You're listening to Business English Pod, the business English podcast for professionals on the move. Hello. And welcome back to Business English Pod. Today's lesson is the first in a series about making and responding to suggestions in meetings. This is part of a broader project. take another look at some of our older lessons. Before we get started, a quick reminder that this lesson, along with hundreds of others, is available as a free download from the BEP website.
Premium members can also access a PDF transcript and online quizzes for every lesson. Solving problems and coming up with ideas in groups is a big part of work. Succeeding in business means participating effectively in these kinds of group meetings. And to do that, you need to know how to make and respond to suggestions. It's no use having a good idea if you can't express it. In this lesson we're going to focus on how to make suggestions.
We'll look at several different expressions we use to suggest ideas. Expressions like one possibility, and maybe, and how about, are essential when you want to make suggestions in a meeting. And it's good to have lots of different expressions for different situations. In today's dialogue, we'll hear a conversation between four people who work in marketing for a sports shoe company.
They are discussing a new ad campaign and coming up with ideas for a spokesperson or a famous person to advertise their new shoes. In their conversation, they use lots of expressions for making suggestions. As you listen to the dialogue, try to answer the following questions. 1. What words does Sven use to introduce his suggestion of using a famous business executive? 2.
What suggestion does Miguel introduce with the word perhaps? 3. How does Charles introduce his suggestion of choosing someone from a sport where it's normal to be heavy? Okay, now let's talk about who we want to use as a spokesperson for this product. Let's go around the table. Shall we use a sports star or someone else? Sven, what do you think? Well...
One possibility would be to use a famous overweight business executive or CEO, someone who is really successful. Sorry, can I come in here? Yes, go ahead, Miguel. That's a good idea. But I'm not sure it would work. Why not? Well, for one thing, our customers want to be fit, not fat. Well, then what do you suggest? Perhaps we should just use a famous sports star, like we usually do. If it isn't broken, don't fix it. You know what I mean? We could try getting Rooney. Or Nadal.
Good suggestion, but I can see one or two problems with that, to be honest. Oh? First off, our target markets are in the UK and the US. We need someone who both Americans and Britons really like. Secondly, our target customer is kind of special. I've got a suggestion. Go ahead, Charles. It's just an idea. But how about choosing someone from a sport where it's normal to be heavy? American football, for example. Heavy, but agile. Overweight, but strong and fast. You know what I mean?
Right, I can see what you mean. What do others think? Yes, that might be worth trying. Okay, but what about the UK? Who are we going to use on this side of the Atlantic? Hmm, let me think about this. Shall we try to find someone in golf? That's popular in the US and in the UK. That way we can kill two birds with one stone. That's not a bad idea. Yeah I think that's worth trying. Now let's go through the dialogue again.
and look at the language used to make suggestions. We begin with Karen, the manager of the marketing team. Okay, now let's talk about who we want to use as a spokesperson for this product. Let's go around the table. Shall we use a sports star or someone else? Sven, what do you think? Karen wants to go around the table or hear from each person in turn. about who they should use as a celebrity spokesperson. Let's hear how Sven responds with a suggestion. Well...
One possibility would be to use a famous overweight business executive or CEO, someone who is really successful. Sven starts off by suggesting a famous business executive. To make this suggestion, he uses the expression, one possibility would be. We can modify this slightly to say, one possibility is, or one possibility could be. These are all ways to say that your idea is just one possible idea among many. Let's try this way of making suggestions with a few more examples.
One possibility is to hire more people One possibility would be to upgrade the laptops One possibility could be asking Tony for help. Now let's get back to the dialogue, as Miguel has a different suggestion. Sorry, can I come in here? Yes, go ahead, Miguel. That's a good idea, but I'm not sure it would work. Why not? Well, for one thing, our customers want to be fit, not fat. Well, then what do you suggest?
Perhaps we should just use a famous sports star like we usually do. If it isn't broken, don't fix it. You know what I mean? We could try getting Rooney or Nadal. If it isn't broken, don't fix it. To say that what they usually do already works, so they shouldn't change. And what they usually do is hire a famous sports star. To make this suggestion, Miguel uses a very useful word, perhaps. Perhaps has the same meaning as maybe, and you can use either of these words to make a suggestion.
Let's try a few more ways of making suggestions with perhaps and maybe. Perhaps we should talk to marketing about this. Maybe we can run some Facebook ads. Perhaps we need a different type of software. is that when we say maybe or perhaps, we usually use a helping verb like should, can, or could. Miguel mentioned a couple of specific names. Rooney. a famous soccer player in England, and Nadal, a famous Spanish tennis star. What does Karen think of these suggestions?
Good suggestion, but I can see one or two problems with that, to be honest. Oh? First off, our target markets are in the UK and the US. We need someone who both Americans and Britons really like. Secondly, our target customer is kind of special. I've got a suggestion. Go ahead, Charles. Before Charles tells the group about his idea, he tells them that he has an idea and Karen invites him to share it. Let's hear how he makes his suggestion. It's just an idea.
But how about choosing someone from a sport where it's normal to be heavy? American football, for example. Heavy but agile. Overweight but strong and fast. You know what I mean? First, notice that Charles introduces his suggestion by saying it's just an idea, but... That is a very gentle approach to suggesting ideas. Then he says, how about choosing?
This expression, how about, is very common. It can be followed by an ing verb form or by a sentence. Let's try these two different ways of using how about with two short dialogues. Who do you think might help us with this? How about calling Ned for advice? How about we do a customer survey? Before we return to the dialogue, I should mention that instead of how about, you can also say what if to make a suggestion.
And if you say what if, then the verb you use will be in the past tense. Let's run through some different examples of using what if to make a suggestion. What if we talked to staff about the idea? What if we held the event at the Sheraton Hotel? Now let's hear what the group thinks about the idea of using an American football player.
Right, I can see what you mean. What do others think? Yes, that might be worth trying. Okay, but what about the UK? Who are we going to use on this side of the Atlantic? An American football player would work for advertising in North America, but in the United Kingdom, or UK, the person wouldn't be well known. So what is Karen's suggestion? Let's listen.
Hmm, let me think about this. Shall we try to find someone in golf? That's popular in the US and in the UK. That way we can kill two birds with one stone. That's not a bad idea. Yeah, I think that's worth trying. Karen suggests killing two birds with one stone, which means achieving two goals with one action. She says
should we try to find someone in golf? Because golf is popular in both countries. That expression, shall we, is a bit of an old expression, but it's still pretty useful for making suggestions with I or we. So you might say, shall we go to the cafe for lunch, or shall I call tech support? All right, we've heard lots of examples of making suggestions.
The group has been trying to figure out who to choose for a spokesperson for their new line of shoes. And it sounds like they might have figured it out. But figuring it out meant that some suggestions were rejected, while others were accepted. And in a follow-up lesson, we'll look at these different ways of responding to suggestions.
Now let's practice some of the language we learned in today's lesson. In a moment, you'll hear a series of statements that you need to respond to with a suggestion. Before each statement, I'll explain which approach to use. Then after the beep, you can say your answer. Once we've gone through all the examples, we'll hear some model answers to compare to yours. Ready? Let's give it a go.
It seems like most staff don't understand the policy. Use the word perhaps to suggest a special training session. There has to be another way to increase profits. Now use one possibility to suggest raising prices. Any ideas about where we can host the event? Next, say, how about, to suggest holding it at the Stanley Hotel. Anyone have suggestions for the website redesign? Finally, use What If to suggest adding a membership section for elite customers.
How did you do? Let's listen to some example answers. You'll hear each statement, followed by a model answer. Perhaps we should do a special training session. Answer. One possibility would be to raise our prices. Any ideas about where we can host the event? Answer How about holding it at the Stanley Hotel? Anyone have suggestions for the website redesign? Answer. What if we added a membership section for elite customers?
That's all for this lesson on how to make suggestions. We've learned how to make suggestions with several expressions, including one possibility, perhaps, how about, and what if. But a conversation like this isn't just about making suggestions, it's also about responding to suggestions. And we'll have a closer look at how the team responds to suggestions in a following lesson.
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