Q2e Listening & Speaking 4: Audio Script Unit 2

Unit 2: Behavioral Science LISTENING 1: A Perfect Mess

Activity A., D., Page 29, 30
The Q Classroom
Announcer: A Perfect Mess is a new book that
Activity B., Page 26
explores the benefits of being messy. Our
Teacher: In Unit 2, we’re going to talk about
reviewer, Henry Rubins, finds reasons in the
appearances. The Unit Question is “How does
book to embrace his own habits of chaos.
appearance affect our success?” Sophy, what
Henry Rubins: Finally, in A Perfect Mess by Eric
do you think?
Abramson and David Freedman, I read the
Sophy: Oh, in lots of ways. Our appearance
words I’ve been waiting for all my life:
influences what people think of us.
Neatness is not a virtue. It’s OK to be a little
Teacher: Can you give me an example?
disorganized. As someone who is frequently
Sophy: Sure. The way you dress, for example. If
criticized for being messy, I now know I’m not
you dress well, people will think you’re more
such a bad person after all.
successful or more competent. They’ll treat you
I’ve been messy since I was old enough to dress
more respectfully and that will help you
myself. As a child, I had the usual arguments
succeed.
with my mother about cleaning my room,
Teacher: Yuna, do you agree? Does dressing
putting my clothes and books away, and making
well help you be successful?
my bed.
Yuna: Yes, I agree. If you’re careful about your
At college I was even worse. Books, papers, and
appearance, people think you care about
dirty dishes were everywhere. Oh, part of it was
yourself.
because I was lazy, but I also felt so stifled in a
Teacher: OK, what else? Marcus, how about the
neat, too-tidy room. I couldn’t even think. I
appearance of other things, for example, your
mean, I need a certain amount of chaos to feel
desk or your bedroom? Does that affect your
comfortable.
success?
But it wasn’t until I got my first job that I found
Marcus: Well, it could. How people look at you
out how deep the world’s bias toward neatness
is important. If they look at you and think
and order is. I mean, I didn’t know I would be
you’re disorganized or not in control of your
expected to have a neat desk in order to do my
life, they’ll be less interested in working with
job. But after reading A Perfect Mess, I see I
you. That could affect your success.
have had it easy at work compared to other
Teacher: Anything else? Any other ways that
people.
appearance affects our success? Felix?
The book mentions a woman who worked at a
Felix: I agree with everyone else that
post office in Australia. She was fined more
appearances affect how other people react to
than two thousand dollars at work. Why?
you, but not everyone needs to be neat and
Because she had four personal items on her
well dressed and good-looking to be successful.
desk. The post office only allowed her to have
Your appearance also involves your style, and
you can use that to help you fit into the group three. Maybe it was an extra photo of her kids—
you want to be in. For instance, if I want to be a and for that she had to pay two thousand
successful businessman, I would have a dollars? The police chief in a Pennsylvania town
completely different kind of look than if I want had it even worse. He was actually fired from
to be a successful sports star. his job because of a messy desk. At least I’ve
never lost a job!

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Q2e Listening & Speaking 4: Audio Script Unit 2

A Perfect Mess might help people like them, Next the book looks at our messy homes. The
and me. The book begins with a description of authors say a messy home isn’t so bad either. A
the National Association of Professional very neat home can be impersonal and cold, but
Organizers, or NAPO, conference. NAPO is a a home full of photos, personal items, and
professional organization I could never join. pieces of clothing strewn about shows others
Anyway, NAPO has thousands of members. who we truly are.
Thousands. These are people who have gone to Many people believe that an untidy house sets
graduate school in business, or education, or a bad example for children. Abramson and
even law, and now devote their lives to helping Freedman reassure us it’s not true. In fact,
the rest of us get organized. children may learn better in a messy space. The
The authors, Eric Abramson and David book gets support from research suggesting
Freedman, interview dozens of members of that a stimulating environment full of clutter,
NAPO. And they point out that not once in any movement, and noise may actually help
of the interviews does anyone answer the big children remember information. And it turns
question: What’s wrong with being messy? out that keeping your house too clean can
In fact, throughout the rest of the book, the actually be bad for children’s health. Dirt and
authors show us that being moderately messy germs help children build up protection against
can actually be good for us. A Perfect Mess diseases.
takes the reader on a tour of the various messy And the authors offered more evidence in favor
parts of our lives, starting with those messy of mess. It seems not only are messy people
desks. The book argues that a messy desk can often more successful than neat people, they
actually help you find things more easily tend to be more creative and open-minded.
because they’re right out in the open. Take, for example, the mystery writer, Agatha
And it can help people make connections Christie. The authors describe her disorganized
between ideas in new ways. approach to writing her 60-plus novels.
Here’s a great example. Leon Heppel was a Apparently, many times when she began
researcher at the National Institutes of Health writing a mystery, she had no idea how the
in Bethesda, Maryland, in the 1950s. One day, mystery would be solved. She wrote down her
he was working at his desk. He stumbled upon ideas in notebooks, but they were completely
letters written by two different scientists. The disorganized. To make matters worse, Christie
letters were in the piles of paper on his messy often lost her notebooks in the mess of her
desk. If the two letters had been neatly put work space and worked from several notebooks
away he would never have looked at them side at one time. One notebook contained ideas for
by side. But he did, and he suddenly recognized 17 novels!
an important connection between the two In spite of this mess, Christie’s books were, and
scientists’ research. This connection eventually still are, wildly popular and have sold more than
led to a winning discovery and a Nobel Prize. 2 billion copies in 45 languages. Clearly, an
The book mentions he wasn’t the only scientist inflexible approach to organizing her stories
like this. Albert Einstein was another great didn’t work well for the creative genius Agatha
scientist who was known for having a very Christie. As the authors Eric Abramson and
messy office. David Freedman look into our messy lives, they
show us how a little chaos can be good for us.

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Q2e Listening & Speaking 4: Audio Script Unit 2

They tell us that mess may help us relax, be remember: now, later, or never. This filing
more creative, learn better, or even make an system requires immediate action, though. This
important scientific discovery. A Perfect Mess is is the key point; do something immediately with
a fascinating look at the unexpected benefits of all papers and documents. OK? How would you
mess. I’d recommend it to anyone—except feel if you never had to sift through piles of
possibly my kids. papers again?
Ella Oskey: Great! Now, on to the third
LISTENING SKILL: Identifying details strategy: Do a little at a time. Instead of trying
Activity A., Page 34 to change your whole life in one afternoon,
Ella Oskey: If you are one of the millions of work on it step by step. One day, organize a
people who just can’t stay on top of your mess, drawer. The next day, organize something else.
don’t worry, there is hope for you! Hi, and If you try to do too much at once, you might
welcome to this workshop, Getting it Together. feel frustrated. Making this change little by little
I’m Ella Oskey. I assume that you have come will not only ensure that you get organized, but
today because you feel like your life is too will also help you stay organized.
disorganized. If this is true, I have some
suggestions that will help you organize yourself, NOTE-TAKING SKILL
both at home and in the workplace. OK, let’s Activity A., Page 35
get started. How many of you have spent hours F: Sure, we all look better when we smile, but
searching for an important document or paper? can our facial expressions really cause us to
How long did you look for your car keys before succeed or fail? Many scientists believe that
leaving the house to come here today? smiling can lead to more success in life, while
Ella Oskey: The first strategy I suggest is simple: frowning can lead to more problems. Some
put everything in its place. In other words, put researchers discovered that people who smiled
everything into the room or space it belongs in in school pictures were more likely to have
after you use it. If it doesn’t have a place, make longer, happier marriages in the future than
one. This is not a radical idea, folks! If you those who did not. In contrast, people who
always put your keys in the same box next to didn’t smile in their class photos tended to get
the door every night, they will always be there divorced more often. Also, people who smiled
in the morning. How many of you think you can in job interviews were more likely to get the
do that? jobs than candidates who didn't smile. Smiling
Ella Oskey: Great! Now, strategy number two is also reduces stress, some scientists say. In fact,
just as simple: follow a filing and organization in one study, smiling while doing a stressful job
system. Every time you find a piece of paper, helped workers' brains and bodies recover from
decide which of these three groups it belongs the stress more quickly afterward. On the other
in: now, later, or never. hand, people who didn’t smile had faster
If it is a “now” item, like a bill that needs to be heartbeats long after they finished the stressful
paid today, deal with it immediately. If it is a job. Maybe this is why smiling can even cause
“later” item, like a magazine you still want to people to live longer. One research study
read, put it in its place, like I talked about in discovered that if baseball players were smiling
suggestion one. If it’s a “never” item, throw it on their cards, they lived almost seven years
away in the garbage immediately. So

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Q2e Listening & Speaking 4: Audio Script Unit 2

longer than players who weren’t smiling. So, their employees at the end of a long work
remember to smile! week; dressing down on Friday would provide a
bridge between the high-pressure work week
LISTENING 2: The Changing Business Dress Code and the weekend. They thought that if
Activity A., C., D., Page 36, 37 employees felt comfortable on Friday, it would
Radio talk show host: My guests today are increase productivity. But they found that this
Andrew Park, from OPK Marketing, and Hana wasn’t true. In fact, the opposite was true.
Nasser of Best Foot Forward Consulting. Thank Making employees more comfortable actually
you for being with us today. caused productivity to fall.
Andrew Park: Glad to be here. Hana Nasser: That’s right. In fact, some
Hana Nasser: Thank you. supervisors noticed that on those casual
Radio talk show host: We’re going to talk about Fridays, employees seemed to work less and
the changing business dress code. Andrew, let relax a lot more.
me start with you. For the last ten or twenty Radio talk show host: Hmm. So, Hana, do you
years here in the United States, we’ve had a think casual Friday was a bad idea?
more relaxed attitude toward the clothing we Hana Nasser: Well, of course, it varies from one
wear at work, with some people even working workplace to the next. Certainly, some
in jeans. But is this relaxed attitude a thing of employees really enjoy a more casual dress
the past? code.
Andrew Park: Well, it’s not over but I think it’s One survey we conducted showed workers like
fair to say it’s on the way out and that more casual Friday because they save money on
formal dress is definitely on the way in. clothes, and they like not having to worry about
Back in the 1990s, we really saw the trend of what to wear. But in some companies, casual
business casual catch on. Employees were dress has had a negative effect. Maybe not so
allowed to ditch their suits and ties and formal much on the work the employees do, but on
skirts and blouses, and wear more comfortable the way customers and clients see them. Let’s
clothes in the office. For guys it might be an face it—clients don’t always feel that casual
open-necked shirt and cotton slacks. Women clothes are appropriate in a business setting.
might wear a sweater with a long skirt. And They’re looking for a sign that people are
even businesses that didn’t go all the way to professional, like they know what they’re doing.
business casual started allowing employees to And investors might be more cautious around
dress informally at least one day a week. Casual casually dressed professionals. I recently heard
Fridays became the norm. an anecdote about a CEO who had a meeting
I remember everyone looking forward to with a possible investor. The CEO turned up in a
getting to wear what they wanted to on Fridays. T-shirt and jeans. The investor had been very
Most workers thought it was great, and for a interested in the company’s products—really
while morale improved in many places. You cool video games—but decided against putting
know how it is with anything new. In the up any money. Who wants to give their money
beginning there’s a lot of enthusiasm for an to someone who looks like they could be
idea. hanging out at the mall?
Even employers liked the change. They thought
of casual Fridays as a kind of reward to give

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Q2e Listening & Speaking 4: Audio Script Unit 2

Radio talk show host: OK, so business casual is and formal skirts. They want a clean,
on the way out because it’s led to a fall in professional look. The trend is toward a more
productivity and a lack of confidence from grown-up form of dress.
clients and investors. Andrew Park: You’re so right. In many places,
Andrew Park: Yeah, that’s a part of it. Some casual Fridays are starting to fade and there’s a
companies clearly saw they needed a more move towards “dress-up” or “formal” Thursdays
formal look to keep investors and customers or Mondays. Formal as in employees showing
happy. up in tuxedos, dress slacks, fancy dresses, even
But fashion trends always go in cycles. In the wedding gowns! And this move is not coming
‘50s and early ‘60s, the business uniform for just from the CEOs. It’s coming from employees
men in the United States was a suit and tie. as well. Sometimes, looking good really is
Working women wore a suit, or a dress and feeling good.
jacket. The look was professional. Then in the Radio talk show host: OK. That’s all the time we
‘60s and ‘70s, young people gave up that look. have, so we’ll leave it there. I’d like to thank my
They connected the suit and tie with older guests, who always look professional no matter
people and older ways of thinking. They wanted what day of the week it is. Thanks for listening.
a more natural, back-to-basics kind of lifestyle.
The children who grew up during the ‘60s and PRONUNCIATION: Unstressed Syllables
‘70s became managers in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Example, Page 44
They were the ones who accepted casual dress appearances
in the workplace. When one generation dresses Activity A., B., Page 44
formally, the next wants to be casual, and so 1. pleasure
on. That’s the way fashion works. 2. forgotten
Radio talk show host: So are you saying that 3. successful
this is all just part of regular fashion cycles? 4. habit
That what we wear at work doesn’t really 5. business
matter that much? 6. allow
Andrew Park: Yes and no. Yes, there will always 7. cautious
be cycles. And no, I think what we wear does 8. professional
matter. Because what we wear is not only
about looks, it says something about who you SPEAKING SKILL: Confirming understanding
are. For some people, a casual look is Activity A., Page 45
associated with a certain careless approach to 1. A: Did you hear that starting next month,
other things. there won’t be a “casual Friday” anymore?
Hana Nasser: I agree. To many people, a sloppy B: What? So you mean that they are getting rid
look indicates careless work, not just a style of of casual Friday completely?
dress. It’s a matter of attitude. As Andrew said, A: Yes, the email said no more casual Fridays.
the way we dress tells people who we are. B: Oh.
What we’re noticing is that nowadays many 2. A: More and more customers are looking for
young professionals in their 20s or a sign of professionalism.
30s want to look good and be taken seriously. B: Are you saying they prefer less casual dress?
They’re the ones going back to suits and ties A: Yeah, that’s right.

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Q2e Listening & Speaking 4: Audio Script Unit 2

B: Got it.
3. A: If my desk is too organized, I can’t be
creative.
B: If I understand you, you need to be messy to
work well?
A: Yeah, I need a little mess.
B: OK.
4. A: Most people can’t get organized all at
once.
B: Does that mean it’s better to work on it step
by step?
A: Yes, it does.
B: I see.

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