Words and Actions

16/07/2024

Two interviewees on the podcast were guest speakers at Lancaster University's Culture & Communication network symposium today: Doris Dippold on intercultural pragmatics in human-chatbot interaction and Jane Lockwood on how (not) to manage virtual team meetings. 👏🏼

The Culture and Communication Research Network (CULCOM) connects colleagues from across Lancaster University who are interested in any aspect of communication and culture. CULCOM is open to all Lancaster University staff, students and visiting researchers.

04/07/2024

Here's a snippet of the cover for our revised and re-imagined second edition of the textbook - to be revealed in full on publication!

24/06/2024

We're making progress on the second, revised and re-imagined edition of the Language in Business, Language at Work textbook. But we miss making the podcast and can't wait to get going again in September! We have several ideas for our next episode - any requests from you?

04/04/2024

Here are your favourite podcasters with their personal fan club😉Joanna Chojnicka, Lotte van Poppel, Dimitris Serafis

We met to make progress on the second edition of the Language in Business, Language at Work textbook and we did - so expect a new podcast episode in late summer!

22/02/2024

After looking at business communication in our last episode, we are now working away at the new version of Language in Business, Language at Work: with a third author, restructured contents and updates throughout, it's a major undertaking.

Wait a minute. Why does ‘corporate consultant’ sound more prestigious than ‘business consultant’? Or does it? Do they mean the same thing? How does organizational communication differ from corporat…

15/02/2024

If you are teaching business communication, what are you looking for in a textbook? In our latest episode, we discuss advice and agendas in (including our own).

Wait a minute. Why does ‘corporate consultant’ sound more prestigious than ‘business consultant’? Or does it? Do they mean the same thing? How does organizational communication differ from corporat…

05/02/2024

The wait is over: a new episode of Words & Actions has dropped! It's a one-off while we are revising the Language in Business, Language at Work textbook and it is on - textbooks.

Wait a minute. Why does ‘corporate consultant’ sound more prestigious than ‘business consultant’? Or does it? Do they mean the same thing? How does organizational communication differ from corporate or business communication? And what topics, genres and text types should textbooks on communication in these settings tackle when the genres themselves are blended? Welcome to the challenges of three authors revising a textbook on the power of language in business (?), now turned into a podcast episode and made even more interesting with Wittgenstein and Jonathan Clifton joining the writing table. Tune in if you want answers and more questions on the language game as we are playing it.

Wait a minute. Why does ‘corporate consultant’ sound more prestigious than ‘business consultant’? Or does it? Do they mean the same thing? How does organizational communication differ from corporat…

05/02/2024

We are now on BlueSky as well: wordsactions.bsky.social

27/11/2023

Last week, we had the first podcast planning session in a while. We are still busy revising our textbook (Language in Business, Language at Work), but we will come out of hibernation soon to record a special episode on... textbooks!

26/07/2023

One of us (Veronika Koller) has been invited to give a plenary at a conference on specialised discourses. The topic could be anything to do with business discourse - what should she talk about? Suggestions welcome

03/07/2023

It is conference season, and colleagues from different parts of the world tell us that they find our work useful for teaching😊 So here's a reminder that while are pausing the podcast to revise our textbook Language in Business, Language at Work, all materials remain available at wordsandactons.blog

12/06/2023

While we are busy writing the second edition of the Language in Business, Language at Work textbook, have a look at the 28 episodes we have produced to date - our website has extra materials and is now ad-free!
wordsandactions.blog

17/05/2023

While taking a break from podcasting, your hosts have started work on the second edition of the textbook Language in Business, Language at Work. We are updating and revising it, and adding new chapters on and

Packed with contemporary examples from the business world, this is an exciting and engaging text which explains how language works in business, how to analyse i…

28/04/2023

Episode 28 is out now: CSR part 3 - language discrimination

Raves, poker nights and Marvel movies – no costs or effort were spared in this final episode on to raise awareness about one of the most pervasive manifestations of : accentism. In the presence of experts, we uncover what is hidden beneath the surface, and just when we thought we would never judge someone based on the sound waves they produce, we dare(d) ourselves and you to eat the pudding…

We are off for a while now to write a new version of the textbook Language in Business, Language at Work. But we will still be here and on Twitter - and of course you can explore our by now quite substantial back catalogue. See you for episode 29 next year!

Packed with contemporary examples from the business world, this is an exciting and engaging text which explains how language works in business, how to analyse i…

25/03/2023

A piece on the words and images used to communicate about sustainability, by our own Erika Darics

21/03/2023

We are very close to reaching a round number of downloads for our episode 18, on and . Can you help us get over the line by listening to it?

Are you suffering from zoom fatigue, meeting migraines or the occasional shark bite? Have a listen to our next episode and find out more about office diary sweet spots, biochronology, meeting categ…

16/03/2023

If you have half a day tomorrow (17 March), there is an online event that critically looks at language-based , the topic of our current episode.

“Since we published Stochastic Parrots two years ago, the issues discussed in it have only become more urgent and salient. Join me, and an esteemed group of panelists for discussion and reflection, March 17 2023. https://t.co/YuBGS54oWV”

13/03/2023

Whether you feel anxious or enthusiastic about and other language-based generative , our latest episode explains how these apps work, what communicative competences they require and how they can be used in the classroom.

wordsandactions.blog

10/03/2023

Episode 27 of the Words & Actions podcast has just been released!

Language awareness in the AI era

ChatGPT and company are here to stay. And so are linguists. Find out why in our exploration of the capabilities and shortcomings of generative AI and how it will affect the competences of lecturers, students and practitioners in business communication and beyond. Via tricks and tips on how to integrate these powerful text production tools in and outside the classroom, W&A once again underscores the crucial importance of language awareness and the human touch in the digital era. The discussion will take us past proper prompt engineering, output analysis, digital sweatshops and critical citizenship.

05/03/2023

We are busy preparing our special episode on et al. This long Sunday read on AI, linguistics and what it means to be human is right on topic.

And a chatbot is not a human. And a linguist named Emily M. Bender is very worried what will happen when we forget this.

20/02/2023

Our own Erika Darics and her colleague Lotte van Poppel have written an article for The Conversation on the opportunities brought by . With perfect and not coincidental timing, we record our special episode on AI language apps tomorrow.

Many view ChatGPT as a death sentence for homework. But beyond all the alarm, could it be the software offers students unprecedented chances to hone their language awareness skills?

05/02/2023

You have heard about , not least in our current ep. 26. But what about greenshifting, -lighting or -hushing?

31/01/2023

It's nice to see the Words & Action on this list (even if it doesn't lend itself to listening while cleaning - sorry!).

I've hunted down and listened to all the linguistics podcasts about English that I could find, old and new. Etymology, lexicology, discourse analysis and more.

25/01/2023

You know how we occasionally post about unpopular workplace phrases. It turns out that the Danes have a whole podcast on this topic, called Jeg hører hvad du siger (I hear what you say). And it features linguists.

‎Business · 2023

23/01/2023

The latest plot twist in the M&M spokescandy saga (see our ep. 25):

This is the second time in one year Carlson has pointed ire at the candy company.

18/01/2023

Do yo remember that we discussed M&M's "inclusive" purple spokescandy in our first episode on ? there is a clear brand identity emerging for them.

13/01/2023

Our latest episode has dropped! Wherever you get your podcast and on wordsandactions.blog (with free extra materials)

Prepare to meet some ignorant pigs and silly cows in our second episode on ... Together with an expert in ecolinguistics, we will explore the discursive construction of our ideology-laden relationship to nature (and animals in particular!). We will analyse presuppositions and metaphors, going from tepid COP27 implementation plans on global heating to self-serving CSR reporting. It will become painfully clear how and why language matters and you'll find out more about your ecosomatic awareness.

04/01/2023

Here's one for our occasional series on "hated workplace language": movement metaphors (reaching out, circling back, going forward) feature prominently as does overstating the value of teamwork.

“What’s the worst workplace phrase?”

02/01/2023

We're back from holiday and will soon be at the ABC Europe conference in Naples, talking about levels of language awareness. In case you are wondering how Barbie dolls come into it, here's an extract from our current episode on :

Discussing ethical responsibility through the example of Mattel.

07/12/2022

When advertising goes wrong: the writers for this washing powder used the rhetorical feature of a chiasmus, but didn't quite think it through...