What do you say in a standup in English?
Two or three short sentences are enough. Say what you finished (Yesterday I wrapped up …), what's next (Today I'm writing tests) and what's in your way (I'm still waiting on …). If a date is at risk, give the condition: If I get it today, yes. Otherwise it'll probably slip to Friday. Anything longer goes after the meeting: Can we take it offline? Answering with just It's ongoing leaves your manager asking again.
What goes in a standup update?
Three parts: done, next, blocked. Two more lines come up on a harder day: a date at risk, and something you need to stop before it happens. These phrases are from the Daily standup scene in Before You Speak, where you own a nightly reconciliation report and a release is due on Thursday.
| Say this | What it does |
|---|---|
| 01 Say what you finishedUsually one sentence about yesterday | |
| Quick one from me: … | Tells everyone you'll be short |
| Yesterday I wrapped up the retry logic. | “Wrapped up” is more spoken than “finished” |
| The retry logic for the nightly job is done. | Starts with the work, not with you |
| 02 Say what's nextOne sentence about today | |
| Today I'm writing tests. | The plain version |
| Today it's tests. | Drops the verb, which is common in standups |
| If time allows, I'll get the dashboard started. | Mentions extra work without promising it |
| 03 Name the blockerWhat's stuck, and who can move it | |
| Just one: I'm still waiting on read access to the production logs. | “I'm still waiting on …” is the usual way to start |
| Who's the right person to sign off on it? | Politer than “Who can …”, and doesn't sound like blame |
| Can we get it by end of day? | Asks for a time |
| 04 Say if a date is at riskGive the condition, not a flat yes or no | |
| Honestly, it depends on the access. | Says what the answer hangs on |
| It's tight. | Says time is short, in two words |
| If I get it today, yes. Otherwise it'll probably slip to Friday. | Gives both outcomes, with dates |
| 05 Stop something, then move itFlag it in the standup; the detail goes after | |
| Sorry, can I jump in? | The polite way to cut in |
| My nightly job reads that column, so the rename might break it. | Says what could go wrong, in one sentence |
| Can we take it offline right after this? | Takes the detail out of the meeting |
What does a standup sound like?
Example: Tuesday morning at a fintech company in Toronto. Megan, the engineering manager, runs it and wants fifteen minutes at most; the release is on Thursday. Tunde, a backend developer, is about to rename a column your job depends on. The highlighted phrases are the ones worth keeping.
Morning, everyone! The release is on Thursday, so let's keep this tight. Fifteen minutes, tops.
Morning! Quick heads-up, I've got a small database change this week. I'll cover it in my update.
Sounds good. Want to kick us off? What did you get done yesterday, and what's on for today?
Sure. Yesterday I wrapped up the retry logic for the nightly report. Today I'm writing tests, and then I'll start on the dashboard.
Done · NextOkay, thanks. Anything blocking you?
Just one: I'm still waiting on read access to the production logs. Who can approve that, and roughly when?
BlockerOkay. I'll chase that access request myself after this. Real question, though: will the report make Thursday's release?
Honestly, it depends on the access. If I get it today, yes. Otherwise it'll probably slip to Friday.
RiskOkay, thanks for being straight with me. Better to know now than on Thursday morning. Tunde, over to you.
Thanks! Yesterday I finished the payments API changes. Code review's done, all green.
And tomorrow afternoon I'm running the migration. We're renaming one column in the payments table. Tiny change, nobody should notice.
Sorry, can I jump in? My nightly reconciliation job reads that column, so the rename might break it. Can we grab ten minutes after standup?
Cut inHm, okay. Let's take that offline, you two. Tunde, hold the migration until you've talked, yeah?
Ah, I should've asked around first. No wahala, grab me right after this. I'll bring my coffee.
Source: the Daily standup scene in Before You Speak; the lines are as in the scene, and you can read and hear all of it. The people and the project are made up. “No wahala” is Nigerian English for “no problem”.
How do you say the same thing more naturally?
For every line where it's your turn, Before You Speak prepares three versions. Clear is a short sentence that gets you understood. Natural is what a colleague would actually say. Compact packs in more while still sounding spoken. Get the clear version right first, then move up.
Your manager asks what you did yesterday and what's next
- ClearYesterday I finished the retry logic for the report job. Today I'll write the tests and start the dashboard.
- NaturalSure. Yesterday I wrapped up the retry logic for the nightly report. Today I'm writing tests, and then I'll start on the dashboard.
- CompactQuick one from me: the retry logic for the nightly reconciliation job is done. Today it's tests, and if time allows, I'll get the dashboard started.
Your manager asks if anything is blocking you
- ClearYes, one. I still don't have read access to the production logs. Who can approve it? Can I get it today?
- NaturalJust one: I'm still waiting on read access to the production logs. Who can approve that, and roughly when?
- CompactOne blocker: my read access to the prod logs is still pending. Who's the right person to sign off on it, and can we get it by end of day?
Your manager asks if you'll make the release
- ClearMaybe. If I get the access today, yes. If not, it will be Friday.
- NaturalHonestly, it depends on the access. If I get it today, yes. Otherwise it'll probably slip to Friday.
- CompactIt's tight. If the access comes through today, we're on track for Thursday. If not, realistically we're looking at Friday.
All three versions are the lines the scene prepares for that turn.
Which slips are most common in a standup?
Most of these aren't grammar. They're too vague, too long or too late.
| Easy to say | Better | Why |
|---|---|---|
| ✗ It's ongoing. | ✓ Yesterday I wrapped up the retry logic for the nightly report. | It tells the team nothing and your manager has to ask again. Say what's finished. |
| ✗ Everything is OK. | ✓ We're on track for Thursday. | Saying which date is safe is more useful than “all good”. |
| ✗ We have a problem. | ✓ Just one: I'm still waiting on read access to the production logs. | Say what's stuck and what you need, not just that there's a problem. |
| ✗ Yes, no problem. (when it depends on something) | ✓ Honestly, it depends on the access. | Give the condition. In the scene the manager answers: “Better to know now than on Thursday morning.” |
| ✗ Explaining the whole bug in the standup | ✓ Can we take it offline right after this? Ten minutes, tops. | Flag it in the meeting and go through the details afterwards. |
| ✗ Wait wait wait! | ✓ Sorry, can I jump in? | A short apology keeps it polite, and you still get in before the topic moves on. |
| ✗ We'll catch the deadline. | ✓ We'll meet the deadline. | The Chinese phrase 赶 deadline pulls people toward “catch”. You meet a deadline or miss it; a piece of work makes a release. |
| ✗ blocked said in two syllables /ˈblɑːkɪd/ | ✓ blocked /blɑːkt/ | After a k, -ed sounds like /t/: one syllable. You can hear “be blocked by” below. |
How do these phrases sound in different accents?
Your team may not sound American. In this standup the manager is Canadian and the developer Nigerian. Press a button to hear the same phrase in a US, UK, Australian or Indian accent.
| Phrase | Meaning | Listen: US / UK / AU / IN |
|---|---|---|
| on track | going to plan | |
| be blocked by | held up by | |
| by end of day | before the working day ends | |
| behind schedule | later than planned | |
| heads-up | an early warning | |
| update | the latest news on your work | |
| Let's take this offline. | let's talk about it after the meeting | |
| Can I just jump in here? | may I cut in? |
The voices are AI-generated, for practice only.
How do you practise a standup out loud?
The Daily standup is the closest match. The other two use the same moves in a different meeting:
- Daily standup: progress and blockers: Toronto, with Canadian and Nigerian accents. Practise it
- Sprint retrospective: saying what went wrong: owning your part of a late sprint, with two American colleagues. Practise it
- Video status meeting: back after a dropped call: apologising and catching up on test progress, with an Indian-accented colleague. Practise it
The scene pages are in Chinese with the full English script alongside, and every line has a recording. You can read and listen without signing up. All characters, lines and voices are AI-generated, for practice only.
Reading a phrase isn't the same as saying it with your manager waiting. In Before You Speak (开口前 kaikouqian), two AI colleagues with real accents talk and you can cut in at any time; when it's your turn, they stop and wait for you. Afterwards you get at most two corrections, they go into your review book, and in review a colleague says the original line again and you answer. You can also write your own situation in Chinese (what it's about, who it's with, what you want to say, the facts only you know) and get a practice scene in two or three minutes.
Free sign-up, no card. The free plan has two live AI conversation rounds and three scripted sessions a week; your own scenes come with a 7-day free trial, and nothing is charged when it ends. For people living outside mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. The app explains in Chinese; Chrome on a computer works best.
Which guides go with this one?
- A 1:1 with your manager: What to cover in a 1:1: an update, bad news early, asking for help, your growth and next steps.
- Politely interrupting: Which phrase fits which moment, how strong each one sounds, and how to move a side topic out of the meeting.
- Speaking up in meetings: How to get in when nobody leaves a gap, ask about what you missed, buy time and confirm the next step.
- All guides
How was this page written?
- Author
- The maker of Before You Speak, a Chinese engineer working in English in Abu Dhabi.
- Sources
- The Daily standup scene in Before You Speak, the slip warnings in its Plans and progress and Meetings units, and the standup post on our social accounts. The names and the project are made up.
- Use of AI
- The characters, lines and audio in the scene are AI-generated. The explanations on this page were drafted with AI and put together by the author. Some phrases in the first table are shortened from the scene's full lines.
- Updates
- First published 2026-11-01. Found a mistake or want to add something? Write to hello@kaikouqian.com.