by CHRISSALDANA

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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28 Conversation Topics for Business

English Students
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:
• What can businesses do to succeed?
• What is your idea of a “business”?
• What businesses are successful in your country/industry?
Why?
• Why do you think some businesses fail?
• “Business is a combination of war and sport.” Do you agree?
Why/why not?
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:
• How good are you at negotiating?
• What are some good negotiation tactics?
• Do you do negotiations in your work, personal like or while
shopping?
• What have you had to negotiate for in your life? (Examples:
House, car, items at a bazaar)
• Do you think men or women are better at negotiations?
Why?
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:
• How do you feel about job interviews?
• What is the most important part of a job interview?
• What advice do you have for a successful interview?
• What questions are common in job interviews in your
company/industry/country?
• What was the worst interview you have ever had?
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:
• Have you ever worked in another country?
• What difficulties can working abroad have?
• If you could choose, where would you like to work abroad?
• 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:
• How do you manage crises?
• What kinds of crises occur in your workplace?
• What sorts of crises have affected your country?
• What is your back-up plan for a major crisis?
• What have you learned from past crises?
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
businesses. Some questions to ask are:
• What is your definition of a leader?
• What makes an excellent leader?
• How is the leadership in your company/industry/country?
• Describe the best leader you have worked for/with.
• How good of a leader do you believe you 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:
• What makes a good presentation?
• What makes a bad presentation?
• Do you have to give any presentations at work? If so, what
are they about?
• How do you feel about giving presentations?
• How do you feel about watching presentations?
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:
• How often do you have meetings at work?
• Do you like meetings at work? Why/why not?
• What is often discussed at your meetings?
• What are the advantages/disadvantages to having
meetings?
• “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 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:
• Have you ever been terminated?
• How does one get terminated at your job?
• Have you ever had to terminate anyone?
• How can you prevent getting terminated?
• If you were terminated, what would you do?
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:
• What do you think about your manager(s)?
• What qualities make a good manager?
• How does your manager spend their time?
• How can a manager motivate employees?
• What is your manager’s managing style?
11. Small Business
Small businesses are the cornerstone of growing enterprises
and thanks to e-commerce they are on the rise. A few
questions to ask the class could be:
• Are small businesses common in your country?
• What challenges do small businesses have in your country?
• What are some successful small businesses in your
town/city?
• How can a small business become successful?
• If you had a small business, what kind would it be?
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:
• Do you have performance reviews in your company? How
often?
• How do you feel about them?
• What do your performance reviews cover?
• How important do you think appraisals are?
• What happens if you have a good/bad appraisal?
• How do you feel about feedback about yourself?
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:
• What is the retirement age in your country?
• What do people in your country usually do once they are
retired?
• Where do retired people usually live in your country?
• What are the advantages/disadvantages to retirement?
• What do you think you will do when you retire?
14. Work Experience
Everybody talks about his or her work experience and it helps
them with who they are in their career today. Some great
questions are:
• What work experience do you have?
• How did you like your previous work?
• What can you gain from work experience?
• What have you learned from your work experience?
• What have you learned about yourself?
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:
• How much overtime do you usually work?
• How do you feel about working overtime?
• What is the overtime policy like in your company?
• Describe the worst overtime experience you have ever had.
• What is a solution to reducing overtime?
16. Business Trips
Business trips, whether they be domestic or international, are
more and more common these days and are a good topic to
discuss. After all, most likely your students that go on
business trips need to speak English! You could ask:
• Do you go on business trips at work? Where?
• What are the advantages/disadvantages of business trips?
• What advice do you have for somebody traveling for
business?
• Where would you like to go on a business trip? Why?
• What do you think is the future of business trips?
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:
• Who exactly is your company’s competition?
• What advantages/disadvantages does your competition
have?
• How can your company overcome the competition?
• How competitive is your industry?
• How competitive are you in general? Why?
18. Risk Management
Most students should be familiar with risk and hopefully more
familiar with how to manage it so it’s a fine topic to incite some
quality discussion. Great questions are:
• What risks does your company come across?
• How does your company handle these risks?
• What situation could be a big risk to your company?
• What is your plan in case you come across a risk?
• Does your company have a contingency plan?
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:
• What is your opinion on investing?
• What investments do you have? Why?
• Are you a conservative or risky investor? Why?
• What do you consider to be a bad investment? Why?
• If you had $1000 to invest, what would you do?
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:
• What do you think about your colleagues?
• What are some common problems with colleagues?
• Have you ever had any challenging situations/altercations
 with your colleagues?
• Do you spend time with your colleagues outside of work?
Why/why not?
• Who is your favorite colleague? Why?
21. Hard Times
Unfortunately, hard times are quite prevalent these days. But
talking about them is good for business since it could expand
your students’ knowledge of current events. You could ask
questions like:
• What hard times is your industry/country going through?
• What hard times have you experienced?
• What have you learned from hard times?
• What are the benefits of hard times?
• 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:
• How often do you get a raise at your job?
• What does it take to get a raise at your job?
• What advice do you have for someone who wants a raise?
• Do you think raises are important? Why/why not?
• Do you deserve a raise? Why/why not?
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:
• Have you ever worked in sales?
• How good of a salesperson are you? Why/why not?
• What makes a good salesperson?
• What is the sales process like in your company?
• What strategies do you think are good for sales?
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:
• Who are the customers for your company/industry?
• As a customer in general, what do you usually expect?
• How do you gain more customers?
• How do you lose customers?
• “The customer is always right.” Do you agree/disagree?
25. Customer Service
Customer service is also another aspect of business that both
salespeople and customers know a thing or two about. It’s a
fantastic topic that can bring some enlightening discussion.
You can ask questions like:
• What is your definition of “customer service”?
• What is excellent customer service?
• What is poor customer service?
• Have you ever had to deal with customers? How was it?
• How do/would you deal with customer problems?
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:
• What is your understanding of marketing?
• What is your company’s target market?
• What kind of marketing does your company use?
• In your opinion what forms of marketing are the most/least
successful?
• What kind of marketing is successful in your country?
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:
• What is your definition of “consulting”?
• What is your opinion of consultants?
• What are the advantages/disadvantages of consultants?
• What area of advice are you an expert at? Why?
• “Sometimes you need a consultant to tell you the obvious.”
Do you agree/disagree? Why?
28. Rules & Regulations
Rules and regulations are literally everywhere in the business
world and they could present some useful and interesting
information. You could give the students questions like:
• What rules and regulations exist at your job?
• What happens if you break any of these rules?
• How do you feel about the regulations at your job?
• Why do you think rules and regulations exist?
• Have you ever had any problems with rules and regulations?