Remote-meeting Cantonese: sound checks and taking turns

Use a direct sound check when you are unsure whether your voice is arriving. In the written example, “Can you hear me speaking?” asks about hearing, not agreement with the content. Wait for the answer before continuing the point you were making.

If the other person says they can hear you, the next problem may be clarity, a missed word or turn-taking. Repeating an entire explanation immediately may not solve any of those. For practice, have the listener answer the sound check first, then name which part they need repeated.

咪 (mai1) is a word for microphone. The recorded 我熄咗咪呀 tells the listener that the speaker has turned the microphone off. It describes the speaker’s microphone status. It does not tell the listener that their own microphone is muted.

你仲開住免提呀 comments on the other person still using speakerphone. Someone being audible through a room speaker is different from their microphone sending sound into the call. Before a personal topic, check the audience rather than assuming that being on a call means being alone.

聽我講埋先啦 asks the listener to hear the speaker out. The linked clip’s English hook connects this to making a decision. Use it as a request to finish the thought, not a claim that the listener must eventually agree with that thought.

This written exchange separates a sound check from a turn-taking request. The listener’s final response offers the floor. After receiving that turn, finish the relevant point rather than restarting every earlier argument; otherwise the listener still cannot tell when they can respond.

“Let’s discuss this privately later” moves the topic out of the current discussion. It does not specify when the follow-up will happen or which people should join. Add those details when they matter, particularly if other participants are waiting for a decision from the conversation.

Practise one follow-up arrangement after the recorded line: choose the people, the time and the topic to continue. Keeping that information explicit prevents “later” from becoming an abandoned issue. The clip supports the conversational move; it is not a guarantee that a particular app or room is private.