Learn about how to ask for help in a difficult situation
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Becky: Asking for Help in a Difficult American Business Situation. Becky here. |
| John: Hi, I'm John. |
| Becky: In this lesson, you'll learn how to ask for help in a difficult situation.The conversation takes place at an office. |
| John: It's between Thomas Gray and Linda. |
| Becky: The speakers are co-workers, therefore, they will speak informal English. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Thomas Gray: I'm sorry to bother you, but I need your help with something. |
| Linda: Sure, what is it? |
| Thomas Gray: The printer is stuck. Do you know how it works? |
| Linda: Let me see... It seems that you just need to add new paper. |
| Thomas Gray: Oh! That was easy! Sorry for bothering you! I can handle that. |
| Linda: No problem, I'm glad to help. |
| Becky: Listen to the conversation one more time, slowly. |
| Thomas Gray: I'm sorry to bother you, but I need your help with something. |
| Linda: Sure, what is it? |
| Thomas Gray: The printer is stuck. Do you know how it works? |
| Linda: Let me see... It seems that you just need to add new paper. |
| Thomas Gray: Oh! That was easy! Sorry for bothering you! I can handle that. |
| Linda: No problem, I'm glad to help. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Becky: I think that this is a situation that anyone who has ever worked in an office can relate to. |
| John: Yes, at some point, the printer is going to jam. |
| Becky: And it’s usually when you don’t have any time and need to print something urgently. |
| John: Right. If you don’t know how to fix the printer, then you need to ask a colleague for help. |
| Becky: How do American businesses view employees that ask a lot of questions? |
| John: I think that’s okay, but in general, there are a few things you should consider before asking a co-worker for help. The first is how busy they are. |
| Becky: Right, if your co-worker has a big project or a deadline of their own to meet, then you should think twice. |
| John: If it’s a long task that you need to do, then consider asking multiple people, so that no one person has to devote a lot of time to it. It's also best to be honest at the start and tell your co-worker how long you expect it to take. |
| Becky: Your co-worker may be able to help you with a task that will take 10 minutes, but not one that will take three hours. |
| John: That’s true! |
| Becky: Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Becky: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is... |
| John: sorry [natural native speed] |
| Becky: word for apology |
| John: sorry [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: sorry [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next, we have... |
| John: to bother [natural native speed] |
| Becky: to annoy, to interrupt |
| John: to bother [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: to bother [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next, there’s... |
| John: printer [natural native speed] |
| Becky: a device that transfers digital images or text onto paper using ink |
| John: printer [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: printer [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next up is... |
| John: stuck [natural native speed] |
| Becky: unable to move |
| John: stuck [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: stuck [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next, we have.. |
| John: to add [natural native speed] |
| Becky: to increase |
| John: to add [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: to add [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next, there’s... |
| John: paper [natural native speed] |
| Becky: thin material processed from trees and usually employed as support for writing or printing |
| John: paper [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: paper [natural native speed] |
| Becky: And lastly... |
| John: to handle [natural native speed] |
| Becky: to deal with |
| John: to handle [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: to handle [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Becky: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is... |
| John: printer |
| Becky: "Printer" is a noun. It’s a machine that prints documents and images onto paper. John, Can you give us an example using this word? |
| John: Sure. For example, you can say “Can you pick up the documents from the printer?” |
| Becky: There is also the verb "to print." |
| John: Printers are also commonly known as "Xerox machines," after the brand Xerox. |
| Becky: Okay, what's the next word? |
| John: stuck |
| Becky: This is an adjective that means that something is being prevented from moving. |
| John: For example you can say “I can't open the door. It seems to be stuck.” |
| Becky: As well as saying that paper is "stuck" in a printer, we can also say it is "jammed." |
| John: We can use "jam" for other blockages, such as a “traffic jam.” |
| Becky: Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Becky: In this lesson, you'll learn how to ask for help in a difficult situation. Let’s see first how to politely get someone’s attention. |
| John: Sometimes getting someone’s attention may be difficult if they are busy or are having a conversation with someone else. |
| Becky: In the event of an urgent situation, such as a fire or injury, then you don’t need to worry about being polite and can just quickly shout out a warning or request help. For example if you see a fire, you can just shout “Fire!” |
| John: If someone is ill or injured and needs the hospital, be sure to shout “Call an ambulance!” |
| Becky: Listeners, you can find more emergency phrases in the lesson notes, be sure to check them out. What if it’s not an urgent situation? |
| John: In that case, you just need to be polite. First, you should apologize by saying something like “Excuse me, but…” or “I’m sorry to interrupt, but…” |
| Becky: Be sure to follow the apology phrase with “but,” and explain briefly why you are interrupting. |
| John: You don’t need to go into details, you can just say “I need to talk to you.” or “There’s a problem.” |
| Becky: How does it sound all together? |
| John: “Excuse me, but I need to talk you” or “I’m sorry, but there’s a problem.” |
| Becky: Okay, let’s see now how to actually ask for help. |
| John: It’s simple. You can say “Can you help me with this” and the noun of the thing that is troubling you, for example “Can you help me with this report?” |
| Becky: The first word of the formula is “can,” so you’re asking your co-worker if they are able to help and not just telling them to help |
| John: You can make this more polite by using “could” instead of “can.” “Could you help me with this report?” |
| Becky: If you want to use a verb after “help me with,” be sure to put it in its -ing form. Let’s give an example. |
| John: “Can you help me with preparing this presentation?” |
| Becky: You can also drop “with” |
| John: In that case you don’t need the -ing form, it sounds like ”Can you help me prepare this presentation?” |
| Becky: Let’s wrap up with another example. |
| John: Sure, you can say either “Can you help me with moving this desk?” or ”Can you help me move this desk?” |
Outro |
| Becky: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| John: See you! |
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