BEP 306 – Project Management 1: Kickoff Meeting (Part 1)

Hello and welcome back to Business English Pod. My name’s Edwin, and I’ll be your
host for our new series on English for project management. For our first lesson
we’re going to look at a kickoff meeting at the start of a project.

Whether or not you’re a project manager, you surely know that every project is a
unique and complex process. Seeing a project through to completion, on time and
within budget, takes a huge range of people skills and business know-how. And
sometimes during a big project it might feel like everything is working against
successful completion.

But there are ways to minimize some of these challenges. This is particularly true at
the beginning of a project when it’s important to make sure you get off to a good
start. For one thing, you’ll need to meet with the client to make sure the ground
rules of the project are clear. Otherwise, you’ll be dealing with confusion mid-
project. Kicking off a project effectively also means outlining protocols, or important
procedures, and explaining lines of communication. After all, when a problem or
challenge does arise, everyone should know exactly who to talk to and how to
make the necessary changes.

The kickoff meeting is also a time for everyone to make their priorities clear. If you
are the client and sticking to the timeline is more important than keeping to the
budget, you should make that known right from the start. Of course, there may be
competing priorities. And as a project manager, you may have to manage client
expectations carefully, which might involve setting some conditions when you agree
to something.

In today’s dialog, we’ll join Martin and Jill, who work for a software company called
OptiTech. Their company is holding a teleconference to kick off a project to develop
custom software for a logistics company that will help them manage and track
shipments. Martin is the project manager, while Jill is the lead developer. On the
call, we’ll also hear from Zara, a manager at the logistics company, and Liam, their
IT manager. Together, they are all trying to get the project off to a good start.

As you listen to the dialog, try to answer the following questions:

1. How does Martin say that Jill should deal with technical issues?
2. What does Zara emphasize as her company’s priority in the project?
3. Near the end of the conversation, what condition does Martin attach to the
successful management of the timeline?

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Vocabulary

To liaise with someone: to talk and cooperate with someone in another

organization; “Darren, I’d like you to liaise with the office manager over at Gull
Systems about how we’re going to work together.”

Change request: a proposed change to a system or project; “Well, an

environmental assessment wasn’t in our original agreement, so you’ll have to write
up a change request.”

A something person: if you are a “something” person, it means you like, prefer, or
are skilled at that thing; “Ask Jane for help with that Excel problem; she’s a real
computer person.”

To alter: to change or modify; “I spoke with the client, and they’ve agreed to let us
alter the timeline slightly because of the delays.”

Scope: the “scope” of a project is a list of all goals and the work that must be done
to accomplish those goals; “The scope of our work includes only excavation and
laying the foundation of the new townhouses.”

To put something in writing: to write something down, especially something official

or legal, rather than just speaking it; “So, it sounds like we’ve come to agreement,
so let’s put all this in writing and sign off on it.”

To jump in: to interrupt or join a conversation; “Excuse me Hanna, could I just

jump in here for a second and ask about the budget?”

To come up: to arise or happen, often unexpectedly; “Some problems with our
machinery have come up that will probably delay the project by about two weeks.”

To go through someone: if you “go through someone,” that person acts or

communicates between you and someone else; “I’ll have to go through my
manager to get you a discount on your bulk order.”

TMS: a transportation management system, which is the part of supply chain

management relating to transport; “Our new TMS has improved the routing of our
trucks and saved us thousands of dollars a month.”

To be in touch: to communicate or stay in communication; “I’m going to go back

and talk to my team, and I’ll be in touch later this week about what we’ve
discussed.”

Hold-up: delay; “Hi Jason, I’m just calling to ask whether there’s been some hold-
up on the delivery that we were supposed to receive this morning.”

To play from behind: to be losing a competition and trying to catch up; “Apple’s
quick release of the iPhone 7 has left its competitors playing from behind.”

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Keen: very excited or interested; “We like to hire young graduates who are keen to
start their careers with an established company.”

To get something up and running: to begin operation or functioning of a system or

machine; “I’ll have our technician visit your office tomorrow and he should have the
new software up and running by the end of the day.”

Pronto: as soon as possible or quickly; “We’re on a very tight schedule, so we’re

going to need those parts pronto.”

“By all means:” of course or certainly, especially when agreeing to do something or

giving permission; “A: Could you have a look at this proposal for me? B: By all
means. Just let me finish this email first.”

(To go) swimmingly: to run smoothly or without any problems; “I was sure nervous
about my presentation, but it went swimmingly and everyone was very pleased.”

To run a pretty tight ship: to manage or control an organization or group very

strictly or closely; “We run a pretty tight ship around here, so we don’t tolerate
lateness at all.”

On someone’s end: on someone’s side of a relationship or line of communication;

“My phone seems to be working fine, so maybe the problem is on your end.”

To be up to par: at an acceptable or satisfactory level; “Jonas, I’d like to recommend you

take a course to help get your writing skills up to par.”

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Dialog

Martin: All right, moving on… let’s talk a bit about communication. Part of my role
will be liaising with you about all major aspects of the project. Timelines.
Invoicing. Change requests. All that fun stuff. So any problems with those
aspects, please come to me.

Zara: Sure thing. And I’m hoping you’re a phone person because that’s how I like
to operate.

Martin: No problem, and feel free to call me whenever you need to, but anything
contractual… like if we need to alter the scope or anything like that, we should
really put in writing. And obviously invoicing and formal reporting will come
through by email.

Zara: Yes of course.

Jill: Sorry, Jill here. Can I jump in here for a sec? Martin, there’s going to be
purely technical issues that come up. You don’t really want that going through
you, do you?

Martin: No, that’s not necessary. I mean, on technical matters you should connect
directly with… Liam?

Liam: Yeah, you bet. I know you’re going to need some info on our TMS, and I’m
sure there will be some other things that come up.

Jill: Okay, I’ll be in touch soon.

Zara: And just so we’re clear: it’s really critical that we are informed right away if
you think there might be any delays or… hold-ups of any kind.

Martin: Sure, of course.

Zara: Right, because we feel we’re playing from behind a bit here, so we’re keen
to get this up and running pronto.

Martin: By all means, you’ll be hearing from us weekly. And as long as

communication is smooth and we get the info we need everything should go
swimmingly.

Zara: Well, we run a pretty tight ship so everything should be fine on our end.

© 2017 All rights reserved: www.businessenglishpod.com 4

Debrief

Now let’s go through the dialog again and look at the language and techniques used
during the meeting.

Martin: All right, moving on… let’s talk a bit about communication. Part of my role
will be liaising with you about all major aspects of the project. Timelines.
Invoicing. Change requests. All that fun stuff. So any problems with those
aspects, please come to me.

As the project manager, Martin wants to make sure the client knows his role. They
need to know that he will be “liaising,” or communicating with them, on the project.
If you have any experience with projects, you know how important it is that people
understand each other’s roles and how they should be working together.

This is all part of what we might call setting ground rules for a project. Ground rules
are the basic ways that people should operate and work together. Being clear about
these ground rules at the beginning can help you avoid problems or
miscommunication.

Let’s practice some other ways we can set ground rules during a kickoff meeting.

§ Let’s all agree to resolve major problems during these project meetings.
§ I think it’s best if someone takes minutes and sends out a summary of what we discuss.
§ I’d like to make sure that quality assurance is kept informed of what’s
happening.
§ Let’s avoid long email threads by just picking up the phone to discuss any small
problems.

Besides clearly defining roles, it’s important to be clear about procedures. Let’s
listen to how Martin does this.

Zara: Sure thing. And I’m hoping you’re a phone person because that’s how I like
to operate.

Martin: No problem, and feel free to call me whenever you need to, but anything
contractual… like if we need to alter the scope or anything like that, we should
really put in writing. And obviously invoicing and formal reporting will come
through by email.

Notice that Zara mentions that she’s a “phone person.” That just means the
telephone is her preferred form of communication. In this way, she’s making others
aware of her working style, which can also help avoid problems.

But while Martin agrees to communicate by phone, he also wants to point out that
some issues need to be “put in writing,” or be communicated through email or on
paper. In particular, he mentions contractual issues, like “altering the scope” of the
project. Altering the scope of a project means changing what is included or involved
in the work. It’s common to change the scope of a project, but – as Martin says –
those changes should be communicated clearly in writing, not just on the phone.
© 2017 All rights reserved: www.businessenglishpod.com 5
Outlining procedures and processes when a project begins is critical. What are
some other ways we can do this? Let’s run through a few more examples.

§ We’ll need one of you to sign off on each milestone as they are reached.
§ If you’ve got any questions about invoicing, please contact Bonnie.
§ So, I’d like it if we could meet face to face one week following each monthly
report.
§ We’ll provide you with a login for our project management dashboard so you can
keep track of progress.

Now let’s get back to the dialog, as Jill wants to “jump in,” or interrupt to clarify a
point about communication.

Zara: Yes of course.

Jill: Sorry, Jill here. Can I jump in here for a sec? Martin, there’s going to be
purely technical issues that come up. You don’t really want that going through
you, do you?

Martin: No, that’s not necessary. I mean, on technical matters you should connect
directly with… Liam?

Jill wants to be clear about communication on the technical issues that might “come
up,” or arise. As the project manager, Martin takes care of major aspects of the
project, but that doesn’t mean every technical issue. So it’s important for him to
assign the right communication channels. In this case, that means telling Jill to
contact the client’s IT manager directly on technical matters.

Assigning the right communication channels helps projects run efficiently, and
prevents communication overload. Let’s try some more examples of assigning
communication channels.

§ Please CC our lead developer on all emails regarding testing.

§ Dave, you’ll be the primary contact for the technical writers on this.
§ Any questions about timelines and deliverables should come to me.
§ Ronaldo, I’m going to put you in touch with their marketing team so you can
coordinate with them about the final release.

Jill and Liam are going to communicate on technical issues, so let’s hear how they
make a brief connection during the kickoff meeting.

Liam: Yeah, you bet. I know you’re going to need some info on our TMS, and I’m
sure there will be some other things that come up.

Jill: Okay, I’ll be in touch soon.

Zara: And just so we’re clear: it’s really critical that we are informed right away if
you think there might be any delays or… hold-ups of any kind.

© 2017 All rights reserved: www.businessenglishpod.com 6

The project kickoff is an opportunity not just for the project manager, but also the
client. Clients may want to lay down their own ground rules and expectations. In
this case, Zara wants to make it clear that time is a priority. She wants to be
informed immediately if there are any delays.

What are some other ways we can state priorities clearly during a project kickoff
meeting? Let’s practice with some more examples.

§ We’re very concerned about costs, so whatever we can do to keep them down is great.
§ The most important thing to us is quality.
§ For us, everything comes back to good communication.
§ We’ve got a wide range of users, so ease of use is our number one priority.

Now let’s get back to the dialog to hear Martin’s response to his client’s concerns.

Martin: Sure, of course.

Zara: Right, because we feel we’re playing from behind a bit here, so we’re keen
to get this up and running pronto.

Martin: By all means, you’ll be hearing from us weekly. And as long as

communication is smooth and we get the info we need everything should go
swimmingly.

Zara has emphasized their concerns about time quite strongly, mentioning that
they want to get the software “up and running pronto.” In other words, they want
to launch the new software as quickly as possible.

Martin understands that Zara is concerned about timelines. But project delays can
be caused by the client, not just the developer. And Martin wants to protect himself
a bit by explaining that staying on track requires both sides to work effectively.
That is, he wants to say that they can do their job well, if Zara and her team do
theirs. As he says, things will go “swimmingly,” or very well, as long as they get the
information they need. That condition clearly places some of the responsibility on
Zara’s side.

Let’s run through some more ways we can agree to a client’s demands or priorities
with conditions.

§ Well, if you don’t mind flexing the timeline a bit, we can do that.
§ There will be no problem getting this wrapped up by July, as long as we can get
the data we need by June.
§ Of course, this will be totally secure, provided your server security is up to par.
§ Yes, we can add a budgeting tool, but we’ll need another two weeks for that.

How does Zara respond to Martin’s conditional agreement?

Zara: Well, we run a pretty tight ship so everything should be fine on our end.

© 2017 All rights reserved: www.businessenglishpod.com 7

If you “run a tight ship,” you manage or organize things very strictly. Zara seems
pretty certain that there won’t be any problems on their side, or “end.” But in some
ways it doesn’t matter whether she admits they might be the cause of any
problems at this point. The fact that Martin brought up the possibility offers some
protection. And overall, he’s done a great job of getting the project off to a good
start.

Now let’s practice some of the language we learned in today’s lesson. Imagine you
work as a project manager for a software company. You are meeting with a client
to get a project started. You’ll hear a statement by the client, then I’ll give you a
suggestion for how you can respond. We’ll guide you through each step in the
practice and provide an example answer for each response.

Ready? Let’s give it a go.

Cue 1: Well, we’re certainly excited to get this project going.

Start by agreeing, then say you’d like to keep in regular contact throughout the project.
Answer:

Cue 2: That’s great, but will we sit down face to face at some point?
Now say that you’d like to schedule a monthly in-person meeting.
Answer:

Cue 3: Sure thing. And should we wait for that meeting to talk about testing?
Next, tell the client that they should contact your lead developer by email to discuss
any issues with testing.
Answer:

Cue 4: Okay, that makes sense. But you’ll have someone come in to help organize
the testing, right?
Now agree, but with the condition that site visits can be scheduled in advance.
Answer:

Answer 1: Yes for sure, and I’d like to keep in regular contact throughout the project.
Answer 2: Yes, I would like to schedule a monthly in-person meeting.
Answer 3: Actually, you should contact our lead developer by email to discuss any
issues with testing.
Answer 4: Yes, we can have someone help out as long as it’s scheduled in advance.

Now let’s practice some of the vocabulary we’ve covered in this lesson. In a
moment, you’ll hear a series of sentences with a word replaced with a beep. Repeat
each sentence, including the missing word.

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For example, if you hear:
Example Cue: I don’t know if we’ll be able to finish on time with all these hold-
<beep>.

You can say:

Example Answer: I don’t know if we’ll be able to finish on time with all these hold-ups.

After each response, we’ll provide the correct answer. Let’s begin.

Cue 1: Now that we’ve agreed on the deal, let’s put everything in <beep>.
Answer:

Cue 2: Well, I think that’s all for now. I’ll be in <beep> by email next week.
Answer:

Cue 3: The meeting starts in 30 minutes so we need to leave <beep>.

Answer:

Cue 4: If you have any questions, then by all <beep> just call me any time.
Answer:

Answer 1: Now that we’ve agreed on the deal, let’s put everything in writing.
Answer 2: Well, I think that’s all for now. I’ll be in touch by email next week.
Answer 3: The meeting starts in 30 minutes so we need to leave pronto.
Answer 4: If you have any questions, then by all means just call me any time.

We’ve reached the end of this lesson, the first in our series on project
management. We’ve learned how to set ground rules, outline procedures, and
assign communication channels. We’ve also covered how to state a priority and how
to agree with conditions. In our next lesson, we’ll hear the rest of this project
kickoff meeting, and look at some more ways to get projects off to a good start.

Thanks for listening and see you again soon!

© 2017 All rights reserved: www.businessenglishpod.com 9

Language Review

A. Review Quiz

For each question, you must choose the sentence that best fulfills the given
language function or purpose.

1. Which of the following demonstrates setting ground rules?

a) What’s really important to us here is that we don’t go over budget.

b) Let’s all agree that we’ll deal with problems during our weekly project meetings.
c) So, how are we going to document our progress here?

2. How might you outline processes concerning invoicing?

a) I’d like it if all invoices come to me first, and I’ll pass them on to finance.
b) Are invoices going to be coming biweekly, or every month?
c) All right, we should be able to get the invoices paid within 21 days.

3. How might you assign communication channels?

a) I don’t really mind if you contact me with any questions.

b) It’s absolutely essential that communication is timely and clear.
c) Howard, I’d like you to be the primary contact for the software testers.

4. Which of the following shows how to state a priority?

a) We’ve got a lot of concerns, and we’ll be carefully monitoring progress.

b) For us, everything comes back to quality.
c) How about if we agree to meet at least once a week?

5. If someone makes a demand, how might you agree with conditions?

a) Yes, I think we should be all good to wrap everything up by the end of the year.
b) Okay, but are you willing to be flexible in terms of timeline?
c) Sure, we can deliver by November, assuming we get everything we need from
you by August.

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B. Vocabulary and Idioms

Fill in the blanks with words from the box below. Be sure to put any verbs in the
right tense.

put liaise keen

touch pronto tight

1. John, can you get this package to the downtown office _____________? They
need it right away.
2. It sounds like the IT guys are really _____________ to get our new desktops
set up by the weekend.
3. Thanks so much for coming in. We’ll be in _____________ next week with our
final decision.
4. Well, I think the San Antonio office has been able to cut costs because Leanne
runs a pretty _____________ ship there.
5. If you’d like to make changes to the timeline, we’ll just need to _____________
it in writing.
6. Sidney, you can _____________ with me about all technical matters during the
project.

Study Strategy

It’s very important to get a project off to a good start by being very clear about
how people will work together. After all, it’s much easier to prevent problems than
solve them when they come up.

Think about a project that you have been involved in recently. You might choose a
project that didn’t go very well or had a lot of problems. Now, think about how
those problems might have been prevented by being clearer about the working
arrangements from the beginning.

Make a list of “ground rules” for the project that you could set from the start. Also
make a list of processes or procedures that should be clear to everyone involved.
Finally, write down the proper communication channels for different types of
information. For example, you might assign certain people to deal with technical
information, and other people to deal with budget issues.

Now, with a colleague or friend, imagine you are in a project kickoff meeting. Take
the time to explain the ground rules that you’ve decided on, as well as the
processes, procedures, and communication channels. When you’re done, switch
roles and let your partner try.

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Answers

Listening Questions

1. Martin says that Jill should connect with Liam about technical issues.
2. Zara emphasizes that time and speed is important to her company.
3. Martin says that the timeline should be fine on the condition that
communication is smooth and they get the information they need.

A. Review Quiz

1. b; 2. a; 3. c; 4. a; 5. c

B. Vocabulary and Idioms

1. John, can you get this package to the downtown office pronto? They need it
right away.

2. It sounds like the IT guys are really keen to get our new desktops set up by the
weekend.

3. Thanks so much for coming in. We’ll be in touch next week with our final
decision.

4. Well, I think the San Antonio office has been able to cut costs because Leanne
runs a pretty tight ship there.

5. If you’d like to make changes to the timeline, we’ll just need to put it in writing.

6. Sidney, you can liaise with me about all technical matters during the project.

© 2017 All rights reserved: www.businessenglishpod.com 12