Listen Up!

I. Think and Discuss

1. Read the unit title and look at the photo. A coach might say “Listen up” before speaking to tell her
athletes to listen carefully to important information. What other people might say “Listen up,” and when
and to whom might they say it?

2. In a relationship between a coach and athlete, parent and child, teacher and student, or manager and
employee, usually the senior person talks more than he or she listens. What are some advantages and
disadvantages of this?

The Business of Listening

BEFORE YOU LISTEN
A. COMMUNICATE Work with a partner. Discuss these questions.

1. Look at the photo. Journalists use their listening skills daily. What are some other jobs for
which listening skills are very important?
2. Studies show that listening is the communication skill people use most but are taught least.
Why do you think listening is rarely taught?
3. How would society improve if people received more training in how to listen effectively?

Think Critically
B. Evaluate Work in a small group. You are going to hear a radio interview with a
successful businessperson. Discuss these questions before you listen.

1. How important are each of these skills for businesspeople: speaking, writing, reading,
listening? Put the skills in order of importance. Support your point of view.
2. Who do businesspeople need to listen to? Is it important for businesspeople to listen to
some people or groups more than others?

Pre-teaching Vocabulary
C Read the definitions of words and phrases from the radio interview. Complete each sentence with
one of the bold words or phrases. Then listen to the sentences to check your answers.

a. mentor (n) an experienced person who coaches and advises less experienced people
b. state-of-the-art (adj) having the latest or most up-to-date features
c. recruitment (n) the process of finding and hiring new people to join an organization
d. guidelines (n) general rules or advice for doing something effectively
e. invaluable (adj) extremely useful and/or valuable
f. influential (adj) having a significant influence on something or somebody
g. conscious (adj) choosing to do something intentionally
h. appreciate (v) understand the value of something or somebody, or be thankful
i. rationale (n) the reason(s) for doing something or for making a decision about something
j. ulterior motive (n) a secret reason for doing or saying something

1. After seeing how it led to more sales, the manager could really _______ her team’s hard work.
2. At first, the __________ for the firm’s choice was unclear, but the reason soon became obvious.
3. Consumers often find the opinions of friends highly ________ when deciding what to purchase.
4. Despite knowing that sales might decline, the company made a _________ decision to raise prices.
5. In order to hire the best new employees, the firm significantly increased its budget for_______.
6. The company decided to assign junior employees an experienced ______ to give them advice.
7. The company’s computers were ______________; none of its competitors had such advanced
machines.
8. The company developed a set of written __________ to help new employees learn the job quickly.
9. The executive’s ability to speak three languages was an __________ skill when traveling on
business.
10. The manager suspected that the staff member had an _____________ for requesting extra time
off.
 D. COMMUNICATE Discuss these questions with a partner. Use a form of the words in
bold in your discussion.
1. Would you feel comfortable acting as a mentor to somebody else? Why, or why not?

2. Think of something you can do well. What guidelines do you follow when you do it?

3. What is the most invaluable piece of advice that anyone has ever given you?

4. Name one person who has been very influential in your life. In what ways did this person have an
effect on you?

5. Think of a time when you made a conscious decision to do something. What did you decide to do,
and why?

6. What is one thing you appreciate because you understand its value?

LISTENING ONE
LISTEN UP!
I. Listen for Main Ideas
Listen to the radio interview. Then discuss with a partner which three statements Sandra Davies
would completely agree with and check (✓) those answers.

1. __________ Both content-focused and people-focused listening have benefits.

2. __________ Even though listening seems easy, not everybody can do it well.
3. __________ Everyone should have a mentor when they start out in business.
4. __________ Listening carefully to others is a valuable skill that can lead to success.
5. __________ The only way to learn to listen well is to read books about listening.

II. Listen for Details

Listen to segment 2 of the radio interview and take notes. Then use your notes to indicate the
order (1-7) in which the events happened in these sample notes.

__________ Sandra Davies (SD) almost loses job due to poor listening
__________ SD asks to get coffee machine (CM), boss gives big bdgt
__________ CM arrives and SD makes coffee for boss
__________ SD not lose job b/c cmpny saves $$$ on rcrtmnt
__________ SD srprsd by size of bdgt but not confirm w/boss
__________ SD learns boss wanted copier not CM
__________ SD orders $$$ CM f/ Italy
III. Make Inferences Listen to segment 3, which includes three excerpts from the radio
interview. Check (✓) the conclusion(s) you can draw from each excerpt.

1a. __________ Sandra Davies believes that she benefited from the advice given by her mentor.
1b. __________ Davies think young people do not listen to advice they are given.

2a. __________ Davies was concerned that her boss might limit her responsibility.
2b. __________ Davies was surprised by the size of the budget she had to spend.

3a. __________ Davies thinks some listeners to the broadcast might want to check out Julian Treasure.
3b. __________ Davies feels that leaders who are not good at listening find it hard to influence others.

IV. After You Listen

Work in a small group. Discuss these questions.

1. In the radio interview, Sandra Davies implies that young people typically ignore advice they
are given. Do you agree that young people often ignore advice? If so, why? If you disagree,
support your view.

2. Davies also says that “Listening is something that everyone knows how to do because it’s a
natural skill, but that doesn’t mean everyone can do it well.” Do you agree that not everyone can
listen well? Why, or why not?

3. Davies also discusses Julian Treasure’s idea that “Great leaders, the people who are the most
influential, are usually really good at listening to others.” Do you agree? Why, or why not?

V. Pronunciation
Draw arrows to mark whether each list item in these excerpts from the radio interview should
have rising or falling intonation. Then listen and check your answers.

1. “ My poor listening skills had almost cost me my job, so I read books about listening, watched talks
about listening, asked people questions about listening.”

2. “ So the acronym RASA stands for receive, appreciate, summarize, and ask.”

3. “ This means that I want to hear facts, data, or evidence so that I can make an informed judgment
about what I’m hearing.”

4. “ This means that I listen for feelings, for things I have in common with the other person, and so on.”
 LISTENING TWO
TED TALKS
Want to help someone? Shut up and listen

I. Before You Watch

A COMMUNICATE Work in a small group. Read the title of the TED Talk and the information about the
speaker. Then discuss these questions.

1. From the title of his talk, what conclusions can you draw about Ernesto Sirolli’s beliefs about listening?

2. Do you think Sirolli is being serious or joking when he says that it is “very, very, very difficult” to shut
up and listen”? Why?

3. Are there any examples of sustainable commnunity projects in your area? If so, describe them; if not,
what projects do you think your community needs?

II. Communicate
Work in a small group. Discuss these questions. When you have finished, share your ideas with
the class.

1. Describe a situation when somebody helped you succeed by listening to you.

2. Have you ever found it hard to “shut up and listen” to another person? Explain.
III. Pre-teaching Vocabulary
C These definitions will help you learn words in the TED Talk. Add one of the bold words to each blank
to complete the sentences on the next slide. Use the correct form for the verbs. Then listen to the
sentences and check your answers.

a. enterprise (n) a project or company, especially a new one that requires hard work
b. facilitator (n) a person who helps somebody by making an action or process easier
c. capturing (v) taking something in order to use it or to hold the attention of somebody
d. initiate (v) cause an action or process to start or a project to be launched
e. dedicated (adj) describing people who put a great deal of time or energy into something
f. servant (n) a person who performs duties for others, such as household tasks
g. infrastructure (n) basic things like equipment and power needed for society or a project
h. activate (v) make something active or start working, or start something moving forward
i. make a living (v) earn enough money from work to pay for all the things one needs
j. confidentiality (n) the state of keeping information or ideas secret or private

1. Despite having no formal training as a _________, Emma was great at making things easy for clients.
And she was so __________ to helping them succeed that she made herself available to answer questions
on weekends and in the evenings.

2. Soon after Marek started an _________, the economy collapsed and he was worried about being able to
___________. With a lot of hard work, however, he turned it into a very successful and profitable
company.

3. To compete effectively with other firms, the company invested heavily in upgrading its ___________.
It also focused on _________ good ideas from staff and using them to improve its efficiency.

4. In his role as a domestic _______, Jack learned some private information about his employers. He took
pride in maintaining ____________, however, and never disclosed any of their secrets.

5. The government decided to _______ a policy to help citizens launch small businesses. It took six
months of hard work before government officials were able to ________ the new policy and start helping
the first entrepreneurs.

IV. Communicate
D. COMMUNICATE Discuss these questions with a partner. Use one or more forms of the bold
word when you answer each question.

1. In what ways do computers facilitate or lives, and in what ways, if any, do they make them harder?
2. What was the last thing that captured your attention? Why?
3. If you had the money and resources to initiate any project you liked, what would you do? Why?
4. Describe someone you know who is dedicated to a person, a cause, or their profession. How do they
show their dedication?
5. It has been said that to be a good leader, one must first be a good servant. Do you agree with this idea?
Why, or why not?
6. What are some interesting ways for people to make a living that you have heard of? Would you like to
do these jobs? Why, or why not?
7. For which jobs is confidentiality a requirement? Why is it so important for these jobs?

V. Watch for Main Ideas

1.11 Watch segments 1, 2, 3, and 4 from the edited TED Talk. Choose the letter of the phrase that
describes Sirolli’s main purpose in each segment. Two phrases won’t be used.

1. Segment 1 _____ a. to describe a situation that changed his way of thinking

2. Segment 2 _____ b. to explain how his method can improve local communities

3. Segment 3 _____ c. to give specific examples of clients whom his method has

helped

4. Segment 4 _____ d. to name the people who influenced him early in his career

e. to introduce a method for helping people that he developed

f. to summarize why so few people are successful entrepreneurs

VI. Watch For Details

1.12 Watch segment 3 again. Complete each statement by writing in the two missing details.

1. Ernesto Sirolli found his _________ after __________ in Esperance in Western Australia.

2. Sirolli helped ____________ sell tuna to Japan for ___________ instead of 60 cents per kilo.

3. In ________, Sirolli was working on __________, and the government asked for his advice.

4. Sirolli and his team have started ________________ in _______________ around the globe.

VII. Draw Conclusions

1.13 Watch segment 5, which includes three excerpts from the edited TED Talk. Does each answer summarize
something Sirolli states directly, or is it a conclusion you can draw? Write D for directly stated points or C for
conclusions.

1a. _______ Ernesto Sirolli has written more than one book.
1b. _______ The Italians thought money would motivate people.

2a. _______ Sirolli helped some people sell their products overseas at a much higher price.
2b. _______ The people Sirolli helped were spreading the word about what he could do.

3a. _______ Entrepreneurs are concerned about sharing information about their business ideas.
3b. _______ Entrepreneurs will not work with people unless they promise to keep their secret.

VIII. Expand Your Vocabulary

Watch the excerpts from the TED Talk. Guess the meaning of the phrases in the box.

shaped by in the nick of time blunder around

one-on-one tryout

1. What does shaped by mean?

 a. affected by
b. discovered by
c. described by

2. What does in the nick of time mean?

a. earlier than expected
b. just in time
c. slightly too late

3. What does blunder around mean?

a. abandon places
b. make mistakes
c. reduce opportunities
4. What does one-on-one mean?
a. alone
b. in a partnership
c. directly with another person

5. What does it mean to start or do something as a tryout?

a. to discuss its popularity
b. to study its flexibility
c. to test its potential