Learn about how to ask for help in a difficult situation
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Becky: Asking for Help in a Difficult American Business Situation. Becky here. |
| John: Hi, I'm John. |
| Becky: In this lesson, you'll learn how to ask for help in a difficult situation.The conversation takes place at an office. |
| John: It's between Thomas Gray and Linda. |
| Becky: The speakers are co-workers, therefore, they will speak informal English. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Thomas Gray: I'm sorry to bother you, but I need your help with something. |
| Linda: Sure, what is it? |
| Thomas Gray: The printer is stuck. Do you know how it works? |
| Linda: Let me see... It seems that you just need to add new paper. |
| Thomas Gray: Oh! That was easy! Sorry for bothering you! I can handle that. |
| Linda: No problem, I'm glad to help. |
| Becky: Listen to the conversation one more time, slowly. |
| Thomas Gray: I'm sorry to bother you, but I need your help with something. |
| Linda: Sure, what is it? |
| Thomas Gray: The printer is stuck. Do you know how it works? |
| Linda: Let me see... It seems that you just need to add new paper. |
| Thomas Gray: Oh! That was easy! Sorry for bothering you! I can handle that. |
| Linda: No problem, I'm glad to help. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Becky: I think that this is a situation that anyone who has ever worked in an office can relate to. |
| John: Yes, at some point, the printer is going to jam. |
| Becky: And it’s usually when you don’t have any time and need to print something urgently. |
| John: Right. If you don’t know how to fix the printer, then you need to ask a colleague for help. |
| Becky: How do American businesses view employees that ask a lot of questions? |
| John: I think that’s okay, but in general, there are a few things you should consider before asking a co-worker for help. The first is how busy they are. |
| Becky: Right, if your co-worker has a big project or a deadline of their own to meet, then you should think twice. |
| John: If it’s a long task that you need to do, then consider asking multiple people, so that no one person has to devote a lot of time to it. It's also best to be honest at the start and tell your co-worker how long you expect it to take. |
| Becky: Your co-worker may be able to help you with a task that will take 10 minutes, but not one that will take three hours. |
| John: That’s true! |
| Becky: Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Becky: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is... |
| John: sorry [natural native speed] |
| Becky: word for apology |
| John: sorry [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: sorry [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next, we have... |
| John: to bother [natural native speed] |
| Becky: to annoy, to interrupt |
| John: to bother [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: to bother [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next, there’s... |
| John: printer [natural native speed] |
| Becky: a device that transfers digital images or text onto paper using ink |
| John: printer [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: printer [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next up is... |
| John: stuck [natural native speed] |
| Becky: unable to move |
| John: stuck [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: stuck [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next, we have.. |
| John: to add [natural native speed] |
| Becky: to increase |
| John: to add [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: to add [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next, there’s... |
| John: paper [natural native speed] |
| Becky: thin material processed from trees and usually employed as support for writing or printing |
| John: paper [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: paper [natural native speed] |
| Becky: And lastly... |
| John: to handle [natural native speed] |
| Becky: to deal with |
| John: to handle [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: to handle [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Becky: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is... |
| John: printer |
| Becky: "Printer" is a noun. It’s a machine that prints documents and images onto paper. John, Can you give us an example using this word? |
| John: Sure. For example, you can say “Can you pick up the documents from the printer?” |
| Becky: There is also the verb "to print." |
| John: Printers are also commonly known as "Xerox machines," after the brand Xerox. |
| Becky: Okay, what's the next word? |
| John: stuck |
| Becky: This is an adjective that means that something is being prevented from moving. |
| John: For example you can say “I can't open the door. It seems to be stuck.” |
| Becky: As well as saying that paper is "stuck" in a printer, we can also say it is "jammed." |
| John: We can use "jam" for other blockages, such as a “traffic jam.” |
| Becky: Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Becky: In this lesson, you'll learn how to ask for help in a difficult situation. Let’s see first how to politely get someone’s attention. |
| John: Sometimes getting someone’s attention may be difficult if they are busy or are having a conversation with someone else. |
| Becky: In the event of an urgent situation, such as a fire or injury, then you don’t need to worry about being polite and can just quickly shout out a warning or request help. For example if you see a fire, you can just shout “Fire!” |
| John: If someone is ill or injured and needs the hospital, be sure to shout “Call an ambulance!” |
| Becky: Listeners, you can find more emergency phrases in the lesson notes, be sure to check them out. What if it’s not an urgent situation? |
| John: In that case, you just need to be polite. First, you should apologize by saying something like “Excuse me, but…” or “I’m sorry to interrupt, but…” |
| Becky: Be sure to follow the apology phrase with “but,” and explain briefly why you are interrupting. |
| John: You don’t need to go into details, you can just say “I need to talk to you.” or “There’s a problem.” |
| Becky: How does it sound all together? |
| John: “Excuse me, but I need to talk you” or “I’m sorry, but there’s a problem.” |
| Becky: Okay, let’s see now how to actually ask for help. |
| John: It’s simple. You can say “Can you help me with this” and the noun of the thing that is troubling you, for example “Can you help me with this report?” |
| Becky: The first word of the formula is “can,” so you’re asking your co-worker if they are able to help and not just telling them to help |
| John: You can make this more polite by using “could” instead of “can.” “Could you help me with this report?” |
| Becky: If you want to use a verb after “help me with,” be sure to put it in its -ing form. Let’s give an example. |
| John: “Can you help me with preparing this presentation?” |
| Becky: You can also drop “with” |
| John: In that case you don’t need the -ing form, it sounds like ”Can you help me prepare this presentation?” |
| Becky: Let’s wrap up with another example. |
| John: Sure, you can say either “Can you help me with moving this desk?” or ”Can you help me move this desk?” |
Outro |
| Becky: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| John: See you! |
3 Comments
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Hi there @Asking,
Thanks for taking the time to write to us! 😄
Please feel free to shoot through any questions you have throughout your studies.
Sincerely,
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
"I'm sorry to bother you, but could you help me?"
"Can you pick up the documents from the printer?"
"Get out of the way!"
"Watch out!"
1. "Excuse me, but..."
2. "I'm sorry, but..."
3. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but..."
1. "Excuse me, but I need to talk you."
2. "I'm sorry, but there's a problem."
3. "I'm sorry for interrupting, but something has come up."
4. "Excuse me, I need your help with something."
"Can you help me with this report?"
2. "Could you help me with this report?"
3. "I need some help. Can you help me write this report?"