BE 585: Is It Time to Hustle at Work? How to Talk to Your Staff

This is the Business English Podcast, episode 585. Is it time to hustle at work? How to talk to your staff. Welcome to the Business English Podcast from All Ears English.

Get the English skills you need to achieve your dreams in global business. For a presentation, a meeting, or your office party, this is Real Business English with your favorite American hosts, Lindsay and Michelle, coming to you from New York City and Colorado, USA.

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And remember, connection, not perfection. Hey, Michelle, how's it going for you today? How's everything? Yeah, everything's going good, Lindsay. How are you?

Good, good. We are in the summertime now, but we're still working hard as usual, of course. Michelle, question for you. You ready? Yeah. Do you ever feel like you need to increase your speed on a project?

Like maybe you realize that something is not going to be finished unless everyone just picks up the pace. Do you ever have a moment like that? course i mean you know for for this podcast we've been we've been you know recording a lot of episodes yes um and so definitely like i've been trying to make sure that i have things planned and work with our uh and with our team members cheryl also about planning and yes so certainly there are busier times of the year or things that happen where you need to really pick up the pace um Oh, 100%.

So yeah, I mean, yeah, it can be a little stressful in the moment if you realize you're behind. Right? Like sometimes we don't immediately realize it. And then it hits us.

And we're like, Oh, gosh. Yeah, I remember when I came back from my vacation. And then I said to you, because I normally have a stash of episodes. And I try and I feel better if I have like a week planned ahead just in case I can't plan one week.

You like to live close to the edge, right? No, no. And I remember I said to you, my staff's just gone. So I needed to build it back up. And so it's back though.

Um, yes. Yes. So today we're going to share how to say something needs to be done faster than it was being done before. So, I mean, gosh, this is so important for business, for projects, meetings, any big deadline.

Right, Lindsay? Yeah, we do have a really good example here because, you know, I announced just recently over on the All Ears English podcast that I'm having a baby, right? Yes. If you don't, we didn't announce it here.

Hopefully, you guys are all listening to All Ears English. You should be to catch up on news over there. But if this is new news for you, yeah, I had a baby in March.

So however, we are recording this right now in the very beginning of March. And so we've had to really pick up the pace on our recording starting back in January when we realized that I would be out. We really picked up the pace. So we have an exact example.

This is important for business, right? Projects, meetings, publishing, any big deadline that you know is coming is when you would deploy these terms. Yep. Guys, and if you want to hear more about Lindsay's big news, go

on over it was all ears english episode 2626 are you sitting down plus lindsey's big news exactly and guys don't worry nothing is changing on all ears english you'll still hear my voice right here on the show you might hear aubrey michelle a couple times a week as well so new combos love it

yes exactly so and again hit the follow button so let's go through these and talk about how each of them sound okay so about getting faster and we'll talk about like you know could they sound too pushy do they sound confident who should say them what should we use so we're gonna talk about it all so

The first one we already have been using is pick up the pace. What do you think of this one, Lindsay? Tell us about it. Yeah, I like it. Yeah, all of these need to be delivered correctly at work, right?

Because you're dealing with relationships. You're dealing with making sure people feel confident in their work and that you're respectful. So pick up the pace.

I like it. I think it's a little bit neutral. It could be a little direct depending on how you deliver it. The pace, of course, is what, Michelle, what does it mean?

The speed at which something is done. So to say to pick it up is to increase the speed. Exactly. So here's an example. What time is it? Oh, gosh, we better pick up the pace if we want to get out of here on time.

So that could be in one given day. Maybe you're an accountant and it's tax season and And you look at your phone and you're like, it's 5 p.m. Oh, gosh, we have to pick up the pace if we want to leave before 7 or something, right?

Yep, exactly. Or do you think we could pick up the pace? I heard we're supposed to have a report to John by 3 p.m. Mm-hmm. Yep. So it's a good one. It's a neutral one.

And we'll get more examples later in the episode. But Speed It Up is another one. Speed It Up. Yeah. Speed It Up. That makes me think of I Love Lucy. Okay.

Nice. There's a famous episode of the old show I Love Lucy, and they're at a chocolate factory. Oh. And it's like an assembly line. It just starts to go really, really fast.

And, yeah, the head woman says, Speed It Up a little. Oh. Yeah, I think that's a really famous scene, isn't it? Is that a really? Oh, it's a very famous scene.

Okay. Yep. Love it. So yeah, go faster. So for example, let's speed it up. Henry has to leave early. So we want to make sure we get as far as possible while he's here.

Or if we speed it up a little, I think we could really impress everyone. So just move faster, right? Yeah, yeah, exactly. So what do you think of this one?

I mean, I think it's all about how you say it. Totally how you say it. More than the actual words here. Your tone of voice. It's really about context.

Now get a move on, on the other hand, could sound more rude, I think. Get a move on can sound abrupt, direct, a little rude at times, especially in the business context. Would you agree?

yeah yeah like oh okay everyone let's get a move on the conferences tomorrow remember right yeah yeah i think it's a little bit more harsh than the other ones but um again i i

I think if you say it in a nice way, in a positive way, then I don't think it could be too bad. But it does definitely give more of an edgy sound. Yeah, a little bit more gruff sounding, I think. That's a good word, gruff or edgy.

Yeah, I like it. We'll do more episodes on those words later. All right. So hustle. I like this word. This is trendy right now. Very common. I just got word from Cynthia that the deadline is actually being pushed up.

So we really need to hustle. I think this comes from sports. Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Hustle. We got to hustle. I feel like a lot of – when we were kids, for me at least, a lot of gym teachers would say that or coaches would say that.

Come on, hustle, kids. You got the mile run today. Let's hustle. Come on. Yep. That's exactly what I was thinking. That's so funny. Or just for something like less formal, like let's hustle, guys.

I'm starving and I want lunch. So – I think this kind of has a friendly connotation to it. Maybe because of the whole sports thing maybe makes people think of just like, you know, being a team when they were kids.

Totally. I think, no, I think you're right. I think when we take this word now and we apply it to like a manager speaking to their, their employees in a, in a, in a work situation, it does become more friendly because it has the connotation of like childhood sports. It's like kind of fun.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. I like this one. Yeah. Put the pedal to the metal. Yeah, this is the last one. This one has the most imagery, right? Yeah. So we're thinking of like cars, right?

The pedal, right? We're pushing down, we're accelerating. Literally, the pedal is being hit to the ground of your car, you know, the metal of the car. So this one is just silly and kind of fun, right?

I can't believe it's already time to finalize our numbers. We got to put the pedal to the metal if we want any chance of finishing on time. yeah there's one it's wordy you know it's a it's a lot to it is a lot to get through but it's good and i think i think generally it's pretty light-hearted because of this imagery um yeah what do you think yeah i don't i don't think you'd use this in a very like if you're very serious about the deadline and you're very concerned i think right maybe it's a way of like hiding behind humor a little bit if you're saying it right and

Um, or it's, did you read the last example? Maybe you did that. Oh, no, I didn't. Yeah. Okay. It's important to put the pedal to the metal until the end of the year.

We have so much to do. So, yeah. Yeah. I think you're going to hear this one much more rarely, but it's, it's out there, right? It's out there for sure.

Yeah. Do we, do we, and by the way, do you still use this to ask someone to go faster in the car? I mean, I do. I don't know. You do? Kind of, yeah. For fun.

I guess I would, but I don't think I do. But maybe I will now. I don't know. With someone I'm close to, just go on. We've got to put the belt to the metal.

Let's go. Come on. Not all the time, but once in a while when I'm in the car. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think somebody would be more likely to say that to me.

Probably because we know you got pulled over for going too slow, Michelle. Although we did just get a speeding ticket. You did. Like from a camera when we were driving home from D.C. And it could have been me.

We don't know. Right. When somebody would take the picture. because i did drive for a portion of time in that area so maybe i don't know you never know okay what i'm gonna do interesting you're very unpredictable then in the car okay yeah yeah yeah they have the monitors above the highway yeah you get the picture and yeah yeah yeah but you couldn't see in the picture who was driving no we were hoping that we could we wanted to know which one of us to blame it on but oh interesting okay well

That's how it goes. That's life. All right. Let's do a role play. So here we are supervisors and we're reviewing tasks for the rest of the year. Okay.

All right. Here we go. So how are your employee reviews going? They're okay. I've been a little slow on them, so I really need to pick up the pace. Oh, yeah, I know.

They're tough. I've been so busy with the marketing team that I haven't really had a chance, but I'm going to hustle starting next week. Are we going to collaborate on the surveys?

Yeah, but we should really get a move on if we want to have time to do that. You're right. Let's set up a meeting for next week. All right. Yeah, we should speed it up.

And we really need to put the pedal to the metal before December so we don't miss anything. Agreed. Yeah, we can get into these lulls. This kind of happened to me at the beginning of the year in January and February where I got really in my head about what I had to do and I did nothing.

We didn't have our team sync until March last Monday. And for some reason, I just wasn't pumping out the things that needed to happen. I just wasn't doing them.

Writing the course creation plan and I was just a little paralyzed for some reason. And then I snapped out of it because I realized I only have a month before I give birth, right? Right now we're recording this in March. So that's the timeline, guys.

And I sort of panicked and I thought, oh my gosh, I need to get a move on on all of these things. Yeah. Move on. Yeah. And get a move on. You did. Yes.

Yeah. I think I hope you're feeling better now about. Thank you. Yeah. So, yeah, let's go through it. So I said, how are the employee reviews going? And you said, I've been a little slow on them.

So I really need to pick up the pace. Yes. And we have to be honest with ourselves sometimes, right? Sometimes this is more so used to talk about our own performance.

It's not always that you're being lazy. It's just like maybe you are a little bit not sure what to do next. You know, you have this mountain of work, but how do you approach it? Right?

Yeah. That can be hard. That can be really hard. That first step. Exactly. And then I said, you said, I'm going to hustle starting next week. All right.

So next week we hustle. Yes. Next week we hustle. And then I said, yeah, but we really should get a move on it if we want to have time to do that with the survey.

Yeah. Again, this one, I think in the context doesn't sound rude because we are both supervisors. We're on the same level. I'm not saying like, come on, you guys need to get a move on it, right?

Yeah, I agree. Yeah. It's all about who's saying what to whom, right? And so you said we should really get a move on if we want to do this, right? If we want to have time to do it.

Yeah. So that's fine. Um, and then I said, let's set up a meeting for next week. You said, yeah, we should speed it up. Right. Maybe we were planning to meet in three months, but we're going to meet next week.

Right. Yeah. Right. And then you said, and we really need to put the pedal to the metal before December. So we don't miss anything. Perfect. Yeah. And these, these conversations come up and sometimes, sometimes you don't realize it.

And then all of a sudden you realize it and you're like, no, no. What have I been doing? Right? Yes. Yes. Yeah. What's another episode of Michelle our listeners could go to right now?

All right, guys, check out episode 574 that was given the circumstances we think you should listen today. Perfect. And for a final takeaway, I mean, in a perfect world, we would all start our projects exactly when they need to be started and deliver everything on time, but it's not a perfect world. Yeah.

So we need phrases like these. And I think a lot of this is delivery. Like some of these could come off as rude. And we've warned you that some of them, but it's how you deliver it.

It's how you talk to your coworkers. Right, Michelle? Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. I couldn't have said it better myself. Love it. So all right, Lindsay, I guess I'll talk to you later.

And guys, thanks for listening. All right. Bye, Michelle. Take care. All right. Bye. Bye. Thank you for listening to Business English, a podcast just for you, the high achieving global professional.

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