You're listening to Business English Pod, the Business English podcast for professionals on the move.
Hello, and welcome back to Business English Pod.
My name's Edwin, and I'll be your host for today's lesson on participating in online meetings.
It's hard to overstate just how important the phone and laptop are to 21st century business.
Can you imagine your work life without these tools?
Probably not.
If you're like most people, the majority of your work conversations happen with the help of technology, and this includes meetings.
More often than not, people don't get together in person, but virtually.
But when you can't see the people in a meeting, it's suddenly more difficult to get your voice heard.
You can't lean forward or raise your hand to show you want to speak.
Instead, you need to find verbal ways of jumping into the conversation.
In many cases, this also means identifying yourself so others know who is talking.
In an online meeting, you have to be very clear about what you're talking about.
That might mean skipping back to a comment from earlier in the conversation.
And you have to be clear who you're talking to by directing a comment at a specific individual.
And finally, because technology never seems to be perfectly reliable, you might find yourself apologizing for technical difficulties.
In today's dialogue we'll hear a manager named Gabby leading a teleconference with salespeople from across the US.
They're having an online meeting to plan a sales conference.
The participants will use different strategies to participate effectively.
As you listen to the dialogue, try to answer the following questions.
1.
Why does Heather apologize during the meeting?
2.
Why does Manuel say, Manuel here in KC, at the start of a comment?
3.
When Heather rejoins the conversation, what earlier topic does she want to talk about again?
All right, everyone.
So, I think we've got a solid shortlist for keynotes here.
There's links to the bios in your dashboard, so it'd be great if everyone can read up on each person before the next meeting.
I think we should be able... Could I just jump in here for a sec?
Yes, Ivan?
I agree it's a great list, but if I can just add someone, I'd like to suggest Harvey Banks.
I saw him at a sales thing in Minneapolis last month.
He's the guy doing all that stuff on left brain, right brain approaches.
Yeah, I've seen his stuff on YouTube.
Good idea.
Alright, sure.
I'll add him to our list.
Harvey Banks.
Sorry folks, Seattle here.
Uh, having connection issues.
Have to log out and reconnect.
Understood.
Okay, so we've got our shortlist.
Now, if we could move on to the conference format.
We've got a very basic schedule laid out, but maybe we can brainstorm some of these new activities.
Anyone want to start us off?
Yeah, Manuel here and KC.
So I realize this kind of depends on the venue and how much space we've got, but I wanted to bring up this idea of what's called a solution room.
A solution room?
Yeah.
Basically it's a network slash problem-solving session where people present a challenge they face and then others help to develop solutions.
Heather here.
Back in action.
I've seen that solution room thing before.
It's great.
But if I could just loop back to something else you mentioned, Manuel.
The venue.
Any chance we could get the layout?
I mean, like a map of the conference center.
I think that would help.
Yeah, I know I've got one here somewhere.
Just give me a sec and I'll post it in the chat room.
Um, while you're doing that, just a question here for Manuel.
Is that solution room idea what we saw in London last year?
No, actually this is a little different.
Something Dave told me about.
It sounded kind of cool.
I'll pass on some info after the meeting.
All right, folks.
We're in business.
Just posted the map.
Have a look and you should get a sense of the space we're dealing with.
And you'll see the breakout rooms are quite close to the main hall.
Now let's go through the dialogue again and look at the language and techniques used by the participants in this meeting.
We join the conversation as they're discussing the short list of keynotes, which is a list of the main presenters they are considering for their conference.
All right, everyone.
So I think we've got a solid shortlist for keynotes here.
There's links to the bios in your dashboard, so it'd be great if everyone can read up on each person before the next meeting.
I think we should be able... Could I just jump in here for a sec?
As you can hear, Gabby is just finishing up with the topic of keynote speakers and is about to move on to the next topic.
But Ivan has something more to say on the subject, so he has to jump in or join in the middle of the conversation.
Remember, you can't show people.
You want to speak with body language, so you need to provide a verbal signal that you want to make a comment.
Let's practice some more ways of jumping into an online conversation.
Sorry, before we move on, there's something I'd like to add.
Tom, there's just one more thing before we finish up.
Pardon, but could I clarify that last comment?
Now let's find out what Ivan wants to talk about.
Yes, Ivan?
I agree it's a great list, but if I can just add someone, I'd like to suggest Harvey Banks.
I saw him at a sales thing in Minneapolis last month.
He's the guy doing all that stuff on left brain, right brain approaches.
As you can hear, Ivan wanted to suggest one more presenter before Gabby moves on to the next topic.
Now let's hear what happens next.
Yeah, I've seen his stuff on YouTube.
Good idea.
All right, sure.
I'll add him to our list.
Harvey Banks.
Sorry, folks.
Seattle here.
Uh, having connection issues.
Have to log out and reconnect.
It seems pretty rare to have an online meeting where nobody has a technical problem.
It happens.
So what can you do about it?
Well, rather than letting people just wonder why you're not participating, it's best just to acknowledge and apologize for the problem, just as Heather does.
She lets everyone know she has connection issues or problems with the internet connection and that she's going to try to restart the connection.
What are some other ways of apologizing for a technical difficulty?
Let's run through some more examples.
My apologies, but I'm having trouble with the mic.
I'm sorry everyone, but I can't really hear.
Working on a fix.
Sorry folks, you're going to have to excuse me while I try reconnecting.
Looks like I can't upload anything.
My apologies, I'll just need a minute.
Now let's get back to the conversation, as Gabby moves on to the next item on the agenda the format or the schedule and type of activities.
Understood.
Okay, so we've got our shortlist.
Now, if we could move on to the conference format.
We've got a very basic schedule laid out, but maybe we can brainstorm some of these new activities.
Anyone want to start us off?
Yeah, Manuel here and Casey.
So I realize this kind of depends on the venue and how much space we've got, but I wanted to bring up this idea of what's called a solution room.
Gabby wants to brainstorm ideas for new activities.
This means she wants people to freely make suggestions.
As you heard, Manuel has an idea for something called a solution room, which he'll explain in more detail later.
The important thing is that when Manuel makes a suggestion, he starts by saying yeah Manuel, here in KC.
During an in-person meeting, everyone knows who is speaking, but in a teleconference, especially a large one, it's not always clear who is saying what.
For that reason, it's a good idea to identify yourself at the start of a comment.
Let's try some more ways of identifying yourself at the start of a comment.
Nancy in Chicago speaking.
I just wanted to say... Glenn here.
Can I just comment on this proposal?
Hi, Krista here in Montreal.
I have another idea I'd like to add.
Bob here, folks.
I've got a question about the plan.
Now let's hear Manuel explain the solution room a bit more.
And remember he said, it depends on the venue or the location of facilities for the conference.
A solution room?
Yeah, basically it's a network slash problem solving session where people present a challenge they face and then others help to develop solutions.
Heather here.
Back in action.
I've seen that solution room thing before.
It's great.
But if I could just loop back to something else you mentioned, Manuel.
The venue.
Any chance we could get the layout?
I mean, like a map of the conference center.
I think that would help.
After having some technical difficulties, Heather is back in action.
In other words, she has returned to the meeting and, after acknowledging the solution room idea, she wants to loop back to the idea of the venue.
When you loop back to something, you return to an earlier topic or comment.
If you just start talking about an earlier topic again, it can sound like you haven't been paying attention to the rest of the conversation.
That's awkward.
So if you want to return to a previous topic, just let everyone know.
Clearly that's what you want to do.
What are some other ways we can return to an earlier topic?
Let's practice some more examples.
I have a question about something Tony mentioned a few minutes ago.
Can I connect back to an earlier comment about the website?
Someone mentioned the design, and I'd like to address that again.
Tom, you brought up something earlier that I just want to add to.
Now, on the topic of the venue.
Heather asked if they could get a map of the conference center.
How does Gabby respond?
Yeah, I know I've got one here somewhere.
Just give me a sec and I'll post it in the chat room.
Um, while you're doing that, just a question here for Manuel.
Is that solution room idea what we saw in London last year?
While Gabby is searching for a map that she can send to everyone.
Ivan has a question about the solution room idea.
It's a question specifically for Manuel, not an open question for everyone to answer, although everyone may be interested in what Manuel has to say.
In a face-to-face meeting, you can direct a question at a person by looking directly at him or her.
But in an online meeting, that doesn't work.
So we might say something like, just a question here for Manuel, as Ivan did.
That tells the person to listen carefully because you're talking to him directly.
Let's practice some more examples of directing a comment or question at one person.
I'd like to respond to Dan's question about the paper quality.
Question here for you, Norma.
Will you be at the conference yourself?
Paul, you mentioned the office layout.
One comment on that.
I have a question for Rich.
Do you guys have your own server there?
What does Manuel have to say in response to Ivan's question?
No, actually, this is a little different.
Something Dave told me about.
It sounded kind of cool.
I'll pass on some info after the meeting.
All right, folks.
We're in business.
Just posted the map.
Have a look and you should get a sense of the space we're dealing with.
And you'll see the breakout rooms are quite close to the main hall.
Gabby has found a map and posted it or displayed it in the online meeting software.
As she says, we're in business, which just means they're ready to go.
The group can now see the conference center space and talk more about the activities they're planning for the event.
Now let's practice some of the language we learned in today's lesson.
Imagine you work in marketing for a large corporation.
You are phoning into a meeting about a new website.
You'll hear a cue by the meeting chair.
Then, I'll give you a suggestion for what you can say in response.
We'll guide you through each step in the practice and provide an example answer for each response.
Ready?
Let's give it a go.
So, it sounds like everyone's pretty happy about the design.
Start by jumping in and saying you really like the homepage layout.
Answer.
I just want to jump in and say I really like the homepage layout.
Yes, totally.
I think it looks really sharp.
Now apologize and say you were losing the video stream.
Answer.
Yeah.
Uh-oh.
Sorry.
Looks like I'm losing the video stream.
Okay, hopefully that'll come back soon.
In the meantime, can we talk about functionality?
Next, identify yourself as Kelly in Dallas and say you've got the video feed back now.
Answer.
Kelly in Dallas again, just letting you know I've got the video feed back now.
Great, Kelly.
And did you have any thoughts on functionality?
Now say the first you actually want to jump back to an earlier comment about the mobile site.
Answer.
Yes, but could I just jump back to an earlier comment about the mobile site?
Sure.
Go ahead.
Now ask your colleague Greg to explain his comment about navigation on the mobile site.
Answer.
Okay.
Greg, could you explain your comment about navigation on the mobile site?
Now let's practice some of the vocabulary we've covered in this lesson.
In a moment, you'll hear a series of sentences with the word replaced with a beep.
Repeat each sentence, including the missing word.
For example, if you hear...
I'm just going to the agenda in the chat room for everyone.
You can say I'm just going to post the agenda in the chat room for everyone after.
Each response will provide the correct answer.
Let's begin, let's start out, by A few different ideas for the product name.
Answer Let's start out by brainstorming a few different ideas for the product name.
We need to find an event with enough space and good food.
Answer.
We need to find an event venue with enough space and good food.
After the interviews, we have a... of three great candidates.
Answer.
After the interviews, we have a short list of three great candidates.
I had a connection problem there, but I'm back in now, folks.
Answer I had a connection problem there, but I'm back in action now, folks.
We've reached the end of this lesson, the second in our series on teleconferences.
We've learned how to jump into a conversation, apologize for technical difficulties and identify yourself at the start of a comment.
We've also learned how to return to an earlier topic and direct a question or comment at one person.
Thanks for listening, and see you again soon.
