Reflect and Discuss

Roundtable Preparation

Roundtable Discussions are live, small-group (max 4 students) conversations centering on the topics raised in the TED talk. Guided by an American business trainer with more than 35 years of professional experience, the Roundtable Discussions are designed to help you build fluency and confidence in spontaneous conversation with other advanced-level English speakers from around the world.

Read more about Roundtable Discussions >>

Prepare for the Roundtable Discussion by reflecting on the exercises and topics below. Practice expressing yourself using vocabulary that was introduced in this lesson. You’ll get the best practice if you practice by speaking out loud.

• Start your roundtable preparation by reviewing the questions presented in the previous sections of this lesson. During the roundtable, we’ll touch on many of these issues. Practice expressing your own views and your personal and professional experiences.

• Then, read the situations below and imagine yourself as a manager or team leader in these situations.
  • Your coworker was preparing some information that you need to give a presentation tomorrow. You were expecting this information yesterday and you still haven’t received it.
  • Every day your coworker is a few minutes late in the morning and they leave the office a few minutes early in the evening. They say this is because of the trains.
  • Your coworker came to an important meeting with a client, dressed in sportswear. They then took a call on their cell phone during the meeting, keeping the client waiting for five minutes.

• Using the situations described above, prepare to give feedback to someone that you manage. Follow the formula and advice from the talk and make notes of keywords for your feedback.

1. Micro-yes. Let the brain know that feedback is coming.
   
2. Data point. Avoid blur words.
   
3. Impact statement. Be specific.
   
4. Question. Make sure you’re working together.
   

• How do you feel about using the formula to deliver your feedback?

• Do you think that the formula will make your feedback more brain-friendly? More effective?