Business Chinese
Improve your communication for meetings, presentations, negotiations, professional introductions and business relationships.
- Meetings
- Business vocabulary
- Cultural etiquette
- Professional communication
Business Chinese is less about vocabulary than about register: how direct to be, how to disagree without causing a problem, and how to hear what someone means when they say “we'll consider it”.
What the program covers
Introductions and first impressions
Titles, business cards, seating, small talk before the real conversation starts, and how to describe what your company does.
Meetings
Following fast discussion, asking for clarification without losing face, agreeing, disagreeing, and summarising decisions.
Presenting
Structure, signposting language, describing numbers and trends, and handling questions.
Negotiation and indirectness
Soft “no”, conditional language, pushing politely, and recognising when a decision has actually been made.
Written communication
Email and WeChat register, greetings and sign-offs, and the difference between friendly and unprofessional.
Phrases from this program
我们再考虑一下
Wǒmen zài kǎolǜ yíxià
We'll think about it
Often a polite no. Knowing that saves you weeks.
请多关照
Qǐng duō guānzhào
I look forward to working with you
负责
Fùzé
To be responsible for
达成一致
Dáchéng yízhì
To reach an agreement
Hear these — and say them back — in the free mini lesson.