Words to know

people are saying something, but nobody has confirmed it

learn news unofficially, from other people

make a problem seem much bigger than it is

Step 1 of 5

Listen first

No text yet. Listen for who, where and what goes wrong.

WeiOlivia

Practice · 3 min

Take Wei's part first, then Olivia's. Wei gets more nervous with every line; Olivia stays steady and slightly amused. Stress "Boxes, Olivia. Lots of boxes." word by word, and let "Here it comes" sound like he's bracing for bad news.

  1. WeiOlivia, have you been up to the fourth floor today?
  2. OliviaNo, why? Is the coffee machine broken again?
  3. WeiThere are boxes everywhere. Desks are empty. Someone's taking the plants.
  4. OliviaThat's strange. Nobody's said anything to us.
  5. WeiExactly. Rumor has it they're closing the whole Chicago office.
  6. OliviaWhere did you hear that?
  7. WeiThrough the grapevine. Someone in sales told someone in finance.
  8. OliviaWei, the grapevine also said the CEO was moving to Hawaii.
  9. WeiOkay, but this time there's evidence. Boxes, Olivia. Lots of boxes.
  10. OliviaBoxes could mean anything. Maybe they're getting new furniture.
  11. WeiThen why has my manager canceled our meeting twice this week?
  12. OliviaBecause she's always busy? Let's not blow this out of proportion.
  13. WeiI've already updated my résumé, just in case.
  14. OliviaHold on. There's an email from facilities. Subject line: "Big news."
  15. WeiHere it comes. Read it slowly.
  16. Olivia"Starting Monday, all teams move to the new tenth floor. More space, better views."
  17. WeiSo the boxes are for us, too.
  18. OliviaLooks like it. You might want to start packing your plants.
  19. WeiFine. But I'm keeping the new résumé. It looks great.

Say it today

Use it once in a real conversation before tomorrow. Out loud counts, even to yourself.