Getting up to speed with remote working

Welcome to this new series by the British Council: English that works: developing communication skills for everyday interactions.

Through these weekly articles we’ll share tips and techniques you can use to become more fluent in English, particularly for work. To make the most of this series, do the tasks assigned and keep a record of all your learning. Now let’s begin our journey!

Remote working can be from anywhere that’s not the office and provides flexibility, improves work-life balance and reduces stress due to a daily commute. Technology has made remote working possible but for most of us, we’re still getting the hang of balancing efficiency with a healthy work-life relationship. We need to be self-disciplined and it can be very difficult to ‘feel’ at work. Regular communication with colleagues is essential but too much will get on their nerves. And as meetings are the primary means of communication these days, here are some of my favourite tips for effective online meetings:

1 Have an agenda and share it in the meeting. Attendees will have thinking time and you won’t go off track during the meeting.

2 Use tech optimally. Encourage everyone to use the ‘mute’ and ‘unmute’ options to manage discussions so that the meeting doesn’t go haywire. Join meetings early to do a quick tech-check.

3 Encourage a single-task approach. One way to do this is by asking everyone to turn on their video. This will help them focus, resist multi-tasking and get down to business.

4 Keep meetings to a minimum and end before time. For longer meetings, take a break so everyone gets some fresh air.

5 Encourage inclusion. You may have to go the extra mile and plan who speaks when in the meeting; you can add this to the agenda.

6 Conclude meetings with clear action points and assign responsibility for tasks. This will ensure the discussion points of the meeting don’t go down the drain.

In this article, we’ve used idioms to talk about working remotely. They have been written in bold. In your journal, write the meaning and aim to use them in a conversation this week.

Every language uses idioms to make communication more visual and colourful. But they are often the hardest parts of learning a language because they are not literal and cannot be translated word for word. Also, they should be used accurately or can be very confusing. However, using idioms correctly when speaking or writing demonstrates fluency and enhanced competence.

Do you have any favourite idioms in your language? Share it with us and tell us why at [e-mail].

Radhika Gholkar