You're listening to Business English Pop, the business English podcast for professionals on the move.
This is the first in a two-part series on clarifying.
To clarify means to make clear.
Today, we'll learn phrases and skills for clarifying what was said.
For example, I didn't quite catch that.
Could you say that again?
This is useful when you don't hear clearly or when someone speaks too fast.
Then, in the second podcast, we'll be looking at language for clarifying what was meant.
For instance, what exactly do you mean by that?
The listening today is from a shipping company.
You'll hear Wim Zeldenhus and André de Vries in Rotterdam call their American colleague Benny McClenahan in Boston.
First, the receptionist in Benny's office picks up the phone.
Good afternoon.
DeGreetensmith, this is Anna.
How can I help you?
Yes, this is Wim Zeldenhus in the Rotterdam office.
I'm here with Andre De Vries.
Uh-huh.
We have a conference scheduled with Benny McClenahan.
Could you put us through?
Yes, of course.
Sorry, I didn't quite catch your name.
Mr... Zeldenhus.
Z-E-L... Z-E-L-D-E-N-H-U-I-S.
Z-E-L-D-E-N.
H-U-I-S.
Seldenhus.
Thank you.
Can you hold, please?
Yes, of course.
Benny speaking.
How can I help you?
Hi, Benny.
This is Anna.
I've got a Mr. Seldenhus on the line from Rotterdam.
Sorry?
Who did you say?
Mr. Seldenhus.
Z-E-L-D-E-N.
L.D.
Oh, I know.
He's calling together with a Mr. DeVries.
Great.
Put them right through.
All right.
Here they are.
Vin?
Andre?
Yes.
Hello, Benny.
This is Vin.
Hi, Benny.
This is Andre.
Wow.
It's great to hear you two.
How have you been holding up?
Sorry, Benny.
I missed that.
Could you say that again?
No problem.
I said, how have you two been doing?
I hear it's cold there.
It sure is.
It's freezing.
There's ice everywhere.
Oh my goodness.
But it's not much better in Boston, right Benny?
No, it's not.
We haven't seen weather like this for years.
So, is ice slowing down shipping on the river any?
Hello?
Vim?
Andre?
Maybe your phone is on mute.
Oh, sorry about that.
That's okay.
Sorry?
What did you just say?
Yeah, no worries.
I said, is the weather affecting shipping on the river?
Yeah, well, I think Andre can tell you about that.
You wouldn't believe it.
Of course, it doesn't affect the seagoing vessels.
But on the river, we're seeing partial blockage of the ports on the left and the right.
What?
All right, now let's go through the dialogue bit by bit.
Remember, it's very important to ask when you don't understand.
That way, the communication can keep going forward.
Let's start at the beginning.
At first, the receptionist, Anna, doesn't hear Vim's name clearly, does she?
She says, sorry, I didn't quite catch your name.
Here, catch means hear or understand.
Vim repeats his surname, but she still doesn't catch it, perhaps because it's an unfamiliar foreign name for her.
So what does she do?
She doesn't ask him to repeat again, which might make him mad.
Instead, she signals to Wim to spell his surname by starting to spell it herself.
Z-E-L-D-E-N-H-U-I-S Z-E-L-D-E-N-H-U-I-S Seldenhus Asking someone to spell his name is a great skill for dealing with difficult words or names.
She could have also asked How do you spell that?
Would you mind telling me how that's spelled?
May I ask how that's spelled?
Could you spell that for me please?
Then When Benny answers the phone, he doesn't catch Vim's surname either.
How does he clarify it?
Hi Benny, this is Anna.
I've got a Mr. Zeldenhuis on the line from Rotterdam.
Sorry, who did you say?
Benny says, sorry, who did you say?
You can use the same kind of sentence form or pattern with all of the five Ws where when why, what and how, including how much, how many and how long.
Tomorrow, we're going to Madras.
Sorry, where did you say?
I said Madras.
Oh, Madras.
They're arriving at 4 a.m. in the morning.
Pardon me, when did you say?
4 a.m. in the morning.
Oh dear, that's what I thought you said.
Okay, let's get back to the dialogue.
To greet Vim and Andre, Benny uses an idiomatic expression.
He says, how have you been holding up?
This means, how have you been doing?
It's informal and familiar.
It's usually used to ask someone how they are doing during a difficult situation.
For example, I heard it's been a hard week.
How are you holding up?
Fine, I guess.
It's really tough, but we'll survive.
Remember how vim doesn't hear clearly or doesn't understand.
Let's listen again.
Wow, it's great to hear you two.
How have you been holding up?
Sorry, Benny.
I missed that.
Could you say that again?
I missed that is a useful expression for when you didn't hear clearly.
You can also say... I'm sorry.
Could you repeat that, please?
Sorry.
What did you say?
I'm afraid I didn't catch that.
Could you say that again?
Sorry, I'm afraid I didn't quite hear what you just said.
Would you mind saying it again?
More informally, you can just say, Pardon?
Come again?
What was that?
Say again?
Now here's a question that many English learners ask.
When do you use it and when do you use that?
Let's listen to two short dialogues.
As you can see, that usually refers to what the other person said.
It refers to what I just said.
Okay, let's look back at another part of the listening.
It's a special case of not being able to hear.
Hello?
Vim?
Andre?
Maybe your phone is on mute.
Oh, sorry about that.
That's okay.
What's happening here?
Andre and Benny's phone is on mute.
Mute means make no sound.
Benny could also say, Can you take your phone off mute?
I think you need to hit the mute button.
There, that's better.
Here's a tip.
As you know, in teleconferences, especially when there are three, four or more locations, you should keep your phone on mute when you're not talking to avoid background noise or to keep your boss from hearing what you really think.
Finally, let's look back at the end of the dialogue.
Vims says he's sorry for not hearing what Benny said.
How does Benny respond?
Listen again.
Sorry, what did you just say?
Yeah, no worries.
I said, is the weather affecting shipping on the river?
When someone asks you to repeat something, you can say, no worries.
This is a good informal spoken English expression.
It's used for small things to say, it doesn't matter.
Benny says, sorry, who did you say?
You can use the same kind of sentence form or pattern with all of the five W's.
Where, when, why, what, and how.
Including how much, how many, and how long.
Tomorrow, we're going to madras.
Sorry, where did you say?
I said madras.
Oh, madras.
Now it's your turn to practice.
We're going to study clarifying with the five W's.
What, where, when, why, and how.
Let's review how that's done.
Listen to this short dialogue.
We've got a train to catch at 6 a.m.
Sorry, when did you say?
6 a.m.
You can use the same way to clarify with any of the five W's and with how much and how many.
Just ask, where did you say, or how much did you say, and so on.
Now you give it a try.
First, you'll hear a statement.
After the beep, ask a clarifying question about the statement and wait for the answer.
Then, when you hear the answer, add a personal reaction like, oh man, is that right?
Or, oh, I see, that's what I thought you said.
I lost $3,000 on the stock market last month.
We're going to relocate the factory to China.
Sorry, where did you say?
To China.
We've got 60 new employees joining the company.
We've got to cut costs because of falling sales.
How did you do?
Listen to the answers to check.
You'll notice that we've added personal reactions to the end of each dialogue.
I lost $3,000 on the stock market last month.
Sorry, how much did you say?
$3,000.
Oh dear, I'm sorry.
We're going to relocate the factory to China.
Sorry, where did you say?
To China.
To China?
That's what I thought you said.
We've got 60 new employees joining the company.
Sorry, how many did you say?
60.
Wow, that's a lot.
We've got to cut costs because of falling sales.
Sorry, why did you say?
Because of falling sales.
Oh my, that doesn't sound good.
Clarifying with the five W's is a very useful skill for meetings.
Go back and practice again, this time adding a personal reaction to each dialogue.
If you've already tried adding personal reactions, substitute different language to develop fluency.
Well, that's about it for today's show.
Today we've studied several different ways to clarify what was said.
We've also learned some useful tips and idiomatic expressions.
Remember, if you don't understand something, it's very important to ask for clarification so that the communication can go forward.
In the next unit, we'll be taking a close look at clarifying what was meant, which is another important skill in meetings and discussions.
Thanks for listening, and see you next time.
