Art Of Teaching

This blog is in response to a query raised by Mr. Kenneth Francis. I’ve tried to simplify the difference to the best of my ability.

We can describe “Conversational English” as the language that people use in their daily lives. So, this discrimination signifies the common language formed with common daily terminology. The daily English language that can be spoken and understood by almost anyone due to the less frequent use of technical terms covers genuine and effortless language.

“Business English” is a use of language mainly planned and created for occupations, such as International trade, Domestic trade and Finance. This concept of Business English is regarded as proficient level in learning and teaching English.

Business English represents a language use with a sector-based vocabulary and sentence patterns. They are supported with abbreviations accepted in the business world. This language form is used in business communications, such as official correspondence, presentation, business reports and meeting texts.

Business English requires communication and writing skills with division and know-how exact terms and is learned through language training for helping the students gain command on certain terms and patterns.

Business English is Cross – Cultural

Business English by its very nature surpasses cultures while at the same time respects them. A good Business English trainer will have a heightened attentiveness of this and will get used to the use of English to the trainee’s background rather than the other way around.

Sometimes the most basic questions are the hardest to answer. For instance;

Who are you? What does your company do? Why should I choose you?
There is so much you want to explain! It can be overpowering enough in your everyday language.…

“Modal verbs” are the secret factor to speak fluent business English. This might surprise you.
In fact, most English speakers do not even comprehend how important modal verbs are in office speech.

But think about it.

The modal auxiliary verbs are ‘can’, ‘could’, ‘will’, ‘would’, ‘shall’, ‘should’, ‘may’, ‘might’, ‘must’ and ‘ought’. Modal auxiliary verbs often express the ideas of requirement and opportunity. You could use them in your sentences while speaking Business English.

Words, Phrases and Cultural References in Business English

• Want him on this – It means that someone wants somebody “on this” conference call or work-related with them.
• Everyone’s onboard – To be “on board” means that you agree and support the decision or idea.
• Day-to-day – Everyday running of office or project
• Big picture stuff – Focus more on the goals of the office and less of the daily office problems or issues.
• A lot of moving pieces – This means that things are a little complicated.

Pointers for speaking Business English:

• Chart your message carefully.
• Recognize strength and weakness to give your speech a clear focus
• Use your verbal communication to help your listeners’ vision of the changes you recommend in a positive glow.
• Keep your speech positive by mentioning unconstructive aspects of your company only in terms of planned solutions and expansion strategies.
• A positive speech suggests thoughts and leaves room open for discussion and extensive problem-solving.
• Focusing too much on the previous often fails to motivate human resources or investors because your ideas might seem more like schemes than solutions.

There is no law that says a speech outline must follow a traditional sketch out format.

One type of simple format is as follows:

Here you can use cognitive, verbal, and visual skills.

• Introduction – General purpose statement or thesis statement. In short, the overall abstract of your ideas.
• Body – The main pointers in a maximum of 6 points
• Conclusion – Summarize the full gist in a few words
• Residual Message – Important pointers for the audience.
  [In fact, a recapitulation of the whole speech. Here you can use a visual medium for greater effect]

Business Administration Vocabulary Words for English Learners:

You can intentionally use these words when you talk business for the impact.

(1) Facilitate –To facilitate means to make things easier and help them run more smoothly.
(2) Coordinate- The verb to coordinate means to arrange for two or more parties
(people or groups) to work together.
(3) Prioritize –To prioritize means to deal with things in their order of importance or
urgency.
(4) Schedule – To schedule means to plan for an event (such as meetings,
conference calls, and deliveries) to take place at a certain time and place.
(5) Process – The verb to process means to put something through a series of actions
to achieve a certain result.
(6) Motivate – The verb to motivate means to provide a good reason for doing something,
or to encourage someone to work harder.
(7) Collaborate – The verb to collaborate means to work together with another person
or group to achieve a common goal.
(8) Supervise –The verb to supervise means to direct and be in charge of someone or something.
(9) Negotiate – The verb to negotiate means to formally discuss something and come to an agreement.
(10) Implement – to implement means to effectively start using or enforcing an action or plan.
(11) Communicate – to communicate means to pass on information to someone.
(12) Merchandise – simply refers to the products or goods that are bought and sold by your company.
(13) Inventory – refers to the items or products you have in stock.
(14) Turnover – The noun turnover is pretty interesting. It may refer to the amount of money in your company.
(15) Distribution – Noun distribution refers to the delivery of products or merchandise to your business.
(16) Business plan – A business plan is a document used to outline plans for a business.
(17) Start-up – The term “start-up” is used to describe a brand new business, typically in its
first few months or years of trading.
(18) Forecast – Just as a weather forecast predicts what the weather’s going to be doing,
so a business forecast predicts various aspects of a business’s future.
(19) Marketing – Marketing refers to the promotion of a product or service. It can take numerous forms, including advertising, emailing customers, sending out leaflets or brochures, engaging with potential customers via social media, and so on.
(20) USP – A “USP” is the “Unique Selling Proposition” of a company, product, or service – in other words, what makes it different from similar offerings.
(21) Brand – “Brand” is the term given to a company’s name and recognizable attributes.
(22) Public Relations – Public Relations, or PR, is the role within a business devoted to communicating with the press, and ensuring favorable media coverage of a company, product, or service.

Beware Of Office Jargon:

Corporate jargon, variously known as corporate speak, corporate lingo, business-speak, business jargon is the HYBRID LANGUAGE often used in large workplaces. The use of corporate jargon is criticized for its lack of clarity as well as for its monotony, making meaning and intention obscure and understanding difficult.

Some examples are:

• Thinking outside the box – means thinking creatively, abandoning all preconceptions.
• Blue sky thinking – the term “blue sky thinking” is another way of expressing the idea of “thinking outside the box”. It is an office jargon.
• Buy-in – This term refers to the idea of gaining acceptance for something. If someone agrees to subscribe to a way of doing things, for example, they are “buying in” to the idea.
• On the same page – If you are “on the same page” as someone, you’re approaching something from the same point of view as them.
• End of play – This irritating term refers to the end of the working day. “Close of play” is a variant, as in “Can you get this over to me by close of play today?”
• Drill down – You might hear this term used to describe something that deserves closer inspection: “we need to drill down to the finer details”.
• Vertical – You would have thought that the word “vertical” is simply the opposite of “horizontal”, but not in a business context. In the world of business jargon, it refers to an area of expertise.
• Get the ball rolling – This is simply a way of saying “start”.
• Low-hanging fruit – the phrase “low-hanging fruit” is used to describe the tasks or opportunities that are easiest to tackle.
• Helicopter view – This means “a quick overview”.

Though JARGONS are difficult to understand by a layman unless you are a part of a corporate organization… Anne Curzan says otherwise.

Anne Curzan, an English professor at the University of Michigan, studies the evolution of language. While many of us roll our eyes at office jargon – from synergy to value-add to operationalize – Curzan defends business jargon. She says the words we say around the office speak volumes about our organizations and our working relationships. She shares how to use jargon more deliberately, explains the origin of some annoying or amusing buzzwords, and discusses how English became the global business language and how that could change.

So, as you see for me ultimately Business English is use of certain specific words which are mandatory during Business talk to make it sound formal and serious.

You basically need to cultivate the habit of using those words deliberately when you talk business. It is a matter of practice.

Make a list of Business words and start using it in your conversation and you will be an expert in Business English in no time.