Taking telephone messages well is a skill that saves time for both the caller and the receiver. If you need to take a message for someone, get as much information as possible. Always include: The date and time of the call. The full name of the person calling (ask for correct spelling). The company the caller is from. The phone number and time available for callback. The purpose of the call. Give enough information to the caller so they know what to expect, such as when the person they are trying to reach will return ..read more

Most formal business meetings are chaired by an individual who structures the meeting and ensures that different roles are assigned to the participants in the meeting. The chairperson also manages the opening and closing remarks of the meeting, which are both essential to the outcome of the discussion. Chairing a meeting involves knowing how to make remarks and comments at the right times, getting the conversation back on track if any deviates, and making opening and closing remarks that emphasise the main points of the discussion. Usually, it is only formal business meetings which are chaire ..read more

Introduction Speculating means guessing. When we make a guess about something, we may have some additional information which helps us to guess more accurately and with some degree of certainty. On the other hand, we may not have this information and in such cases our guess will be more uncertain. Modal verbs allow us to speculate about past, present and future events. The modal verb you use depends upon how certain or uncertain you are. In this review we shall focus on speculating about present situations. When speculating, you should consider carefully the grammatical structures used. A rev ..read more

Whenever people work together, there is always a possibility of disagreement. It’s usually fine to tell friends bluntly that you disagree with them. But in business, we have to be quite careful about how we disagree. It’s not that we can’t do it, but that we have to do it in ways that won’t cause offence. We have to disagree indirectly. In this podcast lesson, we’ll be reviewing the language used to disagree politely with someone ..read more

Telephone selling forms a major part of many companies’ sales strategy. Some people find the technique comes naturally but for others it is very difficult and they need to make a conscious effort to develop the necessary skills. In this podcast lesson we present you with two telephone dialogues showing the right way and the wrong way to handle this type of call ..read more

In this podcast lesson, we'll be looking at some of the phrases you can use when you're saying goodbye to someone - either for a short time, or for a long time. In our example, Victor is from another country, and he's about to go back home. At a conference, he meets Sam and Lin. After completing all the listening and language exercises, you can download the podcast which includes the dialogues as well as detailed explanations of all the language points ..read more

Introduction In this podcast lesson, we’re going to look at how people talk about future events. We’re also going to look at how to express future certainty, that is, to say how likely something will happen in the future. What is the difference in usage between the future simple ‘will’ and ‘going to’? Many native English speakers would have problems answering this question in a grammatical sense, but they would automatically know how to use both future forms in conversation. In the lesson, we’ll make clear the difference between them. Although seldom used by learners of English, native Englis ..read more

Presentations are an important aspect of working in a business environment. Since they give you an opportunity to showcase your abilities and thoughts, they should be planned well and organized in such a way that your main points are highlighted constantly. One of the best ways to do this is to end your presentation effectively. Remember, audiences tend to remember best what they hear last! An effective conclusion can help your listeners to quickly recollect your main points, and also set the stage for a discussion on the topic you have covered. Here are some points to keep in mind for an eff ..read more

In planning a business event such as a conference, the type of language that we use commonly includes verbs which refer to the future. In this podcast, we will see how the future simple tense, ‘will,’ ‘going to’ and the present continuous tense can be used to refer to future actions. We will also look at examples of how modal verbs can be used in discussing business plans. During the course of planning a business conference or workshop, we often need more than one meeting to plan the event. In this podcast lesson, we will listen to extracts from two meetings, one to plan a business conferenc ..read more

Introduction Conflicts between people are always going to happen. This is true for family relations as well as for workplace relations. Fortunately, most conflicts can be resolved. Patience is needed; so is a willingness to listen. And, of course, using the right words is critical. The English language has more than a million words. With some effort, you can find the right ones Situation Listen now to an exchange between Joe, the manager, and his subordinate Sally. Joe has generally tried to avoid encounters with her. He believes she has a hot temper and he doesn’t want to enflame it. This ti ..read more