This is the Business English Podcast, Episode 212.
Why not just learn a new way to make a suggestion?
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Offer ends August 10th. allearsenglish.com connection what's going on michelle how's everything hey lindsay i'm good how are you good i have a question today are you ready all right yes what is it so would you say that you are a good problem solver That question was meant for you.
You snuck it on me. I think so. I think so.
I, you know, tend to, you know, really try and solve problems maybe a little too much.
So I would say I'm pretty good at it. What are you?
What about you? I'd say I need to think through it a lot and I need to talk to people about it.
So I try my best. I try my best. I think, yeah, I think when there's a time limit on when you have to solve the problem, it helps because it puts constraints around it, right?
When you say you talk to other people about it, does it mean like you get their advice on what they think to do?
Yeah. Yeah. I do that. Well, no, I think I do that a lot.
But the problem is then, you know, everybody has a different opinion.
Of course. Things like that. That's the problem.
So you always have to come back to your own what you know.
You can gather advice, but don't take it too seriously.
Always weigh that against what you know. right?
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So today we're going to talk about a fun and unique way to introduce a potential solution to a problem.
So we're going to get that in just a second.
It's really just three words. So stay tuned.
But before we do that, guys, check out episode 204, Two English Phrases to Elevate Office Talk at Work.
Yeah, check out that episode, guys. Go back, listen to it.
Elevate Your Office Talk. I love it. That title is a little bit mysterious.
So let's see what we learned over there.
Definitely. So today we have a way to kind of articulate when you've come up with an answer, right?
Yeah. To a solution. Yeah. Yep. And it's only three words.
Lindsay, you want to share what they are?
The words are, why not just dot, dot, dot?
Why not just? Yes. Lindsay, do you say this?
I do say it. And it feels grammatically for our listeners, it might feel a little strange, a little like, oh, I'm not on solid ground here.
What's going on? Mm hmm. Right, right. Exactly.
It's a little funny. It's a little awkward, but it's very common, I believe.
The idea is if you say why not just and then what you would do is introduce the potential solution or idea.
So, I mean, Lindsay, how... is this different than just saying why not like what do you just does i mean we've talked a lot about just in the past but just can so in this context just make something sound easy yeah it's like obvious and easy and i would be be a little bit careful here because if someone has been laboring over uh finding a solution they just can't do it they can't do it they come to you And you automatically say, oh, why not just do this?
You kind of minimize what they've been trying to figure out.
And it could be a little, it could be received in a slightly negative way.
Yeah. Yeah. The reality is like, if they fought that long, it's obviously not that easy.
Yeah. But sometimes it's refreshing if someone's like, here's the solution, you know?
Yeah, right. So it depends on how the person takes it, right?
Right. And also I think that how, I think you don't want to use this for gigantic problems, right? um you know you want to use this for like oh quick ideas like you know if somebody's been struggling with their life choice and they've been thinking about it for like 12 hours and you're like oh well why not just i think you have to let's do some examples to show when it might be good sure how can we fit another desk in here oh why not just get rid of the water cooler Yeah.
So that one feels kind of benign, right?
Exactly. That's the thing is that's, we're just, you're not going to get offended.
You're just asking, you're trying, we're trying to solve it together.
That's the thing is we're working on it together.
It's not that you came to me with this problem that you've been, you know, thinking over for forever.
Yeah. We're kind of going back and forth working together.
Exactly. Exactly. And let's go into another business problem here.
All right, our customer retention isn't looking too good.
Why not just do a focus group and see what's going on?
So you're introducing a practical solution also doesn't seem too too complicated.
Yeah, maybe the next one would be a little harder, right?
So here we go. Too many people are showing up late for work.
Why not just change the policy? So this is so meaning like there's no time to show up or something like that.
Right. A bigger. Yeah. I think the problem is when when someone presents a solution by saying why not just when they don't fully understand all the nuances.
Yeah. And they can't because you're working on that problem, right?
And so you understand the nuances and maybe you don't expect them to understand the nuances.
But when they assume there are no nuances there is where it could be a little hard to hear that.
Yeah. I mean, that goes for personal life too, right?
Not just business. I mean, when somebody assumes they know something, All the intricacies of what's going on with you.
And that is not a good quality to have to just assume that you can understand.
You're always, it's nice to think, oh, you'll take a walk in someone's shoes, but if you really haven't experienced it and you're just giving out advice and telling them, you know, all these solutions, it's like, well, like, you know, maybe, maybe you should learn a little bit more about what this person is doing before you come in as the expert.
Right. totally so this obviously adding just makes it a little more aggressive a little more well simple and aggressive at the same time i don't want to say aggressive it makes it a little more like sounding simple from your perspective right so make sure it's not unsolicited advice because that's even worse oh that's the worst i mean lindsay why do you think this can be good for work though It can sound confident, but of course, it's easier to say something than to actually implement that thing, that solution, right?
So ideas are cheap, like implementing is hard.
So I guess it could sound confident. What I think it does is it makes it sound, hey, we can just do this.
It could be refreshing if someone is really stuck in the weeds and really tangled up and they just can't find the solution.
Yeah. If it's presented, if it's the right idea and it sounds easy to implement, that could be a positive thing for that person who is stuck in the weeds.
True, true, true. It's like, oh, you're moving the weeds away and you're making it clear.
Just do this. Yeah. So, but of course we need to be careful as we've said here, right?
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Exclusions apply. See details online. Okay, Michelle, why did you want to do this episode?
How did this come up? Well, I noticed myself saying this and felt it was probably pretty natural, especially in the business world with throwing ideas around.
So every once in a while, I will take an idea for myself and what I say.
So, Lindsay, would you say this to a boss, though?
Is there anybody else? You know, I mean, we talked already a little bit about this idea of how to avoid it.
But would you say this to someone higher up? yeah it depends on the topic it depends on what i'm what i'm suggesting it does have a set the problem is that it makes it sound a little bit like why didn't you think of this right and then it could make someone feel silly or again like you're not understanding the nuances of the problem um and so that's where i would just be a little bit careful maybe not just a boss but anyone at work because it minimizes their efforts a little bit.
But if you are just, there's, yeah, we're talking about two things here.
Like number one, like in one situation, somebody has been working on something for a while and they can't figure it out.
And then you come in and you're like, well, why not just do this?
Or the same situation, but maybe you're clarifying and maybe that person really appreciates it.
Yes. But the third way is when you're going back and forth to solve a problem together. like this with the water cooler example like oh why oh we're trying to fit this in oh we're working together oh wait why not just do this why not just do that okay that's a little bit more neutral yeah i think when you're when you're going back and forth i agree if you're working on it together and you both fully understand the complications of the decision yes then then yeah sure 100 you're in the same level in that case right Right, right.
So think about your relationship and how confident you want to sound.
And like Lindsay said, the feelings attached to the decision, because we don't want to minimize something big for someone, of course.
Yeah, I think there are other ways to sound confident.
And again, we're not saying don't say this, there are definitely ways to say this, and it works great.
But I think there are other ways to make a suggestion with confidence.
Mm hmm. Other than this, that doesn't a little risk that where you don't run that risk of minimizing or making them feel like, why didn't you come up with this?
Right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Well, let's teach a couple other suggestions.
So the first one is why not without the just we talked about that, right?
Like, why not move this over into the bathroom?
I don't know. I actually kind of like that better, you know, because then you kind of bypass the chance of making them feel like they should have come up with that before.
Or it's actually so easy, but it's not, right?
Why not do this? Why not try this? It's just a positive suggestion.
It takes out the just, which kind of just keeps it more simple, I think.
Yeah. It's funny though, but I feel like the just makes it flow so much.
Yeah. Now I'm telling you that it's because I said it and now I feel like it's sounding like I need to.
No, I'm sure it's not. I think, you know, I also think when it comes to interactions with colleagues, it's like the context.
It's not just one comment you make one day, right, that could cause the issue.
It's over time. Yeah. Yeah, you don't want to be the why not just girl or guy.
Yeah, or the person that kind of comes in and doesn't totally see the whole picture, but thinks they know the solution right away.
Yeah, no, that's not a good person to be.
What's something else you could say? All right, maybe you could.
Also, this one feels a bit more neutral to me.
Yes, this is definitely a little lighter backing off a little bit.
Or the third one we're going to teach is give X a try.
So here you're Yeah, um, oh, good. So let's do a roleplay and see how these would sound.
Okay, so here we're colleagues and we're trying to decide how to solve a problem with a client, all right?
This is stressful, I wish we could go back in time.
Hmm, why not just call her and explain what happened?
Hmm, maybe. Maybe you could invite her to a lunch and present more ideas to her?
That's not a bad idea. Yeah, give the new restaurant down the street a try.
Yeah, why not write an email instead? Oh, that's a possibility, too.
Okay, so back and forth coming up with ideas.
So the here this didn't feel offensive. Right?
This is stressful. I wish we could go back in time.
And you said, why not just call her and explain what happened?
So I hear it sounds like I you know, we both know what's going on.
I'm trying to Yeah, I'm trying to like simplify a little bit.
I'm just throwing out an idea. Yeah, and we're kind of trying to solve the problem together.
It's not like you're coming in and helping me solve a problem I've been working on for months, right?
Right. Yeah. And then maybe you could invite her to a lunch and present more ideas to her.
Uh-huh. And then I'm just giving a restaurant suggestion.
I said, give the new restaurant down the street a try.
And then I said, yeah, why not write an email instead?
So you're coming up with a different idea.
And I just said that's a possibility too.
So it's interesting because I'm sort of rejecting your idea a little bit or moving on, but I'm saying yeah to your idea, right?
Yeah, that is funny. But I think it's also funny because it sounds like you just like don't want that confrontation.
I don't want that. Maybe I can just email. yeah so the tone there could have been interesting like yeah why not write an email instead yeah right exactly it's certainly more intimidating to have to call someone and that brings up another episode idea michelle we could do an episode probably on all ears english podcast on how to say yeah but mean no but saying the right tone like clearly i was saying no to your suggestion but i said yeah Yeah.
That's funny. Yeah. That's a tricky one.
Okay. We'll head on over to All Ears English for that one coming soon.
That's going to be a great one. I'm really excited, guys.
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And again, we focus on connection, not perfection.
And that's why we're here, right? Human connection through English.
So any final takeaways about why not just i mean we've said we want to be a little careful here right yeah well we we really talked about this very deeply um we talked about how the best way the best way to use it is probably when you're just shooting ideas back and forth um yeah and then it's very benign sounding it's it's not that the just in that situation isn't saying like simply do this right and when you're using it to bounce ideas it's just more of a flow thing but you can take it out if you want um so consider why what who are you saying it to why are you saying it how how much do you actually know the nuances of this issue yes a hundred this is about context understand your place in the context of the whole problem who's really been working on this how much do you really know And if you don't know as much, using that just would definitely minimize the difficulty of it, right?
That that person is probably very aware of if they've been struggling with it and they've come to you for help.
So just this is super high level here, Michelle.
And it matters. That really matters. Definitely.
Well, this was fun, Lindsay. And why not just head off the mic for now?
All right. That sounds like a good plan.
I'm on board with that, Michelle. All right.
All right. Take care. Bye. Bye. Thank you for listening to Business English, a podcast just for you, the high achieving global professional.
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