Business English Situations Part 1
Story 1
Last month, our department discussed possibility of expanding into Middle Eastern market, but nobody agreed on how to approach potential clients there. During meeting, the sales director suggested to focusing more on long-term partnerships rather than immediate profits. However, some team members insisted on to reduce the marketing budget because company had already spent too much money on previous campaign. I remember that one colleague even mentioned about hiring additional consultant who could advise us on local business culture. By the time we finished discussing strategy, it became clear that management wasn’t ready making final decision yet. In the end, we agreed postponing launch until we collected more reliable data.
Story 2
When I joined company two years ago, I wasn’t used to communicate with international clients on daily basis. At first, I avoided to participate in negotiations because I was afraid of making serious mistakes during calls. My manager encouraged me speaking more confidently and reminded that clients usually care more about clear communication than perfect grammar. After several months, I became capable handling difficult conversations without asking colleagues for help. One of biggest challenges was learning how to write professional emails without sounding either too formal or too direct. Looking back now, I regret not taking business writing course earlier because it would have saved me a lot of stress.
Story 3
Last week, our HR manager apologized for not informing employees about changes in remote-work policy earlier. Apparently, company had considered to introduce new rules for several months, but senior management kept delaying making final announcement. Many employees were upset because they had gotten used to work from home three days a week. During meeting, one developer complained about being expected coming to office more often despite living in another city. Others pointed out that forcing staff returning to office could result in losing experienced specialists. In response, management promised reconsidering some of requirements before policy officially comes into effect.
Answer Key
Story 1 — Correct Version
Last month, our department discussed the possibility of expanding into the Middle Eastern market, but nobody agreed on how to approach potential clients there. During the meeting, the sales director suggested focusing more on long-term partnerships rather than immediate profits. However, some team members insisted on reducing the marketing budget because the company had already spent too much money on the previous campaign. I remember that one colleague even mentioned hiring an additional consultant who could advise us on local business culture. By the time we finished discussing strategy, it became clear that management wasn’t ready to make a final decision yet. In the end, we agreed to postpone the launch until we had collected more reliable data.
Story 2 — Correct Version
When I joined the company two years ago, I wasn’t used to communicating with international clients on a daily basis. At first, I avoided participating in negotiations because I was afraid of making serious mistakes during calls. My manager encouraged me to speak more confidently and reminded me that clients usually care more about clear communication than perfect grammar. After several months, I became capable of handling difficult conversations without asking colleagues for help. One of the biggest challenges was learning how to write professional emails without sounding either too formal or too direct. Looking back now, I regret not taking a business writing course earlier because it would have saved me a lot of stress.
Story 3 — Correct Version
Last week, our HR manager apologized for not informing the employees about the changes in the remote-work policy earlier. Apparently, the company had considered introducing new rules for several months, but senior management kept delaying the final announcement. Many employees had gotten used to working from home three days a week. During the meeting, one developer complained about being expected to come to the office more often despite living in another city. Others pointed out that forcing staff to return to the office could result in losing experienced specialists. In response, management promised to reconsider some of the requirements before the policy officially came into effect.