Could you drop the jargon, please?

Jargon can get in the way of communication sometimes! Listen to this dialogue to find out how and while you´re at it pay close attention to these words and expressions: HAVE AN EDGE OVER – SHRINK (noun) – FIRE UP THE TROOPS – WRAP UP

I – Click the link below to listen to the dialogue “Could you drop the jargon, please?” and fill in the blanks.

Roy: So, what about the two (1) _______________ you interviewed this morning? Are they any good?
Liza: Yeah, George and Ryan. They´re both qualified and experienced. George seems to be the typical (2) _______________, you know.
Roy: Alpha male? (laughing) (3) _______________ what you´re talking about. I´m not one of your (4) _______________ (5) _______________, so could you, please,drop the jargonand elaborate on that?
Liza: (laughing) Oh, sorry, what I meant by alpha male is that he´s sel-confident and unafraid to make mistakes. Alpha males are also natural leaders and often see the positive side of things.
Roy: Humm, so he´s (6) _______________ and optimistic, right? Would you say he´s also a bit arrogant?
Liza: No, I wouldn´t say that. I mean, some alpha males can be pretty arrogant sometimes, but I don´t think it´s George´s case.
Roy: Good! Seems to me that we need someone with this profile for the position, someone bold who can lead his team, you know, someone who can (7) _______________!
Liza: I agree. George definitely (8) _______________ over the other applicants interviewed (9) _______________. We still have to schedule an interview with one more applicant though.
Roy: Do we? Let´s do it (10) _______________then! The sooner we (11) ________the process the better!
Liza: Sure, Roy. I´ll take care of it (12) _______________when I get back to my office.
Roy: Thanks, Liza!

II – Now find words or expressions in the dialogue with the same meaning as:

Has an advantage: ____________________________________
Confident; fearless; courageous: ___________________________
A psychiatrist or psychologist: ____________________________
Motivate people: ________________________
Before anything else; right away: __________________________
Finish something: _________________________________
Candidates: ____________________________________
I have no idea: _____________________________________
As soon as possible: ___________________________________
A man who behaves in a confident way: _____________________
Being of the same group or occupation; someone involved in the same activity: __________
Until now: _______________

Key to Exercises

I – Listen to the dialogue “Could you drop the jargon, please?” and fill in the blanks.

applicants 2. alpha male 3. I don´t have a clue 4. fellow 5. shrinks 6. bold 7. fire up the troops 8. has an edge 9. so far 10. ASAP 11. wrap up 12. first thing

II – Now find words or expressions in the dialogue with the same meaning as:

has an edge 2. bold 3. shrink 4. fire up the troops 5. first thing 6. wrap up 7. applicants 8. I don´t have a clue 9. ASAP 10. alpha male 11. fellow 12. so far

Source: FALE TUDO EM INGLÊS AVANÇADO – Author: José Roberto A. Igreja / Disal Editora

José Roberto A. Igreja is the author and co-author of several ELT books, including:

LET´S TALK ABOUT IT! – The Ultimate ELT Conversation Book, now available on the Amazon stores of the following countries:

AUSTRALIA BRAZIL CANADA FRANCE GERMANY INDIA ITALY JAPAN MEXICO NETHERLANDS SPAIN UK US

If you live in Brazil the paperback is available at a discount price on UICLAP!
240 pages – 31 QR-CODES for the audio tracks (dialogues) “even the paperback comes with built-in technology”

A BRAND-NEW ELT BOOK!