How to ANSWER QUESTIONS at work - Business English vocabulary and tips + FREE PDF

Answering questions at work in English can be difficult. Today's podcast is about How to Answer Questions at work. We discuss some great, professional vocabulary, some natural and native sounding examples, the grammar that you need to know, and how these phrases change depending on the situation and context. So if you use English as a second language to communicate and answer questions at work then I hope you'll find this podcast useful. 

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.  

To get the FREE PDF DOCUMENT with the vocabulary and grammar points from today's episode, visit https://www.breakoutbusinessenglish.com/episode18

Transcript

Welcome back to the Breakout business English podcast. My name is Chris and my full time job is helping international English speakers, who speak English as a second language, to communicate better at work. Thank you so much for taking the time to listen to the podcast and our topic today is answering questions at work. We're going to talk about some great vocabulary that you can use to give answers and replies, especially when you’re unsure of the answers and we'll discuss some tips that you

There is a free PDF document with today's podcast. It contains all of the most important vocabulary, tips, and grammar points from the show. If you'd like that then you can go to breakout business english dot com / episode 18, that's breakout business english dot com / episode 18 or click the link in the show notes. That will take you to a page when you can enter your email address and I'll send that document directly to your email inbox.

As I mentioned, helping non native English speakers improve their professional communication skills is my full time job so if you'd like to work with me to improve the way that you communicate at work then you can go to breakout business english dot com to book some time with me. I sometimes send out discounts and offers for my one to one coaching sessions and entering your email address there is the best way to hear about those offers first. 

At the end of our podcast today we'll also have a short quiz to find out how much of the vocabulary from today's podcast you can remember. So with that said, let's get started. 

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Let's start with a situation that I think we're all familiar with, and that is not being sure. Of course, when we just don't know an answer, sometimes we just need to own up, come clean, and tell the person asking us a question that we just don't know. However, in many more situations we might have some information and just need to show in our answer that we're not completely sure about our answer. Let's take a look at a couple of ways that we can do this.

As far as I know there are 10 people working on this project.

As far as I know there are 10 people working on this project.

To the best of my knowledge David always works from home.

To the best of my knowledge David always works from home.

Off the top of my head this should take around 2 weeks.

Off the top of my head this should take around 2 weeks.

Let's start with that last phrase, "off the top of my head", or "off the top of your head". This is a really useful, native, and natural sounding phrase. However, it has a slightly different meaning depending on how you use it. Let's start with a question format. For instance, "do you know how long this will take, off the top of your head?", "do you know how long this will take, off the top of your head?" In a question this phrase means, without checking, researching, or calculating, do you know? If you have to go away and check your email or ask a colleague then I'm really not very interested. However, if this information is in your head right now then please tell me.  If we use it in a positive sentence, as in "off the top of my head this should take around 2 weeks", then we mean I'm not sure. I'm also suggesting that I could probably find out. If you give me a little time to research, check, or calculate, then I could probably tell you. Finally, in a negative sentence this means that I don't know right now. I don't have this information in my head and ready to tell you. Without checking, researching, or calculating, I'm not able to give you an answer. For instance, "I don't know off the top of my head", "I don't know off the top of my head".

In the first two examples there we heard two very similar phrases. These were, "as far as I know", "as far as I know", and "to the best of my knowledge", "to the best of my knowledge". These phrases mean almost exactly the same thing, you're more likely to hear the second phrase in a more formal or professional situation. These mean that I have some knowledge, and I can give you an answer based on that knowledge. However, I'm suggesting that there may be different or more up to date information available. Therefore, if it turns out in a few days that I was wrong, then that's fine. My answer was based on the information that I had available to me and other information could exist. 

If these ways of saying that you're unsure are interesting to you then maybe you'll like this week's Breakout Business English youtube video. It goes into more detail with different examples of these phrases and how we can use them at work. It also comes with its own free PDF lesson. You can find a link to that in this week's show notes, or go to the Breakout Business English Youtube Channel and click on this week's video.

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Now, sometimes questions are just too complicated to answer immediately. The problem may not be that we need more information, but instead that we need more time. Especially if what you’re being asked for is to make a choice. Let’s take a look at a few ways that we can ask for a little more time to make a decision. 

Can I get back to you on that please?

Can I get back to you on that please?

Can I have some time to think this through?

Can I have some time to think this through?

I think I need to sleep on this. Can I give you my answer tomorrow morning?

I think I need to sleep on this. Can I give you my answer tomorrow morning?

Let’s start with the phrase you heard in the first example, “can I get back to you on that please”, “can I get back to you on that please”. If you say that you’ll get back to someone then you’re simply telling them that right now, at this moment, you don’t have an answer for them. However, at some time in the future, you should be able to give them an answer. We sometimes use the phrase, “can I get back to you in writing” for more formal or official responses for which you might prefer to send a letter or an email.

We also had there the phrase to “sleep on” something, as in “I think I need to sleep on this”. If you sleep on a decision or choice then you spend all night thinking about it. You are suggesting that the next morning you are more likely to have a good answer or response because you’ve had enough time to really think deeply about how you want to reply. This is an informal phrase, but can be really useful when you’re asked to make big decisions. We can also use these two phrases together. For instance, “I appreciate the offer but I think I need to sleep on it. Can I get back to you tomorrow?” 

Also, in our second example we heard the phrase, “to think something through”. As in, “can I have some time to think this through”. If you think something through then you think deeply and carefully about that thing. We also sometimes hear the phrase “to think something over”, which has essentially the same meaning.

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Of course, sometimes we don’t need more time. Sometimes we know exactly what the answer is and we’re happy to give it immediately. In those cases, maybe you want to emphasize how sure you are. Maybe the person asking you doubts your answer and asks you something like, “are you sure? Let’s take a look at a couple of ways that you can emphasize and stress your answers.

I’m 100% on this, in fact I couldn’t be more sure.

I’m 100% on this, in fact I couldn’t be more sure.

Yes, I’m certain. Without a shadow of a doubt.

Yes, I’m certain. Without a shadow of a doubt.

It’s guaranteed, I’d put money on it.

It’s guaranteed, I’d put money on it.

That second example included a great phrase, and this is “without a shadow of a doubt”. As in, “yes, I’m certain, without a shadow of a doubt”. Let’s take a closer look at those two words. There’s a good chance that you know both of these words separately but just haven’t heard them used together like this. Doubt is when you’re not sure if something is true or correct. If I doubt that I’ll be able to come to the meeting tomorrow then I’m saying that there is a high possibility that I won’t be able to be there. A shadow is the darkness that appears next to something when you put it next to a light. The darkness that is created by you blocking the light. The idea here is that, if something exists then it has a shadow. So, if you don’t even have a shadow of a doubt, it means that you don’t even have the smallest amount of doubt. It means that your knowledge is 100%, absolutely, guaranteed to be correct.

The last example that we heard there included the phrase, “to put money on something”. As in, “I’d put money on it”. This is a very informal phrase that refers to gambling and placing bets. It suggests that you are so certain of something that you would be willing to risk money by placing a bet and gambling on it. Don’t worry though, this is just an idiom, no one is going to start asking you for money!

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Sometimes the big decisions that we need to make in life are difficult to make on our own. Sometimes we would like to ask our friends and colleagues what they think. Especially if they are more experienced or have more knowledge in a specific area. Let's look at a couple of sentences that you could use to ask your colleagues for their opinions and advice on your big decision. 

I've got something on my mind, can I run it by you?

I've got something on my mind, can I run it by you?

I'm trying to figure something out and I'd love to get your advice if you've got a moment?

I'm trying to figure something out and I'd love to get your advice if you've got a moment?

Do you have a moment to weigh in on something for me please?

Do you have a moment to weigh in on something for me please?

In that second example we heard the word advice, and I want to talk about the grammar around that word for just a moment. The phrase I used was, "I'd love to get your advice". The thing that's important to notice here is that I didn't add the letter "S" at the end of advice. I didn't say "advices". This is because "advices" is not a word. Advice is an uncountable noun, like feedback, information, news, or water. Therefore we don't add the letter "S" at the end. We can't use this as a plural. This is a really common mistake and one that I help people with every day when I'm doing one to one coaching sessions. 

In that first example we heard the phrasal verb, to run something by someone. The sentence was, "I've got something on my mind, can I run it by you?" "I've got something on my mind, can I run it by you". If we "run something by" someone then we ask for their opinion, their advice, or sometimes their approval. Maybe you work in sales and before you can offer any discount to a customer you need to run it by your manager. Or maybe a client asks you if it's possible to change the time of a meeting. You might need to run it by your colleagues who also need to be in the meeting. This is a phrasal verb that we always separate. We always put the topic or question in the middle of this phrasal verb. So I could run an idea by you, or run a change by you. This is different to most phrasal verbs. If we look at the phrasal verb "to help out" for instance. I could help my boss out, or I could help out my boss. We can put "my boss" in that sentence in the middle or at the end. With "run by" we can't really do that. The topic must go in the middle. I should mention that you will also hear "run past" used in the same way. To run something past someone and to run something by someone have the same meaning. 

In that last example sentence we heard the phrasal verb "to weigh in", as in "Do you have a moment to weigh in on something for me please?" You might be able to guess what this means from context but to weigh in means to give your opinion or advice. There are two ways to use this phrasal verb and those are with or without an object. For instance, I can ask you, "can you please weigh in, I need you to weigh in, have you weighed in yet?" However, when we add an object to the sentence we need to use the preposition "on". For instance, "can you please weigh in on this issue, I need you to weigh in on this issue, have you weighed in on this issue yet?" This is similar to the way we use the word listen. I can ask you to listen, or tell you that listening is important, but in this case when we add an object we need to add the word "to". For instance, "can you listen to this podcast please, listening to this podcast is important". So we can weigh in, or we can weigh in ON things.

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One of the most important things that we need to do before making big decisions is to make sure that we have all the details. This might mean that there are some parts of the issue that you want to understand more clearly. Maybe you need to ask for information again, or you would like the person giving you this information to go into more detail on something. Let's start by asking for information again. This is of course useful when there are particularly complicated and complex issues that you want someone to repeat.

I just want to make sure I've got all the details so that I can weigh them up properly.

I just want to make sure I've got all the details so that I can weigh them up properly.

Could you just run through that again for me please.

Could you just run through that again for me please.

I didn't quite catch that, could you go over it again for me please.

I didn't quite catch that, could you go over it again for me please.

In our last example, a couple of minutes ago, you heard the phrasal verb "weigh in". Here we've got the same verb, "weigh" in a different phrasal verb, and this is to "weigh up". When we use the phrasal verb to "weigh up" we're imagining an old fashioned set of scales. With two small platforms hanging from a horizontal bar that we can use to measure how heavy something is. If you weigh something up then you think carefully about the advantages and disadvantages of a situation before you make a decision. When I was in my early 20's I was offered a management role for the first time. I was really excited about the opportunity to move into management, however there was a catch. I would have to move from the city that I lived in to a small, rural town. So it would be a great step in my career, however, I would likely need to give up my social life and the friends around me. That was a difficult decision to make and I needed to weigh up the pros and cons, the advantages and disadvantages of accepting this promotion. 

I mentioned a moment ago that there was a catch with the job I was offered. When we use catch in this context, as a noun, we mean that there is a problem or disadvantage is a situation that, at first sight, seems really great. For instance, I could offer to give you a pair of theater tickets to see a great show! But the catch is that the show starts in less than an hour so you need to leave right now or you’ll miss it. I also used catch in the third example as a verb. For instance, “I didn’t quite catch what you said”, “I didn’t quite catch what you said”. Now, the verb “to catch” has several different meanings in English. However, in this context we usually use it to talk about hearing or understanding something. Especially when it takes a lot of effort to do so. For instance, you might not catch what someone said if you were on a noisy street, or if the thing that they said was particularly complicated. We usually use this word, in this context, in negative sentences and questions. For instance, “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch what time the meeting starts, could you tell me again please?” or, “Did you catch what the budget is for this project? I think she mentioned it at the beginning”.

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OK, let’s move on to our quiz. There was a lot of great vocabulary in today’s podcast. I wonder how much of it you can remember. Let’s start with this. Which phrasal verb, beginning with the letter R and using the preposition “by” can we use to ask for someone’s opinion or advice on a decision or idea. On its own, this word means to move quickly without a vehicle. This word is “run” and this phrasal verb is “to run by”, “to run by”. For instance, “I’ve got a problem I’d like to run by you”, “I’ve got a problem I’d like to run by you”.

Next, which phrase can we use to tell someone that we will contact them later with an answer to their question. We can use this when we need a little more time to find an answer or to make a decision. And this is to get back to someone. For instance, can I get back to you tomorrow on that please?, Can I get back to you tomorrow on that please?

Moving on, which phrase can we add to a question to indicate that we're only really interested in the information if the person we're asking knows it immediately. If someone needs to check, research, or calculate the answer then we don't want them to do that. We just want an answer if they have it in their head right now. This phrase is, "off the top of your head". As in, "do you know how much we've spent on this project off the top of your head?", "do you know how much we've spent on this project off the top of your head?"

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There is a free PDF document with today's podcast. It contains all of the most important vocabulary, tips, and grammar points from the show. If you'd like that then you can go to breakout business english dot com / episode 18, that's breakout business english dot com / episode 18 or click the link in the show notes. That will take you to a page when you can enter your email address and I'll send that document directly to your email inbox.

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.