The 5 Business English Mistakes to AVOID! (Seriously!)

Hello and welcome to another lesson.

Today, we're talking about something

really important: common  business English mistakes.

Now, you might be thinking—'Lucy, I've

been learning English for a while now, how hard can business English be?'

Well, let me tell you, it can be tricky!

Business English isn't just about using

fancy words or formal phrases, you need to be able to communicate clearly and

professionally in the workplace.

In this video, we'll look at the top 5

business English mistakes that so many people make.

These mistakes can cause problems at work and could even hurt your career, but

don't worry—I'm here to help you avoid these errors and improve your business

English skills.

I also have some really exciting news.

We are launching our Professional English Programme Level 2 on the 1st of October.

This is our 12-week B2-level Business English course.

If you are learning English because you want to advance in your career, you want

to earn more money, you want to work in an English-speaking environment, this

course could be for you.

Join our waiting list to be the first to

know about our Professional English Programme Level 2 course.

The link to sign up to the waiting list is in the description box.

As always, I have created a free PDF guide full of all of the information from

today's lesson, plus  additional tips and exercises.

If you would like to download that, just

click on the link in the description box. You enter your name and your email

address, you choose your level, then the PDF will arrive directly in your inbox.

And after that, you've joined my free PDF club.

Every week you will receive my free

weekly PDFs alongside all of my news, course updates and offers.

It's a free service, and you can unsubscribe at any time, so don't miss

those two links.

You've got the link to the free PDF, and

the link to join the waiting list for my new Business English course.

Okay, let's dive into these 5 mistakes.

I'm going to count down from 5 to 1.

You will have to wait to see what I think is the number 1 mistake.

Number 5 is being unable to handle difficult conversations.

So, I'm sorry to start with a negative one, but, as most of us know, difficult

conversations are part of our professional lives.

However, many of us don't feel comfortable having awkward conversations

because we don't know the best way to approach them.

It's hard enough if you're proficient in a language, but if you're still learning,

it can be even more challenging.

A Business English programme should teach

you how to deal with awkward conversations professionally.

Whether you're firing someone, or maybe you are the one being fired, entering a

tough negotiation with a client, or talking to a colleague about areas for

improvement, you should feel confident that your English can handle it.

You can go from—'I'm firing you' to 'We're letting you go'.

The second is a much more professional and gentle way to deliver this really bad news.

You could also go from—'That's a terrible idea' to 'I have some reservations about that'.

Again, this is a more polite way to say that you have concerns about something.

Alright, what else should you avoid when learning Business English?

Number 4—only learning formal language.

Big mistake!

Now, you might not know this, but my team here at 'English with Lucy' is really

international and spread all over the world.

We aren't all native speakers, but we all speak English really well.

English allows us to form strong relationships with each other.

We tell and understand jokes, we share our news, we support each other.

And I want you to experience this in your international company.

If you have a good rapport with your colleagues, clients, students, patients,

and so on, you'll be able to work together more effectively, and your

working environment will be much more pleasant.

To create strong connections, you need to

be relaxed; you need to be yourself, which means dropping the formal register.

And that's why an effective Professional English course should teach formal and

less formal language.

So, you tell me, which of these sentences

is more appropriate when speaking to a client you're friendly with?

We've got—'I wish you the best of luck,' or, 'I'll cross my fingers for you'.

I think the second one is more appropriate.

It's more casual.

And which of these would you say to a close colleague?

'My move up the career ladder was fairly slow', or 'I slowly worked my way up from

the bottom'.

The second one is more conversational and

less formal.

You can use those lovely formal phrases

with people you have a less close relationship with.

Learning formal and informal business English is so important, and that's why

we've made it such a key part of our Professional English programmes.

More information and waiting lists are in the description box.

Okay, number 3—not being able to talk about your successes.

A lot of people are uncomfortable discussing their accomplishments.

We often feel like we're bragging.

It's a big limit of British culture as well.

But being able to talk about your achievements at work can have a direct,

positive effect on your career.

It's so much harder to get promoted or

get a new job if people don't know how to talk about their successes.

You need to know how to share your wins.

You need to know how to say things like—'I'm really proud

that I got the project off the ground,' or ,'I took the initiative

to manage the budget and was able to cut costs significantly'.

Okay, let's move on to another mistake to avoid when learning business English.

Number 2—learning what to say but not how to say it.

So maybe your experience of English is relatively passive and you spend most of

your time reading reports  or listening to colleagues.

Or maybe your previous teachers never

really paid much attention to pronunciation, so you recognise loads of

vocabulary, but you don't feel confident using it out loud.

Learning what to say but not how to say it can prevent you from effectively

memorising the phrase.

It can leave you feeling shy or even

cause a complete breakdown in communication if your pronunciation is

totally unclear.

This is why I focus so heavily on

pronunciation in my  Professional English programmes.

Let's take a few words and phrases that

have come up in this video so far.

How confident do you feel saying these

out loud?

They're not so straightforward.

In 'colleague', did you stress the first syllable, COLLeague, and use the long 'e'

vowel sound, /ˈkɒliːg/?

Or did the word sound a bit more like 'college'?

It's not just individual sounds and word stress that matter when it comes to

accurate pronunciation.

I'll also teach you how to confidently

read longer phrases, like many of us shy away from with accurate sentence stress

and linking sounds.

And what about the last statement?

I hope you said—'We're letting you go'—with falling intonation.

If you said—'We're letting you go'—with rising intonation, this can convey

uncertainty or even change a statement into a question.

That's how important intonation is.

And it's all part of the pronunciation

lessons that are woven throughout my programmes.

You will also see how learning about

these pronunciation features can massively improve your listening skills.

It really is a win-win.

Okay, we're ready for number 1.

What's the number 1 mistake I think people make when learning business English?

Thinking that business English has to be boring!

Now, I have to say something.

Come closer.

A lot of business English programmes are

really dull, and this does nothing for your motivation.

You're way less likely to complete it.

Okay, we can talk normally again.

A Professional or Business English programme shouldn't just teach you how to

discuss facts and figures, and don't get me wrong.

I love giving my students the language to talk about statistics and trends, but

that's not all you need to learn.

A well-rounded programme will focus on

up-to-date, relevant subjects like mental health at work, coaching, training

programmes, how to use inclusive language.

Whatever your profession, you will

probably need to learn the language to mediate conflicts, to share your work on

social media, and to give constructive feedback.

The way material is delivered matters too.

Business English is much more interesting when it's taught through engaging videos,

relatable stories following people's professional challenges and successes,

lots of interactive exercises, and a really vibrant community of other

professional learners and business English teachers.

That's what we offer you in our Professional English programme, and we

are launching Level 2 on the 1st of October.

Don't miss out, join the waiting list.

The link is in the description box.

I would love to know about any other

mistakes that you think people make with business English.

Let me know in the comments section, and I will see you soon for the next lesson.

Bye!