You're listening to Business English Pod, the Business English podcast for professionals on the move.
Welcome back to Business English Pod.
My name's Edwin and I'll be your host for this episode, the second in a two-part series on motivating your team.
There are many strategies you can use to motivate people.
One way is to reward them.
This reward can be emotional, such as acknowledgement or praise for a job well done.
Or it can be more concrete, like a cash bonus or a prize.
In this lesson, we'll look at motivation through rewards.
We'll discuss how to acknowledge your team's efforts and give praise.
We'll also look at how to introduce challenges, friendly competition, and incentives.
Finally, we'll talk about some ways to finish up a meeting so that your team feels energized for the work ahead.
Last time we listened to Joe, the manager of the sales department at a resort, motivating his team after a round of layoffs.
Today, we'll go back to Joe's team a month later.
They've made good progress since their first meeting and Joe wants to keep his staff motivated so that they will continue to succeed.
As you listen to the dialogue, try to answer the following questions.
One, why is the team happy with Nick?
Two, what is the first prize for the sales competition?
Three, what does Deborah think about the challenge?
The first thing I want to do today is give credit where credit is due.
You guys are all doing a great job.
I know you're hustling to bring in those business clients.
Yes, I think we're definitely in a groove now.
That's really clear.
And I'd like to thank Nick for coordinating all the dinners for the business groups.
He brought five new clients our way.
So let's hear it for Nick.
Good job.
So now that we have some momentum going, let's make things a little more interesting.
The company is really going to pull out the stops this year.
How so?
They've revamped the sales competition.
First prize is an all-expenses-paid trip to... you guessed it.
Hawaii?
That's right.
So who's up for that little challenge?
Sounds like a big challenge to me, but maybe we can do it.
No, I know we will do it.
Sure, it won't be easy.
We'll all have to work harder than ever.
But I really believe we've turned the corner.
Poor economy or not, this is our time to shine.
So let's get out there and knock them dead.
Joe's team is a lot more enthusiastic than they were a month ago.
Let's look at the dialogue closely to see how he maintains this energy.
The first thing I want to do today is give credit where credit is due.
You guys are all doing a great job.
I know you're hustling to bring in those business clients.
Yes, I think we're definitely in a groove now.
Here, Joe is recognizing his team's efforts.
He wants to give credit where credit is due.
In other words, he wants to acknowledge the contributions they've made.
They've worked hard, and they deserve recognition.
Joe also says he knows they're hustling to bring in business clients.
This means they're working hard to increase the resort's customer base as quickly as possible.
Deborah responds that the team is in a groove.
They might have had a difficult start, but now that they've become used to handling the workload and challenges, they're progressing nicely.
Think of a groove in a road.
If you're in a groove, your path is straightforward and easy to follow.
Recognizing effort is a key way to motivate your team.
Without recognition, team members may wonder why they're working on a project in the first place.
If their efforts don't appear to matter to management, people won't feel much like continuing.
But if team members know their work is getting noticed and is appreciated, they stay committed to their goals.
They'll see that they've made significant progress from where they started, when the work ahead seemed much more difficult.
Here are some examples of how to recognize your team's efforts.
Complimenting them and acknowledging their hard work goes a long way to help them stay motivated.
I'd like to give credit where credit is due.
Before I start, I'd like to say I see the changes happening.
If you think back three months ago, who would have thought this would be possible?
Don't think I haven't noticed the vast improvement in customer satisfaction.
Just so you know, your effort is being noticed.
Management sent me a note yesterday saying what an outstanding performance we've made.
Next, Joe gives praise to an individual employee.
That's really clear.
And I'd like to thank Nick for coordinating all the dinners for the business groups.
He brought five new clients our way.
So let's hear it for Nick.
When Joe says Nick brought five new clients their way, he means that through Nick's efforts, five new businesses became clients of the resort.
This is a significant accomplishment, and Joe wants to recognize it.
So he says, let's hear it for Nick.
This type of phrase usually prompts cheers or clapping from people in the group.
Joe could also have said, let's have a round of applause for Nick.
Applause is clapping.
Where an audience or group is happy, they often applaud.
The word round used here is not like a circular shape, but a period of time or an episode, like a round of golf.
Praising team members for their accomplishments is another way to motivate them.
Like recognizing effort, giving praise makes employees feel appreciated and valued.
What are some other ways to give praise?
You're doing a great job.
We couldn't have done it without you.
Thanks to Floyd, we got the Hylson contract.
Let's give Trisha a round of applause for fixing the website.
Excellent work, everyone.
Give yourselves a pat on the back.
What happens next?
So now that we have some momentum going, let's make things a little more interesting.
The company is really going to pull out the stops this year.
How so?
They've revamped the sales competition.
First prize is an all-expenses-paid trip to... you guessed it... Hawaii?
The sales team has some momentum going.
They've been working hard towards their goals and now things are running smoothly.
So Joe thinks it's time to introduce some incentives.
He says the resort is pulling out the stops.
This means management is planning to use all its strengths and resources to become more profitable.
A revamped or restructured sales competition is one way to do this.
So the resort is offering an all expenses paid trip to Hawaii as first prize.
In other words, the winner can take a trip to Hawaii at no cost.
All expenses will be paid by the resort.
Rewards like this can be very motivating, especially if the reward is a good one.
Who wouldn't want to win an all expenses paid trip to Hawaii?
By offering this prize, the resort is giving all its sales reps something else to strive for.
And by highlighting it to its sales team, Joe's giving them even more encouragement to do their best.
Even the way Joe announces the competition sparks some excitement.
When introducing a competition or incentives, try to sound enthusiastic, as in these examples.
Who thinks we could get 25 new clients by the end of the quarter?
Let's give ourselves a challenge.
What if we knock off one week from the schedule?
The group that finishes first can take next Friday off.
If we raise our sales numbers by 20% this quarter, Everyone gets tickets to the championship game.
At the end of the year, we'll have prizes for our top selling reps.
The person who brings in the most revenue will get a $5,000 bonus.
Now, let's hear how Joe finishes the meeting.
That's right.
So who's up for that little challenge?
Sounds like a big challenge to me, but maybe we can do it.
No, I know we will do it.
Sure, it won't be easy.
We'll all have to work harder than ever.
But I really believe we've turned the corner.
Poor economy or not, this is our time to shine.
So let's get out there and knock them dead.
Joe asks who's up for the challenge.
He wants to know who's ready for or interested in the sales competition.
Calling the competition a little challenge makes it seem less difficult.
Deborah isn't convinced, though.
The sales competition sounds like a big challenge to her.
Maybe we can do it, she says uncertainly.
Her hesitation is an opportunity for Joe to finish up this meeting in a positive way.
It's their time to shine, their time to show off their skills, capabilities, and expertise.
Knock them dead is a phrase meaning to impress.
It may sound violent, but it's not intended that way.
Rather Joe is saying let's be so impressive that people will be knocked over when they see our results.
Finishing up a meeting in a positive way calls for some enthusiastic statements to keep employees' energy going.
Sometimes there is a common phrase or quotation or a variation that fits the moment.
Let's practice some examples.
So we have a lot of hard work ahead of us, but we're no strangers to hard work, are we?
Let's get it done.
You may think the odds are against us, but I think that only makes us stronger.
When the going gets tough, the tough get going.
So let's go for it.
I just want to finish off by reminding everyone what Woody Allen would say.
70% of success is just showing up.
Remember, there is no I in the word team, so let's all pull together and make this happen.
First we'll practice language that can be used to introduce challenges, friendly competition or incentives.
Think back to some of the example phrases we heard.
In many cases, a challenge is proposed and some kind of incentive is offered.
In a moment, you'll hear a cue followed by a prompt.
The cue is a challenge.
The prompt is an incentive.
In your answer, combine the two parts into a complete sentence.
For example, if you hear, Challenge.
Raise sales by 20%.
Incentive.
Tickets to the theater.
You can say, If we raise sales by 20% this year, everyone will get tickets to the theater.
We'll play an example answer after each one.
Are you ready?
Let's give it a go.
Challenge.
Knock off two weeks from the schedule.
Incentive.
Lunch.
Celebrate.
Example answer.
If we knock off two weeks from the schedule, we'll all go out for lunch and celebrate.
Example Answer If we get 10 new clients this month, we'll take a dinner cruise.
Challenge.
Finish early.
Incentive.
Extra day off.
Example Answer Anyone who finishes early can take an extra day off.
Challenge Best Performance Incentive $1,000 Bonus Example answer.
The person with the best performance will get a $1,000 bonus.
Now, let's practice useful vocabulary and idioms.
You'll hear a series of sentences with a word replaced with a beep.
Repeat the whole sentence, saying the missing word.
For example, if you hear... Gary won an...
You can say... After each response, we'll play the correct answer.
Let's begin.
Don't forget to give credit where... is due.
Answer don't forget to give credit where credit is due.
We're really in a with this project now.
Answer we're really in a groove with this project now.
To move forward, we need to build up some Answer.
To move forward, we need to build up some momentum.
I think Lars deserves a round of... for his hard work.
Answer.
I think Lars deserves a round of applause for his hard work.
We've reached the end of this episode, the second of a two-part series on motivating your team.
We've covered ways to recognize effort, give praise, introduce friendly competition and finish up in a positive way.
For more practice.
Premium members can access the online quizzes and study notes for this and other episodes in the new Learning Center.
Not a member yet?
Then just head over to wwwbusinessenglishpodcom and sign up for a free trial to preview some of the extra resources available to members.
Thanks for listening, and see you next time.
Premium members can access detailed study notes and the new phrase cast to practice all the useful language we featured today.
