Advanced English Conversations (2) - Robert Allans, Matt Edie, A. Mustafaoglu 2020

Set 28 - Communication is the name of the game

Emma: Within the first weeks, the show has already become a significant source of revenue. That's because our hearts were in the right place.

Jim: What about VIP tickets? Lots of bands generate significant revenue streams from meet-and-greets.

Emma: Well; VIP sales can be a double-edged sword. If you buy a ticket to our show I will try to put on the best show I possibly can. But when you spread yourself too thin with meet-and-greets, with everything that goes into that...something has to give.

Jim: Talk to me more about finding ways to cut costs. That's something every business does?

Emma: It’s clearly smarter to rent equipment in different cities than to buy and transport your own gear. Also we can consider taking two key people and hire local talent and so on.

Jim: How have you managed to stay together for so long and continue to be successful?

Emma: Well! Being surrounded with efficient partners, I can safely say that effective communication is the name of the game when it comes to a highly functional band.

Vocabulary;

one’s heart in the right place: one has good intentions.

meet-and-greet: an organized event during which a celebrity, politician, or other well-known figure meets and talks to the public.

double-edged sword: something that can be both beneficial and problematic.

put on: to perform; to produce.

spread oneself too thin: to do so many things at one time that you can do none of them well.

gear: the equipment, clothes, etc. that you use to do a particular activity.

efficient: (adjective: of a person) working in a well-organized and competent way.

the name of the game: he most important aspect or component of something; the main point of an activity.

functional: (adjective) designed to be practical and useful rather than attractive.

Exercise;

Fill in the gaps with the appropriate phrases or words;

1. I’ll take care of the camping .......... In the meantime, try to do some research about a good spot.

2. The strong yen is a double-edged .......... for Japan. It increases the spending power of consumers, but it also raises the costs of exports for manufacturers.

3. She conducted meet-and-.......... sessions with fans before and after her concerts; these lasted for up to four hours.

4. Before you judge, bear in mind that our furniture isn’t very fancy, but it’s ..........

5. I hope you boys know that safety compliance is the .......... of the game around here. We don't tolerate any tomfoolery.

6. His speech at the wedding was horribly embarrassing, but his heart was definitely in the .......... place.

7. Bill is an .......... administrator. He’s very punctual and experienced in this domain.

8. Let’s get the tickets immediately. I hear they're .......... on Shakespeare this summer.

9. Between school, work, and volunteering, I'm just .......... a bit too thin lately.

1. gear 2. sword 3. greet 4. functional 5. name 6. right 7. efficient 8. putting 9. spread