IN THESE SITUATIONS?
Situation 1 :
Your co-worker has been very moody recently and it has been affecting the work of all the team. You are trying to be empathetic, but you also want to make her realise how her problems are affecting her performance. Which of the phrases would you choose to start this tough conversation?
Situation 2 :
You are trying to get some important work done to meet the deadlines, but some other employees have been horsing around near the water cooler for a long time talking and laughing very loudly. You have already asked them politely to be quiet but it doesn’t seem to help. What phrase would be the most appropriate here?
Situation 3:
You are the boss. You are extremely worried about the current project, for which the deadline is the end of the week.The progress has been slow so far and you want everyone to work late until things are back on track. But everybody wants to call it a day and go home. What phrases would be perfect in this situation?
Situation 4:
You work very closely with one particular co-worker. However, your colleague is not a good listener. He tends to brush off your suggestions and dominate with his own ideas / by the way, not very bright ones/. You need to discuss this with him to persuade him that your ideas are appreciated more. How would you say it?
Situation 5:
You are a manager with a few dozen employees working under you. One day, you come across one of your employees lazing about and doing nothing with his feet up on his desk. This employee is considered to be brilliant and highly valued by the management. How would you start your conversation?
Vocabulary exercises
1. Read the definition and choose the most appropriate word
1.to have serious financial or economic problems —
a) to flip-flop b) to flounder c) to hang in there
2. to accept responsibility for something you have done-
a) to glitch b) to face the music c) to see room for improvement
3. showing willingness to end a disagreement; or trying to make someone less angry
a) conciliatory b) relaxing c) violent
4. to reduce costs at the expense of quality
a) to get across an idea b) to cut corners c) to face the music
5. to do something badly or make a big mistake
a) to screw up b) to hang in there c) to revisit
6.a heavy or oppressive burden
a) load b) a dead weight c) a glitch
7. to change plans completely
a) to revisit b) to step on anyone’s toes c) to flip-flop
8. to communicate effectively to convey the idea
a) to get across an idea b) to delegate c) to have a heart-to heart talk
9. not planned or considered carefully enough
a) forewarned b) underbaked c) half-baked
10. something that might be very dangerous for you
a) at your advantage b) at your peril c) heart-breaking
2. Put a missing word in a gap
1. I want to help you out on this project, but I know it’s your brain-child, so I don’t want to step on your ***** in any way.
2. It’s obvious that some politicians ignore this issue at their *****
3. More and more firms are ***** because of the recession.
4. He knows that you used to be a ***** employee and so he is trying to support you
5. Don’t worry. ***** there and we’ll see the light in thee tunnel sooner or later
6. You’ll have to ***** the music eventually after messing everything up
7.More redundancies have been in the ***** recently.
8. It was extremely difficult to get ***** my idea
9. There’s a temptation to ***** corners when you’re pushed for time, but it’s not worth it.
10. Thank you for your constructive criticism, now we see the room for *****.
3. Rephrase the sentences using the new vocabulary
1. We have to go through this proposal again as soon as the budget is clearer.
2. Were I you, I wouldn’t take such decisions on your own hook.
3. I noticed her blowing her lines during the presentation
4. Having realised the prospects of developing further, everybody agreed to start again from scratch
5. We regret to say good-bye to our most useful worker.
6. I wouldn’t recommend you to rely on the person who can make a hash in a second
7.Don’t give up and believe we will weather the storm
8. He is known to have problems taking decisions and change his mind all the time
9. I admit having an unprepared proposal but I can reassure you that it will work well
10. I am afraid you will have to accept the criticism on your own
4. Choose the correct preposition
1 *** the pipeline
a on
b in
c at
2.hang *** there
a in
b up
c over
3.to screw ***
