Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 135, Scheduling a Meeting.
You're listening to English as a Second Language podcast number 135.
I'm your host, Dr Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.
On this podcast, we're going to learn about how you set up or schedule a meeting.
Let's get started.
I needed to schedule a meeting for the three departments involved in a new project.
I called each one to find a date that would work for all three of us.
So Nikola would the day after tomorrow work for you?
No, I'll be out of the office all day.
Could we do it early next week or a week from today?
I was hoping to schedule it as soon as possible.
How about the end of this week?
Well, I think that's okay.
We could meet late Thursday or Friday.
I'm free Thursday from 3 to 5 and on Friday from 10 to 1.
Okay.
Let me talk to Kumi and I'll let you know.
Hi, Kumi.
Can you make a meeting with Nicola and me this Thursday or Friday?
Oh, I wish I could, but I'll be in the Boise office starting tomorrow.
How about the following week?
I think we can do it early next week.
Would Monday at 10 work for you?
Sure, that's fine.
Let me check with Nicola.
You know, I think this would be much easier on email.
I'll send Nicola a note and we can confirm on email.
Okay, I'll look for your email.
You know, sometimes I think scheduling a meeting is the hardest part of actually having a meeting.
In this podcast, we hear a dialogue about trying to schedule a meeting.
To schedule as a verb.
S-C-H-E-D-U-L-E means that you are trying to find a day and a time when you can do something.
We can use this verb, for example, to schedule a doctor's appointment, meaning a time and a day for you to go to see the doctor.
You can schedule a meeting.
You can schedule just about any event.
Well, in this case they're scheduling a meeting between, or I should say among, three departments or parts of the company.
And the dialogue begins by the narrator Bruno, saying I called each one, each of his fellow employees, other people who work with him, to find a date that would work for us.
A date, D-A-T-E, is, for example, February 22nd is a date.
And a day, D-A-Y, is the day of the week, so Wednesday.
So he's trying to find a date that will work for all three of us.
That expression, to work for, means that would be good for.
So if someone says to you, will Thursday work for you?
That means, is that a good time for you?
Is that a good day for you?
Well, Bruno calls Nicola on the telephone and says, would the day after tomorrow work for you?
The day after tomorrow, of course, tomorrow is the next day.
The day after would be two days.
So the day after tomorrow.
And Nicola says, no, I'll be out of the office all day.
That expression, out of the office, means you will not be in your office.
You will be somewhere else working, we hope, or maybe sleeping.
Could we make it or could we do it?
Nicola says could we do it early next week or a week from today?
Could we do it here?
To do it means could we meet early next week, so the following week.
Early next week or a week from today.
So if today is Wednesday, the next Wednesday, seven days from, or eight days, I guess, from that day counting the same day.
Bruno says well, I was hoping to schedule it as soon as possible, meaning the immediately, as fast as I can.
There's also another expression we use, ASAP.
If you see that abbreviation or acronym ASAP, that is as soon as possible.
Somebody says, I need that ASAP.
I need it immediately.
Bruno says, how about the end of this week?
Well, the end of this week would usually be Thursday or Friday, the end of the week.
And, of course, the beginning of the week would be Monday or Tuesday and the middle of the week would be Tuesday, Wednesday or maybe Thursday.
Nicola says that she thinks that's okay to eat it to meet at the end of the week.
We could meet late Thursday or Friday, she says.
Late here means later in the day, in the afternoon.
Four o'clock in the afternoon, five o'clock, that would be late in the day.
Well, she says she's free Thursday from 3 to 5 and Friday from 10 to 1.
The expression I'm free, F-R-E-E, means I'm available.
I can meet at that time.
Someone might say, what time are you free?
I'm free at 7 p.m.
I am able to meet you or do something at that time.
Well, Bruno says he has to talk to Kumi, one of his other fellow employees, other workers at the company.
So he calls Kumi and asks her if she can make a meeting this Thursday or Friday.
To make a meeting, M-A-K-E, means to be able to go to a movie.
Can you make a meeting on Friday means can you go to, will you be available for a meeting on Friday?
And Kumi says that I wish I could, meaning I would like to.
I wish I could, but I'll be in the Boise office starting tomorrow.
Boise is a city, B-O-I-S-E, in the state of Idaho.
Well, starting tomorrow, that expression means beginning tomorrow.
Starting, for example, starting on Tuesday, I will not be in the office.
Means beginning Tuesday or on Tuesday and the following days, I will not be in the office.
So Kumi recommends, how about the following week?
Meaning, how about next week?
So if you can't make it today, can you make it next week?
And if you can't make it next week, how about the following week?
So it's the week after whatever week you're talking about.
Bruno says, I think we can do it early next week.
And again, early would be Monday or Tuesday.
And he suggests Monday at 10.
Would Monday at 10 work for you?
And Kumi says, sure, that's fine.
Bruno then says, let me check with Nicola.
To check, C-H-E-C-K, with someone means let me talk to them and make sure it's okay.
Let me communicate with them to see if that is a good time.
Bruno says you know, I think it would be much easier on email, meaning it'll be much easier for us if we communicate by email or on email.
You can use either by, B-Y, email or on email.
I'll send Nicola a note and we can confirm on email.
To confirm, C-O-N-F-I-R-M, means to say yes or no.
To confirm means to make sure.
For example, we set up a meeting for tomorrow at 7 o'clock.
And I say well, I will call you this afternoon to confirm, to make sure that we are still going to be meeting at 7 o'clock.
Kumi says, okay, I'll look for your email.
I'll look for means I'll be expecting.
I will be waiting for your email.
We also use that expression when someone says look for this movie when it comes to your city or your country.
Look for it means try to find it.
Be expecting it.
Finally, the dialogue ends by Bruno saying that scheduling a meeting is the hardest part of actually having a meeting.
And I guess that's often true.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a native rate of speech.
I needed to schedule a meeting for the three departments involved in a new project.
I called each one to find a date that would work for all three of us.
So, Nicola, would the day after tomorrow work for you?
No, I'll be out of the office all day.
Could we do it early next week or a week from today?
I was hoping to schedule it as soon as possible.
How about the end of this week?
Well, I think that's okay.
We can meet late Thursday or Friday.
I'm free Thursday from 3 to 5, and I'm Friday from 10 to 1.
Okay, let me talk to Kumi and I'll let you know.
Hi, Kumi.
Can you make a meeting with Nicola and me this Thursday or Friday?
Oh, I wish I could, but I'll be in the Boise office starting tomorrow.
How about the following week?
I think we can do it early next week.
Would Monday at 10 work for you?
Sure, that's fine.
Let me check with Nicola.
You know, I think this would be much easier on email.
I'll send Nicola a note and we can confirm on email.
Okay, I'll look for your email.
You know, sometimes I think scheduling a meeting is the hardest part of actually having a meeting.
As always, we ask you to visit our website at www.eslpod.com.
You can find the script for today's podcast and information about our other podcasts on our website.
From Los Angeles, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thanks for listening.
We'll see you next time on ESL Podcast.
English as a Second Language podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
This podcast is copyright 2006.
