Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on how to get action over the 英文电话.
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? 出色地, often we just pick up the phone and call the person.
那你怎么说? 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. 下一个, you might lead into the main issue before you actually talk about what you want or need done.
但这还不是全部! 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. 最后, just to be 100% sure, you should finish off by confirming the action. 通过这种方式, you’re not being too direct or bossy, but you’re still firmly doing more than just making a polite request.
在今天的对话中, 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. 进一步来说, he wants to make sure George is going to submit the proposal to Cyclops today.
听力问题
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. Near the end of the conversation, 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
