Chapter 7: The Speech

Hi it's Sam here and welcome back to the adventures of Lola Badiola. In the last episode we met the computer coders that work at J-Block. In this episode we are going to find out what impression Lola makes on her first day at work. We will also discuss the common expressions, phrasal verbs and vocabulary used in the text. So without any further delay, let's get back to the story. The adventures of Lola Badiola, chapter 7, The Speech. Lola pressed the buzzer of the intercom and entered the Adriatic building. She walked up the spiral staircase to the third floor. She needed to release the adrenaline that was flowing gently through her bloodstream. Waiting for her at the entrance to the office was JJ Thompson. Lola, it's great to see you again. He moved forward to kiss her on the cheek. He had become accustomed to this southern European style of greeting, having spent so much time in Madrid. Meanwhile Lola was walking towards him with her hands stretched out ready to greet him in a more formal manner. They ended up simultaneously shaking hands and kissing in a slightly awkward manner. Did you have any trouble getting here? No, no problem. You have a great location here. Yes, we wanted to be central. You couldn't be more central than Gran Vía. We'll love it. Follow me. JJ led Lola into the main area of the office and passed a group of employees who were having a team meeting. They all stopped and looked at her as she walked by. She smiled at them as it dawned on her that she would be the only woman working at J-Block. JJ led her into his office and they engaged in a few minutes of small talk. "How was your trip to Las Vegas?" asked Lola. "It was a disaster," JJ replied, shaking his head and laughing. "About a hard dog for three bucks from a street vendor and edit while I read through my speech. By the time I reached the conference center I was feeling really sick. I'm not sure how I completed my presentation, but as soon as I concluded I ran to the nearest bathroom and threw up." Lola grimaced. "Then I washed my face, walked back into the conference room, and answered some questions from the audience." "Now that's dedication," said Lola. "Yeah." They both laughed. A little nervously, and then JJ turned the conversation to more serious matters. He leaned forward at his desk. "Listen, Lola. I want you to take control of the marketing plan. I want you to create a brand image that truly reflects our core values. I want our customers to believe in us, to trust our promises, to say great things about us when we're not in the room. I'll give you whatever you need to make it happen." Lola was excited by the entrepreneurial challenges of her new role, and she finally felt a deep sense of purpose. There was a war being fought in the digital world, a war between truth and lies, between the fake and the real, between information and manipulation. She was ready to go into battle with JJ Thompson and his army of geeks. "Okay, let me introduce you to the rest of the team," said JJ. "I'm going to gather everyone in the conference room. Would you like to make a little speech?" "Sure," said Lola, then immediately regretted it. She wanted to make a good first impression, but she never expected to give a speech on her very first morning. "The fake speaking was not something that came easy to her. In fact, making a speech was one of the biggest challenges she faced in her role as commercial director, particularly when it was in English. She would spend many long days and sleepless nights preparing for her conference presentations." JJ led Lola into a small auditorium with 20 seats, a stage and an enormous video screen. When he invited the other employees to join them, one by one they entered the room and sat down in silence, staring at the new arrival. Lola felt the sickening sensation of panic rising from her stomach, as if she were just a shy girl who had been chosen to read a poem in front of the class. JJ jumped onto the stage, made a few announcements, and then said, "It's a great pleasure to introduce you all to the new commercial director, Lola Badiola." Everyone clapped off heartedly. Good morning. Lola looked into the eyes of her old male colleagues, and her mind went completely blank. There were no words, no ideas, no thoughts, there was nothing, just a blank. Oh dear, poor Lola, her mind has gone blank. I feel so sorry for her. Has that ever happened to you? Has your mind ever gone blank when you have been speaking in public? It's happened to me, and it felt like I was disappearing into a black hole of panic and humiliation. It was awful, and I didn't ever want to feel like that again. But we must all remember, if this happens to us, it's never as bad as we think it is. In fact, it's highly likely that our audience doesn't notice, or doesn't really care. And I'm going to talk more about this a little later. How to minimize the chances of your mind going blank. And how to recover if it does. But first we're going to start off by discussing three essential phrasal verbs. Let me just explain what a phrasal verb is and why they are so difficult for non-native speakers. Because the fact is, I had never heard the term phrasal verb before I came to live in Spain. Even though as a native speaker, I use one or two of them in almost every sentence I speak. So, for the native English speakers that listened to this podcast, let me define what a phrasal verb is. It's a verb with a preposition attached to it. Sounds very innocent, right? Well, this little preposition completely changes the meaning of the root verb. It's easier to understand with an example. So we have the root verb get to get. That means one thing. Get up means something completely different. So just by adding the preposition up, we've completely changed the meaning of get. And then there is get up too. So now we're adding a second preposition and once again this completely changes the meaning another time. Now this is easy for native speakers who grow up, absorbing all these different meanings and all these different phrasal verbs. You kind of learn through osmosis, but it's a nightmare for non-native speakers. You see there are at least 19 phrasal verbs with the root verb get. And people studying English have to learn them all. Here they are. Get across, get along, get around, get out, get away, get away with, get by. Get down, get down too, get up, get up too, get on, get off, get out. Get on with, get out of. Get over, get through to and get rid of. Native English speakers have no idea what a torture it is for non-native speakers to learn all these different definitions. So here's the thing. You should try to add two or three phrasal verbs to your vocabulary each week. Don't attempt to memorize long lists. Treat this as an ongoing process of language development. And that is what we are going to do today. We are going to examine three cool phrasal verbs that we used in today's text. listen to the first one again. To end up, this is to reach a particular destination and it implies that your final situation is unexpected or unanticipated. You don't know where you are going to end up when you start the process. And therefore it is a very common phrasal verb in business English. For example, we invested in this new technology and ended up losing a lot of money. We launched the product and ended up being sued by a competitor to end up to reach a final and unexpected destination. Okay, let's move on to our second phrasal verb which is not so common in business English unless we are talking about the office Christmas party. Have another listen to this. As soon as I concluded I ran to the nearest bathroom and threw up to throw up is simply to vomit. And the less time we spend on this subject, the better. So let's quickly move on to the coolest phrasal verb of them all. To dawn on. I love that phrasal verb. But what does it mean? Well you know what the dawn is, right? DAWN. It's the rising of the sun at the end of a dark night, slowly but inevitably bringing light to the world. So if something dawns on you, it is the slow but inevitable realization of the truth. The answer is revealed to you not in a flash of inspiration. Through the gradual process of subconscious thought. Here's an example. While I was working at Goldman Sachs during the financial crisis, it dawned on me that I was going to be fired. So there you go. Three phrasal verbs to end up to throw up and to dawn on. Use them in your conversations this week. And little by little you can build up your list of useful phrasal verbs in business situations. Okay, let's move on to a social dilemma. When you meet someone new in a business situation and they are of the opposite gender to you, do you shake their hand or do you kiss them on the cheek? This was the question that I asked in one of my LinkedIn posts and the answers people gave were fascinating. But before I read out what people wrote, let's just listen again to what happened to JJ and Lola. Here we go. We moved forward to kiss her on the cheek. Do you kiss or do you shake hands? And if you kiss, what are the rules of engagement? Well when I asked my LinkedIn connections, there were three main conclusions. And please bear in mind that this discussion took place before COVID-19 and I think it will be relevant again after COVID-19. The first conclusion was this. It completely depends on the culture in which you are doing business. So Sinai, a director of a multinational company working in Abu Dhabi said, "Do not try to kiss anybody and especially women when you are doing business in the Middle East." Meanwhile at the other end of the spectrum, Bruno, a credit officer from Peru said, "It is different in Latin America." Even Spanish female colleagues always talk about the Mexican visitors who kiss everybody at meetings. So there we go. We have a kissing spectrum from the Middle East, a one extreme, through Europe and Spain to Mexico and Latin America at the other extreme. So I think the best policy is just to be aware of the culture you are in and adapt to that culture. The second point that my connections made was the following. It is the woman who should decide whether a handshake or a kiss is appropriate and the man should respond. So according to Luis, a managing director in the technology sector, he says, "Always women take the control in professional and social situations. They establish the distance with men and the men should wait for her quick decision and follow her." Okay, the final recurring point was the following. The kiss should never actually be a kiss. So Paul, a retail brand manager, offered some very specific advice on this issue. He says the following. Things kisses should be air kisses, cheeks side by side, but not touching, and then you make the kissing sound with no lips to skin contact. So thank you very much for that very specific advice, Paul. So what do you think? Do you agree with our three rules? Number one, be aware of cultural differences. Number two, let the woman take the lead. Number three, even if you kiss, don't actually kiss. What do you think about those three conclusions? Okay, before we end, let's return to the moment that Lola's mind goes blank. Listen to this again. There are no words, no ideas, no thoughts, there was nothing, just a blank. Okay, here's my very simple advice. To help you avoid your mind going blank in these kinds of situations, because it is a very horrible experience. If you make a speech, use notes. A list of single words that remind you of the points that you want to make. It is like a safety net, and it will give you confidence. So when I give a speech at an industry event, I have three pieces of A4 paper with the same list of key words on them. I put one on the floor on the left hand side of the stage, one on the floor on the right hand side of the stage, and one in the middle. And if I ever get lost, I just look down and I am immediately reminded of what I need to say next. And the curious fact is, I rarely, if ever get lost, because having the notes gives me the confidence. It is a safety net that you don't need to use. Now in the case of Lola Badiola, she doesn't have any time to prepare notes. So what do you do if your mind goes blank in this situation? You breathe in through your nose deeply and out through your mouth. And you focus on your breath, and you just keep repeating this until you have calmed down and controlled your nerves. And the words will come to you. Believe me, they will come. Just go onto YouTube and search "Varakh Obama Pauzes". And you will see that even the mind of the greatest orator of our generation sometimes goes blank. And when the ex-president of the United States cannot immediately think of the answer to a journalist's question, he pauses for as long as it takes. He breathes slowly and deeply, and in the words eventually come to him. And on that reassuring note, we come to the end of today's session. Make sure you join us for the next podcast. You can find out if Lola is able to control her nerves and deliver her speech. to her new colleagues at J. Block, as we continue to entertain you to a leadership level of business English. Until then, keep practicing and remember, breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth. In through the nose and out through the mouth. in through the nose and out.