You're listening to Business English Pod, the Business English podcast for professionals on the move.
Hello, and welcome back to Business English Pod.
My name's Edwin, and I'll be your host for today's lesson on decision-making meetings.
Success in business depends on making good decisions.
But making good decisions is not just an individual skill.
It's a group skill.
Several people come together to discuss an issue, explore options, and decide which path to follow.
With good information, a good decision-making process and good meeting skills, the participants should be able to make the best decision possible.
So what kind of skills might be useful in decision-making meetings?
Today we'll explore techniques such as framing a decision, inviting discussion and referencing criteria.
We'll also cover raising concerns and requesting more information.
In the dialogue we'll hear a group of people at an engineering firm trying to decide on a tech support company to hire.
Scott, his senior partner, is leading the meeting, while Ann and David and Kelly are participating.
The group discusses their options in order to figure out the best company to hire.
As you listen to the dialogue, try to answer the following questions.
One, what does Scott say is the basic question they have to answer?
Two, what consideration does Kelly bring up in the discussion?
3.
What piece of information about City Tech does David want to know?
Alright, looks like everyone's here now, so let's get started.
Our job today is to decide on who we're going to go with for tech support.
And I think the big thing behind all of this, I mean the big question is who is going to give us the best support, not just now, but in the future, as we grow?
Sound good?
Yes.
I'm glad you mentioned the future and growth.
I think that's important.
Yeah, I agree.
Sounds great, Scott.
Super.
So everyone's gone through all the info on the shortlist, right?
We've got Grayton, City Tech, Brightstar, and Alamo.
Okay.
Anyone want to start us off here?
Thoughts on these options?
Mind if I open it up, Scott?
No, go ahead, Kelly.
Well, I know that one of our concerns is cost, right?
Because I'm looking here at the different bids and it appears that Drayton comes in quite a bit cheaper than the other three.
Just thought I'd point that out.
Something to think about.
For sure, that's one of our considerations.
But I think we have to be a bit careful about emphasizing cost too much.
I mean, I see a bit of a problem here with their experience.
They're pretty new, right?
And none of their experience is specifically in the engineering field.
True enough.
Yeah, I'm with you on that.
I don't think we should cut too many corners on this.
We learned our lesson with the last guys, right?
Good point.
So, let's leave Drayton out of this.
What about City Tech?
They've got some experience, right?
Yeah, some.
But are they even in Dallas?
I thought I saw a Houston address or something.
I think we need to figure that out before anything else.
Okay.
Let me just go look that up.
Be right back.
Now let's go through the dialogue again and look at the language and techniques used in this decision-making discussion.
All right.
Looks like everyone's here now, so let's get started.
Our job today is to decide on who we're going to go with for tech support.
And I think the big thing behind all of this, I mean the big question is who is going to give us the best support, not just now, but in the future, as we grow?
Sound good?
The group has come together to make a decision.
And Scott wants to start things off by making sure everyone is clear about what that decision is.
He states that they need to decide who to go with or choose for tech support.
And he frames that decision as an issue of who will give them the best support now and in the future.
By framing the decision in this way, he gives a mission to the participants.
Let's practice some more ways of framing a decision at the start of a meeting.
Okay, so what we need to decide here is a product name that will connect with our customers.
The issue we're looking at is which of the three locations is best for our new office.
So everyone, here's our goal for today.
We need to decide where to cut costs without impacting customer service.
Here's the question.
Which of these vendors is the best fit for our company?
Now, let's get back to the meeting.
Yes, I'm glad you mentioned the future and growth.
I think that's important.
Yeah, I agree.
Sounds great, Scott.
Super.
So everyone's gone through all the info on the shortlist, right?
We've got Grayton, Citytech, Brightstar, and Alamo.
Okay.
Anyone want to start us off here?
Thoughts on these options?
Once the participants have shown they understand the purpose of the meeting.
Scott talks about the shortlist of tech support companies.
Of course, this isn't the first time the group have talked about the issue.
They've examined proposals, done research, and narrowed their options down to four companies.
Everyone is expected to have reviewed the information about the companies on the shortlist, so they are ready for a discussion.
And it's a discussion Scott wants when he asks someone to start off and invites people's thoughts on the options.
What are some other ways we can invite discussion?
So, anyone have any opinions on this issue?
At this point, let's just throw out any ideas we have about the options.
I'd like to just open it up for comments and opinions.
Anyone want to give us their thoughts on these three candidates?
So, who starts the discussion off?
Mind if I open it up, Scott?
No, go ahead, Kelly.
Well, I know that one of our concerns is cost, right?
Kelly wants to open it up or start off the discussion by talking about cost.
She calls this one of their concerns, but she could also call it one of several criteria.
Criteria are the points we consider when evaluating different options.
And when we discuss a decision, it's important to reference these criteria to make sure we make the best decision possible.
Let's try some other ways of referencing criteria.
Well, I think the first place is a good location but it's not as new as we'd like.
Abbott has a great portfolio, and that's certainly one of the things we wanted to look at.
Let's consider experience, since that is one of our biggest concerns in choosing a suitable vendor.
So the first developer is cheaper, but what about design capabilities?
Now listen as Kelly continues her discussion of the different proposals.
Because I'm looking here at the different bids and it appears that Drayton comes in quite a bit cheaper than the other three.
Just thought I'd point that out.
Something to think about.
Kelly points out or mentions that Drayton is cheaper than the other three companies.
She's not necessarily pushing this as the best choice, but simply introducing her concerns about cost.
How do the others respond?
For sure, that's one of our considerations.
But I think we have to be a bit careful about emphasizing cost too much.
I mean, I see a bit of a problem here with their experience.
They're pretty new, right?
And none of their experience is specifically in the engineering field.
Anne begins by agreeing that cost is a consideration.
But she follows this with a but statement warning that they should be a bit careful about emphasizing cost.
This is a way of introducing her concern about Drayton, which is that they lack experience.
Or as Anne says it, she sees a bit of a problem with their experience.
To emphasize her concern, she uses the question, they're pretty new, right?
Asking questions like this helps invite discussion.
Rather than asserting a strong opinion, Anne is raising concerns for the entire group to discuss.
What are some other ways we can do this?
Let's try a few more examples.
I'm not so sure the printer from Canon will give us the best print quality.
I agree a new outlet is exciting, but I think it might be too soon for expansion.
What about maintenance costs?
The first option is going to be more expensive in that respect.
Wait a second.
Is a full audit really necessary at this point?
Does everyone agree with Anne that Drayton's lack of experience is a concern?
True enough.
Yeah, I'm with you on that.
I don't think we should cut too many corners on this.
We learned our lesson with the last guys, right?
Good point.
So, let's leave Drayton out of this.
What about City Tech?
They've got some experience, right?
Yes, everyone seems to agree that Anne has made a good point about Drayton's lack of experience.
David reinforces the idea by saying they shouldn't cut corners or try to save money by choosing cheap and easy options.
For these reasons, Scott says they should leave Drayton out.
He then raises City Tech for discussion, making sure to point out that they have some experience.
What does David think about this option?
Yeah, some.
But are they even in Dallas?
I thought I saw a Houston address or something.
I think we need to figure that out before anything else.
David agrees they have some experience, but he doesn't know if the company is even located in Dallas, which is where their company is.
David wants to figure this out before moving on.
He feels they can't really consider this option without more information and he wants to be polite in how he requests it.
So he follows his question by explaining that he thought he saw a Houston address.
And he softens his request by saying, I think we need to figure it out.
It's common in decision-making meetings to request more information so you can make the best decision.
Let's practice some more ways we can do this politely and gently.
Before we go on, we should probably know more about tax law in each state.
Can we get some more details about HWC's past projects?
I think we'll need to see that price broken down in greater detail before deciding.
What would really help in this discussion is the safety specs for each machine.
Now, do we find out where CityTank is located?
Okay, let me just go look that up.
Be right back.
It looks like we'll have to wait until next time to find out if City Tech is close enough to be an option, as Kelly finishes the dialogue by saying she'll go look up or find out their location.
Now, let's practice some of the language we learned in today's lesson.
Imagine you are part of a meeting that has been called to decide between three possible locations for a new store.
The possible locations are Seattle, Chicago, and Boston.
To start off, you'll play the role of the meeting leader and then switch to one of the participants.
Then you'll switch back to being the leader for the last step.
I'll give you a cue telling you what you need to talk about.
Then you'll hear a prompt.
Use the words in the prompt to make an effective statement during the meeting.
We'll guide you through each step in the practice and play an example answer for each response.
Ready?
Let's give it a go.
Start off by framing the decision as a choice of the best location for the new store.
What Best Location Store?
Answer Okay, what we need to do is choose the best location for this new store.
Next, invite discussion about the three possible locations.
What Think Locations Answer So, what does everyone think about the three locations?
Chicago.
Biggest.
Need.
Think about.
Answer.
Chicago is the biggest city and that's one thing we need to think about.
Next, imagine you're a different participant and you want to raise concerns that Chicago is too expensive.
Wait.
Chicago.
Expensive.
Answer.
Wait a minute.
Isn't Chicago much too expensive for us?
Finally, as the leader request more information about the exact costs of doing business in each city.
To know.
Cost.
Business.
City answer.
What we really need to know before deciding is the exact cost of doing business in each city.
Now let's practice some of the vocabulary and collocations we've covered in this lesson.
In a moment, you'll hear a series of sentences with the words replaced with a beep.
Repeat each sentence, including the missing word.
For example, if you hear I'd just like to point out that we need to make a decision today.
After each response, we'll play the correct answer.
Let's begin.
After three bad product launches, I really hope we've learned our Answer.
After three bad product launches, I really hope we've learned our lesson.
We've reduced our options to a short list of just three companies.
Answer.
We've reduced our options to a short list of just three companies.
Sales went down when we started cutting on customer service.
Answer.
Sales went down when we started cutting corners on customer service.
I think one of our biggest in this decision is how much this will cost answer.
I think one of our biggest considerations in this decision is how much this will cost.
We've reached the end of this lesson, the first in our series on decision making meetings.
We've learned how to frame a decision, invite discussion and reference criteria.
We've also learned how to raise concerns and request more information.
Thanks for listening, and see you again soon.
