https://www.mybeonline.com Business English Skills 360 podcast lessons provide essential tips and language for communicating in English. Free transcripts and PDF downloads are available on the website: https://www.BusinessEnglishPod.com Fri, 03 Mar 2023 21:02:00 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Blubrry PowerPress/9.10.3 Business English Skills 360 podcast lessons provide essential tips and language for communicating in English. Free transcripts and PDF downloads are available on the website: https://www.BusinessEnglishPod.com www.BusinessEnglishPod.com no episodic BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) Copyright Business English Pod Ltd. 2006-2023 Business English Skills 360 - The podcast that looks at the other side of Business English. https://www.mybeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/powerpress/Business-English-Skills-360-iTunes-1500.png https://www.mybeonline.com TV-G BusinessEnglishPod@mac.comwww.BusinessEnglishPod.com https://www.mybeonline.com/skills-360-facilitating-group-decision-making-meetings-2/ Sat, 26 May 2018 22:10:38 +0000 https://www.businessenglishpod.com/?p=11561 https://www.mybeonline.com/skills-360-facilitating-group-decision-making-meetings-2/#respond https://www.mybeonline.com/skills-360-facilitating-group-decision-making-meetings-2/feed/ 0 Learn business English for leading decision-making meeting. Learn business English for leading decision-making meeting. Lesson Module | Quiz & Vocab | PDF Transcript



Hello and welcome back to the Skills 360 Podcast. I’m your host, Tim Simmons, and today I want to look at leading a group to a decision.

If you tuned in last time, you may remember what I said makes a good decision. It’s one that people buy into, and people see the reasons behind. Well, that’s easier said than done. If you’re leading the meeting, you might wish for a simple and straightforward discussion that ends in one - and only one - logical decision. But dream on. You should expect a few obstacles along the way.

For one thing, sometimes people can get a bit personal. I mean, one person makes a suggestion, and someone else attacks the person, as opposed to the idea. It might be pretty easy to detect, like “Come on Dave, you always come up with the stupidest ideas.” But it might be a bit more indirect, like “Geez Dave, do you have any other great ideas?” In any case, you need to shut this down immediately. Call people out for personal attacks, and keep the discussion focused on ideas, not personality conflict.

This is part of your role as a facilitator. You’re supposed to encourage people to listen, prevent interruption, and generally make sure people feel respected and heard. As soon as people feel attacked personally, they’ll shut up. And you don’t want anyone to shut up, because anyone in the room could be sitting on the million dollar idea. So bring it back, nicely, to a focus on ideas, like this: “Okay everyone, let’s just focus on the issue at hand…” or “All right, but what about the website ideas?”

Another thing you need to shut down is conversation that goes completely off topic. People do this without even realizing it. They hear something, it reminds them of something else, they start talking about it… soon enough the conversation has gone from the topic of increasing sales to the best place to buy muffins. Your job is to steer the conversation back. Don’t be shy about it. Just come out and say “Muffins are great, but they’re way off topic.” Even people who tend to stray appreciate this.

Okay, so what about the people who love to hear themselves talk? I mean, there are some people who will go on and on and on about the same idea. Well, you can’t let them go on forever. Once you realize they’ve made their point, find a slight break in their little speech and jump in with a summary. Try something like: “So you’re saying…” or, if you need to be a bit more aggressive, you could say: “Okay, okay, hang on just a sec. As I understand it, you think…”

Another obstacle in a decision-making meeting is what we call “groupthink.”
Groupthink is when people just follow along with the ideas being discussed, without thinking for themselves. Or, they don’t try to come up with anything new. Instead, people just accept what is being put in front of them.

So how can you deal with groupthink? Well, you can try to encourage some creative thinking from the get-go. Tell everyone what groupthink is, and then tell them to avoid it.]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com 8:41 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com)noBusiness English, Meetings, Business English 360, Facilitating, Skills 360 https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-leading-group-decision-1/ Sat, 19 May 2018 23:10:08 +0000 https://www.businessenglishpod.com/?p=11498 https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-leading-group-decision-1/#respond https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-leading-group-decision-1/feed/ 0 Learn Business English for leading a group to a decision during a meeting. Learn Business English for leading a group to a decision during a meeting. Lesson Module | Quiz & Vocab | PDF Transcript



Hello and welcome back to the Skills 360 Podcast . I’m your host, Tim Simmons, and today I want to look at how you can lead a group to a decision.

In fact, it might be better to say we’re talking about how to lead groups to good decisions. After all, any meeting chairperson can push for a quick decision, or call a vote before matters have been fully discussed. But that’s not the kind of leadership I’m talking about. And that doesn’t necessarily produce good decisions. A good decision is one that people buy into, and one that has a strong rationale behind it. Achieving these two things can’t be done quickly, or forcefully.

So how can we go about leading a group to a decision? Well, right at the start of the meeting, you need to set the stage for a good discussion, and a good decision.

Setting the stage involves a couple of important things. Firstly, you need to be very clear about the purpose. If you’re meeting to make a decision, make sure everyone knows it. Also make sure they’re clear on the decision-making process. Does it have to be unanimous? Are you striving for consensus? Will you put it to a vote? These are not issues to be left to the middle of a heated discussion.

Now, it’s often a good idea to have a bit of a process to a decision-making meeting. And that process typically goes like this: start with information-sharing, then run through or brainstorm different options, then evaluate those options through discussion, and finally make a decision.

Notice that generating ideas and evaluating ideas are separate steps. That helps prevent people feeling criticized or getting defensive. Of course, people will bounce around a bit. You’ll be evaluating options, and someone will bring up an important piece of information they neglected to mention earlier. That’s fine, and unavoidable. But overall, it’s a good idea to follow this rough process.

Within this process, leading group decisions is all about facilitating good discussion. And the magic of good facilitation is making everyone in the room feel listened to and emotionally validated. That can seem easy for the outgoing people who like to think out loud and are comfortable jumping into the middle of conversation. But the deep thinkers need more time to articulate their thoughts. For this reason, when you think discussion has stalled on a particular topic, just wait. You’ll be surprised what emerges after a minute of uncomfortable silence.

Overall, you need to make sure that everyone has had a chance to speak and express themselves. Sometimes this means calling on people directly. Or it might simply mean staying attuned to how those weaker voices attempt to join the discussion. If you’re perceptive, you’ll be able to see when someone wants to say something. Maybe they lean forward and open their mouth slightly. Or they make gestures with their hands. Your job is to help these voices be heard.

One thing you should be doing throughout the discussion is checking back with the participants for a variety of purposes. For one, you might confirm agreement by saying something like “Okay, is everyone on board with this plan?]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com 67 clean 7:36 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com)Business English, Meetings, Business English 360, Decision-making, Effective Meetings, Skills 360 https://www.mybeonline.com/english-skills-360-making-ideas-memorable-2/ Sun, 18 Feb 2018 00:10:16 +0000 https://www.businessenglishpod.com/?p=11164 https://www.mybeonline.com/english-skills-360-making-ideas-memorable-2/#respond https://www.mybeonline.com/english-skills-360-making-ideas-memorable-2/feed/ 0 Learn Business English for helping people remember your ideas. Learn Business English for helping people remember your ideas. Lesson Module | Quiz & Vocab | PDF Transcript

Hello and welcome back to the Business English Skills 360 podcast. I'm your host, Tim Simmons, and today I want to look at making your ideas stick.

Have you ever been in a meeting or listened to a presentation where someone talks about their big idea? And then, forty PowerPoint slides later, you're still not quite sure what they're talking about, or why their idea is so great? Well, there might be a good idea somewhere behind it all, but for some reason it didn't stick.

On the flip side, there are ideas that you couldn't forget if you wanted to. For whatever reason, people understand them, they remember them, and they get behind them. The ones that stick are the exceptions. Business history is littered with ideas - for products or business models - that never became popular.

So what's the difference? Why do some ideas stick while others die a sad death? In our last lesson, I talked about keeping it real and keeping it relevant. Those are two important ways of increasing stickiness. Today I want to focus on keeping it simple and keeping it dynamic.

Let's start with keeping it simple. That deck of 40 PowerPoint slides? There are probably just four or five in there that convey the core of your idea. The rest is fluff. Now, you might be thinking that you need details and explanation to support your idea. That's true. But you need to prioritize those points. Combine them. Support your idea with three smaller ideas, not 39.

Ideally, you should be able to express your idea in a single sentence. The founder of Uber once described his idea like this: "You push a button and in five minutes a Mercedes picks you up and takes you where you want to go." The company later simplified that even more to "Tap a button, get a ride."

You'll notice that there's no buzzwords there. There's no talk of "platform" or "users" or even "app." It's just a simple description of a great idea. So use simple sentences and simple words

Sometimes it helps to use common reference points in your one-sentence idea. For example, a new dating app called Stitch is touted as "Tinder for seniors." Everyone knows Tinder, so Stitch can use that knowledge to make their idea clear.

Besides keeping it simple, you need to keep it dynamic. What do I mean by dynamic? I mean make it surprising and fresh. And engage multiple senses or emotions. This is especially true for presentations. You can't use the same template for every purpose. Getting your new idea to stick isn't the same as making sure a team of managers understands the sales figures from the first quarter.

When you're presenting information, you might follow the standard pattern of "tell them what you're going to tell them, then tell them, then tell them what you've told them." That might work for some purposes, but it's not a really sticky format.

You've got to get people's attention, then keep it. Start by saying something that's never been said before. Wake your listeners up with a shocking fact, a mystery, or a bit of humor. Appeal not just to their rational brains, but their hearts. And give them a visual that enhances the shock, or the mystery, or the humor.

Think of music. A good song has changes in volume and intensity. It includes some repetition - just think of the chorus and the melody - but i...]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com 7:17 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com)noBusiness English, Persuasion, Business English 360, Skills 360 https://www.mybeonline.com/english-skills-360-making-ideas-stick-1/ Sun, 11 Feb 2018 03:48:09 +0000 https://www.businessenglishpod.com/?p=11150 https://www.mybeonline.com/english-skills-360-making-ideas-stick-1/#respond https://www.mybeonline.com/english-skills-360-making-ideas-stick-1/feed/ 0 Learn Business English for making your ideas stick. Learn Business English for making your ideas stick. Lesson Module | Quiz & Vocab | PDF Transcript

Hello and welcome back to the Business English Skills 360 podcast. I'm your host, Tim Simmons, and today I want to look at how you can make your ideas stick.

Just the other day one of my co-workers came to me and said: "I've got a killer idea for a new app." Then he went on to say that… well, I don't remember exactly what he said. There was something about productivity and something about scheduling… I think.

Let's face it: ideas are a dime a dozen. And just having a great idea doesn't mean a thing if you can't get other people to believe in it. And before you can get anyone to believe in it, you need to help them remember it. You need to make it stick.

So today I want to share a couple of tips for helping your ideas stick. It doesn't matter if you're giving a presentation, proposing something in a meeting, or pitching to investors. The secrets to stickiness are the same.

The first thing you need to do is to keep it real. For one thing, that means avoiding abstract nouns. Think about the word "solution." It means zip if you don't tell people exactly what the problem is and how you're solving it. And don't try to awe people with the word "innovation." Impress them by describing what it is that's actually innovative about your idea. And for Pete's sake don't say that your tool will "enhance predictive capabilities" when you can say it will help you "predict the future better."

That last example shows you something important: verbs have much more power and clarity than nouns. I mean, why say that the new regulations "led to the destruction of" the industry, when you can just say they "destroyed" the industry? Why say "make a decision" when you can just say "decide?" That may seem like a small difference, but when you start piling on all those abstract or academic words, people's eyes will glaze over. They'll stop listening. And your idea will have no chance of sticking.

To test whether you're keeping it real, ask yourself: am I talking about people? Or about ideas? People are real. The things they do are real. And most people are interested in themselves and other people. For example, think about this statement: "The executive announcement of spending cuts provoked a strongly negative reaction." Where are the people in that statement? It's much stickier to say, "When the CEO announced spending cuts, people reacted poorly." Better yet, be more specific and say "people complained angrily." Can you feel the difference?

There's one more part of keeping it real that I want to tell you about. Remember back at the start of this lesson, when I talked about my co-worker with the forgettable mobile app idea? Yes, well, it turns out that stories help ideas stick. Telling stories helps us focus on people, rather than ideas. It forces us into concrete reality, and away from that abstract hocus-pocus of "innovation," "efficiency," and "optimization." Stories are an amazing way to transmit information. People have been doing it for thousands of years. And as I explained in a previous lesson, stories help you connect with your listeners.

Now, besides keeping it real, I've got another related bit of advice for you: keep it relevant. Last week on a business trip I was hanging out in the lobby of my hotel. And I got to talking with a guy from England.]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com 9:04 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com)noBusiness English, Persuasion, Business English 360, Skills 360 https://www.mybeonline.com/skills-360-using-english-metaphors-2/ Sun, 22 Oct 2017 01:12:25 +0000 https://www.businessenglishpod.com/?p=10875 https://www.mybeonline.com/skills-360-using-english-metaphors-2/#respond https://www.mybeonline.com/skills-360-using-english-metaphors-2/feed/ 0 Learn how to use metaphors in English to make your speech more powerful. Learn how to use metaphors in English to make your speech more powerful. Lesson Module | Quiz & Vocab | PDF Transcript

Hello and welcome back to Business English Skills 360 podcast. I’m your host Tim Simmons, and today I want to give you some more tips for using metaphors in English.

If you tuned in last time, you’ll remember that a metaphor is when you compare something you’re talking about to another idea. A classic example of a metaphor is “time is money.” But, if you really want to use metaphors to take your English to the next level, you’ll need to learn to think outside the box.

Whoa, wait a second. What did I just say? “Take it to the next level” and “think outside the box?” Well, those expressions are idioms, which is one kind of metaphor. But haven’t you heard those expressions a bit too much? I sure have. And that’s why I suggest avoiding these kinds of extremely common metaphors, or clichés. A cliché is an expression that is used so much that people don’t really think about its meaning any more. And if you use clichés, you won’t make a good impression on people.

So don’t just memorize extremely common metaphors. Instead, make new ones. But about what? Well, in business we cook up metaphors from many interesting topics. Take sports, for example, which are easy to compare with business. This is why you might talk about “performance,” or “scoring a goal,” or “coaching.” And that’s why we use expressions like “drop the ball” and “down to the wire” and “slam dunk.”

Sports aren’t the only source of metaphors. Other great topics are food, war, games, gardening, and mechanics. But really, the list of topics is endless. The important thing is that you use metaphors that connect with your audience and your purpose.

So which topic might be useful if you’re trying to motivate your team before taking another company to court? Well, then you might pull out the war metaphors and talk about “doing battle” and “sharpening your swords” and “attacking the enemy.” Or if you’re giving a presentation to engineers about teamwork, you might draw on mechanics. For example, you might talk about “interlocking gears” and “a well-oiled machine.”

These kinds of metaphors are very direct. We are saying that one thing is another thing. But sometimes we rely on longer comparisons between two things to show how they’re parallel. For example, I’ll always remember when I heard a speaker compare a business to a plant. To paraphrase, he said something like “a business is like a plant, in that it’s either growing or dying. There’s nothing in between.” He went on to explain how helping a plant grow and taking care of a business are very similar. It stuck with me because it really made sense. He could have expressed all the same ideas about business without talking about plants. But the comparison really helped explain the ideas.

We call this kind of comparison an analogy. It’s similar to a metaphor, but it’s less direct. We compare two things and show how they’re similar in many different ways. Analogy helps people understand and remember. It gives them a way to think about something that makes sense to them.

One great example of analogy comes from the world of computers. It’s an analogy that helped transform computers from big mysterious machines to everyday tools for the home and office....]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com 8:13 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com)noBusiness English, Communication, Business English 360, Skills 360 https://www.mybeonline.com/skills-360-using-english-metaphors-1/ Sun, 15 Oct 2017 10:51:20 +0000 https://www.businessenglishpod.com/?p=10864 https://www.mybeonline.com/skills-360-using-english-metaphors-1/#respond https://www.mybeonline.com/skills-360-using-english-metaphors-1/feed/ 0 Learn how to use metaphors to add impact to your speech. Learn how to use metaphors to add impact to your speech. Lesson Module | Quiz & Vocab | PDF Transcript

Hello and welcome back to the Business English Skills 360 podcast. I’m your host Tim Simmons, and today I want to give you some tips for using metaphors to make your speech more powerful.

Have you ever heard of Alfred Sloan? He was the head of General Motors during the Great Depression. He once gave a speech where he talked about GM at the time as a “great ship in a fierce storm.” From that description, you get a sense of danger, of a big boat getting tossed around in the unpredictable ocean waves. And you can imagine that everyone on that ship has to work hard to get through the storm which, like all storms, would one day end.

Alfred Sloan was using a metaphor. GM isn’t really a ship. And the economy isn’t really an ocean. He could have talked about how the company needed to improve its balance sheet during a time of economic uncertainty. But a ship in a storm is a much more memorable and impactful way of describing the situation. And if you read or listen to speeches by great leaders, you’ll see they are full of interesting comparisons like this.

So what exactly is a metaphor? Well, a metaphor is when you compare something you’re talking about to another idea, for example: “time is money.” This comparison helps us understand, or see something from a new perspective. Just as “time is money” helps us see time as very valuable. Or, as Alfred Sloan said, GM is like a ship. And the Great Depression is a storm. And metaphors aren’t reserved just for big speeches by famous people. Metaphors are everywhere in our language.

One of the most common kinds of metaphor we use are idioms. For example, we often say “climb the corporate ladder” to mean try to attain higher positions in a company. But saying “climb the corporate ladder” is more evocative. That is, it has more emotional power.

When you’re tired, you can say you’re “running on empty,” like a car with no fuel. When you don’t have all the right information, you can say you’re “missing a piece of the puzzle.” And when you’re waiting for someone else to make a decision, you can say “the ball in his court.” You may have learned some of these idioms, but you may not have known they’re all a kind of metaphor.

To harness the power of metaphors, you don’t have to just learn some idioms. You can create your own metaphors to make what you say more impactful. You might be making a speech, or giving a presentation. Or you might be negotiating, selling something, or trying to convince your colleagues to support your idea. In all these situations, metaphors can be effective.

What exactly do I mean by “effective?” Well, for starters, metaphors can help to simplify a complex idea. Think again of the idea of a ship in a fierce storm. There are a lot of complex ideas behind the situation of a large company in an economic recession. But the metaphor helps people understand quickly and simply.

Metaphors can also appeal to our emotions and imagination. Consider Tropicana, the company that makes orange juice. They could have described the health benefits of their juice and hope that people make a logical decision to buy their product. But instead, they called their orange juice “your daily ray of sunshine.” That has emotional power. Who wouldn’t want a ray of sunshine in the morning?

The Tropicana example is a good one,]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com 7:37 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com)noBusiness English, Communication, Business English 360, Skills 360 https://www.mybeonline.com/english-skills-360-getting-most-out-of-conference-2/ Sun, 25 Jun 2017 01:10:44 +0000 https://www.businessenglishpod.com/?p=10484 https://www.mybeonline.com/english-skills-360-getting-most-out-of-conference-2/#respond https://www.mybeonline.com/english-skills-360-getting-most-out-of-conference-2/feed/ 0 Learn how to get the most out of a conference. Learn how to get the most out of a conference. Lesson Module | Quiz & Vocab | PDF Transcript

Hello and welcome back to the Business English Skills 360 podcast. I’m your host Tim Simmons, and today I want to give you some more tips for getting the most out of a conference.

Some people see conferences as a way to get away from the office for a few days and take a break. And sure, it’s helpful to step back from the daily grind and learn something, or reflect on your work and business. But if you really want to get the most out of a conference, you should look at it as more than just a learning opportunity. I mean, if you’ve got hundreds or even thousands of people in one place looking to connect with others, it’s a golden opportunity for networking.

In our last lesson, I talked about conference preparation and gave you a list of things you should do during the conference. Today I want to give you some tips for after the conference, and share some “don’ts,” or things to avoid, during the conference.

My first tip is to not attend every session. Don’t feel like you’re missing out if you linger in the lobby or the hallways while others are in a workshop. Some of the best conversations happen outside the meeting rooms, when you’ve got some space and quiet time for really good discussion.

And this ties in with another thing to avoid: rushing. Any time you’re in a hurry, you’re closed to networking. So if you’re having a great conversation with a potential customer and you realize the presentation on “Soft Selling” is about to start, don’t dash off. Skip the presentation and focus on the opportunity at hand.

Now, I realize that conferences can be intimidating. We’ve all had that experience of walking into lunch on the first day and scanning the crowd for someone we know. Like a colleague or coworker. Someone safe and familiar. But safe and familiar is why we go home at night, not why we attend conferences. So don’t glom on to one person or your colleagues. That’s a waste. You need to spread yourself around. So at lunchtime, don’t look for familiar people. And don’t park yourself with a fellow wallflower. Instead, look for interesting, outgoing, or influential people. Ask them if you can join them, and get involved in the conversation.

After all, getting involved is what it’s all about. You need to appear “open for business,” so to speak. And to do that, there are a couple of other things you should avoid. For one, don’t spend too much time on your phone checking email or calling the office to see if the photocopier has been fixed yet. That’s not why you’re there. I realize it’s tempting to pull out your mobile any time you have a spare minute. But here’s a challenge for you: every time you want to look at your phone, talk to someone new instead.

This is not to say that your phone is useless. In fact, I’m about to tell you how you should use it. But first, here’s another don’t: don’t focus too much on business cards. I know that sometimes you judge your networking success by how many cards you got. But quality is more important than quantity. Besides, you can easily lose business cards. And then what do you have besides the memory of a face? So, if you’ve made a good connection, ask instead for the person’s mobile number or email and plug it directly into your phone. You might be thinking that you like to be able to write notes on the back of business cards.]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com 7:55 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com)noBusiness English, Socializing, Business English 360, Conferences, Skills 360 https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-getting-most-out-of-conference-1/ Sun, 18 Jun 2017 01:10:15 +0000 https://www.businessenglishpod.com/?p=10465 https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-getting-most-out-of-conference-1/#respond https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-getting-most-out-of-conference-1/feed/ 0 Learn how to get the most out of attending a conference. Learn how to get the most out of attending a conference. Learn how to effectively learn a language and develop successful habits for learning English. www.BusinessEnglishPod.com 7:18 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com)noBusiness English, Socializing, Business English 360, Conferences, Skills 360 https://www.mybeonline.com/skills-360-9-habits-of-highly-effective-english-language-learners-2/ Sun, 26 Feb 2017 04:08:32 +0000 https://www.businessenglishpod.com/?p=10122 https://www.mybeonline.com/skills-360-9-habits-of-highly-effective-english-language-learners-2/#respond https://www.mybeonline.com/skills-360-9-habits-of-highly-effective-english-language-learners-2/feed/ 0 Learn how to effectively learn a language and develop successful habits for learning English. Learn how to effectively learn a language and develop successful habits for learning English. Learn how to effectively learn a language and develop successful habits for learning English. www.BusinessEnglishPod.com 7:44 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com)noBusiness English, Personal Learning, Business English 360, Learning, Skills 360 https://www.mybeonline.com/skills-360-habits-of-highly-effective-english-learners-1/ Sat, 18 Feb 2017 20:05:32 +0000 https://www.businessenglishpod.com/?p=10109 https://www.mybeonline.com/skills-360-habits-of-highly-effective-english-learners-1/#respond https://www.mybeonline.com/skills-360-habits-of-highly-effective-english-learners-1/feed/ 0 Learn how to effectively learn a language and develop successful habits for English learning. Learn how to effectively learn a language and develop successful habits for English learning. Learn how to effectively learn a language and develop successful habits for English learning. www.BusinessEnglishPod.com 7:38 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com)noBusiness English, Personal Learning, Business English 360, Learning, Skills 360 https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-how-to-sound-credible-2/ Sun, 16 Oct 2016 06:10:20 +0000 https://www.businessenglishpod.com/?p=9703 Learn what not to say in order to sound more credible in English. Learn what not to say in order to sound more credible in English. Learn what not to say in order to sound more credible in English. www.BusinessEnglishPod.com 6:54 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com)no https://www.mybeonline.com/skills-360-how-to-sound-credible-in-english-1/ Sun, 09 Oct 2016 06:10:04 +0000 https://www.businessenglishpod.com/?p=9684 Learn how to sound credible and believable in English. Learn how to sound credible and believable in English. Learn how to sound credible and believable in English. www.BusinessEnglishPod.com 6:09 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com)no https://www.mybeonline.com/skills-360-presentations-connecting-to-your-audience-2/ Sat, 23 Jul 2016 23:10:27 +0000 https://www.businessenglishpod.com/?p=9219 Learn Business English for connecting to your audience during your presentation. Learn Business English for connecting to your audience during your presentation. Lesson Module | Quiz & Vocab | PDF Transcript

Transcript

Welcome back to the Business English Skills 360 for today's lesson on how to connect with your audience while you’re actually delivering your presentation in English.

It’s easy to leave your connection with the audience to chance. I mean, you might think that giving a presentation should be about conveying a message rather than “connecting” with your audience. But I assure you, whatever your message is, you’ll get it across with much greater success if you have a good connection with your audience. And that connection isn't a chance occurrence. You have to work on it.

Last time I gave you some tips on what you can do before you start your presentation. Today I want to talk about what you can do during your presentation. And a great place to begin is at the beginning. One thing you should definitely do in your opening is to tell your listeners why your presentation matters. That might sound like this: “The information I’ll give you today will help you come to a decision about such and such.” Or it might be: “Today I’d like to share some ideas that could completely change the way you talk to your customers.”

In your opening, it’s also a good idea to provoke their curiosity with something interesting, and relevant. That could sound like this: “10 years ago I was working at a conference just like this… as a cleaner.” Or maybe: “we had some pretty big goals for the third quarter… so, did we actually meet them?” In these two ways, you are connecting by making your presentation relevant and interesting.

I know you’ve probably heard that it’s a good idea to grab the audience’s attention with a joke, or a shocking idea, or an eye-catching visual that makes them sit up and take notice. To be perfectly honest, this bit of advice has led to a lot of really lame openings. I mean, you can’t just tack on a surprise to the start of a boring presentation and think that you’ve done the tough work of audience engagement. If you’re funny, and you’ve got a relevant joke, then tell it. Otherwise, don’t. Because it’s not authentic. I can’t emphasize the importance of authenticity enough. Be yourself, and people will be more likely to connect with you.

But remember, it’s not all about you, it’s about your audience. If you learned something about them before your presentation, drop that information in somewhere during your presentation. Give examples from their own lives, or work. Another really simple but effective way to connect is using people’s names. If you’re presenting to a group of people you don’t know, it’s a good idea to find out a few names beforehand. So, by using people’s names and information that matters to them, you make the presentation about them.

I’ve been talking a bit about what you should say or mention in your presentation. But no relationship is a one-way street. And it’s much much easier to keep people engaged if you invite them to do a bit of talking themselves. Even just a bit helps. How do you do that? Well, you ask questions. Asking questions is one way to make people feel like participants, not just listeners. Hearing from the audience also gives you ongoing feedback on how they’re feeling and what’s important to them. And you can use that feedback to adapt on the fly.
]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com 6:49 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com)no https://www.mybeonline.com/skills-360-presentations-connecting-to-audience-1/ Sat, 16 Jul 2016 21:10:39 +0000 https://www.businessenglishpod.com/?p=9201 Learn Business English for connecting your presentation to your audience. Learn Business English for connecting your presentation to your audience. Lesson Module | Quiz & Vocab | PDF Transcript

Transcript

Hello and welcome back to the Business English Skills 360 podcast. I’m your host, Tim Simmons, and today I want to talk about how to connect with your audience during a presentation.

You’ve probably heard all sorts of advice about delivering a good presentation in English. But at the end of the day, every single presentation strategy is designed for one thing: connecting with the audience. In fact, if you don’t connect with your audience, you might as well pack up your PowerPoint and head home. You need to build a bridge to send your message across. No bridge, no message. And don’t think you need to be an easy-going extrovert to connect with an audience. This is something that you can learn to do well.

Today I want to focus on what you do before you actually take the stage. Yes, before you even lay eyes on your audience, you can start thinking about how to connect. You’ll need to do some thinking about your audience, and plan accordingly. Don’t put your information at the center of the presentation, put your audience at the center.

Think for a second about a presentation that you felt wasn’t up to snuff. What was wrong with it? Maybe the presenter told you things you already knew, or told you things you never really wanted to know in the first place. Or maybe he was just plain boring. Whatever the case, chances are that presenter didn’t put you, the audience member, at the center of his presentation. He put himself, or the information.

So, to avoid this blunder, find out who your audience will be. What’s their background? Are they similar to you? Do they work in the same job, company, or industry? What’s their level of knowledge? These are all questions you should keep in mind as you plan. Because what you say, and how you say it, is vastly different depending on the audience. Would you give the same presentation, for example, about your company’s history to a flock of eager college grads and to a small group of senior executives from a foreign company? Hopefully not.

Once you’ve got a handle on who you’ll be talking to, you can consider what they want, or need, to know. Put yourself in their shoes and ask “what would I expect out of this presentation?” Then design your presentation to satisfy those expectations. You might think this seems self-evident, but it’s not. In copywriting, there’s something called the Red Pen Rule. This rule says that once you’ve got what you think is tight and compelling text, take out your red pen and nix 30% of the words. Most presenters would be wise to follow this advice with the information they include. There’s usually 30% of a presentation that shouldn’t make the final cut. It’s that 30% of irrelevant stuff that can kill your connection with the audience.

Now, here’s another important consideration about content: don’t just give them the “what.” Give them the “why” and the “so what.” Presenters who focus on the “what” drone on about strategy X or sales figures for Y or new research on Z. But why do X, Y, and Z matter? And so what if they’re true? In other words, what are the implications of all this information? I’m talking here about giving context to what you’re saying....]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com 7:58 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com)no https://www.mybeonline.com/skills-360-how-to-influence-people-2/ Sun, 27 Mar 2016 11:14:12 +0000 https://www.businessenglishpod.com/?p=8843 Learn Business English language and techniques for influencing people. Learn Business English language and techniques for influencing people. Lesson Module | Quiz & Vocab | PDF Transcript

Transcript

Welcome back to the Skills 360 for today’s lesson how to influence people.

The power to influence can allow you to do many wonderful things, such as lead people, change their minds, motivate them to action, and negotiate successfully. These are abilities that can help you in life and in business. Now, it might seem like some people naturally have more influence than others, but that’s not always the case. Many powerful people have learned how to influence people using specific techniques.

In our last lesson, we had a look at what you should talk about and how you should talk about it. Today I want to take a closer look at some language techniques that can open the door to greater influence. And these techniques all help build rapport or trust with the person you’re talking to.

Let’s start with one key habit that really makes a positive impression on people: using their name. Dale Carnegie, who literally wrote the book on influencing people, said that “a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.”

And this doesn’t just mean when you first greet them. Drop their name into the middle of a conversation, or in the middle of a sentence, like “So, I’m wondering Susan if we should try something a bit different here.” You can probably think of someone you work with who does this habitually; next time you talk with that person, think about how it makes you feel to hear your name.

Not only do people like to hear their name, they like to hear their own ideas too. For that reason, it’s a good idea to echo what other people say. On a basic level, you can just repeat a single word. So if Bob says that something is “essential,” you can use that word “essential” in what you say too. That will help Bob connect with your ideas. But you might use more than just one word. You might repeat an entire idea, like “So Bob, you think that it’s absolutely essential to increase our workforce? That’s definitely something to consider.” Bob will feel heard and validated simply because you repeated his idea.

And besides repeating what people say, you can mirror how they speak. If someone is speaking informally, you can speak informally too. If someone leans in when they speak, you can lean in too. Sometimes we do this without even knowing it. Whether you’re aware of it or not, mirroring can help build rapport. But a word of caution here: mirroring is effective with peers, or colleagues, or people in the same position as you. But mirroring across lines of seniority can have a negative effect. And don’t try imitating someone who is very different from you. You don’t want to come across as mocking.

Now here’s another little language trick for increasing trust and rapport: instead of saying “I” and “you,” try saying “we.” How can you do that? Well, if you’re giving an opinion, rather than saying “I think that maybe…” try saying “Maybe we should…” And instead of saying “you need to come up with a solution,” you might try “we need to come up with a solution.” You might mean “you,” but using “we” makes it feel more collaborative. The word “we” brings you together with the other person, while the words “you” and “I” separate you from others.
]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com 6:45 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com)no https://www.mybeonline.com/skills-360-how-to-influence-people-1/ Sun, 20 Mar 2016 15:08:06 +0000 https://www.businessenglishpod.com/?p=8826 Learn Business English techniques for influencing and persuading people. Learn Business English techniques for influencing and persuading people. Lesson Module | Quizzes | PDF Transcript

Transcript

Welcome back to the Skills 360 for today’s lesson how to influence people.

So there are many different reasons why you might want to influence people. Maybe you’re trying to get their support for your idea, or maybe you want to inspire them, or maybe you want to convince them to do something. Whatever the case may be, I think you’ll find the techniques we’re going to learn today very useful for winning people over.

First I want to look at what you should focus on when you speak to others. And that doesn’t mean just talking about yourself or your idea, as people might stop listening. Instead, try starting with the ‘why’ instead of the ‘what’. That is, give people a reason to listen to your idea, then give them your idea.

For example, say you believe that your company’s marketing budget should be decreased. Instead of starting with that idea, set it up with compelling reasons first. That might sound like “we’ve had a pretty surprising dip in profits this past year.” Or maybe it’s “Gerry from marketing came to me and said they’re going to come in under budget again.” Or maybe you’re trying to sell something. In this case, don’t begin with a list of product features, like “the X300 comes with 16 gigabytes of RAM…” Instead, start with why that RAM might be important. For example, you might say “speed matters.”

Now here’s another thing: focus on the connection between other people and you, and the connection between ideas and life. What do I mean by that? Well, if you want to influence someone, show how you have similar values or experiences, like this: “So, I know we have all had some problems with this new software…” Or maybe this: “It’s pretty clear that everyone here is concerned about costs…” Showing a common interest will help make people more receptive to you, and your ideas.

As for the connection between ideas and life, remember that most people don’t deal in abstractions. They think about ground level experience. If we think again about that example of trying to persuade someone to buy a new computer. Don’t just talk about what the computer can do, talk about how that translates into a better experience for the user. In the end, isn’t that what really matters?

And when I say you need to connect ideas with life, I’m talking about other people’s lives, not yours. You need to appeal to people’s desires, interests, dreams, and hopes. That starts with getting people to talk about themselves. It’s amazing how much people will like or trust you if you just let them bend your ear about what they want or hope for. Ask them questions. Show interest. It will not only make them feel good, it will give you useful information.

Useful how? Well, you’ll know what interests them or drives their desires. Then you can tailor what you say to match that. So if someone mentions their passion for football, you can drop in a nice metaphor like “we seem to be playing from behind on a muddy pitch here.” Or if it seems clear that someone wants to appear smart, then you can compliment them on their intelligence.

You see, different people might require different approaches. Some are logical, in which case you should use logic.]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com 6:48 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com)no https://www.mybeonline.com/skills-360-business-english-hacks-2/ Sun, 13 Sep 2015 16:07:53 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=1034 Quick and easy tips for improving your Business English. More tips for improving your Business English. Lesson Module | Quizzes | PDF Transcript

Transcript

Hello and welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast. I’m your host, Tim Simmons, and today I want look to give you more great tips for ramping up your business English skills.

You’ve probably heard that one of the traits of a great business leader is the ability to communicate. So, what does it mean to be a good communicator? What does a good communicator actually do? Well, there are a few things that every good communicator does. In our last lesson I covered a few of these simple techniques, and today I want to add to that list.

When you think of being a good communicator, you probably think about speaking skills. But my first bit of advice is all about listening. Nobody likes it if you drone on and never give anyone else a chance to speak. You’ve got to learn to keep your mouth closed and your ears open. And you’ve got to listen actively to actually show people you’re listening. That starts with smiling and nodding, which are simple habits that let the speaker know you’re tuned in.

But that’s not all. You can throw in the occasional “yes,” or “I see.” Or you can echo what the other person is saying, like “a 30% increase? Impressive.” If you do this, people know you’re engaged. And that’s especially important when you can’t actually see the other person, like when you’re talking on the phone or in a teleconference.

All right, so we’ve covered listening. Now I want to give you some speaking techniques. First off, have you ever found yourself at a loss for words when you have to criticize someone or their work? Because you know that it’s not just what you say that is important, it’s how you say it, right? If you just come out and say “your report was lousy,” you’re going to put the person on the defensive. Instead, you need to be a bit more indirect. Try something like “well, I think there are some things you could work on.” Better yet, combine the criticism with some praise, like this: “I think you captured the main ideas, but you might want to make the summary a little clearer.” Wouldn’t you rather hear feedback like that?

This kind of indirect criticism is wrapped up in something bigger that every great communicator has a special knack for: being diplomatic. Diplomatic language is careful language. And I’m not just talking about criticizing or disagreeing. Careful language is also necessary when you make suggestions or pitch an idea.

One of the tricks to being diplomatic is using words that soften what you’re saying. We can do that with modal verbs, like “can” and “could” and “might.” For example, think about the difference between “that is too expensive” and “that might be too expensive.” Sure they have the same meaning, but one is softer. And a bit of indirect language will make it even more diplomatic, like “I’m wondering if that idea might be a bit on the expensive side.” That’s certainly not going to get anyone’s back up, is it?

Another way to soften a statement is to use words of possibility, such as “maybe” or “perhaps.” Imagine you want to suggest buying new computers. You might say “we need to buy new computers,” but that might sound too forceful. Instead, how about something like “perhaps we could buy some new computers?”

So, a diplomatic approach can make people more receptive. But you also want your ideas to stick in people’s memory, and a great way to do that is with repetition. You can try repeating an important word or idea so people don’t f...]]> Skills 360 for Business English 7:08 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com)no https://www.mybeonline.com/skills-360-business-english-hacks-1/ Sun, 06 Sep 2015 16:00:28 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=1030 Learn quick and easy tips for improving your business English. Quick and easy tips for improving your business English. Lesson Module | Quizzes | PDF Transcript

Transcript

Hello and welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast. I’m your host, Tim Simmons, and today I want look at some quick and easy hacks you can use to improve your business English.

Business is all about relationships, and relationships are founded on good communication. And while English may seem like a difficult language, being a great communicator and connecting with people isn’t rocket science. You can learn just a few techniques that will take your business English skills to the next level. And I’m not talking about learning a thousand new words or some obscure rules of grammar. The tips I want to give you are fully within your grasp right now.

Let’s start with a real easy one: keep it simple. Use the language you know, and that your listeners know, to communicate your message in simple terms. Do you really think a sophisticated vocabulary is going to impress people? Or help you negotiate a good price from a supplier? Probably not. And it won’t help you connect with people on a human level. Listen to any great political speech or watch any great presentation online, and you’ll notice that the speaker keeps things simple.

Simple also means short, or concise. Why use 50 words when you can use 15? Everyone appreciates language that is clear and to-the-point. So keep it simple, and you’ll keep people engaged.

But what happens when other people don’t keep it simple? Communication is a two-way street, and sometimes you find yourself scratching your head at what someone else is saying. So what you really need to do is to clarify. And remember to be specific about what it is you don’t understand. If a supplier tells you a part is “temporarily unavailable,” which isn’t very clear, don’t just raise your eyebrows and say “pardon?” Instead, say something like “what exactly do you mean when you say this part is temporarily unavailable?” That will encourage the speaker to be more specific.

Another way to clarify is to check back and confirm. That sounds something like “So, you think we shouldn’t build a new website, right?” Or maybe it means saying “You’re saying John is the best applicant, am I correct?” Checking back and confirming is a great way to clarify because it poses a yes-no question. The person can either say “yes, that’s what I mean,” or “no, that’s not what I mean.” And if it’s the latter, the person can then give it another shot. And you can bet they’ll be extra clear so you don’t have to ask again.

So, we’ve talked about being simple and clarifying. Now here’s another crucial technique for communicating clearly: connect your ideas. Your ideas are, in fact, connected, right? So make that clear to your listeners. You can use simple linking words, like "and," "so," and "but."

Or you can dress it up a bit with some more formal expressions. For example, you might say: “Product A is the cheapest. However, cost is not the only consideration. We also need to think about quality. For this reason, I think we should go with Product B.” Can you hear how important those words “however” and “also” and “for this reason” are? These linking words help show the connection between your ideas. And they help listeners see your logic.

Connecting your ideas can also mean showing a sequence. And once again, you don’t have to get fancy. Basic words like “first,” “second,” “next,” and “lastly” can help people see where you’re going. But if you don’t connect your ideas,]]> Skills 360 for Business English 7:39 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com)no https://www.mybeonline.com/skills-360-technical-job-interviews-2/ Sun, 14 Jun 2015 15:56:11 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=1028 Learn Business English for succeeding in a technical job interview in English. Learn quick and easy tips for improving your business English. Lesson Module | Quizzes | PDF Transcript

Transcript

Hello and welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast. I’m your host, Tim Simmons, and today I want to look at how to succeed in a technical interview.

A technical interview can sound like a pretty scary prospect. The interviewers will test your knowledge and understanding of technical concepts, and your problem-solving abilities. You’ll also need to show them what you know and how you think. This is a pretty high-pressure situation, a difficult hoop to jump through for that job in finance or engineering or tech.

But there’s no way around it, so you’d better get used to the idea. Last week, I talked about how to answer those tough questions that you face. Today I want to talk about some of the common pitfalls that you might encounter in a technical interview. I mean those moments when your heart sinks because you don’t know what’s being asked, you don’t know the answer, or you make a mistake.

Of course, there’s a good way to prevent these things from happening in the first place. It’s the same key to success for any interview, presentation, or sales pitch. And that’s preparation. But even preparation can present challenges. One of the biggest mistakes is to over prepare or to cram too much new information into your head. What the interviewers really want to see is a clear grasp of fundamental principles and concepts. So don’t go trying to learn a new programming language before your interview.

Still, no matter how wisely you prepare, you might face some challenges. For one thing, you might not be sure exactly what the interviewer is asking. If you’re afraid of appearing dumb, you might just wing it and try to answer the question anyway. But that’s not such a great idea. It’s always best to get clarity first. You might ask “Could you please repeat the question?” Or you might say “could you rephrase that please?” Or even “I’m not sure I understand what you’re asking. Could you explain?” That certainly sounds less dumb – and more honest – than giving an answer that’s way off base.

So, what if you understand the question, but you just don’t know the answer? Or what if you’re asked to solve a problem that you’re not really so sure about? Well, you can attempt to answer with what you’ve got. For example, you might say “I’m not certain about the programming language you’ve asked about, but I know that in C++ you could do it this way…”

But if the question requires you to actually know something and you don’t, then fess up. You can be honest about your ignorance and still maintain dignity. For example, you might say, “To be frank, I haven’t had to calculate such a thing before.” Or maybe, “That’s a very interesting question and one that I’d really like to find out an answer to.” In fact, many people report getting a job even when they couldn’t answer several questions in their technical interview. So don’t sweat it too much.

Now, what you shouldn’t do in these situations is show frustration. You see, it’s not just about what you know; it’s also about how you deal with pressure. The interviewer may be evaluating whether you’re a good person to have on a team with a tight deadline or crunching a tough problem. And in this case a good person is a calm person, one that doesn’t break under pressure.

There’s another situation in which it’s important to keep your cool, and that’s when you make a mistake. Imagine, for example, that you’re asked to calculate some financial ratios...]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com 7:40 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com)no https://www.mybeonline.com/skills-360-technical-job-interviews-1/ Sun, 07 Jun 2015 15:39:01 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=1026 Learn techniques and language for dealing with technical job interviews in English. Learn techniques and language for dealing with technical job interviews. Lesson Module | Quizzes | PDF Transcript

Transcript

Hello and welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast. I’m your host, Tim Simmons, and today I want to look at how to handle a technical interview.

Whether you’re in finance, engineering, technology, or software design, your job search might involve a technical interview. In a technical interview, you have to do more than just answer questions about your background and experience. You have show you understand the technical ins and outs of your field and have a sharp mind. And you’ll do that by solving technical problems and answering brainteasers.

That might sound challenging, but if you get a technical interview, consider yourself lucky as they’re typically reserved only for the best candidates. But chances are when you face a technical interview you feel more anxiety than good fortune. So how can you head into your interview with confidence and deal with the questions effectively?

For starters, you need to make sure you actually understand the question. If it’s not clear right away what the interviewers are asking you to do, be upfront about it and ask for clarification. For example, you might ask “exactly which programming language do you mean?” Or “should my calculations be adjusted for inflation?” If you don’t understand the exact question right off the bat, your solution or answer will be off base. It’s always best to clarify everything right at the start, rather than finding out you’re confused in the middle of your response.

Once you understand what is being asked, you can craft a good response. And you should realize that a technical interview is designed to test more than just your technical know-how. You’re also being assessed on your communication skills and problem-solving abilities. So make sure your answers are short, concise, and well-organized. Keep this in mind when you prepare for your interview. You shouldn’t just be brushing up on formulas – though that might also be important – you should also be practicing giving good clear answers and solutions.

But good clear answers aren’t always easy, and being clear might require you to take the time to stop and think. Problem-solving is a process. For example, if you’re asked how you would design a program that manages customer information and sorts it for marketing purposes, you won’t be expected to rattle off a solution off the top of your head. You’ll need to think about it. And when you do, avoid filling the time with useless chatter like “hmm… that’s a tough one” or “well, maybe I could try… oh… no, that wouldn’t work…”

But while you want to avoid useless chatter, you do want to show the interviewers your thought process. That’s really what they’re interested in! So think it through out loud. Describe the mental steps you’re taking. Give them insight on how you’re approaching the problem while minimizing “ums” and “ahs” that are meant just to fill the silence.

Another good little strategy you can use when answering questions is relating your ideas or the problem to previous work situations you’ve faced. This is a good way to underline key experiences and show how you’ve learnt from them. For example, imagine you’re in an accounting interview faced with the question “is it possible for a company to show positive cash flow yet be in serious trouble?” You can answer “yes” and explain how a company might be selling off inventory and delaying payables. But you can also add “and I saw several examples of this during ...]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com 6:41 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com)no https://www.mybeonline.com/skills-360-english-for-teleconferences-2/ Sun, 08 Mar 2015 15:21:43 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=1020 Learn English for leading and managing a teleconference. Learn English for leading and managing a teleconference. Lesson Module | Quiz & Vocab | PDF Transcript | Mobile Quizzes

Transcript

Hello and welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast. I’m your host, Tim Simmons, and today I want to look at how to lead a teleconference.

Leading a meeting is rarely easy. You’ve got to manage time, an agenda, and – most importantly – a diverse group of people. Now, what about if the meeting happens by phone, with each person or small group calling in from a different location? Nobody can see each other, and there may be a variety of distractions that you, as the leader, can’t shut out simply by closing the door. Sure, teleconferencing is a marvel of modern technology, but it can be challenging.

If you’re leading a teleconference, the usual advice about facilitating meetings becomes all the more important. That includes having a clear agenda and starting on time, which is sometimes difficult because of an added layer of technical complexity. So well before the meeting, make sure everyone has the correct call-in instructions and that everyone knows what time the meeting starts in their local time. Then sign in early so you can deal with any technical problems as people join.

And what should you do as people join? As the leader, you need to welcome them, by saying things like: “Oh hi Dave. Glad you could make it,” and “Welcome Janet from Miami.” Take the time right at the beginning of the meeting to introduce everyone, or have everyone introduce themselves, saying their name and where they’re calling in from. Remember, people can’t see each other, so they only have voices to go on. Doing a roll call at the beginning let’s people associate names with voices.

Now, during the meeting, your job is similar to that of a traffic controller. You need to help the discussion flow around each point on the agenda and lead the group to destinations, or decisions. A free-flowing discussion is somewhat easier in-person, when everyone can see each other and signal that they want to say something.

But on a teleconference, this is more difficult. You might want to try more formal turn-taking – or “go around the circle” - at certain points because it’s more orderly. For example, you could say: “Okay I’d like to hear what everyone has to say on the CFO’s announcement. Let’s hear from Susan first, then Sam, then Nick and finally Brenda.”

If you do let the discussion flow, you may have to encourage participation from everyone. It’s pretty easy on a conference call, especially with lots of people, to hide in the background. Feel free to call on people by name, like “Tanis, do you have any thoughts on this?” As you manage the discussion, you may also need to help people understand. For example, you might say “Just so everyone’s clear, Tanis just said…”

Managing the flow also means responding when people want to cut in or cut people off, like this: “Okay Roger, if you can just wait a sec and let Tanis finish please.” Or if two people begin talking at the same time, you might have to say something like “Okay, let’s have Wendy first, then Frank.”

The whole point of this traffic control is to instill order and improve understanding. But how do you know if people understand? You don’t have frowns and furrowed brows to tell you that people are lost. So conduct regular check-ins, like this: “Okay, is everyone clear on this so far? Any questions?]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com 5:55 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com)no https://www.mybeonline.com/skills-360-english-for-teleconferences-1/ Sun, 01 Mar 2015 14:11:40 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=1017 Learn tips and language for participating in a teleconference in English. Learn tips and language for participating in a teleconference in English. Lesson Module | Quiz & Vocab | PDF Transcript | Mobile Quizzes

Transcript

Hello and welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast. I’m your host, Tim Simmons, and today I want to look at how to participate in a teleconference.

With modern technology, you don’t have to be in the same room to have a meeting with other people. Teleconferencing tools allow us to connect by phone, VOIP, or video from across the country, or around the world. You can even join a meeting from home, your car or on plane at 30,000 feet in the air. Sure, it’s amazing, but teleconferencing brings special challenges, and we have to be mindful of things that real-life meetings don’t require.

For starters, you need to take steps to ensure clear and clean sound. You’ve probably been on a teleconference before and become annoyed by the sound of someone typing away at their keyboard. Or you’ve heard someone’s music or the clanking of cups and plates in a busy coffee shop. It’s not just irritating; it makes it difficult to hear people. So minimize this kind of background noise. Find a quiet place and use your mute button wisely. And try to avoid distractions. Some people think a teleconference is a good chance to get other work done, or check Facebook, but there’s nothing worse than getting asked a question when you weren’t really paying attention.

Now, there are several other ways that you can be a good teleconferencer. One of the keys is giving good verbal clues to other participants, because they don’t have any visual clues to go on. When you join the call, announce that you’ve arrived and let everyone know who you are. For example, a simple “Hello, it’s Dave here” should suffice if it’s an internal call. And if you join in the middle of the call, wait for a good time to introduce yourself rather than jumping in right away.

Besides introducing yourself at the beginning, you can say your name when you start speaking about something, like “Dave here. And I’d just like to add that we did even better than our original forecasts.” In fact, that example shows another handy technique that we might call “signposting.” Basically, signposting is when we announce what we’re about to do. It could be “I just want to add something,” or “I have a question,” or “I’d like to make a comment about that.” This helps manage the flow of discussion and makes it easier for people to follow you.

Sometimes the discussion gets chaotic. For example, it often happens that two people begin talking at the same time. In this case, it’s polite to let the other person go first, with a simple “please, go ahead” or “after you.” And being a polite and active participant also means demonstrating active listening techniques. In person, you can see someone nod or smile. But on a teleconference, you don’t have that kind of visual feedback, so you need to throw in a few “yeahs” and “rights” and “mm-hms” to show that you’re engaged, or that you’re even still there.

Of course, there are times when you might need to duck out mid-call. In that case, it’s best to just let everyone know, and to briefly announce when you’re back. You don’t want people asking you questions and getting dead air in response.

Now, sometimes it happens that you’ve got several people in a room crowded around one phone hub. It’s usually pretty obvious, because you get a lot of background chit chat.]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com 5:17 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com)no https://www.mybeonline.com/skills-360-dealing-with-criticism-2/ Sun, 02 Nov 2014 14:06:17 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=1015 Learn tips and techniques for dealing with criticism. Learn tips and techniques for dealing with criticism. Lesson Module | Quizzes | PDF Transcript

Transcript

Hello and welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast. I’m your host, Tim Simmons, and today I want to look at some more ways of dealing with criticism.

Unless you’re perfect, you have room to improve. That doesn’t sound like a difficult idea to accept, but what is difficult is when other people point it out to us. They might tell us that we’ve done something wrong, or done something poorly, or shouldn’t have done something at all. Some people might tell us in a polite and professional manner, just as a wise and diplomatic boss might. But others might just sound harsh or rude. So, what should we do in the face of criticism?

Well, today I want to focus on validity. That is, on whether the criticism is valid, justified, or reasonable. If it is, then we should treat it as helpful and constructive. And if it’s not, then we might need a different approach.

All right, but first how do we know if criticism is valid or not? How do we know it is correct and reasonable? Well, sometimes you know it’s valid if you’ve heard it before. So, the first time you hear that you don’t sound polite enough on the phone, you might just think it’s one person’s opinion. But if you hear it numerous times, then you’d better watch your language.

Also, valid criticism is often tied to specifics. That is, the person says exactly what is wrong, not just generally that something is wrong. So, “you work too slowly” is questionable. But “you need to pick up the pace because you’ve delivered the past three reports late” is specific.

Of course, as I mentioned in the last lesson, you can ask questions to encourage the person criticizing you to be more specific. And that will help you figure out if the criticism is valid.

But sometimes criticism isn’t valid. Sometimes it’s unfair. Sometimes it’s a grumpy colleague who thinks he will look better if you look bad. That kind of criticism is sometimes delivered emotionally, rather than calmly and reasonably. Sometimes invalid criticism lacks specifics. And sometimes it just comes naturally from people who don’t play well with others.

Again, asking questions can help you figure it out. If the person can’t give you specifics, then maybe the criticism isn’t so valid after all. And if you’re really not sure, you can always try asking for a second opinion. So when Mike tells you that you’re a terrible negotiator, go ask Larry whether it’s true or not.

So why think about whether criticism is valid? Well, first of all because valid criticism is an opportunity to improve. We all need good feedback to learn how we can change or adapt what we do in order to get better. Don’t be afraid of that feedback. Embrace it. It will help you grow.

In other words, you need to learn to say “you’re right,” even when it hurts. In fact, sometimes we get most upset when someone criticizes us for something that we know is perfectly true and that we already feel bad about! But if the criticism is valid, then take it. And if that means you need to swallow your pride, then swallow it.

In some cases, criticism isn’t completely valid, but only partly. Surely you know someone who adds “never” or “always” to every piece of criticism? As in, “you never pick up your stuff in the staff room” or “you always change my settings when you use my computer.” Well, you should still acknowledge the valid part, even if it’s not completely true or it’s exaggerated. So you might say, “well, it’s true that I changed some settings last week, and for that I’m sorry.]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 7:53 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/skills-360-dealing-with-criticism-1/ Sun, 26 Oct 2014 13:59:42 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=1010 In this Business English Skills 360 lesson, we look at how to deal with criticism. How to deal with criticism at work. Lesson Module | Quiz & Vocab | PDF Transcript | Mobile Quizzes

Transcript

Hello and welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast. I’m your host, Tim Simmons, and today I want to look at ways to deal with criticism.

Criticism is something we all have to face. During a performance review, we have to listen as our boss criticizes our work. In meetings, people criticize our ideas. And every day we might hear people criticize us in the staff room and over the phone. We might also hear praise in these situations, but more often than not it’s the sting of criticism that lingers. And let’s face it: hearing people criticize our work, or criticize us, is never really easy.

So, how can we face criticism with the right attitude and approach? Well, start by thinking about the situation and the source. The situation might be formal, like your performance review or another evaluation process. Or it might be informal, like in the staff room.

In formal situations, it’s often a supervisor or superior who is criticizing; in informal situations, well, it could be anyone. It’s important to think of the situation and the source, because that might help determine whether the criticism is constructive or destructive.

Although some people use the word “criticism” to refer to unfair negative comments, a lot of criticism is actually constructive. I mean, it’s intended to help us do something better, to improve, to change in positive ways. Of course, there’s always destructive criticism, which has different motivations. Destructive criticism is sometimes personal, intended to hurt people rather than help people. You need to be able to handle both.

Now, we’ve talked about formal and informal situations and constructive and destructive criticism. You can probably see the difference here: constructive criticism in formal situations is just a part of working life! More than that, it’s necessary. And your job probably requires you to deliver this type of criticism too. So you should look at this criticism as an opportunity – as hard as that might be to do.

Okay, but what about destructive criticism, especially in informal situations? I mean, what do you do when Dave your snarky colleague says “Geez, you really messed up that presentation, didn’t you?” Well, your attitude and approach shouldn’t actually be too different, even though you want to tell Dave exactly what you think of him.

You see, the best thing to do first, no matter what the situation, is to ask a question. If your boss says you need to take more initiative, you can ask “can you give me an example of a situation where I should have taken more initiative?” And if Dave tells you you’re terrible with PowerPoint, you can ask, “what do you think I need to do better, Dave?” By asking questions, you show that you take constructive criticism seriously, and you can challenge destructive criticism. Either way, you are maintaining a professional attitude.

The alternative to maintaining a professional attitude is getting defensive, angry, or resentful. In other words, responding emotionally. Nothing good will come of that type of reaction, regardless of the situation. In fact, studies have shown a connection between emotional responses to criticism and a lack of confidence or self-esteem. It’s true! If you get defensive, you show people that you’re fragile, and that’s not one of the qualities that leads to success.

Maintaining a professional attitude also means not sh...]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 7:00 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-how-to-improve-your-english-vocabulary-2/ Sun, 22 Jun 2014 09:43:42 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=1007 Learn how to build a better English vocabulary. Learn how to build a better English vocabulary. Quizzes | PDF Transcript

Transcript

Hello and welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast. I’m your host, Tim Simmons, and today I want to look at more ways to take your English vocabulary to the next level.

So, you’ve found some great resources for studying English that suit your purpose. You’ve got a variety of listening and reading material chock full of great words and expressions that you want to learn to use. But how do you do it? How do you take those words and expressions and not only remember them but also make them an active part of your working vocabulary? Well, there are several things to keep in mind, and a few key techniques that you can use, as we’ll see today.

One really important idea is that words are used in groups. Sometimes we call them “chunks” or “collocations.” The basic idea is that we put words together in common patterns, and we should learn those patterns, not just individual words. Think of a simple sentence like “Dave is interested in golf.” Understanding what “interested” means is a piece of cake. But if you really want to make that a useful word, you need to pay attention to the fact that we say be interested in something. Take another example like the noun “profit.” It’s hard to use the word if you don’t know that we usually say make a profit or turn a profit.

The idea of groups of words is especially important when it comes to idioms and phrasal verbs, because together words can have a new meaning. So when we hear “give up”, we don’t think about giving or the idea of up, but the meaning they have together, which is “quit”. And don’t think about squares when you hear the expression “back to square one.” Together, those words mean “start again.”

Once you understand the importance of chunks of language, how can you sort out what those chunks mean? A good starting place is context. Look at how the words are used in the situation. From the situation, you can usually get clues to the meaning. Only after examining the context should you look at a definition. And if you really want to get a solid grasp on the meaning, you should look at more examples of the word or expression in a sentence. Good study materials should give you example sentences to learn from.

But it’s not enough just to notice vocabulary and chew over its meaning. You need to do something with it if you’re going to remember it and be able to use it. That starts with writing vocabulary down. Keep a record of good words and expressions that you come across. Write down the word, the context, and example sentences if you can. This is not just so that you have something to review. The act of writing the word and examples down will help you remember it later.

Okay, beyond writing down what you’ve learned, you need to put your new vocabulary to good use. The means trying to use the words you’ve learned in new sentences. You don’t need to write a masterpiece on business communication; you just need to practice putting that new word into a different context. And if you struggle, look back to where you found it or your example sentences. From that context, you should be able to see how the word or expression fits into a sentence. And again, practicing like this will really give you a leg up in recalling the words.

Okay, it seems like we’ve been dwelling on reading and writing, but let’s not forget listening. Learning words through listening is great if you want to actually apply them in conversation. We can learn how individual words sound, and how groups of words sound together. If you’re using listening materials that include a transcript, don’t lean on that transcript too soon.]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 6:38 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-how-to-improve-your-english-vocabulary-1/ Sun, 15 Jun 2014 13:28:51 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=1001 In this Skills 360 lesson, we look at how to improve and expand your English vocabulary. How to improve and expand your English vocabulary. Quizzes | PDF Transcript

Transcript

Hello and welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast. I’m your host, Tim Simmons, and today I want to look at ways to take your English vocabulary to the next level.

Many students of English have the feeling that they’ve learned pretty much all the grammar they need. Many also feel that they can understand fairly well and speak and write at an acceptable level. But these same people sometimes feel that they’re missing something, and that they say the same things in the same way all the time.

In fact, once you’ve reached an intermediate level, vocabulary becomes more important than ever. You need to add more and more words, idioms, and expressions to your stock of language so that you can take the next step up in proficiency. So how can you learn new words? What are the secrets of expanding your language ability?

First, let’s talk about materials, or what you use to learn English. You need to find good sources of English that will include words and expressions that will be useful to you. I strongly recommend you use both listening and reading materials. If you focus only on reading, as many students do, you won’t learn how language sounds and feels in your mouth. If you focus only on listening, you won’t know how it’s written.

So then what should you be listening to and reading? You want resources that are relevant to your purpose, both in terms of context and topic. Let me explain what I mean. If your purpose is to improve your conversation and presentations skills to do your job as a salesperson, then use resources that teach you conversational English and the language of presentations. That’s the correct match for the context of your English development. And if your work as a salesperson is in the hi-tech sector, then find resources that include vocabulary related to technology. That’s the correct match for the topic of your studies.

I don’t mean that you should limit yourself to only the kinds of language that you’ll meet every day. Variety is important too, and you need to read and listen to things that are interesting to you, not just practical. But there are only so many hours in a day, and if you’re like most people in business, you need to find what gives you the best bang for your buck.

Now, I’ve mentioned what kind of resources you should look for, and you’ll notice that I didn’t mention anything that is specifically about vocabulary. I mean like a vocabulary book, or word lists. That’s because it’s best to study vocabulary in context. You might have memorized words and definitions for language tests in high school or university. But did that really teach you how to use those words? Did you really understand the kinds of situations that those words can be used in? Probably not, so instead of memorizing lists, study vocabulary in its natural environment, and it’ll be easier to incorporate new words into your own speaking and writing.

So, you have found some good resources, and you understand the importance of context, but when you read and listen, which words and expressions should you be learning? How do you choose the vocabulary that you should study? Well, a lot of good study materials will identify the useful vocabulary for you. And they might give you definitions and examples. So with the context and this added info, you’ve got something to work with.

But if you’re trying to choose vocabulary on your own, you should focus on two ideas: relevance and frequency. Put another way: words that suit your purpose and words that are common. Words that suit your purpose are those that are related to your work and your English output.]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 6:06 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-communication-skills-2-clarifying/ Mon, 21 Apr 2014 06:14:30 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=997 In this Skills 360 lesson, we look at Business English techniques for clarifying what was said, or what was meant. Learn Business English techniques for clarifying what was said, or what was meant. Quizzes | PDF Transcript

Transcript

Hello and welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast. I’m your host, Tim Simmons, and today I want to continue our look at how you can improve your communication skills.

Communication between people is never perfect. Even with the people closest to us, who you might think we can understand very well, there is miscommunication. Sometimes we don’t hear things correctly, or we don’t hear them at all, and sometimes people don’t express ideas precisely. That’s enough to complicate the situation, but then we can throw in implied meaning and our own understanding of what’s being said indirectly. Add to that the challenges that arise when you’re working in your second, or third, or fourth language, and it might be surprising that we understand each other at all!

But have no fear. There are ways to work though the minefield of communication and make everything clear. And that’s exactly what we’ll look at today: clarifying what people have said. There are basically two reasons to clarify: first, when we don’t know what someone said because we didn’t hear them; and second, when we don’t know what someone meant because we didn’t understand them.

Let’s begin with clarifying what someone said. When you don’t hear someone, you can simply tell them, politely of course. Use diplomatic expressions like “Pardon me?” Or, “I’m sorry, but I didn’t catch that.” Or, “Would you mind repeating that please?” Avoid short and blunt questions like “What?” or “What did you say?” These questions seem rude to many people. And when in doubt, too formal is a better mistake than too informal.

Now, if you heard what someone said but you don’t know what it means, make sure they know that. If you use the expressions we just looked at for when you didn’t hear someone, they might just repeat what they said. But if you didn’t understand the first time, chances are you won’t understand the second time. So how do you make it clear that you haven’t understood?

Well, avoid just saying “I don’t understand.” That feels too blunt and direct. Instead, try, “I’m not sure I follow you.” Or, say a speaker uses the expression “contingency plan” and you don’t know what that means. You can say, “Could you explain what you mean by contingency plan?” Or, “What exactly do you mean by contingency plan?” These kinds of expressions let the speaker know that you haven’t understood, not just that you haven’t heard.

Okay, so in some cases you might think you understand, but you’re not sure. So you want to clarify by checking your understanding. The first thing you can do is paraphrase what someone has said and ask for confirmation that your interpretation is correct. Paraphrasing just means saying the same thing but in different words. And you can do this by acknowledging what someone has said, restating it, and confirming with a tag question.

Here’s an example: if someone says “we anticipate that the share price will continue to soar,” you might say “I see, so you’re saying the stock will remain high, right?” Or if someone says “our marketing strategy needs a complete overhaul,” you can say “okay, you mean we need to change our strategy, right?” If you’re correct, the speaker will let you know. And if you’re incorrect, he will explain. Notice that the tag question “right?” is a yes/no question. Yes/no questions make it easy for the speaker to confirm your understanding or provide further explanation if you misunderstood.

Another technique for clarifying what someone has s...]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 7:04 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-communication-skills-1-listening/ Mon, 14 Apr 2014 09:23:04 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=994 Learn language and skills for improving your listening skills in English. Learn how to improve your English listening skills. Quizzes | PDF Transcript

Transcript

Hello and welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast. I’m your host, Tim Simmons, and today I want to look at how you can improve your communication skills.

We spend a lot of time looking at different ways that you can make other people understand your ideas. But what about your ability to make sure you understand what other people are saying? Some people say that there’s a good reason we have two ears but one mouth: because we should spend twice as much time listening as we do speaking. And countless business leaders have emphasized the importance of good listening skills as the foundation of good communication.

Okay, but listening and understanding are not always easy. We’ve all found ourselves in situations – it could be a meeting, a presentation, an interview, or a negotiation - where we think “what did he just say?” or “what was that word?” Well, for starters, we need to accept that we might not understand everything. That’s not necessarily a problem. But what you do when you don’t understand something is what separates a good listener from a bad listener.

You see, it wouldn’t always be a good idea to stop a speaker and say “what was that word you just used?” Or “can you repeat that sentence?” If you didn’t catch something, well, get over it. And fast. You don’t have time to stop listening and think about what something means. And you don’t have time to translate either. You’ll get lost, and it will be difficult to get your head back into what you’re supposed to be listening to. Instead, you need to grab onto what you do understand, and then fill in what you don’t with logical guesses.

What you should be shooting for, first and foremost, is the gist of what’s being said. That means the main idea or underlying point that the speaker is trying to make. Details will support that main idea, and if you don’t catch them all it’s not the end of the world.

Okay, but how do we catch the gist? Well, one way is to focus on key words. Key words are the words that we understand that show the central message. They provide direct clues to the main idea. So if you hear someone say “blah blah new plan blah blah blah terrible idea blah blah blah can’t support blah blah blah”, then you have a good idea what the person is saying without understanding all the “blah blah.” If you focus on the “blah blah,” however, you might miss those important words that you do understand.

Another thing to remember is that people often repeat or explain their ideas further. If you don’t understand an idea right away, just be patient. The speaker might explain what she means, or give an example, or repeat the idea in different words. But if you get hung up on not understanding the first statement, you risk confusion. Here’s an example: say you’re listening to someone give a presentation on the latest sales figures, and he says “The last quarter was particularly disconcerting.”

Now, do you know what “particularly disconcerting” means? If not, don’t worry too much. Because the speaker will probably go on to explain or give examples. He might say something like this: “Our electronics division was down 13%. Mobile was down 16%. And automotive was down a whopping 24%.” Now, you can probably guess that “particularly disconcerting” is negative, right? But if you stopped listening and started wracking your brain to figure out what it meant, then you might have missed the explanation.

Of course, sometimes there are things that you hear that provoke ques...]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 6:31 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-facilitating-a-brainstorming-session-2/ Mon, 03 Feb 2014 08:34:25 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=990 Learn how to run an effective brainstorming meeting in English. Learn how to run an effective brainstorming meeting in English. Quizzes | PDF Transcript

Transcript

Hello and welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast. I’m your host, Tim Simmons, and today we’re going to have a look at some great tips for running an effective brainstorming session.

Have you ever conducted a brainstorming session that simply goes nowhere? A few people throw out some ideas, but most participants seem uninspired or bored? You ask questions, but people don’t answer? Well, today I want to give you some tips for kickstarting the process and getting the juices flowing.

Okay, so you need to provide some kind of spark. But just saying “Okay everyone, we need to get the ideas flowing” is not actually going to inspire anyone. You need something different. One idea is to use visual stimulation. Bring a box of random objects that you can hold up or pass around. Or show the group random images, either ones you’ve chosen that relate to the topic or on sites like Pinterest and StumbleUpon. Looking at images or objects can send our thinking in new directions and trigger creative associations.

Another way to get ideas flowing is to get the room flowing. Try telling the group that every time you say “move!” everybody needs to stand up, walk around the room, and find a new seat. This gives people a very short break and a tiny bit of physical activity, which can be reinvigorating.

Moving seats also means that people are looking at the room, the flipchart, and everyone else from a new perspective. And finally, participants may find themselves sitting beside and talking with different people, which can inspire different ways of thinking. So every time you see people lagging a bit, yell “move” and see what happens.

Now, sometimes if you want good ideas from a group, you can ask them to think of bad ideas first. Yes, I’m serious. Sometimes we don’t know what we want or need, but we can figure it out by talking about what we don’t want or need. Here’s an example: say you’re with a group brainstorming better ways for your company to attract talented workers. A few good ideas have come out, but not nearly enough, and people are scratching their heads and getting frustrated.

This might be a good time to ask for “opposite thinking.” Try putting this question to the group, “Okay everyone, let’s change tack here and think of reasons people would not want to work for a company. What are things that talented workers don’t like in a job?” Believe me, when you ask questions about bad ideas or the worst examples, a lot of people suddenly have a lot to say.

And once you’ve got those bad or opposite ideas, you can just turn them around. So if someone says, “people really don’t like a work environment that is ugly and boring,” then you can turn it around and make “inspiring and clean workplace” one of your new ideas.

Okay, we’ve gone over some ways to get a whole group thinking, but there are some people who just don’t like working in large groups. They might not speak out confidently in a brainstorming session, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have good ideas. In fact, these quiet thinkers might be hiding some of the most fantastic ideas. So how do you draw those ideas out?

Well, one way is by providing a non-verbal input option. I’m talking about good old pen and paper. Make sure everyone has something to write with and on, and tell them that they’re free to provide their ideas that way. Or you can ask everybody to do this at certain points in the brainstorming. Then you collect the papers and write up the ideas on a board or flipchart.

You may also find that a great way to draw quiet people out is to reduce the group size.]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 6:35 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/skills-360-facilitating-a-brainstorming-session-1/ Mon, 27 Jan 2014 09:29:02 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=987 Learn business English for facilitating a brainstorming session. Learn business English for facilitating a brainstorming meeting. Quizzes | PDF Transcript

Transcript

Hello and welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast. I’m your host, Tim Simmons, and today I want to look at how to run an effective brainstorming session.

Every company uses brainstorming sessions to generate ideas and solve problems. But do all brainstorming sessions generate good ideas? Does everyone leave a brainstorming session feeling like they accomplished something? Well, that often depends on the facilitator. And if you are the one to run the show, there are several things you need to think about.

First comes good preparation. People need to head into a brainstorming session with a good idea about what they’re supposed to be talking about. So if you’re going to be running the session, don’t keep the topic a mystery. Email everyone well in advance. Make sure people come with a head full of ideas. If they don’t know what they’ll be doing until they arrive, they may not be as prepared.

Now, what happens when you start that meeting, when everyone’s assembled and your job is to get things going? Well, you need to set the stage for a productive session, and one great way to do that is to set some ground rules. You might want to create a list of your own that includes things like “turn off cell phones” and “no judgment.” Or you might want to let the group brainstorm their own list. Let them determine what guidelines will ensure they feel safe and free to share ideas.

Either way, you should write these guidelines down and display them for everyone to see. But remember, good brainstorming happens when people feel creative, free, and happy, so don’t get too hard-nosed or serious by making a bunch of “rules.”

Once you’ve got some guidelines, now you can pose the question or topic for the group. Right at the beginning, make sure you’re encouraging and setting a positive tone. When someone produces an idea, respond with “Fantastic, thanks Ron, let’s put that up here…” That helps create the right mood, and hopefully soon ideas will start flowing more freely. Once they do, don’t interfere. Your job is to record, and to maintain the energy. Keep praising people with comments like “Great stuff Nora” and “Right on Wayne.”

Okay, but sometimes people don’t express things perfectly clearly. And when this happens, you need to get some clarification. You can do this in a couple of ways. You can straight-up ask for explanation, like this, “All right Todd, thanks. Can you explain what you mean a bit more?” Notice that we are still thanking and praising.

You can also try restating what the person said to test an interpretation. For example, you could say something like, “Okay Todd, thanks. So you’re saying that we need to hire more staff? Is that right?” Either way, don’t get too bogged down in explanation. You just want things to be clear enough that everyone knows basically what’s being suggested.

Now, one of the most important principles of brainstorming is that we should separate idea generation from idea evaluation. So producing ideas and judging them are done separately. Brainstorming is all about the former, not the latter. So when someone says something like “I don’t know Todd, that probably wouldn’t help at this point,” you need to step in. But you should do it diplomatically, like this, “Okay Todd, let’s just focus on getting the ideas out for now and later we can take a closer look, sound good?” What happens when people start evaluating ideas? They stop flowing. And that’s not what we want.

]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 6:12 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/skills-360-defending-your-ideas-2/ Tue, 26 Nov 2013 12:40:38 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=981 Learn how to defend your ideas in business discussions. Learn how to defend your ideas in business discussions. Free Resources: Quiz & Vocab | PDF Transcript

Transcript

Hello and welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast. I’m your host Tim Simmons, and today I want to continue our look at how to defend yourself and your ideas in a competitive world.

One of the tough things in business – and life for that matter - is that you’re not just dealing with ideas, and numbers, and rational decisions. You’re dealing with people. And people don’t always take a cool and logical approach to things, even if you do. They get emotional about ideas and worked up about disagreement. And you might get that way too. Passion is a good thing, but too much negative emotion is counterproductive. So how can we manage people’s emotions while continuing to defend ourselves?

Well, one thing I’d like to emphasize is the importance of patience. Listen carefully before reacting, and think before speaking. If we think someone is attacking us or our ideas, it’s easy to start firing back. But the war of words is usually won by the person with the more strategic approach. Don’t get into mudslinging. Just be patient, and keep your cool.

The opposite of this is getting defensive, which means being emotional and reactive. So when a difficult colleague says, “Sam, I’m afraid your plan will never work,” don’t respond with something like, “What are you trying to say? I spent a lot of time on this, and you just shoot it down…” Instead, show patience and listen, which means you could respond with, “Okay Dave. Can you explain exactly why the plan won’t work?” You see, like I said in our last lesson, we need to keep it focused on ideas.

And we want to keep it positive. Believe it or not, that can mean actually praising the people who seem to be attacking us, like, “Thanks Dave, you’ve got some good points there.” And it can mean actually thanking them for their comments, like, “Dave, I appreciate your feedback.” Even when that feedback came in a way that you don’t like, praising and thanking is part of taking the high road in debate. And in many cases, you get back what you give out, so you may find that aggressive colleague actually toning it down a bit.

Of course, there are times when you have to say something negative, when someone continues with an aggressive approach. And at times like these, sometimes you have to address the issue directly, or call someone on their behavior. The important thing there is to make sure you focus on behavior, not character. What’s the difference? Focusing on behavior means saying, “Karen, could you please lower your voice and just stay calm about this.” But focusing on character means saying, “Karen, you are too loud and emotional.” Which do you think is going to serve you better in an argument?

So, we exercise patience and we stay positive. That’s great. And the third big thing we need to do is watch our language. You’ve surely been in an argument that starts out about ideas, but pretty quickly becomes about the words people choose or the way they phrase things. And I’d bet that a lot of those arguments have been about two big words to avoid: “always” and “never.” You can just strike those words from your professional vocabulary right now. They will only lead to trouble.

Watching your language usually means making your statements softer and gentler. We sometimes say that we qualify our statements. And there are many ways to do that. One way is by using words that show uncertainty, like “maybe” and “might.” Another way is to find indirect ways to make a point. For example, saying something like,]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 6:33 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-defending-your-ideas-1/ Sun, 17 Nov 2013 02:03:17 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=974 Learn how to defend yourself and your ideas in business discussions. Learn how to defend your ideas in English. Business English App for iPhone & iPad:
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Transcript

Hello and welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast. I’m your host Tim Simmons, and today I want to take a look at how to defend yourself and your ideas in a competitive world.

Some people might think that good ideas will win the day, simply because they’re good ideas. But it’s not that simple. If you’ve got good ideas, you’re going to have to convince people of their value. And you’ll definitely have to defend them against all the people out to criticize or compete with you. It’s a dog eat dog world, as they say, and you want to make sure you’re not the dinner.

So what do you do when you’re in a meeting, you’ve just laid out your plans for a new new marketing strategy, and the guy across the table jumps up and yells that what you’ve suggested is impossible? Well, it starts with attitude. And having the right attitude means being calm, diplomatic, and logical. What you don’t want to do is get dragged into an argument that’s personal, petty, or unproductive.

One way to do that is to reference your organization’s broad mission and goals. Show how your ideas fit with the larger strategy. Say something like, “Well, as an organization we decided to expand our target market, right? I believe my strategy helps us do that.” Referencing broader organizational goals helps to elevate the debate.

And elevating the debate means ensuring that the discussion is about ideas, not people. So instead of, “Dave, you always do this and it drives me nuts,” It should be, “I can’t agree with this approach.” Or, instead of, “Com’on Dave, you’re always fixated on cost!” You can try, “I don’t think cost should be our primary concern.” And if you are able to elevate the debate, then what you’ll get in return is not, “John, you must be crazy to think that will work.” Instead, you should get something like this, “John, I think your plan has some problems.” And that makes for a better discussion.

So, if the debate is about ideas, how can you get people on board with yours in the face of criticism? One great way is to use questions. One kind of question is a leading question, one that has an obvious answer. For example, you could say, “Does everybody here agree that we need a really professional and slick ad campaign?” What you’re doing with this kind of question is getting people to nod, to agree, and that’s an attitude they’ll carry over to other things you say. You can also use negative rhetorical questions. A rhetorical question is one that doesn’t really need an answer. For example, someone might ask, “Don’t you think we need to increase our market share?” Or maybe, “Isn’t a website an important part of any business’s marketing strategy?” Who could answer “no” to those questions?

Now, sometimes people are actually right. You might not like the way they’re criticizing your ideas, but they’re right. So, what’s the logical approach to take? Well, admit it. You might say, “You know, you’ve got a point there.” Or, “Yes, well, the plan does appear to have some problems.” You don’t have to defend your ideas just because they’re yours. Remember, we talked about being logical and elevating the debate.]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 6:14 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-top-10-words-in-business-2/ Mon, 02 Sep 2013 08:53:43 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=962 Learn English vocabulary for related to essential leadership skills. Learn English vocabulary for related to essential leadership skills. Quiz & Vocab | PDF Transcript

Transcript

Hello and welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast. I’m you’re host, Tim Simmons, and today we’re going to continue our look at the 10 key characteristics of the successful business leader. And just like last time, we’re going to match these qualities to useful words or phrases that you can use in your everyday work life.

To begin, I want you to imagine you’re called to an emergency meeting to talk about a crisis. Like there’s a big project to finish and you’re short-staffed. One person says “oh no, this is never going to get done.” Another person says “This happens all the time and it drives me nuts.” But this is not what the good business leader says. The good business leader starts by saying “how about…” As in: “how about bringing staff over from another department for a couple of weeks.” And what does this show? It shows that you are solution-minded. When problems arise, and problems always arise, you can’t moan and complain. You have to think of solutions.

Being solution-minded is related to another quality of a good businessperson: optimism. A great man once said “if you plant potatoes, don’t be surprised if you get potatoes.” Now, you might not be in the farming business, but what this means is that if you think and talk negatively, you get negative results. But if you think and talk positively, then you get positive results. And the key expression here is “I believe.” So when your colleague says “is this going to work?” You say “Yes. I believe it will work.” Others might not believe. They may be filled with doubt and pessimism. But optimism will see you over many hurdles that will force the pessimist to give up.

Of course, thinking positively means keeping your eye on the prize, even when the prize isn’t right in front of you. A wise business leader can see that prize miles away. He says, “in the future…” to help people overcome the present. This is what we call “vision,” or the ability to imagine what success looks like down the road. In fact, how can you know which road to take if you don’t even know what the ultimate destination is? Well, we ask the people with vision, the people who say “in the future…”

Okay, so we’ve talked a lot about overcoming problems, and how optimism, vision and being solution-minded can help us do that. But there are a couple of other qualities that you may need. One of them is the ability to say “no.” Not “maybe”, or “maybe not”, or “let’s think about that”, or “well, I’m not sure.” I mean just a plain and direct “no.” Sometimes people come up with bad ideas, ideas that clearly won’t get you to where you need to go. And while sometimes you need to be diplomatic about things, at other times you need decisiveness. And that means saying “no” when you think “no”.

The road to success can be bumpy, as we all know. And if you ask successful entrepreneurs and business leaders how they got where they are, they will have a lot of different answers. And they’ll show the qualities we’ve mentioned in different amounts. Jack might be more diplomatic than Helen. But Helen might be more visionary than Jack. However, there is one quality that absolutely every successful business person displays. And this quality relates to a phrase that these people think and use all the time. That phrase is “yes, we can.” And what it shows is determination. You can’t be on the fence about success. You have to be all-in and 100% determined to make it. And every organization is led by people like this, who can persuade everyone through the strength of their determination that “yes, we can.”

So, can you?]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com 5:42 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com)no https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-top-10-words-for-business-part-1/ Mon, 26 Aug 2013 16:22:27 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=955 Learn key characteristics of successful leaders. Learn key characteristics of successful leaders. Quiz | PDF Transcript

Transcript

Hello and welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast. I’m you’re host, Tim Simmons, and it’s great to have you back for a new season of podcasts from Business English Pod.

For today’s lesson, I want to take a look at 10 key skills or characteristics that every successful business leader needs. You’ve probably heard this kind of list before, but I want to do something a bit different. I’ve matched these key skills with simple but powerful words or phrases that you can use every day. In business, competition is fierce, and you want every advantage you can get, right? So let’s find out how you can get a leg up.

Okay, for the first one, let me give you a couple of situations. Say your boss tells you her plan to reorganize the office. You love the idea, and you want to show your enthusiasm. Or say your business partner comes up with an idea for a new app that you think could go gangbusters. You want to convey your energy for the idea, right? So what can you say? How about “Let’s do it!” This is a great way to show your enthusiasm and energy. And without those qualities, you can’t go anywhere in business. Just ask the folks at Nike.

Now, enthusiasm is great, but you also need balance. You can’t rush into everything headlong without careful consideration. It’s often impossible to undo a bad decision, and every room needs someone to play devil’s advocate. So when everyone is getting fired up about your colleague’s latest bright idea, you can provide that balance. When he lists the advantages of his plan, you can say “on the other hand” before pointing out some things he might have failed to mention. In this way, you show a more balanced perspective.

Next, I want to talk about a pair of simple words that we all know, but many of us don’t use enough. That pair of words is “thank you.” And I don’t just mean saying thanks casually and automatically. I’m talking about looking someone in the eyes, maybe shaking their hand, and saying with all sincerity “thank you.” It might be for a business lunch, for someone’s time, for someone’s purchase, or for someone’s service. And what does saying thank you show? It shows respect. And believe me, I know that business can be tough, but you’ll go much further if you learn to show all the respect that you yourself like to be shown.

Yes, business and work life can be tough, but we still need to mind our manners. And at a very high level, minding our manners means being diplomatic. Someone who is diplomatic can disagree, can negotiate, can criticize, can express displeasure, and do all of these things while still being polite and respectful. The magic expression here is “Yes, but…” As in, “yes, I understand your point, but there’s something else we need to consider…” My friend Dave is a genius at this. He can make you feel great about your opinion, but still reject it. Like this: “Yes, Julie, I think that’s a really fantastic idea. But in this situation I don’t think it will be possible…”

Okay, so we’ve done enthusiasm, balance, respect, and diplomacy. There’s one more for today, and it’s the characteristic of every successful entrepreneur. It’s something people like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs had a ton of. It’s ambition. And the simple word that I want to encourage you to use properly here is “yes.” When your boss asks if you think you might want to help expand the company into new territory, what do you say? You say “yes.” And when your friend asks you if you want to create a business to market the fantastic piec...]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com 5:57 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com)no https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-giving-and-receiving-feedback-2/ Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:42:00 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=949 In this Business English Skills 360 lesson, we're going to look at how to receive feedback with a positive attitude. In this Business English Skills 360 lesson, we look at how to receive feedback with a positive attitude. Business English App for iPhone & iPad:
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Transcript

Welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast. I’m your host Tim Simmons, and today I want to help you receive feedback with a positive attitude.

Okay now, on with the lesson. How do you feel when you hear something like this from your manager: “Listen, I really need to talk to you about the work you’ve been doing on that big project…” If you’re like most people, your heart starts beating a little faster and your mind starts racing. In fact, this is a common reaction to the idea that we’re about to receive feedback. We naturally don’t like it. But it’s important, so we need to learn how to receive feedback constructively.

Receiving feedback properly begins with thinking about feedback positively. First of all, if someone is giving you direct and immediate feedback, it’s a sign of good communication and a healthy work environment. The alternative is not getting feedback, or getting feedback too late to use it constructively. That’s not a good situation. How would you feel if, six months after finishing a project, a colleague told you that your boss wasn’t really happy with your work?

Next, when you get feedback, understand that it’s not personal, but about producing better results. Humans have a natural tendency to take feedback personally, but that will only hinder your performance. Focus on the ideas in the feedback, rather than the way the feedback is given or your relationship with the person giving it. Don’t think “why is he really telling me this?” or “why does he have to say it with that tone?” Instead, think “what exactly is he saying and how can I use that to improve my work.” Not taking things personally also means resisting the urge to become defensive. Just listen carefully and ask for clarification if you don’t understand. Try not to start every response with “but…” That’s a sign of defensiveness.

Now, sometimes it’s true that feedback is not delivered effectively. If this happens, be upfront about it. If a manager is constantly criticizing what you, tell him that you need the feedback differently. Good feedback is specific, so ask for specifics if you don’t get any. Good feedback is also actionable, so if it’s not obvious how you can use the feedback, then ask how. So if someone says “That report really needs some work,” you can say something like “is there any specific section that you think could be improved?”

Now, we’ve been focusing on negative feedback, or feedback about what you need to do better or differently. And people naturally focus on this kind of feedback. But you shouldn’t forget to recognize positive feedback when you get it. Let the praise inspire and motivate you. Build on that positive feedback and learn to apply your strengths in different areas. And if you really feel you don’t receive much positive feedback, then ask for it, like this: “Could you tell me what you thought worked really well in the report?”

So, stay positive and open-minded when you receive feedback, keep lines of communication clear, and you’ll be able to use the feedback constructively. And finally, pay attention to how people are giving you feedback. Whether you think they’re doing it well or not, you can learn how to provide better feedback to others.

]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 5:05 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-giving-receiving-feedback-1/ Mon, 10 Jun 2013 12:09:54 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=943 In this Business English Skills 360 lesson, we're going to look at how to give feedback to your colleagues in English. Learn how to give feedback to your colleagues in English. Business English App for iPhone & iPad:
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Transcript

Welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast. I’m your host Tim Simmons, and today I want to talk about giving feedback.

Say “feedback” and a lot of people will immediately think of a performance review. You sit down with someone you manage and explain what they’re doing well and what they need to improve. It’s a situation we’ve all been in, on both sides of the desk.

However, feedback is much more than what we do in a structured and scheduled situation. Feedback is an ongoing process, and we give feedback to everyone around us, not just those who report to us. That includes colleagues and co-workers, and our managers or superiors. Feedback happens every day, between everyone in a company. You might be giving feedback and not even realize it. Every time you let someone know what you think about what they’re doing, you’re giving feedback.

Okay, now let’s talk about the kinds of feedback we give. First, there’s negative feedback, or criticism, such as “Joe, I think you need to shorten your sales presentation and work on your delivery. I think it’ll be more effective that way.”

Then there’s positive feedback, or praise, such as “Tanis, I think your presentation was great. You didn’t overwhelm people with information and the visuals really helped emphasize the key points.” Those statements are easy to recognize as feedback, but feedback can also be daily reassurance in which you let people know you’re okay with what’s happening. Like this: “Yep. Looks good.” Or this: “That makes sense. Let’s do it.”

It’s very important to balance these kinds of feedback. You don’t have to deliver every critique sandwiched between praise, but be aware of your overall balance. Too much negative feedback can damage a person’s confidence and sense of well-being. It can be demotivating, which is the opposite of what we want to do. How do you feel when someone keeps saying “Well, you could have done that differently.” Or “that just doesn’t work.” Or “that idea is never going to fly.” It’s very easy to dwell on what people need to improve, but we can’t ignore what people do well.

And we should tell them about it. Positive feedback can inspire, motivate, and reassure. How do you feel when you hear things like “Great job.” Or “I think that looks fantastic.” Or “Just wanted to let you know I read your report, and it was just what I was hoping for.”

Now, good feedback has a few important qualities: it is immediate, direct, and specific. Feedback is immediate when it comes not long after the work or behavior you’re giving feedback on. Feedback is useless, and rather annoying, when it comes months after the fact.

Feedback is direct when it’s delivered to the person who it’s intended for. That means you shouldn’t get others to deliver feedback for you. It feels disrespectful, and there’s a good chance that it won’t be delivered in the way you want.

And feedback is specific when it includes evidence to support the central idea. An example of specific feedback might be: “Joan, I noticed that some of the personnel files are incomplete. We need to make sure that each file includes signed performance reviews.”

By being specific, especially with negative feedback,]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 5:37 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/business-englishskills-360-how-to-get-good-customer-service-2/ Mon, 04 Mar 2013 08:48:45 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=935 In this Business English Skills 360 lesson, we're going to continue our look at how to get good customer service. In particular, we'll look at how to complain properly and get the solution you want. In this Business English Skills 360 lesson, we're going to continue our look at how to get good customer service. In particular, we'll look at how to complain properly and get the solution you want. Business English App for iPhone & iPad:
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Transcript

Welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast. I’m your host Tim Simmons, and today I want to help you get good customer service. More specifically, we’re going to learn how to complain properly and get a good solution.

It all starts with a problem. You buy a product and it doesn’t work right. Or you buy a service and you are not served well. You get frustrated. You paid good money but you’re not getting what you expected. It’s time to complain. So you go back to the store or you ring up a customer service line. This interaction could end with more frustration or it could end with satisfaction, depending on the outcome. So how can you get a good outcome?

The first thing is attitude. Always begin with a polite approach. Don’t assume that you’re going to get bad service. If you plant an apple tree, you’ll get apples. And if you plant a positive and constructive attitude, you’ll get positive, constructive solutions. Customer service reps deal with a lot of grumpy people, and you might just brighten their day by being nice. And they might reward you for it. Now, your feeling might change. You might feel less positive or friendly if you encounter resistance, but you should always remain polite and professional.

Okay, when it comes to describing your problem, there are a few important dos and don’ts. First, explain the problem clearly, including any details that might help the person figure out what went wrong. Don’t exaggerate or become emotional. That will only damage your credibility. So it’s good to say something like “I have turned the machine on and off 5 times and each time I get the error code E44.” That’s clear and detailed. Don’t say “I’ve turned the stupid machine on a thousand times and it just won’t work.”

Next, you need to highlight your dissatisfaction and that your problem needs to be remedied. In other words, you need to tell the person you are not satisfied and that you need a solution. This might mean communicating your frustration, but you should do it by stating that you’re frustrated rather than showing your frustration. That could sound something like this: “This situation is very frustrating to me, and I need a solution.”

Now let’s talk about solutions. Sometimes you start the conversation with a solution in mind. You have already decided what will make you satisfied. In this case, you should propose it directly. If you want a refund, say “I would like a refund.” Notice that we are still being polite and professional.

But sometimes you don’t have a specific solution in mind and you would like the company to give you one. In this case, let them offer something. If you’re happy with the solution, great. But if you’re not, you need to say so. Often a customer service agent will start with the solution that is easiest or cheapest for the company. And you won’t get anything more unless you ask for it.

Sometimes you don’t get the solution you ask for and you’re not satisfied with what is being offered, not matter how hard – and politely – you push. What can you do then?

Well, you can try talking to someone else. That could mean calling back at another time. You may find that you get a different attitude, and different solutions,]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 6:19 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-how-to-get-good-customer-service-1/ Mon, 25 Feb 2013 09:02:19 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=929 In this Business English Skills 360 lesson, we take a look at how to get good customer service. In this Business English Skills 360 lesson, we take a look at how to get good customer service. Free Resources: Quiz & Vocab | PDF Transcript

Transcript

Welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast. I’m your host Tim Simmons, and today I want to help you get good customer service.

You probably know what bad customer service looks like. We’ve all been there. Maybe you’ve stood in line at a computer store to return a defective piece of equipment and the clerk asks you rudely “Well, how do you know it’s broken? Did you plug it in?” Or you’ve called your phone company to change your service and when you finally make it through the voice menus to a real person, you get put on hold for 10 minutes. It’s crazy, right? We are paying customers, and we get treated like this? So if you’ve ever felt your blood boil in situations like these, listen up. Let’s talk about how to get good customer service.

For starters, you have to think about timing. Basically, the busier people are, the more stress they have and the less time they’ll be able to give you. So avoid Mondays. On Mondays you’ve got business, and frustration, that has built up over the weekend, and customer service agents are usually overwhelmed on that day. Also think about the time of day. If you’re calling in to a customer service department or centre, do it early. The early shifts are considered plum, so the more experienced, and more able, customer service reps work at those times.

Now, you might think it’s their job to serve you. And you’re right. It is. But if you can make their job a bit easier, they’ll do it better. That starts with having the right paperwork and information ready. If you have to dig in your bag for your receipt, or if you have to rummage through your desk for your account number while the person waits, they’ll be frustrated. You know what information they’ll ask for, so be prepared.

You can not only make their job easier, but you might also make it more pleasant by being pleasant yourself. Some people think they’ll get better results if they communicate a sense of urgency and frustration. But in many cases, that backfires. Be polite and friendly, and you’ll probably get the same attitude back. Remember that it’s a person you’re talking to. That person can want to help you a lot or just a little. And the difference might depend on how much they like you. Use their name and try to create a personal connection. Even if you are really irked, maintain a positive attitude.

Okay, we’ve covered how we communicate. Now let’s talk about what we communicate. If you’re dealing with customer service, you either have a need or a problem. And you need to be able to explain that need or problem very clearly. Stick to the facts. Describe exactly what happened or your situation. Don’t go on about things they don’t give a hoot about. And don’t give them your life story.

What you should do, however, is give them your customer story. Tell them why you bought the product or service. Don’t hesitate to say something about the positive aspects of whatever it is you bought. This shows that you’ve got a balanced perspective. Still, tell them what your expectations and needs are. But remember, don’t get too verbose.

So, what might a customer story sound like? How about something like this: “Well, you guys came highly recommended by a marketing buddy. I told him we wanted t-shirts for our event that people would keep for a long time, and he said you folks would do a bang-up job. The quality of the shirts is fantastic. But I’m concerned about how the colors look. Our event is in two weeks and we need to make sure these shirts look awesome.” That’s a much better tack than “We ordered shirts and they don’t look good.”

]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 5:58 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-staying-positive-2/ Mon, 14 Jan 2013 11:40:45 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=923 In this Business English 360 lesson, we’re going to continue our look at how to start positive. In this Business English 360 lesson, we’re going to continue our look at how to start positive. Quiz & Vocab | PDF Transcript

Transcript

Hello and welcome back to Skills 360. I'm your host Tim Simmons. In today’s lesson we're going to build on last weeks ideas and look at how you can implement at positive attitude at work.

Think about this for a second: what kind of people do you like to be around? People who moan and complain and talk about how lousy their life is? Or people who have a sense of humor, who smile, who say "great to see you," and who can find solutions to problems? Well, I'm going to venture a guess here and say that you prefer to spend your time with the second type of person. Why? Because they make you feel good.

In our last episode we talked about positive thinking. Today it's all about maintaining a positive attitude toward others. And we've just identified one great reason to do this: it makes people feel good. And if you can do that, then customers will want to do business with you, colleagues will want to work with you, and bosses will want to see you do well. That's certainly a recipe for success.

But as you know, it's not always easy. Staying positive can be very difficult, especially when other people are negative. Sometimes we're faced with mistrust, jealousy, fear, and blame. Sometimes the people we work with seem determined to drag us down. And sometimes things don't go our way. We make mistakes. We don't meet deadlines. We encounter huge problems. At times like these, it can be pretty hard to smile and say, "what a great day." But it's important to try. Others may complain, but we should refuse to participate. We can still be empathetic. We can still say, "I'm so sorry you feel that way." But we should try not to give in to negativity and say, "yeah, life really does suck."

So what does having a positive attitude involve? Let's start simple, with a smile. Smiling is one of the only universal human expressions. It means the same thing, and has the same power, in almost every culture. Smile at others, and they'll smile back. It doesn't matter what business you're in, or what situation. Whether you're a computer tech helping a company with its servers or an executive walking into a high-powered interview. Just smile.

Another part of a positive attitude is courtesy. Yes, that means saying please and thank-you and how do you do. But it’s more than that. Hold the door open for people. Shake their hands. Buy them a coffee. These simple things can do a lot to make people feel good. And here's a tip: it's pretty easy to surprise people by showing courtesy in email and other online communication. Technology has killed a lot of common courtesy, so stand out by showing you haven't forgotten how to be polite.

Now, it's not just about how you say things, it's also about what you say. Think about the last few people you talked with at work. What did you talk about? What did you say? Did you talk about problems and failures, or did you talk about successes? It can be pretty easy to focus on what is going wrong and on what needs to be improved. But we can’t forget to say good things. That means complimenting and praising people. Like this: “Hey Dave, I think you did a great job on that report.” Or “Susan, I’m really glad you’re working on this project with us.” Most of us could do with more of this positive talk in our lives. Success is addictive, and reminding people of their successes is motivating.

Of course, balance is important. You don’t want to constantly gush with praise. You don’t want to “things are great!” when they really aren’t. Because you don’t want people to think you’re a pollyanna. A “pollyanna” is someone who only sees good things and thinks e...]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 6:45 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-staying-positive-1/ Mon, 07 Jan 2013 15:02:44 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=915 In this Business English 360 lesson, we’re going to look at how to stay positive. In this Business English 360 lesson, we’re going to look at how to stay positive. Quiz & Vocab | PDF Transcript

Transcript

[0:11] Happy New Year to everyone and welcome back to Skills 360. I’m your host Tim Simmons and today we’re going to talk about staying positive.

[0:24] When you look ahead at the year to come, what do you see? Do you see great things for yourself, for your business, or for your career? Or do you see doom and gloom, trouble in the workplace, and a global economic mess?

[0:43] Well, I hope you focus on all the positives, even if the negatives exist. And what I want to do is to help you focus on these good things, because positive thinking can help us get where we want to go.

[1:01] So what do I mean by positive thinking? Let me start by saying that it’s not the same as optimism. Being optimistic means believing that everything is going to work out great. But positive thinking is more than that. It’s a mindset, or a way of looking at the world and what you do. It’s a belief in possibility, solutions to problems, and the big picture.

[1:35] The opposite of positive thinking is, of course, negative thinking. Negative thinking means focusing on problems, obstacles, and difficulties. And most of those problems are external. We blame coworkers, the economy, our boss, the competition, a lack of money… And what’s the result of all this? Limits. We limit ourselves and what we do. We think we can’t do things before we even try. And that’s no way to succeed.

[2:19] Okay, so how do we think positively? First of all, we need to look at problems, mistakes, and failures as normal. Imagine you bomb a big job interview. A negative thinker will be bummed out by the fact that he didn’t get the job.

[2:43] A positive thinker will learn from the experience. He will analyze what he did and figure out how to do it better next time. And he’ll also think about what he did well, and try to repeat or improve on those successes. This means focusing on the big picture. That one job interview is not the end of the world. It’s a bump along your career path. There are many more opportunities out there, and probably many better jobs.

[3:25] One trick to positive thinking is to imagine how you’ll think back on things that are happening now. You know from experience that the passing of time brings a fresh perspective. There are bad things that happened last year that you can probably laugh about now. You understand what was a big deal and what was not. Try to do that in the present.

[3:57] Positive thinking often means separating the past and the future. A negative thinker will focus on the past, especially past failures. But the past can’t be changed. It’s done and dusted. The future, however, is yet to be written. And that’s where the positive thinker will focus his attention. How do I do this better next time?

[4:30] Learning is important, and we can see the power of positive thinking when it comes to problem-solving. The negative thinker looks at problems as end points. He says “we can’t do this.” The positive thinker understands that there is a solution to every problem. He says “how can we solve this?” And if you believe there is a way to do something, then there is a way to do something.

[5:06] Positive thinking is a mental habit. It takes practice. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves to focus on the future and on possibility. Sometimes it’s hard to learn from our failures or see the big picture.

[5:26] But if you can do it, there are some great payoffs. You’ll have greater confidence and a better chance of success. And there’s a lot of research to show that positive thinking actually makes us healthier.]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 6:37 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-organizing-your-ideas-2/ Sun, 28 Oct 2012 12:04:01 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=906 In today's Business English Skills 360 lesson, we’ll look at how to organize your ideas around your objective and put them into groups of related points. In today's Business English Skills 360 lesson, we’ll look at how to organize your ideas around your objective and put them into groups of related points. Business English App for iPhone & IPad:
Download from the App Store

Free Resources: Quiz & Vocab | PDF Transcript

Hello and welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast. I’m your host Tim Simmons, and today I’d like to help you organize your ideas.

Before we get into that, a quick reminder that our Business English App for the iPhone and iPad is now available in the App Store. The app comes packed with over 100 great lessons from Business English Pod – including all our Skills 360 lessons. And the best news of all? It’s free to download. Just head over to Business English Pod [dot] com for the App Store link.

Okay, now here’s a situation we all find ourselves in: we’ve got a purpose and we have a bunch of ideas. And we have to figure out how to make those ideas serve our purpose. Maybe the purpose is to convince your manager that you deserve a promotion. Or maybe you want to develop a personal goal plan. Or maybe you have to give a presentation to the Board about recent technological trends.

No matter what your purpose, you can’t just rattle off a bunch of ideas one after another. They need organization. And this is why we take time to prepare.

Last week we looked at several ways to generate ideas. But once you have a big list of ideas, what are you going to do with them? That’s what I’ll talk about today.

You need to start by revisiting your purpose. What is it you’re trying to do? Inform, persuade, set goals, warn, recommend? And who are you organizing your ideas for? A group of potential investors? Your boss? A customer or client? Or are the ideas just for yourself? With a clear purpose and audience, you can go through your list of ideas and cross out those that don’t really apply. For example, maybe you’re trying to convince a customer to switch from the competition to your company. You’ve brainstormed all the great things about your company and its products. Somewhere in your list is “positive workplace culture.” That’s wonderful. But does a potential customer care? Probably not. So nix it.

Great, so you’ve whittled down your ideas. Now what? Now you need to start combining and grouping what remains. Look at the ideas and see if any themes jump out at you. You may notice that several ideas are linked to one bigger idea. Or one big idea in your list seems to include a bunch of smaller ideas in your list. You can rewrite these groupings of ideas on a new piece of paper, or you can just draw lines connecting them. For example, maybe you are going to be introducing your company to a potential foreign partner. You’ve come up with a big list of ideas related to your business. It includes things like salespeople, products, brand image, executive, history, founder… You peruse this list and see that salespeople, executive, and founder are all people, so you put them in a group.

How many groups you end up with will vary. But if you’re going to make your ideas work for you, it’s good to aim for a manageable number of groups. Most people deal well with 2, 3, or 4. Any more than that and it becomes more complex and less memorable.

Once you’ve grouped your ideas, explore them a bit more. Remove the ideas that don’t really seem to fit perfectly, and try to think of others that you’ve missed. Strive for balance. You want your groups of ideas to have roughly the same amount of content.]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 6:52 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-organizing-your-ideas-part-1/ Mon, 22 Oct 2012 09:08:22 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=897 In this Business English 360 lesson, we're going to look at how to organize your ideas. In this Business English 360 lesson, we're going to look at how to organize your ideas. Business English App for iPhone & IPad:
Download from the App Store

Free Resources: Quiz & Vocab | PDF Transcript

Welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast. I’m your host Tim Simmons, and today I want to help you organize your ideas.

So, back to ideas. Sure, you’ve got lots of them. And sure, they’re important to you. But are they important to others? Well, they could be, but only if they’re clear and organized. You’ve probably been frustrated when people run on at length about what they think using vague language. And you’ve probably tuned out when someone jumps around chaotically from idea to idea without tying it all together with a purpose. That just doesn’t work. And sometimes it’s not the best ideas that win, but the ones that are most clearly articulated.

But exactly how can we do this? Ideas can be very wild animals. They don’t always come into our heads in an organized manner. Sometimes they don’t seem to come into our heads at all. And they don’t just get together in their own groups and organize themselves. So we need to generate them, tame them and get them into usable form.

Today we’ll look at a few different frameworks for generating ideas. In this case, we’re using a form of organization to actually get the ideas flowing.

But first, think about your purpose. What is it you are trying to do? Do you need to persuade someone? Are you trying to inform people? Are you trying to warn, recommend, guide, criticize, defend, describe, or inspire? Understanding your purpose will help you decide which ideas to highlight and which to deep-six.

Once you understand your purpose, try getting out as many ideas as possible. Lay it all on the table. Everything is fair game at this stage. Don’t be afraid of things that are off-the-wall. Just feel free to brainstorm, and write down whatever comes to mind. You can evaluate the ideas later. For now, you just want to generate them.

But sometimes this is easier said than done. And that’s why we use different tools or techniques for idea generation.

One useful technique is mind mapping. To make a mind map, start with one word in the center of a piece of paper. From that word, you’re going to create a radial branching system of ideas. What word do you start with? Any general idea or topic you want to explore. Say you’re planning your goals for next year. Maybe you start with that word “goals.” Now write a few words around the middle, and connect them to that central word with lines. These are major themes that relate to the central idea. So around goals, you might have “work,” “health,” “financial,” and “social.” Then do the same for each of these major themes. Keep writing new ideas around each new subword, until you have a big branching structure around the central word.

We also have something called concept maps. Concept maps have a branching structure like mind maps, but they branch down rather than out. And they illustrate how ideas are connected. Start with an idea at the top in a circle. Then jot down related concepts in circles below. Draw lines to these related concepts, and on those lines write how the first idea is related to the second. You can use phrases like “leads to” or “results in” or “creates” or just “is.” For example, imagine you’re putting together a presentation about social media, so you write that phrase at the top.]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 7:59 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-mind-your-language-part-2/ Mon, 03 Sep 2012 10:32:21 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=891 In today’s Skills 360 podcast we’re going to take another look at how to mind your language and soften your tone. In today’s Skills 360 podcast we’re going to take another look at how to mind your language and soften your tone. Skills 360 podcast is now available in iTunes: Free iTunes Subscription

Free Resources: Quiz & Vocab | PDF Transcript

Hello and welcome back to Skills 360. I’m your host Tim Simmons, and today we’re going to look at more ways to mind your language.

If language was just about meaning we would probably communicate very directly with as few words as possible. But it’s not, and we don’t. Every time we speak, we are not only conveying meaning but also acting socially. We need to consider relationships, feelings, and perception. So we mind our language.

Last time I talked about modals and the difference between saying “you must” do something and “could you” do something. Those two ways of speaking are miles apart. Today I’ll talk about lots of other ways to soften our language.

Let’s start with three relatively simple adverbs: “rather,” “quite,” and “fairly.” You can use these words before an adjective to soften the tone a bit. A co-worker asks you about a letter he has written. You think it’s too wordy. But you don’t say, “It’s too wordy.” Instead, you soften the effect by saying, “It’s rather wordy.” Or instead of saying “It’s too formal,” you say, “It’s quite formal.” You’re only switching one small word, but it makes a big impact.

Now let’s look at three relatively simple adjectives: “little,” “slight,” and “minor.” Think about the difference between “The website has a problem,” and “The website has a slight problem.” It’s neither here nor there how big the problem is. Calling it “slight” helps to make the statement less forceful.

It’s really amazing how adding just single words can change the effect of what we are saying. Two of the most common softening words are “maybe” and “perhaps.” These words can transform a definitive statement into a mere possibility, like this: “Perhaps we need to consider letting a few employees go for the summer.” Or this: “Maybe what you should do is talk to Jane directly.”

All of these words I’ve mentioned are part of what we call “hedging” language. Hedging language simply makes our statements less assertive.

There are more ways to hedge. One useful technique is to qualify the number, frequency, and certainty. Qualifying numbers means using expressions like “a few,” “some,” or “several.” So instead of saying “There are mistakes,” you can say, “There are a few mistakes.” It’s softer. Qualifying by frequency means using expressions such as “occasionally,” “sometimes,” or “from time to time.” On a performance review, for example, it may be useful to say, “From time to time Joe does not prepare sufficiently for presentations.” And qualifying by certainty means using modals such as “might,” “could,” and “may.” So rather than saying, “Our bid will not be successful,” you can say, “Our bid might not be successful.” In all of these examples, you can see how one expression can tone down the strength of our statements.

Sometimes hedging and qualifying require more than just one word. There are a variety of expressions we can use to change a statement of fact into one of opinion or curiosity. Here’s a situation: a designer shows up at a meeting with some new brochure designs. You think the designs are too trendy for your company. So here’s what you say: “I wonder whether these designs are a bit too edgy for our brand.” By introducing the idea with “I wonder whether,” it sounds like you are just thinking out loud,]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 6:29 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-mind-your-language-part-1/ Sun, 26 Aug 2012 15:07:43 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=884 In this Business English 360 lesson, we’re going to continue our look at how to use careful, or diplomatic English. In this Business English 360 lesson, we’re going to continue our look at how to use careful, or diplomatic English. Quiz & Vocab | PDF Transcript

Welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast. I’m your host Tim Simmons, and today I’m going to encourage you to mind your language.

What on earth do I mean by, “mind your language?” Well, consider a statement like this: “We have to cut costs. Meet me in your office at 2:00 so we can talk about how to do this.” How does that sound? The statement doesn’t have any problems with grammar or vocabulary. But how does it sound? Is it acceptable? Well, what if I said this instead: “I think that cutting our costs might be a good idea. How about sitting down to talk about this? Would 2:00 in your office work?”

You can surely see that the second statement is softer than the first. I don’t just mean it’s more polite. I mean it’s less forceful and more diplomatic. Now, I don’t want to suggest that forceful or authoritative language is never useful or necessary. It is useful for some people in some situations. But in the majority of our everyday communication, we need to mind our language. I’m not just talking about keeping things nice for clients and customers. I’m also talking about fostering good relationships with colleagues, superiors, and subordinates. Yes, today’s managers have to mind their language when speaking to those they manage. So let’s talk about how we can do this.

For starters, we need to look at a very important group of words called modal verbs. Modals are words like, “might,” “would,” and “must.” These words carry not just meaning, but power. Just think about it. A project leader comes to you on a Friday morning and says “You must come in tomorrow to finish the report.” And you grit your teeth. Or he comes to you and says “We really should get that report done before Monday. Would you be able to come in tomorrow and help get that finished?” The difference is clear. The second statement uses “should” and then “would” to make a request. But the first statement uses “must,” which is too forceful. Come to think of it, how often do you really hear people use the word “must?” In fact, it’s simply too strong for most situations.

Okay then. How are these modals grouped? Well, we’ve got a bunch of strong ones, including “must,” “have to,” and “need to.” These modals present no choice. They are used to give orders or showing obligation. Then we have a group of medium-strength modals, such as “might,” “may,” “can,” “should,” “could,” and “ought to.” These expressions can be used for recommendations, suggestions, and advice. Then we have requests, which we can make with words like “can,” “will,” “could,” and “would.”

Now listen to how changing one word slightly can change the tone of a statement. Imagine a colleague comes into your office to talk about a presentation you have just given. He says, “You should have used fewer slides.” Or he says “You could have used fewer slides.” Can you see how using “could have” sounds like a gentle suggestion while “should have” sounds too opinionated?

This is really about tone and effect rather than just meaning. The trick here is that we often use softer language even when we want to express a stronger idea. For example, what if I’m a senior engineer talking to a junior technician. I want to tell him to do something. He doesn’t really have a choice. But I really don’t want to come across as a jerk. So I don’t say, “you have to finish those drawings today.” Instead, I say, “We really should have those drawings finished today.” Or “those drawings are important, so could you have them done by the end of the day please?” You see? I’m using the language of recommendation or req...]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 7:08 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-how-to-say-no-2/ Sun, 08 Jul 2012 14:13:30 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=876 In this Business English 360 lesson, we’re going to continue our look at how to say no in English. In this Business English 360 lesson, we’re going to continue our look at how to say no in English. Skills 360 podcast is now available in iTunes: Free iTunes Subscription

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Hello and welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast. I’m your host Tim Simmons, and today we’re talking about how to say “no.” That’s right, someone asks you for something or to do something, but you have to say “no”. That’s not always easy, but it’s important.

Think about the results of not saying no. If you accept everything, you’ll have too much to do and the quality of your work will suffer. Timelines will become unrealistic. You will be seen as nice, but possibly unreliable. And for you, it will mean more stress, anxiety and frustration. We’ve all experienced this. We’re overwhelmed with work and realize that we should have said “no” somewhere along the way. And when we only have ourselves to blame, we feel terrible.

In our last episode, we learned some great ways to be firm, clear, and honest when saying “no”. This will help you protect your time, your work, and your reputation. But of course you don’t want to offend anyone. Sometimes we need to manage other people’s feelings when we say no. Or we need to make sure we’re not seen as uncooperative. Today, we’ll look at some ways to do this.

One very common method is to use the word “but”. If your co-worker asks you to sit on a special committee but you don’t have the time, here’s what you can say: “That committee is important, but I have too much work right now so I’m not going to be able to help.” What you notice here is that you still have the clear and firm part: “I’m not going to be able to help.” But before the word “but” you’ve acknowledged the other person’s request. Saying “that committee is important” recognizes the other person’s work.

Also notice in this case that there is a reason for the refusal: “I have too much work right now.” You shouldn’t give a long explanation, but reasons can definitely help soften the “no”. And specific reasons are better than general ones. For example: “I can’t commit to that because I am heading up the new design project and we are facing a big deadline.” As you can see, your reason for saying “no” is a sense of responsibility to something else. And that is not a bad thing.

Another way you can soften your refusal is to offer something else in return. That something else could be a suggestion. For example: “I’ve got a big deadline so I can’t help. But you might want to ask Todd. He’s not busy today.” You see? We can’t help out directly, but we can offer a possible alternative solution.

The something that you offer could also be another part of you or your time. Imagine a colleague at another branch asks you to pay a visit and teach him how to use some new software. You don’t have time to visit, but you could offer help in another way. Like this: “I’m too busy to come by, but I could give you a half hour of help over the phone tomorrow.”

You can see that in these situations, “no” is not the final word. You have a refusal and an alternative, which is still an attempt to help.

Remember that being firm and clear and protecting your time and integrity does not mean being rude. Someone might really need help, and you should show empathy. If you can manage all of these things in your refusal, you will earn people’s respect. Think about how this sounds: “I understand you’re under a lot of pressure Brenda. With my workload,]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 5:23 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-how-to-say-no-1/ Mon, 02 Jul 2012 07:54:41 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=869 In this Business English 360 lesson, we’re going to look at how to say no politely in English. In this Business English 360 lesson, we’re going to look at how to say no politely in English. Skills 360 podcast is now available in iTunes: Free iTunes Subscription

Free Resources: Quiz & Vocab | PDF Transcript

Hello and welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast! I’m your host Tim Simmons.

Today I want to start with a situation. Imagine this: you are sitting in your office trying to catch up on paperwork. A colleague walks in with a panicked look on his face. He says, “This proposal has to go out by 4:00pm but the formatting is all messed up. Could you help me?”

Sound familiar? And I bet you’d like to reply, “I’m afraid I’m too busy at the moment.” But what you really say is “well, okay.” Or “hmm, I’m kinda in the middle of something but maybe during lunch…” Or “let me think about it…”

Why is it so difficult to say no? Well, of course you want to be polite, and kind, and agreeable, and a good person who helps out his co-workers. If it’s a boss who is asking you for something, you may fear losing favor or opportunities. And if it’s a client or customer asking for something, you might not want to ruin the relationship.

But what I want to tell you is that in many cases you should say no. And you should know how to say it. You and your time are important, and if you’re too busy, well, you’re too busy! You need to avoid overcommitting. If you try to do too much, you’ll do nothing well. Saying yes to everything can lead to disaster, even though you feared the results of not saying yes.

And remember that people can usually see when you want to say no but can’t. That doesn’t make you appear very strong and confident. Those people will keep asking you until you find a way to say “no,” clearly, firmly, and honestly.

That’s the key: you need to be clear, firm, and honest. There are several ways we can do this.

First of all, treat “no” as a normal thing. If you make a big deal of your refusal, it will seem like a big deal. So avoid long explanations. And don’t be too apologetic. Many people apologize automatically, saying “I’m so sorry Dave, but I can’t.” But should you really be sorry for being busy? Save your apologies for times when you really foul something up.

Second, learn to be firm. You may want to hesitate or hedge by saying “well, I’m not sure…” or “that might be possible…” In many cases, you’re just doing this because you’re trying to find a way to say no. So just say no firmly. Don’t leave the door open to negotiation or discussion. If it doesn’t work, say “that doesn’t work.”

This is not only firm, but clear. You see, we often want to give excuses for not being able to do something without saying clearly that we can’t. So your boss asks you to come in on Saturday, and you say “Gee, that’s the weekend, and I was thinking of going golfing.” That’s not clear. “I can’t come in on Saturday” is clear.

People appreciate honesty, so tell them the truth. If something is not possible, say so. And be specific. So if a customer asks for a quick turnaround when your company doesn’t have the resources to make it happen, then say that. Like this: “There’s no way we can do it in that timeframe.” You can even highlight your honesty by starting with something like “I have to be frank here” or “to be perfectly honest with you.” That emphasizes the fact that you’re being realistic.

One final tip for today: if you really want to be clear, the start your response with our magic word itself.]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 6:09 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-negotiations-2-making-the-deal/ Sun, 29 Apr 2012 13:15:42 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=863 In this Business English 360 lesson, we're going to look at negotiating in English and how to successfully close a negotiation and make a deal. In this Business English 360 lesson, we're going to look at negotiating in English and how to successfully close a negotiation and make a deal. Skills 360 podcast is now available in iTunes: Free iTunes Subscription

Free Resources: Quiz & Vocab | PDF Transcript

Welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast for the second part of our look at getting the most out of your negotiations. I’m your host Tim Simmons and today we’re going to tackle the actual negotiation. What should you be thinking about and saying when you’re sitting down at the table working on a deal?

Let’s start with the idea of control and restraint. And here I’m talking about controlling yourself. You might want to go in with guns blazing and overpower the other party with a show of strength. But that is usually the wrong thing to do. You might scare them right out of the room. Enter the negotiations calm, cool, and collected. Like I said in the last episode, treat it as a business discussion. So discuss, don’t attack.

Now, a wise man once said ‘we have two ears and one mouth and we should use them in those proportions’. In other words: listen more than you speak. When you listen, you get information. And the more information you have, the better your position. Listening also makes the other party feel validated. And that’s important, because if they feel they are not being heard, you have slimmer chances of success.

Of course, the other party might not have listened to this podcast. They might be belligerent or have poor listening skills. They might use fear or pressure tactics. But remember, if you lose your cool in the face of these methods, it means they work. So continue to show restraint and resist emotional responses. This is business, and you shouldn’t take things personally, even when it feels personal.

Okay, so that’s all about control and restraint. Now how can you deal with the actual give and take of a negotiation? Well, I’ve got a few tips for you. First of all, when you talk about money, don’t be the first to give a number. You might miss out on a sweet deal if you divulge too much information. For example, maybe your company designs websites and you’re in talks with a big company about a project. Their budget might be much bigger than what you usually charge. If you learn that, you stand to gain a lot.

But you also need to remember not to get too hung up on money. Price might be an important point, maybe even the most important point to you, but it’s never the only one. Some negotiations get stuck on the issue and never move past it. There could be a great deal possible for both parties but they don’t even realize it because they’re not talking about other terms.

Negotiations are all about concessions. You get some, and you give some away. And hopefully you get more than you give. So you should always be looking for the chance to gain concessions. Never give anything away for free! If the other party says “oh, we need this faster than the three months you propose,” then you can say “well, that will come with a higher price tag.” And when you make concessions, try to find ones that are easy for you but very valuable to the other party. For example,]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 6:06 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-negotiations-1-doing-your-groundwork/ Sun, 22 Apr 2012 21:17:32 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=855 In this Business English 360 lesson, we're going to look at negotiating in English and how to do your groundwork to prepare for a negotiation. In this Business English 360 lesson, we're going to look at negotiating in English and how to do your groundwork to prepare for a negotiation. Skills 360 podcast is now available in iTunes: Free iTunes Subscription

Free Resources: Quiz & Vocab | PDF Transcript

Welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast. I’m your host Tim Simmons, and today we’re going to explore the topic of negotiations.

Negotiation is something we all have to do on some level. You might be part of a team discussing a huge contract, or on the phone trying to get a good deal on office supplies, or in your manager’s office asking for a raise. Negotiation happens every day. In fact, you might say that in business everything is negotiable.

To kick off, we’re going to look at what you do before you start negotiating. That’s right, this is about doing your groundwork. It’s impossible to overstate the importance of being prepared, not matter what type of negotiation you’re headed into. The more you know and understand going in, the better deal you’ll walk out with.

So where do you start? Well, good preparation begins with learning about the other party. You want to understand their style, personality, and the way their groups work. And you also want to understand their negotiating style. What exactly do we mean by “style”? No, this isn’t whether they dress conservatively or casually. This is about how they negotiate. Are they formal or informal? Are they analytical or emotional? Are they aggressive or passive? Knowing these things will help you tailor your response and approach. For example, if you walk into a negotiation and open with an informal and slightly aggressive approach, but the other party is accustomed to more formal and rational negotiations, you may put them off.

Of course, a lot of negotiating style comes down to culture. Germans, Koreans, Russians, and Indians will all negotiate differently. So do a bit of research and find out how these groups typically approach a negotiation. This will reduce misunderstanding and help you craft your own approach.

Beyond style, you need to know how the other group operates. How do they make decisions? Are they aiming for group consensus? Or is there a top dog who you need to focus on swaying your way? Does the person in front of you have the authority to sign off on a deal? These are things you need to know. So do your homework and find out exactly what you’ll be facing.

Great. Now you also need to understand the other party’s position. That is, what exactly do they want and need? And what are they willing and unwilling to give up? To do this, you can try to get inside information, analyze their business situation, and find out about previous deals. Why did they succeed or fail?

Everyone heads into a negotiation with a list of priorities. It might not be written down anywhere. It could just be a general idea like: we can’t play around with price too much, but the timeline is less important. If you know this, you have power. You can also benefit from information about their options. If they can’t make a deal with you, do they have others waiting? Or are you the only one who can give them what they need? How time-sensitive is a deal? Can they wait? Or is that simply not an option for them? Again, this type of information will help you immensely during the negotiation.

Understanding the other party’s position is also necessary in order to figure out your own basic positions. And you shouldn’t have one position in mind. In fact,]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 6:56 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-problem-people-2/ Sun, 15 Jan 2012 21:36:05 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=846 In last week's Skills 360 lesson we talked about how to deal with specific incidents with difficult individuals. Today, we’re talking about how to deal with ongoing issues with problem people. In last week's Skills 360 lesson we talked about how to deal with specific incidents with difficult individuals. Today, we’re talking about how to deal with ongoing issues with problem people. Skills 360 podcast is now available in iTunes: Free iTunes Subscription

Free Resources: Quiz & Vocab | PDF Transcript

Thanks for tuning in to the Skills 360 Podcast. I’m your host, Tim Simmons. Before we jump into today’s lesson on dealing with problem people, I just want to mention the coming release of our Course Builder web app. With Course Builder members can create courses by searching and saving lists of BEP lessons. Take a look at the demo video on BusinessEnglishPod.com to see just how quick and easy it is to make a personalized course.

So we’ve been looking at how to deal with problem people. These are the people in your office that drive you nuts because they’re so difficult to get along with. Last week we talked about how to deal with specific incidents with difficult individuals. Today, we’re talking about ongoing issues.

This is about the constant thorn in your side, whether it’s your colleague, your boss, or the angry IT guy that gets annoyed every time you ask for some simple information. In extreme cases, these people can make you dread going to work each day. So how can we deal with them?

First of all, if there’s someone causing problems on a continual basis, it’s best to act instead of just reacting. Don’t let the issue, and your resentment, fester. The problem won’t go away all by itself, and if you wait to deal with it, there’s a good chance that when you do, you’ll lose emotional control. So be proactive. You know there’s a problem, now go out and do something about it.

And doing something about it means talking to the person causing the problem. But before I get into that, there are a couple of other tips I want to share with you. The first is to document everything. Keep a log or journal of the problem. Save relevant emails. Record dates, interactions, and details. This will give you clear points to take up with the person directly and also if you have to discuss the problem with a supervisor. My second tip is to let someone know that you’re experiencing a problem with someone – the person you tell could be a colleague or it could be your boss. Don’t whine and complain, and don’t ask for help. Just let the person know there’s an issue and you’re doing what you can to deal with it.

Okay, next comes the hard part. What you need to do is confront the person who’s causing the problem. This is easier said than done, and you need to keep several things in mind when you do this to avoid making the problem worse or getting pulled into a pointless argument.

Make sure you ask the person to talk in private. You can start with some very open-ended questions to try to get the person to open up about any issues they’re having. For example, you could say, “So, I’ve noticed that you seem stressed. Is everything okay?” What you may learn is that the person has a problem that is not related at all to work or to you. You can then kindly inform the person that the problem is affecting work and the people around him or her.

The problem may also be related to work. You may find, for example, that the person feels his or her opinion or work is not valued. You can then attempt to address those problems. A little compassion can go a long way toward m...]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 7:21 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-problem-people-1/ Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:04:35 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=840 In this Skills 360 lesson, we look at how to deal with difficult colleagues at work. In this Skills 360 lesson, we look at how to deal with difficult colleagues at work. Skills 360 podcast is now available in iTunes: Free iTunes Subscription

Free Resources: Quiz & Vocab | PDF Transcript

Hello and welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast! I’m Tim Simmons, and I’m looking forward to an especially exciting year of podcasts. There’s lots of great stuff in the works for 2012, so stay tuned.

Now, the New Year is a really important time for most people. For one thing, we use it as a time for setting goals. And if you want some help doing that, be sure to check out the Skills 360 podcast on ‘achieving your goals’. The New Year is also a time when we feel refreshed and optimistic about the future. It’s a brand new start, right? Well, unfortunately, that feeling is not shared by everyone. You might go to the office in the New Year with a smile on your face, but there are people who seem determined to wipe it off. I’m talking about problem people.

Every office has them. They might be uncooperative, rude, confrontational, overly competitive, or just plain unpleasant. Whatever the case, they’re a pain in the butt to deal with. These problem people test our patience and push our buttons. But they don’t have to. You just need to stick to a few basic principles and you’ll have better success in dealing with these situations.

Today I want to talk about how to deal with specific incidents with these difficult people. Maybe you’re in a meeting and someone is screaming and shouting at everyone and everything. Or maybe a grouchy colleague walks up to your desk and wants to start an argument. Or maybe someone on your project team is in a really bad mood. These are the kinds of incidents I’m talking about.

So how do we deal with them? Firstly, try not to judge the person. Don’t assume you know what’s going on. The source of the person’s behavior might be completely unrelated to you or work. It might simply be coming out in your presence. The other thing you need to realize is that difficult people are often difficult because of insecurity or fear. For both of these reasons, reacting in ways that increase anxiety are going to be counterproductive. Instead, you need to find ways to decrease anxiety.

This means, first and foremost, remaining cool, calm and collected. Stay rational rather than becoming emotional. Even if the person seems to be baiting you, try not to get involved in an argument. Take the high road and, even if the person is getting personal, don’t stoop to their level. In many cases, remaining calm and refusing to involve yourself in an argument can defuse the situation relatively quickly. So, if someone says to you “Hey Jack, your idea stinks. That would never work in a million years,” resist the temptation to strike back with, “Yeah, well your idea isn’t so hot either.”

If the person persists, one technique you can use is to repeat back what he or she is saying. Like this: “So, you think my idea stinks and it would never work?” Or you can rephrase it, like this: “So, you think my idea is terrible and I don’t know what I’m talking about?” Just be careful not to infer too much. You might cause a bigger argument if you overinterpret what someone says. But if you repeat back the basic idea or words, sometimes people will realize what they’ve just said and how it must sound.

Now, sometimes people cause problems because they don’t feel understood. A solution for that is very simple: listen.]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 6:15 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-performance-appraisals-and-year-end-reviews/ Mon, 21 Nov 2011 07:39:48 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=823 In this Business English Skills 360 lesson, we look at some tips for preparing for your end-of-year review or performance appraisal. In this Business English Skills 360 lesson, we look at some tips for preparing for your end-of-year review or performance appraisal. Skills 360 podcast is now available in iTunes: Free iTunes Subscription

Free Resources: Quiz & Vocab | PDF Transcript

Hello everyone, Tim here with another Skills 360 podcast. The end of 2011 is fast approaching, and it’s the season for performance reviews and end-of-year appraisals.

Few people actually look forward to sitting down with their supervisor and talking about the past year. For most, it’s quite a nerve-wracking experience. But today I want to show you that if you’re prepared, there’s no reason to be shaking in your boots.

First up, as you may have guessed if you’re a regular listener, is preparation. I really can’t overstate the importance of good preparation. A lot of people think that the performance review is something we just have to grin and bear every year. But that’s not really the case. If you are an active participant in your own review, it can be a golden opportunity. So take the bull by the horns, make sure you’re prepared, and walk into your review with confidence and a smile on your face.

But how exactly should you prepare? Well, a good place to start is to look at the situation from your supervisor’s perspective. What is he or she looking for? What topics will likely be covered? What questions will you be asked? What are some of the things your supervisor probably doesn’t want to hear? Think about what you would do if you were the supervisor. Once you’ve given this some thought, you’ll be ready to focus on what really matters and put the trivial stuff to the side.

What else should you think about? Well, remember that a performance review, or at least an effective one, evaluates you based on established goals and past points of comparison. So look back to your last performance review. What objectives did you and your supervisor set for yourself? What did you do well? In what areas was there room for improvement? You want to show that you’ve progressed as an employee and worked hard to be successful. To do that, you need to use that last review as a point of reference.

Okay, I mentioned both the positive and the negative there, and that’s important. Performance reviews address both successes and failures. Let’s start with successes. Reflect on the past year. Browse through your reports, your calendar, and even your email just to jog your memory. As you do this, make a quick and dirty list of your greatest achievements. These could relate to how you found solutions to problems, how you made the company more money, or how you improved some aspect of the workplace. You need to emphasize achievements that relate directly to the past objectives you set as well as to your job description.

But that’s not all. You really want to show how you went above and beyond the call of duty. Show your supervisor how you stepped outside the box and did something that was not expected of you. And whenever you can, put numbers to your achievements. What do you think sounds better: “I sold more paper,” or “I established five new major corporate accounts and increased my year over year sales by 34%”? Get the picture?

Now, you have to be realistic, and you can’t overlook your failures and weaknesses. So think back on the year and make a list of instances when you could have done better. Remember that supervisors don’t expect perfection – well, some do – but they do want to see that you have identified your weaknesses and thought abou...]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 6:25 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-making-the-most-of-personal-learning-2/ Sun, 25 Sep 2011 13:04:21 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=784 In this Business English Skills 360 lesson, we’re going to look at personal learning and how you can organize your English learning. In this Business English Skills 360 lesson, we’re going to look at personal learning and how you can organize your English learning. PDF Transcript | Quiz & Vocab

Transcript

Welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast. My name’s Tim, and today we’re going to look at some more tips and ideas for making the most of your personal learning.

And FYI: listening to Skills 360 just got easier. Yes, this podcast now has its own channel on iTunes. If you don’t already subscribe, visit BEP or myBEonline for the free subscription links.

Okay, so last week I talked about setting yourself up with a system of personal learning. Today, I’m going to be talking about maintaining your momentum and staying on track.

All right. You’ve set some goals, found some resources, and come up with a plan for your personal learning. How are you going to stick to that plan? One of the greatest things you can do to maintain your momentum is to establish a routine. If you keep thinking that you’ll study if and when you get the time, or if you just try to fit in some listening practice every now and then when you get 20 minutes of free time, chances are you won’t achieve your goals. You’ll go nuts with frustration. You need to be regular. This usually means studying at the same time every day. Whether it’s on your commute, over your morning cup of joe, or part of your evening routine, doing it the same time every day will help make it a habit. It will become second nature, just like brushing your teeth.

Part of your routine should include a regular review of what you’ve already done. There’s nothing worse than putting in the work to learn something and then forgetting it a short time later. In last week’s episode we talked about variety, which means the breadth of input. But you also need depth. So don’t forget to look back and reinforce what you’ve already studied.

Now, remember in our last episode I talked about setting goals… SMART goals? Well, as you work toward those goals, you need to track or assess your progress. Are you actually coming closer to reaching your goals? Assessing your progress could involve breaking your goals down into stages. Reaching those stages means making progress. This could also mean keeping a careful record of what you do and what you can do. You will be able to look back through your record and see how far you’ve come. Another way to track yourself is to use our BuddyBucks system on mybeonline.com. What are BuddyBucks? Basically, they’re points that you earn for participating and learning. The more BuddyBucks you earn, the more progress you’re making. It’s a great way to see how much you’re getting done.

But tracking your progress is not always enough to keep your learning on track. You might need to dangle a carrot in front of yourself. I’m talking about rewards, which are closely related to motivation. You have to feel like you’re getting something for your hard work. You can certainly set different kinds of rewards for yourself for achieving certain milestones or reaching certain goals. For short-term goals, it could be something as simple as a cup of coffee. For larger goals, it could be a movie or concert or even a weekend away. And this is another way that BuddyBucks might help give you a spark. When you earn enough BuddyBucks, you can cash them in for access to more Business English Pod resources. Or access to human resources... by that I mean teachers... which brings me to my next point.

]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 6:20 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-making-the-most-of-personal-learning-1/ Sun, 18 Sep 2011 12:21:58 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=761 In this Business English 360 lesson, we’re going to look at personal learning and how you can organize your English study. In this Business English 360 lesson, we’re going to look at personal learning and how you can organize your English study. PDF Transcript | Quiz & Vocab

Transcript

Hello everyone, Tim here with another Skills 360 podcast. Hope you had a fantastic summer and now you’re feeling refreshed and ready to get down to work. We’ve got a great lesson today on making the most of personal learning.

And here’s some good news for everyone interested in personal learning: the Skills 360 podcast is now available as its own channel in iTunes. Just head over to the BEP or myBEonline websites for the free subscription links.

Okay, now I mentioned personal learning. And I’m guessing that if you’re listening to this, you must be a pretty motivated learner. Am I right? You are keen to improve your language ability, your communication, and your overall business skills. And you’ve decided to tune in to a podcast to do those things. That’s great. But does it stop there? Is that all we have to do? No, not if you want to make good progress, so lets look at some ideas to make the most of your personal learning.

Let’s start with goals. Now, I went on a lot about goals and how to achieve them in a previous episode of Skills 360 series. Anyone remember what makes a good goal? Well, in case you don’t recall, let me jog your memory: goals should be SMART. That’s S-M-A-R-T. And what do those letters stand for? S is for specific. M is for measurable. A is for attainable. R is for relevant. And T is for time-sensitive. So make your goals specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely. If you do, they’re SMART goals. Feel free to look up our previous episodes, if you want more on setting and achieving your goals.

Now, your goals can be big or small. Whatever works for you. I mean, one of your goals could be to devote one hour every day to studying English. That’s pretty straightforward. Or your goal could be to develop your skills enough to attain a high score on an English test such as TOEIC or BULATS. Achieving a goal like that will most likely mean you will have to set many smaller goals (to achieve it).

Great. Now your goals can be a part of something bigger, part of what we call a personal learning plan. To create a personal learning plan, you need to sit down and figure out what your strengths and weaknesses are, which skills you want to develop, how much time you have, how much money you can commit, and what exactly you want to accomplish. Then you can create your plan. This will help put some method behind what you’re doing.

The word “personal” is very important. Your learning should suit you, your interests, your schedule, your abilities, and your SMART goals. There are gads of online tools that can help you do this. You can use bookmarking tools like Delicious, social networking tools like Google Plus, as well as YouTube and SlideShare. In fact, if you think about the online tools that you use for business, communication, and entertainment, these are probably all useful in building a personalized learning plan. If you want to take it up a notch, you can try the new “Course Builder” tool on mybeonline.com.

All right, now one thing to keep in mind is variety. Variety in what? Variety in everything. You should be varying your type of input, the source of that input, and the difficulty of your input. Your type of input could include both reading and listening, as well as vocabulary work and grammar, if that’s up your alley. The source of your input could be radio, television, podcast, newspapers, and face-to-face interaction. And the difficulty could range from materials created specifically for language learners to those targeting native speakers. In a word, mix it up. Listen to some of my 360 shows, work on a couple of BEP podcasts,]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 6:51 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/360-telephone-tips-for-communicating-in-english/ Sun, 26 Jun 2011 12:36:33 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=566 In this Skills 360 lesson we’re going to look at telephone English. In particular, we’re going to talk about controlling the call in English and the flow of information. In this Skills 360 lesson we’re going to look at telephone English. In particular, we’re going to talk about controlling the call in English and the flow of information. PDF Transcript | Quiz & Vocab

Transcript

Hello and welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast. I’m Tim Simmons, and today we’re going to have a closer look at telephone skills. In particular, we’re going to talk about controlling the call and the flow of information.

Communicating effectively on the phone is an essential skill. And whether you’re talking to a client, a colleague, a supplier, your boss, or a bicycle courier, you need to make sure your purpose and the information is clear. Last week, we focused on your telephone attitude. Today, we’ll look at ways you can make sure information is flowing smoothly and that you are guiding the conversation.

Good telephone communication can actually begin before you pick up the phone, with a bit of preparation. Grab a piece of paper and jot down your key questions or issues that you need to resolve. Put them in a logical order so that you’re not just jumping from topic to topic. The less you have to rely on your memory, the better. Nothing’s worse than hanging up and realizing that you didn’t get everything you need. People are busy, and it’s best to handle things with one call rather than two, or three. So, if you’ve got a clear purpose for your call, then you can start working down your list. And that paper and pen should be handy for taking notes as you’re talking.

Okay, you’ve managed to get ahold of the person you want to talk to, you’ve got the right attitude, and you’re dealing with information. Now you need to make sure everything is clear and that you’ve understood what the other person is saying. To do that, you need to confirm information. You can do this in a couple of ways. First off, you can repeat information back to the other person. So, if someone says “I can meet you at 4:30,” you can say “Right. 4:30.” You can also do this by asking for confirmation and restating the information in different words. So, if someone says “It’s pretty unlikely that the delivery is going to make it there on time,” you can say “Do you mean that our delivery is going to be late?” And when you do this, it’s best to restate things in the simplest and easiest language possible. Just to avoid any confusion.

Another thing you need to do with information is give feedback about it. In other words, tell the other person clearly what you think about what he or she has just said. “I can meet you at 4:30” could be followed by “4:30 is a great time for me.” Or “The delivery is going to be late” could be followed by “I understand and I’ll let everyone else here know.”

After you confirm the important points and give feedback, you can move on to another question. Remember, the person who is asking the questions is in control. By asking questions, you can direct the conversation to the topics you want.

Sometimes when you ask questions, it’s a good idea to limit options rather than leaving things open-ended. Think about the difference between these two questions: “What day is good for you?” and “How about Tuesday or Wednesday morning?” Which is easier to answer? Which will reduce the amount of discussion involved? That’s right, the second one. Tuesday or Wednesday. Whenever possible, limit the number of options to two. If neither option is acceptable, give another two.

In some cases, you won’t be able to reach the person you want to talk with and you’ll have to leave a message. Don’t forget to leave a complete message. That includes your name, your company, your purpose, and your number. Leaving out any of those pieces of information will reduce th...]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 6:27 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-telephone-tips-1/ Sun, 19 Jun 2011 12:52:39 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=543 In this Skills 360 lesson we’re going to look at telephone English. In particular, we’re going to talk about how to start a call in English.. In this Skills 360 lesson we’re going to look at telephone English. In particular, we’re going to talk about how to start a call in English.. PDF Transcript | Quiz & Vocab

Transcript

Hello and welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast. I’m Tim Simmons and I’m glad you could join me. Today we’re going to take a look at an activity you do every day: talking on the telephone.

Telephones don’t stay at the office anymore. We carry them around in our pockets. We use them when we’re commuting, when we’re out for lunch, when we’re working on the computer, and even when we’re supposed to be talking to someone else face-to-face. They’re always on. And that means we have to be ‘on’ too. Being ‘on’ means having the right attitude.

The right attitude starts with promptness. When you hear that ring, don’t delay. Grab it before the third ring so the caller knows he’s important. And when you answer, be sure to smile. You might be thinking that a smile is unnecessary because the other person can’t actually see you. But in this case, smiling is about more than just turning up the corners of your mouth. Smiling is an attitude. It means having a voice that is pleasant and enthusiastic. That voice helps create a connection with the other person and open the door to good communication. And keeping a smile on your voice is something you should do when you initiate the call as well. It’s not just the job of the person receiving the call.

Okay, you’re smiling, but what should you say? If you’re answering the phone, you can always fall back on the standard four-part greeting: you need to greet, to identify yourself – and your company – and to offer help. That goes something like this: “Good afternoon. This is Jim at Kepler Marketing. How can I help you?” Even if you know who’s calling, you should still keep this same format, even if you present it a bit more informally. For example, you might say “Hi, this is Jim. What can I do for you?” Want more information and practice on this kind of thing? Look up BEP 69A, which is all about answering the telephone.

Now, if you’re the caller, you will follow a similar blueprint. But instead of greeting, identification, and offer, you’ll have a greeting, identification, and request. That could go something like this: “Good morning. This is Fred Collins with WebStar. I’d like to speak with Mr. Tony Flair.” Again, if you’re calling someone you’re familiar with, you’ll still follow the same pattern. For example: “Hi Sue. Fred with Webstar here. Could you put me through to Tony?”

Great. You’ve started the call out with the right attitude. Now keep it up throughout the call. How you communicate is just as important as what you communicate. Remember to speak slowly and clearly. The less people have to ask you to repeat yourself, the better. Surely you’ve seen a person in the street with a mobile phone at one ear and a finger plugging the other, saying “pardon?” and straining to hear what the other person is saying. Let’s try and avoid that. That also means choosing clear words. Say “yes” instead of mumbling “uh-huh.” And “I understand” instead of “got it.”

Another important tip is to stay focused on the call and the other person. If you’re trying to do several things at once, the chances of miscommunication shoot up. And it’s usually pretty obvious to others when you’re trying to order a sandwich at the same time as talking to them. Give the other person all the courtesy you would if you were dealing with him face-to-face. That includes being patient. Let the other person take the time he needs to talk. In return, you should receive patience and the time to talk as well. The same goes for common manners.]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 6:28 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-tips-and-techniques-for-selling-your-ideas-2/ Sun, 24 Apr 2011 15:24:48 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=441 In the Business English Skills 360 lesson, we look at techniques for selling your ideas in English. In the Business English Skills 360 lesson, we look at techniques for selling your ideas in English. PDF Transcript | Quiz & Vocab | Game

Transcript

Hello and welcome back to Business Skills 360. I’m Tim Simmons, and I’m glad you could join me today for more tips and techniques for selling your ideas.

Now, you know your ideas are good, but how do others? You need to make them think or even just feel that they are good. Last week, we looked at some techniques you can use. In this show, we’ll look at attitudes that you can adopt. This isn’t exactly about what you say, it’s about how you say it and the feelings or impressions your delivery creates.

The first attitude is positivity. People naturally gravitate to positive people and tend to avoid negative people. So, make a habit of doing simple things like saying hello to people in the hall and at the water cooler. Keep discussions upbeat. Show excitement about your ideas and keep smiling. There’s a lot of power in a smile, and you should use yours to cultivate an atmosphere of positivity and warmth. People will be drawn to you, and, as a result, to your ideas.

Another attitude that will bring people on board with your idea is empathy. This is about showing people that you understand how they feel. Not just that you know what they’re talking about, but that you have felt it too. If that person is feeling frustrated by red tape, describe an experience in which you also felt frustrated by red tape. They will feel you’re on the same side. Show people that you get it, and they’ll be more likely to believe and follow you.

Empathy creates a feeling of inclusion, or belonging. And there are other ways of doing this. Have a welcoming attitude. Your great idea is more than just an idea. It’s an idea plus all of the people who believe in it. In this sense, your idea has its own little club, and everyone who believes in it belongs to that club. So talk about “we” rather than “I” and make people feel like accepting your idea admits them to a group. People want inclusion and fellowship. You can make them feel this with a welcoming attitude.

Okay, now there are other tacks you can take when you’re trying to sell someone on your ideas. One of them is shock and disbelief. This is a very useful tool for making people feel that another idea, maybe one that disagrees with yours, is useless or absurd. It goes something like this: “Did you hear what the consultant said? He actually thinks we should spend more on marketing. My jaw dropped when I heard that.” People who might have thought the idea was good will have doubts. After all, if you think the idea is crazy, then other people probably do too.

One more attitude or impression is something called the “last resort.” The last resort is the only option. It may not be a perfect option, but it’s the only one remaining. Your idea might actually be one of many, but if you talk about it as though it’s the only one left, people will stop considering other ideas. “Well, we’ve looked at all the alternatives and none of them are up to scratch,” then you can hit them with the punchline, “So I guess we really don’t have any other choice…” You see how this works? People will get the impression that all the other options have been explored already.

So, remember that bringing people on side doesn’t just mean giving them reasons to believe you. It also means adopting certain attitudes to create an emotional response.

That’s all for today. If you’d like to test yourself on what we’ve just covered, have a look at the myBEonline.com website.]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 5:10 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-tips-and-techniques-for-selling-your-ideas-1/ Sun, 17 Apr 2011 16:09:14 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=414 In the Business English 360 lesson, we continue our look at techniques for selling your ideas in English. In the Business English 360 lesson, we continue our look at techniques for selling your ideas in English. PDF Transcript | Quiz & Vocab | Game

Transcript

Hello and welcome back to the Business Skills 360 podcast. I’m Tim Simmons and today we’re going to take a look at how to ‘sell’ your ideas.

You may be full of great ideas, but exactly how do you get people to buy into them? How do you get people on board with your brilliant plans? Well, today I want to share a few tools and techniques that will help you do just that.

These tools and techniques have two important effects: they build connections and they build credibility. The connections can be between you and your listeners, but they can also be between your listeners and your idea. Those connections will generate buy-in. And that credibility can be your credibility and your idea’s credibility. You, and your idea, have to be believable and trustworthy.

Okay, let’s start simple. One of the most basic yet powerful tools you can use is a person’s name. People love to hear their own name repeated in conversation. It makes them feel important. It tells them that you care about them as individuals. This creates a strong personal connection between you and your listeners, which makes them more receptive to your ideas. So instead of telling me, “I think you should do a presentation on your project,” tell me this: “Tim, I think you should do a presentation on your project.” The effect is subtle, but strong.

Great. Now, let’s talk about what you do with your idea. You need to help people connect to that idea, to understand it, and to see how great it is. Making comparisons can help do that. People love to compare things, situations, points in time, people… We do it naturally, it’s how we organize our world and how we evaluate things. So show people the difference between your idea and others. Show them exactly how your idea will make a difference. It’s like the before and after pictures in an ad for a weight loss product. It’s clear and persuasive, and people will be able to connect better with your idea.

Now, why should people believe you? Well, you and your ideas need credibility. You need to demonstrate that you’ve thought your ideas through, and that there is good reason to believe in them. To demonstrate that, you need to give evidence and provide concessions. Evidence is basically proof that your idea is a good one. Don’t assume others might agree with you just because you’re a fun colleague or a hard worker. Tell them why you believe what you do, and if the reasons are strong enough, they’ll believe it too. Keep the evidence real. Show them examples that they can relate to, ideas that improve that connection between them and your idea.

And then there’s concession. Giving concessions means actually mentioning evidence or ideas that go against what you’re trying to say. Don’t talk about this too much, but show that you realize things aren’t black and white, that nothing is perfect. It improves your credibility. Just think about the last time you heard someone refuse to admit any kind of criticism of their idea. That person didn’t sound too reasonable, did they?

Now, there’s another reason to mention ideas that go against yours: to knock them down. You set them up, then you knock them down. You have to anticipate the criticism or the arguments against your idea. Then you acknowledge them. You say exactly what they are. And then you say why they don’t make sense or should be ignored. In this way, you are taking and destroying weapons against your idea. It’s a preemptive strike, so to speak.

So remember, your ideas are only truly great if you can sell them to othe...]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 6:03 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/360-diplomatic-and-direct-language/ Sun, 13 Mar 2011 12:48:59 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=347 In the Business English 360 lesson, we look at what is often called Diplomatic English. In the Business English 360 lesson, we look at what is often called Diplomatic English. PDF Transcript | Quiz

Hi! It’s Tim Simmons here with another edition of Business Skills 360. I’ve been listening to the current series on handling a crisis, and I just wanted to jump in with a couple of important points on the language we use in a crisis. We’ve heard some folks dealing with a pretty serious crisis: an accident at a factory. And maybe you’ve noticed how some of the people are quite careful about the words they use. Careful is important.

You see, a crisis is a sensitive situation. Emotions are running high and people are on edge. There is the potential for conflict if you do or say the wrong thing. At the same time, the clock is ticking and you may not have time to manage everyone’s feelings. For these reasons, you have a very fine balancing act between being diplomatic and being direct.

What do we mean by being "diplomatic?" Well, diplomatic language is polite and careful. We use it so people don’t feel offended or get upset. Let’s see how this works in practice. Imagine you need to tell your boss about a bad accident. Do you say “There’s been a bad accident?” You could say this, but it’s probably too direct. To cushion the blow, you could say something like “It seems that there’s been quite a bad accident.” How is this more diplomatic? Well, it starts with “It seems...” That’s an indirect way of introducing something. “Perhaps” and “maybe” are other common ways to do this. Or you can use “apparently,” like this: “Apparently there’s been quite a bad accident.”

Now, the other thing you heard there is “quite,” as in “quite a bad accident.” That’s a minimizing expression. It makes the situation sound not as bad as it really is. We do this when we say things like “this problem is rather urgent” and “we have a slight problem.” Just by adding words such as “quite,” “rather,” “slight,” “a little,” and “a bit,” we can be more diplomatic.

Okay, another way to be diplomatic is by using questions. Imagine you think someone made a lousy decision. You could say “You made a lousy decision.” But chances are that person is going to react negatively, so you should be diplomatic. In this case, you can use a question, like “Are we sure this is the right thing to do?” Or maybe you think someone is trying to decide on a course of action too quickly. You could say “Wouldn’t it be better to talk about this a bit more?” Questions, especially ones starting with “would” and “wouldn’t,” are more diplomatic than direct statements.

Okay, but do we want to be diplomatic all the time? Definitely not. Diplomatic language can be rather indirect. And for that reason, people might not understand just how serious we are. Sometimes we need to convey a sense of urgency or give very clear instructions. In these situations, we need to be direct.

Imagine you’re having a head-to-head with an employee after a big accident, and you don’t want him to talk to the media. You could be diplomatic and say “It might not be a good idea to talk to the media.” But that’s not strong enough. In this case, you should be direct and say, “Don’t talk to the media.” This is what we call an imperative, which is a sentence with no subject. We use them for commands, like “Fix the problem” or “Tell me what happened.” Imperatives are direct, not diplomatic, which is exactly what you need here.

Direct language is also essential when you’re giving instructions, which need to be clear, especially in a crisis. Imagine you want an employee to inspect some machinery, repair any problems, and then file a report. Do you start with “Maybe we should have a little look at that machinery”? Is that clear? That sounds like you’re thinking out loud.]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 6:49 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/360-tips-for-successful-presentations-2/ Sun, 16 Jan 2011 06:25:27 +0000 http://www.mybeonline.com/?p=308 Learn how to make an effective presentation in English. Learn how to make an effective presentation in English. PDF Transcript | Quiz

Transcript

Hello and welcome back to Business Skills 360. I’m Tim Simmons, and I’m glad you could join me today for the second part in our series on effective English presentations. Last week, we talked about keeping it short, simple, engaging, and real. Much of that happens in the preparation. Today, we’re going to talk about what happens when you stand up in front of that audience and have to start speaking. Take a deep breath...

Your first goal should be to make a connection with each and every listener. That connection is the pathway along which your message travels. If you have a good connection, there’s a good chance your message will sink in.

To make this connection, you have to do two things: you need to control the audience’s attention and you need to engage their minds. Remember that: control and engage. And to do these two things, you have three tools: your voice, your props such as PowerPoint – and your body or movement.

Let’s start with your voice. It needs to be confident and clear. Show everyone that you know your stuff. Speak slowly and steadily. And remember that silence can be your friend. You need to pause sometimes to give people a chance to think. If you fill every space with your voice, you might start to get on people’s nerves, and the words won’t carry any power. Try very hard not to use “ums” and “ahs” when you’re thinking. Think silently, choose your words carefully, and deliver them confidently. Otherwise, people will tune you out.

When you speak, you should invite people into your presentation by asking for input. That means using questions. Ask easy ones so that people don’t have to think too much. Some of your questions can be open, to the entire audience. Some of them can be directed at specific people. Don’t move on until you get an answer. As soon as people start contributing by answering questions, their engagement goes up. They feel like they are participants, not just listeners.

The next tools are your props and visual aids. That could mean PowerPoint slides. But it could also mean a whiteboard, a flipchart, a wall chart, or anything else that people look at that is not you but is part of your presentation. The most important thing is that you use these aids. Don’t just let people look at the slides. The slides should help you illustrate your points. Don’t put up a graph and not explain it. It should be worked into your presentation.

These aids are useful, not just for giving information, but for keeping attention moving. Humans – and not just children – have short attention spans. They can’t concentrate on one thing for long. So you have to work with that, and take their attention somewhere else before it wanders somewhere else. Move people’s attention back and forth between you, your aids, other listeners, a handheld prop, back to you... and so on.

Now, your body, and what you do with it, is also important. I’m talking about body language and movement. Let’s start up top with the face. Firstly, make eye contact. Don’t just quickly scan the faces in the room. Look directly at an individual when you’re making an important point. That person will respond with his or her attention, and the connection will last. That person’s engagement in your presentation will shoot up. Try to do this with every individual in the room at some point. Okay... your face also includes your mouth. And what are you going to do with that? You’re going to smile. Sure, you’ve heard it before, but it’s easy to forget once you get nervous. The smile is universal.]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 7:00 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/360-tips-for-successful-presentations-1/ Sun, 09 Jan 2011 19:20:49 +0000 http://www.mybeonline.com/?p=301 In the Business English 360 lesson, we'll learn how to give a success presentation in English. In the Business English 360 lesson, we'll learn how to give a success presentation in English. PDF Transcript | Quiz

Transcript

Hello, I’m Tim Simmons and you’re listening to Business Skills 360. We’re going to kick off the New Year with an insanely great show on presentations. But first, I want to wish you all an awesome 2011. Hopefully the coming year is unbelievably wonderful for you. I know it will be for me. Now, let’s get to all that awesomeness...

Okay. Forget everything I just said. I’m not Steve Jobs, and I don’t have a shiny “new” gizmo to show you. If I keep using words like “awesome,” you’re going to get sick of me really fast. You might have heard that Steve Jobs gives great presentations. Well, he can wow a crowd of people who already love Apple, but should we really try to copy him? His style and his adjectives don’t really work when English is not your first language. And they fall flat when you are an HR manager presenting a new compensation plan, or an engineer reporting change orders on a big project.

So exactly how can you make an impact? How can you tighten up your presentation so that it connects to your audience?

I’m sure all of you have heard of the mnemonic device KISS – short for “Keep it Short and Simple”. This is excellent advice for all types of business communication, and I completely agree with it. But KISS misses a couple of key points that you also need to consider so I’ve added these and now like to use KISSER- which stands for “Keep it Short, Simple, Engaging and Real.”

Let’s look at the first term: “short.” Many bad presentations have too much repetition or unnecessary information. People want what is important and relevant, and that’s what you should give them. Try this: after you prepare your presentation, go through and cut out 30%. You should be able to do that without damaging your central message. What remains will have much more impact because it’s not surrounded by fluff. This applies to PowerPoint slides, charts, and diagrams as well. As a general rule, try to limit slides to one per minute. And if your boss gives you ten minutes to speak, make sure you can do it in just five.

Next is “simple.” Simple means organized and clear. Start with the purpose of your presentation, which you should be able to summarize in one sentence. Something like: “make people understand that expenses are too high.” From that purpose, organize your ideas into three or four points. If you want, you can frame these points as questions, like this: “What expenses can we reduce? What expenses can we eliminate? And what are the long-term savings?” And tell your audience what the outline is at the start. If your questions are good ones, they’ll want to figure out the answers.

“Simple” also applies to your language and visuals. Don’t try to impress people with technical lingo. It won’t work. And keep PowerPoint slides simple. No confusing charts or graphs. Only the essential information, in simple form. The text on your slides should not be too hard to see, no smaller than a 30-point font. This will force you to keep the text simple. I promise you, people will appreciate that.

Okay, now we come to “engaging.” You need to catch and hold people’s attention. You want them to be interested. And how do we do that? In terms of what you say, there are a lot of great techniques that we’ll cover in our upcoming podcast series on impact presentations. They include repetition, rhetorical questions, metaphors, and visualizing facts and figures. One thing that is not engaging is information overload. Don’t overwhelm your audience. Use pictures and other visual aids to illustrate your points. If you’re doing a PowerPoint, don’t put two “informational” slides right after each other. Mix it up.]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 7:18 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/business-skills-360-achieving-your-goals-part-2/ Sun, 24 Oct 2010 17:18:14 +0000 http://www.mybeonline.com/?p=217 In the Business English 360 lesson, we’ll continue our look at achieving your goals. In the Business English 360 lesson, we’ll continue our look at achieving your goals. PDF Transcript | Quiz

Hi everyone. I’m Tim Simmons and you’re listening to Business Skills 360. Glad you could join me today for the second part in our look at “achieving your goals.” Today I’m going to talk about how to maintain your focus and motivation while you work toward achieving your goals.

Let me start off with a quote from the well-known business guru Robert Allen. Allen said: “The future you see is the future you get.” What he is talking about is visualization, which is necessary for achieving goals. You have to visualize yourself or your organization accomplishing whatever it is you’ve set out to. This is what many professional athletes do before a big competition… they walk through the match and imagine themselves winning. Let me repeat it for you: “The future you see is the future you get.”

This is one way of helping you maintain motivation, but there are others. One other way is through a system of rewards. Of course, when you finally reach your goal there is a great payoff. That could be a sense of accomplishment, greater profits, better working relationships… whatever your goal is related to. But that great payoff may not be enough to sustain you, especially when you’re working toward long-term goals. Remember how I mentioned in the last episode that you need to establish milestones or benchmarks along the way? Now, what you need to do is to attach rewards to those milestones. What kind of rewards? Well, that depends on the type of goal. If it’s a personal goal, you could reward yourself with something fun, like a night out, or by buying something you really want. If it’s an organizational goal, then maybe you need to reward all the people involved. For example, you could throw a party or give bonuses. Those rewards and incentives will help everyone stay on track and give them something real to look forward to.

Now, visualization and a system of rewards both help people remember that they’ve set goals. The mistake that many people and organizations make is to set goals and then promptly forget about them. That’s wrong. You and your employees or colleagues should be keeping your goals in mind whenever you do something. You need to remind yourself or your people of goals. This could mean writing them down, posting them on the staff room wall, or having regular updates.

In an organizational setting, goals may have their own communication plans. If you have set goals that depend on the work of other people, those people should know about it. For example, imagine you are a regional sales manager and decide that you want to increase sales by 15% in the next quarter. Who are you going to tell? Well, the salespeople, of course. You need to let them know that there is a clear, or smart, goal in place and that you want them to work together to achieve it. Then you need to check in on their progress, update the entire team, and remind them what they’re shooting for.

So, do all of these strategies guarantee success? Are these tactics foolproof? Of course not. I’m telling you right now that there will be bumps along the way. You will experience setbacks, and there will be days when the goal appears farther away than the day before. This is normal. A common mistake is to give up on a goal when mistakes are made or problems occur. You need to see these setbacks as opportunities to refocus. Look at what happened. Figure out the reason for the setback, and then you will have improved your chance of success. Failure is not falling down, failure is staying down.

Great. Remember that achieving your goals is a process, not an event. It takes time, energy, motivation,]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 5:20 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/business-skills-360-achieving-your-goals-part-1/ Sun, 17 Oct 2010 09:05:55 +0000 http://www.mybeonline.com/?p=197 In the Business English 360 lesson, we’ll look at achieving your goals. In the Business English 360 lesson, we’ll look at achieving your goals. PDF Transcript | Quiz

Hi everyone. I’m Tim Simmons and you’re listening to Business Skills 360. Glad you could join me today for the first part of our series on “achieving your goals.” We’re going to kick off it with a look at setting SMART goals and some tips for managing your goals.

Now, when I talk about goals, I’m talking about any kind of goal. It could be a personal goal, like improving your sales pitch, or an organizational goal, like expanding successfully into new territory. The basics are the same. (So the advice I’m going to share with you applies to goals of any size or scope.)

Okay, now achieving your goals always begins with setting good goals. But what exactly does a good goal look like? Well, you might have heard people talk about SMART goals. In this case, the word SMART is a mnemonic device. Each of those letters stands for something. The “S” is for specific. A goal like “I want to be a better salesman” is not specific. But “I want to improve my gross sales” is. “M” stands for measurable. Think about that phrase “A better salesman.” Can you measure that? No, you can’t. But you can measure gross sales. Next, goals should be attainable. Of course, you need to be ambitious, but you shouldn’t set goals that are clearly out of reach. In our salesman’s case, perhaps “improve my gross sales by 10%” is reasonable. Okay, the “R” in SMART means relevant. That is, is the goal aligned with the person or organization’s mission statement? Is it a worthwhile goal? And finally, goals must be time-sensitive. If we don’t attach some kind of timeline to our goal, then we may lose focus. “Sometime in the future” is not a very inspiring timeline. “Within this financial quarter” is. So, let’s see if we’ve managed to put together a SMART goal here... our hypothetical salesman’s goal is “I want to improve my gross sales by 10% within this financial quarter.” Very nice. It’s specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-sensitive. And because it is all of those things, our salesman has a better chance of success.

Okay, so you’ve created a smart goal, now the question is how are you going to manage that goal? First off, you need to make it a priority. Chances are that you or your organization is working toward several different goals. Sometimes those goals compete for precious time or resources. So if you can’t give the goal what it needs, then really, what hope does it have of being achieved? Setting aside the time to work toward your goal is key. So is good delegation, if the goal is something that depends on the work of others. In this sense, a goal is like a project. In fact, some companies rely on goal-management software to make sure they stay on track.

And staying on track can be tough, especially if the goal is a long-term one. When the desired outcome is in the distant future, people and groups can become discouraged or forget altogether what they are working toward. That’s why goal management also involves breaking a goal into concrete steps. Sometimes people call these smaller steps “objectives.” Instead of expecting people or ourselves to maintain motivation for something far off, we set milestones along the way. Then we can spread the sense of accomplishment out over the duration of the process.

Does that make sense? You see, many people and organizations like to make goals but have the terrible habit of abandoning them. And if you give up on your goals regularly, for whatever reason, what’s the point in making them? Doing this will create a feeling or culture of disappointment and failure. And that is not healthy.

So remember,]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 5:34 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/business-skills-360-networking-2-network-maintenance/ Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:44:59 +0000 http://www.mybeonline.com/?p=157 In the Business English 360 lesson, we’ll look at English socializing skills and how to maintain your network. In the Business English 360 lesson, we’ll look at English socializing skills and how to maintain your network. PDF Transcript | Quiz

Transcript

Hi everyone. I’m Tim Simmons and you’re listening to Business Skills 360. Glad you could join me today for the second part of our look at networking skills. In this episode, I’m going to focus on what I’ll call “network maintenance,” or how to make sure your network is healthy, organized, and effective.

You see, passing out business cards is not enough. I can spend all week attending events and talking to people and manage to hand out 200 business cards but still not have a healthy and effective network. To do that, you need to maintain your network. You need to take care of it and reinforce its connections. You need to work your network. Just how can we do that? Glad you asked.

One of the first things you can do is to keep track of your network on paper or electronically. Take notes on your contacts. Record more than just phone numbers and email addresses. Write down interesting business-related information like current projects or past accomplishments. Also write down non-work information... things about family or personal interests. These things may come in very handy in the future when you talk with this contact again. Consider the difference between “Oh, hello... uh... Greg, right? Where do you work again?” and “Oh, hello Greg, I hope the furniture biz is treating you well, and by the way: how is your daughter adjusting to her new career?”

Another important part of network maintenance is following up on conversations. You meet someone, you exchange cards, and you have a brief chat. Great. A couple of days later you should send this new contact a brief email message just to say it was a pleasure talking. Mention something specific that you talked about just to help the person remember. Connections that are not reinforced will die. A brief follow-up after first meeting is a great way to increase the chance that your connection will survive.

Reinforcing your network even further means working your connections regularly. Don’t be afraid to call on people for help. If you’re faced with a difficult issue, look through your network to see if anyone can help. It might just mean placing a call for five minutes of advice. No problem. Every conversation will make weak contacts stronger. Remind people you exist. Check in regularly. If you hear a piece of news that you think someone might find interesting, pass it on. Show that you’re an active contact, and people will do the same in return.

Also remember that we’re talking about healthy and effective networks, not healthy and effective relationships. What’s the difference? Well, you may have a few dozen good business relationships, but if none of those people ever become connected, then it’s not really a network. Every relationship is simply the connection point between two people’s vast networks, and you should take every opportunity to connect other people through you. Here’s an example. You have a business associate named Nancy who needs to hire a new bookkeeper. You meet someone at a networking event named Joe who tells you he had to lay off several people in his accounting department. What do you do? You connect Nancy and Joe. Doing this strengthens your relationship with both people and puts two favors in the bank, one with Nancy and one with Joe.

You need to learn to view people as nodes in a network, not as isolated individuals. When you meet someone, don’t think only of what he or she might be able to do for you, think of what everyone in his or her network might be able to do. Good contacts are the ones that have good networks.]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com 5:58 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com)no https://www.mybeonline.com/business-skills-360-networking-1-setting-goals/ Sun, 22 Aug 2010 20:34:30 +0000 http://www.mybeonline.com/?p=112 In the Business English 360 lesson, we’ll look at English socializing skills and the idea of setting goals. In the Business English 360 lesson, we’ll look at English socializing skills and the idea of setting goals. PDF Transcript | Quiz

Transcript
Hello and welcome back to Business Skills 360. I'm Tim Simmons, and I'm glad you could join me for today’s show on networking.

Today also marks the start of our “Back–to-School” sale on Business English Pod. Just head over to the website at www.BusinessEnglishPod.com.

Okay, back to networking. Now, I'm not going to tell you how to connect computers... this is about business networking, talking to people, making connections... and today we're going to discuss goal-setting in networking events. You need to go into these events with a clear objective so that you can make good use of the opportunity. We set goals for everything else, so why not networking?

First off, what do I mean by networking event? Perhaps it's a mixer for all business people in your community, or maybe it's a conference where you have the chance to meet people in your field. These are important opportunities, and it's important that you use your time wisely. The fact is, at many networking events, 75% of the people stand around waiting for the other 25% to make something happen. It's important for you to be in that 25% group. Be proactive. You can’t just stand in the corner and expect everyone to walk across the room to introduce themselves.

So... to be an active and successful networker, it's a very good idea to set goals before the event. What kind of goals? We'll talk about issue-based goals and human-based goals.

Let's start with issues. Before the event, sit down and give some thought to your current situation. What issues are you currently dealing with in your business or work? Are you facing specific problems or obstacles that you need help with? Do you have certain needs? Write these things down, then rank them in order of importance. For example, your list might say... “number 1: our project meetings lack focus. Number 2: our computer servers are unreliable. And number 3: my department is spending too much on office supplies.” Great. It's good to have a top three. Too many and you'll lose focus.

Now, keep your top three issues in mind as you head into the networking event. Remember, the goal of your networking is to solve these problems, get help solving them, or simply get some ideas about how to deal with them. You may not meet someone who can actually solve these, but you may meet someone who has encountered them before. Steer the conversation toward these issues. They may help you get over that awkward situation in which you've introduced yourselves and aren't sure what more to talk about. You can say something like... "So, you folks do a lot of project work... how do you find your meetings?" or "What kind of servers do you run in there?"

Now, let's think about human-based goals. The purpose of networking is, of course, to build a human network. You talk to people, and your network grows. You talk to more people, and your network grows even more. That's great, but if your purpose heading into a networking event is very general, like "talking to people," then how do you know whether you've been successful? Setting specific goals will help you get more done and measure your success, especially if you feel you're not very good at networking.

Put numbers to your goals. Set targets, just as you might for sales or other important business basics. For example, perhaps you decide that you will make three soft contacts and one excellent contact. Or maybe you decide to tell five people about your company's new product. Or maybe you aim simply to pass out 10 business cards. Whatever the specific goal is, it will help you focus your efforts.]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 5:27 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-job-interviews-4-difficult-questions/ Thu, 29 Jul 2010 09:31:58 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=716 In the Business English 360 lesson, we’ll learn how to answer difficult questions during a job interview in English. In the Business English 360 lesson, we’ll learn how to answer difficult questions during a job interview in English. PDF Transcript | Quiz

Transcript

Hello and welcome. I’m Tim Simmons, your host for Business Skills 360. Glad you could join me. This is the fourth and final part in our 360 series on your first job interview. Today we’re going to tackle a few of those really tough questions that interviewers like to ask. You know they’re coming, so let’s get ready for them.

Getting ready. That’s the key. You need to spend time preparing for your interview and crafting good answers to the questions you’re going to face. Every interviewer will have one or two oddball questions that will catch you off guard, but for the most part you can predict what you will be asked. So prepare, prepare, prepare. I’ll go through five fairly standard ‘difficult questions’ today and you can prepare your answers.

Let’s begin at the beginning, with “Tell me about yourself.” This is not an easy task. Interviewers don’t want a 10-minute summary of your life. You need to be brief, crisp, and relevant, and everything you say should relate to the job or your career objectives. Describe yourself in three to five sentences, mentioning your key strengths, your most recent related experience, and your basic professional goals. This question normally comes right at the start of the interview, and first impressions are important, so you’d be wise to develop a good answer and rehearse it.

Right. Now how about that question “What is your greatest weakness?” There are several stock answers here that actually twist a positive quality, like “I’m too much of a perfectionist.” Avoid those types of answers because employers have heard them all before. You should state a true weakness and then explain how you have tried to overcome it. For example, “Well, I have had some problems with organization, but I have taken a time management course and I’m focused on improving this area.” You might just want to avoid talking about something that is a key skill or attribute of the position.

Okay, so some interviewers will ask you to give them an example of conflict and how you dealt with it. This makes a lot of interviewees uncomfortable, but remember that conflict is normal and natural. The important thing is how you deal with it. Tell the interviewer about a real conflict you experienced, but don’t chalk it up to a personality difference. Show how the conflict was the result of miscommunication or misunderstanding. Show how you tried to understand the root of the conflict and how you dealt with that directly. Then explain how things improved.

Now there’s another common difficult question that relates back to the “tell me about yourself” idea. The question is this: “Why should I hire you?” The worst thing you can do here is to seem confused or have nothing to say. You must be able to sell yourself and explain why you are right for the job. Focus on your strengths and how they relate to the company’s goals. Many products have a one-sentence unique selling proposition that explains very briefly why you should buy it. You should have a unique selling proposition for yourself.

Right. One final tough question is about your long-term objectives or plans. In this case, you should avoid mentioning specific job titles or positions. You should also avoid talking about opening your own business or going back to school. Talk about what you’d like to do for your employer and focus on certain areas of professional improvement. Be ambitious. Talk about your goals. Do not say that you don’t really have any!

Great. Let me reiterate one last time here that there is no substitute for good preparation. None of these questions should leave you scratching your head in confusion.

]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 5:06 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/business-english-skills-360-job-interviews-3-research/ Thu, 22 Jul 2010 09:03:12 +0000 http://mybeonline.com/?p=705 In the Business English 360 lesson, we’ll learn how to do your research before a job interview in English. In the Business English 360 lesson, we’ll learn how to do your research before a job interview in English. PDF Transcript | Quiz

Transcript

Hello and welcome. I’m Tim Simmons, and you’re listening to the Business Skills 360 podcast. Glad you could join me. This is the third part in our 360 series on your first job interview, and we’re going to be looking at the topic of research. And by that I mean the research that you should be doing before you step into the interview. Okay, so let’s get started...

When you prepare for an interview, you want to arm yourself with knowledge in three key areas. Number one is the position itself. Number two is the company. And number three is the industry.

So, how do you find out about the position? Well, the job ad or posting is an obvious place to start. This should include a job description that lists all the responsibilities and skills required for the position. You may also visit the company’s website, or go to job websites that describe similar positions and the type of work that people with that job do. You can even try to talk to people who work at the company.

When you’re doing your research, you should be asking yourself several questions. What are the required skills and attributes for the job? What is a person in this position expected to deliver or produce? How much authority comes with this position? How does this position fit into the company’s organizational structure? Which other people in the company will I have to work with? The more you can find out, the better. It will help you to understand which of your skills and experiences are the most relevant or impressive. Your research will also help you discover things that you want to know more about, so you’ll be able to ask pertinent questions to the interviewer. Great, so what’s next?

That’s right, you need to research the company, and a great place to start is their website. There you should be able to find an overview of the company. What are their products and services? What is their mission? Who are the company leaders? What is the company’s history? From there you can search for the company in the news and learn about the latest developments. Try to figure out where the company fits in the market as well as how it differs from the competition. Dig deeper and read between the lines to understand what kind of corporate culture exists and to see what challenges the company is currently facing. During the interview, you may be able to speak about potential solutions to such challenges.

Finally, you should learn something about the industry and the market in which the company operates. There are plenty of resources online, but you can also head to the library or bookstore to browse books and magazines. Industry publications and newsletters can also help. As you learn about the industry in general, see where the company fits into the greater scheme of things. Also pay attention to trends, growth areas, external influences, and problems in the industry.

Okay, these are the three key areas of research that you need to cover before your interview. If you’ve done your homework, you will arrive feeling much more prepared and, therefore, more confident. You’ll be able to fit the interview questions and your responses into a broader context of the company’s goals. You’ll also be able to ask much better questions to the interviewer. Don’t feel that you have to pull out everything that you learned. The fact that you’ve done research will shine through in your responses and questions. And interviewers truly appreciate any effort you’ve put into your preparation. Hopefully, they are so impressed that they offer you the job...

That’s all for now. I’m Tim Simmons, and this is Business Skills 360.]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 5:12 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/be360-first-job-interviews-conveying-enthusiasm/ Thu, 15 Jul 2010 16:11:08 +0000 http://www.businessenglish360.com/?p=92 In the Business English 360 lesson, we’ll learn how to how to demonstrate a professional attitude and convey enthusiasm during a job interview in English. In the Business English 360 lesson, we’ll learn how to how to demonstrate a professional attitude and convey enthusiasm during a job interview in English. PDF Transcript | Quiz

Transcript

Hello and welcome to Business Skills 360. I’m Tim Simmons, and I’m glad you could join me today for the second in our series on your first job interview. In this show, we’re going to take a look at how to demonstrate a professional attitude during your interview. This can be a difficult thing to do when you’re feeling nervous and have a hundred other things on your mind. But it’s really important - especially for your first job interview. Here’s why.

Yes, your experience and skills are important, just like we talked about last week. But demonstrating a professional attitude is also key to setting yourself apart from other candidates. You need to show that you’re confident, comfortable, and personable. Employers can’t really see your personality or attitude from your resume. Indeed, the main purpose of an interview is to meet you face-to-face and see if you have the right stuff... the right intangible qualities... the right professionalism... to do the job right. Interviewers want to get to know you a bit and gauge how you’ll get along with others in the work environment. Remember, you’re not there just to summarize your resume. You need to make a good personal impression too. So, let’s have a look at how you can do that.

For starters, you need to look the part. Appearance is very important, and you should choose simple and conservative clothing. Make sure you’re neatly trimmed and go easy on the makeup, jewelry, and cologne or perfume. Don’t worry too much if you arrive and find that it’s a fairly casual environment. It’s better to be overdressed than underdressed, and you’re showing respect for the interviewer and the process by dressing formally.

You’re dressed for success. Now what? Well, you need to adopt an attitude... an outward self... that conveys professional enthusiasm. This starts with two things: eye contact and a smile. These show that you’re engaged and personable. Also make sure you’re ready with a firm and confident handshake. Be quick to respond when an interviewer extends his or her hand. Or take the initiative yourself.

Great stuff. You’re done with the introductions – now comes the tough part: the interview itself. Your primary job is to answer questions, but it’s not a police interrogation. You need to be an active participant in the interview. You need to engage in a dialog. Show interest in the company and position. Show excitement about your own experience and what you might bring to the company. At the same time, be careful not to take control of the conversation. Let the interviewer call the shots and set the pace. You need to show them enthusiasm, but make sure you keep your answers to the point. You prepared well for this interview, right?

So, you’ve managed to field the interviewer’s questions with professional excitement and confidence. The interview is drawing to a close and you have to think about going out on a positive note. How do you do that? Well, the end of the interview is an excellent time for you to ask some questions.... about the company, its products, the interviewer’s role in the company, or whatever else your research has prepared you to discuss. And finally, you want to thank the interviewers for their time and let them know that they can contact you if they have any further questions. Exit the same way you entered. By that I mean with a smile and a solid handshake. Walk out confidently. And if you need to wipe the sweat from your brow or loosen your tie, wait until you’re out of sight...

That’s all for today.]]> www.BusinessEnglishPod.com clean 5:00 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com) https://www.mybeonline.com/be360-first-job-interviews-experience/ Sun, 04 Jul 2010 01:27:05 +0000 http://www.businessenglish360.com/?p=18 In the Business English 360 lesson, we’ll look at discussing your previous experience during a job interview in English. In the Business English 360 lesson, we’ll look at discussing your previous experience during a job interview in English. PDF Transcript | Game & Quiz

Hello and welcome to Business English 360. I’m Tim Simmons and today we're kicking off a new podcast called Business English 360. This is where we will explore skills that are crucial to your success. Let's call them soft skills. We're not talking about how to use a spreadsheet here... this is about how to approach situations, problems, and people.

Appropriately enough, we're doing this first round of shows on another kind of first: your first job interview. We're going to have a look at four key skills, including conveying enthusiasm, doing your research before the interview, and answering those particularly difficult questions. But we're going to start this series with one of the biggest questions: How do I show that I'm right for the job when I have little or no work experience? What am I supposed to talk about?

This is actually applicable beyond first job interviews. Perhaps you're changing careers or transitioning into a new aspect of business. But the question remains: How do I relate what I have done to what they want?

So, where do we begin? It begins with preparation. It doesn't matter how much, or how little, experience you have. It all starts with preparation. Don't wait until you walk into that room to consider good answers to questions that you know are coming. Your brain is already quite busy just coping with the tension of the situation. So sit down with pen and paper well before the interview and decide what you're going to talk about. You need to make a list of your experiences, accomplishments, and achievements. Remind yourself of those specific successes so you don't have to wrack your brain in the middle of the interview.

Now, a big part of your preparation involves matching those experiences and accomplishments with the job's required skills and responsibilities. To do that, you first need to read the job description very carefully. What exactly are they looking for? List the qualities. We're talking about things like organization, leadership, delegating, time management, taking initiative. These are the traits or abilities that you're going to prove you have. Also look beyond the job description. What other qualities do you think they need? Make a note of them and then hone them down to three or five you can easily reference in an interview.

Once you understand the kind of person they're looking for, find things in your experience that clean 6:06 BusinessEnglishPod@mac.com (www.BusinessEnglishPod.com)