PODCAST
Listening Makes You Smarter, Faster, Better
Investing in listening pays off
Before listening
1a Finish the following sentence:
When people don't seem to listen to me while I am talking to them, ...
I feel...
I experience...
I want to...
1b How do you understand that people listen to you? Write as many ideas as possible.
e.g., They look at me. They ask clarifying questions.
1c Why is engaged listening important? Why do we need to listen attentively to other people? Give at least three reasons.
e.g., to learn more information
2a How many of these words do you know?
accolades
incentives
intention
intimidate
rapport
take in
touch on
upfront
utter
yield
Check yourself here.
2b Complete the sentences with the words from 2a.
A good speaker should...
...ask questions that will ______ good answers;
...______ complete sentences with good articulation;
...give facts, details, metaphors which are easy to ______;
...never ______ the audience with long dull presentations;
...always win ______ in the form applause;
...be ______ with the audience and open for questions;
...develop ______ with the listeners to communicate with trust and sympathy;
...reward the audience with ______ such as free handouts or bright slides;
...______ the most requested and relevant topics;
...have a clear ______ of what to speak about.
Check your answers here.
2c Rate the five most important qualities from 2b on 1 to 5 scale (1 = the most important) and write them down.
When people don't seem to listen to me while I am talking to them, ...
I feel...
I experience...
I want to...
1b How do you understand that people listen to you? Write as many ideas as possible.
e.g., They look at me. They ask clarifying questions.
1c Why is engaged listening important? Why do we need to listen attentively to other people? Give at least three reasons.
e.g., to learn more information
2a How many of these words do you know?
accolades
incentives
intention
intimidate
rapport
take in
touch on
upfront
utter
yield
Check yourself here.
2b Complete the sentences with the words from 2a.
A good speaker should...
...ask questions that will ______ good answers;
...______ complete sentences with good articulation;
...give facts, details, metaphors which are easy to ______;
...never ______ the audience with long dull presentations;
...always win ______ in the form applause;
...be ______ with the audience and open for questions;
...develop ______ with the listeners to communicate with trust and sympathy;
...reward the audience with ______ such as free handouts or bright slides;
...______ the most requested and relevant topics;
...have a clear ______ of what to speak about.
Check your answers here.
2c Rate the five most important qualities from 2b on 1 to 5 scale (1 = the most important) and write them down.
First listening
Listen to the podcast here
Google Podcasts
Apple Podcasts
1. Set an ______________ to listen well.
2. Replay and ______________ on what you've heard.
3. Ask ______________ questions.
4. ______________ between the lines.
5. Resist the urge to ______________ on the spot
Interactive version is available here.
3b What was your first impression of this podcast? Did you like it? Why (not)? Was it easy or difficult to listen?
3c Which of the recommendations do you find the most useful for you? How could they make you a better listener?
Google Podcasts
Apple Podcasts
1. Set an ______________ to listen well.
2. Replay and ______________ on what you've heard.
3. Ask ______________ questions.
4. ______________ between the lines.
5. Resist the urge to ______________ on the spot
Interactive version is available here.
3b What was your first impression of this podcast? Did you like it? Why (not)? Was it easy or difficult to listen?
3c Which of the recommendations do you find the most useful for you? How could they make you a better listener?
Post-listening
4a Match the speaker's recommendations 1—5 with the examples a—e she gives to illustrate each rule.
Rule 1: _________
Rule 2: _________
Rule 3: _________
Rule 4: _________
Rule 5: _________
a People formulate what they are going to say while listening.
b Team members hesitated to communicate, causing difficulties in cooperation.
c A CEO didn't think over his plan of organizational changes.
d Good students realize what they want to take in from a listening experience.
e A barista misunderstood the order and confused drinks.
4b Do these examples help you understand the speaker's points better? Which example is the most vivid? Can you illustrate each rule with your own examples?
Rule 1: _________
Rule 2: _________
Rule 3: _________
Rule 4: _________
Rule 5: _________
a People formulate what they are going to say while listening.
b Team members hesitated to communicate, causing difficulties in cooperation.
c A CEO didn't think over his plan of organizational changes.
d Good students realize what they want to take in from a listening experience.
e A barista misunderstood the order and confused drinks.
4b Do these examples help you understand the speaker's points better? Which example is the most vivid? Can you illustrate each rule with your own examples?
GRAMMAR
Third conditional
Do the quiz and check yourself
| Start quiz |
How much simpler my morning would have been if the server had just repeated my order back to me.
Yes!
Are you sure?
Yes!
Are you sure?
| Next |
| Check |
| Show result |
How much simpler my morning would have been if the server had just repeated my order back to me.
Not sure.
Yeah.
Yep.
Not sure.
| Next |
| Check |
| Show result |
How much simpler my morning ________ if the server had just repeated my order back to me.
Nope. It's for the second conditional
Yeah. Exactly!
No. It's for the if-clause
No. We don't normally use present tenses in the second or third conditionals
| Next |
| Check |
| Show result |
How much simpler my morning would have been if the server had just repeated my order back to me. — Instead of would have we can also use...
Yes.
Yes.
Nope. Can is in the present form
Nope. Will is in the present form
| Next |
| Check |
| Show result |
How much simpler my morning would have been if the server... — In the if-clause, we use the...
No.
Nope.
Yeah!
| Next |
| Check |
| Show result |
Good
Move on to the next exercise.
| Restart |
Well done
Move on to the next exercise.
| Restart |
Grammar & Vocabulary
5 Complete the sentences using third conditionals:
How much simpler this podcast would have been if...
How much more enjoyable this podcast would have been if...
If I had known the rules of successful listeners before, I...
6 Listen to the podcast one more time and complete the sentences to summarise the episode:
It comes as no surprise to me that...
This podcast posed questions like...
After listening to it, you may want to take in (the most important facts such as)...
The speaker touched on topics...
At the end of the episode, the speaker asked to reflect on...
7a Complete the idioms with the following words:
cracks | cred | gate | scratch | spot
1 to slip through the ...
2 out of the...
3 to start from...
4 on the...
5 street...
7b Match the idioms from 7a with their meanings a—e:
a. be overlooked
b. begin from the beginning
c. immediately
d. respect among fashionable people
e. without any delay
8 Give your own examples of...
2 types of social media posts that yield the best response from your followers.
2 reasons why listening tends to slip through the cracks of business communication.
3 things that you can't do right out of the gate.
3 common things that help people earn some street cred.
Write your answers in the notebook using the phrases in bold.
How much simpler this podcast would have been if...
How much more enjoyable this podcast would have been if...
If I had known the rules of successful listeners before, I...
6 Listen to the podcast one more time and complete the sentences to summarise the episode:
It comes as no surprise to me that...
This podcast posed questions like...
After listening to it, you may want to take in (the most important facts such as)...
The speaker touched on topics...
At the end of the episode, the speaker asked to reflect on...
7a Complete the idioms with the following words:
cracks | cred | gate | scratch | spot
1 to slip through the ...
2 out of the...
3 to start from...
4 on the...
5 street...
7b Match the idioms from 7a with their meanings a—e:
a. be overlooked
b. begin from the beginning
c. immediately
d. respect among fashionable people
e. without any delay
8 Give your own examples of...
2 types of social media posts that yield the best response from your followers.
2 reasons why listening tends to slip through the cracks of business communication.
3 things that you can't do right out of the gate.
3 common things that help people earn some street cred.
Write your answers in the notebook using the phrases in bold.
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