For many people, watching TV is simply a way to relax after work. But if you work in international trade, sales, or export, the right TV shows can also become a useful learning tool.
You do not need to watch business documentaries all the time. In fact, some dramas and comedies can help you improve your English, understand communication styles, and even learn useful lessons about negotiation and business.
Here are several types of shows worth watching.
1. Shows for Improving Spoken English
If your customers are from different countries, good communication is one of your most important skills.
Shows with a lot of natural conversation are especially useful. Sitcoms and workplace dramas are great because characters usually speak in everyday English rather than formal textbook English.
For example, shows such as Friends, The Office, Suits, and Modern Family contain many common expressions, small talk, jokes, disagreements, and casual conversations.
Do not try to memorize every sentence. Instead, pay attention to short expressions that you could actually use with customers.
For example:
- “Let me check and get back to you.”
- “That sounds reasonable.”
- “I see where you’re coming from.”
- “What would work best for you?”
- “Let’s see if we can find a solution.”
These expressions are simple, but they appear again and again in real business conversations.
2. Shows for Learning Negotiation
If you want to improve your negotiation skills, Suits is an interesting choice.
Of course, the show is exaggerated and should not be treated as a real business textbook. However, it provides many examples of how people use information, questions, timing, pressure, and silence during negotiations.
When watching a negotiation scene, try asking yourself:
What does each person actually want?
This is more important than simply listening to the words.
For example, a customer may say, “Your price is too high.”
The obvious response is to discuss the price. But a better salesperson may ask:
“Compared with which option?”
The customer may actually be worried about delivery time, payment terms, quality, or internal approval rather than price itself.
Good TV shows can remind us that negotiation is often about discovering the real interests behind someone’s words.
3. Shows for Understanding Business
If you want to develop your commercial awareness, business dramas can be very useful.
Succession is a good example. It involves family business, corporate power, investment, management, and internal politics.
Mad Men is another interesting choice because it focuses on advertising and sales. It shows how companies understand customers, create value propositions, build brands, and present ideas.
You do not need to understand every business detail. Instead, observe how people think about:
customers → value → competition → money → risk → relationships.
These are also fundamental concepts in international trade.
4. Shows for Understanding Customers and Relationships
International sales is not only about products and prices. It is also about people.
Shows with strong interpersonal relationships can help you notice emotions, hesitation, conflict, trust, and different communication styles.
Even a comedy can teach you something.
For example, when a character avoids saying “no” directly, you can ask yourself:
Is this really a yes, or is it a polite no?
When someone says, “I’ll think about it,” what might they actually mean?
When a customer suddenly becomes quiet, are they interested, confused, or simply busy?
These questions are very relevant in sales.
5. How to Turn Watching into Learning
You do not have to study while watching every episode. That would make relaxing feel like another work assignment.
A better method is the 80/20 approach.
Watch 80% for enjoyment and 20% for learning.
Choose only three things from each episode:
One useful expression.
One communication technique.
One business idea.
For example, after watching an episode, you might write:
Expression: “Let me get back to you.”
Communication technique: Ask questions before defending your position.
Business idea: The cheapest supplier is not always the best supplier.
That is enough.
You can also replay a short scene and imitate the speaker’s pronunciation and rhythm. This is especially useful for improving spoken English because you are learning complete sentences in context instead of isolated vocabulary.
6. And Sometimes… Just Watch Something Funny
Finally, not every show needs to improve your career.
Sometimes you have been answering customer emails all morning, discussing prices with suppliers, checking production schedules, and dealing with shipping problems. At lunch, watching a funny TVB comedy such as My Little Darling (老表，你好嘢!) may be exactly what you need.
Relaxation is also part of productivity.
The goal is not to turn every minute of your life into professional training. The goal is to build a habit of noticing useful things while enjoying yourself.
For an international salesperson, a good TV show can be more than entertainment. It can give you new English expressions, negotiation ideas, business perspectives, and insights into human behavior.
So the next time you open Netflix, YouTube, or a TVB drama, you can simply ask:
“What can this show teach me?”
And if the answer is “absolutely nothing, but it made me laugh for 40 minutes,” that is also a pretty good result.
