Speak Business English like an American.pdf

SPEAK BUSINESS

ENGLISH

LIKE AN AMERICAN

LEARN THE IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS

YOU NEED TO SUCCEED ON THE JOB!

DELUXE BOOK & CD SET

AMY GILLETT

[ LANGUAGE

SUCCESS

P R E S S

ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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First Edition

INTRODUCTION........................................................................ 1

LESSON 1: Talking about a New Project ................................... 3

LESSON 2: Talking about Financial Issues................................ 9

LESSON 3: Discussing a New Ad Campaign .......................... 15

LESSON 4: Talking about Manufacturing................................ 21

LESSON 5: Talking about Company Strategy ......................... 27

REVIEW: LESSONS 1-5 ......................................................... 32

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2005904510

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LESSON 6: Discussing Good Results .......................................35

LESSON 7: Discussing Bad Results ..........................................41

LESSON 8: Discussing a Difficult Decision ............................ 47

LESSON 9: Dealing with a Dissatisfied Customer....................53

LESSON 10: Discussing a Difficult Request ...............................57

REVIEW: LESSONS 6-10 ........................................................62

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LESSON 11: Motivating Co-workers .........................................65

LESSON 12: Running a Meeting ................................................71

LESSON 13: Discussing a Mistake ........................................... 77

LESSON 14: Taking Credit for Good Results.............................81

LESSON 15: Shifting Blame ......................................................87

REVIEW: LESSONS 11-15 ................... ................................. 92

Printed in the United States of America

LESSON 16: Politely Disagreeing with Someone..................... 95

LESSON 17: Telling Somebody Off. ....................................... 101

LESSON 18: Discussing Office Scandals................................ 107

LESSON 19: Complaining about a Co-worker ........................ 113

LESSON 20: Talking about a Brown Noser. ............................ 117

REVIEW: LESSONS 16-20..................................................... 124

INTRODUCTION

LESSON 21: Explaining that You're Feeling Overworked ..... 127

LESSON 22: Calling in Sick ................................................... 133

LESSON 23: Requesting a Bank Loan .................................... 137

LESSON 24: Negotiating a Purchase....................................... 143

LESSON 25: Conducting a Performance Review .................... 149

REVIEW: LESSONS 21-25..................................................... 153

For better or worse, the American workplace is full of idioms. People

don't begin a project. They get a project off the ground . They don't

call each other to discuss progress. They touch base . Later, if the

project is not going well, they don't end it. They pull the plug .

Speak Business English Like An American covers over 350 idi-

oms and expressions you're likely to encounter in today's business

world. Familiarize yourself with all of them. When they come up

in conversation, you'll be prepared to respond confidently instead

of becoming silent while thinking to yourself, "What's he talking

about? Sales went through the roof? What roof?" As you're asking

yourself these questions, the conversation is continuing without

you. Suddenly you're left behind. Before you know it, you're out

of the loop .

LESSON 26: Promoting an Employee .....................................155

LESSON 27: Firing Somebody ................................................161

LESSON 28: Job Interview 1 .................................................. 167

LESSON 29: Job Interview 2 .................................................. 173

LESSON 30: Negotiating a Salary Offer. ................................. 179

REVIEW: LESSONS 26-30 .................................................... 184

GLOSSARY OF TERMS ......................................................... 186

ANSWER KEY.........................................................................190

INDEX......................................................................................196

After getting to know the idioms, listen for them in everyday con-

versations and look for them in newspapers. Idioms are everywhere.

Newspapers like the Wall Street Journal and business sections of

daily newspapers are full of these idioms. Once you get a good

feel for them, try them out on your colleagues and friends. Idioms

will add color and excitement to your language. Using idioms will

make you sound more like a native speaker.

Let's take just one example. Let's say you're losing a lot of busi-

ness to your competition. You could say, "We're losing business

to our competition." Or, you could say, "Our competition is eat-

ing our lunch!" The second sentence sounds a little more lively,

doesn't it?

Don't feel the need to load every sentence with idioms. A

well-placed idiom here and there will do the trick.

Lesson 1

You don't have to add every idiom in this book to your active

vocabulary. You'll naturally find some more useful than others.

A few of the idioms in this book — such as think outside the

box and on the same page — have become so common, they're

now overused. But even if you don't want to use them, you

should understand them since you're likely to hear them.

TALKING ABOUT A NEW PROJECT

Carl, Greg, and Anne work for WaterSonic

Corporation. Recently, the company has come up with

an idea for a new electric toothbrush.

American English idioms come from many different sources.

The business-focused idioms often originate from military

speak (example: rally the troops ) and from the world of sports

(example: step up to the plate ). This provides some insight into

the way Americans think about business: like war, it's a bitter

competition with winners and losers. Like sports, it's a game,

with the prizes going to those teams (companies) with superior

strategy and execution.

Carl: I think we've come up with a winner .

Anne: I agree. The new Brush-o-matic toothbrush should be

a blockbuster !

Carl: Our designers have already made up some prototypes *

The toothbrushes have a tooth-whitening attachment

and many other bells and whistles .

Greg: We should fast track this project . Let's try to launch it

in time for the holiday season.

For your convenience, all of the idioms in this book are

shown in bold and listed in the Index. In the Glossary of

Terms, we've included definitions for many other words and

phrases that you may not understand. These terms are in italics

in the dialogues. Whenever you see an italicized word you

don't know, just turn to the back of the book to look it up.

Anne: This will be a great stocking stuffer !

Carl: We definitely need a big win for the holidays.

Anne: This is a great idea. We're going to make a killing .

This book comes with a CD featuring all of the dialogues. The

CD will help you master the rhythm and stress of American

English speech. It will also help you remember the idioms. Play

it at home, at work, in the car, while on business trips...before

you know it, you'll be speaking English like a native!

Greg: Let's not talk about this project to anybody who

doesn't need to know. We'll keep it under wraps .

Carl: I agree. Mum's the word . We don't want any of our

competitors to get wind of the idea and rip it off !

Good luck adding idioms to your everyday speech. It's fun and

it'll help you succeed in the working world!

Anne: Right. Let's meet again on Monday morning and

discuss our game plan for getting this project off the

ground!

* Words in italics in the dialogues are defined on pages 186-189.

IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS - LESSON 1

big win

a huge success; a successful product

(to) come up with a winner

to think up a very good idea

EXAMPLE : The drug company spent millions on research and

development, hoping that one of their new products would be

a big win .

EXAMPLE : Everybody likes Pepsi's new advertising campaign.

Their advertising agency has come up with a winner .

blockbuster

a big success; a huge hit

(to) make a killing

to make a lot of money

EXAMPLE : Eli Lilly made a lot of money with the prescription

drug, Prozac. It was a real blockbuster .

ORIGIN : This term comes from the blockbuster bombs used during World

War Two by the British Royal Air Force. They were huge and created

a large explosive force. Blockbuster ideas similarly create a big impact

— and hopefully don't cause destruction like blockbuster bombs!

EXAMPLE : Suzanne made a killing on her Google stock and

retired at 40.

SYNONYM : to make a fortune

(to) keep something under wraps

to keep something secret; to not let anybody know about a new

project or plan

bells and whistles

extra product features, usually using the latest technologies;

product features which are attractive, but not essential for the

product to function

EXAMPLE : I'm sorry I can't tell you anything about the project

I'm working on. My boss told me to keep it under wraps .

NOTE : "Wraps" are things that provide cover, so if something is "under

wraps" it's covered up and hidden.

EXAMPLE : Our office just got a new copier with all the bells and

whistles . I'll probably never learn how to use all of its features!

mum's the word

let's keep quiet about this; I agree not to tell anyone about this

(to) fast track a project

to make a project a high priority; to speed up the time frame

of a project

EXAMPLE : Please don't tell anybody about our new project.

Remember: mum's the word!

EXAMPLE : Let's fast track this project . We've heard rumors

that our competitors are developing similar products.

ORIGIN : The word "mum" comes from the murmur "mmmmm," the

only sound you can make when your mouth is shut firmly. Try mak-

ing other sounds besides "mmmmm" with your lips and mouth shut

firmly, and you will see that it's impossible!

stocking stuffer

a small gift given at Christmas time

(to) get wind of

to find out about something, often sensitive information

EXAMPLE : These new mini travel pillows will make great stock-

ing stuffers!

EXAMPLE : When the restaurant owner got wind of the fact that

one of his waiters was stealing money from the cash register, he

was furious.

NOTE : This expression comes from the practice of kids hanging up

stockings that Santa Claus fills (or "stuffs") with small gifts.

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