Practice Listening Business English Exercises for B1 – Global communication

5 Übungen

Audio

A. Look at the matrix and listen to a consultant talking about setting priorities.
1)
What two things do you need to do to set priorities?
2)
Why are important and urgent tasks not the same thing?
3)
Label the four quadrants in the matrix as important and urgent, important but not urgent, urgent but not important and not important or urgent.

KEEP CALMANDFOCUS ONPRIORITIES	1	2
3	4

Audio

A. Listen to two DaneAv employees talking about communication problems. From the list below, choose the type of communication problem (a-d) each speaker is having.
Speaker 1
Speaker 2
a)
an accent that is very difficult to understand
b different cultural approaches to communication
c)
important information not shared
d paperwork overload
B. Listen again and answer the questions.
1)
a Which two nationalities were involved in the situation?
b What did the speaker expect of the dinner meeting?
c What did the speaker learn?
2)
a How often is the speaker supposed to provide a sales activity report?
b How often would she like to write the report?
c How does she describe the performance of the sales team?

Audio 1

Audio 2

A. Listen. Decide if these sentences are true (T) or false (F).
1)
Frederik feels that the situation is more stressful than it should be.
2)
He blames Mr Lau for the incorrect placement of the power switch.
3)
He doesn’t understand why Mr Lau needed to ask him what to do.
B. Listen. Choose the correct option in italics.
1)
Mr Lau knew / didn’t realise the placement of the power switch was important.
2)
Mr Lau asked for Frederik’s advice because he didn’t know what to do / to show respect
3)
Mr Lau’s actions were based on his own cultural understanding of / company rules about how people should work together.

Audio

A. Listen to the podcast and put the topics in the order they are mentioned.
a)
communication skills needed by a good manager
b)
choosing the right language to use
c)
coming to a conclusion through discussion
d)
deciding whether to email or phone
e)
being quiet if you don’t know the answer
B. Listen again and choose the correct option.
1)
Andreas Hammer believes certain people
a speak without thinking.
b don’t like meetings.
c never know the answer.
2)
He thinks that in meetings people
a talk too much.
b need to share ideas more.
c discuss ideas too much.
3)
According to Andreas the workplace
a is like college.
b is usually casual.
c is more formal than university.
4)
What does Andreas say people need to learn to do?
a write emails
b make phone calls
c choose the right way to communicate
5)
Managers
a usually communicate well.
b need to be better communicators than others.
c are not always good communicators.
6)
Managers have to communicate to their team
a in writing.
b as a group.
c on a personal basis.
C. Complete the notes in the table.

Skills to develop	How to communicate	Good managers
Learn how to say (1) at first and think about the question.	Decide the best (3) of communicating: face to face, email, etc.	They have to communicate to the staff (5) made by the directors.
Learn how to share ideas to (2) a decision together.	In writing your view is fixed but by phone you can (4) it during the conversation.	They need to communicate with each (6) personally.

Audio

1)
You will hear eight short recordings twice. For questions 1–8 choose the correct answer.
1)
What is the woman doing?
a)
writing a text message
b)
making a phone call
c)
making a video call
2)
What does the man think his company should do?
a)
stop personal emails at work
b)
make staff leave work phones in the office at night
c)
make staff exercise more
3)
Where did the man meet his boss?
4)
Where does the women work now?
a)
in an open-plan office
b)
in a private office
c)
in her own home
5)
Which product has a fault?
6)
What has gone wrong with Helen’s negotiation?
a)
The customer wouldn’t agree to a compromise.
b)
Helen gave a bigger discount than she was allowed.
c)
Helen didn’t have the right information.
7)
Which report does the man need today?
a)
customer service
b)
export sales
c)
regional planning
8)
What must the woman do first?
a)
write the report
b)
speak to the designers
c)
check the contract

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