5 min freeYour first shiftYour first shift, rehearsed out loud
1
person runs this conversation
5 min
The shortest conversation
The till, the fridge log, and three other things needing him. You have about ninety seconds of his attention and then you are on your own.
A2 · basicB1 · working
Who you will be talking to
Your first shift, with 1 of these 1.
In whichever order helps. The first 5 minutes with a free partner cost nothing, so you can talk to two of them before you choose.
5 min freeYour first shiftWhat actually happens
Five things people say before they start.
One of them is usually the real reason. What sits underneath it is what actually gets scored.
/01
“You say yes, and then stand in front of a till you cannot open.”
Asking while he is still there
The questions you do not ask in the first two minutes become the questions you cannot ask at all. Knowing which ones matter is most of the skill.
/02
“You have three instructions and remember the first.”
Repeating the instruction back
So the fridge log is every two hours, in the book by the door. Ten seconds, and it is the difference between being told and knowing.
/03
“You would rather guess than ask twice.”
Saying you did not follow
On a first shift this feels like an admission. It is the opposite: it is the only thing that stops the mistake that actually gets noticed.
/04
“You take every shift you are offered because asking is worse.”
Asking for a change
A shift swap, a different day. A separate conversation and a harder one, and there is a scenario for exactly it.
Not the situation you need?
Bring the real thing: the job description, the date on the letter, the words the school used. Everyone who runs your first shift will work from what you actually walked in with.
How a first conversation worksWhat it costs
One price a minute, whoever you talk to.
A harder conversation simply runs longer. The shortest way to rehearse your first shift is 5 min.
You pay for the seconds you talk, and the minutes come off a balance you already hold. Nothing renews, and you are never sent a bill. Plans and refunds.
Your first 5 minutes
What 5 free minutes are for.
01
Free, eight minutes
Frank is one of the warm doors into the catalog and the session costs nothing.
The terms, in full
- Free
- 5 minutes
- No card asked for
02
Ask three questions
Decide which three before you start. The scenario is written around exactly that pressure.
Paid for out of your free minutes
- Asking while he is still there
- Repeating the instruction back
- Saying you did not follow
- Asking for a change
Questions
What people ask before they start.
Nearby
What people open next.
The rest of Everyday life first, then everything else at the same difficulty.
All the situationsAt training
A2 · basicB1 · workingB2 · confidentInstructions shouted once across a court, words you only hear in a gym, and the sentence that matters most: this hurts, or this is just hard.8 peoplefrom 6 minYour child's coachA2 · basicB1 · workingB2 · confidentFive minutes after practice, the kids already in the car, and a question about minutes, money or a weekend away that has to be asked properly.6 peoplefrom 8 minTravelling
A2 · basicB1 · workingB2 · confidentThe desk, the hotel, the table: short, fast, full of numbers you hear once.5 peoplefrom 5 min
A2 · basicB1 · workingB2 · confidentInstructions shouted once across a court, words you only hear in a gym, and the sentence that matters most: this hurts, or this is just hard.8 peoplefrom 6 minYour child's coachA2 · basicB1 · workingB2 · confidentFive minutes after practice, the kids already in the car, and a question about minutes, money or a weekend away that has to be asked properly.6 peoplefrom 8 minTravellingA2 · basicB1 · workingB2 · confidentThe desk, the hotel, the table: short, fast, full of numbers you hear once.5 peoplefrom 5 min