Learn about how to interrupt and suggest alternatives
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Becky: Interrupting and Suggesting Alternatives in English. Becky Here. |
| John: Hi, I'm John. |
| Becky: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to interrupt and suggest alternatives. The conversation takes place at an office. |
| John: It’s between Catherine Smith and Thomas Gray. |
| Becky: The speakers are boss and employee; therefore, they will speak formal English. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Catherine Smith: So the advertising campaign for the new language classes will start next month. |
| Thomas Gray: Sorry, but can I just suggest that we start earlier? |
| Catherine Smith: Why is that? |
| Thomas Gray: Isn't it true that advertisements are seen by more people during vacation periods? |
| Catherine Smith: That's true. |
| Thomas Gray: Summer vacation is starting soon, so we should start the campaign then. |
| Catherine Smith: Good idea! |
| Becky: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Catherine Smith: So the advertising campaign for the new language classes will start next month. |
| Thomas Gray: Sorry, but can I just suggest that we start earlier? |
| Catherine Smith: Why is that? |
| Thomas Gray: Isn't it true that advertisements are seen by more people during vacation periods? |
| Catherine Smith: That's true. |
| Thomas Gray: Summer vacation is starting soon, so we should start the campaign then. |
| Catherine Smith: Good idea! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Becky: Can Americans speak more than one language? |
| John: America has a diverse population, and actually, there are many people who speak English as a second language. On the other hand, native English speakers rarely know a second language. |
| Becky: Nowadays American kids learn a second language at school, with Spanish being the most popular, followed by French and German. |
| John: Spanish is also the most popular language to learn at university. |
| Becky: The number of American adults that are bilingual is very small in the business world, especially when compared to other parts of the world, such as Europe. |
| John: That’s correct. Maybe it’s because English is the business language par excellence! |
| 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: Next. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Immediately following something in a sequence. |
| John: Next. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: Next. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| John: To start. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: To begin. |
| John: To start. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: To start. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| John: To suggest. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: To recommend. |
| John: To suggest. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: To suggest. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| John: Earlier. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Comparative form of early―before another point of time. |
| John: Earlier. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: Earlier. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| John: Case. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: A situation. |
| John: Case. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: Case. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| John: Correct. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Right, without error. |
| John: Correct. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: Correct. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: And last... |
| John: Idea. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: A thought or suggestion. |
| John: Idea. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: Idea. [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 phrase is... |
| John: Advertising campaign. |
| Becky: The first word, "advertising," is a noun meaning the activity of promoting a brand or a service. "Campaign" is also a noun, and it means to work in an organized way towards a goal. |
| John: Together, they mean organizing promotional material to promote a brand. |
| Becky: You often hear this phrase in business. It can be used in both formal and informal situations. Let’s hear a sample sentence using this phrase. |
| John: Sure. For example, you can say, “The advertising campaign was a success, as sales have doubled.” |
| Becky: Okay, what's the next word? |
| John: Suggest. |
| Becky: This is a verb that means putting an idea forward. The past tense and past participle form are both "suggested." |
| John: You can use this when you have an idea or opinion that you think should be used. |
| Becky: It can be used in both formal and informal situations. Can you give us an example using this word? |
| John: Sure. For example, you can say, “I suggest that we try again.” |
| Becky: Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Becky: In this lesson, you'll learn how to interrupt and suggest alternatives. |
| John: This is an important point to master if you want to get along with your co-workers. |
| Becky: For example, if you’re in a meeting or discussing a situation with several people, you may have things you want to say. |
| John: This can be difficult sometimes if many people are talking or if you have something to say that is relevant to what is currently being discussed. |
| Becky: Since you might need to stop other people from talking, and because people usually don’t like being interrupted, you have to make sure to do this in the correct and polite way. |
| John: The most polite way is to actually say that you want to interrupt, instead of just jumping in with what you want to say. You should also ask permission to interrupt, instead of just saying “I’m going to interrupt.” |
| Becky: Let’s give some useful examples. |
| John: You could say, “Excuse me, can I just interrupt you for a moment?” or “Can I jump in here?” |
| Becky: You can also give a reason why you want to interrupt. |
| John: Often, you want to interrupt people because they are giving wrong information. |
| Becky: That’s right, but never interrupt by directly saying, “you’re wrong.” It’s better to ask for permission to interrupt, and then say what you need to say. John, can you give us some examples? |
| John: Sure, you could say, “Can I jump in here? The projected figures are actually 100 a month,” or “Can I speak for a moment? It was the ABC Company that sold that item.” |
| Becky: Next let’s look into how to persuade people. |
| John: Persuading people to your way of thinking can be a difficult task, as different people are persuaded in different ways. |
| Becky: In a business situation, the best thing to do is to backup your ideas with evidence―either hard figures or examples of things working in different companies. |
| John: It’s also a good idea to acknowledge the positives of other people’s ideas and make it sound like you’re building on those, instead of just proposing something entirely new. |
| Becky: Some keywords you can use are “maybe” and “suggest.” |
| John: Here is a simple pattern that can come in handy. You can say, “I suggest,” and then explain your idea. |
| Becky: For example, “I suggest that we start tomorrow,” or “I suggest more research.” |
| John: Another good technique is to ask people to help you with your idea. |
| Becky: Can you give us an example of this? |
| John: You can simply ask, “What do you think, Mr. Baker?” or be more detailed and say something like, “You’ve always said October is a slow month, haven’t you, Ms. Smith?” |
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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