How to THINK IN ENGLISH for professionals | Business English class

Thinking in English is difficult for many professionals who speak English at work, but aren't native speakers. In this podcast we discuss how professionals can start to think in English at work, some ways to bring English thinking into your meetings and even some higher level ideas for more advanced English speakers. And we'll learn some professional vocabulary too. 

If you speak English at work and want to sound more native and natural when talking to colleagues, customers, or clients, then I hope that the vocabulary, grammar, and communication tips in today's episode will be useful for you. 

🔗 Book a one-to-one coaching session with me at breakoutbusinessenglish.com
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Do you want to see what I do? Click here:
https://youtu.be/CpkSqdI1JAU?si=YNzbpTQy899L5D9G

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. 

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📺 Watch English speaking analysis on the Breakout Business English YouTube channel

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Transcript

Welcome back to the Breakout Business English podcast. My name is Chris. I'm a business English and communication coach, and I've personally worked with over 1,000 international professionals, likely just like you, to improve the way that they communicate at work in England. English.
Yeah, 1,000 international professionals and for some reason a lot of pilots recently. I don't know why, but I've suddenly had an influx of pilots.
So thank you so much for listening and for your valuable time. I really do appreciate it. And our topic today is... Is how professionals can start thinking in English. Let's start today with an idiom. What do I mean? If I say that I'm going to kill two birds with one stone. To kill two birds with one stone.
Well, other than sounding very violent and not very nice for the birds, this idiom means that you're going to solve two problems or achieve two goals simultaneously at the same time. If I need to tell my team about a big change to the project that they're working on, but I want to pass on a message of thanks from a previous client, well, If I can do both of these things in one meeting, then I've killed two birds with one stone. This idiom is going a little out of fashion these days because of, well, the violent feeling that we get from it. Although I can 100% guarantee that you will still hear it in a lot of workplaces. A. Fun. Maybe more progressive alternative is to feed two birds with one DONE. Feed two birds with one scone. That's a sweet kind of cake that's a little like what Americans might call a biscuit.
So go with that one if you like. It's definitely not as popular as kill two birds with one stone, but it's maybe a little more forward thinking a little kinder to birds.
So why am I talking about birds and stones or scones and achieving two things at the same time? Well, someone I work with regularly, who I help to improve their communication skills. Asked me for some advice on thinking in English.
Some tips, ideas and suggestions on how she can build the skill and habit of thinking in her second language, instead of always thinking in her first language. A lot of people say that the first time they really feel fluent in their second language is the first time that they dream in that language. And I can definitely understand why that is. However, being able to actively choose to think in English instead of thinking in your first language and then translating can help you to sound more natural and native and to help your ideas and your speaking to flow in a more seamless way. Today, we're going to discuss some natural ways that we can do this. And as always, we'll take a look at some vocabulary along the way. Our first idea here. Is to keep a professional journal, to keep a professional journal. There are lots of reasons to do this, other than to improve your English. Keeping a journal of your working life. Can help you to gain clarity on challenges that you are facing, It can help you to synthesize information and to think about the direction that your career is heading in more generally. Keeping a professional journal is a great way to practice using new vocabulary and new grammar structures and to practice your thinking in English without any pressure.
So, at the end of each day, or as often as you can find the time, spend a few minutes writing about your professional life. You don't need to worry too much about perfect grammar. The goal is to simply record your thoughts in English. If you don't know a word, just leave a blank space, maybe a blank couple of lines, and keep writing. This habit helps you rehearse the vocabulary that you need for your job. By writing your thoughts down regularly, You are training your brain to organize information in English and to play with and sort through the concepts that you need during your working day. Which makes it much easier to speak up during real meetings the next day. In fact, I do this myself. I write a couple of lines each day about what went well, what could have gone better, and reflect on whether or not my business is on track and growing the way that I want it to. And maybe how I can course correct if it's not.
Honestly, part of the reason is that I, like a lot of people, spend so much time, so many hours every day looking at screens. It's nice to have a look at a notebook for a few minutes at least. Now, let's jump into some of that vocabulary. And we're going to start with the verb to synthesize. To synthesize. A moment ago, we heard the sentence, "It can help you to synthesize information." It can help you to synthesize information. This is a fantastic verb to use when you are dealing with a lot of different pieces of information at once. To synthesize something, means to take various ideas, facts, or data points from different sources and combine them. To create something new or a single clear idea. Think of it like cooking a soup. You have many separate ingredients like vegetables, water and salt, but when you synthesize them, you end up with one fantastic meal. In a professional setting. You might use this when you've finished a week of meetings and need to bring all those different opinions together into one final plan. You'll often hear this word used when someone is talking about reports or research. For instance: A manager might say, I need you to synthesize the feedback from our clients.
So we can improve our service. I need you to synthesize the feedback from our clients. This means they don't just want a list of what everyone said, but a single summary that captures the main points. It's a very useful word because it shows that you aren't just collecting information, but you are actually thinking about how it all fits together to help the business move forward. It's much more professional than just saying mix or maybe put together. I might say that it sounds a little corporate, but if you work in a corporate environment, then this isn't necessarily a bad thing. And if you want to get better at synthesizing information in English, 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'd 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, BreakoutBusinessEnglish.com and find out more. Starting on our very 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, whichever is best for you. And of course, if you have any questions for me before you go ahead and make that booking, then feel free to head over to the website, click on the contact button at the top and let's start a conversation. As I mentioned, I've worked with over 1,000 non-native English-speaking professionals, from new graduates up to CEOs, government leaders, and as I mentioned earlier, certainly a lot of pilots, to help them achieve their goals, and I look forward to meeting you. Now. If you're writing about your work and you get stuck you struggle. Or you find something that you just don't know how to say. Maybe a word that you don't know. I'd like you to try Paraphrasing. And that's our next tip. It is common to forget a specific word during a meeting or a presentation. Dutch. You shouldn't let this stop your flow. Instead of pausing to translate or wishing you could check a dictionary, try to describe the word using English terms you already know. For example, If you forget the word "colleague" You can say the person I'm working with on this project. Or maybe if you can't remember the word deadline. You might say, the final date when the work must be finished. This technique helps you keep the conversation moving. And ensures your brain stays in English mode. It's much better to use simple words to explain a difficult idea. Than to stop speaking and switch back to your first language. If you practice this regularly, you will feel more confident during office discussions because you know you can always find a way to express yourself. This habit trains your mind to focus on communicating your message clearly, rather than worrying about finding the perfect vocabulary every time. You can take this idea out of actual interactions and try to notice things around you when you're working and doing your job that you don't have an English word for. This might be physical things in your office or workplace, Or it might be intangible ideas or concepts in the work that you do. Then do the same thing. Try to paraphrase. Maybe even find two or three ways to explain this idea without knowing the specific word.
So the next time you need to explain to someone that there's been a delay in the vetting process, but you don't know the verb to vet. Then you can tell them there's been a delay in the process of checking potential new hires and making sure that they're suitable. Now, if you are at the level where there are not many things in your working life that confuse or challenge you anymore, then start doing this for words that you know. Maybe you don't actually do this in conversation, but challenge yourself to take a concept that you have a word for and ask yourself how you would explain this to someone who didn't know that word. Maybe you could even keep a list of these words in your professional journal. If that's a tool that you want to use. I put a video out on the YouTube channel a few weeks ago about the rule of threes and more recently I made a video about Steve Jobs and his famous 2007 keynote presentation announcing the iPhone. And one thing I noted there was how much he uses the rule of threes.
So this isn't just a way to help you to improve the way that you think in English, but Communicating the same thing three times in three different ways can help you to make sure your ideas are understood.
And I just did it there. That was the same idea three times in three slightly different ways. And hopefully that means that you definitely understood. What I was trying to communicate. Let's talk about the verb 'to vet'. A short time ago, we heard, the next time you need to explain to someone that there's been a delay in the vetting process. The next time you need to explain to someone that there's been a delay in the vetting process. Depending on the industry that you work in, you might hear this word more or less often. It's definitely an important word in government, perhaps in law enforcement and in military fields. Do that, V-E-T. Basically means to check someone or something. Very carefully before you make a decision about that person or thing. Imagine you are hiring a new employee. Or choosing a new piece of software for your team. You wouldn't just pick the first one that you see. You would look at their history, check their references, and make sure that they are reliable. That process of investigating and double checking to ensure that they are suitable for the job is what we call vetting. Back when I worked in universities, I worked in three different universities over, wow, six or seven years there. And every time I was given a new job and I moved to a new university, I had to submit police records to show that I had never committed a crime and things like this. Equally, when I became a teacher over in South Korea and I became an English teacher in that school system, I again had to submit police records from school. The UK more broadly to show that I'd never committed a crime anywhere in England, anywhere in the UK, in fact. And this is what we call vetting. It's one form of vetting. You may know this word as a noun. Maybe it's short for veterinarian, this being an animal doctor. Or in America, it might be short for veteran. Being someone who had previously served in the military. But this is the verb to vet, not the noun.
So completely unrelated to those words. In your daily work, you might hear the word 'vet' used when starting a new project. For example. You could say, we need to vet this new vendor before we sign the contract. Or maybe. Has the IT department vetted this software yet to make sure that it complies with our data protection requirements? It's a great word to use because it shows that you're being professional careful and responsible. It tells your colleagues that you aren't just rushing into things, but you're making sure that whatever you choose is high quality and safe. All the company. It's a bit more formal and specific. Than just saying check or test when it comes to using a new piece of software or equipment or hiring a new member of staff. Next. Improving your ability to think in English at work becomes much easier when you stop trying to translate every single individual word and instead you focus on words. Gunks. Which are small groups of words that naturally go together. Think of common phrases like "I would like to add" Or as we discussed. As single pieces of information rather than individual words. When you use these ready-made phrases, your brain doesn't have to work as hard to build a sentence from nothing. You can practice this by listening carefully during your daily meetings. When you hear a coworker use a helpful phrase to move on to a new topic or ask for an opinion perhaps, Copy it. And use it in your next conversation. You can use these standard blocks of words in your emails to save time. By zeroing in on these chunks. You spend less energy on grammar. And more energy on your actual work and the task of communicating. This method helps you speak more quickly and naturally because you're not stopping to translate in your head. Over time, using these phrases will become a habit. And you will start to think in English automatically while you're in the office. You'll notice that native speakers of any language often speak in chunks themselves. Maybe you can think of some chunks in your first language. Phrases like "before we get into anything" might be used to introduce some housekeeping. At the beginning of a meeting. Or I'd like to circle back to something we touched on earlier. I'd like to circle back to something we touched on earlier. Is a chunk that uses a couple of phrasal verbs to tell people that you're going to return to something that we briefly mentioned or discussed at an earlier time in the meeting. Look out for these. And try to start using them yourself. And get better at recognizing them. When others use them. Okay, let's take a look at a phrase that I actually include in one of the phrasal verbs classes that I offer. And that very few people seem to know. And this is to zero in on something. To zero in on something. In the suggestion, we heard by zeroing in on these chunks, You spend less energy on grammar and more energy on your actual work and communicating. By zeroing in on these chunks, you spend less energy on grammar and more energy on your actual work and communicating.
So this is the phrasal verb to zero in on. To zero in on. When you zero in on something, It means you're focusing. All of your attention. Specific thing. Imagine you are looking at a large map, for instance, with lots of information. But you only care about one small town. When you find that town and look closely at it, you are zeroing in on it. In a professional context, we often use this when we have a lot of data. Or many different problems, but we decide to ignore the small details and can concentrate on the most important part. For example: During a long meeting about your manager might we need zero in the budget. We need to zero in on the budget. This means they want everyone to stop talking about other things and focus only on the money. It is a great phrase to use when you want to be more direct and efficient with your time. We can use this. When reducing a long list of things down to a shorter list. For instance. If you are talking about hosting a conference somewhere in Europe, you might say that we've zeroed in. Paris, Madrid and Berlin as potential locations for the conference. Don't forget that if you would like to discuss any of the ideas, vocabulary or grammar, etc. In today's episode or work on your communication skills more generally, then you can book a session with me by going to www.breakoutbusinessenglish.com. That's the title of the podcast, breakoutbusinessenglish.com, or click on the link in the show notes. And use the code PODCAST30, that's PODCAST30, at checkout to get a 30% discount off your first booking. I've worked with well over 1,000 non-native English-speaking professionals, from new graduates up to CEOs and government leaders, and I look forward to meeting you. Between episodes of the podcast, you can get videos every couple of days 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 and I look forward to hearing from you. If you're 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 and to grow the show.
So 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 and I thank you in advance. That's another great place to request a topic for a future podcast.
So I hope this podcast has sounded okay. Maybe it sounded a little different this week. I'm traveling. I'm currently in South Korea and I'll be here for the next... Two weeks, maybe two and a half weeks when you hear this podcast.
So I'm on a portable setup, a mobile setup. Hopefully it sounds good though. And I'll be back to my regular office and regular setup in a couple of weeks.
So that's it for today. Thank you so much for listening and for your time. I know how valuable it is and I really do appreciate and respect your choice to spend some of it with this podcast. I hope you have a great week and I'll talk to you again next time. On the Breakout Business English podcast. Thanks a lot, everyone. Talk to you soon.