This is the Business English Podcast, Episode 511.
Can you say bye to your boss?
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This is real business english, with your favorite american hosts, lindsay and michelle, coming to you from new york city and colorado, usa.
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Hey, Michelle, what's up?
Hey, Lindsay, not too much.
How are you?
Good.
I'm glad to be here.
Glad to be here.
Michelle, what are we getting into on business English today?
Well, is it ever awkward for you to end a conversation in business?
Like when you know the conversation is over, you're not sure what to say?
Yeah.
I mean, there can be a weird silence and you're not sure how to fill it, especially culturally if you're from a different culture.
There's a lot there, Michelle.
So, yes.
Yeah.
And I think also, especially if you're the employee, maybe you're not sure.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's over.
What to say to your boss.
So we have a listener question about this situation.
So I'm excited for today's episode.
This is a really good question.
It comes to us from YouTube from Noah Brightly.
Lindsay, would you like to read it?
Yeah, here we go.
Hi, Lindsay and Michelle.
Thank you for keeping up your great work.
It's been helping me a lot since I started working in the U.S.
That's so good to hear, Michelle.
Thank you.
It's wonderful.
It's great.
I wanted to ask you a question, though I have many.
I'll start with this one.
How can I properly conclude a one-on-one meeting with my supervisor?
It always feels awkward for me at the end of each meeting when I have to step out of my boss's office, and I'd love to know some variations of expressions I can use in those situations.
Since it's my boss, it's a bit hard for me to know what sounds natural and appropriate.
For example, can I say I'll see you or bye to my boss?
I'd really appreciate it if you could do an episode about this.
Your episodes about subtle nuances are always the most helpful, and I'd love to hear more of that kind of content.
Thank you so much.
Oh, great listener.
I'm so glad this listener is getting so much value out of our show.
That's awesome.
Yeah.
And this listener also mentioned that they have many questions.
So definitely please send us over more.
Sounds like you have some really, this is, this is a great one.
So I imagine your other ones are going to be really useful for our listeners as well.
Send them to support at allersenglish.com.
We'll make sure they get routed in the right direction and to our team, and we are curious to know what your questions are.
All right.
Yes.
Good.
Yes.
All right.
So let's, let's get into it.
Yeah.
This can be awkward, right?
Like to know what to say when the meeting ends and it's your boss.
So I have a number one suggestion.
I'm curious, Lindsay, if you agree.
Um, my suggestion is follow your boss, right?
Yeah.
Yeah.
I like this.
I like this.
I think there is a certain level of like socially following someone else who might be kind of, let's say in charge or above you in a hierarchy that can totally work.
So you're a little more underplayed in terms of just being a little more quiet, and let them make that gesture.
Is that what you're saying?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Right, because they're going to be the one who is officially ending, because we're talking about a one-to-one meeting.
They're going to be the one who is calling the end to that meeting, right?
You are waiting on them.
So they may ask you towards the end if you have any questions.
But they're still ultimately the person who is calling the end of the meeting.
What do you think, Lindsay?
No, I think this is a good rule of thumb to live by.
I think the only caveat there is sometimes people are just awkward.
And it's not language.
It's not culture.
It's just personality awkwardness.
We had a doctor's appointment a few weeks ago.
And the doctor was so pausing in weird places and like like, like kind of leaving a lot of space for us to ask questions, but in a very awkward way that made us kind of nervous.
Like are you trying to say something like it was?
I'm just.
I just want to say sometimes I mean, it's possible that this person is just awkward and our listener is feeling that from the boss.
That's possible as well.
Yeah.
Maybe the boss isn't really taking charge and ending the meeting the way they should.
Right.
Maybe they're just like, okay, well, yeah.
So that could be happening, but we're going to set you up for success here and give you.
But I think I like your rule of thumb here Michelle, which is take their lead, follow their lead, whatever they say.
You're kind of echoing it back.
You're letting them take the lead.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So I mean, what about our listeners question of if you can say something like I'll see you or bye, and What do you?
What do you think about that if you're just leaving the meeting, the one to one meeting?
Yeah, I don't think it's terrible.
Maybe you disagree with me.
I think, again, we come back to the context of our social like sorry, our corporate culture.
How formal are we?
You know there might be better things to say than I'll see you or bye, because those are quite casual.
But I don't think it's you're not going to lose your job over saying that.
Right.
Exactly.
I don't think that.
Right.
That's a good point, Lindsay.
Don't now like, you know, think, oh, my gosh, I can't say those things.
I think there are some better options.
But yeah, these are not rude.
They're you know, they're they're fine.
So we're going to get a little bit more into this in just a second.
But again guys, we want to remind you to hit the follow button wherever you're listening to the Business English podcast.
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You got it, Michelle.
So let's go back to this idea, the core idea you had, which is follow your boss's lead.
This is more of a strategy, really.
So what does that actually look like in practicality?
Yeah.
So look out for the signs, right?
So here are some things you might hear them say.
You might hear them say like very direct. okay, well, that's all I have for today.
So unless you have anything else you want to add or questions, we're done for today.
Like, that's all I have.
We're done for today.
These are very like, it's over, right?
Yeah, exactly.
And then how would we respond if we're following our boss's lead?
So no, this is actually, sorry, Lindsay, this is more things that you might hear from your boss.
Sorry, that's unclear.
But if my boss says that to me, what do I say back is my question.
Oh, well, that's what we're going to go over after the break.
But if you would like to start, if you want to start that now, we can do that too.
Uh, do it like that.
Should we go?
Yeah, why don't we do it that way?
All right yeah yeah, okay.
So yeah, you could say thank you so much right, thank you so much yeah, i mean, that's the thing, like you can never go wrong with a thank you in a professional context right, i mean, thank you so much, thank you for your time today.
Um, you can, you can't go wrong right yeah exactly okay great, thank you.
Um, So they also might hear them say yeah, this was great.
Thanks.
We'll reconvene next Monday, right?
Maybe you have a weekly meeting.
And again, you can say, great, thank you so much.
Or sounds good.
That would be fine as well.
You can also add on maybe looking forward to it.
You could say that if as long as it's genuine.
I mean, don't say it if you don't mean it.
Yeah, yeah.
And then another thing your boss might say to you is great.
Okay, I'm off to another meeting.
What would you say there?
Yeah, I would also say something like it could be okay, thank you.
Have a great whatever, a great meeting.
Yeah, I would say something like that.
Yeah.
Or I could say have a great rest of your day.
If you want to be a little more like, familiar with the person, you want to be a little more casual, have a great rest of your day.
There's nothing wrong with that right yeah, so there, there are endless ways the meeting could end.
That's funny um, but you don't have to worry, because you are going to follow your boss's lead um, so we're going to talk about this a little bit more after the break.
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All right, Michelle, we are back.
Where to now?
So, yeah, we were talking a little bit about how to respond.
So let's get more into that.
So, again, we talked about saying thank you so much or OK, great.
Thank you.
What about if they ask you if you have anything extra to say?
So if you say, if they say like oh, unless you have any other questions, I think we're done for today.
What could you say?
So if there's nothing else you want to ask, you'd say, no, I think I'm all set for today.
And again, I think tone really matters here.
Having an upbeat, positive tone is important, right?
In American culture, at least.
And yeah again, if it's at the end of the day or before something specific.
Just to go over what we said about the meeting, right.
So you could say something like, okay, thank you.
Have a great day.
Whatever.
So have a great meeting.
Have a great rest of your day.
Maybe it's before vacation.
OK, thank you.
Have a great vacation.
Right.
Have a great weekend.
Exactly.
Weekend.
Exactly.
So that's kind of really bookending it.
Yeah, I feel like in the professional world you start hearing people say have a great weekend as early as Thursday.
Right.
That's true.
Some people take Fridays off.
So true.
That's a great one.
Right.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Or then you could say see you blank.
Right.
So.
See you then.
See you next week.
So like if you know that, if they say oh, so we'll reconvene next week or I'll see you at the, I'll see you after lunch at the big group meeting.
See you then.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And that's compared to what our listener asked about, which is I'll see you, which.
Yeah, I agree, Michelle.
I think I'll see you as a little awkward.
It feels a little disjointed, kind of and a little casual.
Uh, right.
But if you say I'll see you, and then you're a little bit more specific, it kind of sounds more complete.
Like I'll see you then I'll see you after lunch.
I'll see you.
Right.
So that to me would be okay.
Um, anything else you want to add Lindsay about the, the ends here of these conversations?
I think the theme that I'm seeing emerging is in the business world.
Well, we can get away with this socially.
I'll see you.
See ya.
You know, see ya socially.
Um, professionally, we need to button that up a bit.
We need to add a little more detail.
We need to pronounce it a little more formally with an upbeat, positive, strong tone.
And that's, that works for the business world.
So in a, in the friend world, it'd be like, okay, see you next time or see ya.
Right.
Or versus in the professional world.
Okay.
I'll see you on Tuesday.
Right.
So that's the subtle nuance there that our listeners are looking for.
Right.
Exactly.
So I think that that's a really good way to kind of sum this up.
Is you know add have, have just a little bit more.
Right.
Then just by and getting up and walking out.
Right.
I think it's good to kind of round things out, have a little things, conclude in a little bit more of an obvious way.
Yeah.
Bye also can sound, if you say it with the wrong tone, it can sound a little juvenile too.
Yeah.
Bye.
Like a kid leaving a classroom, like leaving his teacher's classroom, you know?
So better to err on the side of these, like lengthening things out a little bit.
Okay.
Yeah.
Yeah.
All right.
Let's give a role play.
So we're actually going to do two little ones today.
So here we are having a one-to-one and I am the supervisor.
Okay.
All right.
Let's do it.
Okay.
Well, that's all I have for today.
So unless you have anything else you want to add or any questions, we're done for today.
No, I think I'm all set for today.
Thank you.
Okay, great.
Well, I'll see you next week then.
Thanks.
Have a great week.
See, that was very professional.
I was kind of holding my own right.
So if i just if i just ended that by just saying bye, it kind of makes me like the weaker party in the conversation in a way.
Do you know what i mean?
Like your words have to kind of represent you as a professional right.
You're kind of just like um, it's like you're hiding a little floating in the wind or you're hiding just okay bye right, whereas thanks, have a great week.
I mean, it sounds confident.
Um exactly, it sounds upbeat.
So i think that this is really strong.
Um, So yeah, I said, unless you have anything else to add, we're done for today.
And what did you say?
So I'm responding to your kind of your question, which is, do you have anything else to add?
And I say, no, I think I'm all set for today.
Okay.
And then I said, okay, great.
Well, we'll see you next.
I'll see you next week then.
And what did you say?
I said, thanks.
Have a great week.
Instead of saying see ya or see you or bye.
Right.
And I know that's, I know this listener mentioned you know then.
So then if you're in their office, you just get up and leave.
I mean, yeah, you don't.
I think that's it.
Yeah.
You could kind of, on your way out, say you know one, like you're getting up and you're about to walk the door.
You could say at that point, I feel like you could say, OK, bye.
Right.
Or.
Yeah, it's possible, but you don't need to.
Exactly.
So you're saying you could use it if it's tacking on to something else, but you've already said your thanks.
Have a great week, right.
And that is carrying the weight.
Right.
It's just that kind of last step before you actually put your foot out the door.
You could add something if you want, but you don't need it.
Yes, I love that.
Totally agree, Michelle.
So we're getting away from the shorter, more social, more potentially like young sounding phrases, and going to something more substantial, more robust, right.
So let's look at the next one, Michelle.
Here, what's the scenario?
Okay, so here we are finishing a one-to-one and you are the supervisor.
All right, here we go.
Okay, Michelle, this was great.
Thanks.
We'll reconvene next Thursday.
Okay, perfect.
Thank you.
See you then.
Sounds good to me.
Nice and clean, clear, professional.
And you are holding your own professionally, right?
Yep, exactly.
See you then.
So very simple.
You know, really wrapped it up.
Speaking of wrapping up guys, we're going to be finishing this episode in just a minute, but we want to remind you go to episode 504.
That was five ways to use out of in your business English conversations.
Yeah.
And I think it's interesting.
I'm thinking, as we're going through this episode, more and more about the main point for our listeners today the takeaway.
And I think it really is.
It's like something around the idea of the length of your phrases combined with the tone of your voice, how robust your what you're saying is can reflect your strength as a professional, I think.
So just saying like bye is not very robust, right?
Right, right.
These are all very professional, what we've talked about, show confidence.
So yeah, I don't think you can go wrong with these.
But again, follow your boss's lead, listen for the end of the meeting.
And also just recognize there are some times when it's not going to be so clear cut.
Sometimes things are just a little bit awkward.
And yeah, you know, we just have to kind of roll with it.
Yeah, the boss could be awkward, could be socially awkward or shy.
That's also a possibility.
And I think it's really good advice to follow the person's lead.
There's other scenarios where we might do this.
Like if we go to a dinner party in someone's home, you tend to follow the other person's lead right.
There are other scenarios where someone else is kind of in charge a little bit, but it's okay to do that.
You don't have to drive everything, okay?
Yeah, exactly.
Love it.
Oh, well, this was great.
Thank you again to that listener for the question and keep sending them over.
Yeah, please send us those great questions.
I'm excited to see what they are.
All right, go do support at allersenglish.com to get those over to us.
Thanks, Michelle.
I'll see you soon.
Have a good day.
I will see you then, Lindsay.
See you then.
Bye.
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