Learn how to apologize to a client
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| INTRODUCTION |
| John: Hi everyone, and welcome back to RussianPod101.com. This is Business Russian for Beginners Season 1 Lesson 18 - Apologies in a Business Setting John Here. |
| Karina: Привет, I'm Karina. |
| John: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to apologize to a client. The conversation takes place on the phone. |
| Karina: It's between Elena and Linda. |
| John: The speakers are acquaintances, therefore, they will speak formal Russian. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Елена: Алло? |
| Линда: Елена, это Линда Бейкер из ABC. К сожалению, я опоздаю, потому что застряла в пробке. |
| Линда: Простите. Надеюсь, это не создаст проблем. |
| Елена: Пожалуйста, не переживайте. У меня сегодня больше нет других встреч, я подожду Вас. |
| Линда: Спасибо, постараюсь быть как можно раньше. |
| John: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Елена: Алло? |
| Линда: Елена, это Линда Бейкер из ABC. К сожалению, я опоздаю, потому что застряла в пробке. |
| Линда: Простите. Надеюсь, это не создаст проблем. |
| Елена: Пожалуйста, не переживайте. У меня сегодня больше нет других встреч, я подожду Вас. |
| Линда: Спасибо, постараюсь быть как можно раньше. |
| John: Listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| Elena: Hello? |
| Linda: Elena, this is Linda Baker from ABC. Unfortunately I will arrive late, because I'm stuck in traffic. |
| Linda: I'm sorry. I hope this doesn't cause problems. |
| Elena: Please don't worry. Today I don't have any other appointments, I'll wait for you. |
| Linda: Thank you, I'll try to be as quick as possible. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| John: I hate traffic. |
| Karina: Me too. It can cause so many problems and delays. |
| John: Yeah, it can be really annoying when you have an important appointment like Linda does. |
| Karina: Yes, but sometimes it’s unavoidable. |
| John: How are delays due to traffic treated in Russian companies? |
| Karina: These types are delays, but if it happens too often or if the delays are too long you might be fired. It differs from company to company. |
| John: Are delays not tolerated in Russian businesses then? |
| Karina: Not at all. Although, there’s a saying: ачальство не опаздывает, начальство - задерживается |
| John: What does that mean? |
| Karina: “Bosses are never late; they are slowed down.” |
| John: Ah, different rules for bosses? |
| Karina: It’s sometimes a show of power to be a little late for a meeting. |
| John: Be late because you can be late! Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| John: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is... |
| Karina: алло [natural native speed] |
| John: hello (only for telephone calls) |
| Karina: алло[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Karina: алло [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Karina: опаздывать [natural native speed] |
| John: to be late, to be behind schedule |
| Karina: опаздывать[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Karina: опаздывать [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Karina: застрять [natural native speed] |
| John: to get stuck |
| Karina: застрять[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Karina: застрять [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Karina: пробка [natural native speed] |
| John: traffic jam |
| Karina: пробка[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Karina: пробка [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Karina: создать [natural native speed] |
| John: to create |
| Karina: создать[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Karina: создать [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Karina: переживать [natural native speed] |
| John: to worry |
| Karina: переживать[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Karina: переживать [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Karina: другой [natural native speed] |
| John: other, another |
| Karina: другой[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Karina: другой [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Karina: постараться [natural native speed] |
| John: to try |
| Karina: постараться[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Karina: постараться [natural native speed] |
| John: And lastly... |
| Karina: как можно [natural native speed] |
| John: as ... as possible |
| Karina: как можно[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Karina: как можно [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| John: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is... |
| Karina: застрять |
| John: ...meaning "to get stuck." What can you tell us about this word? |
| Karina: This has two meanings. |
| John: The first is to be stuck in something physically, such as stuck in mud. |
| Karina: The second is to lose time, such as stuck in a traffic jam. You often see this usage in the phrase застрять в дыре |
| John: What does that mean? |
| Karina: It has a negative meaning; it means to waste time in a bad place. |
| John: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Karina: Sure. For example, you can say, Он застрял в этой дыре надолго. |
| John: ...which means "He is stuck in this place for a long time." |
| John: Okay, what's the next phrase? |
| Karina: Пожалуйста, не переживайте. |
| John: meaning "Please don't worry." What can you tell us about this phrase? |
| Karina: First is Пожалуйста, which means “please.” Then не, meaning “not,” and finally переживайте, “worry” in the imperative form. |
| John: This one translates pretty literally. |
| Karina: Yes, it does. You can also say не принимайте близко к сердцу. |
| John: That means the same thing? |
| Karina: Basically, yes. It translates as “don't take it close to your heart.” |
| John: Can you give us an example using this phrase? |
| Karina: Sure. For example, you can say, Пожалуйста, не переживайте из-за случившегося. |
| John: ...which means "Please, don’t worry about what has happened." |
| John: Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| John: In this lesson, you'll learn how to apologize to a client. In the conversation, Linda apologized to her client because she was running late due to traffic. |
| Karina: Yes. She said К сожалению, я опоздаю, потому что застряла в пробке. |
| John: “Unfortunately I will arrive late, because I'm stuck in the traffic.” Can you break this sentence down for us? |
| Karina: First is the interjection к сожалению, meaning “unfortunately.” |
| John: That’s followed by a personal pronoun. |
| Karina: я. Then опоздаю, a verb in future tense that means “will be late.” |
| John: So that’s the first half of the sentence that explains Linda will be late, and also has a little apology in the form of “unfortunately.” Next, we should give a reason. |
| Karina: Yes. We do that with the conjunction потому что, meaning “because.” Next we have, застряла в пробке |
| John: “I got stuck in a traffic jam.” |
| Karina: Another example sentence is Извините, я задержусь, потому что мы не успели обсудить все вопросы на совещании. |
| John: “Sorry, I’ll be late, because we didn’t have enough time to discuss all the questions in the meeting.” Again, first comes “sorry I’ll be late,” followed by “because,” and finally the reason. |
| Karina: Another sentence Linda used in the conversation was Простите. Надеюсь, это не создаст проблем. |
| John: “I'm sorry. I hope this doesn't cause problems.” Can you break down this sentence a little for us too? |
| Karina: Sure. After “I’m sorry” is Надеюсь |
| John: meaning “hope.” |
| Karina: Then это |
| John: meaning “this,” |
| Karina: не |
| John: meaning “not,” and finally... |
| Karina: создаст проблем. |
| John: “Will cause problems.” |
| Karina: You can also say Мы надеемся, это не проблема. |
| John: “We hope it’s not a problem.” After explaining the problem and that we’ll be late, we should reassure the client. |
| Karina: Yes, they might be worried so we should ensure them that we’re doing our best with something like постараюсь быть как можно раньше. |
| John: “I'll try to be as quick as possible.” |
| Karina: First is постараюсь |
| John: “will try,” then |
| Karina: быть |
| John: “to be” and finally… |
| Karina: как можно раньше |
| John: ...meaning “as soon as possible.” What else could you say? |
| Karina: Я постараюсь быть вовремя. |
| John: “I’ll try to be on time.” |
| Karina: Or, Мы постараемся решить эту проблему как можно скорее. |
| John: “We’ll try to solve this problem as soon as possible.” |
Outro |
| John: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Karina: Пока! |
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