Fluent Fiction - Indonesian: Elevator Pitch: How Humor Sealed a Startup Deal
Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:
fluentfiction.com/id/episode/2026-01-09-23-34-02-id

Story Transcript:

Id: Langit Jakarta siang itu tampak kelabu, hujan rintik-rintik membaluribakar kaca-kaca gedung pencakar langit yang berdiri megah.
En: The Jakarta sky that afternoon appeared gray, with a light drizzle pattering on the glass of the towering skyscrapers that stood majestically.

Id: Di lobi sebuah gedung modern, Rina menarik napas dalam.
En: In the lobby of a modern building, Rina took a deep breath.

Id: Hari ini adalah kesempatan emasnya.
En: Today was her golden opportunity.

Id: Dia harus bisa meyakinkan Yusuf, seorang investor ternama, untuk berinvestasi dalam start-up yang baru ia rintis.
En: She had to convince Yusuf, a renowned investor, to invest in the start-up she had just founded.

Id: Rina melangkah menuju lift dengan hati berdebar.
En: Rina stepped towards the elevator with a pounding heart.

Id: Di sebelahnya, seorang wanita berkaos seragam biru tersenyum lebar, Dewi namanya.
En: Beside her, a woman in a blue uniform shirt smiled broadly; her name was Dewi.

Id: Dewi, petugas lift yang ceria dan suka bercanda, langsung menyapa, "Baru pertama kali ya, Mbak?
En: Dewi, the cheerful and jokester lift attendant, immediately greeted, "Is it your first time, Miss?

Id: Tenang aja, lift ini aman kok, asal nggak patah hati.
En: Don't worry, this lift is safe as long as you don't have a broken heart."

Id: "Rina tersenyum kecil, meskipun pikirannya sibuk mempersiapkan presentasinya.
En: Rina smiled slightly, even though her mind was busy preparing her presentation.

Id: Yusuf sudah menanti di lantai atas.
En: Yusuf was already waiting upstairs.

Id: Ketika pintu lift tertutup, Dewi mulai bercerita, "Mbak tau nggak, kenapa lift nggak bisa sakit?
En: When the elevator doors closed, Dewi started to tell a story, "Do you know why the elevator never gets sick?

Id: Soalnya dia sering naik turun, jadi nggak pernah pusing.
En: Because it goes up and down often, so it never gets dizzy."

Id: "Rina tersenyum lagi, kali ini lebih lebar.
En: Rina smiled again, this time wider.

Id: Namun, detik berikutnya, lift mendadak berhenti dengan sedikit hentakan.
En: However, the next moment, the lift suddenly stopped with a slight jolt.

Id: "Ah, maaf, Mbak.
En: "Ah, sorry, Miss.

Id: Kayaknya ada gangguan teknis," ucap Dewi, masih dengan nada ceria.
En: It seems there's a technical issue," said Dewi, still in a cheerful tone.

Id: Rina menelan ludah, berusaha tidak panik.
En: Rina swallowed hard, trying not to panic.

Id: Sementara teknisi bekerja memperbaiki lift, Dewi terus melontarkan lelucon.
En: While the technician worked on fixing the lift, Dewi kept cracking jokes.

Id: Yusuf, yang berada di pojok lift, terlihat menikmati humor Dewi.
En: Yusuf, who was in the corner of the lift, seemed to enjoy Dewi's humor.

Id: Waktunya makin mendekat, Rina tahu dia harus melakukan sesuatu agar pertemuannya dengan Yusuf tetap berjalan lancar.
En: As the time was drawing near, Rina knew she had to do something to ensure her meeting with Yusuf would still proceed smoothly.

Id: Akhirnya, dengan keberanian yang terkumpul, Rina memutuskan untuk ikut bermain dengan suasana.
En: Finally, gathering her courage, Rina decided to join in the atmosphere.

Id: "Pak Yusuf, Bayangin startup saya ini kayak lift.
En: "Mr. Yusuf, imagine my startup is like this lift.

Id: Kadang berhenti, tapi pasti naik ke atas lagi!
En: Sometimes it stops, but it surely goes up again!"

Id: " kata Rina sambil tersenyum lebar.
En: said Rina with a wide smile.

Id: Yusuf tertawa terbahak-bahak, rupanya terhibur dengan spontanitas Rina.
En: Yusuf laughed heartily, clearly entertained by Rina's spontaneity.

Id: Tawa Yusuf meredakan ketegangan di dalam lift.
En: Yusuf's laughter eased the tension in the lift.

Id: Keriuhan ini ternyata mengundang keberuntungan bagi Rina.
En: This cheer actually brought luck to Rina.

Id: Ketika lift akhirnya berfungsi lagi dan pintu terbuka di lantai Yusuf, Yusuf menepuk bahu Rina, "Saya suka cara berpikirmu.
En: When the lift finally worked again and the doors opened on Yusuf's floor, Yusuf patted Rina's shoulder, "I like the way you think.

Id: Kita bicarakan lebih lanjut, ya?
En: Let's discuss it further, shall we?"

Id: "Rina mengangguk dengan lega bercampur gembira.
En: Rina nodded, feeling relieved and joyous.

Id: Dewi memberi jempol semangat sebelum melambaikan tangan.
En: Dewi gave an encouraging thumbs up before waving goodbye.

Id: Rina kini tahu, kadang keluwesan dan humor bisa membuka pintu yang sebelumnya terkunci rapat.
En: Rina now knew that sometimes flexibility and humor could open doors that were previously tightly locked.

Id: Meski awalnya ia bimbang karena suasana lift yang tidak sesuai harapan, namun situasi tersebut justru menjadi kesempatan bagi Rina untuk menunjukkan sisi lain dirinya.
En: Although at first, she was hesitant because the lift atmosphere was not as expected, that situation actually became an opportunity for Rina to show another side of herself.

Id: Dan di sinilah, awal dari kemungkinan baru untuk startup Rina yang semula nyaris terhenti.
En: And here, the beginning of new possibilities for Rina's startup, which initially almost came to a halt.


Vocabulary Words:

• drizzle: hujan rintik-rintik
• pattering: membaluribakar
• skyscrapers: gedung pencakar langit
• majestically: berdiri megah
• lobby: lobi
• investor: investor
• founded: rintis
• pounding: berdebar
• jokester: suka bercanda
• attendant: petugas
• broader: lebih lebar
• jolt: hentakan
• technician: teknisi
• flexibility: keluwesan
• spontaneity: spontanitas
• laughter: tawa
• tense: ketegangan
• entertained: terhibur
• suddenly: tiba-tiba
• presentation: presentasi
• opportunity: kesempatan
• imagined: bayangkan
• convinced: meyakinkan
• encouraging: menyemangati
• spontaneously: spontan
• lucky: keberuntungan
• relieved: lega
• hesitant: bimbang
• proceed: berjalan
• halt: berhenti