BUSINESS ENGLISH PARIS: How are you with "Brainstorming" at work?

BUSINESS ENGLISH PARIS: WORD OF THE DAY: Brainstorming
French translation: remue-méninges.

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At Business English Paris, we focus a lot on just speaking in English with our students. When I speak with my students, I always like to throw questions up at them such as "do you like to have brainstorming sessions with your colleagues and what was the last brainstorming session you had?"

BUSINESS ENGLISH PARIS: Word of the Day is LEISURE

BUSINESS ENGLISH PARIS: Word of the Day is LEISURE.

 How important is leisure for a busy working professional like you? What are your leisure time activities?

French translation is loisir


Good morning darlings! Happy Monday. I am getting a very late start to the day. I can barely keep my eyes open in fact.

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I am very tired and exceptionally will head to bed right after I finish this post. I probably will have to edit it because I am too tired to edit. I have to recover from my LEISURE weekend. 😄😅😅 .

BUSINESS ENGLISH WORD OF THE DAY: ZERO SUM

BUSINESS ENGLISH WORD OF THE DAY: ZERO SUM

Is Gender Equality treated like a zero sum game in your workplace?

French translation: jeu à somme nulle?

Hello Darlings! Happy Friday!

I don't know if the French translation for ZERO SUM GAME is correct as I have it.

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I just looked at Google Translate. I have never actually seen this expression written anywhere in French so I am not sure. Is this expression good french? Jeu à somme nulle?

BUSINESS ENGLISH PARIS: WORD OF THE DAY IS BURNOUT

BUSINESS ENGLISH PARIS: WORD OF THE DAY IS BURNOUT

French translation is: burnout, épuisement

Hello my darlings, 

How are you today? I hope great. I feel like I am talking to myself when I ask these questions. Nobody reads my stupid blog. 😆 Well, maybe one day I  will have a reader.

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For now, I happily talk to myself....So, today is Friday and I decided to select the word BURNOUT for Business English Paris today. Why? I don't know. It seemed weirdly appropriate to select that word on a Friday in early March for some strange reason. 

BUSINESS ENGLISH WORD OF THE DAY: Motivational

When was the last time you had to write a motivational letter?BUSINESS ENGLISH PARIS Word of the Day is Motivational

French Translation is...explicative? 

Hi Darlings!

It is Saturday and I am working on the blog, tapping away feverishly on my laptop, like a busy little bee. How committed I am, right? Well, maybe my motivation is not so pure. Maybe I am a little bit selfish. Maybe I am working on Saturday to keep myself occupied and fend off boredom. But I also like to find new words to share with you as well, so it is not just all about me being selfish. :)

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BUSINESS ENGLISH PARIS: Word of the Day is BUSINESS ATTIRE

WHAT CONSTITUTES "BUSINESS ATTIRE" THESE DAYS?
French translation is tenue d'affaires

Good morning darlings, from Business English Paris blog. Today's word of the day is "Business Attire." Google Translate says the French translation is tenue d'affaires. It sounds right but if it isn't you are as usual welcomed to correct me, because I readily admit that my French is off-the-charts horrific.

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So what even is business attire these days? Back in the 90s in New York, career women were wearing sneakers with their suits on the subway and I remember visiting Paris

BUSINESS ENGLISH WORD OF THE DAY: Incommunicado

The Word of the Day today for Business English Paris is INCOMMUNICADO

In French it means au secret, isolé, séquestrer


Hello Darlings! Happy Sunday!

I am working seven days per week now because it is better than sitting in my studio staring at the walls. What an appropriate word I found today for you. INCOMMUNICADO.

You may need this while you are incommunicado

The French for this is, I think, isolé. But as per usual, don't quote me.

BUSINESS ENGLISH PARIS: Word of the Day is BOOM

BUSINESS ENGLISH PARIS: Word of the Day is  BOOM

French translation is La Prospérité, L'expansion

Good Morning Darlings!

How are you all today? I hope great. 😊 It is Tuesday and the news reports are pretty grim concerning the Corona Virus COVID - 19 which seems to be spreading across the rest of the world at an alarming vitesse after an apparent debut in China, where thousands of people have reportedly died.

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In Europe the number of casualties and of people testing positive for the virus are increasing daily with countries like Italy being particularly hard-hit.

BUSINESS ENGLISH WORDS OF THE DAY: EXIT STRATEGY

BUSINESS ENGLISH WORD OF THE DAY: EXIT STRATEGY

Do your political leaders have an exit strategy out of the coronavirus confinement & lockdown quagmire?

French translation, stratégie de sortie

Hello Darlings! Happy Monday!

I was just looking up the translation of "exit strategy" in French because I have exit strategy on my mind. I was thinking about the coronavirus actually, and I just read this morning an article somewhere, I forgot which one, that a politician in UK said that with masks being mandated in the workplace, the country can begin to think of an exit strategy.

BUSINESS ENGLISH PARIS: How ANALYTICAL do you need to be for your job?

BUSINESS ENGLISH PARIS word for discussion: ANALYTICAL

French translation: analytique.

So, as I said, with Business English Paris, the whole point is the get French speaking professionals to just relax and speak in English without being intimidated and being obsessed with speaking perfectly on day one. I have found that french learners love new vocabulary words and the love to talk using their newly discovered words rather than sitting there doing vocabulary drills and grammar drills. It makes sense. Right? They are not trying to master English Grammar. They want to know how to speak!

BUSINESS ENGLISH WORD OF THE DAY: ENVIRONMENT

BUSINESS ENGLISH WORD OF THE DAY: ENVIRONMENTWill coronavirus be good for the environment?

French translation is environnement?

Hello Darlings! Happy Monday!

I have no idea if I have the french translation correct on this one so don't quote me, as usual....But I really wanted to know what your thoughts were on this question of the environment and whether the coronavirus will actually be good for the environment. In China, it looks like it is good.

BUSINESS ENGLISH PARIS: Word of the Day is GROW

BUSINESS ENGLISH PARIS: Word of the Day is GROW

To grow means to increase in quantity and size over time.
French translation is croître, grandir
*It's a verb. (growth is the noun)

Continuing with this word of the day trend at BUSINESS ENGLISH PARIS, I have selected the word GROW. I think this is a good word for entrepreneur types or bosses in companies rather than entry level employees; and people working in Finance and Economics will also appreciate this word, I think.

BUSINESS ENGLISH WORD OF THE DAY: BILLS

BUSINESS ENGLISH WORD OF THE DAY: BILLS

Are you worried about the pile up of bills now that you have been out of work for several weeks?

French translation, factures

Hello Darlings! Happy Friday!

It is 6:00 p.m. and I am finally getting around to my word of the day which is BILLS. I guess I lost the entire day just thinking about my own bills and wondering how the dickens I am going to pay for it all with the ongoing saga known as coronavirus.

What about you? As a business professional with a steady, fulltime job, I don't imagine you ever really worry about your bills.

BUSINESS ENGLISH PARIS: Word of the day is CAREER. How is your Career Going?

Need a career change?

BUSINESS ENGLISH PARIS: What is the story of your Career? Is Your Career Evolving the Way you Want? Is there anything you would like to change?

French Translation is carrière


Hello darlings!

I am up and quickly scribbling a new post for you. It is already 6:08 in the morning so I am running behind schedule with my planning for today. But at Business English Paris, there is no excuse for missing a day of blogging! …..actually, don't be surprised if my blog posts don't follow a tight formula and schedule. For the moment, I have pledged to throw up a post every day. But let's all just hold our collective breaths to see what develops.  :)

So today the word is CAREER. I think the french translation is carrière but I am actually not certain about that. I don't have time to go to Google translate because it's late. But if it is not, please leave a comment and correct me. My french is just notoriously very very atrocious and I don't mind learning from you.

So the idea with these words of the day is to simulate a conversation with Business English learners because with Business English Paris, a huge focus is just simple conversation. It's just about, "let's talk." When I write, I imagine as if I were actually speaking with one of my students. And so I might ask, "can you describe your career history for me?" What I mean by that is to ask the student to tell me all about the different jobs he or she has had in the past and the responsibilities that he or she has enjoyed along the journey. A lot of times, the student is on the verge of a career change when I pose the question and so it can be a very timely question, and a great way for the student to self-reflect as well as wow me with their achievements and accomplishments.

Obviously, if the student is very young and has had only one job, it is a tougher question than if the student has had a couple of jobs. So you do have to judge who this question is appropriate for. But even if the student is entry level in their "career" I would just switch that to, "tell me about your job and the responsibilities that you have."  It usually would take up a few minutes of discussion because everyone has their own fascinating story to tell. Often, for a lot of people, their careers, even more than their family, can define who they are.

So, what about you? What is the story of your career? I would love to talk about it with you one day….

If you or someone you would like to have English conversation lessons with me, check this link for our current offer. If not, just enjoy reading, I love having you here. Feel free to leave a comment now and then. That would just fill me with joy. Have a great day, everyone. :)

Oh, and excuse any typos as I am quite an expert at those.

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Business English Paris is a sister site of Jeannie LaCroix. Please visit our sister site where you can find curated products for busy professionals at www.jeannielacroix.com. Thank you in advance for your support. 

BUSINESS ENGLISH WORD OF THE DAY: UNCONVENTIONAL

The Word of the Day for Business English Paris is UNCONVENTIONAL
The French translation is non conventionnel, peu orthodoxe


Hi Darlings!

I am a little bit low energy today. The coronavirus situation and the resultant confinement is beginning to take a toll on my psyche. It is very difficult to stay motivated in this type of situation. But I will try to stay focused as I am sure you are too. (Btw, check my Instagram feed for a video of this word of the day @businessenglishparis) 

So for today, the Business English Paris word is unconventional. I can't even think of an intelligent question to ask you, quite frankly. My head is completely blank. OMG.

BUSINESS ENGLISH PARIS: WORD OF THE DAY IS BLAME

THE WORD OF THE DAY IS BLAME: Have you ever been blamed for something at work which was not your fault?

French translation is reproche, blâme, accuse

Hello darlings! Happy Tuesday!

I have lost count of what day it is of the Confinement, however I can attest that it is very difficult to remain motivated during such a long period of sitting at home staring at the walls. Luckily, I had started this blog a week or so before the virus hit the West, so it does offer a reprieve and since then I have opened up all these social media channels including Tik Tok, Linkedin and Youtube.

BUSINESS ENGLISH WORD OF THE DAY: ETHOS

BUSINESS ENGLISH WORD OF THE DAY: ETHOS

Has your company or organization made Employee Morale a fundamental part of its business ethos?

French translation, éthos

Hello Darlings! Happy Tuesday!

Let's talk about the core values and business ethos of your company or organization. What would you say is your company's ethos with regard to employee morale as a genderal rule? Do you feel that employee morale is important to your leaders in your organization? Is it a priority or an afterthought? 

BUSINESS ENGLISH PARIS' WORD OF THE DAY: HIRE

Today's Word of the Day from Business English Paris is HIRE
French translation is embaucher


Good morning, Darlings! 


I hope you are taking care of yourselves during this global coronovirus pandemic. I am doing my best to stay healthy on my end.

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BUSINESS ENGLISH WORD OF THE DAY: SEDUCTION

Business English Word of the Day: Seduction

Can you use Seduction techniques in a corporate setting to obtain a competitive advantage?

French translation: seduction

Hello Darlings! Happy Monday!

I am very late with my word of the day today. My day just sort of got away from me and I was not able to get to it until now. So sorry. But based on all the comments I have gotten so far (zero!)

The Art of Seduction at Work???

I am not even sure if anyone reads this blog so maybe nobody even noticed that I missed the word of the day. Which, if you want to know the truth, is both good and bad.

Anyway, the word I chose for today is seduction.

BUSINESS ENGLISH WORD OF THE DAY: BOTTOM UP

TODAY'S BUSINESS ENGLISH PARIS WORD OF THE DAY IS Bottom  Up.

French translation could be "une approche en profondeur" or "une approche ascendante".


Hello Darlings!

It is 01:31 in the morning and I am up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, working like a dog on the Business English Paris blog. No, I did not work all day and night. Don't worry.  I actually didn't do much during the day yesterday because the confinement was getting to me and I did not feel productive. But later in the afternoon, after a long nap and a long talk with myself, I got a second wind. And since late afternoon, I have been working on this or the other thing, including a new YouTube video for the yesterday's word of the day: UNCONVENTIONAL. If you are ever curious about my videos, you can check my Instagram or Youtube all of which should be displayed in the sidebar, assuming that you have a browser that does not rearrange my blog (which would be very maddening, to be honest.)

So. I chose a crazy word for the day  today at Business English Paris. BOTTOM UP. It is crazy because even in English, it is not a word I use. I am not really an expert on this word. When I think of BOTTOM UP, I think of management styles. You can have either a Bottom up or a Top down management style. What that means is you either have a leadership system where the top management makes all the decisions (top down) or a leadership system where lower level employees as well as upper executives share in the decision-making process of the company (bottom up).

That's about all I know about BOTTOM UP and TOP DOWN.  I did do a quick research, though, and discovered that it pertains to more than just management. These terms can be used in various contexts including investing, design, forecasting, budgeting, economics, finance, and construction.

My question for you is how is your company structured? Is it BOTTOM UP or TOP DOWN? 

If it is BOTTOM UP, then there is a lot of collaboration and communication between departments and sectors in order to make decisions. All employees have a voice and a say in the decision-making process and they often feel valued, and they have a sense of ownership of the outcomes for the company.  In a bottom up company, the managers focus on building morale. Is this the type of company you work for? Can you give specific examples of why you think so?

On the other hand, you may not feel so valued by upper management in your company. You may feel like you have no say in the company's goal setting and macro decision making. Can you talk to me about that? Are high level CEOs the ones to make all the decisions and set the goals for the company? Do they delegate down the ladder to lower level employees? Do they adapt a "Big Picture" approach to decision-making? Do they delegate tasks to lower level employees? Is there a clear hierarchical character to your company where authority figures determine the larger goals of the company and then delegate tasks to the lower level employees?

What group do you belong to in your company? Are you one of the upper level executives or are you one of the lower level employees? Do you think that your company's leadership structure and system is the appropriate one for the company? Why or why not?

Note: During this time, I am offering strictly telephone conversation courses to respect the order of President Emmanuel Macron who has issued a directive as you know that French population must remain under curfew for the next 15 days. If you would like to start or continue with English conversation lessons therefore, it will be strictly by telephone. I look forward to speaking with you, que même.


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Business English Paris is a sister site of Jeannie LaCroix. Please visit our sister site where you can find curated products for busy professionals at www.jeannielacroix.com. Thank you in advance for your support.