📙 Part 2: Describe a time you made a promise to someone

This episode's vocabulary

Hands-on (adjective) – being actively involved. → He prefers a hands-on approach and works directly with the volunteers.

Hedge your bets (idiom) – to reduce risk by choosing multiple options or being cautious. → He always hedges his bets by applying to several jobs at once.

Cohort (noun) – a group of people with a shared characteristic or experience. → She trained a cohort of new teachers during the summer program.

By and large (phrase) – generally or mostly. → By and large, the event was a success despite the weather.

Deliver (verb) – to provide or perform a service, task, or speech. → She was asked to deliver a presentation on climate change.

Go to plan (phrase) – to happen as expected or intended. → Fortunately, everything went to plan during the wedding.

Monotony (noun) – lack of variety and interest; tedious repetition. → He needed a break from the monotony of office life.

Give your word (idiom) – to make a serious promise. → He gave his word that he would complete the project on time.

Beyond question (phrase) – without doubt; absolutely certain. → Her dedication to the cause is beyond question.

Follow up (phrasal verb) – to check progress or take further action after something. → She followed up with the client a week after the meeting.

Time-intensive (adjective) – requiring a lot of time to complete. → Creating a new curriculum is a time-intensive process.

Resource-intensive (adjective) – requiring a large amount of resources (like money, materials, or effort). → Running a school can be extremely resource-intensive.

Be out of your hands (idiom) – to be beyond your control. → The decision to cancel the event was out of his hands.

Emotional connection (noun phrase) – a strong feeling of attachment or bond. → They formed a deep emotional connection during their time together.

Invite back (phrasal verb) – to ask someone to return, usually for a specific reason. → The conference organizers invited her back to speak again next year.

Questions and Answers

Rory: I don't usually make promises, not because I don't think I can keep them, but because life has a habit of getting in the way, and I like to hedge my bets. However, some promises are pretty easy to keep, like the one I made to some colleagues while I was teaching in Bishkek. I'd been staying with them for a month last year, and I was delivering a teacher training course and some lessons for them and their school, and by and large it all went to plan, and we were celebrating at the end of the whole thing when someone from our group asked if I would ever think about returning to the country, and for me that was beyond question. I'd had such a great time that I absolutely would, and I promised that if I was invited back, I'd be very happy to see them all again.

When it comes to who I made that promise to specifically, it was the director of the school and a cohort of teachers I'd been working with to deliver the course I'd designed for them. Not only had I enjoyed the teaching, but I like to follow up on my projects, and coming back was an ideal way to do that. It would also break the monotony of my day-to-day back home as well, so I saw no downsides to giving them my word on the matter. Of course, I'd have to be invited back, and there would have to be a need for me being there, but that would be out of my hands, and fairly obviously so.

While I didn't think much of making the promise, I did think it would be difficult to come back for a while given how time and resource-intensive such projects are, but actually in February of this year I was invited back by the school, and I was able to keep my word. I was really excited to go back and see everyone there. If I hadn't made that promise, I'd have still agreed to return, but I don't think the emotional connection would have been so strong. Promises tend to have that effect on people, I suppose.

Maria: And do you sometimes break your promises? I

Rory: I can't remember the last time I broke a promise to someone, so... no.