This is the Business English Podcast, episode 465.
Tricky, complex, or challenging?
How to describe hard things at work.
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 Michelle, coming to you from New York City and Colorado, USA.
You're in a meeting.
Someone makes a quick comment, everyone laughs, and you're still trying to catch what they said.
It's not that you don't know English, it's that real conversations are fast, messy and full of slang.
And I'll see you next time. allearsenglish.com slash fluency score one more time go to allearsenglish.com slash f-l-u-e-n-c-y s-c-o-r-e Hey, Lindsay, how are you?
Hello, Michelle.
Doing well today.
How's it going for you?
I'm good.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Lindsay, what is the most challenging part of your job?
Ooh, Michelle, probably time management and delegation.
So knowing what I should do myself.
Sorry, there's a big fire engine outside my house.
I'm not sure if you can hear that.
But anyways, knowing what I should do myself and what I should delegate is a real challenge for me at this point.
Yeah.
What about you?
Yeah.
But I would say, you know always, always trying to make sure I am able to complete everything that I and also like, giving myself enough time right.
Sometimes I don't know how to put it, but I should give myself more grace, more time, and just allow myself to spend the appropriate amount of time needed on everything, instead of Feeling like I always want to get more and more and more.
Done is what I'm trying to say.
Yes, I know.
It's time.
It sounds like what we have in common is the tyranny of time.
It's crazy.
Oh, I like that.
Time stresses me out.
Sometimes I wonder, are other people stressed out about time or is it just me?
No, I think everybody is both of us.
Yeah and everyone.
Okay, that's good.
That makes me feel a little better.
Yeah, you're good.
Um, but today we're going to talk about words you can use at work.
To say something is difficult in some way, and this is huge in conversation because it can help You express yourself to a coworker.
It can help you warn someone or give them a heads up or even comfort someone.
And then one other thing is you know, if you're like, let's say, you're working together with a colleague on a difficult project, this can really help you connect with them.
So it's really important to have these vocabulary words.
To be honest about something being a little bit difficult.
Yeah, and the other context where this could be important I think you mentioned.
Give someone a heads up.
I feel like we often work with contractors on I don't know different things like tracking, Google Analytics tracking, and they'll have an interview, i'll explain our business and they'll be like oh sure, no problem, i can handle that for you, i'll have it done in two days.
Then they get into the weeds and they realize it's actually incredibly complicated for being a small company and they end up not completing the project because they're way out of their wheelhouse.
It's crazy and so you need so people.
I don't know if it's an overconfidence that people have or we're over complicated, I don't know.
But being able to tip people off, give them a heads up and say this is actually more complex than you might realize.
I wanna slow down, explain what this job will involve.
Interesting.
Yes.
So that's a really good use case there.
Definitely.
Yeah.
Really, really important to point that out, Lindsay.
So let's get into the vocabulary.
So the first one, I love this one.
It's just tricky.
Tricky.
Nice and short and sweet.
So we're saying this is, like you said, informal for sure.
Quick and easy to say. informal, but could work at work too.
We don't just use formal words at work.
So you're saying that something may not be that hard, but it's not easy.
Okay.
And there are certain tricks and traps, maybe.
Yeah so, for example, it can be tricky to get the computer to work after it freezes, but IT will help you figure it out.
Or these numbers are kind of tricky.
I need my calculator.
Yeah.
Are you good at doing math in your head, Lindsay?
No, gosh, I don't do math in my head.
Nope.
No, I think this is just a nice way of saying.
Something is hard, but it's just not such an intense thing to say, right?
It's like, yeah.
What else, Michelle?
I would say this is kind of similar, maybe a step up in how difficult it is.
Tough.
This is spelled T-O-U-G-H, pronounced tough.
And this is, like I said, there's also a little bit more on the casual side.
A lot of the time I think it's used for decisions.
So, for example, this is a tough decision.
Let's talk it through.
Yes, I love it.
Or if this assignment is too tough for us to complete in time, we can move on and revisit it tomorrow.
Yeah, so I would say I use these two words, tricky and tough, a lot.
They feel very conversational.
Oh, that's tricky, right?
This might be tricky to figure out or something like that.
Now we're going to move into kind of the more formal fancy words ways of describing something like this.
What is the first one, Lindsay?
First one is demanding.
So something that's a slog, right?
This is bigger than just tricky or tough.
Demanding means it's going to take a lot of your resources, whether that's energy, competence.
Skills might be lengthy.
This new assignment is really demanding.
It should be a two-person job.
Right.
Yeah, it requires a lot.
And it can also describe a person.
Yeah.
Right.
You can say someone is demanding, which means they have a lot of demands.
Yeah, absolutely.
The new boss is really demanding.
I hope things calm down soon.
For sure.
So we're kind of going up in levels of seriousness.
Tricky, tough, demanding.
Right.
Don't you think?
Yeah.
All right.
Good stuff.
New fall arrivals are at Nordstrom Rack stores now.
Get ready to save big with up to 60% off Vince, Kurt Geiger London, and more.
How did I not know Rack has Adidas?
Because there's always something new.
Join the Nordy Club at Nordstrom Rack to unlock exclusive discounts on your favorite brands.
Shop new arrivals first and more.
Plus, get an extra 5% off every rack purchase with a Nordstrom credit card.
Great brands, great prices.
That's why you rack.
All right, Michelle, we're back for challenging is our next one.
I like this too.
I like this because challenging has an air of positivity to it.
Don't you think?
Yes.
Oh, it doesn't mean it's hard.
Notice we're not really teaching the word hard, because hard is just a little too simple and it's a little negative.
I think.
Challenging is.
I mean yeah, because you do hear the word challenge in so many positive contexts.
I'm up for the challenge.
I like a good challenge.
Yes, exactly.
So it does have maybe this more, we're going to do it, right?
There's a connotation of this is difficult, but I'm going to go on a journey and I'm going to overcome it.
Whereas if you just say this is hard, it's just very flat.
It's very objective.
So you could say if this is too challenging, we should just ask Rick for help.
So that's not so much about overcoming it, but you're going to find a solution by asking Rick for help.
Right.
Yes, exactly.
That's true.
We will figure it out.
We just need Rick.
That's all.
Or you could say number three is kind of challenging.
Let's reserve extra time to discuss it.
So yeah, exactly.
You're going to overcome this challenge.
And then I really like complex.
I find myself using complex often.
You think of a puzzle, layers, levels.
A lot of projects at work are very complex because there's a lot of dependencies, a lot of individual contributors working on projects in different ways.
It's a good one for work.
Yeah, it makes me think of a puzzle.
Yeah.
Excuse me, I had to say this.
Bless you.
Thank you.
So, for example, I want to explain this, but it's too complex for the last five minutes of the day.
Let's discuss it tomorrow.
Or this is a complex issue which requires everyone's focus.
Nice.
Yeah.
Yeah.
What do you like?
What do you like out of these?
Well, like I said before, I like complex and I also like challenging because they signify, well, if something's complex, then it's also probably interesting.
That's what I like about complex.
That's true.
Right.
Right.
There's a lot to uncover.
There's a lot to unpack.
So it's not, it's not boring.
Yeah.
It's like inviting an intellectual challenge.
So I like that.
What about you, Michelle?
What's your favorite?
I like tricky.
Cause I think it's fun to say, but it is true.
Yeah.
You wouldn't necessarily use, call something that's tricky, complex and vice versa.
Right, i mean you could, but you want, i don't know that you would say oh, the this um like, for example, we had.
The example was oh, it can be tricky to get the computer to work after it freezes.
You might not say it can be complex.
I agree yeah no, that's true.
It's more like there might be tricks.
There might, like i said before, there might be traps.
There might be common mistakes that you should watch out for.
But it's more simple, it's a more simple concept.
Complex is the opposite of simple.
There you go right yeah yeah exactly Um, so um, should we move into a role play?
Yeah, let's do it, Michelle.
So here we go.
So here we are coworkers and we're working on a project.
Okay.
We're reading directions for the project.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
So let's read this.
Hmm.
Seems a bit tricky to me.
Oh, yeah, but not too tough.
We can do it.
We just have to.
Oh, wow.
You weren't kidding.
Yeah.
Honestly, this is pretty complex stuff.
Should we call over Teresa?
Maybe.
It definitely seems challenging, but I don't want to ask.
Then she might give us something else to do.
True.
She can be pretty demanding.
Yeah, that's true.
I know.
Oh, yeah.
Teresa, Teresa, don't go all over.
All right.
So here we're reading.
It looks like.
I love that when you think this kind of what I described actually at the beginning, when someone thinks a project is going to be really straightforward.
And then you start to get into the weeds and pull out the layers to go in.
You realize it's actually a complete mess.
All the time anyone that touches our business is like oh my gosh, this is crazy.
What did you do?
That's really funny, oh my gosh.
So what did we say here?
What did we say?
So um, i was reading, i said hmm, seems a bit tricky to me.
And then I said, yeah, but not too tough.
So I'm still not seeing the complexity.
Right.
And then I see it at the end.
I see.
Oh, we have to.
Oh, you weren't kidding.
Now it's hitting me.
OK.
Yes.
And guys, we are going to have an episode coming up on All Ears English about you weren't kidding.
So definitely go on over and hit follow on that.
Because that's going to be coming up.
So and then so we realize it's it's more complex.
There are more layers than we thought.
So I said, honestly, this is pretty complex stuff.
And that's what we consider Teresa.
But I'm trying to stay positive.
So I'm saying it definitely seems challenging, but I don't want to ask. right?
Yes.
And then I said, she can be pretty demanding.
Yeah.
We're not going to call her over.
All right.
No good stuff.
So a lot of really great words.
So now our listeners have lots of options instead of saying it's hard because it's hard.
Like I said, it's very flat.
It's a flat thing to say.
It's not complex.
It's not interesting.
So avoid hard.
And try something else like what we've learned today.
Right, Michelle?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Love it.
Oh, my gosh.
Guys, check out episode 459.
That was simple swaps for better hedging in English.
Excellent.
And we will see you in the next episode.
Good stuff today, Michelle.
Have a good one.
Thanks, you too.
Bye, guys.
Bye.
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 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.
Tap the link in the show notes.
Remember, we believe in connection, not perfection when it comes to learning English.
Follow the All Ears English podcast now.
Doug.
Here we have the Lemu Emu in its natural habitat, helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual.
Fascinating.
It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug.
Uh, Lemu, is that guy with the binoculars watching us?
Cut the camera.
They see us.
Only pay for what you need at libertymutual.com.
Liberty, Liberty, Liberty.
Liberty.
Savings vary.
Underwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and affiliates excludes Massachusetts.
For a limited time at McDonald's, get a Big Mac extra value meal for $8.
That means two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce cheese pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun and medium fries and a drink.
We may need to change that jingle.
Prices and participation may vary.
