📙 Part 2: Describe a person who makes plans a lot and is good at planning

This episode's vocabulary

Stand out (phrasal verb) – to be much more impressive or important than others. → The one that stands out the most in my mind right now is actually my dad.

On the ball (idiom) – to be quick to understand and react to things. → He needs to be pretty on the ball so he doesn't let people down.

Tick list (noun) – a list of items to be done or considered, which one marks as completed. → He's always been someone with a tick list of things to be done for the day.

Mainstay (noun) – the most important part of something, providing support for the rest of it. → He also checks out the calendar on and off, but those first two are the mainstays.

Revolve around (phrasal verb) – to have someone or something as the main or most important interest or subject. → The plans he makes usually revolve around helping people.

House chores (noun phrase) – routine tasks done in the home, such as cleaning and cooking. → The plans also relate to the house chores like taking the rubbish out on time.

In advance (phrase) – before a particular time, or before doing a particular thing. → They also include things like being organized in advance for birthdays.

Emulate (verb) – to copy someone's behavior or achievements because you admire them. → I've tried my best to emulate that with my own organizational efforts.

Aspire to (phrasal verb) – to have a strong wish or hope to do or achieve something. → It's good to have something to aspire to, isn't it?

Miss out on (phrasal verb) – to lose an opportunity to do or have something. → I think I would have missed out on the chance to develop some pretty good habits.

On and off (idiom) – happening sometimes, but not regularly or continuously. → He also checks out the calendar on and off.

Keep track of (idiom) – to stay informed about something. → He keeps track of things on post-it notes.

Questions and Answers

Maria: Describe a person who makes plans a lot and is good at planning. You should say who he she is, how you know them, what plans he she makes, and explain how you feel about this person.

Rory: Well, I come from a family of planners, but the one that stands out the most in my mind right now is actually my dad. In terms of who he is, aside from the fact he's one of my parents, he's also done a lot to help people over the years in the local area and at work. So, that sort of effort takes a lot of organization and planning, and he needs to be, well, pretty on the ball so he doesn't let people down. I think that's just the kind of person he is, someone that likes helping others. To tell you a bit about how I know him, well, obviously he's my father, so we've known each other my whole life. And in that time, he's always been someone with a tick list of things to be done for the day, week and even the month. He used to have them in a diary like I do now, but I think he just keeps them on Post-it notes and the small general purpose notebook nowadays. He also checks out the calendar on and off, but those first two are the mainstays. With regards to the plans he makes, like I said, they usually revolve around helping people who, well, live in the local area or live nearby. But they also relate to the house chores like taking the rubbish out on time, and taking family members to and from various appointments. Oh, not only that, but they also include things like being organized in advance for birthdays and other celebrations. When it comes to how I feel about him, I'm pretty impressed with all the effort he goes to to make people's lives easier, and I've tried my best to emulate that with my own organizational efforts. I don't think I'm quite as flexible with my timing as he is, but it's good to have something to aspire to, isn't it? If I didn't have him as my dad, I think I would have missed out on the chance to develop some pretty good habits for life, and I'm very grateful that that didn't happen because I quite like my life right now.

Discussion

Maria: Describe a person who makes plans a lot and is good at planning.

Rory: Just describe me. There we go.

Maria: Yeah, you can describe Rory because Rory, I think is the most efficient person I know. And his plans are amazing. So he plans everything and he has his beautiful book with a year all planned out. So, dear listener, you can imagine a person, call him Rory, or just talk about Rory. Use the ideas and vocabulary about Rory's dad to talk about Rory. There we go.

Rory: And how amazing I am.

Maria: And you just can say, I know one person who comes from a family of planners. His name is Rory. And by the way, the examiner, he has IELTS Speaking for Success podcast. And then you ask the examiner, examiner, have you ever listened to the podcast? No? Okay, you should. A planner is a person who plans.

Rory: But it's also the name of a kind of notebook you can use to plan your week.

Maria: So I'm going to tell you about Rory, I'm going to tell you about my friend Bob. And he's the most organized person I know.

Rory: And if you make plans, then generally that requires some organization. So organized, organizational, organization.

Maria: Yeah, he has put a lot of effort into organization and planning different things. So he needs to be pretty on the ball with it. So he needs to be on the ball with planning, on the ball with organization. And he enjoys planning, organizing things. That's the kind of person he is. To be on the ball means to kind of react to things, to be quick to understand certain things, like, he's always on the ball. He understands things, he reacts to things. C1, dear listener.

Rory: Is it?

Maria: Should be C2. And, kind of if you are on the ball, you know about the changes, developments. For example, we are on the ball about IELTS. So we know what's going on with IELTS. He's my friend or he's a podcaster, if you talk about Rory, Rory Fergus. He's a writer. He's a famous writer, Rory Fergus something something.

Rory: Maybe not a famous writer, but a writer.

Maria: From Scotland. The only Rory you should know about. Mr. Rory. Yeah. So I've known him for all my life. I've known him for ages. That means a long time. I've known him one week. And he has always been a person with a tick list of things. So a tick list of things is when you write things down and then you tick them off, you know, okay, I've done this, I've done this, so not this. It's kind of like he has always been a person with a to-do list.

Rory: A to-do list, a tick list. Yes.

Maria: For the day, week or month. He has them in a diary. He has a diary, a special book with his plans. He keeps tracks. He keeps track of things. So to keep track of something, kind of to write things down, keep track of your activities, keep track of your money, keep track of something. It's an idiom. So kind of like, to be informed of something, to know something. He keeps track of things on post-it notes.

Rory: Yes, that's another thing we can use to be organized.

Maria: Yeah, to use post-it notes, like different notes that you have around the house.

Rory: That you can post.

Maria: Yeah, you stick them on the fridge, on the walls, on the mirrors. He checks out the calendar on and off. So he makes plans about his studies, work, about helping people, about his daily routine, about, I don't know, projects.

Rory: Plans for life.

Maria: Life plans. Yeah, appointments. So appointments like meetings with other people. House chores. House, housework. We say house chores or housework. About family members, appointments, meetings. And this person enjoys being organized in advance. So he plans birthdays and celebrations for him to buy presents. Or for her, if you talk about her.

Rory: That's good if we talk about doing things in advance, that means ahead of time and will require some organization.

Maria: Yeah, and you say that I'm pretty impressed by all the work. So this organization is really impressive. So I'm pretty impressed by all his effort. I have something to aspire to. If this person is an example for you, if this person is your role model, so you aspire to this person. So to aspire, to want something very much, or to hope to achieve something. Aspire to something, like I aspire to a career in business. I want a career in business.

Rory: Do you though?

Maria: Well, I have my own business, so.

Rory: Whoa. What do you aspire to now?

Maria: Yeah. I aspire to be amazing, even more amazing. To earn more money for my health.

Rory: To earn more money for shoes.

Maria: No, no. For shoes too, yeah, like for health and happiness. So can you say like, I aspire to health and happiness?

Rory: Yeah.

Maria: I aspire to help people. There we go. Three things. Health, happiness, helping people. Perhaps, like, helping people first, because if I help more people, I'll be even happier and healthier. There we go. Angel Maria who doesn't want more shoes and bags and diamonds. No, no, no.

Rory: Definitely not.

Maria: I want to develop such good habits myself. So, organization is a habit. So being organized is a habit, yeah? And I want to develop such good habits myself. Rory, how did you organize this answer?

Rory: Well, it was very easy for me to organize because I picked someone I know and hopefully you will know someone like that too. So I did my usual, I talked about the background, I come from a family of people like this, but the one that stands out the most in my mind, that's an idiom, not just stands out, but also in my mind. Then we talked about who he is, in terms of who he is, and a bit more about how I know him. To tell you a bit about how I know him. Even if it's obvious, you can actually say that, like, obviously this person is my father, but you should also know these other things that I have seen over the years. So it's just like more evidence for why the person is good at planning. Then we talked about what the plans are. And I said, with regards to the plans he makes, and then I commented on that further. Then, when it comes to how I feel about it, I talked about feeling impressed and what would be the alternative if he wasn't in my life. All good things to have. And hopefully things you will include in your answer too, when you talk about me, the most organized person in the world.

Maria: Right, dear listener, feel free to talk about Rory, okay?

Rory: Please do. I think that would be funny.

Maria: Yeah, absolutely.

Rory: I'm going to talk about this podcaster that the examiner's never heard of.

Maria: And then you'll feel more relaxed because you're going to be talking about Rory. Thank you very much for listening. We'll get back to you in our next episode. Okay? Bye.

Rory: Bye.