of a direct marketing company, and Martina, a member of her staff. We'll be focusing on collocations useful for describing a project and its execution.
1) What does Kerri want Martina to do for the company?
2) How much time will Martina have to complete this project?
3) What does Kerri promise to do to make Martina's work easier?
Video Vocab is a series of short videos explaining the meaning of important business terms related to many of the topics that are part of every day business conversations.
We continue our look at the vocabulary related to project management by looking at the words used to describe a project timeline. First we'll hear a short article introducing the topic and then we'll go though each word in detail with some example sentences to show how you can use the words. At the end of the video you'll have a chance to review practice your new vocabulary.
Video Vocab is a series of short videos explaining the meaning of important business terms related to many of the topics that are part of every day business conversations.
Today we're looking at business words related to projects and project management. First we'll hear a short article introducing the topic and then we'll go though each word in detail with some example sentences to show how you can use the words. At the end of the video you'll have a chance to review practice your new vocabulary.
Negotiations don't always go according to plan. Disagreement is part of life. But to build lasting relationships, coping with failure is even more important than celebrating success. So in this show, we'll examine a deal that does not get completed. We'll look at making a final offer as well as expressing dissatisfaction and regret. In particular, we'll focus on maintaining goodwill even when talks break down.
Peter is the owner of mobile phone ringtone and game provider, Textacular. He is in discussions with Maxine about buying her company, Gamester. Eventually, Peter wants to sell his business to a larger, regional service provider for a profit, so he is attempting to roll up or buy other small companies to increase the value of his business. But Maxine wants ?15 million for her business, and Peter isn't prepared to pay that much.
As you listen, pay attention to how Peter makes a final offer, how Maxine declines it, and how they both work to maintain goodwill.
Listening Questions:
1) What are Maxine's reasons for staying firm on price?
2) What does Peter say to justify not being able to pay more?
3) How does Maxine leave open the possibility for future cooperation?
In this Business English Pod lesson we're going to look at how to clarify and evaluate positions during a negotiation.
An important part of any discussion is making our position clear; at the same time, we must make sure we understand the other side's point of view. Achieving mutual understanding can help us save money by avoiding missed opportunities. In addition, the ultimate goal of any negotiation is to create value. Therefore, evaluation - determining whether an offer or position is good or bad - plays an important role. So in this show we'll study stating, clarifying, and evaluating positions.
Peter is the owner of mobile phone ringtone and game provider, Textacular. He is attempting to roll up, or buy, other small companies like his in an effort to increase the value of his company. Eventually, he wants to sell his business to a larger, regional service provider for a profit. In the listening, he is meeting with Maxine, owner of Gamester, to discuss a possible merger. As you listen, pay attention to how they clarify and evaluate each other?s positions.
1) What is the basic source of disagreement between Maxine and Peter?
2) What are Maxine's reasons for insisting on her price?
3) What does Peter mean when he says he has done "months of due diligence?"
This is the third episode of our video podcast series: Email Tune-up. In today's video we're going to look at an email request to an external supplier asking them to speed up the delivery of a shipment.
Each video lesson features a review of a real-life email from one of our members. If you'd like to submit one of your own emails for possible review, click this link to go to the information page.
In this Business English Pod episode, we'll be completing our discussion of charts and graphs by studying language for making predictions and for supporting your predictions with analysis. We'll also look at a couple of advanced ways to rhetorically emphasize a point. Rhetorical means using words effectively to get your message across.
Today's listening continues Pat's presentation of the market trends for Ambient and its competitors. This time Pat is coming to the "real story" - the main point - of his presentation. As you listen, see if you can catch what it is.
Listening Questions:
1) What is the main focus of this part of Pat's presentation?
2) What happened in 2005 that caused the trend in RPU to "break out" of "existing trend lines?"
3) What are Pat's predictions for Ambient's RPU in 2007?
In this episode from our e-Book on presenting in English, we'll look at how to describe the trends show by a chart or graph. To get the background to the presentation and to review language for introducing visuals, you can refer back to BEP 103 - Charts and Trends 1.
A trend is the general direction or tendency of a metric or measurement - upward, downward, flat, fluctuating, peaking, bottoming out, and so on. So, you'll be learning how to use these and many more terms for describing your charts and graphs in fluent, vivid sentences so that you can present your data with maximum impact.
Pat, Ambient's new Central European finance director, has just finished talking about sales revenue and is now moving on to discuss market share. The visual he will be talking about is a line graph that compares the trends in market share over the last six quarters from Q1 2006 to Q2 2007. His discussion centers on the top three players in the mobile phone business ? his own company, Ambient, and their two top competitors, CallTell and Sirus.
As you listen, pay attention to the trend language that Pat uses to describe the recent changes in the market.
Listening Questions:
1) Which company has the largest share of the market at the beginning of 2006?
2) How does Pat describe his own company's performance in 2006?
3) How big is the "others" group share of the market in Spring 2007?
Today's podcast continues our series on business vocabulary, with a special focus on collocations or word partnerships. By focusing on words that are commonly used together you can improve your vocabulary and also your ability to understand your English-speaking colleagues.
When you think of "office administration", what are the first things that come to mind? They might be things like paperwork, filing, copying, and other boring and repetitive tasks. Most people probably don't think of an office manager's job as a crucial service that supports the successful running of a company and, therefore, its ability to make money.
Well, today we're about to meet Thomas, who's going to tell us about the role he plays as office manager at the Mexican subsidiary of a multinational chemical company.
Listening Questions:
1) How does Thomas summarize his role as Office Manager?
2) What characteristics does Thomas list as important qualities of an office manager?
3) According to Thomas, what is a common misunderstanding about the best way for an office manager to do his job?
As part of our series on job interviews, in this Business English Pod episode we'll be taking a closer look at the process from the HR perspective. Specifically, we'll be studying the language of reaching a decision about whom to hire.
A Brazilian business unit of fast moving consumer goods company Fun Beverages has recently interviewed several people for an HR manager position. Now the regional HR director, Ted, and the business unit general manager, George, are meeting to discuss the short-listed, or final, candidates.
As you listen, pay attention to the language they use to compare the two interviewees and to decide which one is the best fit. In addition, we'll study how they support a candidate, emphasize priorities, express reservations (or second thoughts), and suggest action.
Listening Questions:
1) Which candidate do they prefer and why?
2) What are the relative strengths and weaknesses of the two main candidates, Ronaldo and Yala?
3) What are the main reservations about Yala?
Congratulations! You were successful in your first job round interview, and you have been called back for a second interview. What should you expect? The key word is more - there will be more questions, more pressure - and, of course, more likelihood that you will get the job.
An important function of second-round job interviews is to find out whether we fit with the employer's company culture.
In this episode, we'll study how to demonstrate that we are a good match with an organization. In addition, we'll review some other useful second-round interview skills, such as summarizing the previous discussion and referring to something you forgot to mention earlier.
We'll listen to Sherry's second interview with a big international accounting firm, Grimshaw and Keene (commonly referred to as GK.) The interviewer is George Tan, an Asia-Pacific key account manager.
As you listen, pay attention to how George and Sherry establish that she is a good fit for the organization, and try to answer the following listening questions.
Listening Questions:
1) George describes GK as both "high-pressure" and "tremendously rewarding," but he is concerned about whether or not Sherry is ready to "take the plunge." What does he mean by that?
2) What does Sherry say is one of the things that most attracts her to GK?
3) What is George's major concern about Sherry's work experience?
