5 min freeAt trainingAt training, rehearsed out loud
8
people run this conversation
6 min
The shortest conversation
A coach explains a drill once, across a loud room, in the sport's own words, and then asks how it felt. In another language both halves are harder than any conversation across a desk.
A2 · basicB1 · workingB2 · confident
Who you will be talking to
At training, with 3 of these 8.
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 freeAt training
5 min freeAt training
5 min freeAt trainingWhat 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 nodded and spent the next five minutes doing a different drill.”
The word nobody explains
Close out, split step, rondo, goblet squat. Every sport has a vocabulary its coaches no longer hear as vocabulary. Asking about the one word you missed, in one short question, is worth more than following the rest.
/02
“You said it was fine and it was not.”
Hurts, or just hard
The coach reacts to what you say, not to your face. "Fine" gets more weight; "a sharp pain on the outside of the knee when I land" gets a different exercise. The whole difference is one precise sentence.
/03
“The coach asks what happened and you say it was bad.”
Saying what you felt
Where the ball went, what the elbow did, which part of the movement fell apart. A lesson runs on your description, and "I don't know" leaves the coach guessing.
/04
“You leave the first practice not knowing when the second one is.”
The practical part at the end
Fees, a licence, which group, which day, what to bring. It comes in one breath after the session, with numbers, when you are tired.
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 at training 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 at training is 6 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
Start with the gentle ones
Megan's Sunday clinic in English, or Quique's level test in Spanish: warm coaches, clear sessions, and the vocabulary still flying past.
The terms, in full
- Free
- 5 minutes
- No card asked for
02
Say that something hurts
In a gym session, say something hurts and say exactly where. Next time just say "fine", and see what the trainer does with each.
Paid for out of your free minutes
- The word nobody explains
- Hurts, or just hard
- Saying what you felt
- The practical part at the end
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 situationsYour child's coach
A2 · 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 minNeighbours
A2 · basicB1 · workingWarm, talkative, and impossible to escape without saying something.3 peoplefrom 6 min
A2 · 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 minNeighboursA2 · basicB1 · workingWarm, talkative, and impossible to escape without saying something.3 peoplefrom 6 min