ラジオビジネス英語 Lesson (45)
6月23日(月)
A meeting between Katsutoshi and Sophia continues at the Milan office. Sophia makes a proposal regarding the design and color scheme.
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In Sophia’s opinion, what should they focus on to differentiate themselves?
-Japanese-inspired designs and color scheme.
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We’ve established ourselves as a performance first bland. When I spoke with managers in the Netherland and the UK about what’s need for our next move, they stressed the importance of improving the online customer experience.
-I have no objection to that. However, to be frank, customer experiences something that top Western brands are already excelling at. Even if we chat up, it won’t help us stand out.
- I see. So, what do you think we should focus on to differentiate ourselves?
-Japanese-inspired designs and color schemes. We’ve already achieved great success with our premium brand by adding jus a tough of Japanese elements, right? We could build on that achievement. How about creating a second premium brand that is even more distinctly Japanese?
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excel at /ɪkˈsɛl æt/ ～が非常に得意である；優れている
例: She excels at mathematics.（彼女は数学が得意だ）
differentiate oneself /ˌdɪfəˈrɛnʃieɪt wʌnˈsɛlf/ 自分を差別化する；他と区別する
例: He differentiated himself from other candidates.（彼は他の候補者と自分を差別化した）
Japanese-inspired /ˌdʒæpəˈniːz ɪnˈspaɪərd/ 日本風の／日本文化から着想を得た
例: A Japanese-inspired interior design（日本風のインテリアデザイン）
a touch of /ə tʌtʃ əv/ 少しの〜、ほんのわずかな〜
例: with a touch of elegance（優雅さをほんの少し加えて）
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distinctly /dɪˈstɪŋktli/ 明確に、はっきりと、確かに
例: I distinctly remember meeting her.（彼女に会ったのをはっきり覚えている）
distinctively /dɪˈstɪŋktɪvli/ 独特に；はっきりと特徴的に
例: The dish is distinctively Thai.（その料理ははっきりとタイ風だ）--
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build on ～ /bɪld ɒn/
～を基礎にして発展させる；～に基づいて進める
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- We could build on that achievement.
- The team is eager to build on the momentum to expand internationally.
- We should build on the lessons learned to revise our strategy.
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be eager to ～ /biː ˈiːɡər tuː/ ～したがっている、熱望している
momentum /moʊˈmɛntəm/ 勢い、運動量（比喩的に「流れ」や「勢い」の意味で使われる）
expand internationally /ɪkˈspænd ˌɪntərˈnæʃənəli/ 国際的に事業を拡大する、海外進出する
lessons learned /ˈlɛsənz lɜːrnd/ 得られた教訓、経験から学んだこと
revise our strategy /rɪˈvaɪz aʊər ˈstrætədʒi/ 戦略を見直す・改訂する
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- We could capitalize on that success.
- We could leverage that accomplishment.
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capitalize on ～ /ˈkæpɪtəˌlaɪz ɒn/ ～を活用して利益を得る、うまく利用する
success /səkˈsɛs/ 成功
leverage ～ /ˈlɛvərɪdʒ/ ～を活用する、有効に利用する（特に資産・実績・人脈など）
accomplishment /əˈkʌmplɪʃmənt/ 達成、成果、功績
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I agree with the managers’ feedback. Still, I think there’s room to explore how we can complement that with a more distinctive approach.
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Still,：文頭に置くことで「とはいえ」「それでもなお」と逆接を強調します（フォーマルな文脈でも自然）。
There’s room to explore ～：可能性や改善の余地があることを柔らかく示唆する、非常にビジネスに適した表現。
Complement A with B：既存のものに何かを加えて「補い、価値を高める」ニュアンス。
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There’s no doubt that the online experience is crucial. But perhaps our efforts would be better spent on something that uniquely highlights our brand’s strength.
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there’s no doubt that ～ /ðɛrz noʊ daʊt ðæt/ ～には疑いの余地がない
online experience /ˈɒnˌlaɪn ɪkˈspɪriəns/ オンライン上の体験
is crucial /ɪz ˈkruːʃəl/ 極めて重要である
perhaps /pərˈhæps/ もしかすると（控えめな提案）
efforts would be better spent on ～ /ˈɛfərts wʊd bi ˈbɛtər spɛnt ɒn/ 努力は～に向けた方がよい（より効果的）
uniquely highlights ～ /juˈniːkli ˈhaɪˌlaɪts/ 独自に～を際立たせる
our brand’s strength /aʊər brændz strɛŋkθ/ 私たちのブランドの強み
be better + 過去分詞（spent） 「～に費やされる方がよい（より有意義だ）」
be better spent ～に費やされる方がよい be + better + 過去分詞
be better known より有名である be + better + 過去分詞
be better understood よりよく理解される be + better + 過去分詞
Improving the online experience is definitely worth pursuing. However, I think the bigger question is, how we can make our brand truly unique while improving that experience.
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definitely /ˈdɛfɪnətli/ 間違いなく、確かに
worth pursuing /wɜːrθ pərˈsuːɪŋ/ 追求する価値がある
the bigger question is /ðə ˈbɪɡər ˈkwɛs.tʃən ɪz/ より重要な問いは～である
truly unique /ˈtruːli juːˈniːk/ 真に独自である、本当にユニークな
while improving that experience /waɪl ɪmˈpruːvɪŋ ðæt ɪkˈspɪriəns/ その体験を改善しながら
ラジオビジネス英語 Interview (2-3)
6月20日(金) Neil McInnes
What was Mr. McInnes dream when he was in his early 20s?
-His dream was to become a General Manager of a hotel.
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Could you share with us a bit about your background?
-I used to travel with my parents often, um, which made me interested to pursue a career in hospitality or travel. I left school at 17, which was young and back in the days, I didn’t go on to do the higher education. So, I decided at that time to leave school and pursue my hospitality dream.
-How did you get started in the hotel industry and how did you build your career?
-So, when it was applying for jobs, I applied to all the international hotels in Glasgow and Hilton Glasgow was the one that accepted me. So I started at 17 as a waiter as many of our new graduates do today in food and beverage. And I enjoyed that time for two years. But I really had a passion to move over to the front office within the hotel. And after two years, I was accepted into the front office department, where I excelled in my career and suddenly enjoyed that department. It really is the hub of the hotel and I went there for just over seven years and then various promotions holding positions from supervisor position in the front desk, reservations’ manager and ultimately up to the front office manager.
-All right. So, experience the old aspects of hotel.
-Indeed. Exciting. Really exciting.
-You climbed your way up the career all the way to the top studying from the very bottom, I would say.
-I did an interesting thing when I was in my early 20s, I had this dream then to become a general manager, which I’ve achieved today and at that time there was a fast-track management program within a company. And unfortunately, I was not successful to join that program because I didn’t have a higher education or a degree at that time and or a second language. So, while that Of course was disappointing and a bit of a setback, I think that persuaded me more to work hard and to achieve my goal. So, I’ve got to my goal today’s General Manager. Without that, and of course that proves to people today that you can, you know, achieve your goal and your dreams and the top job in an organization if you work hard.
-So, you were there persistent and ambitious.
-Resilient.
-Resilient, yeah. That’s the right word, resilient.
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Higher education
Higher education refers to continuing education after high school such as university and graduate school.
Earn a promotion
To earn means to get something based on hard work, merit or achievement. To earn a promotion or earn promotions means to get a promotion at work because you have demonstrated hard work, achievement, gained new skills, etc. Mr. McInnis mentioned that he earned various promotions early in his career. This shows that he worked his way up and became worthy of the promotions he received.
Career ladder
A career ladder refers to a path someone takes in their career to earn promotions or get closer to their ideal position. Moving up in a career. Just like climbing a ladder. In addition to a career ladder, you may also hear about climbing the corporate ladder, which refers to increasing status by moving up in the company.
Fast-track management program
Fast track refers to expediting or accelerating a process as in a fast-track management program, which speeds up the process of someone becoming a manager. We can also use fast track as a verb as in our team got a budget increase because the board is fast tracking our project.
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Fast track /fæst træk/ 迅速化する、速める、優先処理する
Fast-track management program /fæst træk ˈmænɪdʒmənt ˈproʊɡræm/ 管理職への昇進プロセスを速めるプログラム
Expediting / Accelerating /ˈekspɪdaɪtɪŋ / ækˈseləreɪtɪŋ/ （プロセスなどを）迅速化・加速化する
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Setback
A setback is something that slows or stops progress. An obstacle. A bump in the road. A challenge problem or even defeat that can make someone feel like they’ve moved in the opposite direction of their goal. Mr. McInnes talked about his set back of not being accepted into his company’s fast-track management program. I often here and use setback in daily conversation as in it’s just a setback meaning it’s just a temporary problem or this is not the end.
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Break through
Consistent hard work can help you break through the glass ceiling.
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Break through /breɪk θruː/ 突破する、壁や障害を打ち破る
Consistent hard work /kənˈsɪstənt hɑːrd wɝːk/ 一貫した努力、粘り強い努力
Glass ceiling /ɡlæs ˈsiːlɪŋ/ ガラスの天井、女性やマイノリティが直面する見えない昇進の壁
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Create opportunities = Make opportunities
Don’t wait for opportunities to come your way. Create opportunities yourself.
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Create opportunities /kriˈeɪt ˌɒpərˈtuːnɪtiz/ 機会・チャンスを作り出す
Don’t wait for /doʊnt weɪt fɚ/ ～を待たない
Come your way /kʌm jɚ weɪ/ （何かが）訪れる、やってくる
Opportunity /ˌɒpərˈtuːnɪti/ 機会、好機、チャンス
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Put in the extra effort.
Put in the extra effort if you want to climb the career ladder faster.
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Take on
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Take on more responsibilities and demonstrate leadership skills.
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You can, you know, achieve your goal and your dreams and the top job in an organization if you work hard.