In today’s Chillchat, Karen and Baiwei chatted about taking a leave, asking for sick leave, paid maternity leave, and other company benefits!

Chillchat (Learn Chinese and Chill)

请假 Asking For Leave (from the dreaded work...)

Elena, a data analyst on my business communication coaching roster, booked a session with a clear goal: secure a promotion to Senior Analyst. She possessed the technical skills, but her communication style lacked the persuasion needed to advocate for herself.

We started with the fundamentals.  
Step 1: 
Understanding the Audience. We analyzed the promotion criteria and researched the decision-makers. We discovered a focus on cost reduction and project efficiency.

Step 2: Framing the Value Proposition.  
Elena's technical skills were a given, but we needed to translate them into business impact.  We crafted a narrative highlighting how her data analysis led to a 15% reduction in marketing campaign overspend.

Step 3: Building Credibility.  
Facts and figures are powerful, but data presented in a vacuum loses impact.  We focused on data visualization, creating clear charts that showcased trends and connections.

Step 4: Delivery with Confidence.  
Technical expertise needs confident communication. We practiced her presentation, emphasizing vocal variety, strong eye contact, and body language that conveyed authority.

Step 5: The Anticipation Factor. 
We anticipated potential objections. What if they questioned her ability to manage a team?  We prepared responses that showcased her leadership potential through examples of mentoring junior colleagues.

The final coaching session was a mock interview. Elena, armed with her persuasive narrative and confident delivery, impressed. A week later, she excitedly reported landing the promotion.  Elena's success story is a testament to the power of combining technical expertise with effective communication.

The Global Professional Podcast

Want more MONEY? Use Persuasion -  Episode 97

¡Resolvamos la siguiente situacion problematica juntos!

Rincon de las Matematicas

Acertijo: La pelota de basketball

誕生日を　祝ってもらうのは嬉しいよね☺️
その逆で　祝ってあげるのも㊗️

でも一番感謝しなきゃいけない人は誰かな🤗

Japanese "Taka" it easy

誕生日は誰のため？🤰🏻💐

Today, in the “Serbian to go” podcast, you will hear ANOTHER 5 MISTAKES that Serbian native speakers often make. You can outshine them by learning the correct versions! Please listen to the end to hear all of them 😊
Срећно учење! / Srećno učenje!🤩
See you in class!👋


SERBIAN TO GO

5 GREŠAKA nativnih govornika srpskog – 5 MISTAKES of the Serbian native speakers (Part 2) (All levels)


You just got into bed after a long day, and you're exhausted. You plan to spend a few minutes on your phone — maybe scrolling Instagram or TikTok — and then sleep.

But when you try to sleep, it's not as easy as you thought it would be. You were so tired — what happened?

According to a new study, your phone may be the problem.

The study, done by researchers at New Zealand's University of Otago, involved 85 kids aged 11 to 14. They each spent a week wearing a body camera on their chest starting from three hours before they got into bed.

A second camera was also placed in their bedrooms to monitor their phone use once they were in bed. They also wore a device that tracked their sleep.

The researchers found that 99% of the participants used their phones in the two hours before bed. More than half used their phones while they were in bed, and about a third used their phones after trying to go to sleep.

The results showed that screen time in bed affected participants' sleep — it stopped them from going to sleep for about half an hour, and also reduced the amount of sleep they got.

The impact was larger when participants had a more interactive experience — such as playing a game — or if they used more than one screen. For every additional 10 minutes of this type of screen time, sleep time was reduced by the same amount.

Interestingly, phone use in the two hours before bed had little impact on sleep.

According to lead researcher Bradley Brosnan, the results suggest that, while current guidelines recommend no screen time in the hour or two before bed, keeping phones out of the bedroom might be enough for a better night's sleep.

Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

Keep Screens Out of Bed for Better Sleep

In this American English language podcast I talk about how people kept cool in the extreme summer heat at the Reggae in the Desert concert in Las Vegas. https://italki.com/teacher/1947582 Thanks for listening! Visit my website for more of my podcasts (Streetwisenglishdotcom)
Key words:
cool down 降温
Heat Stroke 中暑
Reggae Concert 雷鬼演唱会
Alcoholic Beverage 酒精饮料
Snow Cone 雪锥
Hit the Spot 刚好
Shade 阴凉
Electric fan 电扇



Streetwise English

SWE33 Keeping cool in the Las Vegas summer heat 怎么防晒降温

Today we're talking about the idioms "free rein" and "carte blanche" 

For instance, "the architect given carte blanche to design the store", or "you have free rein to hire anyone you want".