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Hello, and welcome back to Business English Pod for today's lesson on clarifying.
Previously, we looked at how to clarify what was said when you didn't hear properly.
Today, we're going to look at how to clarify what someone means in order to avoid misunderstandings.
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Life would be simple if everyone said what they meant clearly and directly, but that's not the way things work.
People often speak indirectly or use words that are a bit confusing.
For this reason, we often need to clarify what people mean.
There are several ways to do this.
You can tell someone you don't understand, or you might confirm an idea or restate what someone says if you think you might understand.
And it may take some time to work out the general meaning or the meaning of a specific word.
Today, we'll listen to a meeting between Michael, Rachel, and Ryan.
Michael is leading the meeting and talking about the disappointing launch of a new product.
During the conversation, it's not always clear what people mean.
For this reason, they use several different expressions for clarifying what was meant.
As you listen to the dialogue, try to answer the following questions.
1. What expression does Michael use about the numbers that Ryan tries to clarify?
2. What does Ryan ask about that Michael wants to clarify?
3. What word does Michael use that Rachel asks about near the end of the conversation?
The news isn't great, I'm afraid.
I know all of us had very high expectations for the launch, but we're going to have to come to grips with the situation.
Sorry, but I don't quite see what you mean.
What are you getting at?
Well Rachel, what I'm saying is we've had a closer look at the numbers and it isn't pretty.
I see. So in other words, you're saying it's been a complete failure?
Is that right? That would be one way of looking at it.
I prefer to see it as a challenge.
But to salvage this situation, we really have our work cut out for us.
What exactly do you mean by salvage?
Do you think we are going to have to scrap the whole product line?
I'm afraid so. Actually, I'm thinking about how to salvage the company.
It's going to take everything we have just to keep this company afloat.
Is it really that bad?
I mean, we do have strong investor support, don't we?
Let me make sure I understand what you mean.
You're asking if our investors will stay with us through this.
Is that right? Yeah, that's right.
I mean, they've been very enthusiastic from the beginning.
There's always going to be a few problems along the way.
Well, unfortunately, it's not that simple.
They want to know who is going to take responsibility for this mess.
They want to see some major adjustments, you see.
Wait a second. What do you mean by adjustment?
We're not talking about redundancies here, are we?
Actually, it's funny you should mention that, Rachel.
You know, no one has contributed more to this project than you have.
And we all really appreciate that.
Now let's go through the dialogue again and look at how the group clarifies what people mean during the conversation.
Michael begins by talking about some bad news related to a launch of the release of a new product.
The news isn't great, I'm afraid.
I know all of us had very high expectations for the launch, but we're going to have to come to grips with the situation.
Sorry, but I don't quite see what you mean.
What are you getting at?
What bad news is Michael talking about?
It's not totally clear.
He says they have to deal with, or come to grips with, the situation.
But Rachel doesn't understand exactly what he's talking about.
To clarify Michael's meaning, Rachel starts with an apology and an explanation.
She says sorry, and explains that she doesn't understand.
Then she asks, what are you getting at?
To get at something is similar to what do you mean?
When someone isn't clear, you can apologize, you can state that you don't understand, and you can ask directly what someone means.
Let's go through some more ways to do this.
I'm not sure I understand what you mean.
I'm a bit confused.
Could you run that by me again?
Sorry, what exactly do you mean?
I don't quite understand.
Could you clarify that for me?
Now let's hear how Michael responds to Rachel's efforts to clarify his meaning.
Well, Rachel, what I'm saying is, we've had a closer look at the numbers, and it isn't pretty.
I see. So in other words, you're saying it's been a complete failure.
Is that right? Sometimes, especially when people discuss bad news, they speak indirectly.
In his explanation, Michael says the situation isn't pretty when they look at the numbers.
In this case, the numbers are probably related to sales figures of the new product.
Now, what does it mean if the numbers aren't pretty?
Ryan guesses this means the product launch has been a failure, but he wants to confirm this idea.
He wants to check with Michael that he understands correctly.
So Ryan states what he thinks Michael means, and then checks if it's correct by asking, is that right?
What are some other ways to check back and confirm the meaning?
Let's try some more examples.
So you're saying that the delivery will be late?
You mean that we can't afford to hire someone right now, is that right?
What I'm hearing is that you need to finish next week.
Am I right in understanding that Dave won't be joining us?
So has Ryan understood Michael's meaning correctly?
Let's listen. That would be one way of looking at it.
I prefer to see it as a challenge.
But to salvage this situation, we really have our work cut out for us.
What exactly do you mean by salvage?
Do you think we are going to have to scrap the whole product line?
It's still not totally clear what Michael's meaning is.
He says they need to salvage or save the situation.
Rachel wants to understand exactly what he means by this.
She asks about the specific word he uses, and then gives one possible meaning.
More specifically, she wonders if Michael means they need to scrap or get rid of the new product.
When someone's meaning isn't clear, you may have to ask questions about possible meanings.
Through questions, you can try to work out what they're saying.
Let's run through some more examples of trying to work out someone's meaning.
When you say you'll be late, do you mean to the event?
So is this issue you mentioned a big problem?
What do you mean when you say we have to cut costs?
I'm having trouble understanding whether you think the report is positive.
Next, we hear Michael speak much more directly about how serious the problem is.
I'm afraid so. Actually, I'm thinking about how to salvage the company.
It's going to take everything we have just to keep this company afloat.
Is it really that bad?
I mean, we do have strong investor support, don't we?
Let me make sure I understand what you mean.
You're asking if our investors will stay with us through this.
Is that right? We now learn that Michael isn't just worried about the product line.
He's worried about keeping the company afloat or in business.
And Ryan is surprised by how serious this sounds.
He asks about having strong investor support.
Investors are the people who have bought shares in the company.
They have a lot of control over the company.
Now it's Michael's turn to clarify someone else's meaning.
He wants to understand what Ryan is asking, so he restates what he thinks Ryan means.
He asks if Ryan is wondering if the investors will stay with the company through the crisis.
The alternative would be that the investors sell their interest in the company.
What are some other ways we can confirm meaning by restating or using different words that have a similar meaning?
Let's try some more examples.
You said we need to spend more on marketing.
Is that right? You mentioned a big change to the budget, didn't you?
Okay, you say there's no extra time.
Does that mean we have to finish today?
By saying it's possible, you mean there's no guarantee it'll happen.
Has Michael understood Ryan's question correctly?
Let's listen. Yeah, that's right.
I mean, they've been very enthusiastic from the beginning.
There's always going to be a few problems along the way.
Well, unfortunately, it's not that simple.
They want to know who is going to take responsibility for this mess.
They want to see some major adjustments, you see.
Wait a second. What do you mean by adjustment?
We're not talking about redundancies here, are we?
We've heard Michael speak indirectly before.
It isn't always clear what he means.
And sometimes he uses specific words that could have a few different meanings.
In this case, he says the investors want to see some adjustments.
Adjustments are changes, and if you learn that the company you work for is going to make big adjustments, you might worry they mean staffing changes.
This is why Rachel asks for clarity on the word adjustment.
Rachel asks very directly, what do you mean by adjustment?
She also asks if this means redundancies, which means that people will lose their jobs.
Rachel is trying to understand very clearly what Michael means by this one important word.
Let's try some more ways of asking about a single word or phrase.
What exactly do you mean by unintentional?
When you say, it's about time, what are you saying?
Can you explain what critical means in this case?
I'm curious what you mean by, let's play it by ear.
Now let's hear the end of this part of the conversation, as Michael begins to explain what he means by adjustments.
Actually, it's funny you should mention that, Rachel.
You know, no one has contributed more to this project than you have, and we all really appreciate that.
We don't know what happens next, but it sounds like Michael might be preparing Rachel for bad news.
In this case, her questions about Michael's meaning might lead to some big surprises.
And we've seen throughout the conversation how important it is to clarify what someone means.
Now let's practice some of the language we learned in today's lesson.
Imagine you're talking to a colleague about a big project.
The colleague's meaning isn't always clear.
You'll hear a cue from your colleague, then I'll tell you how to respond.
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.
I find myself wishing we'd never taken this on.
Start by saying that you don't understand, and ask him to clarify.
Answer. I'm sorry. I don't quite understand.
Could you clarify? Well, given our workload, I'm not sure we can do a good job.
Now check back and confirm that he is saying that there's just not enough time for the project.
Answer. OK. Are you saying that we don't have enough time for the project?
That's exactly what I'm saying.
Maybe if we'd have staffed up, but we didn't.
Now ask if he means you should have hired more people.
Answer. Do you mean we should have hired more people?
Precisely. But we didn't, and now we're under the gun.
Finally, ask him to explain what he means by under the gun.
Answer. What exactly do you mean by under the gun?
That's all for this lesson on clarifying what was meant.
We've learned how to clarify when something isn't clear, and how to check back and confirm meaning.
We've also learned how to try to figure out what someone means, restate to confirm meaning, and ask about the meaning of a single word or phrase.
For more practice, Premium members can access the online quizzes and PDF transcripts for this and other lessons on the BEP website.
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Thanks for listening, and see you again soon.
