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Welcome back to the Business English Skills 360 podcast as we continue our look at emotional intelligence and how it helps people work effectively with others.

Emotions can sometimes seem like barriers to productivity, leading people to ignore or hide their feelings. However, understanding emotions is important for building strong relationships and working well in teams. Emotional intelligence involves managing both personal emotions and understanding the emotions of others.

A key part of this process is empathy. Unlike sympathy, which recognizes another person’s feelings while keeping some emotional distance, empathy involves trying to understand their perspective and emotional state. This means listening carefully, avoiding judgment, and showing that their feelings are understood.

Active listening is another important skill. It requires giving someone full attention, avoiding interruptions, and asking questions instead of making assumptions. By listening carefully and trying to understand others before responding, professionals can build trust and improve communication.

Trust is essential for effective teamwork. Although disagreements can sometimes create problems, they can also lead to new ideas and better solutions. When people respect different opinions and manage conflict well, teams can benefit from a wider range of perspectives. Emotional intelligence helps people handle disagreements, repair damaged relationships, and maintain trust.

Emotional intelligence also helps professionals adapt their communication style to different people and situations. They can recognize when to speak directly, when to listen, and how to guide others effectively. These skills are valuable for both team members and managers.

All in all, emotional intelligence improves empathy, active listening, trust, and conflict management. By understanding others and adapting to different situations, professionals can become more effective team members and leaders, build stronger relationships, and influence others in positive ways.

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Welcome back to the Business English Skills 360 podcast as we look at emotional intelligence.

Ask most people what skills or attributes you need to succeed in business, and they’ll likely name a set of crucial hard skills. Things like financial acumen, analytical abilities, problem-solving, digital competence, and strategic thinking. And yes, these skills are important. But the road to success is littered with people who had all these skills but lacked emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence helps people understand and manage their emotions, build stronger relationships, and respond better to challenges. It can also improve teamwork, increase innovation, and reduce conflict in the workplace.

An important part of emotional intelligence is self-awareness. This means recognizing and naming emotions such as anger, frustration, fear, and excitement. Understanding these feelings helps people see how their emotions affect their thoughts and actions. It also allows them to identify situations that trigger strong emotional responses and find ways to manage them.

Self-awareness also involves understanding personal strengths and weaknesses. Although many people believe they know themselves well, they may have blind spots or find it difficult to admit their weaknesses. A more honest view of their abilities helps them focus on their strengths, improve weaker areas, and delegate tasks when necessary.

Another key benefit of emotional intelligence is better self-management. People who understand their emotions are often better at handling stress, staying focused on goals, and maintaining a positive attitude. They can also respond more calmly to difficult situations and work more effectively with others.

Emotional intelligence is especially important in today’s changing business environment. As technology and artificial intelligence take over more tasks, human skills such as communication, adaptability, and relationship management become increasingly valuable.

Developing emotional intelligence helps people manage their emotions, understand themselves, and work better with others. By developing these soft skills, professionals can become more adaptable, effective, and successful in the workplace.

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Welcome back to Business English Pod for the third lesson in our series on English for marketing. We’ve been looking at planning and presenting market research. In today’s lesson, we’ll focus on how to use the research to develop a campaign strategy.

Great businesses understand markets and customers. It’s not enough to have a product or service that beats the competition in quality, innovation, style, or effectiveness. The product or service isn’t really amazing unless it matches – or creates – an opportunity in the marketplace.

That’s why we’ve been looking at many different aspects of market research. This includes understanding a competitive landscape, its specific segments or niches, gaps in the market, differences between regions, and how customers make buying decisions. All this information allows you then to develop a marketing campaign that is truly strategic.

In developing a marketing campaign, you’ll have to compare different channels and agree on your messaging. It’s also critical to set clear measures for success. And campaigns need to be well-organized. So it’s important that everyone is clear on who’s responsible for what and what the next steps are to put the strategy into action.

In today’s dialog, we’ll hear Francine, Lauren, and Josh discuss how to turn the research they analyzed in the previous lesson into a campaign. Francine is an account manager at a marketing agency. She is discussing with her clients, Lauren and Josh, how to use the research to develop a campaign strategy for their company, K&C Safety Supply. K&C wants to move into new markets in the Midwest region of the U.S.

Listening Questions

1. What two marketing channels or methods are being compared at the start of the conversation?
2. What measures of success does Francine propose for the marketing campaign?
3. What will Francine and her team do as a next step following this meeting?

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Welcome back to Business English Pod for the second lesson in our series on English for marketing. In today’s lesson, we’ll focus on presenting and analyzing market research.

Today, we are swimming in data. We have access to an unprecedented amount of information about pretty much anything we care to investigate. The problem is: what do we do with that data? How do we look at raw information and glean the insight required to make good decisions?

Moving from information to insight is critical when it comes to market research. In our last lesson, we looked at just how important it is to do good research to grow your business. But the next step is taking that research and learning from it. The information needs to enhance our understanding.

Enhancing understanding by presenting research insights might include identifying key market gaps and highlighting key opportunities. It can also involve understanding differences between different regions and people, as well as understanding customers’ buying criteria. And finally, this will help us prioritize specific market segments.

In today’s dialog, we’ll hear Francine and Kamal, two people from a marketing agency who are presenting the insights they’ve gleaned from a research project. They’re presenting to their client, K&C Safety Supply, represented by Lauren and Josh. They work for a company that sells safety products and training, and they’re looking to expand into a new region in the U.S.

Listening Questions

1. What market gap does Kamal identify in the state of Indiana?
2. What differences does Kamal describe between the East Coast and the Midwest regions?
3. What specific priority are customers in the Midwest currently focused on?

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Welcome back to Business English Pod for the first lesson in our series on English for marketing. Throughout this series we’ll look at different stages in the marketing process. This includes everything from market research to planning and executing an advertising campaign. In today’s lesson, we’ll focus on market research.

Even the greatest products and services don’t sell themselves. In fact, part of what makes them great is the fact that people understand why they need them. Or even if they don’t need them, they are convinced they want them. So a great product without any customers isn’t really great at all.

This is where marketing comes in. Marketers, whether in-house or hired on a contract basis, focus on products, pricing, placement, and promotions. Good decisions in all these areas require good research. Good research helps us understand the people we want to sell to, as well as the other options they may already have.

Discussing market research typically begins with understanding your basic business objectives. From there, you can define the scope of the competitive landscape and begin to segment the market, or break it down into different groups of customers. Market research also helps us understand ROI, or the return on investment in specific types of marketing activities. This is critical, because the things we learn in our research should link directly to the english for marketing activities we choose.

In today’s dialog, we’ll hear a conversation with Francine, an account manager at a marketing agency. Francine is talking to Lauren and Josh, who work for a company that sells safety products as well as training services. Their company is looking to expand into the Midwest region of the U.S., and they’ve hired Francine’s company to help them understand how to do that.

Listening Questions

1. What goal for the market research does Francine mention at the start of the conversation?
2. What new “market segment” do Lauren and Josh identify?
3. Why does Francine question whether they should repeat the brand awareness research they did in the past?

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In this Business English News lesson on quantum computing, we look at business English vocabulary related to technology.

Quantum computing is emerging as a promising technology alongside AI. Unlike traditional computers, quantum computers use qubits, which can exist in multiple states at once. This allows them to solve certain complex problems much faster.

The technology is still developing, but investment is growing. The global quantum computing market is expected to increase from $700 million in 2026 to $1.7 billion by 2033. Several quantum computing companies have also entered, or are preparing to enter, public markets.

A major challenge has been errors that can destroy fragile quantum states. Recent progress in quantum error correction has helped researchers reduce these errors and move closer to reliable, large-scale quantum computers. This could make applications such as advanced materials and drug research more practical.

However, businesses should be careful about the hype. Quantum computing is unlikely to replace traditional computers or AI. Instead, experts expect hybrid systems that combine quantum computers with classical computing and AI. Potential applications include drug discovery, financial optimization, supply-chain planning, and energy-grid modeling.

Although progress is encouraging, commercial success is not guaranteed. The technology remains at an early stage, and companies themselves acknowledge that large-scale commercial use may still be many years away.

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Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on making an appointment over the telephone.

Despite the many options for communication, the telephone is still the fastest and easiest way to do get some things done. This is true in business as much as it is in personal life. There are many reasons to skip the back and forth of email or texting and just call someone.

One good reason is to make an appointment. It could be a business meeting, a conversation with your lawyer, a visit to a client, or a doctor’s appointment. In this case, the real business needs to happen in person. But that in-person appointment needs to be arranged and agreed on.

When we make an appointment over the phone, we often say our reason for calling before asking for a meeting. And it’s a good idea to give a clear reason for that meeting or appointment. You’ll also have to discuss existing plans and suggest times for the meeting.

In today’s dialog, we’ll hear Gordon Knight calling to make an appointment with Penny Yip. Gordon works for a pension fund, while Penny works for an investment company. Gordon met Penny at a recent conference and now wants to follow up and meet her when he is in Malaysia.

Listening Questions

1. What does Gordon tell the assistant about his reason for calling?
2. What does Gordon tell Penny about his reason for meeting?
3. What time does Penny suggest they meet?

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Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on making arrangements on the telephone.

Communication can be hard enough with a person who’s right in front of you. It gets even harder when you’re on the telephone and you can’t see the person. And if it’s all in a language other than your native language, well let’s just say things aren’t easy!

When talking on the telephone, clarity is critical. You can see how important it is to be clear when you make arrangements. If you’re talking about times and places and making plans, confusion could lead to missed appointments, missed flights, or missed opportunities.

Some skills are useful in all phone conversations, like asking if someone is busy when you call them. Other skills are especially useful for making arrangements, like interrupting someone to confirm information and asking about preferences. You might also have to reassure people and show flexibility when making arrangements.

In today’s dialog, we’ll join a telephone conversation between Marco and Adriana. Marco works for an Italian fashion company called Viva. Adriana works for Foxtrot, Viva’s distributor in the U.S. Marco is calling to make arrangements for a visit to the U.S. for an expo, or trade show.

Listening Questions

1. What does Marco ask Adriana before he begins discussing their travel arrangements?
2. When Marco begins telling Adriana about his flight plans, how does she interrupt him?
3. How does Marco respond to Adriana’s question about the kind of food they want to eat?

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Welcome back to Business English Pod. With the World Cup underway, we’re taking another look at one of our lessons on English idioms related to football.

People have been competing in and watching some form of sports for thousands of years. Sports enduring popularity has helped it grow into a $2.3 trillion a year industry. And it’s expected to just keep on growing.

Among all sports, there’s one that is far and away the most popular, and that’s football, or soccer. Almost half the global population counts themselves as fans of the sport. So it’s no wonder that something this popular has impacted the English language.

Listen to any conversation in a sales meeting, around the water cooler, in the boardroom, or over drinks between colleagues and you’re guaranteed to hear idioms related to football. These idioms are so common that most people don’t think for a second about where they came from. They’re just a natural part of everyday language.

In today’s dialog, we’ll rejoin Marilyn and Karl, two colleagues at a publishing firm. They are talking about Karl’s interest in a job at the company’s Sydney branch. Karl is hoping Marilyn can help him decide whether to apply for the job.

Listening Questions

1. How does Karl’s wife feel about moving to Sydney?
2. Why does Karl feel like he’s cheating on his own company?
3. What advice does Marilyn give at the end of the conversation?

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Welcome back to Business English Pod. With the World Cup about to kick off, we’re taking a fresh look at one of our lessons on business English idioms related to football.

What do you call an activity where groups of people compete strategically against each other as they strive to be the winner? I mean an activity with a clear goal where success requires strong teamwork and a commitment to excellent performance? Some of you might be thinking about sports. Some of you might be thinking about business. Well, you’re both right.

There are so many obvious similarities between sports and business, it’s no wonder that we see the language of sport come into play in the corporate world. And there’s a particular type of language that we’re going to focus on in this lesson, called idioms. Just like the expression “come into play,” which means to be involved or to be a factor in something.

Now when I say “football,” I’m referring to the game with the round ball that players kick into a net past a goalkeeper. It’s what North Americans tend to call “soccer,” to differentiate it from their own game of football, which is a whole different ball game altogether! Internationally, football – or soccer – is the most popular sport in the world. So it’s no wonder it has inspired so many idioms commonly used in business.

In the dialog, we’ll hear Karl and Marilyn, two friends who work at a publishing company. Karl is thinking about applying for a job at the company’s Sydney office. He has some doubts though, so he asks Marilyn what she thinks.

Listening Questions

1. How does Karl describe his approach to his career?
2. Why is Karl worried about the other candidates for the job he’s interested in?
3. What does Marilyn say happens at the Sidney office?

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Welcome back to the Business English Skills 360 podcast as we continue our look at strategic planning.

A strong strategic plan begins with a clear vision. A vision statement describes what a company wants to achieve in the future and provides inspiration and direction. It helps employees understand the company’s long-term goals and keeps everyone focused on a shared purpose.

Along with a vision statement, most companies also have a mission statement. The mission explains what the company does, who it serves, and how it operates. A clear mission helps guide decision-making by showing what the company values and what is most important to its success.

Once a company understands its vision and mission, it can decide how to achieve them. Strategic planning is not about creating a long list of possible actions. Instead, it requires making choices about which actions will have the greatest impact. This means setting priorities and accepting that not every opportunity can be pursued.

To improve strategic focus, companies should ask important questions. For example, which investments will create new opportunities? What is the best approach to growth? What new skills or strengths are needed to stay competitive? And how can major challenges or threats be addressed?

Answering these questions helps leaders choose the best strategies and set clear priorities. Strategic thinking involves learning from past experience, understanding changes in the market, and recognizing that resources are limited.

A good strategic plan also includes clear and measurable goals. These goals help employees understand what success looks like and allow the company to track its progress. When goals are measured and rewarded, teams are more likely to focus their efforts on achieving them.

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Learn how to develop a strategic plan.

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Learn English for logistics in this lesson on duties, tariffs, and other cost factors.

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Learn English for logistics and discussing routing and capacity.

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Learn English for logistics and discussing the supply chain, transport options and incoterms.

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Learn business English for meetings with our new Meetings Essentials audio eBook.

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Learn business English for presentations with our new Presentations Essentials eBook.

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Learn how to analyze trends during a presentation.

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Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on describing trends during a presentation in English. Every great presentation has two things: good content and skilled delivery. These aren’t separate features. The content becomes good through skilled delivery. And skilled delivery means bringing the content alive, rather than just reading from a slide deck. […]

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Learn business English vocabulary related to technology and energy supply.

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