3 great examples of sharp endings in spoken English
By The English Farm, September 01 2023We remember the ending more clearly than the rest, so a memorable conclusion is a key aspect to a strong answer.
We remember the ending more clearly than the rest, so a memorable conclusion is a key aspect to a strong answer.
Use this post to discover your reading speed and learn how to read more quickly.
An elevator pitch is a great way to introduce yourself and make a lasting impression on your listener. It opens the door for future communication and helps you sound memorable within a short period of time.
How do you maintain confidentiality without being rude? Recognize a bad way and learn some good ways to express confidentiality.
Asking questions in meetings can be tough, even for native speakers. For non-native speakers, doing it in English can be a nightmare.
When you speak, how much does the audience remember, and which parts do they remember? The answer may help you re-think how to be an impressive communicator.
Should you use jargon with your colleagues? How about with your clients? How about in a speaking test? Here's a simple but powerful rule to guide you.
The English word “budget” is complex. There are many ways to use it, and it is often misused by non-native speakers.
If you’re faced with a unique and complicated issue at work, you may need to think outside the box to find a solution.
When you think outside the box, you try to use your imagination to come up with new and unusual ideas. The purpose of thinking outside the box is to challenge yourself to think differently about a subject, so that you can approach it from a new perspective and ideally, produce original ideas and solutions.
When you put something on the back burner, you put it on hold to deal with at a later time. You could put something on the back burner because it’s not important, it’s not urgent, or you just don’t have the time or resources to deal with it at the moment. Regardless of the reason, if you put something on the back burner, you have judged it to be low priority.
When you have a lot on your plate, you have a lot of important tasks to manage. This could mean that you’re trying to balance multiple projects at one time, or you’re dealing with one large, demanding project.
Many non-native English speakers make the mistake of thinking that formal language is always a safe language choice. This is not the case. These days, the American workplace style is becoming more casual and language is going the same way.
When we look at the big picture, we view a situation as a whole. We do not focus on the small details of its individual parts.
Have you ever worked on a long-term project that was delayed because too much time was spent on the small details? When we look at the big picture, we focus on the most important facts of a situation. We then evaluate how those facts will affect the overall situation in the future.
If you’re working on resolving an issue but the outcome is still uncertain, you can say it’s up in the air. This means that there are still actions or decisions that need to be made before it is settled.
If you’re planning a meeting or business trip but the exact details are not confirmed, you can say it’s up in the air. This implies that you have a general idea of what you’re going to do, but the details still need to be decided.
The words "draw" and "up" take on a new meaning when you put them together. The idiomatic phrase "draw up" is usually used to talk about plans or contracts. It means to prepare a written document with details of a plan or arrangement.
Draw up can be used in any tense. Here are some examples of how to use it:
If something applies to everyone or everything, it's across the board. It's most often used to talk about money.
Here are some examples of how to use this phrase:
You can also use it as an adjective:
When two people or organizations negotiate an agreement so that each one profits, they cut a deal. You each have to give up, or "cut", some of what you want so that you can both make some profit, even if it's not as much as you wanted.
Here are a couple of examples:
The G.B.C. test now has nearly an infinite number of questions that can be asked, just like in te real world. Assessors will also interrupt, as often happens in conversation and business meetings.
Verbing—changing nouns into verbs—is happening so fast these days that non-native speakers can struggle to keep up. The rapid rate of change in technology, and the globablization of English, add to the speed of verbing.