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 Jennifer and I'll be your host for this episode, the second in a two-part series about an internal meeting to consider a proposal.
As we saw in the last episode, this type of meeting can be similar to a negotiation.
People with different opinions sit around the table and try to convince each other that their idea is the best.
So in this situation, you need to be very persuasive and provide good reasons for your recommendations.
In this lesson we'll look at how to express doubt, admit risk, confirm support and speculate about possible future situations or scenarios.
We'll also cover language that you can use to highlight any concessions you might have won in a previous negotiation.
In today's dialogue we'll rejoin Steve and his managers as they discuss a proposal for language training.
Steve is recommending a blended training model that would combine classroom sessions with online training.
As you listen to the dialogue try to answer these questions.
1.
Which advantage of online training does Steve focus on?
2.
What is the main concern of the two female managers?
3.
If the blended approach doesn't work what do they have the option of doing?
Well, imagine it's crunch time on a big project.
Would we want our employees heading off to a training seminar?
I think that would affect the quality of both the project and the training.
With an online component, employees can do it any time.
That makes sense.
Yeah, I can see the flexibility, too.
But I'm a bit more concerned about quality.
I'm not convinced that employees will give it their all in online training.
Fair point, Gail.
The classroom idea may be more costly, but we need to see real improvements to make this all worthwhile.
Sure.
I brought these things up with Lexis and what I told them is I'd like to make final payment contingent on a midpoint assessment and positive feedback from the participants.
They agreed.
Hmm.
That's a good way to light a fire under someone.
Make us happy or you don't get paid.
I'm in.
I like it.
Martin, i'm coming around to the idea.
Listen, i understand that the online piece comes with question marks.
Employees may or may not enjoy it as much as classroom delivery, but remember, it's not all online.
Okay, and you said we have the option of switching if things don't work out.
That's right.
So are we all on the same page here with the blended delivery?
Shall I contact Lexis with the good news?
Okay, now let's have a closer look at what's happening in this dialogue.
Well, imagine it's crunch time on a big project.
Would we want our employees heading off to a training seminar?
I think that would affect the quality of both the project and the training.
With an online component, employees can do it anytime.
To show why online delivery is a good idea, Steve is asking the others to imagine a situation in which employees have conflicting responsibilities.
When we talk about an imagined situation like this, we are speculating.
And to do this, we need to use modal verbs.
Steve uses the words would and can to speculate in this way.
This is a good technique to help people understand your point of view.
Let's practice a few more examples of speculating using modal verbs.
I think raising prices might turn off our regular customers.
You know, if this trend continues, we could double sales next month.
Our image might be damaged if we go ahead with executive bonuses this year.
Steve's speculating is effective, but not everybody is satisfied, as we can see.
That makes sense.
Yeah, I can see the flexibility too, but I'm a bit more concerned about quality.
I'm not convinced that employees will give it their all in online training.
Gail is concerned not about flexibility, but about quality.
She introduces her concerns with the phrase I'm not convinced, but what she's really saying is I want to be convinced.
Her worries don't necessarily mean that online training is a bad idea, but she's expressing doubt that it's the best idea.
What other phrases can you use to express doubt about a plan or idea?
I'm not so sure that these sales projections are realistic.
I'm rather doubtful about the company's chances of surviving the recession.
We're not convinced that we made the right choice in marketing managers.
I don't know if the whole rebranding concept is a good one.
Let's see how Steve responds to Gail's concerns.
Fair point, Gail.
The classroom idea may be more costly, but we need to see real improvements to make this all worthwhile.
Sure.
I brought these things up with Lexis and what I told them is I'd like to make final payment contingent on a midpoint assessment and positive feedback from the participants.
They agreed.
Steve admits that the manager's concerns are important.
In fact, he anticipated these concerns and dealt with them in the negotiation with Lexis.
And he did so quite successfully, winning important concessions.
Now Steve wants to highlight these concessions.
Again, we see that he is capable and prepared.
And when he talks about the concessions he won, he focuses on his role.
He says what I told them is that That's much stronger than saying something like.
I asked them if it would be OK.
If you win concessions in negotiation, you should highlight them to others, as in the following examples
After a lot of haggling, they agreed not to charge us for ongoing website maintenance.
He agreed to throw in a new set of tires if we bought two forklifts.
I managed to persuade them to let us use their meeting space at no cost.
So is everyone convinced of Steve's suggestion?
I like it.
Martin?
I'm coming around to the idea.
Listen, I understand that the online piece comes with question marks.
Employees may or may not enjoy it as much as classroom delivery.
But remember, it's not all online.
As we saw before, Steve has to show that he understands his manager's points of view.
He does it again here by admitting some of the risks.
Saying that he understands his preferred approach comes with question marks, and he brings up a concern that nobody else has mentioned yet.
Now you might think that would weaken his position, but acknowledging risks and dealing with them openly will actually give your proposal more credibility.
What other language can we use to acknowledge risks?
I admit that the whole plan might backfire on us.
If we're not careful.
There is a chance that we won't see much of a return on our investment.
The time may not exactly be perfect for international expansion in this climate of uncertainty.
Who knows what might happen?
The female managers have already expressed approval and now it sounds like Steve has finally convinced Martin.
Okay.
And you said we have the option of switching if things don't work out.
That's right.
So, are we all on the same page here with the blended delivery?
Shall I contact Lexis with the good news?
It seems as though everyone is agreed.
Steve has worked hard to persuade them, but he still wants to confirm their buy-in.
In other words, he wants to make sure that everybody supports the idea of the blended training.
He checks to see if everyone is on the same page or in agreement.
And he wants to take the next step by asking for their approval to inform Lexis of the decision.
Getting buy-in at the end of a meeting is important, so here's a few more examples of how you can confirm your colleague's support.
So, can I count on your support as we move ahead with this safety plan?
I think we all agree on the best design, don't we?
Okay, we've decided that a spending freeze is the best move, right?
Well, it sounds like we all agree, so i'll go ahead and contact the successful applicant.
Great, the meeting is finished and steve has gained the support of his managers.
He was successful because he was well prepared and able to address everyone's concerns while highlighting the benefits of the blended approach.
Now let's practice some of the language we've learned in this lesson.
Let's begin with speculating with modal verbs such as could, would and might.
In a moment, you'll hear a statement from a colleague.
Then you'll hear a prompt.
Use the language in the prompt to speculate about the given situation.
For example, if you hear, Do you think they'll accept our offer?
You can say, Well, They could return with a counter offer.
We'll play an example answer after each practice.
Ready?
Let's give it a go.
Situation I think the monthly shipment is going to be late again.
Late Might Find Different Distributor Example answer.
If it is late, it might be best to find a different distributor.
Situation.
I sure wish the city government would allow us to have more signs.
Could attract customers more signs example answer.
Yes, i'm sure we could attract a lot more customers with more signs situation.
What if we asked mr blake for friday off wood, angry working, big project Example answer.
I think he would be angry because we're working on a big project.
Situation.
It looks like we're going to have a high vacancy rate all winter.
Might not afford planned renovations.
Example answer.
Well, in that case, we might not be able to afford our planned renovations.
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...
Jeremy didn't sell much this quarter because he didn't really give it his.
You can say After each response we'll play the correct answer.
Let's begin.
The CEO lit a... under the managers with his inspiring speech.
Answer.
The CEO lit a fire under the managers with his inspiring speech.
Everyone has to work late when it's time on major projects.
Answer.
Everyone has to work late when it's crunch time on major projects.
I thought relocating was unwise but eventually came to the idea.
I thought relocating was unwise but eventually came around to the idea.
After discussing the issue, Dan and I realized we were on the same.
After discussing the issue, Dan and I realized we were on the same page.
We've reached the end of this episode and our series on meeting to consider a proposal.
Today we learned how to express doubts, admit risks, and confirm buy-in.
We've also seen how to highlight concessions that we've won in negotiation and how to speculate with modal verbs.
For more practice, Premium members can access the online quizzes and study notes for this and other episodes on the website.
If you're not a member yet, head over to www.businessenglishpod.com and sign up for a free trial.
Thanks for listening and I hope to see you again soon.
I'm moving back to Australia so the next time you hear me, it'll be from sunny Sydney.
But in the meantime, there'll be lots of new podcasts coming your way, and I wish everyone the very best with your studies.
