• You will hear five short recordings.• For each recording, decide what the spe

No matter what kind of business situation I’m in, it’s always important to know exactly who the individual is I’m communicating with. The worst mistake you can make is to fail to find out what drives them - money, status or whatever. Once you’ve worked that out, you’ll be able to ensure you communicate what’s in it for them personally. This should essentially govern the way you respond to people, enabling you to stay in control of the situation and achieve the desired outcome.

There are always going to be things in a company people don’t like, and if you’ve created an atmosphere in which they’re encouraged to contribute ideas freely, you have to learn to deal with complaints. Revealing that you are, for example, upset by their comments is a crucial error - you will have shown a weakness in your character that others may try to exploit - and may lead to a general lack of support for you.