How to get a PROMOTION - Business English tips and vocabulary lesson

Getting promoted at work is an important part of growing your career and making progress in your professional life. Today we're talking about some tips that can help you to achieve this and some Business English vocabulary that you can use to talk about promotions at work. We'll look at some formal, more professional ways to speak about this topic, and some less formal, more casual ways to discuss this idea. If you use English as a second language at work then improving your communication skills can be really important for promotions and getting hired for new jobs. I hope this podcast will help you improve your English, communicate better, and have more natural, native, and fluent conversations with your colleagues, managers, and friends. 

This podcast is all about helping you to communicate better, in English, at work. I work with international English speakers from around the world who use English, at work, as a second or third language and I hope that I can bring some of the ideas, vocabulary, and grammar, from those sessions, to you in this podcast.

Don't forget, if you want to work with me in one on one, private sessions then I am a full time Business English coach and tutor. I spend my whole professional life helping international professionals to improve the way that they communicate at work. If you'd like to book some of my time, listen right to the end of the podcast to find out how you can get on my schedule.  

Transcript

Welcome back to the Breakout Business English podcast. My name is Chris and I help people to communicate better, in English, at work. Thank you so much for taking the time to listen and the topic of today's podcast is promotions and career development. Everyone I work with is at different stages of their career. Some people are trying to get promoted and climb the career ladder, some people are already halfway up their career ladder and trying to identify the best steps to take next. And some people are in the position of handing out promotions and jobs and helping other people to achieve their career goals. In today's podcast we're going to discuss some tips on how to get your next promotion from New York University professor and three-time New York Times best-selling author, Suzy Welch. We'll take a look at the vocabulary that we can use to help you out, and the most natural and native sounding ways to talk about promotions and your career ladder at work. At the end we'll have a short quiz and a speaking challenge to find out how much of today's vocabulary you remember. With that said, let's get started.   

We're going to start today with a piece of vocabulary. This is a phrasal verb that we often use when talking about promotions, careers, and professional development, so I think it's a great place to start. This is the phrasal verb, to "Get ahead". We often use "get ahead" to simply talk about having success in your career. However, we can use it with the word "of" to compare ourselves to other people. Let's take a look at some natural and native sounding sentences. 

I think professional development is important if you want to get ahead.

I think professional development is important if you want to get ahead.

The only thing my colleagues talk about these days is how to get ahead.

The only thing my colleagues talk about these days is how to get ahead.

As soon as you leave school and join the rat race, getting ahead is the only thing that matters.

As soon as you leave school and join the rat race, getting ahead is the only thing that matters.

In that last example you heard another common phrase and that is "rat race". This is usually used in a negative way to talk about the competitive struggle for money and power in workplaces and industries in general. In fact, some people choose to quit the rat race entirely and move out to the countryside. However, if you want to get ahead of the rat race then hopefully today's podcast can give you some tips to help you out.

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Let's start with a tip from New York Times bestselling business author Suzy Welch who emphasizes the importance of overdelivering. What do we mean by this? When we over deliver we complete a task in a way that does more than is expected. Welch encourages you to ask, in what ways could you increase the impact that your team has on their customers, or your team's understanding of your market and business? I think we can take this from a small idea, day to day tasks, to bigger, longer term projects. For instance, let's take an industry that I used to be involved in. In the past I worked for a university in the north of England, fixing IT issues and running the technology side of events. So, on a smaller scale, instead of simply fixing an issue for a customer, maybe I could educate them as to why something happened to help make sure it doesn't happen again. On a larger scale, when planning an event, maybe I can research how other universities around the world run similar events and implement some of their strategies while putting together a guide for my boss on exactly what I did. Take a moment to think about how you could apply these ideas to your work. OK, let's take a look at some vocabulary that we can use to talk about these ideas. 

I hope you don't mind, I took the liberty of diving into this and exploring some new ideas. 

I hope you don't mind, I took the liberty of diving into this and exploring some new ideas. 

Wow, it really looks like you went above and beyond on this one. 

Wow, it really looks like you went above and beyond on this one. 

You can always rely on Emma to go the extra mile when you delegate something to her. 

You can always rely on Emma to go the extra mile when you delegate something to her. 

Let's talk about that first phrase, to "take the liberty". We use this phrase when we do something without asking for permission. Usually when we don't think anyone will mind or be upset about it. It's very similar to another word that you might know, and that is to use your "initiative".

We also had the phrasal verb, "to dive into". If you dive into something then you explore it deeply and in a lot of detail. Instead of spending a quick five minutes searching for information about something, you look at lots of resources and try to get a deeper understanding of something. This is similar to another phrasal verb, "to drill down on" something.  Try using these the next time you need to talk about learning about a new topic.

There were two idioms in those examples. We had "to go above and beyond", and "to go the extra mile". These idioms really mean the same thing, and that is to exceed expectations. To understand what you are expected to do and do more, without being asked. Of course, don't forget that "go" is an irregular verb, so the past tense forms of these idioms are "went above and beyond" and "went the extra mile".

Let's take one more from those examples and jump into a more formal word and that is to "delegate". If you're a manager then this is especially important for you. To delegate a task to someone is to give them that duty, or responsibility, or ask them to do a particular task. For instance, "David is on vacation all week so he's delegated a few tasks to his team".

Before we move on though, one more tip from Suzy Welch is to not confuse overdelivering with being over ambitious! Overdelivering is about your team, your colleagues, and your company. It's about offering as much value as possible and being a team player. Being over ambitious is about you, about focusing on what you want to achieve and aggressively trying to get promoted. She encourages her readers to do the work, and wait for the rewards to present themselves. 

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A topic that I often find myself discussing with people these days is feedback. When I talk to managers about career development, almost everyone discusses the importance of feedback. Knowing how you're performing and where your opportunities for improvement are is key to getting ahead. Let's hear a few ways that you can ask for feedback from your colleagues and managers. 

I'd love to get your thoughts on how I've been doing recently.

I'd love to get your thoughts on how I've been doing recently.

Are there any areas where you think I've got room to improve?

Are there any areas where you think I've got room to improve?

Are there any skills or competencies that I'd need to work on before you'd consider me for promotion?

Are there any skills or competencies that I'd need to work on before you'd consider me for promotion?

In that first example we heard the phrase, "I'd love to get your thoughts on." "I'd love to get your thoughts on." Asking for someone's thoughts on an issue is a really natural and native way to ask someone what they think. Thought is the noun form of the verb, to think.

In the second example we heard the phrase, "room to improve", "room to improve". This is a common phrase that we use to talk about how big a gap there is between the skills that you have and the skills that you would like to have. We can also use this with the noun, "improvement", as in "do you think I have much room for improvement?"

Often one of the most important things for you to tell your manager is that you are interested in a promotion. Some managers might not be aware that you're actually hoping to be promoted. Others might just not have thought of you as a potential candidate for promotion. Either way, finding a way to drop that into conversation, as we did in example three, can be a really nice way to start that conversation. In the third example we also heard the phase "work on". To "work on" something is a really common phrasal verb that means to try to improve or finish something. For instance, if you're listening to this podcast then you're probably working on your English. Also,while I was writing this podcast script I could say that I was working on it. By this I mean that I was trying to finish it. To "work on" something is a really common phrasal verb in both British and American English, and it's a great way to talk about your skills and professional ability.

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In a 2023 video, leadership coach Kara Ronin talks about the importance of asserting your opinion at work when you're trying to get promoted. She talks about how simply being great at your job is not necessarily going to get you promoted. Being great at your job often just makes you more valuable in that role and less likely to be considered for career development opportunities. Ronin suggests that leaders are comfortable giving their opinion and expressing them confidently. I think a lot of people who consider themselves to be team players like to agree with people more than disagree. However, if you think that you have a better idea than what is currently being suggested, or you have a strong opinion on what is happening, then being able to confidently and clearly communicate this is an important part of raising your profile at work. Let's hear a couple of ways that you can introduce your opinions or suggestions at work. 

I appreciate what you're saying, and I hope you don't mind if I push back for a moment, but I think there might be a better way to do this.

I appreciate what you're saying, and I hope you don't mind if I push back for a moment, but I think there might be a better way to do this.

You're right, this will take longer, it will likely also cost more, however in the end I think it will deliver a far better result.

You're right, this will take longer, it will likely also cost more, however in the end I think it will deliver a far better result.

I think that this would be a great way to proceed and I'd be interested to know what Dave thinks about this idea since he has so much experience in this area.

I think that this would be a great way to proceed and I'd be interested to know what Dave thinks about this idea since he has so much experience in this area.

There are a lot of ideas in these examples so let's start right at the end. In that last example you heard me invite someone else into the conversation with the phrase, "I'd be interested to know your opinion". We sometimes also hear, "I'd love to know" or "I'd like to know". One of the strongest ways to give an opinion or make a suggestion is to bring someone else into the conversation. Leaders value the input and the experience of their team and if you can show that you understand this when giving opinions then you'll be demonstrating your leadership potential at the same time as giving your opinions. So, next time you want to make an objection or give an opinion, try thinking about who in the meeting or on your team has valuable experience in this area and think about asking their opinion and bringing them into the conversation to perhaps support your idea. 

In that second example we heard an old debate technique called steel manning. When you steelman an argument you take someone's point and make it stronger. You build that point up so that it's an even better objection that it originally was, and then you show why it's not good or valid. By doing this you're not only showing confidence but also emphasizing the strength of your idea. This can take confidence to do, but if you communicate in this way successfully then you're giving your idea a really great chance of being accepted by your team. 

Let's also take a look at the first example there. In the first example sentence we heard the phrase, "push back", to "push back". If you push back against something then you show your opposition to an argument or idea. If someone suggests delaying a meeting then you might push back on the delay by talking about how urgent the meeting is for instance. We can also use this as a noun, as in "thanks for your push back. I think you make a really good point".

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Now I think it's time for our quiz. Let's see how much of the vocabulary from today's podcast you can remember. First, can you tell me a noun, beginning with the letter R, that we can use with the word "improve" to talk about opportunities for professional growth and improvement. This is usually a noun that we use to talk about houses or maybe offices. This is the word "room" and this phrase is "room for improvement". For instance, "I think I have a lot of room for improvement when it comes to public speaking". "I think I have a lot of room for improvement when it comes to public speaking".

Next, can you tell me a phrasal verb that we can use to talk about objecting to an idea and showing our opposition to suggestions. This phrasal verb is sometimes used to talk about delaying or postponing events, and this is to push back, to push back. As in "If anyone wants to push back on this idea, please let me know", "If anyone wants to push back on this idea, please let me know". Or maybe, "there was a lot of pushback in the meeting so I think we're going to reconsider how we're doing this", "there was a lot of pushback in the meeting so I think we're going to reconsider how we're doing this".

Now, earlier in the podcast I told you two idioms that we can use to talk about working extra hard. The first idiom uses a noun that we usually use to talk about distance and travel. In many countries they use kilometers, however in the UK we use miles, and the first idiom here is to "go the extra mile", as in "I really appreciate it when my staff go the extra mile", "I really appreciate it when my staff go the extra mile". The second idiom again feels like it's talking about travel and this is to go "above and beyond". For instance, "I can tell that you really went above and beyond for this client", "I can tell that you really went above and beyond for this client".

Finally, which two words, both beginning with the letter "r", can we use to talk about the competitive nature of trying to progress in your career, especially in a big city, where it feels like everyone is competing with you for the same jobs and promotions. This phrase is "rat race", as in "I'm getting tired of the rat race. I think I might just move out to the countryside", "I'm getting tired of the rat race. I think I might just move out to the countryside".

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Don't forget, if you'd like to work with me one on one in a video call to improve the way that you use English to communicate at work then you can head over to breakoutbusinessenglish.com and book some of my time. Also, if you're listening on Apple podcasts or anywhere else that you can leave a review, please do so. It really helps me out and helps other people to know that there is value in this podcast. 

Until next time, thank you so much for your time and I'll speak to you again soon on the Breakout Business English podcast.