Learning English For Work

When should you apologise at work, and what's the best way to do it? In this episode of Office English, Pippa and Phil talk about the language of workplace apologies and if it's ever wrong to apologise at work.

When do rules need to be followed and when are they just guidelines? In this episode of Office English, Pippa and Phil talk about the language of rules at work and how to tell how serious a rule is from the way people talk about it.

Have you ever been to a meeting that felt like a waste of time? In this episode of Office English, Pippa and Phil talk about how to keep a meeting on track at work. 

Do you use small talk at work? In this episode of Office English, Pippa and Phil talk about which topics to use at work with people you don't know well, when to use small talk and what not to talk about. 

Have you received a scam text or email? Do you know how to keep information safe at work? There have been lots of stories about cyber crime in the news. But what can we do to keep cyber safe? In this episode, Pippa and Phil talk about the threat of cyber crime at work, with Joe Tidy, BBC journalist who reports on cyber crime.

Do you get on with people from different generations at work? There are lots of stereotypes about different generations. But are older and younger workers really that different? In this episode, Pippa and Phil talk about generations in the workplace, with Grace Lordan, director of the Inclusion Initiative at the London School of Economics.

Would you like to work fewer hours? Some companies now allow employees to work flexible hours, such as starting and finishing later, or doing five days' work in four days. In this episode, Pippa and Phil talk about flexible work and whether it benefits employees, with Heejung Chung, professor of work and employment at King's College Business School in London.

Do you work in your own office? Or is your office open plan. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the way we use the office is changing. In this episode, Pippa and Phil talk about office design and how it impacts work, with Kerstin Sailer, professor in the sociology of architecture at University College London.

Some people believe Artificial Intelligence will one day be able to do our jobs for us. But how likely is this? In the meantime, how is AI impacting work today? In this episode, Pippa and Phil talk about how AI might change the world of work, with Martin Ford, author of Rise of the Robots, a book about how technology might change work.

Work can take up many hours in our lives. So if work makes us feel unwell or unhappy, it can have a big impact. In this episode, Phil and Pippa talk about how the way you feel affects the way you work, with Zofia Bajorek from the institute for Employment Studies.

In the past, networking involved attending conferences and work events. Now, lots of people do it on social media platforms such as LinkedIn, X and Instagram. In this episode, Phil and Pippa talk about networking online with marketing and communications consultant Adam Driver.

In recent years, more people have been working from home, or splitting their time between the office and home. In this episode, Pippa and Phil talk about hybrid work with Nick Bloom, professor of economics at Stanford University.

The world of work is changing. In our Work in the Future series, we'll speak with experts to understand how work is changing.

Do you ever have to pitch ideas at work? Is it stressful? In this episode of Office English, Pippa and Phil talk about sharing your ideas.

How do you deal with customers and clients at work? In this episode of Office English, Pippa and Phil talk about keeping customers happy.

Are you organised at work? In this episode of Office English, Pippa and Phil talk about setting deadlines, working with other people and organising things in English.

How do you ask for help at work? In this episode of Office English, Pippa and Phil talk about asking for and offering to help at work.

Do you know how to talk about other people's work politely? In this episode of Office English, Pippa and Phil talk about giving and receiving feedback at work in a constructive and professional way.

Do you ever have to call or email people you don't know at work? In this episode of Office English, Pippa and Phil talk about cold calling and building relationships with new people at work.

What do you do if you don't understand something at work? In this episode of Office English, Pippa and Phil talk about miscommunication and how to check you understand your colleagues, and that they understand you.

Are you a bit of a control freak at work? In this episode of Office English, Pippa and Phil talk about knowing when to delegate and how to give clear instructions.

Do you find giving presentations stressful? In this episode of Office English, Pippa and Phil talk about ways you can prepare for a presentation at work and improve your public speaking.

Is it OK to say no at work? In this episode of Office English, Pippa and Phil talk about setting boundaries at work.

Lots of people find jargon annoying. Is it useful in the workplace? Pippa and Phil talk about when to use jargon and when to avoid it, with help from journalist Anna Maloney, Anne Curzan from the University of Michigan and John Fiset from St Mary's University in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Technology is a big part of many workplaces. Pippa and Phil talk about remote working has impacted language at work. Learn some jargon phrases for the modern office.

Managers often talk about success at work and have developed lots of jargon to talk about it. Pippa and Phil talk about some common phrases for goals, how we measure them and how we succeed.

Sometimes at work it can feel like things are happening really slowly. Pippa and Phil talk about some common business jargon that is used to talk about delays and priorities at work.

Imagine you're at work and you have loads to do. But then someone asks if you can help with another task. Pippa and Phil talk about some common business jargon to help you talk about your workload.

We use jargon a lot to talk about ideas. Pippa and Phil talk about some common phrases. And a CEO tells us about the new jargon businesses use to impress investors.

When it comes to business jargon, managers love to use it. Pippa and Phil talk about some of the strangest business jargon phrases and where they come from, with the help of Professor Anne Curzan from the University of Michigan.

Lots of people use jargon during meetings. Pippa and Phil talk about business jargon and some common phrases heard during meetings at work.

The language of the workplace can be very confusing. Pippa and Phil talk about business jargon and some of the strange phrases people use at work. They also hear from John Fiset from the University of Nova Scotia about why jargon can make it difficult to get work done.

It's important to be able to talk about our achievements at work. How do you talk about your strengths? What are interview questions really asking? In this episode of Office English, Pippa and Phil talk about phrases for selling yourself at work and when to use them.

It can be stressful to make sure you get the best price for something. Do you know how to open a negotiation? How can we be firm and professional in a negotiation? In this episode of Office English, Pippa and Phil talk about negotiating at work.

We don't always agree with people at work. But we still need to get the job done.  In this episode of Office English, Pippa and Phil talk about how to stay polite and professional at work when conflict arises.

Nobody likes to talk about bad news. But sometimes at work, we have to. Do you know the phrases your boss might use to give you bad news? In this episode of Office English, Pippa and Phil talk about how to understand bad news and deliver it to other people.

We meet new people at work all the time. Do you know how to start a conversation with them? In this episode of Office English, Pippa and Phil talk about some phrases that can help you with small talk and networking in English.

When mistakes happen at work, it can be stressful! In this episode of Office English, Pippa and Phil talk about some phrases that can help you deal with mistakes. Learn how to admit to a mistake to your boss, apologise to a customer or client, and find a solution.

In the modern office, there are so many ways to communicate with colleagues. How can you communicate clearly on video calls? What are the rules for instant messages at work? And when is the best time to use each kind of communication? In this episode of Office English, Pippa and Phil talk about the language you need to communicate well at work.

What happens when you ask someone to do something at work, and they don’t do it? It can be really frustrating at work when you are waiting for a reply to get the job done. In this episode of Office English, Pippa and Phil talk about how to chase people up, or remind them about a task.

Meetings at work can be stressful spaces to speak. Do you struggle to talk about your ideas in meetings? Do you know how to interrupt politely? In this episode of Office English, Pippa and Phil talk about some useful phrases you can use to speak in meetings in a friendly and professional way.

Do you struggle to write the perfect email at work? It can be difficult to know how formal or friendly to be when you are writing to a colleague, your boss, or somebody at another company. Can you use 'Hi' in an email? How do you end your email so that someone will reply? In this episode of Office English, Pippa and Phil talk about their email habits and suggest some useful phrases for different situations.

Note: This is a transcript of a spoken conversation and is not a word-for-word script.