This is the Business English Podcast, Episode 228, Good and Bad in Business, Part 1.
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Offer ends August 10th. all ears english dot com slash connection hello lindsay how are you hey michelle i am doing really well today everything's good things are good things are good how about you anything bad is anything bad or it's all good oh it's mostly all good mostly all good you know the sun is shining in colorado no complaints what about you how are things Uh, everything is good, but I'm a little afraid because my husband is not going to be here tonight and it's going to be one on two with the kids.
I've been kind of like doing the dinner and the bedtime.
And I've been, honestly, I've been like building it up in my head.
Oh, good luck with that. I bet our listeners can relate to you because many of our listeners are parents, you know, and there are times when you're on your own with your kids.
So report back to us, Michelle, let us know how it goes.
I will. It's all good. It's all good. So.
Guys, today I am excited because this is part one of a series that we are doing, a two-part series.
But guess what? The second part is not on this podcast.
Where is it, Lindsay? It is over on the All Ears English podcast.
So that's why you're going to want to go over to All Ears English, look for it by hitting search, and then find All Ears English and hit that follow button.
But what are we talking about on part one of the series today?
Okay, well, we are going to be, you notice guys, we've been saying good, bad, good, bad.
So we're going to talk about this because we have a listener question that was really good from Elena about these words.
Okay, so we're going to go through it today.
I'm excited. Lindsay, do you just want to go ahead and read the question?
Yeah. totally here you go so from elena elena says i'm very grateful to you your podcast flourishes my english uh every morning oh that is so great by the way guys we love your questions send us your questions just like this one what is still annoying to me while speaking english is the difficulty that i have finding alternatives for good and bad adjectives right sos She says, as it were.
Yes, exactly. Well, this is a great question.
I mean, it's funny. It's interesting because she's just, you know, asking about two very simple words that I would venture to say that everyone knows who is listening to this podcast.
So we are going to go over... business ways other ways you can say this for a business I mean again and these were these these could be used outside of business but we are teaching you more the business words today that you can add some variety and then in that part two next week on all news English we're going to do more just like conversational everyday words but these are really useful for business Yeah.
And I would also say, you guys know that, you know, often we're using crossover words.
Um, the difference is on business English, when we're giving you business terms, we're trying to elevate your language a little bit, professionalize it a tiny bit.
But as Michelle said, these ones you're going to learn today could totally be used in a social scenario too, because there are lots of social scenarios at work, right?
Yeah. Oh yeah. It's kind of a semi-formal environment sometimes at work.
Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. So we're going to get into it before we do that, guys.
If you haven't listened to this episode, we have episode 188 was Michelle's startup stories.
So go on over and listen to that. But OK, so let's get into it.
So let's do. Good first. All right, good.
So we're going to give Elena, our listener, and everyone else four things you can sub in for good instead of good.
More interesting vocabulary. What's the first one?
The first one is strong. I feel this is used a lot in business.
What do you think, Lindsay? I really like this one for business because...
It feels like it kind of takes out a judgment aspect and it makes it more about strengths and weaknesses.
You know, does that make sense? It feels like it makes it a little less personal.
Like if I say I love how your presentation was good or your introduction was good versus your introduction was strong.
It just feels a little more objective to me.
Yeah. Yeah, I just think it sounds a little bit more interesting.
It gives me the picture of something that's sturdy.
Yes. But, you know, it just gives me a little bit of imagery as well, I think.
Yes, I love that. So, for example, I love how your presentation started with a strong introduction.
And then we say, you know, your performance this quarter has been strong.
We use this in many ways that is so much better than just saying your performance has been good.
Okay. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. So the next one is powerful.
So this is it's another way. It's, it's, it's good in a way, but it's, it's, it's different.
Yeah, right. How would you what do you think?
How would you describe this word? Yeah, I would reserve this for truly big situations, you know, maybe a keynote speech, a time when you're being inspired.
I wouldn't say a powerful introduction, maybe a powerful introduction, powerful performance.
No, this is for unique moments of inspiration.
The CEO, the speech the CEO made at the end of the conference was incredibly powerful.
Okay, so you feel very strongly about that.
Okay, so yeah, yeah. What else? Effective.
Okay. And how would we spell effective in this way, Lindsay?
Okay. Be careful here. E-F-F-E-C-T-I-V-E.
Yes. Yes. So yeah, instead of saying the graph was really good in the meeting, the graph was really effective in the meeting.
That means it had an impact. It was helpful.
It's so much better. It's a little more specific.
These words are more specific than good.
And this is part of what our listeners are looking for.
Guys, you want to increase your English for your career.
You want to be more specific, a little more elevated, more articulate.
These are the words that do it. This is glaringly obvious how much better this is than good to me.
Yeah, right. Yes, I agree. I agree with you.
And what's the last one for good? impressive, right?
All of the candidates were impressive, but I think Julie deserves the job.
I like the word impressive too. It elevates things.
It makes it more formal, feels more objective, just better all around.
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Exclusions apply. See details online. Okay, let's go into the other side of things, Michelle.
Bad. So just like we need other words for good, we also need other words for bad because bad is just too broad.
Yeah. And unclear. Yeah. And also it's a little, it's very direct for a business like, oh, that was bad.
Right. A lot of times in business, I think especially we're trying to do things like, you know, feedback sandwich being a little bit less direct.
I mean, it depends, of course, on the situation and who who it is.
But these words, I think, are helpful that they're a good way of saying bad, but. in a nicer way oh and i like that addition you made lindsay yeah so we'll get to those bonuses i i'm excited about today's episode guys i really hope you are writing these down because this is more than just a normal vocab episode you're going to be deploying these words all the time yeah especially in leadership so let's go into it what's our first way of framing bad and being more specific and more professional All right.
Needs work. Something needs work. Right.
So instead of saying, oh, this team is bad, it's focused more on developing something.
Development. Maybe something isn't where we want it right now.
But in the business world, we're working to improve, always working to get better, striving for more.
So instead of saying, oh, this team is really bad, which is just a huge downer and no one's going to be happy if you say that.
You would say this team really needs work.
We need to make some changes. Yeah, it makes me think of, you know, the mindset of the growth mindset versus I don't know what the term was.
There was some research out of Stanford about growth mindset versus static mindset or set mindset.
When you're in a leadership position or any position at work, you should talk about things in a growth framework, right? right where something can always be improved not that it's it's a value judgment it's good it's bad no it needs work and needs work is a little more casual than the next one michelle which is needs improvement but also both are fine depending on the context of the feedback yeah right right exactly so needs improvement what do you think about that one i mean tell us more about why you think that they're different I just think that needs work feels a little more casual but it's it's much better than bad because it's more of within the growth framework uh the possibility to get better at something right rather than just judge it as it is um but I like both so for example her slides are okay but her public speaking skills do need improvement okay I like it need improvement This next one is a little bit wordier, but you'll hear it.
It's leaves to leave something to be desired.
You hear this, Lindsay? Yes. Yes. And this would be less about any kind of feedback on a person's work.
It'd be more about a kind of a cultural thing or a broad view towards something.
Right, Michelle? So what would be an example? the workplace culture in that company leaves something to be desired yeah it's just a flowery way of saying you want more from something sure sure yeah and and there are we could do another episode on this another business version of this series even and and give you guys more words for this stuff but these are good for today i mean substandard would be the next one now this is the most extreme right his work is substandard consistently now maybe in this context you've given this person multiple chances with that needs improvement we have some gaps we've identified some gaps would be another thing we might say right at this point we're at the end of our rope right and this person's probably going to be fired so yes now we whip out the substandard yeah yeah but it's still more interesting and better way better than saying his work is bad it's just not professional to say his work is bad we need other things to say yeah right right right and just to throw out one more you said gaps but also you said weak we had strong so the opposite is weak right this is a weak introduction it's also a little bit direct Yeah, but I think it's okay.
I think what we do is we kind of like over time as someone's been working for a longer amount of time at a company, the expectations get higher and you can get a little bit more direct if they're not hearing you about improving on certain things, right?
So we start with that growth framework. We want to stay there, but we do gradually have to be direct if we want someone to act on a request to improve around something, right?
Yes, for sure. So Lindsay, just before we move into our role play, what do you think makes for a strong employee?
I think certainly responding to feedback, positively accepting feedback and actually making a concerted effort to change so that after six months, there's a clear before and after, if there's something that needs to be improved.
I think that's definitely, and then thought leadership, right?
What does that employee see that needs to be improved without even being asked about it?
What are they kind of proactive orientation towards the business?
What do you think, Michelle? I think reliability, a true passion for what you're doing.
I think someone who wants to work hard, someone creative.
Yeah. Okay. We got a lot of, it always depends on the company, obviously, but these are all good examples of good assets and an employee for sure.
Should we go into a role play now for our listeners?
Let's do it. So here we are going over a project there that we are working on together.
Here we go. All right. So here, yeah. So I love what you did with the visuals.
They are really powerful. Thanks. I felt if we use bold colors, it would be most effective.
Totally. And your sources are impressive, really strong.
They will help us prove our points. Thanks so much.
Do you think our intro needs improvement, though?
Hmm, I guess it leaves something to be desired.
Maybe we can rethink it? Yeah, because honestly, I think it's a little substandard.
It definitely needs work. okay so here we're like we said we're co-workers working together being honest with each other that's good there's always a good time for these words right yeah uh really good for sure so uh you said i love what you did with the visuals they are really powerful right so i know you said that this is like a special word for special things however yeah okay you would imagine from this that it's not just like clip art like of a heart right that maybe these are really of pictures that bring up some emotional thing or just really, yeah.
So you won't use powerful for just like, oh, here's like a picture of a cat.
I think, yeah, it depends. I mean, unless you work for like PETA or something.
I think powerful works for the question, does it move me?
If it moves you, it's powerful. Images can be incredibly powerful.
Speeches by thought leaders or keynote speakers can be incredibly powerful or can be kind of weak and uninspiring too, right?
So if something moves you, it's powerful.
Let's say that. That's a good way to think of it.
And what was the next thing? you said thanks i think i felt it that if we use bold colors it would be most effective great so that's a functional word for sure what else michelle yep and then i said and your sources are impressive really strong so there we go two for one yeah and then i said bless you bless you i said thanks so much do you think our intro needs improvement right so now we're going into something we could improve and then i said hmm i guess it leaves something to be desired and then and then i took it to an even deeper level yeah i think it's a little substandard um which yeah we have to be able to be honest i mean the worst thing would be if we took this presentation we presented this to our boss or whoever and we both have a sneaking suspicion it's not great but we're afraid to say it to each other or do the extra work, our careers could suffer, right?
Right. And what's interesting here is it sounds like you were kind of feeling me out.
You know, you said, do you think our introduction needs improvement?
And I said, you know, I kind of revealed that, yeah, I was kind of thinking the same thing.
And then you went for it. You're like, boom.
Yeah, it's boom. No, I'm just joking. It's a little substandard. yeah yeah for sure and then what's the last thing you said we agree right we agree yeah we agree so i could say it definitely needs work oh my gosh this has been a fantastic episode guys i hope you have jotted everything down from today go back and listen again what's the takeaway before i mean before we finish and then we'll remind our listeners where to find part two Yeah, I mean, this is a really great question.
I love these kinds of really specific questions.
Feel free to throw out these questions of like a simple word and how different ways to say it for different contexts.
We love that. Overall, I think this idea that in business, you know, to say good and bad, it's there are ways to be more specific.
This episode is about finding these ways to be specific and appropriate for the workplace when you're giving feedback.
Yeah. And in a way it's kind of about finding your voice, right?
Finding our voice, calibrating our voice, depending on the severity of the situation.
How many times have we given that feedback?
Um, but finding your voice and going beyond just these broad, vague words, this is how we do it, guys.
This is how you do move up the levels of your company.
As far as your English goes, right. It opens doors for you.
Okay. Uh, and what else, Michelle, where's part two, where, uh, Part two is coming up next week on the All Ears English podcast.
So please go on over there. You want to get this episode?
We don't want you to forget. So go on over right now, hit follow on All Ears English.
There's so much good stuff over there. But once you hit follow, the episode will come to you so you don't forget about it because we know that you're going to want to get more variety for different situations.
So this was a great question. This was a really fun intro to the series and we'll do the part two next time.
We'll see you guys on part two. So how do we do that?
We open that search button, guys. Type in All Ears English and then go to the show and hit that follow button wherever you listen, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, whatever it is.
Hit the follow button and next week you'll see part two drop right into your queue.
All right. Good stuff, Michelle. Thanks for coming on the show today.
I'll see you very soon. All right. Bye, Lindsay.
Thanks. All right. Bye. Bye. Thank you for listening to Business English, a podcast just for you, the high achieving global professional.
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