This is the Business English Podcast, Episode 68, Top Three Ways to Eliminate Business English Stress.
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Hey, Lindsay, how are you? Hey there, Aubrey.
I'm doing great. I'm happy to be recording today.
That is the least stressful part of my day, I would say.
Nice. I like that segue. We're talking about stress a little bit today, guys.
And I agree, recording is not the stressful bit.
That's right. That's right. You know, in your work, you have to have things that help you de-stress or that you truly just love as an art form.
Absolutely. Right. It really helps keep things balanced.
So let me ask you, Lindsay, as a business owner, are there things that you stress about during the day?
Maybe employees, maybe your to do list. What stresses you out?
The thing that stresses me out, honestly, is admin things, because I did not start a business, you know, as an admin person.
I'm just not. It really what stresses me out is things around around dealing with submitting forms that we need to to different states, you know, in terms of our payroll.
Like we need to, you know, as a, you know.
As a company, we have to pay unemployment taxes in all these different places, right?
And sometimes those rates get screwed up and we screw it up and we forget to report something.
That stresses me out. I can see that being so stressful because you're a teacher, you're a podcaster.
That's not your forte to be in admin and like making sure the paperwork's correct.
There are other people that love that probably.
Oh my gosh. Gosh. And this morning, just before we got on the mic, I was dealing with that and I was just about to rip my hair out.
I'm like, oh my gosh, someone else should do this.
But there's really not, you know, so that's what gets stressful for me.
But doing things like being on the mic, I love it.
Not so much. I have to share quickly that bonus idiom you threw in where you're saying I'm going to rip my hair out.
Like not literally, guys, we're not literally going to rip hair out.
But that is such a good image, that idiom we use of being so stressed out that we say that I'm going to rip my hair out.
You got it. Yeah, good stuff. So yeah, you know, but it is really good to, you know, to have co-workers that you can, you know, that you can reassure them, right?
If someone is stressed at work, is this important at work, do you think, Aubrey?
Absolutely, right? We got a listener question that we're going to share.
And I immediately thought about... This is we need vocabulary.
We need phrases at work because we get stressed at work.
Right. That's a personal life as well. But there are stressful situations at work and you need to be able to support colleagues.
So you need the vocabulary in order to let them know that you're there for them.
You know, either you think they shouldn't stress out as much or you're just trying to kind of ease the stress a little.
I love it. So I'm going to go ahead and read the listener question.
Are you ready, Aubrey? Yeah, let's do it.
Here we go. So our listener says, hello, dear.
Thank you so much for your efforts on these episodes.
You become a part of my life. I love that.
I love hearing that, Aubrey. It just warms my heart, you know?
Same. I'm certainly subscribed to your app and I'm looking for an episode that assists me to say, don't worry.
I know the phrase don't sweat it, but I need more.
Thank you in advance, Adil Dugheim from Kuwait.
And we are taking Adil's question and moving this into a business English question because we need to build those relationships at work, Aubrey.
Absolutely. These phrases you will definitely use in your personal life as well, because there are all kinds of reasons to stress out when you want to say to someone, don't worry.
But especially at work, this is such an impressive skill to be able to help defuse.
Right. If someone's stressed, anxious before a meeting, before a presentation, you need the right thing to say because you could accidentally make it worse if you don't.
That's right. That's right. And I think, you know, it's it's in business.
You know, our success comes down to what we do, not in the key big project moments.
It's in the in between. You have to be building that relationship in between the big projects where you then need to lean on that relationship.
Right. Does that make sense? Absolutely.
Right. I imagine before. high stakes situation, if I were going to do a presentation, the person that I would share that I was stressed out about is someone that I've created that relationship, I feel safe with them, I feel comfortable sharing that, knowing that they are going to say something that's going to boost me up, make me feel a little less stressed out.
And, and that you want to be that person that's trustworthy that that you have those connections at work where someone trusts you with that.
It's huge. It's huge. And then when it comes to the moments where we need to perform, we need to actually work together.
There is a stressful situation where you then have to perform under stress.
You'll be able to do it. Absolutely. Yes, I do.
I know that the amount of anxiety we go in with for something like this will absolutely affect our performance.
So if we can... you know, figure out a way to have someone there to support us, to have just a little hint of that connection, to give us that boost of like confidence.
I can do this. That will make us perform better.
Exactly. And I love how these three phrases we're going to give our listeners.
You know, they are they're casual, but they totally work at work.
You know, they work in the corporate world because we're human beings.
This this business English podcast is all about showing you how to be human at work.
Professional, yes, but also human. Yes, exactly.
And I know when you imagine yourself in this situation, if there's the time for a bigger conversation there, you might ask questions like, how can I help?
You know, what can I do? How can I support?
Right. But often you're in that situation where you're It's right before game time, right?
You're about to walk into a meeting or a presentation.
There's only like one thing you can say.
There's not that space to be like, what can we do?
How can we help? This is not that situation.
It's like you have one phrase where you can help these, you know, help them stress less, be confident.
And these are those phrases. Yeah. And I love that.
We're just so all about the bonus phrases today.
Game time. I love it. Oh, yes. Right. Even though it's not sports, we say this for business a lot.
It's game time, right? It's time to start whatever it is.
Right. Going into a big presentation and meeting something where the stakes are high.
Okay. Yes, absolutely. So where do we start here then?
All right. So our first one, Hadil actually shared in her question, and I want to make sure everyone knows it because it is so great.
And then we'll share two more. And it is to say, don't sweat it.
Very idiomatic. We're not talking about actual sweat, even though that is associated a little bit with being nervous or anxious.
We'll say if we want to say, don't worry, this is a very native way to say, don't sweat it.
You got this. I remember this so clearly.
My first day in middle school, my teacher wrote on the board, he wrote, don't sweat the small stuff.
And it's all small stuff. Yes. I love that expression.
Yeah. It's cute. Really cute. So this is good.
We say this a lot. Like if, you know, even if it's a big meeting, if a big presentation, we'll still say that like really in the grand scheme of things.
Right. This is small, right? This is not something to sweat.
This is not something to be super stressed out about.
Right. We'll say, okay, don't sweat the small stuff.
You can do this. Yeah. Or something like you're going to do great.
Don't sweat it. Right. Yeah. Very natural, easy and easy to say quickly to someone as they enter, as you said, game time.
Exactly right. I could I know I've said things like this as we're walking into a meeting and someone just says like kind of stressed out.
You just say you're going to do great. Don't sweat it.
And that's all you have time to say. And then you're in your seats and it's time to go.
Oh, my gosh. So, guys, write that first one down.
Don't sweat it. What's the second one then?
So the second one is chin up. And that's the longer phrase is keep your chin up.
So this is fighting any feelings that might make your head drop.
Imagine that you lower your chin, worry, stress, sadness will say to someone chin up or keep your chin up.
But I often shorten this to chin up. What about you, Lindsay?
Yeah, chin up. I don't say this too much, but I know it and I like it.
And I think it's if someone says it to me, I'm fine.
It's kind of funny, though, how our body tends to follow our emotions sometimes.
And we don't even realize it, but we could be drooping.
Our shoulders could be drooping and everything is kind of going down, which makes it harder to feel. feel positive.
Right. And I think it's a good point that these phrases, we don't have to wait until someone tells us they're stressed out.
If you see in someone's body language, right, their chins down, they look stressed or nervous.
You could still say this like chin up. You're going to do a great job.
Yeah. That's kind of a nice, a good skill to have.
It's empathy, right? Empathy is like the skill of the century.
You know what I mean? Of the new of the new working world.
Having empathy at work is so key and so important.
Absolutely. Right. Reading someone else's body language, recognizing if they need just a little boost, a little bit of support, feeling what you would feel if you were in that situation and then and then helping out.
It's just so such a great team skill. And what about if they made a mistake.
Did we say this yet? So if they've made a mistake and you know, what do you think there?
How is that? Absolutely. I think we also use this phrase to encourage someone to not stress about having made a small mistake or if they're worried that maybe they've offended someone.
Okay. We might say like, okay, you know what? chin up, I'm sure it's fine.
And I think this is a great way to encourage because that happens a lot too, or we're stressed about having done something poorly in the past or having possibly offended someone.
This is another way that we can offer that support.
Yeah, we can be really hard on ourselves, right?
And we can blow something up in our head when it's not necessarily always that big of a deal, right?
And so that's tricky. So that's a good one to say.
What's the third? Yes. And this one I feel like I use a lot in conjunction with number two to just say it'll all work out.
I might say like chin up. It'll all work out.
Right. Just means don't worry. Everything is going to be fine.
Everything will work out. So there's no need to be stressed out.
All right. So write that. So we're combining two words here.
Right. It's it'll. So it's it will all. That's kind of awkward to say that it'll all work out.
It'll all work out. It's a really gymnastics of your tongue, right?
To get from the T to the L. You might have to practice that.
But it's true. We wouldn't say it will all work out.
We're always going to just run this together and say it quickly.
It'll all work out. So write that one down, guys.
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Exclusions apply. See details online. Okay, Aubrey, what's next?
OK, so I want to do a little activity here where I'm going to just make a statement I might say at work.
And Lindsay, you just share what's the first one that natively feels like you would respond with.
All right. OK, I'm ready. Here's the first one.
I'm meeting with my boss tomorrow and I'm nervous.
Oh, don't sweat it. Our boss is awesome.
It's going to be great. Yes. Nice. That feels so native and natural to be like, oh, don't sweat it.
You're going to be fine. Yeah. OK, here's the second one.
Ready? I'm stressed out about my presentation tomorrow.
Oh, it'll all work out. No problem. Yeah.
Nice. That one feels so right because you're letting them know, like, I know you're going to do a great job.
Right. It'll all work out means like it's going to be fine.
It's going to be great. Yeah. I love it.
I love it. All right. Last one. Ready? I am worried about my upcoming surgery.
Well, keep your chin up. It's going to be, it's going to go just fine.
I am confident about that. Nice. Excellent.
I know you said that's not one you would really say.
It's not natural for me. Yeah, I do. I feel like I grew up, maybe this is a regional dialect thing, right?
That depending on where you're from, you hear this more often.
Okay. But yeah, just to say like, okay, chin up, keep your chin up.
It's going to be okay. Yeah. And guys, there's, you know, the United States is humongous, humongous.
And there's so many regional differences.
And we find them a lot together, Aubrey, on our when we're podcasting together between the West and the East.
Absolutely. But some things will sound a little off to you or a little off to me.
And it's just all about our regional dialect.
There's not necessarily one that is right or wrong.
Sometimes the grammar is right or wrong and it matters for formal situations.
But often it's just what people are used to hearing.
Yeah, I love it. So good. So let's check it out in a role play.
I know that our listeners, I know you guys on the All Ears English podcast, you love role plays and we're doing them here on the Business English podcast as well.
So let's get into it. So you and I are co-workers and we're meeting for a business lunch in this role play.
I'll start us out. Ready? How have things been going for you?
Honestly, I'm super stressed about my quota this quarter.
Oh, yeah. Well, keep your chin up. You've always been a top performer, so I'm sure it'll all work out.
I'm sure you're right. I have a few deals that I'm hoping will close by the end of the month.
And if so, I'll be OK. Fingers crossed. Don't sweat it.
I saw your demo for B&B Publishing and it was fantastic.
Thank you. You're right. I'm sure it'll be fine.
How are things for you? I really love this interaction where you're not just saying like, keep your chin up and sort of dismissing their nerves.
Right. You're giving them reasons to be confident, to not be so stressed out, letting them know like, you know, you're a top performer.
I saw this amazing deal. And then I feel like it feels more genuine.
It feels more sincere where you're giving them reasons to know that they shouldn't be stressed.
Makes sense. Right. It's still it feels like a less of a stock response.
Yes, exactly. You're making it personal for sure.
I love that idea. So what did you say? So let's see.
I said I was super stressed. And then you said, Oh, yeah, well, keep your chin up is that first one, right?
So I definitely could say, okay, chin up.
But then sometimes we say the full thing, keep your chin up.
You've always been a top performer. And then I use the next one there too.
So I'm sure it'll all work out. So one question here.
So since I don't have a ton of experience with the chin up expression or I don't use it, do you think that there's a difference between if I were to say, come on, chin up, as opposed to, well, keep your chin up.
Like, is it more professional to say keep your use the verb?
Is it is, you know, chin up? Is that more something you would say like to your kids?
Would you say? Good question. It is a little it.
I feel like it's always a little more formal to use the entire phrase.
And then when we're dropping words and shortening it for time, it's always going to be a little more informal, a closer relationship.
Right. Yeah. So here, though, we're you know, we're business colleagues.
This doesn't feel unnatural to me to be like, OK, well, keep your chin up.
Right. And and then maybe, yeah, for like a kid or if I see someone, I'm more likely if I see someone that looks kind of sad or stressed out to just say, OK.
Chin up. What's going on? Right. OK, so maybe chin up alone is a little more raw, like it's a little more direct, a little more casual.
I would think that. Yeah. And I feel like that's a pretty standard for most phrases where we're dropping it, we're shortening it.
It's usually more raw, more informal. Yeah.
OK, that's good to know. So there's a very nuanced difference, guys.
But I think, you know, our listeners, they're ready for these differences.
They are ready. Good. And the next one was I said, fingers crossed.
Don't sweat it. That's a little bonus. You probably have heard natives say this fingers crossed, meaning I hope that will happen.
I have my fingers crossed, but we usually shorten it just to fingers crossed.
Yeah, this is very common for me nowadays, even in emails or something.
If we're waiting to hear about something, I might reply, oh, fingers crossed.
I hope this works out. Right. Absolutely.
Very common. Don't sweat it. I saw your demo.
And yeah, good point. So this is the point what you're saying before, Aubrey, you have added a little something more to the conversation.
Yes. Here's the reason you should be feeling OK.
I saw your demo for B&B Publishing. Exactly.
And as I wrote this role play, I realized like it needs that.
Right. This conversation really needs that to just go back and forth and be like, don't sweat it.
Chin up. Don't worry. It would feel very strange, would feel insincere, like, OK, you know, I don't know.
You really need something behind it to share why you think they shouldn't be stressed out because you're confident in their skills.
Well, it comes back to what we were talking about on the All Ears English podcast.
I don't know if it was episode 1951 or 52.
Go check those out, guys, where we said the more specific you can be, the more color you're going to build in your connection.
Absolutely right. When you can share details, specific things you know about a colleague, then they realize, OK, they actually know me.
They care about me. Maybe they're right.
Maybe I shouldn't stress out. Yeah. So be specific.
Maybe that's another episode we could go into, you know, five ways to be more specific when we connect.
You know, that would be a cool one. I love that.
It's easy to stay general. It's harder to be specific because you have to have the right vocabulary, the right phrases.
And you have to remember things about people, right?
You have to pay attention. But I think in the business world and or just in your social lives, guys, this will pay dividends.
Okay. Awesome. So cool. I love it. So first of all, before we go into our takeaway for our listeners, let's remind them to hit follow on this podcast.
Why should they do that, Aubrey? Yes, you guys.
This is such a fun podcast, especially if you work in English or will in the future.
So many skills, the vocab you need, the phrases you need to be able to build connections at work in English.
So make sure to hit follow wherever you find your podcasts.
Yeah, we're going to get into some really good stuff on this podcast, guys.
Meetings, presentations, email writing, socializing at the company party.
All of this is going to create your success at work.
And we know that a lot of you guys use English at work.
So we are here for you. Hit follow. What's the takeaway today?
So just I think some of the deepest, most meaningful conversations that you're going to have are going to be when someone shares with you their worries, what they're stressed about, right?
This is they are showing you that they feel that the connection with you is strong.
They trust you with with being vulnerable.
And don't shy away from that conversation from offering encouragement.
Yeah. You guys know that you can do this in your native language.
And, you know, we're all about that connection.
And there's no reason you can't do this in English, too.
Right. So this is where English lets you come and build that bond with your coworker, with that person in front of you.
Right. When they share something vulnerable, automatically you're closer to them as long as you're responding in a supportive way.
It's huge. It is huge. Yes, today's phrases will give you what you need to be confident to do that.
So yes, definitely take this opportunity next time you see someone stressed out or they share with you that they're stressed out about something and be that person that can offer that support for them.
Yeah, let's have those relationships we want to have at work, right?
Let's just because we spend so much time at work and we want to respect the people around us.
Let's build those relationships. Right, Aubrey?
Yes, absolutely. So good. Thank you, Lindsay.
This is so fun to chat about. All right.
Good stuff, Aubrey. I'll talk to you very soon.
You have a good day. You too. Bye. Thank you for listening to Business English, a podcast just for you, the high achieving global professional.
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