“I don't usually give my number out to people I've just met, but for you I'll make an exception.”

You met a woman at a work-related conference. You spoke with each other about work, but you also flirted with each other. You want to give her a business card while saying something funny. You say:

I don't usually give my number out to people I've just met, but for you I'll make an exception.

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“We're seeing our retail marketing efforts really pay off.”

Your company has started to advertise your product in stores. You're getting more sales as a result. You're announcing this at a meeting. You say:

We're seing our retail marketing efforts really pay off.

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“We need to take an in-depth look at our process to determine how this managed to happen.”

One of your employees made a big mistake that cost the company a lot of money to fix. You need to find out what caused the mistake so that it doesn't happen again, but you don't want to blame the employee personally. In a staff meeting, you say:

We need to take an in-depth look at our process to determine how this managed to happen.

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“I know it's tough going out there, but we need to keep pushing.”

You lead a sales team. The economy is bad, so your team hasn't been selling much lately. You want to encourage your team members, so you say this in a meeting:

I know it's tough going out there, but we need to keep pushing.

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“Sylvia, where do you stand on this?”

You're leading a meeting at work to discuss a major business decision. Most of the people in the meeting have given their opinions and there is some disagreement. You want to ask one of the people who hasn't spoken what she thinks. You ask:

Sylvia, where do you stand on this?

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“OK. Let's get down to business.”

You're in charge of a committee at your church that is planning a fundraising event. You're having a lunch meeting with the other members of the committee. Everyone has had time to order their food, make small talk, and start eating. Now you want to start talking about the event, so you say:

OK. Let's get down to business.

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“What this all means for you guys is that everything needs to be in by Wednesday.”

You're having a meeting about a project that you're in charge of at work. You've given a lot of information and detail about the project to the meeting participants. Now you want to make sure that everyone understands clearly what you want them to do, so you say:

What this all means for you guys is that everything needs to be in by Wednesday.

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“Is she coming or what?”

You and your friend were supposed to meet someone at 8:00 for dinner, but she's 20 minutes late already. Your friend called her and they talked for a couple minutes

Is she coming or what?

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“Yeah, I think we're expected to be there.”

There's a meeting happening this afternoon at work. One of your team members asks if the meeting is mandatory. No one told you that the meeting was required, but you think that everyone is supposed to go. You answer:

Yeah, I think we're expected to be there.

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“Do you know if it's mandatory?”

There's a meeting scheduled for this afternoon. You're busy with other work and don't really want to go. You're not sure whether attendance is required at this meeting. When a coworker asks if you're going, you ask:

Do you know if it's mandatory?

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