How to TALK ABOUT AI at work, with your colleagues - Business English Lesson / (Artificial Intelligence, A.I. Vocabulary)

Artificial intelligence is appearing in every English speaking workplace these days and talking about AI with your colleagues and managers is something that is important. Today let's discuss some professional English vocabulary that we can use to sound natural and native when talking about AI at work, including some phrasal verbs and idioms that we can use to discuss our ideas. We talk about how to give your opinions on AI tools like Chat GPT, Microsoft CoPilot, Google Gemini, and Deepseek. We also discuss how to explain how you are currently using artificial intelligence in your working day and how to sound more natural and native when giving your opinions on the future, in English.

Also, if you're studying for the IELTS, TOEFL, or Cambridge English tests and exams then you might find some of the vocabulary in this episode really 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 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. If you’d like to book some time to meet with me through one to one video calls, then you can go to:

https://www.breakoutbusinessenglish.com/start

Transcript

Welcome to the Breakout Business English podcast. Where I help you to communicate better at work. Hi everyone, my name is Chris. And I'm a business English coach and tutor. Thank you so much for listening today and for your time. And Today's topic: is... A.I. Artificial intelligence. And specifically, how we can talk about it in English with our colleagues. At work. It feels like everywhere you look these days, people are talking about AI. In every industry. And at every level of every company. AI is changing the way that we work. And the way that we think about the future of our professional lives. Today, We're going to take a look at some natural and native sounding vocabulary that we can use to talk about AI with our colleagues. And here's some great examples of how we can build this vocabulary into natural and native sounding sentences. Let's start with some ways that we can describe this period of time. This moment in history. And the changes that are happening. We're going to hear...Some great, really natural sounding sentences. And then we'll take a closer look at them. It really feels like a watershed moment in the way that we use computers. It really feels like a watershed moment in the way that we use computers.Honestly, I don't think much is going to change. It's being blown out of proportion by the news and it'll all be forgotten about soon.Honestly, I don't think much is going to change. It's being blown out of proportion by the news, and it'll all be forgotten about soon. I'm not sure what to make of it. I'm not really up on all of this new technology and most of the time it goes over my head. I'm not sure what to make of it. I'm not really up. On all of this new technology. And most of the time it goes over my head. Okay, so we heard three different perspectives on AI there. Maybe you could call them positive, negative and indifferent. Let's start our vocabulary discussion today. With that first example. There was a really interesting word in there, and that was watershed. Watershed. We had... It really feels like a watershed moment. It really feels like a watershed moment. If you look up an image of a watershed, then you'll probably find a diagram Going a mountain or a hill with a line going down the middle. When rain falls, it eventually flows into a river. A watershed is the place where water stops going in one direction and starts going in another. If a raindrop falls on one side of the watershed, it'll flow into one river. If it falls on the other side of the watershed, then it will flow into a different river. We use this word more generally To mean a moment of big change. Change. We might call the release of the first iPhone in 2007 A watershed moment in technology. Or maybe we could say, 2020. Was a watershed year for how we work.So much changed in that year. Tchau! When we describe the rise of AI as a watershed moment, we mean that it feels like a big change is happening. And a little extra fun fact. If you lived in the UK in maybe the 90s or the early 2000s as I did, watershed has a different meaning. The Watershed is what we call 9pm on television in the UK.So before 9 p.m., everything on television was great for anyone watching. You could watch television with your children, your kids. That was fine. But after 9 p.m., Everything on television was allowed to have violence and bad language and lots of other things that we don't always want children to see.So 9pm in the UK when talking about television. Was called the Watershed. Okay, in that second example, we heard: I'm not sure what to make of it. I'm not sure what to make of it. If you are not sure what to make of something, then this means that you haven't formed your opinion yet. You're still deciding. We often use this in the form of a question. As in, what do you make of this? Or, "Thanks for coming to my presentation." What did you make of it?So, if anyone ever asks you a question like this, you know that they are asking for your opinion. And one more from this section, I think we should talk about being blown out of proportion.So proportion is a word to do with size. How big something is. If something is in proportion or proportionate to something else, then it is the right size, the appropriate size. If there's a really big important thing happens in the world, then proportionate news coverage would be, well, a lot of news coverage. The news would probably talk about it a lot more. If it's a small thing, and it's not so important, won't get quite as much news coverage.So a smaller amount of mentions on the news would be proportionate. Equally. When we say that something is being blown out of proportion, this means We're taking it too seriously. We're treating it like it's more important than it is. We're acting as if it were a really big deal when, in fact, It's not necessarily a really big deal. If I come into the office and... I'm your manager. And you were supposed to be in at 9am and you came in at 9.02. I might mention it to you, I might say 'hey don't forget, gotta be here for 9am' But... If this happens just the once and I start shouting at you, "What are you doing? I can't believe you're late today. Those two minutes are so important." then you might accuse me. Of blowing this out of. ...proportion that.So. If people are asking what you make of all the new AI tools that are available to us, or what you think the future will be like. Then you'll probably want to give an opinion. Let's take a look at a couple of ways that we can give opinions. On this very polarizing issue.I know it's a polarizing topic. But personally, I'm excited about where this is heading. I know this is a polarizing topic. But personally, I'm excited about where this is heading. I'm a little apprehensive about how this is going to turn out. The whole thing makes me anxious whenever I think about it. I'm a little apprehensive. About how this is going to turn out. The whole thing makes me anxious. Whenever I think about it. I think it's too early Tell how this is going to go. And the jury's still out on how this is going to change our lives. I think it's too early to tell how this is going to go. And the jury's still out. On how this is going to change our lives. Let's jump straight into that last example. And take a look at the phrase The jury's still... Out. The jury's still out. In our example, we heard, the jury's still out on how this is going to change our lives. Okay, if I did an image search for a jury, then. What am I going to find? What would I find? That's Jury. You. R Why? J-U-R-Y. This is the second time today I'm talking about image searches, but I think it's often a really great way to understand vocabulary.Well, an image search for 'jewelry' would usually give us photographs of a group, of maybe 12 people. Sitting in a room.Likely a round table. Having a discussion. A jury. Is a group of people who have been chosen To listen to all of the facts in a trial, in a legal case. In a court of law. And to decide if a person is guilty or not guilty. When a jury is still debating and discussing what they think, We say that the jury is out. The jury is out. Ciao. When we take this idea. And apply it more generally to English communication. We get an idiom. An idiom that means that we haven't made up our minds yet. We haven't decided. Maybe I have a new boss. I've worked with them for a couple of weeks and one day you ask me what I think of their management style. I might tell you. The jury's still out on that. I'll let you know in a few days. The jury's still out on that. I'll let you know. In a few days. In the first example, We had the adjective... Polarizing. Polarizing. This is another great word to picture in your mind. Or another great word to put into an image search. When we think of the word Polar. We get images of, well, polar bears, big white bears. And the coldest parts of the earth. The North and South Poles. The areas right at the very top and the very bottom of our planet. Ciao. When we use this to describe ideas, then we mean that people have very strong feelings about something. In either one direction or the other. Often politicians can be very Polarizing. People either fully believe in what they say and want them to be in power, Want them to govern? Or they fully disagree. And they think that particular person winning an election would be the worst thing that could possibly happen. Politicians that divide people into two groups like this and be called polarizing. They are polarizing people, polarizing public figures. There's a famous type of food in the UK called Marmite. I think in Australia they have something very similar called Vegemite. But it comes in a small glass jar. And you can spread it on toast. I think there are other uses for it, but mostly people spread it on toast. Now, this particular spread smells and TASTES Like. Beef. And famously, or maybe infamously, People either love the taste of this product or they really dislike it. In fact, love it or hate it, has been part of their marketing for many years. And we would definitely call this a polarizing thing to have in your kitchen. And if you're interested I really don't like Marmite. I'm really not quite sure how anyone can eat it. It's disgusting stuff. But maybe you've tried it yourself and you disagree with me. We heard, again in that second example, The phrasal verb "to turn out". To turn out. In the example, we heard: "I'm a little apprehensive about how this is going to turn out." I'm a little apprehensive about how this is going to turn out. This is a really common phrasal verb. And We use it to talk about whether or not we know the outcome of a situation. Whether or not we know whether something was good or bad. When you have all the information, about an event or an activity. Then you know how it Turns out. For instance. You could get up early and go to the airport.And then find out that your flight was delayed by four hours. We might say that it turned out that you could have left a lot later. It turned out that you could have left a lot later because you really had so much more time to catch that flight. Or at work, you might say, "I spent the whole evening preparing a great 20-minute presentation. But... It turned out that I only needed to speak for a few seconds. I spent the whole evening preparing a great 20-minute presentation. But It turned out that I only needed to speak for a few seconds.So by the end of that meeting, you had all of the information. You knew what was expected of you. And It turned out you didn't really need that full presentation. Okay, so don't forget, before we move on to our next idea and our next set of vocabulary, 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 you don't speak it natively, then maybe we can work together. To help you to achieve your language goals. If you'd like to book some time to meet with me, through one-to-one video calls, just you and me, 10. You can go to breakoutbusinessenglish.com That's breakoutbusinessenglish.com. And find out more. I sometimes have offers and discounts on class packages. And entering your email address on the website is the best way to be the first to find out when those limited time deals are available. 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. Okay, let's move on and keep going. Let's move on now. Talking about the role that AI currently plays in your work life. Maybe, like me, you've found some great ways to integrate AI into your workflow. To make your work days just a little easier. Personally, I use AI to help me when preparing for coaching sessions. It helps me understand new industries and fields quickly. And to come up with some really interesting questions to discuss with the people I'm working with. Let's take a listen. To some sentences. That people might use to talk about how artificial intelligence has already changed the way that they work. I started using AI in my workflow a few weeks ago. And It's all been really seamless. I started using AI in my workflow a few weeks ago. And it's all been really seamless. I've never used it. I just don't really have a good reason to right now. I've never used it. I just don't really have a good reason to right now. I don't really have any objections to using AI tools at work. But personally, I only really use them once in a blue moon. I don't really have any objections to using AI tools at work, but personally I only really use them once in a blue moon.Okay, let's start with a great word from the first example sentence and that is 'seamless'. Steamless. Let's start by breaking this word down. The first four letters, S E A M, when used on their own. Form a noun. A seam. A seam. Is the line. That we see where two pieces of fabric or material are sewn together. Connected together. To make, well, often clothes. You can see this on the sides of a shirt or a pair of trousers for instance. You might even have some sports clothing that has no seams at all.So, when we add the suffix "-less" to the end, we get a word that means "without seems". Seamless.So what does this mean when used in a professional communication context? If a process or a change is seamless, This means that it's easy. That the change caused no problems or interruptions. And that it was barely even noticeable. You just had the past and then the present and that difference happened really easily. That change happened really easily. For instance, if it takes me more than a few days to integrate an AI tool into my workflow, and I need to stop doing my regular tasks in order to work on this, then it's not seamless. Maybe it even causes some problems and doesn't work well for the first couple of days. That doesn't sound seamless at all. However, If it works the first time, there's no interruption to my work. And I can immediately continue working really easily Then we could call the process seamless. We can use this as an adverb. Seamlessly. Seamlessly. As in I was able to seamlessly pass some of my more boring tasks to an AI. I was able to seamlessly pass some of my more boring tasks to an AI. We heard there 'Once in a blue moon'. Once in a blue moon. This is a really fun sounding idiom. A blue moon is a rare occurrence where the moon actually turns blue. In our example, we heard, "I only really use them once in a blue moon." only really use them, Once in a blue moon. Personally, I don't think I've ever seen one of these blue moons, but apparently they do happen, even though they are very rare. This phrase, however, "once in a blue moon" has been used for, I think, hundreds of years. To mean a very rare event. Ciao. If you do something very rarely, then you can say that you do it. Or it happens once in a blue moon. And if you only speak English once in a blue moon. And you want to change that. Then maybe I can help. 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. If you'd like to book some time to meet with me, Through one-to-one video calls, using maybe Loom or Google Meet for instance, just you and me. Then you can go to breakoutbusinessenglish.com. That's the title of the podcast, breakoutbusinessenglish.com. And find out more. I sometimes have offers and discounts on class packages and entering your email address on the website is the best way to be the first to find out when those limited time deals are available. I have 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. Don't forget that between episodes of the podcast, you can get videos every couple of days usually on Instagram, TikTok and 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. That's usually the best way to make me notice them. Put it on a YouTube video. And I look forward to hearing from you and reading your comments. Finally, if you are listening on Apple Podcasts, then I invite you to leave a review. Every review really helps me out and helps to push the podcast to new listeners to help to grow the show. If you found this podcast useful and you think there are some valuable things in here, then feel free to write a couple of kind words or maybe request a topic. And I thank you in advance. That's it for today. Thanks a lot for listening and for your time. And I'll talk to you again next time on the Breakout Business English Podcast. Thanks a lot, everyone. Talk to you soon.