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Real-Life Activities

Real-Life Communication -- Solution

Let's see what we can change to improve the dialog.

"Hey man! How's it goin'?!"

Your greeting is important. This is too casual. You should try to show an appropriate amount of respect to your colleagues.

Revised: Good afternoon.

"Did you hear what's happened to the price of electricity in California? It's gone absolutely crazy. We don't know what we're going to do here."

The opening is fine. It's not too far out and it shouldn't scare off your colleagues.

"We have to bring some in from Canada, but we don't know how much to give them for it. Those crazy Canadians think they can scam us, but we're smarter than that. They can't scam us."

The comment about Canadians is unnecessary. It doesn't add anything to what you're trying to say. You should take it out.

"We're going to do our best to get a good deal, but really, they've got all the cards in this situation. Hopefully they don't try to gouge us. What do you think is a fair price to pay?"

This is good as it stands. It leads nicely to the question you most want answered.

"See you later, man."

You want to avoid coming off as if you don't really care what people think of you. A more appropriate ending would be "Have a good afternoon."