This is the Business English Podcast, episode 184.
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How's everything today? I am great. Let's see.
I have a question for you here. Okay, I'm ready.
Have you ever skied on a really difficult hill before you were ready?
Like maybe younger, when you were younger and learning to ski?
Yeah, definitely. There was one particular trail at Killington Mountain in Vermont that my family and I were really pushing ourselves to do it, but it was full of bumps and it was really steep.
And yeah, we were out over our skis for sure.
Literally, literally. I love that you threw in that idiom, right?
You can literally be out over your skis when you're actually skiing a hill you're not ready for.
And then we also use this just to mean the same as like in over your head, right?
You're doing something that's a little more challenging than you're ready for.
Yeah, but you know what, Aubrey? I mean, in my opinion, this is how we get better at things.
As long as it's not a huge leap in terms of competence gap is how we get better.
What about you? Have you ever been out over your skis with something?
Well, literally, I did the same thing where I did like a black diamond trail in Utah.
I'm like, it's really way before I was ready.
And I was thinking, oh, it'll be fine. I had friends that wanted to try it, you know.
Oh, man, I crashed so many times. I actually ended up getting really injured.
I like ran into a snowmaking machine. Oh, my God. so i think it happens to the best of us right everyone who goes skiing has that tendency to jump in like be like i can do this and sort of take a hill they're not quite ready for it there's a reason this expression exists right that's crazy that is so funny okay all right so yes we've both been out over our skis uh this is what we're getting into today tell us what we're talking about in this episode Yeah, so we're talking about expressions for doing something that we're not quite qualified or prepared for, that we don't have the skills yet for.
We have so many expressions for this in English that are really native and natural.
We use them all the time in business English.
One of them is this get out over your skis, which is more common in British English.
You use this a lot, Lindsay, right, in the business world.
I haven't heard it as much in the States, but it's a really interesting one.
It's interesting because I feel like I have heard it lately talking about business to business people, but I actually talk to a lot of British people about business based on the groups that I'm in and who I talk to other entrepreneurs.
A lot of them are actually British right now.
So maybe that's the thing. Maybe this is more British.
Right. It's more British. That's when I looked it up because I was unfamiliar with this one.
I found it in the Cambridge Dictionary, meaning to do something early before you're prepared.
And it said it said British idioms. I'm like, oh, that makes sense.
British English. But there's a chance that it's getting more popular in the business English world.
And whether you guys speak to British speakers or not, you might start hearing it more.
Yeah, you might start hearing it. I think it's interesting.
It's good to make our business English a little more interesting.
Guys, the way to do that is to get into the habit of listening to us on this show.
So you want to go ahead and hit that follow button now so that you can make sure the episodes drop in for you.
Right, Aubrey? Yes. And if you missed it not long ago, episode 1980, we shared some related idioms.
It was called avoid getting lost in English with today's vocabulary.
We taught idioms related to being in a difficult situation like in dire straits, at one's wits end, tough it out.
So if you missed it, definitely check that one out.
And like Lindsay said, hit follow so you never miss any of these great episodes.
All right. So a lot of the idioms when it comes to kind of being out of your comfort zone are related to water.
Yes, right. We were noticing this. All three that we're going to teach today are related to being in water.
Why do you think that is, Lindsay, that drowning or being in deep water, we've pulled so many idioms to just mean to be in trouble, to be doing something we're not ready to do?
It's a good question, probably because water is so immersive when you're fully like when you are in water and you can't swim.
Right. It's like sink or swim. There's another one.
There's another one. It's just such an experience that you can't ignore it.
You're just really in there. That's probably why.
Yes, I agree. I think we have this in common.
All of us at one time have been out on water, whether it's on a lake or in a river, in the ocean, and you recognize that sort of feeling of maybe being a little helpless, a little bit out of control.
And if you are in deep water, it can be a little scary, a little intimidating.
So really you when you're in water, you get all of these feelings that these idioms are related to that we can fill in at work that we're just like, not quite prepared, challenging ourselves a little too much.
But I love what you said, Lindsay, these also can be used to just kind of talk about pushing ourselves a little more.
And that's where we grow. Yeah. Are you a swimmer?
Aubrey, are you a good swimmer? Do you swim?
What's the status there? Yeah, I am a good swimmer.
I did swimming lessons growing up. We have a pool now, so I'm a pretty strong swimmer.
But as far as swimming long distances, I'm so impressed when someone can swim miles and miles because it's exhausting.
And I think it can get to where you sort of get scared if you feel like, I have no choice but keep swimming to get to the other side.
There's a danger aspect that doesn't exist in volleyball.
All right. You're never in danger. Maybe you get burning your toes or something in the sand, but that's about it.
That's less scary than drowning, for example.
No, you're right. It's so true. I mean, I also learned to swim as a kid.
I feel like it's important for kids to learn to swim.
I know some people out here that didn't necessarily take swimming lessons as a kid.
And I was shocked to hear that because, well, Colorado is a landlocked state.
So there's that. But still, I feel like you have to teach your kids to swim.
I know. It's such a skill. It's really necessary to be able to swim.
So that's our PSA out there, right? Learn to swim.
Teach your kids to swim. Here in Arizona, there's what is called rescue swimming classes because there are so many swimming pools.
You're guaranteed that your toddlers, your kids are going to be somewhere where there's a pool and there might not be a fence.
There might not be an adult always watching.
So they teach kids from a very young age swimming.
If they fall in a pool, how to like turn on their back and float or how to swim to the edge.
It's really interesting because it can be really dangerous.
Oh, my gosh. I think I was reading an article this summer that drowning is a bit like with parents, like on their phones, like it's a thing.
Like it's it's creeping up. Yeah. Which is an awful topic.
Let's change the subject. But anyway, let's get into these.
These idioms that are so useful in business English.
So the first one here is just to be in deep water.
This is good. Yeah. Let's do some example sentences here.
Yeah. So for example, if we don't meet this due date, we'll be in deep water.
Yes. Or that presentation did not go well.
I think I'm in deep water. Okay. And then we also can modify this for an option, which is I'm in hot water.
What does that mean? I say that a lot too.
It's exact same meaning, very interchangeable.
Just means like I might be in trouble. Like there might be some negative consequences of this.
I think I'm in hot water. Yeah. So at work, you know, if something happens or you make a bad decision, we can be in deep water for sure.
Guys, this works in any workplace. It also works at home too, right?
In your community with native speakers, for sure. yes yes absolutely right this is a great one to use because it's so versatile right very generally applicable no risk of offending anyone or something right it's just very yeah easy to use all right what would be the second one this one i love me too right this is to be in over your head so imagine you're swimming and the water's over your head and you're like you know, trying to dog paddle to get above the water.
That's not a great feeling. And we use this all the time in English.
You might say, I think I'm in over my head with this project.
That sort of means like, I don't know that I have all the skills or the time.
Like I might not have the time I need to be successful. yeah for sure have you ever felt this at work before everywhere you just feel like for some reason you just don't have the skills or and what did you do in that case for me it's usually time right with my kids if they're all home for fall break and then we have sort of new tasks at work maybe we're migrating a course to an exciting new platform like i could do it i can make time for all of this and yeah you just there's only so much time in the day right so then i feel like i'm in over my head just trying to carve out extra time that's not there right right interesting yeah i mean let's see i'm trying to think of an example i feel like this also extends to learning skills like when i did my capoeira class i was totally in over my head especially the class in boston everyone was kind of an intermediate to advance there and i was thrown into the they call it the hoda like the circle where you're doing you're you're they call it like playing but you're kind of whatever you're fighting against that person in front of you and the drum people are playing the drums and I'm supposed to do something against this expert I'm totally in over my head what am I supposed to do so I just did that one move the whole time because I didn't know what else to do right just do what we can oh I love that use of it too because it's a little more of the meaning of like out of your comfort zone yes right that you're like I don't know if I have the skills I'm not prepared and also I'm I'm putting myself in a little bit of an uncomfortable situation That's also a great use for that.
I'm totally in over my head at this new class.
Yeah, it really didn't work out in the long run.
So that's good. So this works at work well, but it also can work in your hobbies, new things you're learning, if you just feel a little out of your element.
Exactly. And we'll often say this, if we have a team and we're recognizing there's more than we can do, you might say, we're going to add a few people to the team since they let us know they're in over their heads.
This is just a great way to say like, we need more support.
It's a great idiom to use that as well. Yeah.
And so you gave that example, right? And again, I'll just say that we're adding a few people to the team, right?
Because we are in over our heads here. I love it.
Okay. Drowning. This feels a little more extreme.
It's really interesting, right? It's definitely more extreme when it's actually happening to you if you are actually drowning.
And the idiom is a little more extreme. This really means that you're feeling stressed, anxious, right?
For example, you might say, I'm drowning at work.
I need to catch up on my to-do list. This doesn't just mean like, oh, I'm really busy.
It definitely implies like I'm stressed out.
I have anxiety. I feel these feelings of like we would actually feel when you're drowning.
Yeah, it means you're not keeping up, right?
So it's just, it's not like, it's not that cadence of your, you have a lot of work to do, but you're getting it done.
It's like you're going deeper and deeper and deeper and the work is kind of piling up above you.
And like, exactly down a little bit, right?
Right. These are sort of leveled according to the feeling being more serious.
Right. Because we can use I'm a little bit in over my head to be a little less serious.
Like I'm just a little too busy. I don't quite have the skills.
Drowning is like now I'm feeling some anxiety.
Yes. And so, for example, my work life balance isn't great.
I feel like I'm drowning and I can't keep up with everything.
Yeah. Tough. And a lot of us feel that, right?
When we, if we're allowing the work-life balance to get away from us, we feel that, that anxiety, that pressure where we're not able to be successful in all parts of our lives.
And this idiom fits that perfectly, right?
I feel like I'm drowning. you know, when would we express this?
Aubrey, just a side point, a little question.
Where would we express this? Who would we express this to at work?
Where would you start if you felt like you were drowning at work?
What's the protocol? Yeah, I think there are multiple options, right?
Probably the first person I would express this to is actually family or friends when I'm just first realizing like, oh, I'm drowning, I'm feeling this way.
And then that might be a conversation where they share with me like, you need to take this to your team, to your coworkers, to your supervisor, let them know so that because there's often support available at work to make sure that this type of thing gets better, right?
It can be improved. Yeah, don't suffer in silence, right?
That's the worst thing. No one, you know, your boss, your teammates, no one wants you to be suffering in silence.
They want to know if something is going on.
In some cases, things can be moved. In other cases, there can be things we can do to manage time better and figure it out, right?
And if you don't, it's going to lead to burnout, which is worst case scenario, or like severe anxiety.
So you need to communicate and try to improve the situation before it gets to that point.
Yeah, for sure. And I wonder how our listeners, you know, across cultures, though, I wonder how this varies, right?
We're coming around in American culture of more of an acceptance of work life balance and addressing mental health issues at work for sure.
But I don't know if all over the world and also managers of different generations.
I don't know if necessarily we're moving in that direction, you know?
And yeah, I just think different cultures might handle this differently.
For sure. I agree. Yeah. Abercrombie's viral denim sale is back.
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Exclusions apply. See details online. Okay, Aubrey, let's do a role play.
All right. In this role play, Lindsay, you just started a new job and I'm going to ask you about it.
Ready? All right. I'm ready. How's the new job going?
Not great. There wasn't much of a training period, so I feel like I'm already in over my head.
Oh, that's the worst. That's happened to me before.
And then I was just drowning in tasks I wasn't sure I was completing correctly.
Exactly. Definitely worried I'll be in deep water if something doesn't change.
Oh, man. I know that's heavy, right? We've used all of them here.
And this is not a lighthearted conversation at work, but I think it's pretty common, right?
Where people feel like, and they'll share this.
If you're having this type of experience at work, it's hard to not say anything to people you trust, to friends, to coworkers, because it's taking over your whole mindset.
Yeah, this is where I think I think we've mentioned this before.
Maybe I talked about this with Michelle.
This is where remote work is a risk for people for sure, because onboarding remotely and then not having someone you can just walk up to and talk.
I think it might be harder to reach out remotely and say you're in trouble.
You know, you need some help. That's something I worry about with. know gen z coming into the workforce if they're 100 remote or even partially remote they might be missing that piece of onboarding the training the support yeah sure and there are definitely things that that can be opened up you know ways to give someone the opportunity to express that right before any meeting you're doing when it's online to have a quick check-in right we have these um you know positive focus where we'll share like a little positive something and it could be a quick check-in too to Try and create that relationship where someone would feel comfortable sharing if they're feeling this way.
Yeah. And just a tip for our listeners, you know, at All Ears English, we use a tool called 15-5.
So it's 1-5-F-I-V-E dot com. And it's a little tiny little survey tool which allows if you're a leader in a company, it allows you to get a barometer of your team on any given week.
So we fill those out weekly and we just get a sense of how we're feeling overall.
And what is there something on our minds that might be harder to express on a video call that you might want to mention in a survey and maybe next week we address it, right?
It's just another way of coming at your team to get a sense of what's the temperature.
Yeah, it's super useful. This is not an ad, you guys.
We just find this really useful. No, we're not sponsored by 55, but there's one great thing where sometimes it'll have a question that says something like, is there anything you've felt hesitant about bringing up?
And I feel like that would be such a safe space to just kind of put that right there and then like, okay, we'll talk about it later.
It's not as scary as maybe saying something in person.
Right. because if we get on a call and i say what's going on it's very direct it's a different maybe there's a time for that too right but then it's just another way and it automatically generates questions so i don't sit there and come up with the questions the system adds in the questions which is amazing it asks great questions and elicits things that we'd never think about to ask So love it.
Yeah. So find a way if you're a leader in a company to take the temperature of your team and really get that sense of how are we doing in different ways.
Right, Aubrey? For sure. All right. Let's go through this role play.
We used all three here. You first said, you know, there wasn't much of a training period.
So I feel like I'm in over my head. This is such a native way.
Use this idiom to just express that, like, you know, I don't feel like I'm prepared to dive into the tasks I need to perform here.
Yeah, let's see. And then I said, you said, I was just drowning in tasks that I wasn't even sure were being completed correctly.
Yeah, and this is actually a sort of a new way to use it because we were mostly just talking about saying, I'm drowning.
I feel like I'm drowning. But we also say this, like, I'm drowning in paperwork.
I'm drowning in tasks. Imagine being buried by all the paper, by all the work.
We say it this way too. Yeah. And then lastly, I said, definitely worried I'll be in deep water if something doesn't change.
So when someone checks on your tasks, if you haven't done them, that could be bad.
Yeah, exactly. Right. I feel that there are negative consequences coming, whether that's because someone else isn't able to do their tasks because I'm not getting mine done.
I just I feel like, oh, there's going to be there's trouble brewing.
Trouble brewing. All right, Aubrey, what's the takeaway for our listeners?
And then we're going to hop off. Yeah, first of all, most important, if you're drowning at work, don't just tough it out, right?
Let your team know so they can support you.
And then use these idioms to communicate when you're in over your head.
Yes, guys, connect and communicate. We're all about connection, not perfection.
And sometimes that means you have to be a little bit vulnerable and reach out and ask for help.
That's the way we can build a great career and be happy.
So good stuff, Aubrey. For sure. Awesome.
Thanks, Lindsay. Talk to you soon. Bye. Bye.
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