This is the Business English Podcast, Episode 500 Think or Thinking, Which to Use in Business Communication.
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Hey there, Aubrey.
How are you?
I'm great, Lindsay.
I was wondering how many business English episodes we've recorded.
Do you know?
Oh my gosh.
Actually, today is episode 500, Aubrey.
How exciting is that?
Amazing.
Happy 500, Lindsay.
And happy 500 to everybody out there listening.
Don't you feel like we should have cupcakes or something?
I kind of do.
We should.
Imaginary cupcake in my hand.
We should have cupcakes.
So congratulations to anyone who's been here from the very beginning.
You are amazing.
And welcome to any new listeners who have just joined in.
We publish three times a week here on Business English.
So go ahead and hit the follow button right now and celebrate this 500th episode with us.
Yes.
Awesome.
We've had so much amazing content here on the podcast and we have so many ideas yet to come.
So hit follow so you don't miss any of them.
You got it.
And today we got a great question from about the difference, some key differences, Aubrey.
Yes, because here's my question.
I asked you.
Well, I just said sort of I was wondering how many.
Would it have been different if I said I am wondering, I'm wondering how many episodes we've recorded?
Yeah well, i would say yeah, i mean, that's what we're going to talk about today.
So there are some differences.
Right, this is interesting.
We're going to get into it today.
The question came from payal in our q a, which we do every week.
For any personal coach students in our courses, this is an amazing opportunity to ask questions about english, And she mentioned that ChatGPT.
She was running emails through ChatGPT and it was often changing her emails to past tense and gave as a reason that it was softening the message.
So one example she gave is she said that often if she put I am wondering, ChatGPT would change it to.
I was wondering.
That's really interesting.
So interesting.
So we're going to dive into why is ChatGPT correct?
What does this change?
And why should you maybe do this both in emails and in when you're speaking at work?
Yeah, this is fascinating.
Oh, my gosh.
So, yeah.
So we would say it is a little less direct.
Right, Aubrey, when we change it into I was wondering.
Right?
Yep.
A little less direct.
It is pretty subtle, but it's interesting because the meaning can change slightly.
So you may want to express that you were thinking about something previously, in which case you would say I was wondering.
Or if you want to express that you just thought of it right now, then you would say I am wondering.
So it's interesting.
The reason ChatGPT is suggesting this is it does make a little direct, especially for requests.
So we're going to dive into wonder versus wondering and also think versus thinking, because we also do this with saying either I am thinking or I was thinking.
Yeah, some of this is also about developing your own voice.
Like neither is wrong, but I can tell you, when we first started All Ears English back in 2013, we had our original web developer and, And he would write us emails.
And every time he went to ask a question he would say I was wondering if you want yellow on the homepage, or like I was wondering if, and it drove me nuts.
That's funny.
And if it were to happen today, you might know like this is chat GPT telling him to do that.
So we kind of need to see like because it does reflect our personality, our tone, our message.
I saw him as a little bit like maybe not direct enough.
Right.
Because these are real questions that he needed answers to quick.
Boom, boom, boom, yellow or blue.
Right.
And it didn't feel quite right.
And it sort of made me respect him a little bit less, actually.
So that's really interesting.
So there's a lot of recklessness is called for.
Yeah.
Then you wouldn't want to use.
I was wondering because it is it's very indirect.
It's very softening.
So it's not always appropriate.
Yeah.
Really interesting.
So let's get into it, Aubrey.
What do we need to know?
All right, let's first talk about wonder and wondering.
So we do use this for making a polite inquiry or request which, in that case, if someone's asking you like yellow or blue, it really isn't a polite inquiry or request that's needed.
So this is more for when you feel like that politeness is required.
Exactly.
So, for example, maybe I sent over a proposal to you and I'm trying to not feel like I'm being invasive on your time, right?
So I might say, I was wondering if you had a chance to review the proposal yet.
So this is a nice way of being like treading lightly.
Exactly.
Right.
You don't want to feel like you're not respecting their time.
Like maybe they haven't had enough time, but you're really in a hurry.
So you're trying to add that politeness.
Or maybe if you're trying to schedule with someone, you might email.
I was wondering whether we could schedule a quick meeting to discuss next steps.
And this is being respectful of their schedule.
Yep and another respectful thing to say.
I was wondering if you might clarify what the client meant by that request.
Wordy.
Wordy, but respectful.
Exactly, right?
It does end up being more wordy when you're trying to soften a request, when you're trying to be respectful.
And I like that you pointed that out, Lindsay.
You're not going to want to do this in every email.
A lot of things, it's like, just need a quick answer.
There's no reason to.
But if you feel this, like they might be annoyed to get this question.
They're busy.
I can...
Add a little wordiness to soften something.
Exactly.
All right, so now let's compare it to the present continuous of I'm wondering.
Like, I am wondering.
Aubrey, how is this different?
Yeah, so let's read these same sentences with I'm wondering.
Do we feel a difference, right?
I'm wondering if you had a chance to review the proposal yet.
It does feel a little different, right?
It's a little more direct, a little pushier.
A little pushier, but it's still not that subtle.
In my opinion it's still not that pushy because by using the word wondering, it feels like a bit of an indirect word.
If I came to you and I said, Aubrey, did you have a chance to review?
Even have a chance also adds another layer of indirectness though.
That's true.
Because the most direct is, did you review the proposal yet?
Right.
So we can go like layers of directness here.
Yeah.
That's true.
And, like you said, it's a little bit about your personality, but also about the person you are emailing.
If you're working with them, you know how they're going to take certain things probably, right?
Yeah, totally.
Here's the next one.
I'm wondering whether we could schedule a quick meeting to discuss next steps.
Yeah, I like that one too.
I think that's right in the moment.
It becomes it kind of changes the meaning a little bit almost.
But it's like a spontaneous thing.
You're narrating your thoughts, right?
Right.
And the first one.
The difference really is there could be implied criticism that you haven't reviewed the proposal yet.
So maybe I want to soften in order to try and remove that implied criticism.
Or here's the last one.
I'm wondering if you might clarify what the client meant by that request.
Now this, it's really interesting how the grammar here changes the meaning a little bit.
If you say I was wondering if you might clarify this, that means I was thinking about it in the past.
Maybe last night, maybe when I was home, I was thinking about this.
Whereas if I say, I'm wondering, it's more impromptu.
Like these thoughts just came to me right now.
Oh, I'm wondering if you could clarify that.
Yeah.
And even just saying, again, we have layers of indirectness built into this choice of vocabulary.
If you might clarify is more indirect than if you can clarify.
Or even if you could, maybe.
Or if you were to say, I need you to clarify what the client meant.
Something like that is much more direct, right?
There's so much wording here that's softening and being really polite.
Yeah.
Maybe someday we'll build a course on like layers of directness.
That would be pretty cool.
That would be interesting.
Okay, let's move on to think and thinking, which we use very similarly.
But I think you're right Lindsay, you said this word wondering is another level of you know politeness, even above thinking.
So I think these will be slightly more direct.
Yeah, thinking is kind of more proposing an idea a bit more, right?
Yeah, and we don't really use this to make a request or to ask.
It's more for statements, suggestions.
Exactly.
So for example, I was thinking we could simplify the presentation to make it more visual.
Yeah, and I was wondering if we could would be that much more sort of polite and indirect.
It's more asking a question, right?
Or present continuous.
I'm thinking we might invite the client to join the kickoff meeting.
So this is sort of all about, was I thinking about this before and I'm saying it now?
Or if I just now thought of it, this is how I would say that.
Yeah.
Like my mind is tending towards something.
Right.
Right.
Yes.
OK.
Last one.
Hoping.
Right.
Yes.
And this is to express a gentle request or an expectation.
Maybe we'll use I was hoping or I'm hoping.
So, for example, I was hoping to get your feedback on the proposal by Friday.
Yeah, so also very polite, a very gentle request, much more so than you know.
It's still sort of a request, but similar to wondering, as far as being quite indirect.
Yeah, I think all of the vocab we're going through today is very polite, feels kind of formal in a way.
It's indirect, which is good, right?
Yeah. and then present continuous as well.
I'm hoping we could schedule a quick call to clarify a few details, right?
So all of these phrases we use, we do use them at work.
They're subtle the differences, but for each of these it is making it less direct, more polite, but it's not always appropriate.
Like you said Lindsay, if you just need a quick answer, something's very just, facts and straightforward, then we don't need this softening.
Exactly.
So it's really about the context, the moment.
I mean, frankly, there's so much that ChatGPT cannot help you with.
That's true.
That's kind of what it comes down to.
There's a lot of nuance in English, and that's why our show exists, right?
We're here to show you that nuance.
But once you learn that nuance exists, you're going to feel out your way through different situations, right?
Absolutely.
So you're about to make a trade based on a friend's text.
But which you do you listen to?
Is it, we could buy a house in Tulum.
Get optioning those options.
We could lose everything.
Or let's do a little research.
Get your head in the trade and make the investment decision that's right for you.
Learn more at finra.org slash trade smart.
Okay, Aubrey, let's dive into a role play.
So you are, what is your role here in this role play?
I am a project manager here for implementation of a new process at work.
Lindsay and I are coworkers and you are a team lead on the project.
All right, here we go.
All right, I'll start us.
Hey, Lindsay, do you have a minute to talk about the new client onboarding process?
Sure, what's up?
I was thinking about a change to the first step.
Maybe we should send clients a short welcome video instead of a long document.
It might make the process more engaging.
That's a great idea.
It would definitely save time.
Good point.
That'd be another perk.
I was hoping the script and recording could be done this week.
Do you think that timeline is doable?
Definitely.
I'm wondering if we should have Thomas record the video.
He did great on the last one.
Absolutely.
Great choice.
Nice.
Okay.
Nice harmonious workplace going on here.
Yeah, it's interesting.
I really love that.
It was interesting creating this role play because I felt that as well Lindsay, that sometimes these phrases wouldn't be appropriate.
It would feel sort of too indirect, but sometimes we would use this.
So if we look at, for example, the first thing I said, I was thinking about a change to the first step.
I we're working as a meeting.
I'm using collaborative language here instead of saying we need to make a change to the first step.
Right.
I'm just sharing like I've had this thought.
What do you think?
Right.
You're kind of opening it up.
Right.
Yeah.
I love that idea.
And maybe the workplace is a little more formal.
Maybe we don't know each other as well because there is a level of politeness here.
Definitely.
Yep.
And then let's see.
I said that's a great idea.
And you said – I said it would save time.
You said good point.
That would be another perk.
I was hoping the script and recording could be done this week.
Now, this is instead of saying – we should get it done this week or... Right, something more direct.
We need to get this done this week, right?
I was hoping is less direct.
And it definitely, it's interesting because sometimes it's not clear who should do which task.
So sometimes you'll use language like this to sort of throw it out there.
Like this sort of needs done.
And maybe you're not in a position to assign.
And if you are, you would probably use different language.
Yes, completely.
Exactly.
And then I said, definitely, I'm wondering if we should have Thomas.
And again, this is the spontaneous thinking.
You're kind of thinking maybe in the moment.
Right.
So this is interesting.
I was wondering would be inappropriate here, because that would mean that you had thought about it earlier, which wouldn't make sense where you're responding to something I just brought up.
That's a really good point.
That would be very awkward because you didn't think about it before.
We just made the decision, right?
Exactly.
So the only time you can use.
I was thinking, I was wondering, I was hoping it has to be something that you had thought about before that you're bringing, you're presenting this idea or making a request.
If it's something in the moment, you're still going to use present continuous.
I'm wondering, I'm thinking, I'm hoping.
Wow, there's a lot here, Aubrey.
There's a lot to think about nuance, context, culture, company culture, personalities.
How well do you know the person?
There's just a lot here.
This is really good.
Aubrey, what's another great episode we can check out?
Yeah.
So episode 25, 22, if you missed it was called what to say when you lose your train of thought.
This was over on the All Ears English podcast, but this is so useful at work too.
So make sure you're following All Ears English and go check out that podcast for these amazing phrases.
If you're in a business meeting, presentation or just chatting with a coworker and you lose your train of thought, you need to know what to say, to not pause, to not lose the connection.
Yeah, I love that episode.
So natural, such a real skill.
So if you're not sure how to follow All Ears English, all you have to do is take out your search bar in whatever podcast player you're listening to right now and type in All Ears English and you'll see the yellow pop up.
That is our biggest show.
We publish five days a week over there.
So guys hit the follow button and it'll show up in your library, your podcast player.
Okay.
Awesome.
And be sure to hit follow here on Business English as well.
We're going to do a follow up because we don't say I was wishing.
So it's interesting how you would kind of assume since we say I was hoping.
So hit follow.
We're going to share what we do say and related phrases there.
Interesting.
Interesting.
Good stuff.
All right, Aubrey, I'll look forward to recording that episode together.
I'll see you then.
Awesome.
Thanks, Lindsay.
See you next time.
All right.
Bye bye.
Bye.
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