PRACTICAL SPEAKING GUIDE

Give a progress update people can act on

Your manager has two minutes between meetings.

2026-09-27 · Original teaching notes by SpeakBEC

Start with the situation

Your manager has two minutes between meetings. The project is partly complete, one input is delayed and you need a decision. A chronological account of every email would use the time before the decision becomes visible.

A possible exchange

The draft is ready, but the final figures are still missing.

Without them, we can’t complete the client version today.

I recommend sending the draft internally now and holding the client copy until tomorrow.

Can you confirm that approach by two?

Why this works

Lead with the current state, then the consequence and the decision required. “The draft is ready” prevents the update from sounding as if nothing has been done. “The final figures are still missing” identifies the remaining constraint. The next sentence explains why that constraint matters.

Keep known facts separate from estimates. If the figures are expected tomorrow but not confirmed, say so: “We expect them tomorrow; finance hasn’t confirmed the time.” A useful update does not hide uncertainty, but it also does not bury the listener in every possible risk. Finish with a decision, an owner or the next update time. If no action is required, say that explicitly so the listener is not left guessing.

Change the condition and try it

A training pilot is complete. Feedback is positive, but attendance data is incomplete. Give a thirty-second update that reports both findings without claiming the programme has proved effective. Ask for one next step that would resolve the missing evidence.

Try a spoken or written response before checking it. Did you address the changed condition? Could the listener identify the next step? The model is not the only acceptable answer.