This is a Business English bonus episode.
How to make Business English work out with this phrasal verb.
Welcome to the Business English podcast from All Ears English.
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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.
When your colleague has something big going on at work, you want to be able to ask them about it.
Today, we'll share an episode from the All Ears English podcast about the magical phrasal verb, workout.
Find out today how to use it to check in with coworkers.
Hey, Aubrey, how you doing today? Hey, Lindsay, I'm great.
How are you? Good. I'm excited to be here on the Business English Podcast.
What are we getting into? We have a special something for our listeners.
Yes, we're talking about a phrasal verb that we use all the time in business English.
The phrasal verb workout actually has 19 meanings in English.
Oh my gosh. five of which, or work has 19, five of them are workout.
And today you're going to learn about the most useful of these in business English, which is to be successful.
Yes, it's important, right? This idea of success, we talk about it in terms of completing projects in the business world, of overall your career, maybe you did an interview, how did it work out?
So guys, we have a special episode that we're gonna deliver today.
You're gonna hear about From the All Ears English podcast, Aubrey, what's the All Ears English podcast all about?
Just in case any listeners don't know about it.
Yes, if you're not following, you are missing four amazing episodes every week with fantastic vocabulary and strategies to improve your overall English.
It's all about connecting. And even if your focus is more on work, business English, so much of the vocabulary that we use is useful at work with colleagues and coworkers.
Yeah, so true. So guys, go over and find, search for the All Ears English podcast.
But now we're going to hear an episode of All Ears English.
And then after we hear the episode, Aubrey and I will be back to pull out some key pieces.
All right, here we go. Hey there, Aubrey.
How's everything going today? I'm great.
How are you, Lindsay? I'm awesome. I'm feeling great today.
Yes, I am so excited about our new podcast, Business English podcast from All Ears English.
How's it working out, by the way? It's working out great, Aubrey, because point is you know we publish so much here in allers english which is fantastic but sometimes i know our listeners who are super focused on their careers they want to show just for business english and that's what we're giving them so guys if you haven't found our new business english podcast from allers english aubrey how can they find it Yes, you need to search All Ears English in the search bar wherever you listen to podcasts and all three of our podcasts will show up.
Look for Business English and make sure that you follow it, especially if you work in English or will it sometime in the future so that you have all those episodes in one place.
Yes. Good stuff. So today I'm excited because we are answering a student question.
I love it when we bring our student, our listener questions in on the episodes.
Yes. And you guys will notice that I asked Lindsay, how's that working out?
Which is a very native, natural way to say, is it working?
Is it successful? And that is the phrasal verb that we're focusing on today.
So let's read this question and dive in.
This is a really good one. All right, here we go.
So our listener, what is this listener's name?
Do we have their name? No. Unfortunately, it was a listener on WeChat in China.
Oh, fantastic. And we get these great comments and questions, but unfortunately, you guys don't always leave your name.
So shout out to this Chinese listener. We don't have the name.
All right, good stuff. So here she says, can you girls explain how to use the phrase workout?
I heard others say this phrase in different situations, and I was wondering how to use this phrase correctly.
Thanks in advance, Chinese listener on WeChat.
All right, guys, this is so fascinating because as soon as I started, I know, I know a lot of them, but I thought, oh, there are quite a few.
And I did a bit of a deep dive. There are so many phrasal verbs just for work out, or there's so many meanings for that one phrasal verb, right?
Oh, we love this as native speakers. We love this phrasal verb.
There's so much we can do with it. We can be sarcastic.
We can be straightforward. We can be professional, right, Aubrey?
So what are we focusing on today when it comes to this one? yes we are going to focus in on the meaning that means be successful there are lots of meanings for this phrasal verb you've definitely heard it used to mean to exercise to make calculations but today we're talking about one meaning which is to have success yes and that's why it really applies in the business world because we often we want to check in with our colleagues on how something is going right so you guys are exactly yeah if you know they've set a goal or they just did a presentation this is such a great way to connect to ask them how it worked out yeah i love it so let's go into it aubry yes so first we use this three different ways this phrase over the meaning of being successful and the first is to make predictions so for example you might ask oh do you think it'll work out yes or how do you think that's going to work out right exactly and then the answer might be it'll all work out or it'll all work out that sounds really natural it'll all work out it'll all work out right that's quite a pronunciation wise that could be a little confusing for our listeners true really it's it will it will all work out but we always squish these together in that contraction it'll all work out yes i love it what else aubry And then you'll definitely hear also that'll instead of that will work out, right?
Do you think that'll work out? Oh yeah, that'll work out.
Yes. I love it. So good. That'll work out.
Or do you think it's gonna work out? I use gonna all the time and I actually type it in text messages too.
Sometimes I wonder, should I type this in a text message, even to friends?
It seems kind of weird, right? But I do.
And it's just natural. It's what I want to say to sound friendly.
Right. I probably wouldn't put it in a business email, especially if it's not a coworker, you know, very well, maybe a new client, but we say it all the time.
Even to a new client, I would still be like, you know, are you going to come to happy hour?
Yeah. And maybe we should come back to another episode on that. know going to when should you use gonna when should you not when should you write it when should you not but here's the phrase with workout guys i think it's gonna work out or i don't think it's gonna work out now could this be to talk about relationships we use it a lot that way right if someone's just starting a relationship you might ask someone and you think it's going to work out you might say i don't think that's going to work Or they say, not a match, not a match.
That's the big phrase now. Yes. Okay. So the second meaning is discussing results, right?
So this is where if someone has done a presentation, you might want to ask them how it went.
You'd say, how'd that work out? Or how'd it work out?
Yeah. How'd that work out? And I would respond by saying what?
Yeah. Either, yeah, it worked out or it didn't, right?
Ooh, it didn't really work out. And I love how we as native speakers like to say really, right?
It didn't really work out. We add that really in all the time to feel natural.
I don't know, just to add kind of a filler word, I guess.
Yes. And it sort of takes the sting out of something instead of saying it didn't work out.
I'd be like, oh, it didn't really work out.
It just feels less harsh. Yeah, it does.
It does for sure. Okay. So we've talked about discussing results, guys, making predictions, write those things down.
Now there's a third bucket. What is it Aubrey?
Yes. It's asking about goals or about something new, like maybe something, a new purchase.
So first of all, you might say, if it's like a goal, you might say, how's not eating sugar working out? or how's reading every day working out right someone has told you a goal they've made and you're going to say how's blank working out to ask them about that goal yeah and then there's kind of a more skeptical side of this just as a bonus for our listeners the phrase how's that working out for you right?
What is that just as a little asterisk for our listeners?
What does that mean? When I say that, how's that working out for you?
Right. What does that mean? I told you something that, you know, is either destined to fail or I'm doing something you don't agree with.
Right. And you're, you're going to be like, yeah, how's that working out for you?
I mean, like, I know it's not going well, but let's be real here.
Yeah. So that's a little different from what we're sharing now.
It's in the same kind of meaning, but it's putting a layer of skepticism on it, which is again, supernatural.
You'll hear it, but it does mean something different than someone earnestly checking in.
You know, how's that going? Right. How's that working out?
I think of a good example. I've started getting up at 4 a.m. to work because I'm awake anyway.
You know, so I'm like, I may as well use this time.
Like I'll wake up at four and can't fall back to sleep.
But I feel like a friend said this to me recently.
I was telling her that and she was like, how's that working out for you because then she's like are you are you going to sleep at 7 or 8 p.m because there's no way you can stay up late if you're getting up at four or maybe she thinks ultimately it'll catch up with you in a couple of weeks you'll crash and it just won't be sustainable so there is a layer that is a way to express skepticism but let's get back to the make the more earnest ways of expressing this right yes for sure So this also works with new things that you maybe have purchased, like, you know, how's that new car working out or how's your new boyfriend working out?
Right. There's all kinds you can you can add anything here.
And then someone should be like, oh, it's not really working out or, yeah, it's working out great.
Yeah. Is there anything we need to know, Aubrey, grammatically speaking, in terms of our grammar when we answer this? yes right there's something really important here that in order to sound more natural and native if someone says to you like how's not eating sugar working out it is very unnatural to answer eating sugar is not working out right you always want to replace the noun or the gerund or the noun phrase with a demonstrative pronoun so either this or that right you'd always say oh that's not working out to repeat that noun feels repetitive and very unnatural Yeah.
And I mean, I think that's generally true across so much of the English language, right?
It's too repetitive. If we're repeating the same thing the other person just asked us, we're wasting their time.
And if you're studying for the IELTS exam, the examiner is listening for this specifically.
If you're repeating vocabulary instead of using a pronoun, that would be much more native and natural.
That's a skill that you are specifically being tested on.
Oh, that's a good point. Guys, check out our third podcast.
We now have three podcasts at All Ears English.
Crazy. IELTS Energy podcast with Jessica and Aubrey two days a week.
Good stuff. All right. Anything else about let's give a two more sample sentences for our listeners in this in this way.
Perfect. Yeah. So I might say like, how's drinking more water working out again?
Like I know someone set the goal of drinking more water.
I recently set this goal. So I would like for a friend to kind of, um, give me that, uh, what's that word when you, you want to be accountable to someone like an accountability, accountability, a, um, like, you know, how's not drinking water working out?
Are you able to do it? how's drinking more water working out right yeah for sure no i love that yeah you have to bring a big jug up to your office and have it sit there all day is is the way yes right it has to be very handy right handy and it has to work really well yeah easy to pour easy to do um here's another example how's that new car working out right so this is you know these are standard everyday ways of saying this right but in just a minute we're going to talk a little bit about business english and how this might fit into our work worlds yeah yes Okay, Aubrey, so in the business world, which I know a lot of our listeners are there, what do we need to know?
Yeah, this is so perfect for talking about anything that can be successful.
So we use this a lot in business English.
It's such a great way to build relationships.
If you know someone has a pretty high stakes interview, meeting, presentation, to ask them ahead of time that prediction, you know, how do you think it's going to work out?
Are you ready? Or afterward to ask them how it worked out. yeah you know there's something about on this show whether it's in the business world or our daily lives it's connection connection and when your colleague knows that you remember that you had a proposal today or you had that presentation even if they weren't there and weren't involved that's super valuable right that you can go to them and check in when someone remembers something that was important to you i it really feels like the relationship is deeper is more meaningful if they care to remember and are willing to take the time to ask you about it you got it so as you said aubry anything like proposals uh plans goals presentations you might have meetings uh maybe you are doing a salary negotiation and you shared that with a colleague right maybe that or an interview you're interviewing at another company all sorts of things promotion right i would definitely hope that a close colleague or friend would ask me how it went yes i had a meeting about something important like that i love it so good so guys check in with people using this we have a role play aubrey should we do it this is going to get so lindsay and i are co-workers we're just leaving a meeting that i led i'll start us out I wasn't sure how that'd go, but I think it worked out.
Yeah, you did a great job. Thank you. I'm a bit worried about meeting the annual goals.
I hear you. I think it's going to work out, though.
Speaking of goals, how is your goal of running every day working out?
Oof, it's not really working out. Yeah, if I set that goal, it definitely wouldn't work out.
I kind of love this, how as coworkers, we pivot from talking about how the meeting went, how my presentation went, and then say, speaking of goals, how's your goal of running every day, working out?
This is so native. I do this all the time.
Oh my gosh. It's so normal for native speakers of English to move in and out of topics and they might come back to the work thing, right?
They come and often they don't even do that transition.
Speaking of sometimes they just go, break straight to the other topic, which is I know what we want to help you guys with, right?
To hang in there, to get to the moment of connection.
So let's review what we did here, Aubrey.
Yes. So first I say, I wasn't sure how it'd go, but I think it worked out.
This is very native to say about something you did.
It would be, you don't want to brag. You don't want to sound like you're not humble.
There are a lot of things you can't really say comfortably.
Like I did really well. I think I did a great job.
What you can say is, I think it worked out.
Yeah, because there's something about that that's taking the emphasis off of you and more onto the whole endeavor, I guess, or the presentation itself.
It's not braggy. You're not bragging about yourself.
You're just saying, yeah, I think it worked out.
I think it went well. I think it's a nice way to be like assertive, but also humble in a way, you know?
Yeah. Yeah. So let's see, what else did we say here?
And then you said, because I said, I'm worried about the annual goals.
And you said, I think it's going to work out though.
And we definitely could say, I think it'll work out.
Yeah. Yeah, exactly. I think it'll work out.
I think it's going to work out. And then we did the flip to the personal life, right?
Speaking of goals, how's your goal of running every day working out?
Yeah, you said, oh, it's not really working out, meaning I'm not really doing it.
I'm struggling. Yeah, it's not happening.
Right. And there's something convenient.
That's why I love this episode. And I love this phrasal verb because there's something more comfortable and less vulnerable about not about not saying I'm not doing it. exactly right we don't need to beat ourselves up it's not really working out I'm not going to the gym everyone I'm just not doing it right it's not working out and it could be a little more vague too like other things could be going on right maybe the family is getting in the way right exactly and this is a real skill to not have TMI right you don't need to share that the families you don't need to share why you're not doing it always you can just be like yeah it's not working out Yeah.
And then you said, yeah, if I set that goal, it definitely wouldn't work out.
So you're empathizing with me trying to mirror my difficulties and making, which I think is also a real skill to show empathy this way.
If someone has set a goal and they let you know, it's not working out, especially if it is true for you to say, oh, same.
If I set that goal, it probably wouldn't work out.
Yeah. I love it. I love it. So what's the takeaway?
What is the key way we want our listeners to remember today for working out?
Yes, right. This is such a great way to make connections with coworkers, especially at work, but also friends, everyone in your life to use the phrasal verb workout to discuss success, ask about results of goals, ask about new purchases, right?
These are all such fun things to talk about, and are great ways to build those deeper connections. yeah guys keep in mind you know what your colleagues are doing what's going on in their work day maybe they're on another floor but you meet them for lunch a couple times a week right make sure they know that you know what's happening in their work lives and then you could transition into their personal lives right there in that conversation and this phrasal verb works for it all it's actually kind of amazing it's sort of an amazing word it is right and don't stress out about phrasal verbs there are i think there are like 21 phrasal verbs for the verb work And there are like six meanings for work out.
So the listener on WeChat that posted this, you've probably seen it used all these different ways.
This is really helpful to focus on one way, perfect how you can use the one meaning, then move on to the next one.
Don't let yourself get confused. Yeah. Don't get overwhelmed guys.
Good stuff. Super inspiring. Aubrey, thanks for hanging out today to show us, you know, how this phrasal verb works.
I think it worked out. It did work out. I think that worked out great.
All right. I'll talk to you very soon. Have a good one.
You too. Bye-bye. Okay, Aubrey, we are back.
So what are your thoughts? Oh man, it's so native and natural to be able to ask, how did that work out?
Like you said, after an interview, after a presentation, this is such, this is how we build those relationships and build our network.
When a colleague has something important coming up, you want to remember to ask them how it went.
Oh, my gosh. Success is all about relationships and our network.
So this is how we deepen it. It's by remembering that someone had something going on and we follow up.
We come back to them. Right, Aubrey? Yes, absolutely.
And with the phrases from today's episodes, you now have the tools to ask them in a high level way to build that connection.
So guys, if you missed this episode, I'm glad we were able to bring it today.
But most importantly, we want to make sure that you never miss an episode of All Ears English.
So hit follow. Why would they do that, Lindsay?
Guys, the easiest way to get All Ears English added to your listening queue is to open up the search bar right now, type in all ears English and you will see the yellow and you will see I believe it's Michelle and me on the cover right there.
Guys add that go ahead and hit that follow button wherever you listen and you'll get you won't miss those four new episodes a week Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday we have a special little gift for you.
Awesome. I love it. So yes, glad you're following here, Business English, and don't miss out on the All Ears English podcast as well.
Good stuff. All right, Aubrey, thanks for hanging out here.
I'll talk to you very soon. Yep. See you later.
Bye. Thank you for listening to Business English, a podcast just for you, the high achieving global professional.
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