English Well Spoken Conversation Topics for Business ... · EWS Conversation Topics for Busi ness E ngl i sh S tudent s English Well Spoken Conversation Topics for Business English

EWS Conversation Topics for Business English Students

English Well Spoken

Conversation Topics for Business English Students

The EWS Executive Holistic Programme has been designed specifically for Business students; structured around both the needs of the student and the company. At English Well Spoken we believe that learning through conversation is the most natural way to learn a language. We have a holistic approach, which involves learning through intuition based on the specific needs of the student. Not only is this method highly effective but enjoyable too. Below are some topics that Business English Students might find useful to discuss in lessons.

1. Businesses 2. Negotiations/Trattative 3. Job Interviews/ Interviste di lavoro 4. Working abroad/Lavorare all’estero 5. Crisis Management 6. Leaders 7. Business Presentations/Presentazione del lavoro 8. Meetings 9. Terminations 10. Managers 11. Small Businesses 12. Work Appraisals 13. Retirement 14. Work Experience 15. Overtime 16. Business Trips 17. Competition 18. Risk Management 19. Investing 20. Colleagues 21. Hard Times 22. Raises 23. Sales 24. Customers 25. Customer Service 26. Marketing 27. Consulting 28. Rules and Regulations

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Executive Holistic Programme è un corso progettato per le esigenze aziendali ed è strutturato in base alle esigenze degli studenti e dell'azienda stessa. Ad English Well Spoken crediamo che l'apprendimento tramite la conversazione sia il modo più naturale per imparare una lingua. Abbiamo perciò un approccio olistico che comporta imparare attraverso l'intuizione e che si basa sulle specifiche esigenze degli studenti, ed il nostro metodo non è solamente molto efficace, ma è anche divertente. Abbiamo elencato qui sotto alcuni argomenti che chi studia inglese per business potranno trovare utile discutere durante le lezioni.

1. Businesses 2. Trattative 3. Interviste di lavoro 4. Lavorare all’estero 5. Crisis Management 6. Leaders 7. Business Presentations/Presentazione del lavoro 8. Meetings 9. Terminations 10. Managers 11. Small Businesses 12. Work Appraisals 13. Retirement 14. Work Experience 15. Overtime 16. Business Trips 17. Competition 18. Risk Management 19. Investing 20. Colleagues 21. Hard Times 22. Raises 23. Sales 24. Customers 25. Customer Service 26. Marketing 27. Consulting 28. Rules and Regulations

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1. Businesses

Talking about other businesses is, essentially, talking business. Other businesses could be friends, foes, inspirations or anything else. A simple topic, yet such a deep one.

● What can businesses do to succeed? ● What is your idea of a “business”? ● What businesses are successful in your country/industry? Why? ● Why do you think some businesses fail? ● “Business is a combination of war and sport.” Do you agree? Why/why not?

1. Businesses

● Che cosa può fare l'attività per avere successo ? ● Qual’ è la vostra idea di business ? ● Quali attività hanno successo nella vostra azienda ? E Perché ● Perché alcune attività falliscono ? ● “Il business è una combinazione fra guerra e sport” Siete d'accordo ? Perché non siete

d'accordo?

2. Negotiations

No verb goes with the word “business” better than “negotiation.” Some could say negotiations are business. It’s a good topic that has students speaking about any and all kinds of negotiations.

● How good are you at negotiating? ● What are some good negotiation tactics? ● Do you do negotiations in your work, personal like or while shopping? ● What have you had to negotiate for in your life? (Examples: House, car, items at

a bazaar) ● Do you think men or women are better at negotiations? Why?

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2. Trattative

● Siete bravi a negoziare ? ● Quali sono le migliori tattiche di trattativa ? ● Negoziate durante il lavoro, durante la vita privata o negli acquisti ? ● Per che cosa avete dovuto trattare nella vostra vita ? ( Esempio: Casa,

macchina, acquisiti in un bazar.

3. Job Interviews

Unless your students got a job hookup from a friend or a family member, chances are they have something to say about job interviews. They are the “first dates” of the business world and this topic gets some good chatter going. A few great questions are:

● How do you feel about job interviews? ● What is the most important part of a job interview? ● What advice do you have for a successful interview? ● What questions are common in job interviews in your company/industry/country? ● What was the worst interview you have ever had?

3. Interviste di lavoro

● Cosa pensate delle interviste di lavoro ? ● Qual’ è la parte più importante di una intervista ? ● Quali consigli potete dare per sostenere una intervista di successo ● Quali sono le domande più comuni per le interviste nella vostra

azienda/industria/paese? ● Quali sono state le peggiori interviste che abbiate fatto ?

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4. Working Abroad

Some students, especially if they need English for work, may have had some experience working in another country or even have some colleagues who are working abroad. This topic is good since working abroad becomes more and more relevant in this day and age.Have you ever worked in another country?

● What difficulties can working abroad have? ● If you could choose, where would you like to work abroad? ● What work experience have you had with colleagues from abroad? ● What are some cultural differences between your country and foreign countries

your company does business with?

4. Lavorare all'estero

● Quali difficoltà ci sono nel lavorare all’ estero ? ● Se poteste scegliere dove vi piacerebbe lavorare ? ● Quali esperienze avete avuto con colleghi di altri paesi ? ● Quali sono le differenze culturali fra il vosro paese e quelli con cui la costra

azienda lavora ?

5. Crisis Management

An inevitable topic in the world of business, students do enjoy sharing views on crises. They can share their thoughts, questions and opinions about responding to all kinds of crises. Unless a particular crisis is hitting their country terribly hard, where some may feel sensitive about the topic, it’s an excellent topic to speak about. How do you manage crises?

● What kinds of crises occur in your workplace? ● What sorts of crises have affected your country? ● What is your backup plan for a major crisis? ● What have you learned from past crises?

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5. Crisis Management

● Che tipo di crisi ha subito la vostra azienda ? ● Quali sono stati gli effetti della crisi nel vostro paese ? ● Qual’ è il vostro piano per una crisi di maggiore entità ● Cosa avete imparato dalla crisi passata ?

6. Leaders

Leaders are the coaches of business. They provide guidance and wisdom to many. Your students may feel inspired by some notable leaders, or they may look up to leaders in their respective countries, companies or industries. They may even dream of becoming leaders themselves. Get students talking about what kinds of people are best equipped to lead businesses. Some questions to ask are:

● What is your definition of a leader? ● What makes an excellent leader? ● How is the leadership in your company/industry/country? ● Describe the best leader you have worked for/with. ● How good of a leader do you believe you are?

6. Leaders

● Qual’ è la vostra definizione di leader ● Cos’è che rende buono un leader ● Com’ è la leadership nella vostra azienda/industria/paese ● Descrivete il miglior leader con/per cui avete lavorato ● Ritieni di poter essere un buon leader ? Quanto ?

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7. Business Presentations

In this day and age, presentations are everywhere thanks to modern technology. There’s a good chance that not only do your students have something to say about them, but they may have to give some at their job. Questions you could give them are:

● What makes a good presentation? ● What makes a bad presentation? ● Do you have to give any presentations at work? If so, what are they about? ● How do you feel about giving presentations? ● How do you feel about watching presentations?

7. Presentazione del lavoro

● Cos’ è che rende buona una presentazione ● Cos’ è che rende cattiva una presentazione

8. Meetings

Unless your students work an hourly position, they more than likely have meetings and talking about meetings is a nice topic since it’s so relatable. Great questions include:

● How often do you have meetings at work? ● Do you like meetings at work? Why/why not? ● What is often discussed at your meetings? ● What are the advantages/disadvantages to having meetings? ● “If you must have a meeting, lose the chairs.” Do you agree? Why/why not?

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9. Termination

This is the “getting dumped” experience of the workforce, but it’s something that’s a part of business. If students want to speak better business English, navigate tough interview questions and plan their careers, then it would behoove them to practice talking about getting terminated. A few good questions could be:

● Have you ever been terminated? ● How does one get terminated at your job? ● Have you ever had to terminate anyone? ● How can you prevent getting terminated? ● If you were terminated, what would you do?

10. Managers

Slightly different (or vastly, depending on your work) than leaders, managers are something that everybody has something to say about. Love them or hate them, they’re an essential subject to discuss in business. Perhaps some of your students are managers themselves. You could ask:

● What do you think about your manager(s)? ● What qualities make a good manager? ● How does your manager spend their time? ● How can a manager motivate employees? ● What is your manager’s managing style?

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11. Small Business

Small businesses are the cornerstone of growing enterprises and thanks to e-commerce they are on the rise. A few questions to ask the class could be:

● Are small businesses common in your country? ● What challenges do small businesses have in your country? ● What are some successful small businesses in your town/city? ● How can a small business become successful? ● If you had a small business, what kind would it be?

12. Work Appraisals

Any decent company gives their employees a sort of appraisal every so often, so it’s a good topic to discuss since appraisals are made to improve the quality of the employee’s work. You could ask things like:

● Do you have performance reviews in your company? How often? ● How do you feel about them? ● What do your performance reviews cover? ● How important do you think appraisals are? ● What happens if you have a good/bad appraisal? ● How do you feel about feedback about yourself?

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13. Retirement

Even though retirement is the end of the road for business and a long way down the road for some students, it’s a good topic to discuss since it affects everybody eventually. Great questions could be:

● What is the retirement age in your country? ● What do people in your country usually do once they are retired? ● Where do retired people usually live in your country? ● What are the advantages/disadvantages to retirement? ● What do you think you will do when you retire?

14. Work Experience

Everybody talks about his or her work experience and it helps them with who they are in their career today. Some great questions are:

● What work experience do you have? ● How did you like your previous work? ● What can you gain from work experience? ● What have you learned from your work experience? ● What have you learned about yourself?

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15. Overtime

Overtime is as enjoyable as it is avoidable. Unfortunately, it’s inevitable but most students will have a thing or two to chime in with about overtime. Good questions could be:

● How much overtime do you usually work? ● How do you feel about working overtime? ● What is the overtime policy like in your company? ● Describe the worst overtime experience you have ever had. ● What is a solution to reducing overtime?

16. Business Trips

Business trips, whether they be domestic or international, are more and more common these days and are a good topic to discuss. After all, most likely your students that go on business trips need to speak English! You could ask:

● Do you go on business trips at work? Where? ● What are the advantages/disadvantages of business trips? ● What advice do you have for somebody traveling for business? ● Where would you like to go on a business trip? Why? ● What do you think is the future of business trips?

17. Competition

If your students want to speak business English well, then they’ll need to talk about competition. The competition is everywhere and is a great topic to really scope out how your students feel about business in general. Great questions could be:

● Who exactly is your company’s competition? ● What advantages/disadvantages does your competition have? ● How can your company overcome the competition? ● How competitive is your industry? ● How competitive are you in general? Why?

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18. Risk Management

Most students should be familiar with risk and hopefully more familiar with how to manage it so it’s a fine topic to incite some quality discussion. Great questions are:

● What risks does your company come across? ● How does your company handle these risks? ● What situation could be a big risk to your company? ● What is your plan in case you come across a risk? ● Does your company have a contingency plan?

19. Investing

Investing is an important topic that many business English students know a fair deal about, depending on their business. It’s a relatable topic that could be of special interest to some students. You could ask questions like:

● What is your opinion on investing? ● What investments do you have? Why? ● Are you a conservative or risky investor? Why? ● What do you consider to be a bad investment? Why? ● If you had $1000 to invest, what would you do?

20. Colleagues

Everybody has something to say about colleagues and talking about them can help get students talking about more personal things, which can really help them exit their comfort zones. A few good questions could be:

● What do you think about your colleagues? ● What are some common problems with colleagues? ● Have you ever had any challenging situations/altercations with your colleagues? ● Do you spend time with your colleagues outside of work? Why/why not? ● Who is your favorite colleague? Why?

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21. Hard Times

Unfortunately, hard times are quite prevalent these days. But talking about them is good for business since it could expand your students’ knowledge of current events. You could ask questions like:

● What hard times is your industry/country going through? ● What hard times have you experienced? ● What have you learned from hard times? ● What are the benefits of hard times? ● Tell me about what you did when you went through some hard times.

22. Raises

Everybody loves raises, but talking about them (especially with a superior) is a different story. Amongst classmates though, talking about raises can bring up some interesting chatter. Questions like these are good:

● How often do you get a raise at your job? ● What does it take to get a raise at your job? ● What advice do you have for someone who wants a raise? ● Do you think raises are important? Why/why not? ● Do you deserve a raise? Why/why not?

23. Sales

Some may say that business is sales and they just might be right. Sales are to business as education is to knowledge. Talking about sales is an important skill in business English, especially if some students need to sell in English. A few great discussion questions are:

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● Have you ever worked in sales? ● How good of a salesperson are you? Why/why not? ● What makes a good salesperson? ● What is the sales process like in your company? ● What strategies do you think are good for sales?

24. Customers

But alas, there can’t be sales—or business for that matter!—without customers. Since everyone has been a customer on more than a few occasions in their lives, it’s a great topic for students! Questions like these work well:

● Who are the customers for your company/industry? ● As a customer in general, what do you usually expect? ● How do you gain more customers? ● How do you lose customers? ● “The customer is always right.” Do you agree/disagree?

25. Customer Service

Customer service is also another aspect of business that both salespeople and customers know a thing or two about. It’s a fantastic topic that can bring some enlightening discussion. You can ask questions like:

● What is your definition of “customer service”? ● What is excellent customer service? ● What is poor customer service? ● Have you ever had to deal with customers? How was it? ● How do/would you deal with customer problems?

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26. Marketing

Marketing is an essential field in the world of business and many students enjoy talking about the diverse subject. You could ask questions such as:

● What is your understanding of marketing? ● What is your company’s target market? ● What kind of marketing does your company use? ● In your opinion what forms of marketing are the most/least successful? ● What kind of marketing is successful in your country?

27. Consulting

Many companies, big and small, have experience with consultants and it’s an important topic in the world of business improvement. Some great questions could be:

● What is your definition of “consulting”? ● What is your opinion of consultants? ● What are the advantages/disadvantages of consultants? ● What area of advice are you an expert at? Why? ● “Sometimes you need a consultant to tell you the obvious.” Do you

agree/disagree? Why?

28. Rules & Regulations

Rules and regulations are literally everywhere in the business world and they could present some useful and interesting information. You could give the students questions like:

● What rules and regulations exist at your job? ● What happens if you break any of these rules? ● How do you feel about the regulations at your job? ● Why do you think rules and regulations exist? ● Have you ever had any problems with rules and regulations?

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English Well Spoken Conversation Topics for Business ... · EWS Conversation Topics for Busi ness E ngl i sh S tudent s English Well Spoken Conversation Topics for Business English