Asking for help ashing for help

S ta rt up 0 Discuss th e q ue stion s w ith a partner.

1 Look at the pictures. Which ones have you asked for

help and advice in?
2 Do you find it difficult to ask for advice or help at
work? Why/Why not?

Reading 0 Read the te x t quickly and choose the best title .

a Why we don't ask for help,
b The best way to ask for help.
Many people find it difficult to a sk..................1 help
or advice at work because they’re afraid that this
is a sign of weakness or incompetence. We worry
that our boss, or worse still, a junior colleague, may
think we can't do the job. But don't forget that our
colleagues see the mistakes w e ..................2 when
we don't understand or have too much work, and
these make us look incompetent. So it's much
better to ask for help. You can find a ..................3 to
your problems, and also perform better. Just follow
our simple guidelines.
Believe in yourself It's difficult to ask for help if you don't feel
very confident. Remember that asking for help show s..................4
rather than weakness. You're showing that quality is important to
you and you want the best for the company.
Be clear Give all the details when you explain the problem. Make
sure you know exactly what you need to make the situation better
and say who you think the best person is to help you.
Ask the right person Think about who can help y o u ..................s
your problem and don't be afraid to ask colleagues. People like
to help and asking for and giving advice is a good way to build
relationships.
Say thank you The final step is to say thank you even if your
colleague or co-worker doesn't agree..................6 help you.

Read the te x t again. Choose the correct answ er a, b, c o r d to co m p le te the text.

1 a at b from c for d to
2 a do b carry c make d have
3 a solution b solve c response d help
4 a strong b strength c good d quality
5 a for b by c at d with
6 a with b to c for d in

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 Do you agree w ith these o p in io n s fro m the text? W rite A = agree, D = disagree, U = unsure.
Mistakes made by not asking for help make people look incompetent.
Asking for help is a strength.
Asking for help is a good way to build relationships.

Discuss y o u r o p in io n s w ith a partner.

istening •)}; Listen to fiv e people asking fo r help and advice. N u m b e r th e th in g s th e y w a n t help
w ith in th e o rd e r you hear them .

a member of staff
lots of boxes in reception
a database
J the sales conference
the new website design

Put the w o rd s in the phrases in blue in the

correct o rd er to m ake e xpressions fo r asking
fo r Jielp/advice. Listen again and check.
Luis, you/ p le a se ?/ m e / help/ can I really need
an extra pair of hands to help with the sales
conference next month, b o rro w /w e /C o u ld
someone from your team on a temporary basis to
come and help us? Pilar would be ideal.
could/think / you / Do / Kate? / you / help / me
I need a second opinion on the new website
design, y o u /C a n /co m e and have a look at it?
There are 45 boxes of catalogues in reception,
which need to go upstairs to the marketing
department, p le a se ?/ you / give / u s / come / with
them / Can / a hand/and
I don't know what to do about Dieter. I'm going
to have to talk to him about his poor performance
again, but I don't know how to make him
understand how serious the problems are. you /
could /D o /yo u / advice / think / me / give / som e
about how to handle this situation? Could we have
a meeting to talk about it?
Julian, m ind/a minute / helping/ would you/
for/ p le a se ?/m e I'm having problems with the
database. I can enter new data, but it won't let
me save it.

aking ^ W ork w ith a partner.Take tu rn s to ask fo r help.T ry to use the phrases in blue in
an extra pair of
1 The printer isn't working and you don't know why. hands - another
2 There's a bee in your office and you're allergic to bee stings. person to help when
there's a lot of work
3 Youneed another day to finish your report.
to do
4 Youdon't have time to w rite the minutes of a meeting, but you have the notes for it.
5 There are 15 boxes of stationery in reception that need to go to the second floor.
6 Youneed a taxi to the station in an hour, but you've just been asked to go into a meeting.

W ork w ith a d iffe re n t p artn e r.T h in k o f so m e th in g you w a n t help o r advice w ith . M ake a
request to y o u r p a rtne r using th e e xpressions fro m 0 ■G ive y o u r p artne r advice on th e ir
problem s.