2014.10.06
Tip 113 ”turn it up a notch” 無料ビジネス英語学習
無料ビジネス英語学習 Words & Phrases 第113弾は、”turn it up a notch” です。
例えば、仕事やスポーツ等で「もう少し頑張ろうよ。」と相手にアドバイスをする場面ってありますよね。
今回はそんなシチュエーションでうまく伝えるイディオムを紹介します。
ヒカは上司のタロウに
“My sales figures for this month are terrible.” 「わたしの今月の営業成績が最悪なんです。」と言いました。
「もう少し頑張ろうよ」と返答したい場合、あなたなら何と言いますか？
“You need to improve your performance.”「あなたのパフォーマンスを改善する必要があります。」
意味は伝わりますが、直接的すぎてヒカは身構えてしまうかもしれません。
そこで
“You really need to turn it up a notch.”「もう少し頑張ろうよ。」
と言ってみましょう。少し表現がやわらかくなり相手に受け入れてもらいやすくなるでしょう。
ぜひビデオを見て発音のチェックもしてみてください。
Hello and welcome to this Bizmates words and phrases
video series for Japanese businesspeople.
And today's phrase or idiom is turn it up a notch.
Turn it up a notch.
What does this mean?
We will find out.
But first let's do our test.
OK. So I'm gonna say, yeah our vendor just
gave me an expensive gift. Look at this.
And you say...
OK. Were you able to get that?
It's not for me to say,
but maybe you should return it.
I hope so. OK.
All right. So today's idiom, turn it up a notch.
What does this mean?
OK. Well first, let's look at the example here.
OK. So imagine that yeah, Taro, Taro is my boss.
OK. Taro is my boss. And I'm gonna tell Taro
that my performance is not so good.
So I say, Taro, my sales figures for this
month are terrible. I don't know why.
My sales figures are bad. I'm a sales person,
I can't get this, I can't get sales.
And he says,
you need to improve your performance.
Hmmm... OK. How is this sound?
I can understand this, but I'm gonna be,
what? I'm gonna be a little bit defensive OK.
Because it's really direct. You need to improve
your performance. Very direct.
OK. So how can we say this without
sounding too direct?
OK. So here's the better way.
Yeah, my sales figures for this month are terrible.
And he could say, yeah
you really need to turn it up a notch.
You can imagine, it's like the volume control
of a stereo, the volume.
You know the notch, it's like notch 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
You're just turning it up one level, one notch.
OK. So he say, it means you need to improve
your performance. You need to bring it up one level.
But instead of you need to improve,
it's you need to turn it up a notch.
It make it seem easier than it really is.
Less direct. Softer.
And it's an idiom.
It just feels natural.
OK. So let's look at pronunciation.
You need ta turnit upanotch.
You need, you really need to turn it up a notch.
OK. Let's try it with my sentence.
Yeah, my sales figures for this month are terrible.
Yeah I know. I know I should turn it up
two notches. Maybe three notches.
OK. Just like that.
OK. Were you able to get that?
OK. So for homework.
When did you turn it up a notch in your work?
OK. When did you do that?
You know, you work a little bit harder.
You work a little bit faster.
You work a little bit smarter.
When did you do this?
OK. You tell me in the next lesson.
OK. Thank you.
video series for Japanese businesspeople.
And today's phrase or idiom is turn it up a notch.
Turn it up a notch.
What does this mean?
We will find out.
But first let's do our test.
OK. So I'm gonna say, yeah our vendor just
gave me an expensive gift. Look at this.
And you say...
OK. Were you able to get that?
It's not for me to say,
but maybe you should return it.
I hope so. OK.
All right. So today's idiom, turn it up a notch.
What does this mean?
OK. Well first, let's look at the example here.
OK. So imagine that yeah, Taro, Taro is my boss.
OK. Taro is my boss. And I'm gonna tell Taro
that my performance is not so good.
So I say, Taro, my sales figures for this
month are terrible. I don't know why.
My sales figures are bad. I'm a sales person,
I can't get this, I can't get sales.
And he says,
you need to improve your performance.
Hmmm... OK. How is this sound?
I can understand this, but I'm gonna be,
what? I'm gonna be a little bit defensive OK.
Because it's really direct. You need to improve
your performance. Very direct.
OK. So how can we say this without
sounding too direct?
OK. So here's the better way.
Yeah, my sales figures for this month are terrible.
And he could say, yeah
you really need to turn it up a notch.
You can imagine, it's like the volume control
of a stereo, the volume.
You know the notch, it's like notch 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
You're just turning it up one level, one notch.
OK. So he say, it means you need to improve
your performance. You need to bring it up one level.
But instead of you need to improve,
it's you need to turn it up a notch.
It make it seem easier than it really is.
Less direct. Softer.
And it's an idiom.
It just feels natural.
OK. So let's look at pronunciation.
You need ta turnit upanotch.
You need, you really need to turn it up a notch.
OK. Let's try it with my sentence.
Yeah, my sales figures for this month are terrible.
Yeah I know. I know I should turn it up
two notches. Maybe three notches.
OK. Just like that.
OK. Were you able to get that?
OK. So for homework.
When did you turn it up a notch in your work?
OK. When did you do that?
You know, you work a little bit harder.
You work a little bit faster.
You work a little bit smarter.
When did you do this?
OK. You tell me in the next lesson.
OK. Thank you.
