Instructions
Do the preparation exercise first. Then watch the video and do the exercises to check your understanding and practise the language.
Transcript
Ana: Hi! I'm Ana. Welcome to What to Say!
Do you know what to say when you want to challenge someone's ideas? Listen out for useful language for challenging someone's ideas. Then, we'll practise saying the new phrases – after this.
Vanya: Guys! I've got it! I've figured it out!
Emir: Figured what out?
Paul: That it's polite to knock on the door before coming in?
Vanya: This idea is just too good, Paul! It's too good!
Paul: Go on, then.
Vanya: So! Cats!
Emir: I'm a bit lost. What are you talking about?
Vanya: Videos. Cat videos! For our social media account. Hundreds of them. Everyone loves cats!
Paul: I hate cats.
Vanya: Everyone except you, Paul.
Paul: Have you considered the fact that we're a branding agency, not a pet shop?
Vanya: I take your point, Paul, but, come on, be imaginative! Cat videos are some of the most searched videos on the internet.
Emir: I see where you're coming from, Vanya, but I think I agree with Paul here. How is this relevant for a branding agency?
Vanya: Look. Social media, it's a numbers game. If we share dozens of cat videos each day, then we get more followers.
Emir: That's true. So how exactly do you see this working? I mean, who's going to find all these videos?
Vanya: Erm, OK, I'm very aware of the challenges here, but I'm convinced this is going to work.
Paul: I'm not so sure.
Emir: Well, I guess you have to look at it from both sides. Why don't we try it for a couple of weeks and see if there's any impact?
Vanya: Great! We are going to get so many more followers. I'm absolutely positive!
Paul: Good luck with that! I hope it doesn't turn out to be a cat-astrophe ... What? ... It's a good joke.
Ana: Hello again! Well, I thought that was a good joke! So, did you notice the useful phrases used for challenging someone's ideas? Listen to me and then repeat.
I'm a bit lost. What are you talking about?
Have you considered the fact that we're a branding agency, not a pet shop?
I take your point, but be imaginative.
I see where you're coming from.
I think I agree with Paul here.
How exactly do you see this working?
I'm very aware of the challenges here, but I'm convinced this will work.
You have to look at it from both sides.
Ana: Try and use some of these phrases the next time you want to challenge someone's ideas in English. Bye for now!
No, I haven't, because I don't work, I'm a student, but in the future I'd like to try something new and unusual for making happier boring working days.
No, I keep quiet most of the time.
No , never , I don't work.
In my previous job, I had many different ideas to implement to improve processes inside the company where at first I have to convince my boss and the Team about the innovative ideas, and all of them were very challenging with good results another was not possible to achieve because it was so ambitious to implement.
Once in my work, I even suggested that everyone change their roles and, that way, everyone would be able to do anything: from cleaning and organizing the space to carrying out the most important functions, said to be strategic. The problem is that the system immobilizes people, placing strict rules based on the salary people receive. This prevents them from being more creative and accepting new challenges. Needless to say, my idea, although I liked it, didn't work for more than a day.
In my previous work, I was thinking about our staff comfortable environment, so I suggest to my boss If we could have schedule break time for everyone just for 10 minutes or something like this. She said I'm agree with you but I'm afraid they didn't commitment the schedule and this will affect us badly for both sides children and staff.
I have over 3 years of experience in Marketing, which industry needs a lot of creation. My main role is related to building a company’s brand on social media, such as Instagram, Tiktok, Website, and especially Facebook. As you know, these platforms appear a lot of trends every day, so you need to think of ways to keep your brand’s position among hundreds of other brands
During my work, I have challenged myself by coming up with new ideas day by day. Maybe these ideas are not unusable ideas, but I think these are different from the usual ideas, which I have done before.
No. never.
No I have not but I have tried it with my cousins, it was about throwing fireworks.
Yes, I tried once to introduce at work the concept of Musical Friday. The main idea was to listen to music in the office every Friday, on a minimum level of noise, to improve the atmosphere and to put a positive vibe around. I was a little bit disappointed that my idea was not embrace very well by the others. Actually, I was the only one who did this, but I enjoyed it and I continued to listen to music on Fridays in my personal office.