Questions are an important part of almost every conversation. So being able to ask good questions is critical to communication. How can we make our questioning more effective and efficient? In this two-part Business English Podcast series we’ll be looking at some answers.
问题是几乎所有谈话的一个重要部分。所有能够问好的问题对于交流十分重要。如何让提问有力且有效果？在2节课中，我们会看一些答案。
The communication skills we’ll be learning can be used in any situation, but we’ll be focusing in on an area where questioning techniques are particularly important: needs analysis. This refers to analyzing the needs of a customer as part of the sales process. We’ll study a series of questioning techniques that can be used to “drill down to” – that is, get to or uncover – the information you want.
我们学习到的交流技巧如何场合下都能用到，但是我们会着重学习提问题特别重要的地方：需要分析。这涉及到分析客户的需求来作为销售过程的一部分。我们将学习一系列的提问技巧来得到你想要的信息。
In today’s Business English listening Brad is a sales manager for Forrest and Brown, a producer of innovative industrial coatings and glues. Coating refers to a chemical that is applied to the outside of something to protect it. For example, paint is a type of coating. Forrest and Brown produces “conformal coatings”; this type of coating is used to protect printed circuit boards, or PCBs. PCBs are small flat boards covered with wiring and electronic parts. Almost all electronic devices – TVs, CD players, phones – have them.
在今天的商务英语听力是有关Forrest and Brown的销售部经理Brad，那是生产新涂层和新胶水的公司。涂层是用来涂在物体外部保护物体的化学物质。比如：涂料就是一种涂层，Forrest and Brown生产的“保形涂层”，这种涂层来用保护印刷电路板（简称PCB）。PCB是布满线路和电子元件的平板。几乎所有的电子设备——电视，CD机，电话上都有PCB。
Today Brad is visiting Andy, who is a production manager for Stratos, an assembler of PCBs that are used in household items. We can say that Andy is Brad’s “prospect” – the person he wants to sell to.
今天Brad要拜访Andy，他是一家生产家用产品的PCB装配公共Stratos的生产部经理。我们可以说Andy是Brad的潜在客户——他想将商品卖给的人。
Let’s listen to how Brad asks Andy questions to analyze Stratos’ needs.
来听下Brad是如何向Andy提问问题从而来分析Stratos公司的需求。
Listening Questions:
1) What does Brad think of the Stratos facility?
2) How long has Stratos been located in its current location?
3) What kind of devices does Stratos produce circuit boards for?
