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

When a company moves to a new site it is known as ‘relocation’. This is a big decision, involving everyone connected with the company – staff, customers, suppliers and shareholders. It also affects the families, friends and communities of the people involved with the company. Once the research into possible locations has been completed, an organisation must decide which relocation option is the most suitable, inform staff and plan the next stages of the operation. After consulting staff about the options for relocation a final decision has to be taken and everyone informed. A number of things ..read more

We all deal with angry customers, and it's enough to drive people crazy. Angry and difficult customers are a major cause of workplace stress, and they take up huge amounts of your time and the resources of your organization. There are a lot of tricks and techniques you can use to deal with an angry customer. For now, let's focus on the most common mistake employees make when dealing with the difficult or angry customer. By avoiding this particular error, you can save yourself a lot of stress and time.   The #1 Mistake   When you are faced with an angry customer, you probably assume ..read more

Introduction Rule 1: The customer is always right. Rule 2: If the customer is wrong, rule 1 applies. It is said that for every person who complains, there are 26 other people who suffer in silence, and each unhappy customer tells 10 to 16 other people. But if you address the problem in the right way, 90 per cent of the complainers will do business with you again. When people complain, they are usually angry or upset. This can be difficult to handle in a second language. In this podcast lesson, we’re going to look at how the same customer complaint is dealt with in two completely different way ..read more

Introduction In this month's business speaking skills topic we’re going to be looking a various ways of expressing likes, dislikes and preferences. It is very easy to simply say ‘I like’ or ‘I don’t like’ something, but it is more difficult to state by what degree you like or dislike it. And, it’s often not just a question of directly stating how you feel about something. In many situations you’ll have to be careful about your tone – how direct or indirect your language is. Stating dislikes and preferences too directly can sometimes cause offence. You’ll need to consider who you’re speaking ..read more

Introduction Showing a visitor around gives you a good chance to make a positive impression on your client. By welcoming a visitor warmly and talking to them clearly and politely about your firm, you can help to create a good business relationship between your company and your visitor’s. In this lesson, we’ll focus on how to make a visitor to your office feel welcome, and on language you can use to describe your building and your company. The use of correct tenses and the passive voice can be very important when showing a visitor around. Situation In this situation, you will find Kate, a mana ..read more

When you meet clients at the workplace or talk to people at presentations, meetings and conferences, you may have to talk about your company. Apart from explaining how your company is organised, you should also be able to describe your company’s operations. In this lesson, we will show you how to talk about your company, and how to answer questions about your company. Two of the most important language points when talking about your company are the correct usage of verb tenses and the passive voice. You will need to use a variety of verb tenses to talk about the past, present and future of y ..read more

Introduction In a perfect world, we’d never have to talk about problems or need to face difficult situations. But as we all know, discussing problems and finding solutions to problems are both necessary to maintain good business relationships. We shouldn’t avoid these situations but look at them as an opportunity to improve business communication with colleagues and customers. We cannot always say “yes” to a difficult request from a client or a colleague. Sometimes, it may not be possible to grant a request. At other times, a compromise may be reached. In such situations, the language and to ..read more

Introduction In this month's podcast lesson we're looking at a typical conversation you might have with someone you've only just met in a business situation – at a conference for example. What sort of things can you talk about – and what topics should be avoided? Situation In the following situation, David and Jenny are attending a business conference in Sydney, Australia. David is an Australian, while Jenny is from England. Let's look at how David and Jenny get acquainted ..read more

Many of you will be working for international companies where you come into daily contact with foreigners. Whether you’re working face-to-face with a foreign colleague in your office, or just bump into a foreigner you know in your company canteen, a corridor, a lift or when you are arriving or leaving work, you’ll need to make some conversation. You don’t always need to talk about work, although this is what you have in common and it is easier to talk about things that you both know about. Social conversations are important when you want to build better relationships with people and when you ..read more