This is the Business English Podcast, Episode 255.
What can I take off your plate? How to offer help at work.
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Hey Aubrey, how are you doing today? I'm great, how are you?
Feeling good, excited to be on Business English.
Do you need anything taken off your plate today?
That's a good question. Today, all right, but I feel like there are a lot of days where I could use something taken off my plate.
What about you? Yeah. For sure. Would you say that you're good at asking for help when you need it, Aubrey?
Or what do you think? No, this is one of my biggest character flaws that I want to do it myself, partially for independence and then partially to feel like a valued member of a family or a team that I don't want to have to ask for help.
Or maybe I feel like it shows weakness to show that I need help.
I'm probably not alone in this. No, you're not alone for sure.
I also struggle to ask for help probably for slightly different reasons, but yes, I think a lot of people struggle to ask for help.
Yeah, but it's so vital, right? This is going to be interesting to talk about this today.
And this is inspired by a recent episode, 248, right here from the Business English podcast where we were talking about already.
Have you already made this common business email mistake?
If you missed that one, scroll up. Don't miss it.
This is a very common mistake we see with the word already.
Yeah. We talked about this earlier. being able to share when you have a little more bandwidth, when you can take something off someone's plate.
And we want to share tips for how, when, and how to do that.
Yes. Super excited. And I love that title.
I feel like a lot of listeners got into that episode because it's mysterious, right?
Have you made this mistake already? What mistake is it?
Make sure you go back and get that episode.
And Aubrey, one thing we know is that to To do anything in English, whether it's business, whether it's presentations or just socializing with your neighbors, we need fluency, right?
Absolutely. We need fluency. And so what is coming up at the end of this month, Aubrey, in a couple of days that our listeners should be looking for?
This is so exciting. We have just finished our B2 fluency course.
You need to be on the lookout for it. We already had a B1 course.
We're very excited about this B2 course for you to up-level your English.
So yeah, be sure you're following here so you get all of our announcements about it.
Yeah, it's our most exciting course yet.
I love launching new courses for our audience, especially when so many of you guys are at this level, B2 moving into C1.
You need that fluency base. And this course is all about interesting conversations.
And we won't say anything more right now.
But if you're on our email list, make sure you look for emails from us, reply to our emails, ask us questions.
We'll be announcing it very soon. All right.
Yes. And then we also want to share the results of a recent poll.
This was a really fun one. We had talked in an episode about the difference between take and bring.
That was episode 229. Often we see language learners confuse these verbs, use them incorrectly.
So definitely, again, check out that episode if you missed it.
And our poll was, which verb do you use more often at work?
And there was an overwhelming majority of take. that the verb take is used by 63% of our listeners and bring just 36%, or at least that's the one you use more at work.
Yeah, that episode was interesting because there were a lot of nuances that I hadn't quite thought about and that we brought to the table there in that episode, Aubrey, between choosing take and bring that our listeners are going to want to make sure they go back and review.
All right. Absolutely. That was episode 229.
Scroll up, check it out for sure. Check it out.
All right. So today, what are the tips that we're getting into?
It's all about taking work off someone else's plate.
What does it mean, first of all, when we say your plate?
Are we talking about dinner? Like we want to get your dinner plate?
Yeah, it means like their task list, their to-do list, everything that you have. on your to-do list is all on your plate with this idiom.
And if you say, what can I take off your plate?
It means, what can I do for you that will lighten your load?
Something that you have to do that you maybe don't have time for.
Yeah, and I want to clarify before we get into this from the business angle, this is also really common and useful in Life for life events, right?
Like I can't tell you how many times people have said this to me this year because this year I've had a lot of my plate my my aunt and uncle passed away.
We're taking care of their stuff my parents and have moved a lot on my plate so so many times friends and family members have said oh you've got a lot on your plate this year you know that sort of thing so it's not just work it's great for life when someone has a lot going on okay good point right we say this to friends family anytime we're just asking if someone could use some help right we definitely also use that at work all the time um but yeah you're right this is part of our regular conversations as well 100 okay so what are the tips then we're going to get into some tips on how to do this maybe we'll talk a little bit about american business culture i'm excited yeah sure yeah so our first tip is in order to do this you need to proactively make it known that you're available if you have some extra bandwidth your co-workers won't know unless you share that so we can share a couple of phrases that you can use um to do this want to share the first one lindsay yeah for sure So you could say, I have some extra time this week.
What can I take off your plate? Oh, I love that question because the question is not, can I take anything off your plate?
It's what can I take off your plate? So that puts the burden more on them that they should be able to assign you something or give you something. right it keeps them from feeling guilty about it if you say like you were saying you know can i take anything off your plate they their first instinct will probably be to say no no no i can do everything yeah when we say it this way it's really like okay they actually really do want to help very strategic and very uh nice for people to hear that for sure yeah and the second one i love too is if you're talking about a specific project You could say like, what are the next steps for this project?
Anything I can do to help. And it's such like a collaborative. question.
Yeah. And it's valuable because it's good.
It's a good signal in your company. If you're always seeing the big picture and looking ahead, you know, what's next?
It's not just the one thing you're working on.
It's what comes next, what happened before, lateral moves, what are the things that need to launch along with this new project, that sort of thing.
That's really good. The holistic kind of thinking, right?
Exactly. Yes. And our second tip is To accept a no, right?
This is going to happen where you offer help, you get a polite no, and you might be tempted to continue insisting.
Maybe you think they don't really believe you, you want to help.
But once someone knows you're available, it is good to leave it in their court to take you up on an offer without hounding them, without offering over and over.
Yeah, for sure. Because maybe there's more to the task than you know, or for some reason that they need to do it.
And that's fine. You give them the chance, right?
Exactly. So you could say, no problem. Let me know if anything comes up that I could help out with.
So you're definitely letting them know, like, I'm available.
Let me know if you need me. Love it. Okay.
So now what would be the third? Don't imply a lack of ability.
You mean on your part? No, I think this is huge on their part, right?
You want to make it clear that you're offering help due to a possible lack of time rather than inability.
And the way you offer could imply and offend if you're implying lack of ability.
So here's an example of the wrong way to do this.
For example, if you say, I've created a lot of slide decks in the past, so I could do that for you if you need help.
And you see how I'm not saying this other person isn't good at creating slide decks, but I'm implying that I'm better at it.
And that's why I'm offering. That's not the way we want to do this.
Yeah, there's a lot of classier ways that we can do it.
For example, I know you're slammed and I have some extra bandwidth.
So let me know if I could help with that slide deck.
Love it. Love the modern vocabulary. It's casual, but it works for business.
Let's call it business casual, right? Yes.
Semi-formal a little bit here, right? We'd say this to coworkers, anyone.
I love that. I know you're slammed, just meaning I know you are very busy.
You've got a lot going on. But you see how the way we're phrasing this, it's all about the time.
I have some extra time. If you need help, I could give you that time.
I could help out. We're not implying that there's any kind of inability.
And bandwidth is a super kind of in-style phrase now.
We could have included that in that fun episode we did, Aubrey, about the cliches that are good to use, but sometimes we don't go too heavy on them.
Right, right. So go back and listen to that episode.
That's a great one for that. Yeah. abercrombie's viral denim sale is back and spotify listeners get an extra 15 off with code spotify af abercrombie is known for their denim with 30 to 50 off all jeans find out how denim should feel shop the viral denim sale in the abercrombie app online or in stores valid in stores and online through august 11 2025 in u.s and canada excludes clearance price reflects discount code valid in u.s and canada through august 11 2025 exclusions apply see details online Okay, let's dive into a role play so we can see what this really looks like here.
Yes, you and I are co-workers at a marketing firm in this role play.
Want to start us out? Yeah, so I have some extra bandwidth this week.
What can I take off your plate? I appreciate that.
I should be okay though. Oh, no problem.
Let me know if anything comes up that I could help out with.
Nice. I love that. So this is a great role play showing what happens if they say no, thank you.
Right. That really polite way to say no problem.
Let me know if anything comes up I can help out with.
And I like that at the end you're just saying, hey, I offered once you said no, but I'm still available if you need me, but I'm not going to ask you again.
So that's a really nice. You're not pressuring them.
But you are letting them know that it's not like, okay, you've said no, and I'm just going to leave or something.
I love that, right? The ball is in their court, but you're very friendly, letting them know you're not offended.
They said, no, you're there, that they can help.
And I think after you say this, they would feel comfortable asking you for help if something were to come up later in the week.
Well, because you're kind of suggesting that there might be things that they could do that you could do that they had never thought about.
So you're getting them. They might then think of something.
Oh, yeah, I don't need to do that myself.
Right. And I think this is a very common thing that happens at work is we only know what's on our to-do list right now.
Many things are going to come up through the course of the week as we're working that if we have this open invitation to rely on a coworker with these phrases we're teaching, then they might take us up on it and they might be extremely grateful about that.
So yeah, that's so important to leave the door open in this way.
Yeah, that's so good. And this episode is even more important, Aubrey, because of remote work.
I guess in the US, I think the stats are what two days a week on average, two, maybe three people are working remotely, right?
So maybe 30% of time. So what do you do if you're not kind of lingering around the same place, the water cooler, you have to over communicate that you're available, right?
Exactly. That becomes really vital. That first one of like, proactively let people know that you're available, you're going to need to send that email, right?
You're going to need to have that conversation and let them know, or they might assume you're just as busy as them and can't take anything off their plate.
Yeah, 100%. Okay, so what do we have for our key poll?
Is this the time for our poll for today, Aubrey?
Yes, let's do it. So we have a key poll today in Spotify.
We love when you fill out these polls. We will share the result in a few weeks.
Do you often need something taken off your plate at work?
I am very curious for the answers here. Let us know.
We are curious about how busy are you at work?
Do you need help from coworkers? I know.
It's just so funny. I never watched Mad Men, but I have this vision of work in the 50s and the 60s that people are just kind of hanging around, smoking in the office and long lunches, leisurely time. and now it feels like everyone is just slammed all the time, but maybe that's just me.
I don't know. Is it the internet? Well, I know as a mom of four, I'm there with you.
I'm slammed all the time, either with work or like kids.
And I do, I get that impression too when I watch older TV shows or movies.
Even like, remember Spin City? That's like in Chicago, like a newsroom.
And it seems like they're just like kind of hanging out, chatting a lot.
Like, are you busy? I guess it is a TV show, but it just feels slower right in the 50s and 60s 70 I do think the internet has probably sped up our lives and and opened opportunities for companies but then we just take on so much so we're doing so much all the time right yeah point so likely you have co-workers who could really use this offer I'm glad you now have the phrases to ask someone because what a great way to connect with co-workers and colleagues to share that you're willing to take something off their plate if they're slammed if they're overwhelmed.
Yeah, exactly. Exactly. So any final takeaways beyond that?
I mean, that's what it is, Aubrey. identifying that maybe someone needs help and then saying the right things to not pressure them to assign you something, but to give them the opportunity to offload some of this.
There's such an interesting balance here between making sure you proactively let them know, but don't hound them.
Don't offer over and over and over if they've said no, thank you.
Right. So, yeah, there's a lot to think about here.
If you have a little extra time, make sure to offer it in a way that's really building the connection.
There's been some good vocabulary coming out of this episode too.
Offload, bandwidth, a slam. These are good ones, guys.
Good ones. We didn't focus on vocab today, but write these down and use them at work.
100%. Yes, absolutely. There's always a lot of great bonus vocabulary that comes up in these discussions.
So I hope you guys are taking notes as we're talking.
We're learning so many great words that we use at work every day.
Yeah. All right, Aubrey. You have a good day.
All right. I'll talk to you soon. Thanks for being on today.
Awesome. See you next time. All right. Bye.
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