WHAT IF... a Meeting was like a Conference Call?

If you work in business, there is a very good chance you've been in a conference call. And if you've been in a conference call, there is a very good chance you've experienced some inconveniences.


Of course, if you're an English User, then there's a good chance you've participated in conference calls in English... and with problems.



So for today's activity, we invite you to WATCH the following funny video, which shows us what it would be like if meetings had all the problems of conference calls. Enjoy!



After viewing, we invite you to try to answer the following QUESTIONS on your own or in a study group. PAY ATTENTION to the verb tense of the question and be sure to answer in the corresponding tense.

• Can you list the main problems these participants experienced? (you may check the script below for their names)
• Have you ever experienced these problems in a conference call?
• If so, which ones did you experience?
• Did you take any steps to avoid them?
• If so, which steps did you take?
• Which problems do you believe that a video conferencing system would solve over audio-only conference calling?
• What kind of system do you mainly use for conferences?

And finally, for further study, we provide you with a copy of the transcript to this video, cleverly created and performed by the American comedian duo Tripp & Tyler:

SCENE 1 (0:00)
Tripp: Tripp Crosby…
Automatic voice:…has joined the meeting.
(music)
Beth: Beth…
Automatic voice:…has joined the meeting.!
Beth: Hello?
Tripp: Tyler?
Beth: No, this is Beth from ICS.
Tripp: Oh, hey Beth. How are you…doing?
Beth: Oh, good. Yeah, I’m just…makin’ it…y’know.
(awkward silence)
Tyler: Tyler…
Automatic voice:…has joined the meeting
Tripp: Alright, uhh, this is Tripp. Who’s here?
Tyler: Tyler’s here.
Beth: Beth’s here.
Tripp: OK, the purpose of today’s meeting is to discuss the…
(beep)
John: Yeah, I’ll be able to do it in like 30 minutes. John.
Automatic voice:…has joined the meeting
Tripp: Hi John.
John: Hi.
Tripp: I was just trying to go over the purpose of today’s meeting, which is to discuss the
deliver…
(beep)
Tyler: Tyler…
Automatic voice:…has joined the meeting!
Tyler: Sorry guys, I got cut off. Is Paul here? I sent him an invite.
(knock at the door)
Beth: Put in your access code.
John: No, no, no, no. That’s your PIN number.
Tripp: It should be a 9-digit number.
Tyler: Try pressing the pound key.
Paul: Paul…
Automatic voice:…has joined the meeting

SCENE 2
Tripp: Any questions before we move on?
Beth: Yes. This is Beth. What’s our best plan of attack for the second quarter?

Simultaneously 
Tripp: The question actually…
John: I think what we should do is…

Simultaneously 
Tripp: Oh. Go ahead.
John: Go ahead.

John: Oh, I think what we should…
Tripp: Well…
John: …do

Simultaneously 
Tripp: It actually depends on how you look at it
John: …is really diversify because the really comp…

John: I…
Tripp: Go ahead.
John: Go ahead.
Beth: Well, given sales are at a… (Tyler and John talking simultaneously)
Tripp: Let me just say that…
Beth: OK.

SCENE 3
Tripp: That was a great graph John. Uh, Tyler?
Tyler: Well, my main ???cern with the ??jections from ??? ?ear was they’re just
insufficient, I mean they’re not even taking into account…
John: Did we uh, did we lose Tyler again?
Tyler: Hello?

SCENE 4
Tripp: John, are you guys taking distributions?
John: (speaks, but no sound)
Tyler: John?
John: Oh, my bad. I was on mute. Um, let me, let me start over again.

SCENE 5
Tripp: So, I’ve prepared a presentation. I’m sharing it with all of you. You should be able to
see it on your screen right now.
Beth: Got it.
Paul: I don’t see a link anywhere.
John: It says I need to download a plug-in.
Tripp: We are all using Macs, I’m assuming?
Everyone: Yep.
Paul: How can you…ummm….

SCENE 6
Tripp: Finances are looking great. Paul do you have any comments on staffing?
Paul: I was thinking about that because (dog barking loudly) we can get a few more
contractors (dog barking) types in (dog barking). Hold on, I’m sorry. Rex! Get down!
Beth: I don’t know… (espresso machine whirring)…type that up
Tripp: (with echo) To me, staffing is a huge…
Beth: What is that?
Tripp: Is that me?
John: (with echo) That’s not me, I don’t think! 


SCENE 7
Tripp: I just want to go over a couple of details as we move into (computer alert rings) our
next section. Um, we got three new departments coming on board…
Tyler: Breaking up a little bit, guys.
Tripp:…by the end of Q3…
Tyler: We’re at another dead spot. (Tripp continues talking) Sorry guys.

SCENE 8
Tripp: That’s it guys. Beth, you’ll send out a recap email that could have basically taken the
place of this whole meeting, correct?
Beth: Yep, always do.
Dave: Yeah, thanks for doing that Beth.
Tripp: Dave! You been here the whole time?
Dave: Yeah.
Tripp: Huh. Well thanks everyone once again. Oh, one more thi…

ENGLISH & MUSIC: 40 Years ON THE RUN

It's no secret that the music of The Beatles has been very influential in helping English Users learn the language. And it's a trend that has continued for decades all across the world.

In fact, it's hard to believe that 40 years ago Paul McCartney had already broken up with The Beatles and was enjoying success with his second band Wings.

Perhaps one of the most famous songs from Wings, was one titled "Band of the Run".

The song tells the lighthearted story of an imaginary band that was sent to prison, but manages to break out and escape

The music starts up slow and sad and ends up beat and happy, all with varying musical moments, characteristic of something written by a former Beatle. And of course, it has the signature voice of Sir Paul himself.

If you've never heard it before, here is your chance. It's also a chance to continuing improving your English with the music of this talented musician born in Liverpool seven decades ago.

So, English Users, we invite you to practice your English as you WATCH the following special 40th Anniversary LYRIC VIDEO of the Song "Band of the Run" with cool graphics that shows the WORDS of the song as it progresses!



When you finish, we invite you to follow up, by learning some language aspects of the lyrics.

Stuck inside these four walls,
Sent inside forever,
Never seeing no one
Nice again like you,
Mama you, mama you. 

• Omitting the SUBJECT: Notice they say "Stuck inside these four walls", not "I'm stuck inside these four walls".  Or "Never seeing no one", instead of "I'm never seeing no one". In a song or poem, it's perfectly acceptable to do that, because it's clear the writer is speaking about himself. This would not be acceptable in formal writing or in some cases of oral communication. So the sentence begins with the MAIN VERB, which can either be a past participle (stuck, sent) or a present participle (seeing)

If I ever get out of here,
Thought of giving it all away
To a registered charity.
All I need is a pint a day
If I ever get outta here
If we ever get outta of here

• Omitting the SUBJECT: Once again in"Thought of giving it all away", instead of "I've thought of giving it all away". 
• Pint: This is British slang for beer because it is standard measure for how beer is served in the U.K. So basically, Paul is telling us -when he's still in jail- that he will give all his stuff away to a charity after he gets out of jail. All he needs to survive is one beer a day.
• Get outta here: Paul McCartney knows that formally, it should say "out of here", but in songwriting and poetry, it's perfectly acceptable to spell certain words more as they sound than as they are spelled.

Well, the rain exploded with a mighty crash
As we fell into the sun,
And the first one said to the second one there
I hope you're having fun. 

• "Prison Break" Metaphor: It's interesting that in the song they never explain that they escape from prison literally. But clearly "Well, the rain exploded with a mighty crash as well fell into the sun" is a metaphor for the band breaking out of jail and seeing sunlight for the first time in ages. 
• First one, second one? Some Beatle experts say this part makes reference to The Beatles breaking up and the first one is John Lennon, while the second one is Paul McCartney. And while that may be true, it's not obvious and is therefore irrelevant to the ongoing story. For most listeners, the first one and the second one are two of the guys that just got out of jail and presumably are enjoying the experience. Unless of course, being stuck in The Beatles started to feel like... being stuck in jail. Experts are free to comment!

Band on the run, band on the run.
And the jailer man and sailor Sam
Were searching every one
For the band on the run,
Band on the run
Band on the run,
Band on the run. 

• Jailer Man: That's a prison guard
• Sailor Sam: a character from the classic British kids comic Rupert Bear, who was mostly likely included here because it rhymes.
• It's clear both have been ordered to search for the ... Band on the run!

Well, the undertaker drew a heavy sigh
Seeing no one else had come,
And a bell was ringing in the village square
For the rabbits on the run.

• Undertaker: That's a person whose job it is to deal with burying the dead and arranging the funeral.
• draw a sigh: to take in and let out a long, loud breath in a way that shows you are bored, disappointed or relieved.
• Clearly, Mr. Undertaker was disappointed because he was waiting for the Band on the Run to be caught and executed. But just like rabbits, the renegade musicians ran fast and were able to escape their date with justice.

Band on the run,
Band on the run.
And the jailer man and sailor Sam
Were searching every one
For the band on the run,
Band on the run

• Jailer Man and Sailor man are still searching ...

Yeah the band on the run,
Band on the run
Band on the run
Band on the run

Well, the night was falling as the desert world
Began to settle down.
In the town they're searching for us everywhere
But we never will be found.

• Happy Ending: The day is ending, the story is ending and the good guys have escaped.

Band on the run,
Band on the run.
And the county judge who held a grudge
Will search for evermore
For the band on the run,
Band on the run
Band on the run
Band on the run

• Hold a grudge: is when you cannot forgive someone for something they have done to you
• Epilogue: So for the county judge, the Band on the Run's escape is a personal matter. He will search for them until the end of time.

Writing in Style

If you're an English User that has to write a lot in English, then you might believe that you need to know all or most of the rules about writing.

In some cases, there are people who really do learn those rules, but don't worry if you are not one of them.

Why not? Because there are style guides.

What is a style guide?




A style guide is a document that is created by expert writers, editors, managers, or producers to determine how they expect a writer to deal with specific writing issues. Among these we can name the following:

• grammar issues
  
• spelling issues
  
• formatting issues
  
• general writing recommendations
  

A grammar issue could be related to punctuation, use of contractions or even if a certain text should be written in past or present tense. Spelling issues often revolve around whether to use the American or British spelling for words.We recommend the one that is most common for your readers, organization or field.

There might also be formatting issues related to what font to use for a specific section of the document, report of blog. (Such as this one) And of course, there are always writing considerations regarding the use of jargon or words that are only used by people in a common field. (doctors, accountants, lawyers, etc)

In business, there are style guides for all types of writing, including emails, reports and business plans. There are also endless guides for academic writers for research papers and special academic documents. And naturally, there are style guides for periodical journal writers such as journalists, columnists and bloggers.

If you are a business or non-business writer of English as a second language for your organization or for other purposes, it is probably a good idea to develop a manual of style. In other words, you should determine what common elements appear in the writing that need to have specific rules in order to keep the writing consistent and professional to the reader.

• Spelling
• Format
• Line Spacing
• Paragraph Style
• Editorial Style (formal, technical, fun, young audience, etc)
• Text Style
• Use of images
• Referencing the work of others

Perhaps one of the best known style guides in the academic world is the Chicago Manual of Style. It is considered by most writers and editors to be among the most complete. And its style recommendations are useful to non-academic writers as well.

Below is a short video describing what the Chicago Manual of Style is about.




However, there are many more options online that are available to writers. Here is a list of some of them:



American Style Guides

• Garbl's Editorial Style Manual
  Developed by editor and activist Gary B. Larson, this concise guide offers "writing and editing advice about abbreviations, addresses, capitalization, English grammar, numbers, organization terminology, plurals, possessives, punctuation, spelling, word usage, and the World Wide Web."


• National Geographic Style Manual
  Online since 1995 and frequently updated by a team of editors, this is an alphabetically arranged guide to "preferred National Geographic Society style and usage."


• The Tameri Guide for Writers: Generalized Stylebook
  Maintained by Susan D. Schnelbach and Christopher Scott Wyatt, the Tameri Stylebook is "based on the Associated Press Stylebook, which is the primary style guide for reporters and editors at daily newspapers and many periodicals."


• Wikipedia: Manual of Style
  This style guide for all Wikipedia articles is intended to help editors "write articles with consistent, clear, and precise language, layout, and formatting."

 
British Style Guides Online

• The BBC News Styleguide (pdf)
  Written by John Allen, a BBC reporter and editor for the past 40 years, this popular manual "is not a 'do and don't' list but a guide that invites you to explore some of the complexities of modern English usage."


• Economist.com Style Guide
  John Grimond's online guide is based on the style book followed by journalists at The Economist magazine. The 10th revised edition of the hardback version of the guide was published in 2012.


• The Guardian, Observer and guardian.co.uk Style Guide
  Edited by David Marsh and Amelia Hodsdon, this is the online version of Guardian Style. The third edition of this witty handbook was published in December 2010.


• Telegraph Style Book
  Augmented by monthly "style notes" from associate editor Simon Heffer, this is the "official guide to house style" for The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph, and Telegraph.co.uk.