Reference sheet · meetings with clients · prints on two pages
Customer Meeting English
The six beats, the read-back bank, the scope questions, the polite pushback, the article rule and the vocabulary — with one week's log at the end. Keep it open on the laptop during a requirements call.
The six beats
| # | Beat | Say this | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Open | “Thanks for making the TIME. Is this still a good fifTEEN minutes?” · “Before we START: the PRICE LIST, and the LAUNCH date. OK?” | |
| 2 | Ask | “Can you WALK me through what you NEED?” · “Which matters MORE — the LOOKS, or the SPEED?” | |
| 3 | Read back | “So just to conFIRM… RIGHT?” · “Let me read that BACK: FOUR catEGories now, TWO more after LAUNCH.” | |
| 4 | Scope | “Just so I SCOPE it corRECTly — how many catEGories are there in TOtal?” · “Is that PHASE one, or after LAUNCH?” | |
| 5 | Push back | “That's DOable, but it adds TWO days. Do you want the reVISED TIMEline?” · “It just means the LAUNCH moves to MONday.” | |
| 6 | Close | “So, to sum UP: I'll send the MOCK-up by FRIday, you'll send the PHOtos, and we'll SPEAK on MONday at FOUR.” · “I'll write this in an EMAIL today. Anything I MISSED?” |
Read-back bank — beat 3, one breath, then “Right?”
- “So just to confirm, you want the curtains section first, and the price list on every page. Right?”
- “Let me read that back: four categories now, two more after launch. Have I got it?”
- “And you said the logo stays the same. Correct?”
- “So twelve pages for the site, and the other two later. Is that right?”
Numbers, names and dates are what you read back. Everything read back takes the, because the client has already mentioned it.
Scope questions — ask before you promise
| Ask this | To find out |
|---|---|
| “Just so I scope it correctly — how many categories are there in total?” | The size of the job, before you quote a date. |
| “Is the blog in scope, or phase two?” | What is included and what is not. |
| “Who is going to use it — you, or your customers?” | The real requirement behind the request. |
| “Is that something you want now, or can we look at it after launch?” | Permission to move it out of this release. |
Pushback bank — yes-then-cost, never a bare no
| Situation | Say this | Hear |
|---|---|---|
| A change request | “That's doable, but it adds two days. Do you want the revised timeline?” | |
| A new page or section | “I can do that. It just means the launch moves to Monday. Is that okay?” | |
| Content that has not arrived | “I see what you mean, but we can't go live without the content. Could you send the photos by Thursday?” | |
| A discount demand | “I can hold this price till Friday, but not after that. Is Friday workable?” | |
| An unclear requirement | “Let me make sure I understand. Do you mean one page for every product?” |
Aspiration — the puff of air (p / t / k)
Puff of air when p, t or k starts a stressed syllable and does not follow /s/. Test it with a sheet of paper 10 cm from your mouth. Indian English typically drops this puff, so English ears hear page as “bage” and two days as “do days” (Narkar 2021).
| Puff — the paper moves | No puff — the paper stays still |
|---|---|
| PAGE · PRICE · PUSH · TICKet · CODE · CLIent · CAtalogues · CURtains | scope · stop · staging · studio · proDUCtion · toDAY · beCAUSE · comPLETE |
You already own the movement — Hindi ख, थ, फ use the same puff. The habit is simply to use it in English too.
Articles at a glance
| Article | Use it when | Example from a call |
|---|---|---|
| a / an indefinite | First mention, or one of many — the client cannot know which one yet | “I'll send you a mock-up.” · “We need an estimate.” |
| the definite | Only one exists, or you both already mentioned it | “The mock-up is ready.” · “The price list on every page.” |
| the with systems | Fixed expressions | on the website · on the call · on the group |
Spelling never decides a or an — the sound does: an hour, a university, an estimate, a URL, an S-E-O audit. (British Council)
Meeting vocabulary — stress the capital syllable
| Chunk | Means | Hear it |
|---|---|---|
| a reQUEST · a reQUIREment | what she asks for · what the system must do | |
| the SCOPE · the TIMEline · the DEADline | what is included · the dates you promised · the date it must be done | |
| a MOCK-up · a reVIsion · a QUOTE | design before build · a change to finished work · the written price | |
| to apPROVE · to conFIRM | say yes officially · make sure it is exactly right | |
| at the LATest (general) | no later than | |
| have a LOOK (general) | a friendly “check this” |
Seven-day log — what you actually did in English
| Day | Client or owner call in English | Read-back used | Pushback / scope line used | Paper test (20 puffs) | Listening 10 min | Hardest sentence today |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | ||||||
| Tue | ||||||
| Wed | ||||||
| Thu | ||||||
| Fri | ||||||
| Sat | ||||||
| Sun |
Bring this sheet to the next session. The last two columns, plus your weekly benchmark recording in recordings/, decide what lesson 005 is about.
Lesson 004 — The Customer Meeting, part 1 Stand-up & team English 10-minute routine & benchmark Native Rhythm & Grammar Terms Glossary
Sources: BEP 391 — Scoping a Project · BEP — Meetings · British Council — definite article · British Council — indefinite article · Narkar — absence of aspiration in Indian English (2021) · Oxford 3000/5000