WORSE or BETTER, How to talk about CHANGE at work - Business English Vocabulary Lesson (Ep.53)

Change is one of the only things that is certain at work. Therefore, being able to talk about things getting worse or getting better is certainly something that can be useful in professional contexts. However, for international professionals, sounding natural and native when talking about change at work can be difficult. In today's podcast I'll give you some great vocabulary to discuss these ideas and to communicate your thoughts. I'll give you the grammar to use them in a natural and native way and I'll you'll hear some examples of how these would sound in a real English speaking workplace. 

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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 that my full time job is helping international professionals who use English at work to improve their communication skills. So, if you need English to do your job but don’t speak it natively then maybe we can work together to help you to achieve your language goals. 

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Today's examples:

Things have been looking up for the past 2 quarters.

Your performance has really improved over the past few weeks and I really appreciate how much effort you've been putting in.

The team was heading in the wrong direction but they've been working hard on fixing this situation and I think we've really turned a corner this week.

it was raining earlier but I think it's looking up now

Once one thing goes wrong, it has a knock on effect and we end up in a vicious cycle.

We missed our Q1 target and it's been all downhill from there.

The project started well but it's all gone a bit pear shaped. 

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Transcript

Welcome back to the breakout business English podcast. My name, as always, is Chris. I'm a business English and communication coach, and I've personally worked with over 1,000 international professionals just like you to improve the way that they communicate at work in English. Thank you so much for listening and for your time. I know how valuable it is. And our topic today is things getting worse. And things getting better. Change is one of the only things that is certain at work. I was looking at an article a couple of days ago that said that these days the average person has around 12 jobs during their career.So At least if nothing else, your job will likely change. And being able to talk about change is certainly something that can be useful in professional contexts. Now, I don't know about you, but I've spent so much time working in high-pressure and KPI-driven roles that I view change as either being good or Aww. Odd. Either things get better, or they get worse. Today, we're going to explore how we can talk about things getting better, indeed getting worse. We're going to discuss some great vocabulary that we can use to talk about change. And we'll hear some great natural and native sounding examples of how you can use this vocabulary in the real world and apply it to the work that you do. Every day.So, let's begin on a positive note. And listen to some natural and native sounding ways to talk about things getting better. Things have been looking up. For the past two quarters. Things have been looking up. For the past two quarters. Your performance has really improved over the past few weeks and I really appreciate how much effort you've been putting in. Your performance has really improved over the past few weeks and I really appreciate how much effort you've been putting in. The team was heading in the wrong direction, but they've been working really hard on fixing this situation, and I think we've really turned a corner this week. The team was heading in the wrong direction, but they've been working really hard on fixing this situation and I think we've really turned a corner this week. Okay, so to look up is an interesting phrasal verb because it's likely something that you've heard before in a different context. Usually, if we use this phrasal verb, we're talking about research. We're talking about finding out information, discovering or learning information. For instance, I might ask you to look up a particular phone number for me. Or I might tell you that, just wait one second, I'm looking up the date of our next meeting. I'm looking up the date of our next meeting. However, In this structure, it means that something is improving. In the first example, we heard things have been looking up. For the past two quarters. Things have been looking up. For the past two quarters. We often hear people use this to talk about the weather. In a sentence like... It was raining earlier, but I think it's locking up now. It was raining earlier, but I think it's looking up now. And yes, I understand the British people have a reputation for discussing the weather. And one of my first examples today is about the weather. Maybe I think about the weather too much. It's getting cold. It's something I'm thinking about more. Paul, maybe we could use this to talk about someone's career. As in, Dave has been stuck in the same job for years, but since he got fully qualified, he's been promoted and things are looking up. Dave has been stuck in the same job for years. But since he got fully qualified, he's been promoted and things are looking up. You can hear that we often talk about things looking up. If we say that things are looking up, then we mean that generally a situation is improving. There are so many situations at work when we use traveling and destinations to talk figuratively. About our work. Times when, instead of actually talking about goals and targets, we talk about these like places we want to go. Are trips we want to take. This is a great example of that. In the second example, we heard heading in the wrong direction. Heading in the wrong direction. Which means that things are getting worse. Or maybe you've got the wrong approach, the wrong method for something. But the phrase that I want to focus on here is to turn a corner. To turn a corner. A little later in that third example, we heard, I think we've really turned a corner this week. I think we've really turned a corner this week. If you say that someone or something has turned a corner, then you mean that they have been through a difficult period, but they've passed a critical moment. And started to improve. If I'm trying to become more punctual, for instance, I'm trying to arrive on time for work and events more frequently, then I might start by arriving on time Occasionally.Sometimes I'm still late, but I'm getting better. Maybe I still wake up late or miss the train sometimes. But then one week I really start to get used to a new routine. I'm arriving on time, but I'm more confident about my routine, and everything seems easy instead of stressful. My boss might say that, "Wow, you've really turned a corner." you've really turned a corner. It's the moment in a process of change where it really, truly feels like you're going to continue improving and not slip back into a bad situation. A moment where you start showing Clear? Strong trend toward success. And if you want to turn a corner with your English communication skills, then maybe we can work together. My full-time job. Is helping international professionals who use English at work to improve their communication skills.So, if you need English to do your job, but you don't speak it natively, then I would love to meet you. If you'd like to book some time to meet with me through one-to-one video calls, just you and me, then you can go to breakoutbusinessenglish.com. That's the title of the podcast, Breakout Business English. Dot com and find out more. Starting on our first call. We can focus on the specific opportunities that you personally have to improve your English and communication skills. And the mistakes that you make most often? Or cause the biggest problems with your communication. And right now, you can use the code PODCAST30, that's PODCAST30, at checkout to get a 30% discount off your first booking of 30, 45, or 60 minutes.Sometimes my calendar gets a little busy, so if you have trouble finding a time that works for you can always send me a message through the contact page on the website and ask if I have any time to fit you in. I've worked with over 1,000 non-native English-speaking professionals, from new graduates up to CEOs and government leaders, to help them to achieve their goals, and I look forward to meeting you.You know, I've said that so many times now that I'm starting to feel like one of those people who does the safety demonstration on a plane before it takes off. I'm sure they have a way to say it that has a melody to it and almost sounds like a song. I'm sure that if you've listened to this podcast enough, you'll notice that I emphasize the same things when I read that every time. I might have to change my script for that part and try and make it more interesting for everyone. Okay, I started with the positive part of the podcast.So let's move on to the negative stuff. If you're still listening, then I think you're ready to deal with some tougher ideas, some challenges. I hope that you have more things to talk about at work that are improving rather than things that are getting worse. But for those times that things are really taking a turn for the worse, let's listen now. To some natural and native ways to talk about KPIs declining or performance deteriorating. Once one thing goes wrong, it has a knock-on effect and we end up in a vicious cycle. Once one thing goes wrong, it has a knock-on effect and we end up in a vicious cycle. We missed our Q1 target and it's been all downhill from there. We missed our Q1 target. And it's been all downhill from there. The project started well, but it's all gone a bit pear-shaped. The project started well. But it's all gone a bit pear-shaped.So I have no idea what pears ever did to get this bad reputation. They're delicious, absolutely. But in English especially, we have this slightly fun idiom, this phrase, to go pear-shaped, for something to go pear-shaped. Which means for something to go wrong. Especially when it has gone well in the past. In the third example, we heard It's all gone a bit... ...Hair-shaped. It's all gone a bit pear-shaped. As I mentioned, this is primarily used by British English speakers and has an element of fun to it.So. If you want to give your explanation of a developing problem a light and slightly fun description, then you can say that things have gone pear-shaped. However, I probably wouldn't describe someone's performance as having gone pear-shaped if I needed to fire them. Simply because it has this element of fun to it. This is a relatively recent idiom. It seems to date back to somewhere between maybe the 1940s and the 1950s. And was likely first used by the British Royal Air Force. I guess the idea here is that something started off as a perfect or maybe a perfect sphere, a perfect ball, and has since lost its shape, lost its form, and started looking more like a pear.So, if I tell you that our project started off well and then went a little pear-shaped, then you should understand that it didn't end up going well. Or maybe a vacation on which you lost your wallet with your passport and your cash in it could be described as turning pear-shaped. Going or maybe turning pear-shaped. Okay, a quick pro tip to sound really natural and native. You'll notice that I often use this idiom with words like slightly. White. Or a little. We often used moderating or maybe qualifying phrases like this to soften this particular idiom. Okay, so now I'm just hungry. I'd quite like a pear. And let's move on to a slightly less delicious idiom. In the first example, we heard the idiom 'to go downhill'. As in, it's been all downhill from that. It's been all downhill from that. This is a really common idiom. And you'll hear it all the time in English-speaking workplaces. It's one of those idioms that's really easy to picture. If something goes downhill, then it gets worse. That's quite a simple definition for this idiom. However, if you picture a graph or a chart for this idiom, then you'll see that it really does look like a hill. Or maybe if the decline is bad enough, it might even look like a mountain. Although I hope your performance at work is not deteriorating and declining so quickly that it looks like a mountain. And you're right on your performance chart. The other thing that we can imagine with this idiom is that the longer something goes downhill for, the faster it gets. We can get into a situation where something has been deteriorating or getting worse for so long that it's really difficult to stop it from continuing to get worse. Ciao. There are some things in this world that are good when they go downhill. Downhill mountain biking looks pretty fun and I think everyone can enjoy riding a sledge in the winter. However, when we use this idiom to talk about a statistic or the quality of something, we mean that it is getting Worse. Okay, I think it's time to talk about the worst possible situations. The situations that get worse. And worse again. And don't really stop. In the first example, we heard "we end up" in a vicious cycle. We end up in a vicious cycle. Let's say that one day I have an argument with my boss. And this makes our professional relationship worse. Then because our professional relationship has become worse, we have another argument, which makes our relationship worse again, which results in more arguments. You can see where this is going. Have you ever been in a situation like that? I know I have. Not often, but definitely at least once in my career. The phrase that we use here is vicious cycle. Or maybe vicious circle, vicious cycle, vicious circle. Both are fine. This is when a problem or a difficult situation has the effect of creating new problems which then cause the original problem or situation to occur again and so on and so forth. Definitely not a situation you want to find yourself in, especially at work, especially if your paycheck depends on your performance. A couple of quick searches of spoken and written English tell us that Americans are more likely to talk about vicious cycles, that's C-Y-C-L-E-S, vicious cycles, a vicious cycle. And British English speakers are more likely to talk about vicious circles, that's C-I-R-C-L-E, a circle. But overall, vicious cycle has been the more common form since about 2016.So relatively recently then. However, we've been using the phrase 'vicious circle' for a lot longer. I should mention these are tools that I use in my coaching calls every day. If anyone wants me to make a YouTube video about all of the different tools that I use to research and understand English better, then feel free to let me know in a review on Apple Podcasts or a comment on a YouTube video, and I will add that to my to-do list. Don't forget that if you would like to discuss any of the ideas, vocabulary or grammar or indeed research tools in today's episode, then you can book a session to work with me on your English communication skills by going to www.breakoutbusinessenglish.com. That's the title of the podcast, breakoutbusinessenglish.com. Or clicking on the link in the show notes. You'll find down in the show notes all of the examples that we used today. And when you book that call, you can use the code PODCAST30, that's PODCAST30, at checkout to get a 30% discount off your first booking. And if you have any questions about how we can work together and how we might use our time, then you'll find a contact page on the website too. I've worked with over 1,000 non-native English-speaking professionals, from new graduates up to CEOs and government leaders, to help them achieve their goals, and I look forward to meeting you. Let's talk about fan mail. Let's talk about messages coming through to the podcast. I got a message from Carlos over in Brazil. Thanks for the message, Carlos. Thanks for your input. Very much appreciated. Carlos mentions that I used to put numbers on these episodes. And yeah, I think you're right. I did. I'm having to scroll down here to find the last one I numbered, and I did. I did this up to episode 9, and according to Kalos, I'm now up to episode 52. I am very surprised I haven't run out of topics yet. But Kalos would like those numbers back on.So we'll try it. We'll pop those numbers back on. I'm always interested in your opinions, especially if you spend the time and put the effort into sending me a message.So we will do that. We'll see how it goes. And hey, it might be something that other people want too. Between episodes of the podcast, you can get videos every couple of days on Instagram and TikTok, but most frequently on YouTube. Just search for Breakout Business English. If there's a topic that you'd like to hear me talk about on the podcast, then I'd be excited to hear your ideas. Leave me a message or a comment on one of my YouTube videos, and I'm looking forward, as always, to hearing from you. If you are listening on Apple Podcasts, then I invite you to leave a review. Every review really helps me out, helps to push the podcast to new listeners and to grow the show, which ultimately in the end makes me more able to make the show. The more people it goes out to, the more reason I have to keep making it.So your reviews are very much appreciated. If you found this podcast useful, and you think that there are some valuable things in here, then The kindest thing that you can do is to write a couple of kind words on a review there. And I thank you in advance. That's another great place to request a topic for a future podcast. That is it for today. Thank you so much for listening and for your time. Again, I know how valuable it is and I always appreciate and respect your choice to spend some of your time with this podcast. I hope that you have a great week and I'll talk to you again next time on The Breakout Podcast. Business English Podcast. Thanks a lot, everyone. Talk to you soon.