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Let's Talk Shop! 28 Business English Topics To Ignite Conversation
Let's Talk Shop! 28 Business English Topics To Ignite Conversation
Teaching business English is more or less the same as teaching standard English—with a
few twists and tweaks.
Usually you’ll start with students who speak at a pretty advanced level and tend to want to
gear their English towards business themes rather than general topics like planning their
vacation, asking for directions or shopping for shoes.
These students also tend to need English specifically for work-related purposes so they’d
like to get their speaking skills refined, especially with regard to talking business.
But what to talk about? The business section of the newspaper? Their company’s financial
state? The economy?
Well, sure, but that’s so broad, and where do you even start? This is where I come in to help
you with my magical list of 28 business English conversation topics to start off the class with
a bang.
As the teaching training you’ve had has taught you, it’s best to start the class with a warm-
up, or something that can get some speaking started, and these topics will do just that.
They’re also great for sparking more in-depth conversations and debates.
Along with the topics, I’ve included some example questions you could ask relating to each
subject. The topics are quite broad, so feel free to adjust according to your class’s skill,
rhythm and pace.
After the discussion, you could seamlessly jump into textbook material, creating a
harmonious rhythm in your business English class!
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1. Businesses
Talking about other businesses is, essentially, talking business. Other businesses could be
friends, foes, inspirations or anything else. A simple topic, yet such a deep one. Some
questions you could ask are:
2. Negotiations
No verb goes with the word “business” better than “negotiation.” Some could say
negotiations are business. It’s a good topic that has students speaking about any and all
kinds of negotiations. You could ask questions such as:
What have you had to negotiate for in your life? (Examples: House, car, items at a
bazaar)
3. Job Interviews
Unless your students got a job hookup from a friend or a family member, chances are they
have something to say about job interviews. They are the “first dates” of the business world
and this topic gets some good chatter going. A few great questions are:
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What questions are common in job interviews in your company/industry/country?
4. Working Abroad
Some students, especially if they need English for work, may have had some experience
working in another country or even have some colleagues who are working abroad. This
topic is good since working abroad becomes more and more relevant in this day and age. A
few good questions include:
What work experience have you had with colleagues from abroad?
What are some cultural differences between your country and foreign countries your
company does business with?
5. Crisis
An inevitable topic in the world of business, students do enjoy sharing views on crises. They
can share their thoughts, questions and opinions about responding to all kinds of crises.
Unless a particular crisis is hitting their country terribly hard, where some may feel sensitive
about the topic, it’s an excellent topic to speak about. You could bring up questions like:
6. Leaders
Leaders are the coaches of business. They provide guidance and wisdom to many. Your
students may feel inspired by some notable leaders, or they may look up to leaders in their
respective countries, companies or industries. They may even dream of becoming leaders
themselves. Get students talking about what kinds of people are best equipped to lead
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businesses. Some questions to ask are:
7. Business Presentations
In this day and age, presentations are everywhere thanks to modern technology. There’s a
good chance that not only do your students have something to say about them, but they
may have to give some at their job. Questions you could give them are:
Do you have to give any presentations at work? If so, what are they about?
8. Meetings
Unless your students work an hourly position, they more than likely have meetings and
talking about meetings is a nice topic since it’s so relatable. Great questions include:
“If you must have a meeting, lose the chairs.” Do you agree? Why/why not?
9. Termination
This is the “getting dumped” experience of the workforce, but it’s something that’s a part of
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business. If students want to speak better business English, navigate tough interview
questions and plan their careers, then it would behoove them to practice talking about
getting terminated. A few good questions could be:
10. Managers
Slightly different (or vastly, depending on your work) than leaders, managers are something
that everybody has something to say about. Love them or hate them, they’re an essential
subject to discuss in business. Perhaps some of your students are managers themselves.
You could ask:
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12. Work Appraisals
Any decent company gives their employees a sort of appraisal every so often, so it’s a good
topic to discuss since appraisals are made to improve the quality of the employee’s work.
You could ask things like:
13. Retirement
Even though retirement is the end of the road for business and a long way down the road
for some students, it’s a good topic to discuss since it affects everybody eventually. Great
questions could be:
15. Overtime
Overtime is as enjoyable as it is avoidable. Unfortunately, it’s inevitable but most students
will have a thing or two to chime in with about overtime. Good questions could be:
17. Competition
If your students want to speak business English well, then they’ll need to talk about
competition. The competition is everywhere and is a great topic to really scope out how
your students feel about business in general. Great questions could be:
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How competitive is your industry?
19. Investing
Investing is an important topic that many business English students know a fair deal about,
depending on their business. It’s a relatable topic that could be of special interest to some
students. You could ask questions like:
20. Colleagues
Everybody has something to say about colleagues and talking about them can help get
students talking about more personal things, which can really help them exit their comfort
zones. A few good questions could be:
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Have you ever had any challenging situations/altercations with your colleagues?
Do you spend time with your colleagues outside of work? Why/why not?
Tell me about what you did when you went through some hard times.
22. Raises
Everybody loves raises, but talking about them (especially with a superior) is a different
story. Amongst classmates though, talking about raises can bring up some interesting
chatter. Questions like these are good:
23. Sales
Some may say that business is sales and they just might be right. Sales are to business as
education is to knowledge. Talking about sales is an important skill in business English,
especially if some students need to sell in English. A few great discussion questions are:
24. Customers
But alas, there can’t be sales—or business for that matter!—without customers. Since
everyone has been a customer on more than a few occasions in their lives, it’s a great topic
for students! Questions like these work well:
Have you ever had to deal with customers? How was it?
26. Marketing
Marketing is an essential field in the world of business and many students enjoy talking
about the diverse subject. You could ask questions such as:
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What is your understanding of marketing?
27. Consulting
Many companies, big and small, have experience with consultants and it’s an important
topic in the world of business improvement. Some great questions could be:
“Sometimes you need a consultant to tell you the obvious.” Do you agree/disagree?
Why?
Have you ever had any problems with rules and regulations?
So there you have it, a vast list of various topics that are great for business English students.
Although it’s preferable (and likely) that your students already have jobs to answer these
questions but since these topics are so relatable and general, it shouldn’t be a problem to
start off the classes with some simple questions on such topics.
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You could even choose the topics in accordance to the current business news and mix the
questions up a bit. The best piece of advice is to make it relatable, relevant and remarkable
this way the students have something to say and never lose interest.
It’s got a huge collection of authentic English videos that people in the English-speaking
world actually watch on the regular. You’ll find documentaries, interviews, movie trailers,
music videos, commercials, TED Talks and much, much more.
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On FluentU, all the videos are sorted by skill level and are carefully annotated for students.
Words come with example sentences and definitions. Students will be able to add them to
their own vocabulary lists, and even see how the words are used in other videos.
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For example, if a student taps on the word “brought,” they’ll see this:
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Plus, these great videos are all accompanied by interactive features and active
learning tools for students, like multimedia flashcards and fun games like “fill in the blank.”
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It’s perfect for in-class activities, group projects and solo homework assignments. Not to
mention, it’s guaranteed to get your students excited about English!
If you liked this post, something tells me that you'll love FluentU, the best way to teach
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