Man Brings a Clown to an Employment Meeting

Why would someone bring a clown to a business meeting?

If you are worried about a meeting then who would you take to make you feel calmer?

Clowns are used for many reasons. Some of them have been chilling. Mostly, they have been hired for entertainment. But have they ever been hired during a time of distress? Probably never.

A man in New Zealand hired an emotional support clown to accompany him to work.

Josh Thompson said he was invited to attend a meeting with his employer where he would be told of some "bad news".

He was allowed to bring a "support person" to the meeting.  In New Zealand this can be a member of a union, a lawyer, a friend, a family member or a coworker.

Josh was expecting to lose his job. So instead  he decided to hire a clown, to "spice up the meeting".

His bosses at advertising agency FCB could see the humor. But that didn’t stop them from sternly talking to him about his work quality. And it didn’t stop the clown making animal balloons while they were talking.

The clown was making a lot of noises making balloon animals. So the employers had to tell the clown to be quiet a number of times.

The soothing presence of an adult man in rainbow pants frantically bending and squeezing balloon animals wasn’t enough to stop Josh losing his job.

But "Joe" the Clown (who can attend your meeting for just $200) didn’t stop.  He made the choice to mimic crying while Josh was told he had lost his job.

Try to guess the meaning of the words in bold and match them with their closest meaning from the choices in the right. Some of the answers are very close and have similar meaning. The meaning of these words is how they are used in the reading. Some of these words have different meanings in the dictionary depending on how they are used.

 The answers are below the table.

A=1, B=8, C=3, D=2, E=7, F=4, G=6, H=5

Some example sentences using the new words or phrases from the meaning of how they are used in the reading to help you understand better.

1. I like chilling horror movies.

2. The dog was distressed because it was lost from its owner.

3. My mother and father will accompany me to my graduation dinner.

4. Let’s spice this party up. Let’s invite some fun people and have dance music.

5. She gave me a stern look after I came 2 hours late.

6. Dentists play soothing music to help you not to worry.

7. They were frantically trying to find their ticket to show the airline so they could get on the airplane.

8. Comedians are very good at mimicking people to help people laugh.

Some questions using the new words/phrases. Try to use the words/phrases in your answer.

1. If you had to go to a meeting like the man in the story then would you have accompany you? Why?

2. What things/conversations would you find chilling?

3. What do you do if you feel distressed? For example you failed a class or lost a job.

4. How would/could you spice up a powerpoint presentation? For example, you must sell your company to foreign investors.

5. Describe a stern talk you experienced? How did you feel?

6. What do you do to soothe yourself from stress?

7. What times in your life have things felt frantic?

8. How do you use mimicking to learn something?