This is the Business English Podcast, Episode 529.
Have you considered sharing your ideas at work?
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Hello, Michelle.
How's it going?
How are you doing?
I'm doing well, Lindsay.
How are you?
Good.
What are we talking about on Business English today?
Yeah, so...
Do you find that people who don't work with you at All Ears English?
Do you get a lot of people giving you ideas or asking you if you thought of doing something in a certain way, like from friends or family members, anybody.
Sometimes I'll get, you know, like suggestions that people will give me.
Not all the time, but occasionally, yes, I would say so.
Yes.
Mm hmm.
Mm hmm.
And do you feel confident giving your ideas?
Yeah, I do.
I think I have to be careful that not everyone always wants advice or ideas right when it comes to business.
Or it might be overwhelming, or it might be easy to show that you don't understand the context if you just throw out what worked for your business.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So I try to give that advice with some care if I can.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Exactly.
So today we're going to talk about ways to start sharing your idea that are really conversational and natural and useful, unthreatening right.
In a way that's not, oh, you should do this, you should do that.
These are more neutral sounding.
So I don't think that you have to worry about stepping on anybody's toes when you use these, which is another great expression.
I mean, that's really the goal of the episode today.
It's like, how can we offer advice but not feel not act kind of brazen or threatening, as you said.
Right.
Deliver the advice in a way that respects the person as their own thinker.
Right.
Yeah.
They don't need you to swoop in and say, here's what you should do.
Yeah.
Right, exactly.
So this is really kind of an art form, because you want to be able to contribute and help out, but you don't want to sound like you are trying to butt in, especially if you don't know that much about the topic right,
Yeah, or just to not make it sound right so simple, because if they're struggling with it, they obviously have tried a few different things.
It's obviously not easy, but sometimes, if we use the wrong words when we offer advice, we can make it sound really easy and it's easy to give advice.
Right.
Like I'm imagining if somebody just says, why don't you just?
Exactly.
That sounds more like, oh, well, just do this.
Just be careful.
That'll solve it.
We did an episode a long time ago, actually a long time ago about just in a different context.
I'll just have a latte.
Totally different context.
But when you say, why don't you just do this?
Why don't you just do that?
It really makes it sound like it's easy and you're being condescending.
Yeah.
And why didn't you do it before?
You know?
Yes.
Yeah.
Right.
Exactly.
Yeah.
And isn't it obvious?
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And let's get into it.
So, I mean, this is really important for connection at work.
Again, you know it could be for at work, or it could be for a friend who's talking to you about work.
Whatever it may be.
But let's go through some of the things that are these non-threatening, less direct ways to share your suggestions.
And they also sound very articulate too.
So really good.
Here's a good one.
Have you thought about X, right?
Have you thought about contacting the clients for feedback three months after they book with us, right?
So maybe I'm having a problem of clients leaving the firm or something, right?
Quitting.
Mm-hmm.
Now we need to get the feedback.
So that is the suggestion.
But it's very indirect.
I wouldn't say it's super indirect.
I'd say it's just it's respectful, Michelle.
It's respectful.
Right.
Yeah.
Right.
Right.
Exactly.
Or have you thought about signing up for that new service we heard about at that conference?
Great one.
And then just a fancier way of saying that is have you considered?
Have you considered?
Have you considered?
This really.
I like this too, even for within a company.
If you're a manager and you're managing someone, if you say this to an employee and the employee is trying to solve that problem, let's say if you say this, it's kind of like respecting their own thinking too.
Right.
Because you're sort of there's an assumption that they have maybe considered something.
They have been thinking about it.
Right.
Do you know what I mean?
Right, right.
It's showing, oh, I know you think about it.
I know you put thought into this.
Is this one of the things you've thought about?
It's kind of sharing like, oh, I know that you care.
And so this isn't just out of nowhere.
Yeah, exactly.
So for example, have you considered ordering the materials in February instead of March?
Right.
Or have you considered hiring someone who has extra marketing experience?
Nice.
I like these.
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Uh, so yeah, yeah.
Michelle, you can see that.
Yeah.
I mean, these aren't necessarily just for brainstorming sessions.
These are friendly suggestions, very benign sounding.
Um, so let's just do a couple more.
Uh, the first one is here's an idea.
So, and you have to say this with a certain amount of energy in your voice, right?
Yeah.
You can't just say, well, here's an idea.
No, you gotta be, uh, yeah, you have to have some oomph with it.
Um, Here's an idea.
We could do our surveys over the phone instead of via email.
Or here's an idea.
We could serve a little breakfast sandwiches when the attendees arrive.
So that's just showing you're excited, right?
It's showing your enthusiasm, but you're not sharing it in a way of, oh, just do this, right?
Yeah, I like that.
So it's a slightly different style of making a suggestion, but it works, because if you're excited about it, people are probably not going to take offense because you're just throwing out an idea, right?
Right, right.
You're just being friendly.
You're like a little puppy.
Yeah.
And then would you ever consider is the last one for today.
So would you ever consider an office dog?
And again, we did have you considered.
Right.
So that's more about it's almost more focusing on the past.
Have you already thought about this?
Would you ever consider is more, I think, slightly more future based.
Yeah, so or would you ever consider moving your office down the hallway for more privacy, right?
So someone has come to us.
They presented the problem, maybe it's they can't focus, it's really loud.
So my response is would you ever consider moving your office down the hallway, right?
Okay good, and you could have said have you ever considered?
I mean it's, they're really the same um, So should we do a role play?
Let's do it, Michelle.
So here I am your supervisor and we're having a conversation about how an event went.
How an event went.
How an event went.
Okay.
All right.
So what did you think?
I think it went well.
Yeah, definitely.
Any feedback?
Well, would you ever consider starting earlier next time?
That would give people more time in the afternoon to avoid traffic.
That's an interesting point.
We can look into that.
Thanks.
Great.
And have you thought about using a different caterer next time?
Yeah, I know you mentioned that.
We're looking into options.
Here's an idea.
Could you make a list and send it to your team for them to look into?
Yes.
And have you considered doing table cards at all?
Yeah, I meant to do that this time.
Thanks for reminding me.
Yeah.
So I'm sounding like a little annoying.
I think we're debriefing an event, hosting an event.
And we know this because we did our urban immersion adventures in Boston, New York, Japan.
It's a lot of work to prepare big events.
So being cognizant of that, right?
Like instead of if someone is asking for feedback, which I did, though, Michelle, I asked.
That's true.
You did.
That's true.
You did.
You did.
You did. but, but being aware that these events are really, you can't control every detail.
Something is going to be sub subpar inevitably.
And it's just, I hope the big things don't go wrong.
Right.
Exactly.
And you learn a little for next time.
Like, okay, yeah, you meant to do the table cards.
Okay.
Next time we'll make that.
Well, you know, exactly.
Exactly.
Yeah.
That was so fun when we did our urban immersion adventures.
I know.
I love to miss it.
Oh my God.
Maybe we'll revive that one day.
Uh, we got a chance to meet our listeners and Hang out in the big cities and practice our English on the ground level with native speakers.
So cool.
Yeah, that would be great.
Yeah.
Let's go through the role play, Michelle.
So what is the first thing you said?
I asked any feedback.
And I said, well, would you ever consider starting earlier next time?
Mm hmm.
And then I said, that's an interesting point.
We can look into that.
Thanks.
And then you said, great.
And have you thought about using a different caterer next time?
So yeah, I mean, you're coming back with a few suggestions, right?
Yes.
And then you said, here's an idea.
Could you make a list and send it to your team for them to look into?
So maybe for looking into other caterers.
So I'm kind of putting the burden back on you to try to like.
So it kind of depends how this conversation went, depends on how genuine I was in asking you for feedback.
Did I really want feedback or was I just exhausted and I just wanted to say it was great.
Right, right, right.
Exactly.
Exactly.
That's really funny.
And then I said, and have you considered doing table cards at all?
Mm hmm.
And that's a good one because it's not like, why didn't you do table cards?
Or we should do table cards.
I like it.
Yeah.
Overall, I think the conversation is fine, but we know that when you host a big event and someone's just coming off of it, they might be really tired.
Right.
So maybe just offering one or two key things and and go from there.
Right.
Yeah, exactly.
Exactly.
But I like what you said, Lindsay, about how genuine were you in asking for the feedback.
Yeah, for sure.
Guys, go check out Business English 519.
Does your English strike a chord?
Find out what that expression means and how to use it in the office.
All right.
Awesome.
All right.
Yeah, takeaway.
You know, we have to consider the context.
Um, what, what kind of feedback are we giving?
What kinds of suggestions are we making?
How often do we make these kinds of suggestions?
Does it seem like we're trying to just boss people around, or are we actually just trying to be helpful?
But these are generally pretty benign expressions that are not going to sound too bossy, that are just going to sound a little bit open-minded.
Yeah.
I like this.
You can't go wrong with these.
These are going to steer you in the right direction.
And like Michelle said, context is key.
When someone does ask you for feedback or an idea of how to solve their problem, like are they genuinely asking you right.
And that's always important to know, too.
But if you use these more indirect ways of suggesting you can stay out of the danger zone of the just why don't you just do this or do this?
It worked for me.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Oh, it's easy.
It's easy.
Oh gosh.
No, not good.
Not good for relationships, right?
Yeah.
No.
All right, Michelle, you have a good rest of your day.
Thanks for hanging out together on the show.
All right.
Thank you, Lindsay.
All right, guys.
Have a good one.
Bye.
Bye.
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