Shadowing Practice: English for Work: Meetings, Emails & Office Phrases! - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Let's begin!
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for me before I even had my coffee.
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That's very relatable.
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The inbox never waits.
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Never.
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And one of them was a meeting invite for 8am.
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8am, Mr. B!
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Okay, that is too early.
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That should be illegal.
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Right?
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So yes, my work morning was very full.
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And actually, that's perfect because today's topic is all about exactly that.
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Yes.
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Today we are talking about English for work, specifically your daily office routine – meetings,
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emails, talking to colleagues, asking for help, all of it.
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This is so useful because I know a lot of our listeners work in English, or they want to work in English, and they feel nervous.
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Exactly.
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They know the grammar, they studied English in school, but when it's time to speak in a real meeting or write a work email, suddenly the words disappear.
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Yes, that feeling, like your brain just goes blank.
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We've all been there.
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And today we're going to help you fill that blank with real, natural, practical office English that you can use starting tomorrow.
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That's a great goal.
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I'm excited.
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Let's go.
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Let's do it.
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But first, Anna, do you want to say something to our listeners?
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Oh yes.
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And if this kind of lesson helps you, please hit that like button right now.
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It really helps us reach more English learners around the world.
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And if you're new here, subscribe!
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We make new lessons every week.
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It's free and it's fun!
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That's right!
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And share this episode with a colleague or friend who works in English.
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They'll thank you.
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OK, let's get into it.
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So Mr. B, what are we covering today exactly?
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So, Anna, let's think about a typical work day.
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What does it look like?
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OK, so I get to the office, I check my emails, maybe I have a meeting, I talk to people, I ask questions, I send more emails, I go home.
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That's a good description.
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And in each of those moments, you need English.
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Different kinds of English for different situations.
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Right, the English I use in an email is different from the English I use in a meeting.
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Exactly.
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So today, we're going to cover four key parts of the office day.
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I call it the Office English Framework.
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Four parts.
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Easy to remember.
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Ooh, I like that.
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What are the four parts?
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Part 1, starting your day.
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The small talk, the greetings, the warm-up conversations.
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Got it.
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Part 2, meetings.
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How to speak up, agree, disagree, and ask questions.
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Oh, that's a big one.
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Part 3, emails.
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How to write clearly, politely and professionally.
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Yes, emails are so important.
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And part four, asking for help and clarification, because sometimes you don't understand something and you need to ask politely.
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Perfect.
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Four parts.
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Let's go one by one.
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Okay, part one.
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You arrive at the office or you join an online meeting.
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What do you say?
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This sounds simple, but sometimes I don't know how to be friendly without sounding strange.
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That's a real problem, especially in a second language.
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You want to be warm, but you don't want to say something weird.
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Exactly!
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So here are some natural morning greetings that native English speakers actually use every day.
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Good morning!
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How are you doing?
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Hey, how was your weekend?
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Morning!
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Busy day today?
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Good to see you!
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How's everything going?
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How's your morning so far?
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Oh, I love, how's your morning so far.
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That sounds so natural.
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It does.
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And the key is keep it light.
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These are warm-up conversations, just a sentence or two.
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Smile, be warm, that's it.
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And what if someone asks me, how are you?
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What do I say?
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Because I always just say, fine, thank you.
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Good question.
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Fine, thank you is correct, but it sounds a little flat.
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Here are some more natural answers.
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Pretty good, thanks.
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Busy, but good.
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Not bad.
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Ready for the day.
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Good, thank you.
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How about you?
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A little tired, but I'm here.
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That last one is so real.
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A little tired, but I'm here.
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I say that every Monday.
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We all do.
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Now, let's practice together.
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OK, listeners, repeat after Mr. B.
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Say these morning greetings with me.
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Good morning!
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How are you doing?
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Hey!
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How was your weekend?
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Pretty good, thanks.
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Busy, but good.
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Great!
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You're doing amazing!
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Perfect!
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Let's move to Part 2.
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Part 2, meetings.
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I'm a little nervous about this one.
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Okay, Part 2 is meetings, and this is where many learners feel the most nervous.
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Yes, I remember my first work meeting in English.
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I just sat there, nodding.
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I didn't say anything.
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The professional nod.
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We know it well.
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I understood maybe 70%, but I was too scared to speak.
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That's so common.
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And the reason is people don't know the right phrases.
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They have ideas, but they don't know how to say them in a meeting.
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So what do we do?
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We learn four types of meeting phrases.
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Ready?
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Ready.
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1. Starting and Joining.
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What to say when the meeting begins.
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Good morning everyone.
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Shall we get started?
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Thanks for joining everyone.
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Hi everyone.
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Sorry I'm a little late.
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Oh, that last one.
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Sorry I'm a little late.
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Very useful.
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Very useful, yes.
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Type 2.
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Sharing your opinion.
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This is important.
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Don't just sit quietly.
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I think we should… in my opinion, I'd like to suggest… can I add something?
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Can I add something?
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I love that.
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It's so polite, you're asking permission to speak.
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Exactly.
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Very professional.
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Type 3, agreeing and disagreeing politely.
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Agreeing?
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That's a great idea.
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I agree with that.
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Exactly.
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Good point.
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Disagreeing?
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I see your point, but… I'm not sure about that.
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Could we think about this differently?
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Oh, I see your point, but that's so smooth.
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You're not saying you're wrong.
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You're being respectful.
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That's the key.
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Professional English is polite even when you disagree.
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And Type 4 asking for clarification when you don't understand something.
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Sorry, could you repeat that?
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Could you explain that a bit more?
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What do you mean by that?
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Just to make sure I understand, are you saying that… That last one is great, just to make sure I understand.
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It sounds so professional.
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And it's honest.
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You're not pretending to understand.
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You're being clear.
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That's a strength, not a weakness.
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I love that.
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Being clear is a strength.
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Try these meeting phrases with me.
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Can I add something?
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I see your point, but… could you explain that a bit more?
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You're doing so well.
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OK, part three, emails.
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Yes, this is one I really need.
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Let's talk about emails, because emails are a big part of office life, and a lot of learners find them stressful.
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Yes, I always worry, am I too formal, too casual, too short, too long?
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That's a great point.
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And the truth is, professional emails follow a simple structure, same structure every time.
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Okay, what is it?
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Four parts.
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Opening, purpose, details, closing.
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I call it the OPDC structure.
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OPDC.
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Got it.
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Easy to remember.
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Opening, you greet the person and start warmly.
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Hi, name.
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I hope you're doing well.
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Good morning, name.
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I hope you had a great weekend.
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Dear name, thank you for your quick reply.
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These are warm and friendly.
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I like that.
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What's next?
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Purpose, you tell them why you are writing right away.
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Don't make them guess.
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I'm writing to follow up on our meeting.
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I wanted to ask about the project deadline.
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I'm reaching out because I have a quick question.
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Oh, I love I'm reaching out.
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It sounds so natural and friendly.
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It's a very common phrase.
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Details, keep it short.
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Use short sentences.
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And finally, closing.
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You end politely and tell them what you need.
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Please let me know if you have any questions.
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Thank you for your time.
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I look forward to hearing from you.
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Best regards, your name.
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These are so professional and so simple.
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That's the secret.
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Professional emails are not complicated.
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They are clear, warm, and direct.
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Can we do a quick example email?
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Let's try it.
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Listen to a full sample email.
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Subject, follow-up, project meeting.
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Opening, hi Sarah, I hope you're doing well.
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Purpose, I'm writing to follow up on our meeting yesterday.
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Details.
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Could you send me the updated report by Friday?
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I want to review it before the presentation.
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Closing.
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Please let me know if you have any questions.
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Thank you.
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Best regards, Anna.
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That's so clean. So clear.
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It takes 30 seconds to read.
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That's the goal.
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The best emails are fast to read.
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Short and clear.
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Short and clear.
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I love that.
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Okay, what's part four?
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Part four is asking for help.
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A lot of learners feel embarrassed about this.
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They don't want to look confused.
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Yes, I used to pretend I understood everything, even when I didn't.
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And that creates bigger problems later. So true.
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You miss important information because you were too scared to ask.
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Exactly.
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So here's the key mindset.
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Asking questions is professional.
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It shows you're paying attention.
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It shows you care.
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I love that.
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Asking questions is professional.
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Here are some great phrases for asking for help at work.
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Could you help me with this, please?
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I'm not sure about this.
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Can I ask you a quick question?
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Could you show me how to do this?
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I just want to double-check.
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Is this correct?
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Sorry to bother you, but could you explain this part?
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Sorry to bother you, but that's so polite.
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You're acknowledging that the other person is busy is busy.
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Exactly.
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And if someone helps you, don't forget to say, thank you so much.
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That really helped.
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I really appreciate your help.
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That makes sense now.
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Thank you.
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Yes.
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Gratitude is important.
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People remember when you say thank you.
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That's a good point.
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It's simple, but it's powerful.
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Okay.
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Let's practice these phrases.
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Practice these with me.
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Could you help me with this, please?
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I just want to double check.
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Is this correct?
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Thank you so much.
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That really helped.
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Excellent.
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You're doing great.
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Before we recap, let's talk about confidence, because you can know all the phrases, but if you're nervous, it's still hard.
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Yes, I know this feeling very well.
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So, here are four practical tips.
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Tip 1.
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Prepare.
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Look at the the meeting agenda before it starts.
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Write two or three things you want to say.
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Having a plan makes you feel confident.
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Tip 2.
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Use simple language.
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Short, clear sentences are more impressive than complicated ones.
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Don't overthink.
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Tip 3.
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Speak up early.
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In a meeting, try to say something in the first five minutes, even a small comment.
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The longer you wait, the harder it gets.
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Tip 4.
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Pause is okay.
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A pause shows you're thinking.
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It's not a mistake.
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Native speakers pause too.
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That third tip, speak up early, is so smart.
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Because the longer you wait, the harder it gets.
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Exactly.
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And the first comment doesn't need to be perfect.
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That's a great point, or I agree with that.
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Simple, but it opens the door.
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Opens the door.
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I love that.
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And what if you forget a word or phrase?
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Use these rescue phrases.
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What I mean is, Let me rephrase that.
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In other words, sorry, I'm looking for the right word.
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Oh, let me rephrase that.
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That sounds so professional and it buys you time.
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Perfect.
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It's natural, it's honest, and it works every time.
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These rescue phrases are so useful.
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I'm writing them all down.
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Let's do a quick role play.
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Anna, you're a new employee.
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I'm your manager.
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We're in a short meeting.
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Ready?
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Ready.
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Good morning, everyone.
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Let's get started.
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we need to talk about the deadline for the new report.
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Anna, do you have any thoughts?
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Good morning.
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Yes, I think we should move the deadline to Friday.
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I'd like to suggest we send the draft by Wednesday so we have time to review it.
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Perfect.
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She used, I think we should, and I'd like to suggest, beautiful.
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Thank you.
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Now, let's try one more.
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This time, Mr. B, you play the new employee.
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You don't understand something.
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Got it.
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Here we go.
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Sorry, could you repeat that last part?
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I just want to make sure I understand the deadline correctly.
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Yes, could you repeat that?
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And I just want to make sure I understand.
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Confident and polite.
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That's the goal.
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Now you try it, listeners.
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Pause the episode and practice one meeting phrase and one email opening out loud.
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Even at home, even alone, it works.
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Welcome back.
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How did it feel?
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Great.
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I hope you tried it.
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Okay, let's do a quick recap of everything we learned today.
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Okay, quick recap time.
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The Office English Framework.
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Four parts.
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Alright.
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Part 1.
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Starting your day.
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Warm greetings.
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Light small talk.
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Keep it friendly and short.
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Part 2.
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Meetings.
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Share your opinion.
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I think we should and I'd like to suggest agree or disagree politely.
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Ask for clarification.
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Could you explain that?
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And Part 3, emails.
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OPDC.
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Opening, purpose, details, closing.
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Short, clear, warm, professional.
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And Part 4, asking for help.
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Don't pretend to understand.
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Ask politely.
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Could you help me?
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I just want to double check and always say thank you.
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And the confidence tips.
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Prepare, use simple language, speak up early, and it's okay to pause.
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You're doing great.
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That's a complete toolkit for a day at the office.
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I feel ready to go to work just listening to this.
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That's the goal.
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Okay, one last thing before we go.
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Yes, our question for you today.
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Now, our question for you today.
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Yes.
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Think about this.
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What is one situation at work where you feel nervous in English?
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Is it meetings, emails, talking to your manager?
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Write it in the comments.
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Tell us.
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And bonus challenge, write an example sentence using one of today's phrases.
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We want to see it.
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We read every single comment, every one, so write to us and we'll reply.
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We're rooting for you.
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And that's a wrap for today's episode.
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Thank you so much for learning with us.
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Remember, you don't need perfect English to succeed at work.
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You need clear English, confident English, Kind English.
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And today, you got a full toolkit for that.
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You're doing great.
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If this episode helped you, please like it and share it with someone who works in English.
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You'd really be helping them.
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And subscribe if you haven't already, so you never miss a new lesson.
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Alright, I'm Mr. B.
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And I'm Anna.
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See you in the next episode.
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Take care.
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Bye everyone!

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Todo lo que necesitas para hablar con fluidez

Pronunciación con IAEvalúa cada oración
Práctica de IPADomina cada sonido
VocabularioConstruye tu banco de palabras
Juego de vocabularioAprende mientras juegas

Vocabulario y notas de pronunciación para esta lección

Esta lección de conversación de nivel B1 se basa en el vídeo “English for Work: Meetings, Emails & Office Phrases!”. Las palabras que más se repiten: meeting, English, email, phrase, professional. Este vídeo tiene 421 frases y 2415 palabras para practicar shadowing. La parte hablada dura 16:39. El hablante mantiene un ritmo constante de unas 145 palabras por minuto, cómodo para el shadowing. El 86 % de las palabras está entre las 3.000 más comunes del inglés; conviene repasar el resto antes de empezar.

Vocabulario clave de este vídeo

Las 15 palabras más avanzadas del vídeo, con su pronunciación y significado:

PalabraPronunciaciónSignificado
phrase sustantivo/ˈfɹeɪ̯z/frase
politely adverbio/pəˈlaɪtli/educadamente, cortésmente
pause sustantivo/pɔːz/pausa
disagree verbo/dɪsəˈɡɹi/no estar de acuerdo, desacordar
learner sustantivo/ˈlɜɹnəɹ/aprendiz, aprendedor
listener sustantivo/ˈlɪs(ə)nɚ/oyente, escucha
greeting sustantivo/ˈɡɹiːtɪŋ/saludo, salutación
polite adjetivo/pəˈlaɪt/cortés, educado
deadline sustantivo/ˈdɛdˌlaɪn/plazo, expiración/caducidad de/del plazo
clarification sustantivo/ˌklæɹɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/clarificación
pretend verbo/pɹəˈtɛnd/aparentar, hacer de
rephrase verboreformular, reelaborar
toolkit sustantivo/ˈtulˌkɪt/herramental, instrumental
colleague sustantivo/ˈkɒliːɡ/colega, compañero
subscribe verbo/səbˈskɹaɪb/suscribirse, subscribirse

Phrasal verbs que vas a escuchar

PalabraPronunciaciónSignificado
speak up verbo/ˌspik ˈʌp/hablar más alto, hablar más fuerte
reach out verbotender la mano
follow up verbodar seguimiento, dar un seguimiento
look forward to verbono ver la hora de, quedar a la espera de

Frases que vale la pena repetir

Frases cortas y completas del vídeo que puedes reutilizar en la conversación diaria:

  • B, what are we covering today exactly?
  • Hey, how was your weekend?
  • How's your morning so far?
  • Could we think about this differently?
  • Sorry, could you repeat that?

Gramática en este vídeo

Las estructuras que más usa el hablante, con las palabras exactas del vídeo:

EstructuraEn el vídeo
Oraciones de relativo who / which + oración — información extra sobre una persona o cosafriend who works · someone who works
Consejo con “should” should + verbo — decir qué es buena ideashould be · should move · should and
Superlativos the -est / the most … — lo más alto o lo más bajo de un grupothe most nervous · The best
Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — algo que ocurre ahora o en estos díasare talking · are we covering · are you doing

Pronunciación a tener en cuenta

El hablante usa 66 contracciones y formas reducidas, como you're, I'm, don't. Dilas en su forma corta, tal como las oyes.

  • Los sonidos de “sh” y “zh”: clarification /ˌklæɹɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/, casual /ˈkæʒ(u)əl/, presentation /ˌpɹɛzn̩ˈteɪʃn̩/
  • Palabras largas — cuida el acento: clarification /ˌklæɹɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/, differently /ˈdɪf.ə.ɹənt.li/

Sonidos difíciles para hispanohablantes:

  • s + consonante al inicio — sin añadir una “e” delante: scare /skɛɚ/, stressful /ˈstɹɛsfəl/
  • /z/ — sonora, no /s/: phrase /ˈfɹeɪ̯z/, pause /pɔːz/, regards /ɹɪˈɡɑɹdz/, presentation /ˌpɹɛzn̩ˈteɪʃn̩/
  • /dʒ/ — no es la “y” ni la “ch”: acknowledge /əkˈnɑ.lɪd͡ʒ/, agenda /əˈd͡ʒɛn.də/

Cómo practicar con este vídeo

  1. Escucha el vídeo entero una vez sin hablar y anota las palabras que no conoces.
  2. Haz shadowing frase por frase a velocidad normal, repitiendo cada una hasta que tu ritmo coincida con el del hablante.
  3. Grábate y compara con el original, prestando atención a palabras como phrase, politely, pause.

¿Qué es la Técnica de Shadowing?

Shadowing es una técnica de aprendizaje de idiomas respaldada por la ciencia, desarrollada originalmente para la formación de intérpretes profesionales y popularizada por el políglota Dr. Alexander Arguelles. El método es simple pero poderoso: escuchas audio en inglés nativo y lo repites en voz alta de inmediato, como una sombra que sigue al hablante con solo 1-2 segundos de retraso. A diferencia de la escucha pasiva o los ejercicios de gramática, el shadowing obliga a tu cerebro y músculos de la boca a procesar y reproducir simultáneamente patrones de habla reales. Las investigaciones muestran que mejora significativamente la precisión de la pronunciación, la entonación, el ritmo, el habla conectada, la comprensión auditiva y la fluidez al hablar, convirtiéndola en una de las metodologías más efectivas para la preparación del IELTS Speaking y la comunicación en inglés en el mundo real.

Técnica de shadowing: lee la guía completa paso a paso →