This is the Business English Podcast, Episode 97.
Sing your own praises in English with these three idioms.
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Offer ends August 10th. allearsenglish.com slash connection. hello aubrey how you doing today how you feeling i am excellent lindsay happy to be on the mic with you how are you me too as always i've been podcasting all morning but i am glad to be here so lucky i feel grateful for sure yeah i never get tired of it right that's nice not really something for hours and hours you know it's it's a good match you love it so i have a question for you today aubrey are you ready yes i am ready All right.
So is it easy for you to quote unquote brag about yourself?
I don't love that word, but like, is it easy for you to brag about yourself or promote yourself or say things that you've done that are good?
No, it's very difficult for me. This is going to be interesting, guys.
We're going to talk about what this is like in American culture and answer a listener question today.
But yeah, it's really hard for me to, even in a job interview where it's really vital to share past accomplishments.
And I still have a hard time feeling like, oh, I just feel like I'm bragging.
This feels obnoxious. It's hard. It's difficult.
I always err on the side of never saying anything positive about myself. so that it's not annoying.
What about you? Oh, there's so much we could talk about here.
There's the humble brag, which is so easy to spot and annoying.
Yes. We could go into another day. There is the connotations that I got about bragging as a kid, right?
Like some kids were labeled as braggers.
She brags. That's something I remember complaining to my parents that my friend down the street, she brags so much.
That was a really bad thing. So that's carried into my adult life as a professional, which has maybe hurt me.
And then there's the need to succeed in the working world, especially building a company.
You need to say what's awesome about what you're doing, especially at conferences and things like that.
So I have a lot of mixed feelings about this too.
It's such a skill to be able to quote unquote brag.
There is a negative connotation of that, but like self-promote, to be able to share, you know, the positives, share successes and accomplishments in a way that isn't that obnoxious like the kid you knew.
And I know one too now that my kids hang out with that just is always bragging about how good they are at everything.
And it can be annoying. So there's really a fine line.
It's so true. I'm so excited to get into this because it's so cultural.
I know that American culture on the cultural global level, a lot of people from other countries might see American culture as being people being overly self-promotional.
Right. And maybe we are compared to other cultures, whether that's okay or not okay, depends on the context.
Exactly. But we're going to add the cultural layer here today too.
But first, Aubrey, what do we want to ask our listeners to do?
Yeah, we want you guys to share this podcast, right?
It's pretty new, this Business English podcast.
Anyone you know who works in English or might work in English one day, share this podcast with them.
Send them a link. I think it I love when people share podcasts with me, honestly.
Like anytime someone's like, oh, I found this new podcast, you got to check it out.
Those are like my favorite texts and emails to get.
It's so true. So share this, you know, go into wherever you're listening, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and there should be a share link somewhere in those apps.
Just copy that link, open your text message to whoever, you know, is getting into English and business for a career works for a multinational company, send it to them.
They will thank you. They will thank you.
Absolutely. So yes, to be self-promotional or anything.
I know. Right. Speaking of a little self-promotion, but that's how people find out about us.
Right. We love doing this for you guys. We want to be able to keep doing it.
So yeah, definitely share the podcast, but we are going to share a listener question today and, And then we're going to give you three idioms that will help you in a professional way that is native and natural, share your accomplishments, maybe job interviews, performance reviews, when you do need to do this in a way that doesn't feel braggy, right?
So we will share how to do that today, but let's first dive into this.
It's a little bit of an interesting question, right?
Yeah. Oh my gosh. And then I just thought we could add the whole layer of gender in here and we could make the conversation even more complicated, Aubrey.
It's so true. This is very gendered sometimes, right?
That sometimes it's, especially in the business world, I feel like there are certain personalities, maybe these dudes that can get away with bragging and no one thinks anything of it.
It's not even called bragging. That's not even called bragging, right?
They're just confident. Right. And then a woman is confident and feels like bragging.
Oh, this is where it gets complicated. I hope we're moving away from that.
I do feel like it's better than it was 10, 20 years ago.
And I think in 10 years, it'll be even better.
So fingers crossed. I think so too. the more we have great female role models.
I did a great interview the other day with a female CEO who has worked for huge companies like Amex.
She is on the C-suite level at Accenture.
She's very impressive. So the more that we meet women at this level, the more we can kind of yeah, bring gender out of the picture a bit more.
But anyways, we'll come back to that. Let's get into it.
So guys, first thing you should do is go back to episode 52, right, Aubrey, and listen to that interview with Troy.
Yes, because we got a question from a listener asking about that episode.
They said at the 515 mark, the guest mentioned an idiom, but I just missed it.
Could you tell me what it is? So I went back and listened.
And what he said, Troy, he's a hiring manager.
This was an amazing episode. You definitely want to go check it out if you missed it about English resume strategies from a Silicon Valley expert.
And he said toot their own horn is the idiom that he used.
So we're going to share that idiom, how to use it, some examples, as well as a couple other related idioms.
Yeah, yeah. And I love talking to people from Silicon Valley.
It's just they always have an interesting take on things, right?
The startup world functions a little differently than the corporate world.
But this is the cutting edge of what's going on in the market in technology.
Yes, they've had a bit of a scare lately because so many of them had funds in Silicon Valley Bank.
A lot of people I know were affected by that.
So it's scary. Some of the things that are happening with the economy in the United States and Silicon Valley is not immune.
Yeah. Yeah, by the time this episode comes out in May, we'll see where we're at.
We've had a few banks fail in the last few weeks.
I feel like things might be calming down now.
I haven't heard anything in the last week or so, but we'll see if it's the beginning of something big or if it's just a few little blips of banks that weren't well managed.
Yeah, that's the hope is that it's very reparable, that it's not going to become like balloon into something big.
So, yeah, when we listen to this, when it's published, we'll look back and think, oh, yeah, that was scary.
Luckily, it all worked out. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
All right. So let's define these terms and then we'll talk a little bit more about culture and gender and all that good stuff.
For sure. The first one is toot your own horn or toot their own horn.
This is to boast, another word for brag.
To boast or brag, it's a way to playfully soften a brag.
Yeah, often, right? We can use it that way.
So here's an example. If I say, not to toot my own horn, but I have two doctorate degrees.
So you can imagine in an interview, if you need to bring that up, you can see how it sort of softens that brag.
Like you're sharing something that is amazing, is impressive.
And we use this little idiom to make it a little playful.
Okay. Just to be a little playful. Yeah, for sure.
And then I know I'm tooting my own horn here, but I do have 10 years of IT experience.
Yeah. I can imagine this coming up if there's some kind of IT problem and one person is saying they know how to fix it, but really they're just making it worse.
The other one could be like, let me look.
I know I'm tooting my own horn, but I do have 10 years of IT experience.
So maybe let me try. Sure, sure, sure, sure, sure.
Although I don't know, I think in an interview, that's your time to kind of brag.
Like I wouldn't, I wouldn't even take the boasting and bragging out of the interview entirely.
Like the hiring manager wants to hear what you've done.
So I think I personally think that these are more useful in a social setting.
Yeah, that's a good point. Right. You wouldn't use these in an interview, actually, because the hiring manager is like, you know, yes, share.
This is very clear. It's on the table. I need to know about your past, about your history, about your accomplishments.
Whereas outside of an interview, anytime we're sharing the degrees we have or that's when we might feel like, oh, I feel like I'm bragging.
I want to soften this with these fun idioms.
Yeah, especially if you're saying these things out of context, right?
If it's completely out of context or you're talking about something else and then this topic comes in and it presents that and you decide you want to say something, that's the time to use these, right?
Yeah, that's a good point, right? Say you do have two doctorate degrees. yeah and if either you know if someone says oh they're maybe they're um complimenting your intelligence about something that comes up and and you do want to mention this like oh not to toot my own i do have two doctorate degrees right like what kind of joking a little bit it's good yeah that's good stuff so right time right place yeah yeah exactly all right let's try this next one which is to sing one's own praises very similar it just means to say good things about yourself So it may sound like I'm singing my own praises, but I am a strong leader.
Okay. Yeah. So maybe at work, right, you are leading a team and maybe there's that person that's not on board.
Like they're either questioning your judgment about something and we're going to save a lot of time if we can earn their respect.
This might be a fun thing to say, right?
Just softening the brag a little bit by saying, may sound like I'm singing my own praises, not to sing my own praises, but I am a strong leader.
So trust me in this. It's going to work out.
I love it. Yeah. Good. Okay. And then what's the second example?
So to sing my own praises a bit, I have been recognized as a top performer multiple times.
So yeah, this is again, sometimes you need to gain another's trust, right?
Someone might not know very much about you and you need to let them know that you are accomplished, that you are capable.
And these are great idioms to be able to do that by sharing an example, sharing the reason they should trust you and then sort of take away the harshness of the brag.
Yeah, it's true. It's kind of awkward. like if you're very accomplished in in a particular domain industry it could be awkward if you enter a conversation and there are other accomplished professionals and they don't know your for whatever reason they don't know your name they don't know who you are it could be awkward because they might be talking down to you a little bit right right and you do need a way to mention like who you are kind of right these are social dynamics Yeah, this is a very tricky skill.
You can't hide in the background and not let your voice be heard, not let your experience be used, especially at work, right?
In social settings, this isn't such a big deal, but in business English, this is so vital that you don't want to be... I mean, this could affect job performance.
This could affect whether you're promoted.
If you allow yourself to not shine, if you allow something... you know, a skill or an ability to sort of be hidden in the background.
You need a way to share it, to share that you should be trusted, that you're capable.
Mm, 100%. And what you said is important in the social world, I think dropping...
Oh, I have a PhD in five topic. I have five PhDs could be really out of context.
It's not necessary because when you're at a party, you're all on even footing.
It's just so there's no need for the brag.
There's no need for this self promote. What is that doing?
It's just annoying. Whereas at work, it's often necessary.
Yeah, or I'm thinking in a conference situation or any kind of convention where you're with people in your industry and people need to know so they listen to what you say, you know?
Absolutely. Yes, exactly. It reminds me of like the beginning of when like a keynote speaker is introduced.
There's a reason we have this introduction where we're sharing all of their accomplishments, sharing so that everyone listening knows why they need to listen.
Yeah. That's such a good point. That's such a good point, right?
There's always a five-minute introduction, everything they've done, all the things they've written, all the books.
But if you happen to meet someone that's maybe going to be important in your career, you could network, get a kind of collaboration opportunity, you don't have the chance for that five minute introduction.
No one's giving you that five minute introduction.
You have to do that yourself. You have to find a way to give yourself that credibility, to give the person you're talking to a reason to listen to you, to trust you, to believe you.
You need the vocabulary and the skills to do that.
Yeah. So there's one more phrase, right?
What is that one? Did we do this one? Nope.
To talk oneself up, right? So maybe it's difficult for me to talk myself up.
So bear with me, right? This is if someone like me who really does have a hard time sharing accomplishments, sharing successes, it's hard for me to talk myself up.
But what that means is just to basically to brag about yourself, to share your accomplishments, to share good things about yourself is we can also say talk myself up. yeah good stuff okay i like this i like these examples here um you know as we said i think we kind of edited our advice here a little bit aubrey right in job interviews you don't need that right right you're there that hiring manager wants to know what you've done you have to it's yeah then it's about more about what words you choose what's your industry knowledge what what can you prove what are the numbers you're bringing into the interview of changes you've made in companies Right.
Absolutely. But with colleagues, coworkers at a conference, sometimes this will need to come up.
We're going to share a role play where you could see how this might happen in a conversation with two coworkers where, you know, you do need to share something or maybe you've been asked something where you're going to share about yourself and you can use one of these idioms to make it a little more playful. yeah okay here we go so in this role play we are chatting while we're waiting for a meeting to begin and this is a key moment that i know a lot of our listeners want to work on is the in between the gray space right the white space in between these big work moments is before the meeting after the meeting on the way to get coffee These are key relationship building times.
And I think we waste that time more and more since we can do so much on our phones.
It's so tempting to just be on your phone, texting, emailing, when that's a wasted opportunity to build that connection with the coworker sitting next to you who might also be on their phone.
Very good point. Very good point. All right, Aubrey, why don't we go for it?
Okay, I'll start us out. How did your meeting go yesterday with the CEO?
Not to toot my own horn, but it was great.
Nice. Sometimes we have to talk ourselves up, you know?
What about you? Anything exciting going on?
Yes. I realize I'm singing my own praises, but I hit my sales goal this quarter.
Nice. I like that. I realize I'm doing this.
That's kind of cool. Sounds kind of cool.
Yeah. Right. So this, this, I feel like happens to me a lot where someone will ask me a question and my answer is necessarily a little bit of a brag.
Like they're asking, you know, how are things going?
Is there going well? Okay. In order to share this positive thing about myself, I am kind of have to brag.
This is a perfect idiom to use any of these, right?
Say, okay, I realize I'm tooting my own horn.
I realize I'm singing my own praises, but, and then you share this great thing you did. yes and then i said not to toot my own horn but it was great so i'm saying like something maybe uh the ceo congratulated me on something or said that they appreciate something i did or recognize the value i was adding to a company right so yes right something well and you mean you don't give a lot of details here but you're just sharing that it went great and this is a fun idiom to throw in to soften that a little it doesn't feel like bragging when you use this idiom yeah i mean do you think that we are overly what's the word is it braggadocious is that a word is that even a word like that's a made-up word but i like it that's a made-up word our listeners will have to go and look up to find out if that is even a real i have a feeling it is a word it actually is a word oh nice braggadocious it's in the dictionary it's informal but it's an adjective meaning boastful or arrogant do you think we're overly braggadocious in american culture I do feel like it really depends on the person.
I do think this is gendered. It's interesting with like the rise of TikTok where people are making a living being promoters and on self-promotion.
Right. It is. I feel like unfortunately, U.S. culture is moving more and more toward that.
And I wish it would move away. Yeah. That's kind of a bummer.
Yeah. I mean, I think there's nothing wrong with influencers as long as the thing that you're inspiring people about is bigger than you.
Yeah. And is it? That's the problem when it's not.
It has to be bigger, right? It has to be bigger, has to be about your audience, right?
What do they want in their lives? And that's the problem, right?
I also would say, though, you know, there's culture here.
So a lot of our listeners might be coming from a place where they don't want to sing their own praises at all.
So if that's your case, if you're coming into American business culture, these could be useful as kind of a prop as a way to kind of help you say something important that matters.
It's going to get you listened to at that conference that people are going to take your ideas seriously.
Right? Absolutely. I do feel like in American culture, we are getting better about, I imagine like the 20s or 30s watching like Mad Men.
I feel like there was more of that tendency to be really obnoxious with being a braggart, with bragging all the time.
And I do feel like that has softened. It's a little bit better.
And now, I don't know. It is interesting.
I do feel like as society evolves and develops this modern society, I do think people are a little more aware of how they come across.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, we've got the historical perspective.
I'll have to check out Mad Men and go into that to see what I think about that, too.
And then just because we love to challenge our listeners, the other side, you know, if especially if you're a woman, but if you're a woman or a man, it doesn't matter whatever gender identity you have.
If you've done awesome things in the world and.
If you feel like it's in context and it makes sense to share in order for people to make sure that people are actually taking you seriously, you don't have to use these phrases.
So I also want to make sure we see it. That's on that on that side.
Absolutely. Right. We're sharing these. Yeah. but it's not like they're necessary, right?
In the right context, absolutely just share your accomplishments.
I feel like people who are most likely to be successful aren't scared to do that as long as it's, there's just such a fine line between cracking and sharing a success.
Yeah, it is. And I think what I find is people that have done really great things in the world are less likely to talk about themselves.
They're more likely to be interested in other people.
But I also think there's nothing wrong with saying, hey, you know, we've done this.
You know, we did this presentation. We achieved this award if it's in context.
But leaving the focus on the other people, being curious about others is good, too.
Yeah, that's a good point, right? If you think about the context, if you're sharing it in order to build your network, in order to build this relationship, you need them.
Then there's nothing wrong with that. Don't be afraid to do that because you will miss opportunities if you don't.
Really, really interesting topic. We've looked at it today from the gender side, cultural side, historical side, the language side, guys.
I want to know what our listeners think today.
So this episode's on YouTube. Come back to YouTube.
Leave a comment. Whatever comes to your mind today, tell us in the comments.
Yeah, let us know. Awesome. This is such a good episode, Lindsay.
Really interesting to think about and talk about.
I think I'm going to be paying attention closer now on TV and podcasts and just in my life.
Do people have a tendency to brag? And if so, when?
What is the context? That's really interesting.
Good stuff. Really good topic. Thanks for hanging out today, Aubrey.
I'll talk to you soon. Awesome. See you next time.
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