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In our previous episode, the management team of our guitar manufacturer used a teleconference to discuss a problem involving worker health complaints.
The local government was coming to inspect the plant and could permanently close it.
In this new episode, the management team again uses a teleconference to discuss solutions to a new problem.
The inspectors came and temporarily closed the plant until the managers can prove to the government that workers will be protected from paint fumes, which are chemicals in the air.
We'll be taking a close look at the language used to ask for ideas, suggest ideas and to discuss them.
This teleconference is run by Jim as a type of meeting called a brainstorming meeting, which is useful for gathering and discussing ideas.
We'll explain more about this later in the debrief.
Good morning.
This is Jim on the line in California.
Is this Jack?
Yes, it is.
And is everybody there on your side yet?
Yes, I have Dan and Angie with us now, so let's get started.
I suggest we brainstorm some ideas and then choose one or two for further study.
Would anyone like to get the ball rolling?
Dan, I believe you've looked at the air quality problem and have something you'd like to comment on.
Thanks, Jim.
Yes, it seems to me that the fumes are coming from the paint ovens, where we bake the paint to make it dry faster.
I'd like to suggest that we get rid of the ovens and just let the paint dry naturally.
That's worth looking into Dan, but it's very humid down here, so I'm not sure if the paint would dry properly.
Well, what about using outdoor heaters?
I'm not really sure that would solve the humidity problem, even though... Can I make a suggestion?
I believe Dan is correct.
The ovens are the problem.
But rather than getting rid of them, why don't we install a better ventilation system to clear the air?
I suppose we could do that, Jack, but that sounds expensive.
And we've been thinking more along the lines of changing the way we do things rather than spending a lot more money.
Hmm.
Well...
Can we consider using some other kind of paint, maybe water-based, that doesn't have any unhealthy fumes?
You've taken the words right out of my mouth.
I was just about to say that.
How about that, Jack?
Is that possible?
It could work, provided we find the right paint.
I don't know much about water-based paints, since we've never used them, and I don't know about the quality.
Why don't we look into that then?
I'm sure if we use paint with no fumes, it'll be very easy to show the inspectors that the problem's been solved.
Can I just check who's doing what?
I don't have a research staff down here and... Not to worry, Jack.
I think it's being done by other manufacturers.
And Jim, if it's okay with you, I'd like to manage this study, since I'm sure my people can come up with some good solutions.
No argument for me on that, but I don't want to stop brainstorming if there are some other good ideas you might have.
Does anyone else have another suggestion to make?
Brainstorming is an excellent way to get everybody to give ideas to solve a problem or to start a project.
We use the word brainstorming to mean an open discussion where all the participants should actively suggest ideas.
There are some formal ways to run a brainstorming meeting and some informal ways.
This meeting uses an informal model, but the steps are mostly the same in both types of meetings.
First to welcome all the members, introduce the topic or problem and then get all members to actively join and share their ideas.
Jim starts the teleconference by listing all the members present, as we discussed in our previous podcast.
All members already know what the problem is.
So he starts the brainstorming meeting by saying I suggest we brainstorm some ideas and ask for suggestions with Would anyone like to get the ball rolling?
When nobody speaks, he picks a person to start with the first suggestion and asks if he would like to comment on air quality, which means how healthy or unhealthy the air is in the plant.
Here are some ways to ask for brainstorming ideas.
Who would like to kick this off?
Let's throw some ideas on the table.
Let's try to brainstorm some ideas.
Would anyone like to get the ball rolling?
Dan makes the first suggestion.
Using the key phrases, it seems to me that and I'd like to suggest that to talk about his idea to get rid of or remove the drying ovens,
Some very simple phrases you can use to signal your suggestions are what about and why don't we?
Or maybe we could are some other phrases to introduce your idea.
What if we I think we should, I believe the best way to We might as well think about a new computer system.
They could consider reducing the electricity bill.
Usually, everybody's very polite in discussing ideas at a brainstorming meeting.
It's very rude to say something like, that's ridiculous, even though you might think it.
So we often use diplomatic language, which we talked about in our last podcast, especially when giving opinions of other people's ideas.
If we strongly agree with someone's ideas, we might say, as Angie does, You've taken the wits right out of my mouth.
Angie means that she was thinking about the same idea as Dan.
To show normal agreement.
You might say I don't have a problem with that or no argument for me on that.
As Jim tells Dan.
Here are some other ways to show agreement.
Think about which ones would show strong agreement and which ones would show a little bit of agreement.
Absolutely.
That's a great idea.
No question about that.
I think you're spot on.
I think you might be right on that.
Okay, I can go along with that.
When disagreeing, though, that's when we have to be polite and use diplomatic language.
We might first say that it might be a good idea, but like Jack does when he says, That's worth looking into Dan, but it's very humid down here.
Humid means that the air holds a lot of water.
We agree with one part, and then we throw in that very important word, but, or maybe however.
Here are some other diplomatic disagreements.
I appreciate how you feel, but I can see why you feel that way.
But Yes, you have a point when you say.
And here's how it looks from my angle.
I was thinking along the lines of.
I was thinking more along the lines of Sometimes a speaker would like to comment on something somebody else said and add to it, or maybe talk about that idea in more detail.
Jack does this by saying...
I believe Dan is correct.
The ovens are the problem.
And then continues by suggesting that they buy a new ventilation system to get rid of the fumes from the ovens.
A ventilation system is made up of the machines and air pipes that move air in and out of a building or factory.
Here are some ways to mention a suggestion that has been made in order to add your own thoughts or to hear more about the idea.
I'd like to add to what Tony Zhang said.
That's something I'd like to comment on.
I'd like to hear more about Frieda's idea.
May I make a comment at this stage?
I think that's been done before.
I think we've done that before.
One important thing that must be done after finishing a discussion on an idea, or many ideas, is to make sure everyone knows who is going to work on them.
Too often a brainstorming meeting ends and everyone happily leaves with no idea of who is supposed to do something about the ideas.
And at the next meeting, they all then look at each other and ask, hey, what happened on that idea?
In our teleconference.
Jack is worried that he will have to study the new paints and he doesn't have the necessary people or equipment to do that.
So he says, can I just check who's doing what?
Fortunately, Dan wants to do the study and tells Jack not to worry, which is an expression that means don't worry about it.
Dan is sure that his people can come up with something, meaning that he is sure that they can find a solution.
Here are some questions we use to find out what actions people are going to take.
Who will be responsible for that part?
When the group finishes discussing the idea about using water-based paints, Jim asks for other ideas, since it's best to get as many ideas as possible, because even a good idea may fail.
And we're always looking for good ideas for podcasts from our listeners.
So...
If you'd like to hear a podcast about a certain subject or type of language, please feel free to send us your suggestions using our contact form at businessenglishpodcom, our new home.
Thank you for listening to Business English Pod.
We'll be back next week with a new podcast.
