Business English Special - Part II

Once again, we'd like to share with you Business related video lessons from our partners at English Attack! Both of the ones we are sharing today are from TED talks.

To view the activities, you will need PREMIUM access to English Attack! For being part of our community, we grant you a 1 week free trial, no purchase necessary.  To validate it, simply go to the English Attack! Video Booster of the Day BOX (located on this page, on the right column) and sign up at English Attack! at no cost by clicking on the "More Videos" tab. Then proceed to the business Video Boosters recommended on this post.

Business Video Booster 1: The Next Steve Jobs?
Like most kids his age, Thomas Suarez loves to play video games. After all, he's only 12. However, unlike most children his age, he taught himself how to create those games. But not only is this young man a brilliant apps developer. He is also a great presenter. You will not want to miss the opportunity to practice your English and find out how this young genious is helping other kids become game developers.

After doing the activity you will be able to actively use and explain the following concepts in English:
                     

• Apps
• Whac-a-Mole
• suite
• app club
• pilot program

Business Video Booster 2: Miss Zero Bullet Points
And when it comes to presentations, you will not want to miss the brilliant advice of one the leading experts on the subject, Melissa Marshall. In this TED talk, she brings a message to all scientists from the rest of us non-scientists. She tells them, "we're fascinated by what you're doing... (but please) tell us about it -- in a way we can understand."  In just 4 minutes, she shares powerful tips on presenting complex scientific ideas to a general audience in easy tips.

But as many in business know, sometimes even if we are not scientists, we also present information is a way that is unnecessarily complicated.

After doing the activity you will be able to actively use and explain the following concepts in English:                   

• wonderland
• bullet points
• overwhelmed
• nerdy

If you missed the last Business English Special, check it out right here.

BUT the real great thing about this material is that now, PLS has new special and very affordable courses that combine English Attack! activities with dynamic PLS teacher-led workshop activities. To find out more, contact us at pls@pls.com.ar

Thanks once again for stopping by and we'd like to you a very Happy, Safe and Successful New Year!

 

Business English Special - Part I

En PLS hacemos todo lo posible para brindarles cursos, workshops y herramientas para acercar el inglés a miles de profesionales que confían en nosotros día a día.

Por eso, en esta ocación acercamos el contenido especial de dos Video Boosters especiales de Business English provistos por nuestros partners de la innovadora plataforma online English Attack!

Para visualizarlos necesita acceso a English Attack! PREMIUM, pero por ser parte de nuestra comunidad, le brindamos una semana a dicho servicio. Para validarlo, simplemente realicen las actividades del Video Booster del día (ubicado en el cuadro de English Attack de ésta página, en la colúmna a la derecha >>) y luego registrense gratuitamente en English Attack!). Luego, proceda a realizar los Video Boosters de Business English recomendados:

Temario de Video Boosters:

TEMA 1 - Starting Meetings Effectively
Comenzamos viendo un tema central de todas las empresas - las reuniones de negocios - y aprendiendo en inglés maneras de hacerlas más eficientes.

TEMA 2 - 4 Ways to Think Like an Innovator
Abrimos la mente para ver cómo podemos ser más creativos en la búsqueda de soluciones y hacer grandes productos o servicios. Y todo mientras aprendemos inglés. (basado en material del Harvard Business Review)

Cada Video Booster no lleva más de 10 minutos de realizar, y las instrucciones lo van guiando paso a paso. Pero recomendamos hacerlo más de una vez para fijar los conceptos.

Una vez que caduque la semana PREMIUM, podrán seguir haciendo el material gratuito de Video Boosters de English Attack! o bien preguntar por los planes de empresa de English Attack! a través de PLS que están a un precio especial no disponible en la página de English Attack! e incluyen actividades y workshops adicionales.

En English Attack! además de Video Boosters, podrán practicar con listas de PhotoVocabs temáticos muy variados y relevantes y practicar a través de Juegos de aprendizaje. Aquí destacamos uno muy bueno basado en una charla de TED.  Ver Aquí

STORIES: The Most Effective BUSINESS Communication TOOL

Overlooked in business until recently, storytelling tunes into our ancestral quest for insight on the world and its wonders.

In fact, stories read to us as children taught us to organize our own experience in the way of a story. So whether you like it or not, Cinderella, Star Wars or The Hardy Boys had a hand in shaping your vision of yourself. Your story.

Cognitive psychologists have written volumes about this, so has Joseph Campbell.

But here's the bottom line. As adults, we continue to organize our experiences in story form. In fact,  the story template is embedded deep within our psyche. We are intrinsically familiar with it.

This is why stories move us.

The fact that business doesn't take advantage of this when communicating is simply a leftover from the linear "inside the box" industrial era mentality . In today's mash-up world, new combinations and innovation are simply necessary for survival. There's a new generation of buyers and sellers out there and they don't want to be spoken to with the same deliverance their grandaddy was.

Why? Because they're tired of being "sold to", of being told that companies have always been great and perfect and everything about them shines. That's a crock, businesses know it, and so does everyone and their dog. But here's the thing. People still need stuff, they still want to do business, and yes, they still want to make a buck. And they can accept that the road to success ain't easy or pretty.

That's why deep down inside they're looking for a deeper connection, a sign that whatever they've decided to do has a meaning beyond the obvious commercial transaction.

That meaning could be the name of a product or a project or perhaps, its scope, its design, its back-story. Or all of the above. But it will only reach this potential stakeholder in the way of a message that has some sort of semblance to a story. Facts and figures might support an argument rationally, but they will achieve nothing on the emotional plane.

And folks, there's very little emotion in your average business communication piece. Read a press release, website copy, or listen to the average key note speech and draw your own conclusions.

Today's volatile and challenging business world requires messages to stand out. To be meaningful. To draw us in. To connect to the audience. 

So who can lend a hand?

Business Communication Consultant / Writer & Producer Pablo Ponce de Leon can. His extensive experience in Film and Television - including Hollywood - combined with his years working as communication consultant for businesses in Latin America make him the ideal candidate to help you establish a meaningful connection to an audience in any business situation.

So forget pie charts and bullet points and get ready to take your audience on the journey of human experience! Pablo's business storytelling method is ideal for, but not limited to:

• Sales Presentations
• Product Presentations
• Key Note Speeches
• Social Media Marketing Campaigns
• Exhibit Concept Creation
• Staff training
• Ad Copy
• Web Copy
• Blogging
• Video presentations
• Online advertising
• Buzz marketing concepts

His upcoming PLS Workshop "Storytelling in Business" will help provide insight into how to make use of this tool for your business communication in English. But as you'll discover, the skills will be quite useful to you in your native language as well.

For more information: contact PLS at: pls@pls.com.ar