Episode 0292

Hello everyone and welcome to EnglishPod.

My name is Marco.

My name is Catherine.

and we have another episode in our series all about giving presentations in English.

So this is show number eight for us.

That's right. We are getting towards the end of the series.

On this occasion, on presentation series number eight, we're going to continue with Mr. Ford and uh try to handle a couple of problems that keep coming up.

All right, so let's take a listen to our dialogue and we'll be back in a moment to discuss it.

So, as I mentioned previously, the campaign advertisement will focus on those key elements that every consumer looks for in a quality laptop.

Affordability, quality, speed, and reliability.

We have pulled out all the stops to produce a product that really rivals all our competitors.

Actually, just to illustrate my point, let me give you an anecdote here.

I remember last year I was playing golf with one of our key suppliers.

Anyway, I invited our supplier for a game of golf and wanted to get his input on the new X420.

To be honest, I'm not that great at golf, but I've improved in the last few years.

But the key to golf is practice, practice, practice.

Um, sorry, I've lost my thread. What was I talking about again?

I think you were discussing the campaign advertisement, Michael?

Yes, excuse me. I'm afraid I got sidetracked there.

Yes, anyway, the campaign, well, uh, let me see.

Is the projector working yet, Jonathan?

No, sorry. IT is still fixing it.

Uh, okay. Um, well, all the information on the campaign is on the PowerPoint.

I haven't actually got my notes with me.

Uh, let me see.

Mr. Ford, could you at least tell us the schedule for the campaign?

When are the first advertisements scheduled for?

That's a good question.

Unfortunately, I, uh, don't have that information on me. I'll have to get back to you on that point.

Okay, everyone, sorry for the delay.

So, without further ado, the new X420 marketing campaign.

Can we take five?

All right, we're back and Mr. Ford faced a very embarrassing moment here, um, but he also used a lot of interesting vocab. Why don't we take a look at that now on language takeaway?

Language takeaway.

So at the beginning of today's dialogue, we heard a word that's very interesting, an anecdote.

What is an anecdote, Marco?

Right, he started telling a story, and that's basically an anecdote.

A life experience or a story, something that happened to you and you want to share with people.

Right, so an anecdote is a story.

Mhm. So, uh, he was talking about golfing with a client and he this is why and and so this is called an anecdote. He was telling a story about it.

After that though, we realized that he is a little bit distracted.

He says, 'I'm afraid I got sidetracked there.'

That's right. So, he's obviously talking about the computer and the marketing campaign, and then he starts talking about golf and how great it is.

So he says, 'I got sidetracked,' and that means that you got distracted or you uh started talking about something that's not related to the topic.

So I really like to eat hamburgers and uh I like hamburgers with cheese actually.

But wait, sorry, just got a little sidetracked there. I think we should focus on English right now.

That's right.

So, it happens sometimes, maybe you're even um maybe you're even talking to someone and something is happening behind that person, you get sidetracked and you're not really paying attention.

That's right.

And after that, we realized that there's still a problem with the projector and Mr. Ford asks if it's working yet. Jonathan, his assistant says, 'No, sorry. IT are still fixing it.'

All right, so this acronym IT, I think many of you have heard it, and it means for Information Technology.

Okay, Information Technology, that has to do with computers, and so when we have a technical problem or a computer problem, we usually call IT.

That's right. So, your company probably has an IT department, or if you have a as Catherine said, a problem with your computer, you just call IT to get them to fix it for you.

Exactly. Another computer related word comes up later when Mr. Ford says that all of the information about the campaign is on the PowerPoint.

That's right. So, PowerPoint, this is a computer program that is very well known for giving presentations. So you probably use this if you ever have to give a presentation.

That's right. And PowerPoint is a part of the Microsoft Office suite. So you know the program Word or the program Excel. Well, so PowerPoint helps you use your computer to give a presentation. So you'll often hear us just talk about PowerPoint. Could can you help me with this PowerPoint in English?

That's right.

Okay, so that's all the words we have for you on language takeaway. Why don't we listen to Mr. Ford again and uh we'll be back soon with fluency builder.

So, as I mentioned previously, the campaign advertisement will focus on those key elements that every consumer looks for in a quality laptop.

Affordability, quality, speed, and reliability.

We have pulled out all the stops to produce a product that really rivals all our competitors.

Actually, just to illustrate my point, let me give you an anecdote here.

I remember last year I was playing golf with one of our key suppliers.

Anyway, I invited our supplier for a game of golf and wanted to get his input on the new X420.

To be honest, I'm not that great at golf, but I've improved in the last few years.

But the key to golf is practice, practice, practice.

Um, sorry, I've lost my thread. What was I talking about again?

I think you were discussing the campaign advertisement, Michael?

Yes, excuse me. I'm afraid I got sidetracked there.

Yes, anyway, the campaign, well, uh, let me see.

Is the projector working yet, Jonathan?

No, sorry. IT is still fixing it.

Uh, okay. Um, well, all the information on the campaign is on the PowerPoint.

I haven't actually got my notes with me.

Uh, let me see.

Mr. Ford, could you at least tell us the schedule for the campaign?

When are the first advertisements scheduled for?

That's a good question.

Unfortunately, I, uh, don't have that information on me. I'll have to get back to you on that point.

Okay, everyone, sorry for the delay.

So, without further ado, the new X420 marketing campaign.

Can we take five?

Okay, so we've picked out a lot of great phrases for you today. Let's start with the first one on fluency builder.

Fluency builder.

At the very beginning Mr. Ford says we have pulled out all the stops to make a really great product.

That's right. So the phrase used here, to pull out all the stops. What does that mean?

Well, you don't have to think about what it actually means. We use this when we're trying to say that we've done our best. We have really gone as far as we can, 100%. We're giving everything we can to to make this thing the best that it can be.

Okay, so you've put a lot of effort and resources into making something great.

You didn't hold back, you didn't you didn't save any money, you just went for it.

Okay, very good.

Now, when we were talking about Mr. Ford uh being distracted and he started talking about golf, he said, 'Oh, I'm sorry, I've lost my thread. What was I talking about again?'

All right, so this is interesting because the word thread can mean something that you it's like a string that you use to sew clothes with. But in this particular case, we're talking about a thread of conversation and so that's basically the topic that he's talking about.

Okay, so when he said I lost my thread, he makes reference to the thread of conversation of what he was talking about.

Right, so he's talking about golf, but he lost his thread, so then he doesn't remember what he was talking about.

Okay, very good.

And Mr. Ford actually faced a couple of questions from the audience members. Um, one of them asked about the schedule for the campaign and he said, 'You know what, I really don't have that information. I will have to get back to you on that point.'

Well, this is a really great way to answer a question you don't actually know how to answer.

Uh, in this case, Mr. Ford doesn't have the answer to this this audience member's question like you said, Marco, so he just says, 'Uh, I will have to get back to you on that. I will have to let you know later.'

Mhm. So it's a it's a much better so it's much better to say, 'I will get back to you' instead of saying, 'I don't know.'

For example, if your boss asks you, I don't know, 'How were sales last uh last year compared to this year?' And if you don't know, it's really not recommendable to say, 'I don't know.'

You don't want to say, 'I don't know.' It makes you sound like you don't know anything.

And so in this case, you say, 'Listen, I really have to get back to you about that. I want to check some numbers or something.'

Right. Very good.

Okay, so moving on to our next phrase, when finally he was going to present the ad campaign, he said, 'So without further ado, the new 420 marketing campaign.'

Right, this phrase, 'without further ado,' is something that we commonly hear in speeches or more formal occasions, but uh it's something that we say when we want to introduce something.

We say, 'We're not going to talk about it anymore. Let's just do it. Let's just show you.'

So the word ado, is this this is I think like classic English. It's not really common to hear it anymore.

No, there is actually a very famous play by Shakespeare called Much Ado About Nothing. And that means, you know, that there's a lot of talking and and a lot of problems and a lot of drama about this one thing.

And so basically, when we say the phrase 'without further ado,' we're saying, you know, without further talking or talking about this anymore, yeah.

Okay.

So it's it's it's a nice way to say, 'Okay, finally, we're going to do this,' or 'Finally, we're going to see this.'

Mhm.

And uh obviously the video was not the campaign, it was his golfing holiday in Barbados.

So uh he asked someone if he could take five.

All right, this phrase 'to take five' is very, very common in English and it's just another way to say, 'Can we take a five-minute break?'

Mhm. So maybe you can ask your teacher, uh excuse me, can we can we take five or or something like that?

Yeah, or, 'Hey guys, I'm I'm I need a glass of water. Let's take five.'

Right, so that means let's have a short break, let's take a five-minute break.

Mhm. But it doesn't always necessarily have to be five minutes.

No, it can be seven minutes or 10 minutes, but take five means a short break.

Okay, very good.

So you don't say can we take 10 or can we take seven?

No, usually just say take five.

Take five. Okay.

All right, so a lot of phrases there, a lot of great stuff. Let's review it one last time.

So, as I mentioned previously, the campaign advertisement will focus on those key elements that every consumer looks for in a quality laptop.

Affordability, quality, speed, and reliability.

We have pulled out all the stops to produce a product that really rivals all our competitors.

Actually, just to illustrate my point, let me give you an anecdote here.

I remember last year I was playing golf with one of our key suppliers.

Anyway, I invited our supplier for a game of golf and wanted to get his input on the new X420.

To be honest, I'm not that great at golf, but I've improved in the last few years.

But the key to golf is practice, practice, practice.

Um, sorry, I've lost my thread. What was I talking about again?

I think you were discussing the campaign advertisement, Michael?

Yes, excuse me. I'm afraid I got sidetracked there.

Yes, anyway, the campaign, well, uh, let me see.

Is the projector working yet, Jonathan?

No, sorry. IT is still fixing it.

Uh, okay. Um, well, all the information on the campaign is on the PowerPoint.

I haven't actually got my notes with me.

Uh, let me see.

Mr. Ford, could you at least tell us the schedule for the campaign?

When are the first advertisements scheduled for?

That's a good question.

Unfortunately, I, uh, don't have that information on me. I'll have to get back to you on that point.

Okay, everyone, sorry for the delay.

So, without further ado, the new X420 marketing campaign.

Can we take five?

Okay, so we're coming towards the end of our presentation series. So be sure to listen to us next week when we're talking about presentation series part nine. And as you may know, it ends with part 10, so then we'll start with a new series very, very soon. And uh I don't know, if you have any questions or any suggestions about our series, you can always contact us.

Uh, that's about it for us today though, so until next time.

The English pod audio review.

Listen to the meaning, then say the vocabulary word.

To give examples to make something easier to understand.

Illustrate.

Change topic.

Sidetrack.

To talk to or write to you at a later time.

Get back to you.

Have rest.

Take five.

Let's try that faster.

To give examples to make something easier to understand.

Illustrate.

Have rest.

Take five.

To talk to or write to you at a later time.

Get back to you.

Change topic.

Sidetrack.

Now say the word and hear it in a sentence.

Illustrate.

Let me show you some pictures to illustrate my idea better.

Illustrate.

He likes to illustrate his points using many different examples.

Illustrate.

I know this concept is a little complicated. So to prevent misunderstandings, let me illustrate further.

Our professor likes to insert personal anecdotes into his lectures.

Good presenters often illustrate their main points with specific anecdotes.

Lucy's grandmother is fun to talk with because she always has an anecdote about when she was young.

Sidetrack.

I was going to take out the trash, but I got sidetracked.

Sidetrack.

He gets sidetracked easily, so keep an eye on him and make sure he does his work.

Sidetrack.

When Rachel puts her mind to something, she is very determined and doesn't get sidetracked.

Get back to you.

Mr. Jones is not in right now. Can I take a message and ask him to get back to you?

Get back to you.

I don't know the answer to your question, but let me look it up and get back to you.

Get back to you.

I'm busy at the moment, but I'll get back to you tomorrow morning.

Take five.

We've been working on this project for hours. Let's take five and do this later.

Take five.

I'm so hungry. Let's take five and grab a bite to eat.

Take five.

Let me take five and fix this technical problem.