Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on how to get action over the telefono in inglese.
Being productive at work means getting stuff done. And sometimes to get our own work done, we need other people to get things done. So when you need action from someone, what’s the best or quickest way to get it? BENE, often we just pick up the phone and call the person.
E tu cosa dici? Is it okay to just come out and say “hey, do this” or “hi, do that?” Not really. You need to be firm and direct, but not that firm and direct. You might need to emphasize how important the issue is. Il prossimo, you might lead into the main issue before you actually talk about what you want or need done.
Ma non è tutto! If you want action, you want to make absolutely sure you’re going to get it. That’s why you might ask for a guarantee, which is like a promise from the other person. E infine, just to be 100% sure, you should finish off by confirming the action. In questo modo, you’re not being too direct or bossy, but you’re still firmly doing more than just making a polite request.
Nella finestra di dialogo di oggi, we’ll hear Nathan, who works for an aircraft company called Cyclops. Nathan is calling George at a company called Airtronics. Nathan is calling because he wants to get action on a proposal from George. Più specificamente, he wants to make sure George is going to submit the proposal to Cyclops today.
Domande sull'ascolto
1. Why does Nathan think it’s important for George to submit a proposal today?
2. What important question does Nathan ask that relates to whether George can complete his proposal?
3. Verso la fine della conversazione, Nathan asks George to do something just to confirm that the proposal is being sent. What does he ask George to do?
Download: Podcast MP3
