This is the Business English Podcast, episode 440.
Improve your business English vocabulary just like that.
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, Aubrey and Michelle, coming to you from Arizona and New York City, USA.
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with you but guys here i am am with aubrey and we're excited to record for you today um aubrey um what is something that you wish could happen just like that but actually takes a lot of work oh everything making dinner man i wish i could snap my fingers and just like that it was done a lot of things at work every task i completely not recording but like proofreading things and all of that i'm like why can't this happen just like that well with ai it probably will eventually right a lot of those things are quicker this is interesting this came up in a recent episode um you were talking about magic with lindsey
and these expressions we use with magic and she said you can't wave a magic wand at it means something doesn't happen just like that yeah this is an interesting phrase just like that so i'm excited to dive into some of the the vocab we use to talk about how fast we want things to happen.
Definitely. This is going to be great.
But first guys, we want to announce the results from a Spotify poll that we did.
Aubrey, tell us about it.
Yeah. So this was from episode 421 right here on Business English.
Let's Talk Shop about Business English.
And we asked if you would be a good event planner.
We got a lot of responses.
responses, 53 % of you said yes.
And 30 % said no. And 15 % said I am an event planner.
So I was impressed with how many people were like, that's actually my job.
That's interesting.
Aubrey, would you be a good event planner?
I don't think so. I would plan the event for myself, like what I think would be fun.
And then other people would come and be like, no, no, this isn't what we want.
Yeah. I, I wouldn't think I would be a good one, but I did once, um, probably 12, 13 years ago, I temped, um, doing event planning for a month and we were, it was one big event for the whole month.
And I have to say, I really did enjoy it.
So who knows? I don't know.
You were good at it.
Nice. I mean, to an extent, I'm not good at design stuff though.
So I might be good at some of the logistics and those types of things and wherever I can be creative, not with design because I have no eye for that.
So that would be the issue.
So maybe not like a wedding planner, but maybe a office event conference planner or something.
I don't know. This is a good example for one of today's expressions for, like, wedding planning.
I would love for that to happen just like that.
And instead, there's so many details, so much work you have to do.
That is not something that happens just like that.
No, no, no, no. So.
All right. So, yeah, that's the first one.
Just like that. So, again, that means immediately or easily or unexpectedly.
Right. So he quit his job and moved to another country just like that.
Right. So this doesn't mean this.
This means quickly.
This is not about magical.
I wish that I could get this done just like that.
this is more just saying that it happened out of nowhere right very unexpectedly yeah we'll say out of the blue or out of nowhere right happens just like that maybe this is a friend of yours who hadn't even told anyone that he's quitting that he's moving or it could this happen to me recently unexpectedly someone a friend of mine moved to thailand just like that nobody had any idea that he was even thinking about moving.
Yeah. Yeah, exactly.
So, um, um, or we spent weeks trying to schedule a meeting and then she called back yesterday and signed the contract on the spot.
Just like that. The deal was closed.
Yeah. So it seems like it ended up happening quite easily, right?
Just like that. The deal was closed.
She showed up, signed it super easily.
we were done. Yeah, I love it.
And what's the next one, Aubrey?
Yeah, we use a lot of different ways to say this, especially at work.
We'll also say straight away, which means immediately.
You might say we've received the customer complaint this morning and our support team responded straight away.
So very similar to right away or immediately.
This is one word straight away.
Straight away. I love it.
So, for example, we received the customer complaint this morning and our support team responded straight away.
Yes. And then also another example, if you notice any issues with the new software update, please report them straight away to IT.
So this is another just an interesting way to say right away, immediately.
Yeah, exactly. The third one, I like this.
This this one feels very intense, but it's good.
It's at once. Yeah.
Same thing. Immediately, right away, we'll say, do this at once.
Yeah. So how would that sound?
Yeah. An example is when the system crashed, we contacted the IT department at once to look into what happened.
It means the same as right away.
Right. Or please review the contract at once.
I'd like your feedback as soon as possible.
Yeah, which means immediately.
I need you to do this right now.
Right. This is interesting.
If you're at work, I could imagine hearing at once and being a little confused because this is sort of idiomatic, right?
It doesn't have anything to do with something happening one time.
Once it means right away, immediately.
Yeah. Yeah, definitely.
Right. At the same time, like it also means at the same time or simultaneously.
So like Like launching three new marketing campaigns at once might stretch our resources too thin.
So at the same time, simultaneously, yeah, that would be a lot.
Where this is a totally separate meaning, right?
It also means simultaneously.
So you can understand this could create some confusion.
Do you mean immediately?
Do you mean right away?
Or do you mean that these things are going to happen at the same time?
So you just have to pay attention to the context to know which meaning of at once is being used.
Definitely. Very important.
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All right. Our next one is tout suite, which is French. This is an expression we have pulled from French. Yes.
And we write it just like is written in French, which also means right away or as soon as possible.
We often use it to stress urgency.
And I'm curious, Michelle, do you feel like this has sort of a more sophisticated tone or do you hear this used informally as well?
well um I think it could be either I I personally don't say this very frequently you know what I might say like stat mmm yes that comes from like hospitals right yeah yeah yeah exactly that's interesting to point out how this everyone has sort of their own personal language style some people might say too sweet some people say stat or just straight away yeah you can choose whatever fits you the best. It's whatever, um, feels more natural to you.
Um, so, but yeah, it definitely has this sophisticated or kind of international tone.
So I do like how it sounds.
Maybe it'll, maybe I'll start using it more Aubrey.
Here's an example. Someone might say the customer is upset about the delay.
Please follow up with a call to tweet to smooth things over.
That just means right now, do it right away.
Right now. Or the new project accountant starts tomorrow.
So we need to get onboarding materials ready.
Tootsweet. Can we spell that, Aubrey, for our listeners?
Because, yeah, what's interesting is if you look at it, it looks like you would say Tootsweet, right?
Yeah, Tootsweet, but they cram it all together.
Exactly. So it's three words, T -O -U -T, and then D -E, and then suite, S -U -I -T -E.
So it is spelled very differently than you would expect in English.
We keep the French spelling, but, and then the pronunciation, we kind of run them all together.
other. Thanks, Aubrey.
And then the last one is pronto, which is right away.
So yeah, I like how this one sounds.
It also makes me feel like, yeah, in an office, but also I feel like I could hear it in the kitchen of a restaurant or I don't know.
Absolutely. Yeah, it's very versatile.
Very versatile. So we need those Q2 sales figures finalized pronto.
The CFO is asking for them before noon.
Or you might say if the vendor doesn't deliver the materials pronto, we'll have to find a backup supplier.
So both of these just mean right away.
We need it to happen right now.
But it's interesting.
These all have such similar meanings.
We use these phrases so often.
It's really good to have a variety so that you can switch it up.
You don't want to have to say the same one over and over and over.
You want to be able to use a mix of these.
Yeah, definitely. Definitely.
Really good. So should we do a role play?
Yes. So for this role play, you and I work in a hospital.
I don't know if that's a good idea.
We should use stat here.
And we just found out about an unexpected schedule change.
I'll start us out. Okay.
The chief surgeon just informed me they're moving Mr. Leland's operation up to this afternoon.
This afternoon? That's four days early.
They're changing the whole surgical schedule just like that?
Yeah, he said it's urgent.
We need to declare OR2 at once and notify the anesthesiology team.
Got it. I'll contact the OR staff and alert pre -op straight away.
Thanks. I'll update the patient's chart and get the paperwork over to admissions, Tootsweet.
What about his lab results?
We were expecting the final blood panel tomorrow.
I messaged the lab manager, and he's pushing it to the top of the queue.
They'll get it to us pronto.
Yeah, for sure. At a hospital, at least one of these would have been stat.
Maybe instead of Tootsweet.
we'll get this paperwork over to admissions stat already all of them would be stat in a hospital do this stat do that stat um let's go through this you started your first was they're changing the whole surgical schedule just like that and that means sort of out of unexpectedly yes yeah and then you said we need to clear or2 at once and notify the anesthesiology team.
Yeah. So at once, right away.
Yes, exactly. And then you said, okay, I'll alert pre -op straight away.
It means I'm going to do it right now.
And then you said, I'll update the patient's chart and get the paperwork over to admissions, tootsweet.
But maybe we would have just said stat.
Yes, I do say tootsweet.
I hear it, but it's true in a hospital.
We're going to hear stat a lot to mean right now, right away.
And then I said, I messaged the lab manager.
He's pushing it to the the top of the queue, they'll get it to us pronto.
That just means as soon as possible.
Right. Okay. Wow. Well, I'm feeling very like, I got to get going.
I got to do something now with these.
Which is perfect. We use expressions like this a lot at work, right?
We're in a hurry. We're rushed.
We need these phrases to share that something needs to happen right away.
And I wanted to share with you the episode where this came up, Lindsay and Michelle were talking about this in episode 2427 of the All Ears English podcast, Make Your English Magical, where she's talking about you can't wave a magic wand and get something to happen just like that.
So be sure to follow over there as well, All Ears English and right here on Business English.
Perfect. All right.
So for takeaway for today.
So, yeah, exactly. We often need to express urgency at work and also keep that connection, right?
We're always talking about having that connection with our co -workers.
So these are really good for that.
So definitely use these phrases to improve your vocabulary straight away.
Yes, and you might hurt the connection if you're like, do this right now.
Do it ASAP. Some ways that are a little more harsh.
These today's expressions do build the connection more.
You're expressing that urgency, but in a way that's a little less harsh and blunt.
Yeah, I love it. All right, Aubrey, thanks so much for chatting today.
And guys, thank you so much for listening.
This was a lot of fun.
and yeah Aubrey just like that the episode's over just like that we're done all right we'll see you all right have a good day bye you too thank you for listening to business english a podcast just for you the high achieving global professional want more from all ears english don't miss our biggest and best podcast with With 8 million monthly downloads, just search for the All Ears English podcast and hit follow to get four new episodes per week on fluency, American culture, grammar, and so much more.
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