Shadowing Practice: Learn Business English for Daily Life | Listen, Learn & Practice! | Podcast Episode - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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Hello everyone and welcome back to Mr. English Channel,
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Hello everyone and welcome back to Mr. English Channel,
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where learning English is easy and fun.
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I'm Emily.
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Hey there everyone, what's up?
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It's your friend Paul here too.
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Emily, my dear, how are you feeling today?
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All set for some amazing English chat?
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I'm great, Paul.
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Thank you for asking.
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The sun is shining and I'm ready for another fun episode.
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How about you?
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Are you good?
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Oh, I am wonderful, Emily.
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Super happy to be here.
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I love our podcast days.
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They're always so much fun.
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Me too.
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And today we have a very interesting topic for our lovely listeners, right, Paul?
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Yes, exactly.
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It's something many people ask us about.
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Today we are going to talk about,
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drum roll please, business English.
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Ta-da!
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Yes, business English.
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It sounds big, but it's actually very helpful and not so difficult to start.
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We will make it easy, as always.
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That's our goal.
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Make it easy, make it fun.
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Before we start, a quick friendly reminder to everyone watching or listening,
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please click the like button.
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Yes, give us a big thumbs up.
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It helps us a lot.
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And if you are new here,
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or if you haven't yet,
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please subscribe to Mr. English Channel.
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And share this episode with your friends, your family, your classmates.
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Let's learn English together.
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Perfect.
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So, business English.
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Paul, what do you think is the first thing people think about when they hear business English?
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Hmm, that's a good question.
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Maybe meetings?
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Or emails?
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Yes, I think emails are very common in business.
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Yes, good point.
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Emails are super important.
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When you work, you send many emails every day, right?
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So knowing how to write a good email in English is a big part of business English.
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Exactly.
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And it's different from sending an email to a friend.
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You need to be more… formal?
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Yes, more formal.
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We use different words.
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For example, instead of hi,
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you can say, dear Mr. Smith or dear Miss Smith.
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Oh, yes, that's right.
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And at the end, instead of see ya or bye-bye,
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you say sincerely or best regards.
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Yes, exactly.
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These little changes make a big difference.
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It shows respect and professionalism.
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Ah, professionalism.
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That's a key word in business English.
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It means you are serious about your work.
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Yes, and it's not just about words.
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It's also about tone.
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In business emails, you usually want to be clear and direct.
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Yes, clear and direct.
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No long, complicated sentences.
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Just get to the point.
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What do you want to say?
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Say it simply.
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That's a great tip, Paul.
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Simple is often better, especially when you are learning.
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Don't try to use very big,
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fancy words if you are not sure.
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Simple words are good.
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Yes, exactly.
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And what about meetings, Emily?
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You said meetings are a big part of business English, too.
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Oh, yes.
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Meetings.
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Many businesses have meetings.
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And in global companies, these meetings are often in English.
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Wow, that can be a bit scary, right?
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To speak in a meeting in English?
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It can be.
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But we can learn some useful phrases.
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For example, to start a meeting,
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you can say, Good morning, everyone.
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Or, Let's start the meeting.
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Yes, that's simple.
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And if you want to say something,
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like, You have an idea.
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Good question.
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You can say, I have a point to make.
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Or, I'd like to add something.
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Or simply, Excuse me, I have an idea.
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ah very helpful and
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if you don't understand something what do you say then that's very important you can say could you please repeat
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that or could you explain that again please
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or even I'm sorry I don't understand it's okay to ask yes it's always okay to ask for clarification
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People appreciate it when you want to understand clearly.
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No one wants mistakes because of misunderstandings.
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Exactly.
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And Paul, what about making presentations?
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Is that part of business English?
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Oh, definitely.
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Giving a presentation is a big part of many jobs.
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You need to present ideas or results to other people.
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Right.
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and sometimes you need to present in English what are some
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simple phrases for starting a presentation hmm you can say hello everyone my name is Paul
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and today I am going to talk about or welcome everyone today we will discuss very Very good.
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And what about when you finish?
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When you finish, you can say,
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Thank you for your attention.
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Or That's all for my presentation.
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And then it's common to ask,
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Do you have any questions?
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Yes, that's perfect.
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So many useful phrases.
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It's not about knowing every single word,
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but knowing these common phrases helps a lot.
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Yes, it's like having a little toolkit of words and phrases for business.
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A linguistic toolkit.
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I like that.
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So we talked about emails, meetings, and presentations.
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What else, Paul?
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Well, what about phone calls?
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Many people make phone calls for business.
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Oh, yes, phone calls.
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That can be a bit tricky because you can't see the other person's face.
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That's true.
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So clear speaking is very important.
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What are some good ways to answer the phone in a business setting?
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You can say, Hello, Emily speaking.
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How may I help you?
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Or simply, Good morning, company name, Emily speaking.
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Ah, yes.
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Adding the company name is good.
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And if you want to ask, Who is calling?
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You can say, May I ask who's calling, please?
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Or Who am I speaking with?
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These are polite ways to ask.
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And what if the person you want to talk to is not there?
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Then you can say, I'm sorry,
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Mr. Smith is not available right now.
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Or he's in a meeting.
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And then you can ask,
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can I take a message?
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Yes, can I take a message is very useful.
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Or would you like to leave a message?
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Exactly.
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And if you want to connect them to someone else,
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you can say, please hold, I'll connect you.
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Or one moment, please.
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Wow, so many good phrases for phone calls.
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It makes it much less scary.
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Yes, practice makes it easier.
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And remember, it's okay to speak slowly and clearly.
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Don't rush.
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That's a great tip, Emily.
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Slow and clear.
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Especially for business English, clarity is super important.
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Yes.
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Another important part of business English,
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Paul, is talking about numbers,
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like sales figures or budgets.
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Oh, numbers, yes, like percentages.
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For example, sales increased by 10%.
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Yes, or, the budget for this project is $50,000 dollars.
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Knowing how to say numbers clearly is very useful.
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And dates too, right?
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Like, the deadline is next Tuesday.
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Absolutely.
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Dates, times, and numbers are everywhere in business.
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So practice saying them.
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For example, the meeting is at 2.30pm on Friday.
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Yes, good point.
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And what about common office words like desk, computer, printer, keyboard, mouse?
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Oh yes, daily office vocabulary.
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Folder, document, report, spreadsheet.
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These are words you will see every day in an office.
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And colleague.
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That's an important one.
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It means a person you work with.
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Yes, colleague.
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Not friend, but a person you work with.
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Very good, Paul.
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And what about job titles, like manager, director, assistant?
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Yes.
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Knowing job titles is good.
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CEO, HR manager, marketing specialist.
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Yes, those are more specific.
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But even just knowing manager or boss is a good start.
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Absolutely.
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Start simple, then add more.
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That's our motto, right?
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Yes, exactly.
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Start simple, build confidence.
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And don't be afraid to make mistakes.
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are part of learning that's
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so true Emily everyone makes mistakes even native speakers yes we do
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and in business English politeness is very important we use words
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like please thank you excuse me a lot yes politeness opens doors it It makes communication smoother.
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Instead of, send me the report,
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you say, could you please send me the report?
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Yes, a big difference.
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Or, I need this.
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Versus, would it be possible to get this?
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Oh yes, that sounds much better.
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It's less direct and more polite.
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Very good.
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And another thing, Paul, is understanding different accents.
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In business, you might talk to people from all over the world.
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So practice listening to different English accents.
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Oh, that's a very important point.
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Sometimes an accent can make it a little harder to understand at first.
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But with practice, it gets easier.
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Yes, listening to podcasts like ours.
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And watching English videos from different countries can help a lot.
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Yes, good idea.
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So, Emily, if someone is just starting with Business English,
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what would be your top one or two tips?
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My top tip would be start with what you use most often.
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If you write many emails, focus on email phrases.
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If you have many meetings, focus on meeting phrases.
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That's very practical.
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Focus on what you need right now.
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Yes.
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And my second tip is to learn common, polite phrases.
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Could you please?
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Would it be possible?
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Thank you for your help?
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These are always useful.
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That's excellent advice, Emily.
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And my tip would be, listen actively.
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When you are in In a meeting or on a call,
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really try to listen to the words people use.
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Oh, that's a super important one, Paul.
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Active listening.
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You can learn so much just by listening carefully to others.
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Yes.
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You hear how they ask questions,
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how they present ideas, how they close a conversation.
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Absolutely.
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And also, don't be afraid to prepare.
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If you know you have a meeting,
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think about what you want to say and how you will say it in English.
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Yes, practice in your head,
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or even say it out loud a few times.
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That builds confidence.
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Yes, exactly.
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Confidence is key.
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Even if your English is not perfect,
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if you are confident and clear, people will understand you.
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That's very true.
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And people appreciate when you make an effort to communicate in English,
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especially in a business setting.
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Yes.
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So business English might sound big,
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but it's really about learning specific words and phrases that help you do your job effectively and politely.
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And remember, it's a journey.
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You learn little by little, step by step.
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Yes.
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One email at a time,
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one meeting at a time.
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That's right.
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So, Emily, I think we gave our listeners a lot of great information today.
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I think so too, Paul.
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It was a very good discussion.
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I hope it helps everyone who wants to start or improve their business English.
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Me too.
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And before we say goodbye,
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we have a small request for all our wonderful listeners.
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Yes!
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If you enjoyed this episode about Business English,
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please give us a big like.
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Click that thumbs up button right now.
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And if you haven't already,
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please subscribe to Mr. English Channel.
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We have new episodes every week to help you learn English in a fun way.
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And we love to read your comments.
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So please leave a comment below this episode.
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Tell us, what is one new business English phrase you learned today?
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Or what is one business English situation you want to practice?
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Yes, let us know your thoughts.
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We read all your comments.
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Thank you so much for joining us today, everyone.
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It was a pleasure as always.
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Yes, thank you for listening.
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Keep practicing your English and we'll see you next time.
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Bye for now.
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See ya.
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Context & Background
In this episode of the Mr. English Channel podcast, hosts Emily and Paul delve into the essential topic of business English, which plays a crucial role in daily professional interactions. Their engaging conversation emphasizes the importance of mastering business communication skills, particularly for non-native speakers. Emily and Paul aim to break down complex concepts into manageable parts, making the learning experience enjoyable and accessible for everyone. The hosts highlight that understanding business English is not just beneficial but necessary for effective communication in the workplace, covering aspects such as meetings, emails, and everyday conversations.
Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication
- “Could you please clarify that?” - A polite way to ask for more information during meetings.
- “I look forward to your response.” - A courteous end to an email, indicating you expect further communication.
- “Let’s schedule a meeting.” - A direct way to propose a time to discuss matters more thoroughly.
- “How can I assist you?” - A friendly phrase to show your willingness to help in a business context.
- “Thank you for your understanding.” - A professional way to express gratitude when discussing issues or adjustments.
Step-by-step Shadowing Guide
If you aspire to enhance your English speaking skills using the shadowing technique, here's a structured guide based on the podcast episode. Shadowing is a method that allows you to practice speaking by mimicking native speakers, and it works perfectly with business English.
- Listen Carefully: Play the podcast episode and focus intently on how Emily and Paul articulate their thoughts. Pay attention to pronunciation, intonation, and pacing.
- Repeat & Imitate: Pause the audio after each sentence or phrase. Try to repeat what you hear in real-time. Use echoes of their tones to enhance fluency. This is known as shadowspeak, where you shadow their speech.
- Practice with Scripts: If available, read along with the transcript while listening to the episode. This will reinforce your learning and help you connect spoken English with written forms.
- Record Yourself: After several repetitions, record your own voice mimicking their dialogue. Compare it to the original to identify areas for improvement.
- Engage with a Partner: Find a learning buddy or join a community. Practice these phrases in role-playing scenarios, simulating meetings or email exchanges to gain confidence.
By consistently practicing with techniques like shadowing and focusing on specific phrases relevant to business tasks, you can enhance your IELTS speaking practice and boost your overall proficiency. Utilize this shadowing site concept to make your learning interactive and effective.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.
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