Show Notes
In this podcast lesson we're going to focus on questioning techniques once again. Questioning is the most important way of exchanging information in business situations. Since there are many situations where questions are used in gaining information, there are, of course, many different ways of asking questions.
The most important thing to consider when asking questions concerns your relationship with the person you are speaking to. Obviously, the closer you are to someone, the more informal your questions can be. It’s advisable, though, to be more polite than is usually necessary if you are unsure how polite or formal to be. Informal, direct questions may be considered impolite in certain situations with certain people; formal, indirect questions can often be considered inappropriate in other situations.
Would you use the same type of questions with your subordinate as you would with a customer? Would you question your boss in the same way you'd question your colleague? It's doubtful.
More from Workplace English Podcast - Workplace English Training E-Platform
When you’re given verbal instructions, it’s essential that you clarify anything you don’t understand or are unclear about. Even if you feel you’ve understood everything correctly, it’s a good idea to repeat back the instructions to whoever gave them to you to ensure that you haven’t misunderstood or missed anything. This will help to minimize any errors you might make whilst you are carrying out the instructions.
Entertaining is considered an important aspect of business communication. Not all professional interactions take place in an office environment, and knowing how to entertain business associates in informal environments, such as in bars and restaurants, is an important part of the communication process.
A common task in business is to compare things such as costs, service, reliability, performance, etc. It's only through making comparisons that we can make decisions about which is the cheapest, the most reliable, and the best buy. The characteristics of a product or service are described by adjectives, such as 'cheap,' 'heavy,' 'wide', 'reliable,' etc. So it's important for you to know how to compare adjectives. In this podcast lesson, we’ll look at a number of ways commonly use to compare adjectives.
“Results depend on relationships. That’s what Don Petersen says. He is the ex-CEO of America’s Ford Motor Company. You will find that being able to make small talk—especially before a business meeting—will help build good relationships. And, good business relationships will help you get the results you want. Think of small talk as an engraved business card: small but impressive. Impressive, that is, if you do it well.