Words to know

have none left

a small mistake in typing or printing

give something to each person in a group

Step 1 of 5

Listen first

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

MiaWei

Practice · 3 min

Shadow Wei first. He turns a disaster into a to-do list, and his tone never rises. Keep "Okay" calm and "Exactly" pleased. Then take Mia's part. She starts in a panic and ends relieved; let "That's actually a good excuse to follow up" be the moment her voice relaxes.

  1. MiaWei, I have a problem. Look at my new business cards.
  2. WeiThey look great. Nice paper. What's wrong?
  3. MiaRead the email address.
  4. WeiOh. There's an extra letter in it. Anyone who writes to you will get an error.
  5. MiaFive hundred cards, and every one has a typo. I've already handed out twenty.
  6. WeiOkay. Have any of the people you met today written to you yet?
  7. MiaI don't know. That's the problem. If they tried, it bounced.
  8. WeiDo you remember who you gave them to?
  9. MiaSome of them. I have their cards too. Maybe fifteen people.
  10. WeiThen email those fifteen tonight. Say it was nice to meet them, and give them the right address.
  11. MiaThat's actually a good excuse to follow up.
  12. WeiExactly. The typo has become a reason to write to them.
  13. MiaAnd tomorrow? I've got no cards I can use.
  14. WeiWrite the correct address on the back with a pen. People remember cards with handwriting on them.
  15. MiaReally?
  16. WeiIt looks personal. Or send them your contact from your phone while you're talking.
  17. MiaI'll do both. And the printer is going to hear from me.
  18. WeiOrder new ones from a shop here in Singapore today. Some print overnight.
  19. MiaThanks, Wei. I thought the whole conference was ruined.
  20. WeiIt's a typo, not a disaster. Everyone here has made one.

Say it today

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