This is the Business English Podcast episode 269, drive home your point with two declarative phrases.
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Hey, Michelle, how's it going today?
How are you? Good. I'm good.
How are you? Great, great.
So question for you.
You ready? Yes. All right.
So what is a job that you would by no means like to have?
Oh, Lindsay, I know we've talked about this one before and you probably knew my answer, even though I wrote it down.
But I would not like to be a pharmacist.
And it's not because it's not anything against pharmacists.
It's just for me, that feels like anything medical, but that feels very intense for me in terms of making sure the right pills goes to the right person.
And I imagine I would second guess myself.
And I just I don't have that kind of confidence for that type of a situation?
Yeah. It definitely takes a certain kind of mind, a very, I guess, objective mind or something.
I agree. I'm the same way.
Uh, I wouldn't, by no means would I be able to be an ER doctor or frankly, any kind of doctor I think would be hard for me include also even like a cop, for example, last night I was watching a TV show and of course it's TV.
And so they have to make it more dramatic, but there's a big shootout in the hospital and the cops are there and they're gangs.
I'm like, Oh my gosh.
Yeah, really? Yeah.
No, there's a lot of jobs I couldn't see myself doing.
Yeah. By no means. But by goodness, we are podcasters because yeah, that is a great job.
Yes, exactly. Exactly.
So today we are going to answer a great listener question that I'm very excited about.
And we did, we did drop hints of what we'll be talking about today when we said by no means.
So guys get ready for that.
But first go over and check out another great episode of business english 262 let's do lunch american culture and food at work super important to be able to invite people to lunch uh guys go check it out because business happens not just in the office right michelle yeah oh yeah yeah for sure lunch
is huge so very helpful episode there uh should i read the listener question yeah and don't forget this came from YouTube, right?
Guys, check out our YouTube channel.
If you haven't seen it yet, check it out.
Yes. This listener asks us, hi, could you explain how to use in no way and by no means?
These terms are similar, but should they be used in different contexts?
Thanks. Very good question.
Love this question, Michelle.
Love it. Super high level.
We are going to raise everyone's level up today with this question, Michelle.
Let's get into it. Let's do it.
All right. So, but before we do that, guys, if you aren't following the Business English Podcast, make sure you hit that follow button.
Let us come to you with our episodes.
You don't have to look for us.
Yeah. Or if you're, if you're on a YouTube, just hit the follow button, right?
Just hit follow and check it out.
Yes. Good stuff. Sorry.
Yes. Okay. So let's start with by no means.
So what does that mean?
So when I said by, when you said by no means, I by no means would want to do, it would be an ER doctor.
What does that mean?
No way, no how. I guess that was an expression from, I don't know where, but no way it's impossible.
I would never want to do it.
Yeah, absolutely not.
It's not going to happen.
Um, it's just, yeah.
Um, so let's give an example.
Uh, it is by no means possible for us to hire another employee before the end of Q3.
Yeah. So you're saying when we say means we mean a way, right?
There's a way we have the means to do this, or there's a way to do this.
So you're saying there is no possible way for, we don't essentially saying it's just not going to happen.
Right. It's just not going to happen.
It's a stronger way of saying I mean why why add this in at all I we could just say it's not possible for us to hire another employee but why add in by no means what does that do well it may be driving home the point so maybe your team has been asking over and over we need another employee we need another
teammate we can't do it all on our own and then you just have to have a you know coming to the truth moment and say it is by no means possible for us to hire another employee before the end of Q3.
So we have to make it work with what we have.
Maybe if you have to drive home the point.
Right. It's like the hard truth.
Yeah. The hard truth.
Exactly. Right. It makes it more emphatic.
It's, it's, it's just more intense.
It's a stronger way of saying it's not possible.
Um, yeah. Lindsay, what's another example?
Okay. So this one is interesting.
She's by no means difficult to work with, but she does have some weaknesses.
So it matters the intonation here.
Yes. So I'm emphasizing the word difficult, right?
So I'm saying she's it's not that she's difficult.
She's not difficult.
So she's by no means difficult to work with, but she does have some weaknesses.
Does. I emphasize difficult and does.
Yeah. So you're just saying she isn't difficult to work with, but you're highlighting something else.
So why do you think why are we using by no means here?
I mean, you could just say she's not difficult to work with.
Again, just really driving home my point, just trying to say it in another way.
I could, yeah, I could have said she's not difficult to work with, but she does.
That's fine. But I just want to make sure it's very clear what I'm saying.
I'm saying I can work with her, right?
I can do it. She can be, she can collaborate.
It's just that she does have some weaknesses, another way, another option for our listeners.
Yeah. It's just different, different ways to add something to what you're saying to add more of a feeling to it and make it crystal clear.
Right. Crystal clear.
Yeah. Driving home your point in business.
Right. Love it. Exactly.
So let's go over to in no way.
So in no way means, you know, not true.
No. Also kind of this feeling of absolutely not.
So let's do some examples there.
So I could say, in no way do I see us filing for bankruptcy.
Interesting. Yeah. And I think maybe these expressions will be a little bit new for our listeners.
They're kind of a little bit elevated, a little formal.
That's why they're great for business, right?
Or she in no way represents our company's visions and opinions.
Vision and opinions yeah go ahead right so this one is um I feel this one this idea of using it in this way saying in this in no way represents us you um it's kind of common uh this is this worker maybe maybe she left and she's bad -mouthing the place maybe she uh right she's trying to take the place
down. Right. It's just in no way does this represent our thoughts and feelings.
Yeah. Yeah. It almost borders on kind of legalese a little bit, not what you'd find in a contract, but what you might find in some kind of a letter, like a demand to cease and desist or so.
I don't know, something like that.
You might find it there.
Yeah. An email from a lawyer.
Right. Feels a little legal ish.
Yeah. I agree. I mean, what's the difference, though?
So could you say she by no means represents our company's vision and opinion do you think that can you just switch these two I mean they're very similar she by no means it feels a little off when I say she by no means because I think the means uh leads to the idea of some way of doing something and in no way
means not at all I don't know could you would you mix those two and that's it and she and she by no means represents yeah it's it's right I agree that I know it is hard and overall they mean they have the same feeling to them they have the same general meaning um I don't think there's much of a difference
but let's go through it a little more so by no means do I see us follow filing for bankruptcy what do you think that if we do that By no means, do I see us filing for bankruptcy?
Yes. I don't know. What's the right answer?
No, I mean, no, no, no.
I don't have a right answer, but I would say that it's okay.
Yeah. It's okay. They both kind of mean...
I think it's important for our listeners to take a broad message today, right?
They're both kind of declaring, driving home a point, saying that something is not possible or not true or...
Yeah. Just not a thing.
It's not a thing. I mean, and if you go back to our examples about by no means and you replace them in no way, let's just do that for a second.
It is by no means possible for us to hire another employee before the end of Q3.
Now, could you say it is in no way possible for us?
That would be fine.
She is by no means difficult to work with, but she does have some weaknesses.
If you switch that, she is in no way difficult to work with.
That's fine. So in most cases, this is going to be interchangeable.
So let's just go with that.
Yeah. They're basically interchangeable for our purposes today.
Yeah. Right. Exactly.
And what I want our listeners to know is that these, this is one of those situations where you listen and you learn.
There may be slight differences for some reason that sounds a little off to us.
This one works, this one doesn't, and there may be some exact hard reason for it, but overall listen and learn.
And generally you can't go wrong.
Love it. Love that method.
That's how we learn languages.
right? Just by kind of being a kid again, listening in and absorbing.
And then when we're ready, we're starting to use things, use expressions that we've heard, right?
And I did have one that I forgot about here.
So I did, I did have an idea here that was, oh, wow.
We have so much more of the episode.
Let's keep going. Really?
Wow. Okay. So what I was thinking is by no means is saying something is not true.
She didn't pass that assignment, but by no means is she in danger of failing the class.
Whereas in no way may include yourself more relation to something.
In no way am I considering leaving my job right now.
What do you think about that?
Interesting. Yeah. I mean, it works in this case.
Yeah, right. Exactly.
That's the thing. Again, the main thing is to leave this example with the idea that both of these expressions are used to say something will not happen.
Something is not true.
You're driving home your point.
And being extra emphatic.
Maybe you have gone back and forth and people haven't quite heard you.
I think that's the usage of these two points.
It's the final time you're going to say something in many cases, right?
You're finally declaring you've been going back.
Putting my foot down.
Are you sure you're putting your foot down?
Yeah, exactly. You got it.
Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile.
With the price of just about everything going up during inflation, we thought we'd bring our prices down.
So to help us, we brought in a reverse auctioneer, which is apparently a thing.
Mint Mobile Unlimited Premium Wireless.
How to get 30, 30, how to get 30, how to get 20, 20, 20, how to get 20, 20, how to get 15, 15, 15, 15, just 15 bucks a month sold.
Give it a try at mintmobile .com slash switch.
$45 up front for three months plus taxes and fees.
Promo rate for new customers for limited time.
Unlimited more than 40 gigabytes per month.
Okay. I think we need examples.
Lots of them, Michelle.
Well, we have so many that I didn't even realize we were doing all of them because they were on the next page.
Here we go. Lindsay, you want to do the first one for us?
Yeah. So here we go.
So he is by no means a bad kid.
He just has some growing up to do.
Okay. And you could have said he is in no way a bad kid.
Sure. A hundred percent.
Yes. Um, in no way do I think it's a good idea to spend all that money on marketing.
And could we have used by no means, uh, by no means do I think it's a good idea to spend all that money on marketing.
What do you think? See, I think that one sounds a little funny yeah but not too bad but not too bad again well yeah well I was gonna say what I think is interesting so there are going to be situations where it doesn't quite work but getting the general idea here matters and also it's interesting how we're
flipping the grammar in no way do I think right we're not saying I do think or I think in no way do I think that's really important to note.
Or by no means, will we take time off this weekend, for example?
Maybe. Right. Right.
So, the grammar is important to pay attention to here, guys, right?
Yeah. Yeah, exactly.
Let's give some other ways that we could say this.
So, the first one is absolutely not, right?
We are absolutely not interested in purchasing equipment that we don't need.
Or under no circumstances.
Yeah, that kind of falls into the same declarative category.
Under no circumstances will our employees be allowed to share this confidential information.
It's very serious sounding.
Something's not allowed, right?
But the idea is that all of these make your denial or your negative statement stronger, much more serious.
You sound more serious.
Maybe you're making an announcement.
You're sending a legal letter or something like that.
Shall we do a role play, Michelle to drive this home?
Let's do it. We're going to drive it home, get in the car because we're driving.
I don't know. Okay.
Okay. Here we go. Here we are discussing the agenda for a meeting at work.
So will we share the results?
We can share the results, but we should by no means take more than 10 minutes to talk about it.
Yeah. It could go overboard.
In no way do I want to open it up, open up a whole can of worms.
Agreed. Absolutely not.
Yeah. And the team should know that under no circumstances should they share any of this information until we finalize the numbers good point i wonder if this happens a lot in like science labs where people are doing very important research on diseases and they find they think they found a pattern in their
research or the numbers that they've found some kind of cure for something big then i'm sure they have to sign ndas probably or certain things need to be under wraps i was just gonna say under wraps too that's a good one another episode for another day yeah yeah yeah exactly under wraps um exactly yeah
there might be times when certain things need to be kept a secret and you you can't share the information well well then there's also people who work in you know for the certain government agencies and they might of course well they're their spouse about anything from work they have a security clearance
security clearance is sure sure they can't visit certain countries all these things yeah there's lots going on there okay good stuff so michelle where should we start to break down our role play here we go okay so i said we can share the results but we should by no means take more than 10 minutes to
talk about it so i'm saying let's keep it quick okay and then i say yeah it could go overboard in no way do i want to open it up open so i keep thing.
Open it up. I don't know why.
In no way do I want to open up a whole can of worms.
And that's a bonus for today.
Open up a can of worms.
It's like, sorry, I just saw a fly.
Okay, that distracted my eye.
Open up a whole can of worms to get that something started and then you can't really stop it.
You're sharing something and then everybody has their commentary and you can't take it back.
I used this yesterday in a business meeting, a marketing meeting I had uh, with our marketing consulting company.
And I can't remember what I was saying, but it definitely it's used a lot.
It's a good one. Like you said, Michelle, when you just don't want to, you realize if you do something, it's going to open up all these problems, all these additional complications.
So you just keep that closed.
Yes, yes, exactly. Exactly.
Um, and then I said, agreed.
Absolutely not. Good.
So here we're, yeah, people are taking us seriously because we're, we're using more serious language.
Right. And then I say, yeah.
And the team should know that under no circumstances.
Should they share any of this?
I think a key point here, Michelle, is that we're slowing down when we're saying these key phrases.
At least I am. You know what I mean?
As we're delivering it.
By no means. Yeah. You really take the time on those by no means in no way.
Right. Yeah. Under no circumstances.
That's a very good point.
And we've talked about a little bit on the show how pausing and slowing down can make things seem stronger.
Sometimes people think, oh, you have to speak only at a certain speed or you can't pause.
But sometimes it can actually be useful.
So this just shows that you're kind of in charge here.
Yeah. It makes me think a little bit of how companies have evolved in the US in the last four years around their work from home policies.
There's a funny meme on Instagram where he talks about the boss announcing a work from home policy in 2021.
Oh, you can work from anywhere.
We'll never expect you back in the office.
And then there's like 2023 by no means are you permitted to work offshore you know from the beach it's just hilarious they flip -flop their policies and then take it seriously each time right taking it delivering it driving it home this is what our policy is now and then two years later it's the complete
opposite right but i could see a manager or an hr director making this kind of announcement by slowing down this is the statement they're declaring something okay absolutely yeah Yeah.
Oh, man, this is fun.
I mean, this is a great question.
The takeaway, I would say, is number one, there's very little difference.
You might be able to feel it out in one area, one sounds more correct.
There might be some official reason, but I couldn't find one.
But just know that they make they drive your home.
They drive your home.
They drive your point home.
They make things stronger and try them out today and just keep listening.
That's going to help you learn yeah keep listening especially when maybe your manager at work is making some kind of announcement i could also see this being used at home by a mom or dad making a rule at home right yeah no way are you allowed to go out after 9 p .m or something like that right yeah yeah
yeah so good stuff all right michelle thanks for being on the mic today all right you too bye bye Thank you for listening to Business English, a podcast just for you, the high achieving global professional.
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