Changes for New Normal?

Speaking | Script is provided below and you can understand the content easier.

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Hi Jasmine, I’m so happy to see you at video chat. Have you finished your online course?

Yes, I’ve just completed it. How’re you doing? I missed you a lot.

I could not catch up with you in the past one year. Are you everything alright?

Yes. I started my freshman year at university last year. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, all the courses are currently held in online mode.

Oh, what a pity that you could not join different orientation camps organized by faculty and departmental societies at university.

Yes, they were all cancelled and I could not join and experience such activities. It’s actually a good opportunity in meeting new friends through getting along with a group of freshmen before the start of the academic year.

Right. You can also understand and get adapted to the lifestyle and culture of university. However, keeping social distancing is far more important. Until now, the inflection is under control in some countries and normal life is resuming.

In fact, the pandemic has disrupted our daily life. At university, a hybrid way combining face-to-face and virtual activities is currently adopted with balance of physical distancing and interaction among schoolmates.

Maintaining strict personal hygiene and keeping up mask-wearing are both crucial. We routinely clean and disinfect ourselves and surrounding areas or surfaces. During the worst situation, I’ve stopped all social gatherings with my loved ones including my grandparents and best friends. I’ve missed them all so much.

Although we can still stay connected to one another by making use of different social media platforms, It’s not the perfect way to mingle with them. 

Is it now close to the end of semester?

Yeah. I’ve already adapted to the way of study.

I try to manage my morning routine well because it’s important to get up on time and dress up for showing my energy with good spirits during attending online courses. I would also like to feel good even that I could not have face-to-face interaction with my classmates.

It’s a nice attitude. Meanwhile, it would be helpful to set a timetable for following planned schedule every day. Please set sleeping, studying, eating and exercising hours with reasonable breaks so that you can refresh yourself.

Thanks for the advice. Self-control and time management are both critical for avoiding lagging behind. I and my schoolmates frequently exchange ideas, share opinion and have group projects discussion through virtual chat.

I’m glad to hear that you did not experience negative emotions such as stress and anxiety.

Luckily that I’ve constructively shared my feeling with my mother.

Fantastic. Change is evitable and, for certain extent, it can raise our efficiency and streamline our way of living. My parents are now very sophisticated in using mobile applications in ordering food delivery and take-away functions. During the start of pandemic, they were very scared of using such new technology.

It’s definitely your good job to teach them in embracing the technology. I understood that the elderly had no confidence in using different mobile applications unless repeated guidance was made ongoingly. In addition, learning new skills also requires staying open-minded so that acceptance of the new ideas and flow is higher.

You know, my mother especially pays much attention in delivering healthy diet because health is at top priority. She previously explored healthy recipes and patiently made it through trial-and-error. She also studied how dietary supplements could help in daily insufficient absorption.

Your mother is so smart and taking good care of you and the whole family.

Hey, how’s your job?

I’ve been working from home for almost one year. I currently work at a technology company and my teammates are located at different countries. We’ve virtual meetings to report the progress of projects with my partners every day.

I wrote programs, shared my deliverables and discussed with my boss in regular basis. I engaged with my teammates closely for keeping track of the progress of work. The change was that I even worked at midnight because my teammates were located at different time zones.

Wow, the working hours are so long now. Please take care of your health.

Nowadays, there’s no boundary of leaving office for working from home. It’s how I manage my time to get the job done. It’s flexible to arrange.

Right. The outbreak of global pandemic has accelerated the use of technology which solved our pain points eventually. Many of the innovations were introduced incredibly quickly, showing how fast the things could change or be replaced. If the companies did not digitalize the office setup, it would seriously affect their productivity.

Work is now redefined and working from home has become the standard for white-collar employees. My employer has dramatically reduced the office space because it can save the operation cost significantly. Even for going back to normal, it will replace daily commutes or each of the staff may not be required to be back to office at the same time. It would be arranged in a shift mode.

I also heard from the news that some employers adopt working from home indefinitely. It’s no longer necessary for employers to travel to offices. In turn, it would affect office’s rent because the demand of offering a spacious office will drop due to the new and flexible workplace arrangement.

The evolution of digital life will continue to feature both good and bad impact. The market opportunity will favor the development of technology firms. If traditional companies did not seriously reinvent the business model, they may lose market share due to the enhanced customer experience or technological-driven solutions from competitors. Consumers would be benefited from solving their pain points.

Exactly. For example, although I’ve not gone to cinema, I’ve joined the monthly plan of enjoying great movies through mobile application. Most importantly, I can only pay for single fee and my whole family can enjoy the films with me together by exporting the films to television.

Indeed, disruption provides opportunities. Post-pandemic travel may be to a very different new world. Although we cannot go for long vacation abroad, we are sometimes tired of staying home. As an alternative, we can now stay at local hotels for staycation which is another way of reducing stress and taking short breaks.

Hotels have provided many innovative ideas and themes for attracting customers staying at the hotels. If hotels can provide kid-centric or family-centric packages, it would help to keep the business running with breakeven rather than that income was affected by the reducing number of customers from overseas.

Yes, as soon as we got vaccinated and protected, we should also bear in mind to be cautious and carful. We can still socialize with limited group of family members and friends for remaining safe and healthy.

Keeping socially connected is critical because there is room of expressing yourself by chit-chatting with friends. It’s a way of relaxation. If possible, we can hang out with friends outside, share meals in the pub and share activities for special occasions. 

You can adjust your new normal in your own way. Most importantly, please keep a healthy and balanced routine. It would be good for your school life. Please stay positive and share your feeling with your family or friends.

I certainly felt the changes of my parents and we got improvement together. My parents shared with me their own challenges with the changes to routine and the ways of managing the changes. Everyone is facing the same obstacles and it’s not only limited to myself.

Another important point is to allocate sufficient workout time so that it can keep your body healthy and immune systems strong. Please exercise regularly and spend time outdoors each day so that you can be exposed to the sunlight and fresh air. Please keep good sleep quality and you’ll feel cheerful and in good spirits when facing the changing life after the pandemic.

Yes, I’ll take note. I felt my efficiency was boosted by using different mobile applications including purchasing clothes, ordering food, moving to digital banking services and booking taxi. I cannot live without my mobile phone and those creative applications as well.

I’m sure that we can live smarter, safer and more productive when more applications using virtual and augmented reality with artificial intelligence capability available.

I may end the call now and talk to you next time. Stay healthy and take care!