{"id":74597,"date":"2024-11-14T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-14T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.allearsenglish.com\/?p=74597"},"modified":"2024-11-08T19:41:02","modified_gmt":"2024-11-08T19:41:02","slug":"how-to-maintain-business-relationships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.allearsenglish.com\/how-to-maintain-business-relationships\/","title":{"rendered":"Business English 334: Rebuild or Carry On? How to Maintain Business Relationships"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Are you finding it difficult to maintain business relationships in English?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen to today\u2019s episode and learn how to communicate effectively in English and strengthen business relations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Business relationships<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Lindsay asks Michelle if she has ever had to talk to someone in the business world after an awkward encounter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michelle has definitely had uncomfortable situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lindsay shares that her partner was recently promoted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many colleagues now report to her partner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is now a little bit awkward to be their boss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, Lindsay and Michelle are going to answer a listener\u2019s question about a pretty awkward situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Today’s question<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Hi Lindsay and All Ears English teachers!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is Kate from Taiwan. I love watching your Youtube channel because they are interesting and full of great ideas we can apply in daily life.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently I ran into a situation where I had to call a native English speaker who I had an awkward business encounter with before to ask for a favor\/ assistance. The person honestly won’t expect me to call her. I’m basically going to call her out of the blue. (Past Situation: She was a sales person from another company when we both tried to bid for the same transaction. We didn’t have a bad encounter but since the transaction was kind of intense, we knew each other but had never met.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’d like to know how I can start a phone conversation with her naturally and politely address what I need from her assistance in this kind of situation.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’d really appreciate it if you could have an episode talking about this kind of phone conversation and share your thoughts as a native English speaker.<\/em><\/p>\nSincerely,
Kate<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Sticky situations at work<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It would be difficult to be in this situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lindsay and Michelle go through the question and discuss each point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michelle shares that business is business and you should just be professional and not mention anything but rather just say hello.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She adds that it doesn\u2019t sound like their encounter has been so terrible that it can\u2019t be repaired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If this is an interaction that would be a one-time thing, she shouldn\u2019t stress about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lindsay says that if the bad vibe is lingering, you would need to address it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But she agrees with Michelle that if it\u2019s a one-time thing, she can be super professional and just talk about the transaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because this situation is so specific, we are going to use it to talk about how to start a phone conversation after an uncomfortable encounter in the workplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some possible examples of when this might arise:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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