ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces three genres of business talk, namely meetings, negotiations, and service encounters. It looks at selected language-oriented studies that have used methods such as genre analysis, discourse analysis, conversation analysis, speech act theory and politeness theory to study aspects of these genres, and how business talk in such contexts is used to achieve work-related and relational goals. It considers how the discourse-based focus in research on spoken Business English has shown how the context in which interactions take place influences both the Business English and the discursive and interactional strategies used by participants. The chapter also considers ways in which this type of study can inform the teaching of Business English. Research on spoken business genres has tended to look at formalized and established interaction types which progress through a set series of stages and are characterized by a clear beginning, middle, and end.
