British Council-Professional confidence

Transcript of the podcast

R : Radio Host
S: Contestant 1 Steven Shaw
M: Contestant 2 Maggie Spencer

R: …and welcome to this weeks quiz where we’ll be finding out who is a professional superstar! The winner will receive a gift voucher from our sponsor worth £1,000! So let’s give a warm welcome to my two guests this week, Steven Shaw, advertising sales manager from the Fleetwood Corporation, one of the largest media agencies in the UK, and Maggie Spencer, media advertising planner, from the internationally renowned media empire, Goldhurst

?S: How do you do

M: Hello

R: well, today’s focus is on your belief to do your job, and being prepared to take decisions. Do you have enough confidence in your knowledge and ability to do your job? In other words, do you have Professional Confidence? Why don’t you, at home, think about what your answers to the following questions would be? Let’s begin the quiz! And lets start with question one. Steven, Maggie are you prepared

!S: I hope so

!M: oh yes

R: OK, Question one: if a client is making unreasonable demands, for example they want a larger discount for advertising, than you can give, would you a) say no or b) think about it and be prepared to negotiate

.S: If it’s a big client, then I would perhaps think about it, so I’ll go for B

M: Yes, but if the demands are unreasonable, I would have to say no. I think the focus is on unreasonable demands. Perhaps I would negotiate only if the demands were reasonable. So I’m going for answer A

R: Thank you, question number two now, if you are giving a presentation and are faced with a difficult question what do you do? Do you a) admit that you cannot answer the question without doing further research or b) ignore the question and change the subject

M: oh answer a, definitely

S: yes I agree with Maggie, answer a, if you change the subject I think it shows a lack of confidence

R: ok moving on to question number three: if you are asked to do something which is new or unfamiliar to you do you a) do it because you welcome a new challenge or b) pass it on to another colleague M I love new challenges, so I would choose answer A

S: but if I have another colleague who is more experienced in the task I would pass it on, so answer B

M: yes, but you wouldn’t be asked if you were incapable, it´s good to take on new challenges

?S: yes that’s true, can I change my answer to A as well

R Question number 4: there is a situation at work where you want to take a risk and others disagree. Do you a) represent the cause if you believe it valid? or b) stick to familiar ground and follow others

S: this is a tough one. Obviously it depends on the situation, but if it is something I feel is ethically wrong I would represent the cause, so its answer A for me

M: hmm I agree it is a difficult question, sometimes it good to follow the majority, but then it shows professional confidence if you are able to take risks, so I’m going for answer A too

R: and the final question for today’s quiz: How to you prefer to work? A) independently or B) constantly seeking others advice

M: a mix of the two really, it good to take advice from others and consult others, its healthy for teamwork

S: yet working independently does show that you are confident professionally, and as that’s what the focus is on I would say answer a

M: that’s true to some extent, but I like to seek others advice, so I’ll stay with answer B

R: Well thank you Maggie, Steve…lets take a short break now and then I will reveal who is the most professionally confident

[fade out then back in]

R: well lets see Steve: you answered with four A´s. and Maggie you also answered with four A’s, which means a tie! Maggie and Steve, You are both obviously experts in your own fields and with a score of four A’s out of five you have both demonstrated a high level of professional confidence Congratulations! You will both be receiving a gift voucher worth £1,000!. And how about you at home? If you have taken the quiz at home and you answered with mostly A’s, you have demonstrated that you are professionally confident, so well done

Answers