Archive for April, 2010
How to Talk to Your Boss
Are enrolled in an ESL program and working in the US? You probably have a boss; unless they own their company, most people have bosses they have to report to and receive instructions from.
Here we will show you how to talk to your manager in correct business English; this is, to let him or her know exactly how you feel or what you need. We will show you how to properly ask for feedback, for an explanation, for more work, and to show frustration, among others.
1.When you are working on a project and you want your manager to review it before officially presenting it, there are numerous ways in which you can ask your manager to do so:
-Do you want to review my project?
-I just finished my project. Do you want to review it?
-This is my first big project and I was wondering if you could review it?
-I think I covered everything, but could you do a quick review?
2.After a project you worked on is completed, you should ask for feedback on it, however, make sure your manager has had enough time to go over the work before you ask for his or her opinion.
-Did you finish reviewing the project I concluded?
-Hi Steve, this was my first project and I wanted to know how I did so that I can get better.
-What do you think I could have done better?
-What should I do different next time?
-What did I do well and what needs to be improved?
3.It is good that you ask for feedback if you are new at a job or position. You can ask for it after you complete an assignment or after a few months on the job.
Some companies have a feedback process set up, where you have weekly or bi-weekly individual meetings with your manager, and this is a good time for you to talk about your work and everything else that concerns you.
If your company does not offer regular feedback meetings, you can schedule some time with your boss to talk about your development:
-Hi Jen, can we meet sometime this week to talk about my work so far?
-I was wondering if we could have a meeting to talk about how I am doing.
4.If your work doesn’t involve a specific project or assignment, you can ask for feedback about your work in general:
-Can you give me some feedback on my performance?
-Where do you think I need to improve?
-What areas you think I should work on?
-Do you think I am ready to work on a specific project?
-Do you think I am ready to get more responsibility?
When you know how to talk to your manager, you convey respect for yourself, your work, your boss, and your company; this is why it is crucial that you learn to communicate appropriately, in a way that enriches your professional growth and your company’s trust in you.
If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention www.englishlci.com as the original source).
Phrases that are Usually Used in Business Letters
Writing a business letter correctly is as important for your business image as dressing appropriately or speaking impeccably, and it can be very simple if you know what to say and how to say it.
Are you enrolled in an ESL class? If you are still trying to master business English and regularly have to write letters, don’t worry too much, keep it simple, pay attention to, and employ these phrases that are usually used in professional business letters to ask and talk about different topics:
1.To ask for information
-I am writing to inquire about…
-I am writing in reference to…
-I read/heard… and would like to know…
-Could you please send me… at the address below/above.
-Thank you for your assistance. I look forward to hearing from you.
2.To answer a request
-Thank you for your interest/inquiry.
-Enclosed is the information you requested. You can learn more about this at…
-If you have further questions/If you need assistance, please contact…
-Please feel free to contact me at… if I can be of further help.
3.To make a request
-Could you please send me your most recent brochure?
-Could you fax me the results of the market survey?
-I would like to order ten copies of the book…
-I would really appreciate if you could send me this information.
-Please return the enclosed envelope with your payment.
4.To show you care
-Thank you for your hospitality.
-I enjoyed very much having lunch with you last week when I was in Dallas.
-Congratulations on your promotion to General Manager.
-I wanted to congratulate you on your new position.
-I was very happy to hear that the negotiations went well.
5.To introduce a product or service
-I am writing to tell you about…
-Our new product will be available next month.
-This product/service is designed to help you…
6.To give or ask for an indication
-I am writing in regards to…
-I am writing in reference to…
-Please refer to the enclosed invoice/brochure.
-I hope you have had the opportunity to review the materials we sent you.
7.To confirm something
-I am writing to confirm…
-I would like to confirm what we discussed last Tuesday.
-I would like to confirm the main points we talked about…
8.To notify something
-I am writing to let you know that…
-Please be aware/informed that…
-I would like to inform you about a recent change/happening. I am happy to notify you that your request for funding has been approved.
9.To offer help
-We would be happy to…
-If we can be of assistance, please don’t hesitate to ask.
10.To ask for a payment
-According to our records…
-Our records show that…
-Your monthly payment is past due.
-Please send payment as soon as possible.
Business letters must be concise while at the same time respectful and honest, and you can achieve all that by using these phrases in your day-to-day business communications.
If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention www.englishlci.com as the original source).
Why Train in Business English in the United States?
Every executive who decides to take a business English course in the United States will enjoy the opportunity to study current and relevant matters, to interact with other business professionals, and to focus on cultural awareness and presentation abilities.
It is the perfect occasion to encourage a global perception of the business arena, by promoting the interaction of foreign business students with native speakers who are in business themselves.
Many people study English for business reasons, and thus, the awareness of the cultural expectations in regards to business is as important as the basics of vocabulary and grammar learning.
Many quality business English programs pay special attention to presentation skills, as well as to teaching best practices in regards to conference calling and meetings. The classes are small and are presented with case studies, role-play sessions, and debates about relevant articles found in newspapers and magazines.
A business English course does not benefit a lot from following a textbook; it is a different experience from learning the English language. The interest resides on current events and on international business happenings, aiming to enhance the student’s communication abilities while helping them understand America’s lifestyle, society, culture, and political arenas, deeply and accurately.
The students of a business English program must have an intermediate level of knowledge in order to get the best out of the experience, since it is an important opportunity to also work on accent reduction and international business etiquette.
High-quality business English schools will take their students into the field to learn from practical experience. They encourage them to interact in English in the real business world as a way of practicing the language. In addition, they offer students networking opportunities and business seminars where they can meet native business people.
Business English programs are normally intensive but easily adaptable to the student’s needs. The idea is that the student spend a large portion of the day with the teacher, communicating and interacting in different business environments, because the more contact the student has with the language, the better he or she will learn.
To intensify the contact with English speaking natives, the students are offered executive standard host family accommodation; however, they can choose to stay at a hotel instead. The ones that choose the family experience are in for a treat, since they will gain a deeper knowledge of the culture and a non-stop learning opportunity in a natural environment.
Executives who are enrolled in an ESL program for Business English should be separated from other students, and offered facilities that are equipped with computer and student lounges as well as with free wireless connection, to make the experience as similar to the real business world as possible.
The business world is an exciting one, full of possibilities and opportunities to learn and grow. Mastering the English language is an important aspect of being the best professional you can be, and if you have the opportunity to learn it where the action is, you will put yourself ahead of the game.
If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention www.englishlci.com as the original source).
Useful Vocabulary for Business Executives - from M to Z
We’re going to go over the meaning of some business-related words. If you’re a business executive and currently attending an ESL school, it’s important that you review them once in a while so you don’t lose track of their subtleties, since these words are the basic substance of your communication. We hope the following list helps you keep your English fluent and robust. Good luck!
Marketing - The study of markets and their behavior, based mainly on statistical research, with the aim to promote, sell and distribute a product or service. Marketing mixes a wide range of practices that include advertising, publicity, promotion, pricing, and overall packaging of the goods or services.
Merger - A fusion of two previously separate corporations into a new legal entity. Previous businesses are dissolved and their assets and liabilities moved into the rising entity.
Multi-level Marketing (MLM) - A business in which a person’s source of income isn’t limited to their own sales, but also proceeds from the sales made by people they have recruited, and also by people recruited by recruited people, and so on.
Network Marketing - A business built and sustained by a distribution network. Usually, such businesses are also MLM (see above).
Networking – As the name suggests, it’s a way of developing relationships in order to gain knowledge and grow your business base.
Outsourcing – When a company uses services from another business, such as accounting, payroll, IT, advertising.
Partnership - A business made up of two or more individuals legally regarded as a group of owners rather than a single entity.
Patent - A document stating that a certain idea or concept belongs to someone (inventor), and grants the inventor’s rights to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling the invention for a limited time.
Public Relations (PR) - The deliberate promotion of a specific image for a business. Not to be confused with publicity, which refers only to the materials used in a specific stage of a public relations campaign.
Sales - The exchange of a product or service for money. It may also refer to this activity as a profession or to the department within a company that performs this activity.
Small Business Administration (SBA) - The United States Government Agency responsible of “providing customer-oriented, full-service programs and accurate, timely information to the entrepreneurial community”.
Sole Proprietorship - A business owned and run by one person.
Strategic Alliance - An ongoing relationship between two businesses in which they combine efforts for a specific purpose.
Trademark - A form of legal protection for words, names, symbols, sounds, or colors that distinguish goods and services. The main difference with patents, in this sense, is that trademarks can be renewed forever as long as they are being used in business.
Venture Capital (VC) - A form of financing for a company in exchange for partial ownership and control of the business, over a limited time period, usually 3-5 years. Investments typically range from $500,000 to $5 million, although there are occasionally VC investments for as low as $50,000 or as high as $20 million.
If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention www.englishlci.com as the original source).
Useful Vocabulary for Business Executives - from A to L
We’re going to go over the meaning of some business-related words. If you’re a business executive and currently taking ESL lessons, it’s important that you review them once in a while so you don’t lose track of their subtleties, since these words are the basic substance of your communication. We hope the following list helps you keep your English fluent and robust. Good luck!
Acquisition – When one person or enterprise takes ownership of another business. It is often used along with the word merger, like in mergers and acquisitions or M&As.
Advertising - The use of communicational techniques with the purpose of attracting the public’s attention, generally through paid announcements, broadcasts, and electronic media.
Appraisal - An estimation of a product’s value on the open market. It also refers to the way that such estimation is made.
Business Incubator – A business whose main purpose is to provide workspace, coaching, and support services to other business (usually starting entrepreneurs and early-stage businesses).
Business Valuation – A way to estimate a business’ value by means of its assets.
Consumer Direct Marketing – A form of Network Marketing in which the distributors are also consumers of the product they sell.
Corporation – An organization recognized as a separate legal entity that has its own rights, privileges, and liabilities distinct from those of its members’.
Downline - In a Multi-Level Marketing business, the group of people signed up underneath an individual who receives payment on their sales.
Entrepreneur – An individual who starts a business, organizes it, is responsible for its development, and assumes the risks.
General Partnership - An organizational structure in which each general partner shares in the administration, profits and losses of the operation.
Home Based Business – As the name suggests, a home based business is a business located and operated from its owner’s home. It doesn’t necessarily refer to a small business; it can also be a large business, as long as it’s run from home.
Independent Contractor – A person who independently trades or does business, offering their services to the public directly. The person or company that contracts their services can only define the result they want, but not the means or methods used to accomplish such result.
Intrapreneur - A intrapreneur is an entrepreneur who works within a large corporate environment.
Joint Venture - A legal entity created by two or more businesses that come together to lead a business of specific objectives with both parties sharing profits and losses. The difference between a Joint Venture and a strategic alliance is that a Joint Venture is an actual legal entity.
Limited Liability Company (LLC) - A legal entity that is not taxable itself and distributes the profits to its owners, but shields personal assets from business debt like a corporation.
Limited Partnership - A business arrangement in which the daily operations are operated by one or more general partners and funded by limited or silent partners who are legally liable for losses based on how much they invested.
Line of Credit - Similar to a business loan, with the difference that the borrower only pays interest on the amount actually used.
If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention www.englishlci.com as the original source).
List of Business Idioms in English for ESL Students
Words alone and out of context can mean a lot of things. That’s why phrases and contexts are what give words a tangible meaning. It’s always useful to learn idioms, ways of expressing situations shortly and clearly. These are some of the idioms you’ll probably come across in your ESL classes:
Across the board
Meaning: something that affects or includes everyone or everything
Example: The new law establishes a salary raise across the board.
Bail a company out
Meaning: helping or rescuing a company that’s going through financial problems
Example: Luckily, the government decided to bail our company out.
Calculated risk
Meaning: an action whose chances of going wrong is somehow foreseen
Example: He took a calculated risk when he decided to quit his job before getting hired by the other company.
Deliver the goods
Meaning: fulfilling what was expected
Example: We need someone suitable for this job, somebody capable of delivering the goods.
Face value
Meaning: the apparent value of something
Example: He’ll try to use his business’ face value to negotiate.
Gain ground
Meaning: to make progress
Example: I’ve been actually gaining ground in the last few months. I think I’ll get the raise.
Hard sell
Meaning: an aggressive technique of selling a product or service, by putting pressure on the clients
Example: Whenever a salesman tries a hard sale with me, I lose my appetite.
In black and white
Meaning: in written form
Example: The customer service area didn’t pay attention to my complaints until I sent them in black and white.
Jack up
Meaning: to increase the price of something
Example: The price of steel was jacked up by local companies at the beginning of the year.
Keep books
Meaning: keeping records of income and outcome
Example: The new assistant to the sales manager has no experience keeping books and has made many mistakes.
Make a go of
Meaning: to succeed
Example: I know that if you keep up the hard work your business will make a go of it.
Number-cruncher
Meaning: an accountant, a person who works with numbers
Example: Although I don’t take care of numbers anymore, the success of my business depended a lot on my being a good number-cruncher. I understood all about the finances of our company.
On hand
Meaning: ready, immediately available
Example: Since we didn’t have any supplies on hand, we were unable to finish the job.
Pay off
Meaning: to result in benefits, to make a profit
Example: If we want to go on in this business, our efforts will have to start paying off. Otherwise, we’ll end up out of business.
Red ink
Meaning: debt; indebtedness as shown in red ink on a financial statement
Example: If we, the investors, continue seeing red ink in our financial statements, they’ll leave us.
Saddled with debt
Meaning: burdened with debt
Example: The company is saddled with a great amount of debt. We have to start making some profit or sell the company as soon as possible.
Take a nosedive
Meaning: to collapse; to go into a rapid financial decline
Example: The stock market took a nosedive when the Army’s invasion plans went public.
Work out
Meaning: to plan; to find a solution to something
Example: We’ll spend whatever it takes to work out the budget estimates for next year.
If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention www.englishlci.com as the original source).
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