3.1.4 COMMUNICATING UNDER PRESSURE

COMMUNICATING UNDER PRESSURE

1. Lead-in: Controlled chaos

Activity: “The worst deadline ever”

In pairs, you have 1 minute to think of a situation where:

    • time was running out
    • emotions were extreme

Student A tells the story in 30 seconds.

Student B listens and notes:

time expression used

emotion expressed

Prompts

“I was completely…”

“Not only was I…, but I was also…”

“No sooner had I…, than…”

2A. Time & schedules: Precision and pressure

2B. Discussion

  • Is playing for time always negative?
  • When might killing time be acceptable?

3A. Prepositions under pressure

3B. Mini Stories

In pairs, look at these time expressions from the previous exercise:

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  1. Take any three expressions from this list and use them to tell a short story about a project under pressure.
  2. Create a 30–60 second story.

Example: We’d been behind schedule for almost two weeks, … but we finished everything in the nick of time

4A. Focus on nuance : by or until

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4B. Practice

 

4C. during vs throughout

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4D. Practice

4E. Speaking practice

Complete these sentences with your own ideas:

I need to finish ___ by …

If we don’t decide ___ by …, there will be consequences.

Our latest project must be completed by …

Nothing will change ___ until …

I was completely focused ___ until … happened.

I feel a bit nervous during …

I tend to check my phone during …

There’s often a lot of noise during …

I find it hard to relax throughout …

5A. Emotions & reactions

Look at the following words and see if you can think of a situation where you felt any of these emotions.

  1. embarrassed
  2. exhausted
  3. shaken up
  4. overwhelmed
  5. disappointed
  6. furious

5B. How did I feel in these situations (use one of the adjectives in Ex. 5A):

  • I put my foot in it
  • I was dead on my feet
  • I lost it

5C. Discussion

What things can make you feel disappointed?

What do you do when you are exhausted?

At work, do you often feel overwhelmed?

Have you ever become absolutely furious?

6A. Language revision

  1. Not only … but also: Ex. Not only did we miss the deadline, but we also lost the client.
  2. No sooner…than… Ex. No sooner had I pressed “send” than I realised the mistake.
  3. As soon as Ex. As soon as the data came in, we updated the slides.

6B. Practice

6C. Practice.

Finish these sentences with your own ideas.

  1. At the weekend, not only did I ___, but I also ___.
  2. No sooner had I got in to bed than ___.
  3. As soon as I wake up, I ___.
  4. Not only was the situation ___, but it also ___.
  5. No sooner had we left the house did we realise ___.

7A. Presentation language + slides

Look at the following presentation script. It is a bit informal and repetitive. Change the script so it includes the following words:

highlight     emphasize     demonstrate     back up     sum up     let me draw your attention to…

7B. Activity 2: Presentation prep

  • Choose a topic (e.g. improving project timelines)
  • Prepare 3 slides
  • The presentation must include:
    • 5 presentation expressions
    • 2 references to slides
    • 1 strong justification

Presentation expressions

  • I’d like to introduce an idea that could significantly improve…
  • Our proposal aims to…
  • To give you some context…
  • Let me walk you through the main features…
  • This leads us to the next point…
  • What we must not overlook is…
  • It’s important to highlight that…
  • What makes this especially compelling is…
  • The data strongly suggests that…
  • This offers a clear advantage over…
  • What makes this especially compelling is…
  • The data strongly suggests that…
  • This offers a clear advantage over…

References to slides

  • As you can see on this slide…
  • This chart illustrates…
  • Let me draw your attention to…
  • If we look at the figures here…
  • This brings us to the next image…
  • This diagram breaks down the process into…
  • The bar graph compares…
  • The image on the right shows…
  • The layout highlights…

Justifying and supporting ideas

  • justify
  • back up
  • build on
  • demonstrate
  • point out
  • Example combinations:
  • The figures back up our proposal.
  • This evidence demonstrates a clear trend.
  • I’d like to build on the previous point.

Final task: Presentation

Each group delivers a 3–4 minute presentation.

To download the pdf for this lesson, click on the link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Y0nRUiy2IQfmepE8LatPd5QoSqjVtj0v/view?usp=sharing

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