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 this episode on handling a crisis.
Imagine this, it's four o'clock in the morning and you're sound asleep.
The phone rings.
It's one of your managers.
There's been a terrible accident.
What do you do?
What do you say?
At some point in your career, you will have to deal with a major crisis.
It could be a labor strike or an environmental disaster.
And there are minor crises like missing an important delivery or running out of paper.
That can happen every day.
These events can certainly do damage, but how much?
That depends on how you deal with them.
Good crisis management is the key.
Your success and reputation depend on it.
So in this lesson, we'll look at what happens when a crisis breaks or begins.
This is all about taking control in a crisis.
We'll cover some useful techniques and language to deal effectively with that early morning phone call about an accident.
We'll hear Sandy and Mike, who work at a factory in China that has just had an accident.
Sandy is the plant manager, while Mike is the lead production engineer.
A pipe has burst, releasing gas and injuring two workers.
Now, Sandy and Mike are calling their boss, Frank Menzies, in the US.
Let's listen as Sandy and Mike deliver the bad news and Frank takes control of the crisis.
As you listen, try to answer the following questions.
One, why isn't Mike on the call at the beginning?
Two, what information about the incident does Frank want to know?
Three, what does Frank instruct Mike to do at the end?
Hello?
Frank?
It's Sandy Kim calling from Wuxi.
Whoa, Sandy.
It's 5 a.m. here.
What happened?
Yeah well, I'm really sorry to wake you up, but we've had well, we've had an incident at the plant.
An incident?
How bad?
Anybody hurt?
And where's Mike?
Mike's been with a couple of our guys at the hospital.
He just called to say he's on his way.
Wait a sec.
Here he is now.
I'll put us on the speaker.
Frank, Frank, listen, a pipe, it burst.
We were just flushing the gas and it, the pressure was building up and it was just too much.
I mean, the pressure, it was, the main valve, the safety valve, it failed.
Mike, Mike, slow down.
Take a deep breath, okay?
I know you're upset, but we'll deal with this, all right?
All right, Frank.
Sorry, I'm just, I'm just a bit shaken up from everything.
Okay, now listen.
I need to know exactly what's happening.
I need to know about the scale of this thing.
What's the damage?
Any injuries?
Right.
Well, two workers are injured.
We took them straight to the hospital, and we've got someone with their families.
We've contained the leak, but some SO4 escaped from the plant.
At first, we thought it might blow down the valley, but the rain looks to have dissipated the cloud.
And our own emergency response team was on it right away.
Good to know.
Okay, guys.
Time is of the essence.
Here's what I want you to do.
Sandy, don't leave the plant.
You need to be there 24-7.
Mike, I want you to call our VP of Communications in Singapore.
Her name is Monica Jing.
I want you to do exactly what she says.
I'll email you her number as soon as I get off the phone.
Got it?
Gotcha, Frank.
