Meetings, Meetings, Meetings

職場新鮮人的開會經驗談Managing meetings right can make life easier for everyone 會議處理得當，大家的日子就會更好過by Joan Yu

In a large company, many employees work on cross-functional teams, and getting things done on these teams requires meetings. My day-to-day job consists of many meetings, which sometimes leaves me with little time to do my real work.

The first step in initiating a meeting is finding a time slot that works for everybody that you want to invite. More importantly, you must be sure a meeting room is available at the chosen time. Meeting rooms are booked on a first come, first served basis and fill up quickly. Most of the time, you need to book a room three to five days in advance. Thankfully, not everyone has to be physically present for a meeting. Dial-in numbers are usually provided for those who can't attend in person. After the time of the meeting is set, the one who called the meeting sends out the agenda. Giving out the agenda ahead of time is absolutely essential. It not only prepares the attendees for what to expect, but also encourages them to bring solutions or ideas to the meeting.

I remember attending my very first meeting as a rookie. I was astonished when the meeting chair threw the very fist question at me in front of a room of 30 people. My brain went blank for a good five seconds because I wasn't prepared. But the chair let me off the hook by jumping to the next person. I was so embarrassed not to be able to answer the question. But that taught me to always be prepared for any meeting I would attend from that day on.

Conversation:
Joan: Are you attending the production committee meeting at 2 p.m.?
Jeff: Yes, But I haven't received the agenda yet.
Joan: I haven't either. I think Bruce is chairing the meeting.
Jeff: And he isn't timely when it comes to sending out agendas.
Joan: I know. And it's always difficult to prepare then.
Jeff: Well, at least we know what the projects are. We can make some comments.
Joan: True. But it really helps to know the aspects of the projects Bruce plans to discuss. Otherwise, we're all in the dark.
Jeff: And we look foolish when we don't participate.
Joan: Maybe I'll be proactive and shoot Bruce an e-mail asking for the agenda.
Jeff: Good idea!

Grammar:
My brain went blank for a good five seconds because I wasn't prepared.
"good" - here is not "opposite of bad ",
"good" - here is mean "full", "complete"
The driver was late, and I had to wait for a good ten minutes before he showed up.
How did the young child wander so far in the park? That walk had to be a good mile!

Vocabulary Tips:
initiate-開啓，開始，先動手，先開始
*No one seems to remember who initiated the fight.
*The charity organization initiated a food drive for the hurricane victims. 開啓食物募捐
physically-親自地 physical-身體，身體的
* Even though Wesley can't physically attend the wedding, he will watch the whole ceremony via the Internet.
agenda-會議的議程，提案，議題。
*The meeting's agenda was changed at the last minute.
*Getting funding from the banks is high on our agenda for today's meeting. 最重要的議程。
let somebody off the hook - 逃避懲罰，擺脫困境．避開窘境 hood 鈎，也指＂陷阱,困境＂
Nathan's boss let him off the hook this time, but he won't give Nathan another chance.
be in the dark - in the dark-在黑暗中．毫無頭緒，毫不知情，被蒙在鼓裏
* The whole company is in the dark about why the previous CEO got replaced.
* He was completely in the dark about why he got fired.完全不知道是這麽囘事
proactive -積極主動，主動出擊 first take action pro- 字根有＂向前＂之意．active-活躍的
* The new manager's proactive approach makes working here much more exciting.
* Bob decided to take a more proactive role on the team.
"proactive" is opposite of "reactive"
proactive -take action before.
reactive - when something happen then take action.
Brush teeth every day is proactive... went to doctor to cure the toothache, is reactive.
rookie- very new, a person at the first year in the sport team called "rookie"　菜鳥，新手．
threw-"give to, pass to"　丟出
Chair (n) -here mean chairman, a person leading the meeting or the board. the chairman of the board.
chairing (v) -is "leading the meeting" －主持

Chat Room:
little-很少，幾乎沒有，（不滿足的心態，較負面的），（不可數）
a little-有一些些，（很滿足，較正面的）
few-很少，幾乎沒油。（不滿足的心態，較負面的）（可數）
a few-有一些。(較正面的, 知足的心態）
"little" or "few" , with "a" is a "positive thinking" and without "a" is a "negative thinking"
My day-to-day job leaves me with little time to do my real work.
"little time" not "a little time" -表示“幾乎沒有什麽時間”，而不是“還好，還有一些時間”
I have a little money-握有一些錢，錢雖不多，但很滿足，縂是還有一些。
I have little money-沒什麽錢，有也等於沒有，不滿足，幾乎沒什麽錢。有等於沒有。
A few friends came to see him. 有些朋友來看他，很高興。
Few friends came to see him. 幾乎沒什麽朋友來看他，很負面的感覺。
-----------------------------------------
My brain went blank for a good five second.-頭腦一片空白長達整整五秒鐘．
five seconds -
good (adj) -is not "opposite of bad ", here is mean "full, complete"
placed "good " in front of "noun" is describing a large amount of something.
a good five seconds -整整五秒鐘，足足五秒鐘時間
a good distance -好長一段距離．好長一段路．
a good cry -痛痛快快的哭一場．好好地哭一場．
have a good night's sleep -祝你有一個好眠．