This is the Business English Podcast episode 335.
Don't let your Business English vocabulary come to a grinding halt.
Welcome to the Business English Podcast from All Ears English.
Get the English skills you need to achieve your dreams in global business.
For a presentation, a meeting, or your office party, this is Real Business English with your favorite American hosts, Lindsay and Aubrey, coming to you from Arizona and Colorado, USA.
Hello there Aubrey, happy Thursday, we're recording today on a Thursday.
Happy Thursday to you Lindsay, how's it going?
Hey it's going pretty well.
Aubrey, you've been working here at All Ears English for about five years now, right?
I'm your anniversary, happy anniversary to me.
We should have been celebrating.
I didn't even realize it.
We did overrun IELTS energy at least, we made a big deal about it.
Happy anniversary to you, I love that.
Well so then, as you've been here at All Ears English working with us, have you ever reached an impasse at work would you say?
Oh yeah, this happens to everybody where if there's something you're working on, some kind of project that relies on other people to finish something, this will happen that somebody's a bottleneck or somebody isn't able to accomplish their task in time and so you're waiting, you're at this impasse where you
can't progress until they finish their part of it.
I'm sure everyone out there listening has been in that same situation, it happens all the time.
It happens and it's frustrating especially nowadays, but we work online with a lot of content and content moves hands, right?
One person works on it, then someone else does something else, this creates an impasse a lot of times.
An impasse can also be created sometimes when you can't quite agree in a more kind of, I don't know, abstract sense, right?
Absolutely, right. If someone's either trying to come to a compromise or negotiate and you just reach an impasse because people aren't willing to back down.
Yeah, so we're talking today about things that stop business, right, from moving forward, but first I do want to call out a reviewer.
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Yeah, good stuff. And our question for today comes from YouTube from Farik5539.
Shall I go ahead and read the question?
Yeah, let's do it. Great video.
Could you make a video about these expressions and their differences?
Come to a grinding halt, come to an impasse, come to a dead end.
All right. I immediately was like, oh, this is perfect for the Business English Podcast because we use these all the time at work, especially.
Yes, you might use these in your daily life too, but often at work, that's when we're coming to these dead ends, these impasses when we're waiting for someone else so that we can complete a project.
Oh, it's so frustrating.
Oh man. Or even in your personal life when you're emailing doctors or lawyers or whoever you're communicating with, you think you're getting progress, getting work done, and then you have to send an email and you wait four days now.
It's true, right? This can happen everywhere in your life, unfortunately.
At least we have solidarity knowing we've all been there.
We're all in the same boat.
We're all getting stuck sometimes.
We get stuck, we get stuck.
Alright, so we're going to do exactly what our listener asked for over on YouTube, which is to find these and show you how to use them.
Exactly. Yeah. And we also have a bonus here too that we use all the time.
So we're excited to share this vocab.
What's the first one, Aubrey?
Yeah. So first is come to a grinding halt.
This implies that something stopped more suddenly.
There was maybe a catalyst, something that caused something to come to a stop, right?
To come to that grinding halt.
This is a very, there's a lot of imagery here.
Yeah. If you imagine something big that has to stop its momentum.
So there's this loud grinding noise as it stops.
Yeah. Sometimes if you could think of a train for sure, maybe a screeching or a horse drawn carriage for some reason, I'm going back to like the 1800s in my head.
I don't know why transported you back.
Horse drawn carriage and the horses are like, and they're, you know, you can hear their hooves are kind of grinding against the street.
There's, it's, there's real imagery here, which is written in a horse drawn carriage, Lindsay, maybe in New York where they've driven around the city.
I've done it in a few places.
I knew someone who owned one in Idaho and we would be in a parade up on a horse drawn carriage, which is kind of fun, but that is, it's true.
They're loud. And if they have to come to a stop, the horses are grinding, the wheels are grinding.
So it's this imagery.
It's not, you know, slowly happening in a quiet way.
It's coming to a screeching halt.
And it's usually, like you said, sudden it's maybe unexpected because that's why you're grinding.
It's like, Oh my God, all of a sudden we have to throw down the emergency brake.
Otherwise, if it had been planned and we knew we were going to have to stop here, you wouldn't really be grinding because you have been slow.
You would have been slowing down.
Right. Exactly. So it is a little specific, the meaning of this.
It needs to be something that's pretty sudden.
Maybe there was, you know, something that caused it.
For example, you might say after two weeks of back and forth, negotiations have come to a grinding halt.
This means it was pretty sudden.
And that is an impasse right there.
And it seemed like things were going well.
We were negotiating and then all of a sudden, you know, something happened and now the situation looks different.
Yeah. Sometimes just with negotiation, someone will just like pull out of negotiations and it just comes to a grinding halt.
Nothing can be done.
Or it looks like the deal came to a grinding halt.
The company has decided to go with another vendor.
Yeah. And this can happen sometimes too.
You're trying to get a client at work and you think things are going great.
But at the same time they're talking to other vendors too, right?
You don't necessarily know it.
Right. Exactly. Sometimes it's out of your control, right?
This happens. So it's, it is good though to have the vocabulary and to realize what this means because if you use it to talk about other kinds of changes that are, that you see coming that are less sudden would be sort of strange.
This definitely implies that it was very sudden.
Totally. I agree. This has to be for sudden unexpected, stopping your tracks type, yo, type moments.
Yeah. Okay. Aubrey, what's the next one?
So number two is come to an impasse or we'll often also say reached an impasse.
Like we've reached an impasse on our end, we're waiting for the contract to be signed and then we can move forward.
It means there's a block.
We've reached something that is blocking our progress.
Yes. Or the union encouraged workers to strike after salary negotiations came to an impasse.
Right. So this just happened with what was that?
The dock workers on the East coast.
This was a big one.
So the shipyard, there were all these ships just waiting to dock because the union, the dock workers were on strike.
Luckily they were able to resolve it pretty quickly because that could have devastating impacts on the economy and on companies, small businesses that are waiting for shipments or perishable goods that are, that can't be docked.
And it's a key political moment too right now.
I was actually thinking of that.
So that happened too.
And also Boeing just did a strike, which Boeing is having so many problems right now, disasters.
So we'll see what happens out of that.
But they, I think they had a strike or they're having a union negotiation.
So yeah. Okay. So next one, Aubrey, what would it be?
Yeah. Number three is to come to a dead end or reach a dead end as well.
In these cases, you can use both of these verbs, come to the phrasal verb or the verb reach.
We reached a dead end.
Yeah. So I feel like I've applied to every job out there and have come to a dead end.
So just seems like things are not going to go in any direction.
When you drive the streets in the U S at least, sometimes you'll turn down a street and there'll be a sign that says dead end or no outlet is what it said.
I used to think when I was a kid, I used to think that meant there's no electricity on that street.
Oh, that's really funny.
No outlets here. Sorry.
We're powerless. So don't drive down that street.
You know, you can't plug in your iPhone or something.
That's the literal meaning, right?
If you come to a dead end of a road, you, it doesn't go through, you have to turn around.
And then we have this more figurative meaning to mean, to be stuck, to be blocked.
We've something is, is keeping us from being able to progress.
Yeah, guys, sometimes it's good to learn the literal meaning and take that in to try to figure out what it is and when to use it in, in the metaphorical meaning, right?
So that's a really good way.
If you can understand the literal meaning, you'll really understand the metaphorical meaning.
Absolutely. And all of these have a literal meaning impasse as well.
There could be an impasse on a mountain if you're hiking and there's been a rock slide and you can't keep going, you've reached an impasse.
So we, um, you know, there are these literal meanings to mean you're stuck, you're blocked.
And then we also use them a ton in business English to talk about how our progress is stuck at work.
Any other examples for dead end?
Do we do them both?
Yeah. Let's see. The other one was we reached a dead end when all the vendors weren't available.
So I've been in this type of situation where you're trying to plan some kind of event or fundraiser and everyone you call is booked is not available.
So you feel like we've reached a dead end.
We might have to get creative and do something else.
That sounds horrible.
Yes. Yes. Definitely creativity is called for in that moment.
I like the next one, Aubrey bottleneck, because I mean, we use it a lot here.
We're very aware of bottlenecks.
Uh, what is a bottleneck?
Literally what is it?
Well, so yeah, we use this literally as well.
It's just the neck of a bottle.
So if you imagine those glass bottles, you drink soda or alcohol out of it.
And then the neck is the skinny part at the top.
So it's tougher for anything to pass through the neck.
And so then we use this in business if we're talking about a lot of things needing to be done and it's all funneling toward a neck so that something is inhibiting it is keeping it from moving forward.
Yeah, exactly. And a lot of companies will think about this in terms of each given system, like companies are made up of systems, SOPs, standard operating procedures, and the job of a manager is to analyze and make sure they're constantly reducing bottlenecks, eliminating bottlenecks.
What is the procedure and how can it get done so that no one is holding it back?
Right? Because sometimes it's a person that's causing the bottleneck.
If they have so many tasks they have to do and not enough time, and then everybody else is waiting with nothing to do, waiting for something to come through the bottleneck.
Yeah, sometimes I worry that I'm a bottleneck at Aller's English for a lot of things.
I think things have gotten better over the years, but I think I still am standing in the way.
Right, there was a lot you were taking upon yourself and you got to realize, all right, I have to start delegating a lot of this so that I'm not a bottleneck here.
Yes, it's really tough.
So even as we're building our C1 course now, we are very conscious of what is the process.
Jessica is designing the curriculum, you're working on the exercises, designing the curriculum as well and people are checking and people are doing video and audio editing.
That's when it runs smoothly, right?
When everyone has their task and you're not having to wait for this bottleneck to clear for something to come to you.
That's when you know you've set up a good system.
A hundred percent. So what's a sample sentence?
Because this one's very common.
You might say, ooh, I don't want to be a bottleneck here.
And that might be your reason for delegating something.
You're recognizing, if I don't, then I'm going to be a bottleneck.
Yeah. And if you hear, I think if you hear, if you've just joined a new company and you hear your boss or managers or anyone saying this, it's a good sign for the company because it means they understand it means things are going to get stuck in gridlock.
Things are going to be moving forward and people are conscious of systems, which is huge, right?
They're not wanting anyone to be overly burdened or and anyone else to be stuck.
They're thinking about making the systems run smoothly.
I agree. That's a very good sign.
Yes. Or this has become a real bottleneck for her.
So maybe, maybe she's in charge of delivering something or you were saying, Aubrey, maybe sometimes you're waiting for something and then you're waiting on maybe a contractor to deliver that work, but they don't deliver it to you.
So it's become a bottleneck for you, not for that contractor, but for you because you're in charge of getting it done, right?
That's where there's an issue with the task or the system.
There's a bottleneck where you're waiting for something.
Love it. So, so native and natural insider business terms.
Yes. And I was just thinking about bottlenecks.
I mean, the ultimate bottleneck is government.
Yes. Government agencies, I think often have bottlenecks.
I used to have to file paperwork with the corporations commission in Arizona.
And when I was working for an attorney and, oh man, that was a bottleneck.
We would wait months sometimes for this paperwork to be approved.
Oh, it's rough. It's rough out there.
It's rough out there.
Yes. So that's the ultimate example, red tape essentially.
Yes. So, all right, Aubrey, role play time.
We are discussing a prospective employee.
Nice. Yeah. HR maybe here or just a company looking to hire someone.
I'll start us out. It looks like we've reached an impasse with this candidate.
Yeah. It looks that way since salary negotiations came to a grinding halt last week.
We may be at a dead end for this position.
I think we interviewed everyone that was qualified.
It's worrisome because we have a bottleneck bottleneck with this project until we hire someone.
Yeah. Oh, that's tough.
Right. When you're looking for the right person, find them and you're dealing with a bottleneck that isn't going to be solved until you have someone to fill that role.
Yeah. Hiring is tough.
I think the hiring outlook has gotten a little better in the last year or so, but it is tough.
It's still tough to find the right people.
So I'll start us out here.
I first said we've reached an impasse with this candidate.
So that kind of means something has stopped progress.
It can be pretty general here.
It just means like, ooh, I don't think it's going to move forward.
Then I said, yeah, it looks that way since salary negotiations came to a grinding halt last week.
So we thought we were moving fast, maybe we were walking and running and then quick halt.
Okay. That person maybe dropped some information or said they have a hard limit, which is not negotiable for us.
Yeah. There was something from one end or the other that was non -negotiable.
And so it came to a grinding halt.
That means, yeah, it was unexpected.
It wasn't something that we saw coming.
Yes. And then you said, Aubrey, we may be at a dead end for this position.
We've interviewed everyone that was qualified.
So it means like, oh, we might be, there's no way to move forward.
We're at a dead end.
And then I said, it's worrisome because we have a bottleneck with this project until we hire someone.
Yes. Yeah. Tough. Okay.
I know. Right. Not a great situation to be in, but all of this vocabulary, you've likely heard it before.
If not, you're going to start hearing it.
We use it a ton in business English and also in our daily lives.
Like this is something we talk about when we're stuck in some way.
And there are a lot of different ways to communicate that idea.
Yeah, for sure. And then let's do a little pro tip from an employer's perspective.
If you identify a bottleneck and bring that to your manager or your boss, that adds a lot of value.
Well, if you identify the bottleneck number one and then show how it could be solved, that adds, that adds the value.
Absolutely. And imagine the result if you don't, because your progress is likely slowed or stopped.
And so then it might just look to the manager that you're just not doing what you're supposed to be doing.
They need to be aware of this bottleneck that can be fixed so that you can do your job correctly.
100%. And if you can kind of do the thinking ahead of time, and here's the solution, because sometimes if a problem comes, then it's just kind of putting another burden on management in a way to solve it.
So if you can kind of solve it beforehand, that's so good guys.
Especially where you are the boots on the ground, you have a better idea of how the system is working, what might be the solution.
So if you can offer suggestions, they are so helpful.
100%. That's great.
So there is another episode guys that you could check out.
We recommend 319, don't send the wrong message with business meeting vocabulary.
Hmm. I wonder what that one's about because we talked about some really good phrases for interrupting.
If someone is going on too long, lost track of time, you may have to interrupt.
You want to do so politely, respectfully.
Don't miss that episode.
Yeah. You have to do it right.
Interrupting is a huge part of our culture.
In American business, we expect to be interrupted, but we have to do it the right way.
There are certain keywords and if you do it the wrong way, it will actually be blatantly rude, even in American business.
Absolutely. Exactly.
It could really hurt the connection.
So yes, scroll up if you missed it.
Episode 319 and be sure to hit follow if you are missing episodes.
So they drop right into your queue.
Yeah. Hit follow. And for our takeaway today, guys, take the pro tip home and use that for sure.
And you'll find those impasses and work through them there.
There's always going to be a way to get, you know, in our, in our role play scenario, maybe someone internally could be trained right on this project.
That's true. It's not enough just to talk about the bottleneck, the dead end, where we want to be looking for solutions.
Everyone would prefer to work someone who's solution oriented.
Absolutely. Yeah. Be positive.
Be solution oriented.
I love it. All right.
We'll end it on that.
Aubrey, you have a good day.
You talk to you next time.
All right. Bye. Bye.
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