Business Communication in Action 実践ビジネス英語
Hello everybody. こんにちは。みなさん。
Hello and welcome to the show.
This is Heather Howard.
Let's take a look at conversation at work.
Juggling Work and Life (4)
McMillan praises Ueda's work and asks what specifically is bothering him.
Ueda say she's been feeling enervated which Grace warns him
can affect his productivity and professional reputation.
Nissen adds that stress can damage his health.
And McMillan mentions the danger of not being able to spend time
with family and friends.
Ueda asks for advice on achieving a better balance.
I speak for all of us when I say:
I'm expressing everyone's shared feelings.
It's also common to say, "I can't speak for everyone"
or" I can't speak for a particular person. But I think."
Such as: I can't speak for the whole office.
But I like our new boss.
He seems smart and hardworking.
Work performance:
Affect: This is one with spelling that native speakers get wrong all the time.
When it's a verb, it's "A" ... A-F-F-E-C-T.
And when it's the noun, it's "E" ... E-F-F-E-C-T.
For one thing: We use this in a lot of situations.
It means "this is one thing among others to do or consider."
Or, this is one reason for something.
For example, I think we should use this supplier.
They've got a good reputation for one thing.
Or, I've got a lot to do today. I have to finish this report, for one thing.
Feel fatigued and listless: "Fatigued" is "tired."
"Listless" is "having no energy, lacking motivation."
Like, you just wanna sit or lie somewhere, not do anything.
Such as: That was a listless presentation. Is Jenny feeling all right?
Or, sales were dropping in a listless market.
Inability to: Around the middle, Grace says,
"If you're not careful, the inability to be productive and organize
your thoughts can damage your professional reputation."
"Inability" is "being unable to do something."
For example, her inability to learn from her mistakes means
"she doesn't improve."
Or, his inability to compromise is very frustrating.
But we don't say "in-able to do something," we are unable to do it.
U-N-A-B-L-E.
Professional reputation: The image people have of us regarding our work.
How competent and dedicated a worker we are considered to be.
Imagine someone who lied about their educational history,
that would badly damage their professional reputation.
It could even destroy it.
Just as important, if not more so:
We use this pattern with a lot of adjectives.
Things like: Carl is just as skilled if not more so than Ted.
Or, Mary is just as efficient if not more so than Helen.
Now I could also say, "Carl is just as skilled as Ted, if not more so."
And I use "as" there because "just as skilled as Ted,"
Ted is closer to the "as skilled" section.
But when you put "if not more so" in the middle,
then it sounds more natural in conversation to say "than"
because it flows the "if not more so than Ted."
It just flows more smoothly.
Immune system: This is our body's mechanism for fighting off disease.
If we're immune to something, it doesn't affect us.
We're not influenced by it.
Things like: He's immune to criticism, never listens to anyone's opinion.
Or, no one is immune to anxiety. We all get nervous sometimes.
Immune to criticism
Immune to crisis
No company is immune to crisis.
危機と関係のない企業はない。どこの企業にも危機は起こりうる。
Susceptible to:
If we're susceptible to something, we can be influenced by it, affected by it.
He is very susceptible to flattery, for example.
He likes anybody who gives him compliments.
Or, keep those cookies away from me. I'm very susceptible to temptation.
Nurture:
Back in Japan: Up at the top, Ueda says, "I stay up too late
exchanging emails with people back in Japan."
He's using "back in" to refer to
"a previous place or time, somewhere we were before."
You could ask me,
"How often do you visit Japan back in the United States?"
Or, I could say, back in the 1960s,
no one had a personal computer or a cellphone.
I wasn't alive in the 1960s. But the world was there.
Human beings were there. That's the nuance there.
That's all for today.
See you next time. Bye, bye.