The Business Spotlight Podcast

Vocabulary: Skill Up!

Business Spotlight — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:21:07 +0100

Business Spotlight magazine offers a new vocabulary guide called Skill Up! In the guide, we also present a number of idioms that use the words “work” and “job”. Let’s see how well you know them. You’ll hear some sentences and we’ll ask you to complete them. Ready?

Redewendungen

Telephoning: Conference calls

Business Spotlight — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 15:29:24 +0100

Telephone conference calls are becoming increasingly important in global business. But, as we found out in a recent survey, there are often language problems in the discussions. For help on overcoming some of the difficulties, let’s turn to communication skills expert Ken Taylor.

Interviews: Corporate astrologer

Business Spotlight — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:00:37 +0100

Some people check their horoscope before making any important decisions, going on trips or getting involved in a relationship. But did you know that some businesses do this, too? We spoke to Faye Cossar, a corporate astrologer, about how the stars influence businesses and business cycles for March and April.

Skills: Customer service

Business Spotlight — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:53:17 +0100

Research shows that each unhappy customer tells 10 – 16 other people about the bad service they received. That’s why good customer service is so important. Communication skills expert, Ken Taylor, tells us how we can better serve our customers.

News: Salt of the earth

Business Spotlight — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:17:14 +0100

The country of Bolivia has huge salt flats that may one day be very valuable, indeed. Why? Because the water under these salt flats contains lithium, a light metal that is used to make certain kinds of batteries.

Interviews: Matchmaker

Business Spotlight — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 14:53:59 +0100

When looking for love, some people go to an online dating service, while others turn to a matchmaker. We went to the streets in Norwich, England to ask: “Would you use a matchmaker to find a partner?”

Telephoning: Dealing with angry callers

Business Spotlight — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:39:28 +0100

When you pick up the phone at work, you usually expect it to be a friendly customer or colleague. It might be, but sometimes the person on the other end of the line is angry. Really angry. What do you do? Luckily, communication skills expert Ken Taylor is here with some advice and an exercise.

News: Innovations

Business Spotlight — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:21:05 +0100

Today we’d like to talk about innovations, inventions and discoveries from the world of technology. So, what do you think Englishwoman Angela Morris has made from sheep’s wool? Something warm, such as a sweater? Socks? … No, you’re not even close.

Vocabulary: The post room

Business Spotlight — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:21:05 +0100

Lots of business communication is sent by e-mail. But we still send products and certain types of correspondence by mail, or post. So this week, we’ll take you to a company post room.

Skills: Internal consulting

Business Spotlight — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 08:41:17 +0100

Let’s say you start the new year with a big, company-wide project. You have to coordinate co-workers from several departments or offices. Where do you start? It might help to use an internal consultant. Communication skills expert Ken Taylor, has some advice and an exercise.