This is the Business English Podcast, Episode 240, How to Be Fiercely Competitive About Your English.
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Hi, Lindsay. How are you? Hey, doing great, Michelle.
How's everything going for you? I'm good.
I'm good. Lindsay, are you a competitive person?
I would not say I'm super competitive, especially not in sports.
In tennis, sometimes I would hope that I would lose so I wouldn't have to, you know, I could go home from the semester or something.
Oh, that's funny. Not really. Not really.
I just... I guess everyone's a little competitive, right?
Maybe in business I'm a little competitive, but I'm not like an uber competitive person in every aspect of life.
What about you? Yeah, I'm kind of similar.
Yeah. I just like to have fun. Yeah, I don't.
Of course, no one likes to lose. I mean, if you're playing a game, no one likes to be the loser except for you with the tennis situation.
But for example, I am a terrible bowler.
I mean, the worst you've never seen such a bad bowler in your whole life.
And I became famous for that. And I haven't done it in years.
But in high school, I used to go I don't know why, but I used to go bowling a lot with my friends and I loved to go, but I would always lose, but I like to do it.
So I guess in that way, if I'm having fun, it doesn't matter to me.
Oh yeah. No, that's good. That's a good way.
That's a good way to be in life because I think if you're really competitive, it must be horrible.
You're constantly kind of, Oh, strained in your mind, right?
Yeah. Yeah. That's not a great feeling in the mind.
No, no. Right. Yeah, exactly. I mean, I think, of course, business can be very competitive.
Being in the business world, that's a different story for a lot of people.
So it might be different. Maybe you're super competitive in business, not in your regular life. um but today we're gonna learn how to talk about it um teaching words and expressions dealing with competitiveness oh i love it before we get into it before we get into why this matters guys go over and check out our ios or android app go to allersenglish.com app the reason you want to be over there is we have handmade transcripts for you in the app and you can choose words that you want to save learn definitions of words as we're speaking save them to your list and study them good stuff love it okay so today we're going to talk about how to say you or an atmosphere is competitive another time we'll say how to talk about being not so competitive but today we're going to be focusing on the competitive aspect um so lindsay how could this help us what are some contexts why is this important Yeah.
Let's talk about the context, especially in terms of business.
Well, sometimes you may want to describe an atmosphere at work.
Maybe you have a friend that's interested in applying for a job in your company.
You mentioned, Oh yeah, we have an opening in our accounting department or you work on wall street, right?
You might need to let them know, Hey, this environment's really competitive.
And if this isn't for you, don't apply. That would be what comes to mind.
One thing, Michelle, what else? Yeah. Just preparing them, describing an atmosphere at work.
Maybe you are talking to a coworker about something you've been feeling.
Maybe you want to say, oh, it's been feeling really cutthroat.
It's been feeling like a lot lately, you know, to connect with someone, maybe bond with them over a certain feeling.
Interesting. I love that. So connection, it's really about connection.
And it's also about self-awareness describing yourself, like your tendencies, you know, maybe let's see what we're going to describing your industry in general at a conference that's bonding.
Maybe you're complaining about the fact that your industry is super competitive, right?
I'm not sure about today's vocabulary, but there may be a time and place to describe yourself in an interview if you are competitive.
It's probably not today's vocabulary because it sounds like today's vocabulary leans a little bit negative in terms of the perspective on competitiveness, right?
A little bit, a little bit. Some of them, some of them more so than others.
Not all of them though. There's a few here that could be good.
Yeah. As I look at them. Yeah. Yeah. But guys, another episode to listen to is recently, very recently, we just did the episode on the Business English podcast was, is it more important to lead or follow?
So listen to that one as well. All right.
So let's get into the words and the phrases for our listeners today.
Michelle, are we ready? What's the first one?
Yes. The first one is cutthroat. If you think about it, it's horrible.
I know. It sounds horrible. It's a terrible word.
Yes. The interesting thing about this one is we don't really use it to talk about ourselves, right, or a person.
We use it about a situation more. More of an atmosphere, a situation, right?
Environment. Yeah. It means very competitive.
So, well, here, this is exactly what you were saying, Lindsay.
Things may seem calm around here, but it's actually a pretty cutthroat environment.
Everyone wants to be the best. Hmm. You know, it makes me think of I watched again for the 200th time the Devil Wears Prada on the plane on Sunday night.
And of course, it makes me think of that environment.
Right. Right. Yes. Certain industries are known for being very cutthroat.
Yes. Fashion industry is probably one of them, right?
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Exclusions apply. See details online. Okay, Michelle, the next one is interesting.
Are we talking about dog food or dog fights or what?
Yeah, it is. When you dissect these, it's very strange.
So this is Dog Eat Dog. Now, I want to say it's Dog Eat Dog.
There's an episode, I believe it's A Modern Family, where Sofia Vergara's character, do you know this?
No, but I know the confusion. Yeah. Doggy dog world.
Yeah. She is. Yeah. Sofia Vergara is saying a doggy dog world and it's actually dog eat dog.
I think I also used to think it was doggy dog, a doggy dog world.
I think some people definitely do. That's not just a native speaker or I mean, Sofia Vergara, not a native speaker, but it's not just that.
I think some people do think it's doggy dog.
It sounds like doggy dog because if you say it quickly, dog eat dog.
Right. It's hard to hear. It would kind of change the meaning, right?
It's a doggy dog world. I don't know what that would mean.
We love dogs. I'm not sure exactly what that would mean.
Right. The true idiom is it's a dog eat dog world, right?
Yes. Yes. And so what does that mean? So it just means people are very competitive.
The first value of that society, that community is competition.
It's not necessarily nurturing or connection, right?
Yeah. They'll do what it takes to win. That's what they're looking for, for a win.
So what's an example of that? Yeah. Be careful around here.
It's really a dog eat dog industry. So be careful who you trust.
I do not want to be in that industry, whatever that industry is, right?
No, that doesn't sound like fun at all. No, no, no, no.
Now the next one, I had said before, these might not be the best to describe yourself in an interview, but the next two I think would be good.
Because if you are a competitive person, you should show that in an interview and let them know that could be an asset for their company. yeah right right because dog eat dog just to point out is yeah i wouldn't call myself dog eat dog you're not a dog eat dog person no no no there's got to be a dog to eat there's it's it's the whole it's the whole thing it's not just one person um so what's the first thing you could say all right so this next one fiercely competitive right so this is about a person and a larger being like could be a company it could be an environment so this is more diverse it's more broad so for example i'm fiercely competitive so it's a good thing you were on my team okay right so this one is interesting you could have just said competitive right competitive that's fine too but what does it do to add fiercely oh it just adds like really like intense.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And actually I was just thinking that we could do a whole episode about the word fierce or fiercely because we use that with a couple other uh right like loyal right there's fiercely loyal so so that that could be a good one what you can add fiercely too so look out for that guys make sure you hit follow on this and all yours english don't know where it's going to be at right you never know you never know good stuff we'll look forward to that episode michelle what would be the next one there is another the next one is a fighter okay so This could be competitive.
This could also just be strong, right? So yeah, you could say, right, resilient, resilient.
So it kind of has two meanings. And in a way, it could be that you're fighting in the way of being competitive.
But it could also just mean you're fighting against something difficult.
Yeah, I think it's really good. This is a great one.
She's a fighter, she'll get through this and find a new job.
This also might be commonly used when someone is sick.
Right. That's what I was thinking. Yep. Yeah.
If someone has cancer or something, some kind of diagnosis, they're going to go through chemotherapy.
Oh, she's a fighter. She'll be good. She can get through this.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. You hear that a lot.
Um, so, but yeah, we also have to just in general with competition at work, we have to think about how do we want to be seen?
I mean, Lindsay, can you be competitive and still a nice person at work?
I think you can. I think so too. I think there is a way, a very sophisticated way of being competitive and being kind.
I don't think they're mutually exclusive.
In a lot of cases they end up being, uh, like not being able to go together.
Right. But I think in a very like refined personality they can be for sure.
For sure. Yeah. Yeah, definitely. Definitely.
All right, let's go ahead and do a role play.
So in this role play, I am joining your team at work.
All right, here we go. So I'm ready. All right.
So excited to join you on your team. Thanks.
Anything I should know? Well, to be honest, it's really cutthroat around here.
I, myself, am fiercely competitive, so the environment can get pretty intense, but in a good way.
I think you'll fit right in. You know I'm a fighter when it comes to work.
Definitely. That's why you were chosen for this team.
Trust me. It's pretty dog-eat-dog here, but you can handle it.
Thanks. You're like, should I quit now? Thanks, yeah.
Maybe I should step back. That's life. Should I submit my resignation today?
All right. Oh, boy. Okay. But yeah, so you're describing the atmosphere.
You're also talking a little bit about yourself.
So let's go into it. So what did you say first?
Okay. So you said, is there anything I should know?
And I said, well, to be honest, it's really cutthroat around here.
Yeah, I myself am fiercely competitive, right?
So I'm being honest with you. I'm just telling you, telling it like it is, Michelle.
Do you really want to be on this team? Yeah, yep, yep.
But I am taking it in stride and I say, you know I'm a fighter when it comes to work.
And then you say, definitely. That's why you were chosen for this team.
Trust me. It's pretty dog eat dog here. So I'm really getting you ready.
Yeah, I know. What's going to happen? Goodness.
I know. Wow. yeah but if somebody was having having that conversation with you and a new team would you be freaked out would you take it as a challenge how do you think you would feel i think i personally would be freaked out because i don't think i thrive well in those environments i mean we are competitive at all english in that we want to do well in the market our market but we're not really competitive with each other and i don't really want to be in an environment like that You know?
Yeah. Yeah. Right. It's one thing to be competitive in the industry.
You work hard as a team. But this sounds almost like, you know, people are pitted against each other and that can be right.
Yeah. That might not be so fun. Not that some people might do well or need that to be motivated.
You know, as long as you're still kind, it could be OK.
But we have to know ourselves. And what is the industry that is going to be a good fit for us?
What's the company that's going to be a good fit?
Just just be honest. That's the key, right?
Definitely. Any final thoughts, Michelle?
Anything else that we need to know? Well, competition can be tricky, especially with work relationships, which we were talking a little bit about today.
Some of these words are good for more of the atmosphere.
Some of them are good for also about yourself.
Try these out today, but just try and – i don't know i don't know what the advice i'm giving here what do you think lindsay well i think two things so if you're moving into a new industry look for signals and signs of what that industry is like is it you know are you looking for these words if someone says yeah our company is fiercely competitive ask more questions find out is it toxic competitive or is it positive competitive that's one thing and then if you're naturally a competitive person and you thrive on competition that could actually be an asset for your company right and so they're especially the last two phrases fiercely competitive and fighter are phrases you might want to bring to describe yourself in an interview so turn it around package it as an asset in that yes okay that is a very good point yes all right well i think that's all we have for today but thank you guys so much for listening and um yeah go for it go for it whatever you are going for yes go for it be a fighter michelle be a fighter i love it all right all right guys take care 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 or Tap the link in the show notes.
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