Project progress
This lesson will focus on using a variety of expressions specifically related to the progress of a project.
This lesson will help you use these idioms describing project progress. You will also get a chance to talk about your own experiences.
The topic is project progress, which should be a familiar subject for most students.
Guide to Business Idioms
Why idioms?
Idioms bring up a lot of pre-packaged imagery. They are emotive and they resonate with native speakers.
Don't over-use them, but on the other hand, a well-placed idiom will bring your language to life.
Warm Up
- Be quick & interesting.
- Note idioms the student uses unprompted.
- You may say, "That was a clear answer, but it wasn't very natural. Let's add some natural expressions using the phrases in the Language section."
- Praise or recommend good spoken grammar:
- use of contractions (it isn't, they're, etc...);
- short, active sentences (clear spoken English often employs such language);
- emphatic language.
Language section
You may take multiple classes for this.
- Encourage short answers, but don't move too quickly (find a balance).
- Focus on the phrase at hand.
- Make sure the student is confident with each one before moving on.
- Encourage the student to express themselves using their own experiences or knowledge as much as possible.
- Model the target language as much as possible.
Can you think of a project that didn't go as planned? What happened?
This warm-up should take 2–3 minutes. If the student chooses to talk about projects they've worked on, be careful of confidentiality.
Tip: you can ask about government projects or a famous project.
Example:
The Channel Tunnel ("Chunnel" or "Eurotunnel) between Britain and France, the longest underwater tunnel in the world.
First proposed in 1802, the Channel Tunnel was started and abandoned numerous times. It was finally finished in 1994, a year later than planned (and 192 years after the first proposal). Costs were originally projected to be £5 billion, when in actual fact it cost up to £21 billion (estimates vary), an overrun of at least 80%.
Please consider each expression and match them to the images. Your instructor has an example and a question regarding each one.
- (it’s) back to the drawing board—back to the beginning of a process to start it again because it isn't working.
- make headway—make progress.
- (it’s) full speed ahead—moving with the greatest speed or energy.
- the ball's in (the client’s) court—if the ball is in someone's court, they have to do something before any progress can be made.
- cut corners—do something in a hasty or careless way so as to save time or money.
A. |
B. |
C. |
D. |
E. |
Spend as long or as short a time as necessary on each phrase, but make sure the student can use it smoothly before moving on. The student should rephrase the "Practice" sentence with the target idiom, and then answer the "Question" using the target idiom.
1. (B) (it’s) back to the drawing board
E.g.: The client didn’t like any of our proposals, so now it’s back to the drawing board.
Practice: Our first plan didn’t work, so now we have to start the process again.
→Example answer: Our first plan didn’t work, so now it’s back to the drawing board.
Question: Have you ever worked on a project in which your proposals were rejected by the client? What happened?
→Example answer: Yes, I remember a project where the client rejected our proposal. So, it was back to the drawing board.
2. (A) make headway
NOTE: various adjectives can be used in the middle of this phrase—make some/no/good/great/excellent, etc., progress.
E.g.: The project was slow at first, but now we're making headway.
Practice: We have a client meeting tomorrow. After that, we should make progress.
→Example answer: We have a client meeting tomorrow. After that, we should make headway.
Question: At which stages of a project do you make the most progress?
→Example answer: Usually around the middle stage of a project, we make the most headway.
3. (C) (it’s) full speed ahead
E.g.: The client has agreed to our requests, so now it’s full speed ahead!
Practice: We've started a follow-up project, so now we’re working as fast as we can.
→Example answer: We've started a follow-up project, so now it’s full speed ahead!
Question: At what stage of a project are you busiest?
→Example answer: After the client has agreed to our strategy proposals, we have to get busy, so it’s full speed ahead!
4. (E) the ball's in (the client’s) court
E.g.: We’ve presented our plan and timeline, so now the ball’s in the client’s court.
Practice: Our team has done all of the necessary research, so now it’s the client’s turn to do something.
→Example answer: Our team has done all of the necessary research, so now the ball’s in the client’s court.
Question: When is it the client’s turn to make decisions for the project going forward?
→Example answer: We usually present our strategy to the client to get their approval. At that point, the ball's in their court.
5. (D) cut corners
E.g.: Our client doesn’t have a big budget. We may have to scale down the project or cut corners on existing work.
Practice: We're running out of time, so we’ll be forced to do things in the easiest and fastest way.
→Example answer: We're running out of time, so we’ll be forced to cut corners.
Question: During a project, do you ever have to do things cheaper and faster?
→Example answer: We have a reputation for professionalism, so we never cut corners.
A. Complete the anecdote
Read each section and choose an appropriate idiom from the list above.
- After doing some surveys, it turns out this hypothesis is a complete failure, so...
- The project manager was inexperienced, so no progress was being made at all. When the project manager was finally replaced with a more experienced person, the project quickly began to...
- For the last week, we've been preparing while we waited for approval from the client. The team leader just received the go-ahead, so now...
- It's not Daniel's fault the deal isn't finished. He made the last offer, so...
- In business, aggressively saving money by lowering the quality of your fundamentals is not always a good idea. Over time, it may actually cost more money. So, in other words, don't...
B. Discussion
Use idioms to discuss the following topics.
- Describe a time when you went above and beyond the requirements for a project.
- Do you ever feel frustrated because a project is not going according to plan?
- What are the major obstacles to progress during a project?
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Images:
Jim Bahn via Flickr
Kaleidico via Unsplash
Kelly Lacy via Pexels
Alan Murray-Rust via Creative Commons
Lucas Davies via Unsplash