Prática de Shadowing: English for Problems at Work — Raise Issues Without Sounding Negative - Aprenda a falar inglês com vídeo

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1
Hey, everyone.
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Welcome back to the Business English Podcast.
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I'm Alex.
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And I'm Emily.
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And today we're talking about something nobody enjoys, but everybody has to do.
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Talking about problems at work.
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The deadline that's slipping, the mistake you just made, the thing that's quietly going wrong.
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And I have a confession about my natural strategy for problems.
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My instinct, always, is to close my eyes and wait.
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I assume that if I ignore it long enough, it will get bored and leave.
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And does it?
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Once.
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One time in my whole life, I ignored a problem so successfully that it became somebody else's problem.
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I think about that day a lot.
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That is not a strategy.
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That's a miracle.
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And for everyone else, problems do not get bored and leave.
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They grow.
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A small problem you mentioned today is a quick chat.
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The same problem in two weeks is a crisis with your name on it.
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Which is the real point of today.
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The people who do well at work aren't the ones with no problems.
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Everyone has problems.
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They're the ones who can talk about a problem clearly, early, and calmly.
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And in English, that takes specific words.
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Because here's the trap for a lot of learners.
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When something goes wrong, the stress goes up, the English gets harder, and so people either stay silent and hope,
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Alex's method, or they blurt it out badly and sound like they're panicking or complaining.
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So today we fix that.
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Four very common moments.
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How to flag a problem early before it explodes.
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How to own a mistake without falling apart.
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How to ask for help when you're stuck
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and how to raise a problem in a meeting without sounding like you're just complaining.
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And these phrases are the same everywhere.
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Say, I wanted to give you a heads up, or I've hit a bit of a snag, or can I flag something?
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In London, New York, Singapore, Sydney, or Dublin, and every colleague in the room understands you instantly and thinks,
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this is someone I can trust with a problem.
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And notice the goal here.
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We're not teaching you to be the office pessimist, the person who finds a dark cloud in every blue sky,
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the one whose emails everyone dreads to open.
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We're teaching you to name real problems in a way that actually makes people glad you spoke up.
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Exactly.
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Done well, talking about a problem is a gift to your team, not a complaint.
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The problem was always there.
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You're just the brave one who said it out loud, while it's still small and fixable.
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That's leadership, even from the most junior seat in the room.
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So let's start at the very beginning of every problem, the moment you first notice it, and you have to decide whether to speak up.
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Spoiler, you speak up.
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Set the scene for us.
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So Lottie is working on a project, and she's just realized that something might go wrong next week, not today, but soon.
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Instead of waiting, she goes to her manager
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Franco right away.
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Listen for how she raises it without any drama.
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Franco, do you have two minutes?
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I wanted to give you a heads up on something.
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Sure, what's up?
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So, nothing's gone wrong yet.
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I want to be clear about that.
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But I can see a possible problem coming, and I'd rather flag it now than surprise you later.
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I appreciate that.
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Go on.
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We're waiting on the final figures from the supplier.
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They promise them by Monday.
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If they're late, and they were late last time, it puts our Thursday deadline at risk.
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Okay, so what are you thinking?
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A couple of options.
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I can chase the supplier today and make the deadline very clear.
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And if you could send one email from your side, just so they see it matters to management, that would help a lot.
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Easy.
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I'll do that this afternoon.
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Thanks for bringing this to me early, Lottie this is exactly the kind of thing I'd rather hear on a Tuesday than a Thursday.
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And that is how it's done.
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No panic, no drama, just a clear early warning with a plan.
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Let's pull the phrases.
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The star phrase is to give someone a heads up.
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A heads up is an early, friendly warning that something is coming.
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You can say, I wanted to give you a heads up, or just a heads up.
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The client is running late.
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It's warm and it's informal and it tells the other person I'm telling you this early so you're not caught off guard
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And the key verb, to flag
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To flag something means to point it out so people are aware of it
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You can say, I want to flag a possible issue
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Or, can I flag something quickly?
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You're not saying it's a disaster
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You're raising a small flag so everyone can see it
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Flag it early and a problem stays small.
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And notice what Lottie did first.
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She lowered the temperature.
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She said, nothing's gone wrong yet.
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That one sentence stops the other person's heart from jumping.
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You can say, nothing's broken, but, or, this isn't urgent, but I wanted to mention it.
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You tell them how serious it is before you tell them what it is, so they don't imagine the worst.
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And she talked about a risk, not a disaster.
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She said it puts our deadline at risk.
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To put something at risk, or to say, there's a risk that, is a calm, professional way to describe a problem that hasn't happened yet.
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You can say, there's a risk we'll run over budget, or this could put the launch at risk.
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It's honest, but it's not panic.
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A couple more ways to open the same door, because you'll want options.
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You can say, I wanted to bring something to your attention, which is a touch more formal.
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Or, very naturally, I just want to put this on your radar.
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Your radar is the set of things you're keeping an eye on.
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You can say, I'll put it on your radar now in case it grows.
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And keep it proportionate.
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If it's tiny, say so.
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It's probably nothing, but if it's serious, be honest.
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This one's important.
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Matching your words to the real size of the problem is what makes people trust your judgment.
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They learn that when you say it's small, it's small.
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And when you say it's serious, they should drop everything.
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And the golden rule she followed, the one that makes managers trust you forever?
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She brought a possible solution, not just a problem.
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She didn't say, we have a problem, what do we do?
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She said, here's the problem, and here are two options.
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You can say, here's what I'd suggest.
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Or, one option is, bring a problem and a door out of it, and you look like someone who solves things,
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not someone who just reports them.
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Right, that's catching a problem early.
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Now, the harder one.
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What about when the problem is a mistake, and the mistake is yours?
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Because this is the one that really scares people.
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You made an error, maybe a real one.
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And now you have to tell someone, in English, without either hiding it or completely collapsing an apology.
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Here's Dexter, who has just discovered he sent a report to a client with the wrong figures in it.
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He goes straight to his manager, Noel.
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Listen for how he owns it cleanly and moves to the fix.
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Noel, I need to tell you about a mistake I made.
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I'd rather you hear it from me.
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Okay, tell me what happened.
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I sent the quarterly report to the client this morning
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and I've just realized the sales figures in it were from the old version.
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The numbers are wrong.
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That's on me.
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I didn't check the file properly before sending.
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Right.
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How wrong are we talking?
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The totals are off by a few percent.
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Not huge, but enough that we need to correct it.
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Here's what I've already done.
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I've prepared the corrected report and I've drafted a short, honest email to the client.
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I wanted you're okay before I send it.
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Let me see the email.
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Yes, that's good.
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Send it.
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And Dexter, thank you for coming to me straight away.
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Mistakes happen.
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Hiding them is the only real problem.
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Understood.
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I've also added a final check to my process so it doesn't happen again.
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Even better.
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Honestly, you've handled this better than people who've been here 10 years.
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Perfectly done.
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He didn't hide.
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He didn't grovel.
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He owned it, and fixed it.
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Let's pull the phrases because this is a skill that will save your career more than once.
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First, the clean, grown -up way to admit it.
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I made a mistake.
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And the lovely, honest phrase, that's on me.
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That's on me means it was my fault.
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I accept it.
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You can say, I made a mistake with the schedule or that's on me.
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I misread the brief.
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Short, honest, and strong.
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Owning it quickly actually makes you look more trustworthy, not less.
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And a common natural idiom for the same thing, to drop the ball.
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If you dropped the ball, it means you failed to do something you were responsible for.
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You can say, I dropped the ball on that email.
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I'm sorry.
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It's informal and very human.
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We've all dropped the ball.
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The professionals are just the ones who pick it straight back up.
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Two more honest phrases worth having ready I take full responsibility, which is formal, calm, and strong
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And I won't make excuses
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You can say, I take full responsibility for the delay
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Or I won't make excuses, I should have caught it
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Said simply without any drama, these make you sound like exactly the kind of person people want in charge of things.
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And a quick word on tone, because this is where people slip.
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Own it once, firmly, and then move on.
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If you apologize five times, you actually make it worse.
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Now your manager has to spend energy reassuring you instead of solving the problem.
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One clear, that's on me, and go straight to the fix.
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And notice what
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Dexter did not do.
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He didn't give 10 excuses.
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He gave one short, honest reason.
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I didn't check the file, and then stopped.
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You can explain briefly, but don't bury it in excuses.
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One clear reason sounds like responsibility.
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Five reasons sound like you're running away from it.
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And the most important move of all, he came with the fix already started.
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He said, here's what I've already done.
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That changes everything.
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A mistake plus a fix is just a bump in the road.
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You can say, here's how I'll fix it, or I've already started correcting it.
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You're not bringing your manager a fire.
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You're bringing them a fire that's almost out.
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And the quiet professional finish so it doesn't happen again
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when you add what you've changed to prevent it next time
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you turn a mistake into a lesson you can say I've added a check
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so it won't happen again that's the sentence
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that makes a manager stop worrying now sometimes the problem isn't a mistake sometimes you're just stuck
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and you need another human being to help you
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and this one is secretly hard because a lot of people think asking for help makes them look weak.
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It's the opposite.
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Struggling in silence for three days is what looks weak.
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Asking a good question after 20 minutes is smart.
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Here's Hassan, who's stuck on a task he can't figure out, going to ask his colleague Greta, who knows the system better.
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Listen for how he asks without feeling embarrassed about it.
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Greta, do you have a minute?
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I've hit a bit of a wall with the new reporting tool. Of course.
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What's going on?
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So, I've been trying to pull the monthly numbers, and I've tried everything I can think of, but the report keeps coming out empty.
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I feel like I'm missing something obvious.
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Ah, that one catches everyone.
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Can you show me your screen?
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Sure.
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Here.
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I set the dates, I pick the team, and then… nothing.
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There it is.
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You have to click
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Apply before it runs.
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It's hidden right at the bottom.
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Honestly, everyone misses it the first time.
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Oh, you're kidding.
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That's it?
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I could have saved myself an hour.
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Thank you.
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I really appreciate you taking the time.
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Anytime.
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Seriously, just grab me whenever.
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It's faster than struggling alone.
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And now Hassan knows, and he'll never forget it.
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Let's grab the phrases, because asking for help well is a real skill.
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Start with the honest opener.
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I've hit a wall, or, I've hit a bit of a snag.
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To hit a wall means you've got stuck and can't move forward.
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A snag is a small problem that's blocking you.
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You can say, I've hit a wall with this spreadsheet or, I've hit a snag with the booking system.
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They're both relaxed, honest ways to say, I'm stuck without sounding helpless.
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And a crucial detail, Hassan showed he'd already tried.
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He said, I've tried everything I can think of.
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Always say that when it's true.
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You can say, I've already tried X and Y, but it shows you're asking for help, not asking someone to do your job.
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People are far happier to help someone who clearly tried first.
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And the warm, natural phrases for actually asking.
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Do you have a minute?
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Is the perfect opener.
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Small, polite, easy to say yes to.
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and a lovely informal one.
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Can I pick your brain?
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To pick someone's brain means to ask for their knowledge and ideas.
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You can say, can I pick your brain for a second?
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Or could I bounce an idea off you?
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Both make the other person feel like an expert, which they usually enjoy.
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And if you just need a direction, not a full answer, there's a brilliant little phrase.
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Could you point me in the right direction?
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It means, you don't have to solve it for me.
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Just show me where to look.
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You can say, I don't need the whole answer.
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Could you just point me in the right direction?
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It's a small, respectful ask, and people almost always say yes.
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And two friendly ways to say you'd welcome help without sounding desperate.
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I could use a hand with this, and could you spare a few minutes?
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You can say, I could use a hand with the figures, or, when you get a chance, could you spare five minutes?
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Light, warm, and easy to say yes to.
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And remember the mindset, because it changes how you ask.
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Two heads are better than one.
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You're not confessing a weakness, you're using a resource.
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The best people at any company ask for help constantly.
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That's often how they got to be the best.
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So ask early, ask warmly, and say thank you properly afterward.
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And one tiny phrase that saves enormous embarrassment.
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I feel like I'm missing something obvious.
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Hassan used it, and it's magic, because it gives you permission to ask a simple question without shame.
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You can say, I'm probably missing something obvious here, but...
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Nine times out of ten, you are missing something obvious, and so does everyone else.
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Now, from asking one person quietly to the scariest room of all.
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Raising a problem in front of a whole meeting.
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Because this is where it gets delicate.
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In a one -to -one, you can be relaxed.
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But in a meeting, if you raise a problem badly, you sound negative, like the person who's always complaining.
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Raise it well, and you sound like a leader.
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Here's Ingmar in a team meeting run by Talia.
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He's noticed a problem that keeps happening, and he wants to bring it up.
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Carefully.
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Listen for how he raises a real concern without dragging the mood down.
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Okay, before we wrap up, does anyone have anything else?
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Actually, yes.
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Can I raise something?
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I don't want to be negative because the project's going well overall.
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But I've noticed a recurring issue I think we should talk about.
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Please, go ahead.
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So three times now, we've had two people accidentally working on the same task because we're not updating the shared tracker.
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We're wasting hours, and honestly, people are getting frustrated.
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You're right.
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I've seen that too.
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What do you think we should do?
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Well, here's what I'd suggest.
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What if we spend two minutes at the start of each day just confirming who's doing what?
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A quick check, nothing heavy.
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I think it would fix most of it.
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I like that.
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Let's try it for two weeks and see.
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Thanks for raising it, Ingmar.
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That's a real problem and a sensible fix.
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And that's how you raise a problem in a meeting and come out looking better, not worse.
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Let's pull the phrases.
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First, the polite way to open the door.
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Can I raise something?
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Or, can I flag a concern?
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To raise something means to bring it up for discussion.
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You can say, can I raise something before we finish? or I'd like to raise a concern about the timeline.
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It's a calm, professional way to say I have a problem to put on the table.
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And the brilliant shield Ingmar used first.
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I don't want to be negative, but...
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This little phrase protects you.
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It tells the room you're not complaining for the sake of it.
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You're trying to help.
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You can say, I don't want to sound negative, but.. or I'm raising this because I care about getting it right.
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Say that and people hear a problem solver, not a complainer.
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In the precise, unemotional way he described the problem, I've noticed a recurring issue.
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A recurring issue is a problem that keeps happening again and again.
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Notice he gave a fact three times now, not a feeling.
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You can say, I've noticed a recurring issue with the deliveries, or this keeps happening.
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Facts are calm and hard to argue with.
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Blame is loud and starts fights.
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Describe the problem, not the person.
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And then, the move that separates the complainer from the leader.
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He brought a suggestion.
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He said, here's what I'd suggest, and offered a small, light fix.
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You can say, what if we tried?
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Or, my suggestion would be, anyone can point at a problem.
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The person everyone respects is the one who points at a problem and then points at a possible way out.
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And if the fix isn't yours to decide, you can hand it to the group gently.
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You can say, I don't have the perfect answer, but I wanted to put it on the table.
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To put something on the table means to raise it for everyone to deal with together.
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You're not demanding a solution on the spot.
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You're starting the conversation.
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And pick your moment.
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A big problem dropped in the last 30 seconds of a meeting helps nobody.
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You can say, this might need its own conversation.
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Could we find time for it?
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Raising a problem well is partly what you say and partly knowing when the room can actually do something about it.
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And one more gentle phrase for the room.
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Has anyone else run into this?
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it invites others in instead of making it just your complaint.
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You can say, has anyone else noticed this?
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Or am I the only one seeing this?
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Suddenly it's a shared problem the team solves together, not one person grumbling.
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That's the whole secret really.
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Make it everyone's problem to solve, not everyone's fault.
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So let's gather today's phrases because talking about problems is really just four moments, each with its own little toolkit.
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When you catch a problem early, you flag it.
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You give someone a heads up.
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You lower the temperature first.
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Nothing's gone wrong yet.
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You describe it as a risk, not a disaster.
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And you bring a possible solution, not just the problem.
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When the problem is a mistake you made, you own it cleanly.
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I made a mistake.
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That's on me.
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I dropped the ball.
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You give one honest reason, not 10 excuses.
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You come with the fix already started.
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Here's what I've already done.
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And you add, so it won't happen again.
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When you're stuck, you ask for help early and without shame.
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I've hit a wall.
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I've hit a snag.
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You show you've already tried.
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You ask warmly.
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Do you have a minute?
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Can I pick your brain?
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Could you point me in the right direction? and you let yourself say, I'm probably missing something obvious.
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And when you raise a problem in a meeting, you do it like a leader.
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Can I raise something?
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I don't want to be negative, but...
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You describe a recurring issue with facts, not blame.
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You bring a suggestion.
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Here's what I'd suggest.
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And you invite others in with, has anyone else run into this?
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And underneath all four, the same simple truth, the one that took me far too long to learn.
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Problems don't shrink when you hide them.
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They shrink when you say them out loud, early, calmly, to the right person.
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The words we gave you today are just the tools that make that easy.
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So here's your challenge before the next episode.
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Think of one small problem at work you've been quietly avoiding.
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We all have one right now and pick one phrase from today to open the conversation.
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Maybe it's, I wanted to give you a heads up.
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Maybe it's, can I pick your brain?
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Just one problem, one phrase said out loud this week.
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Because the problem you're avoiding is almost never as bad as the silence around it.
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Say the sentence, it's always smaller once it's out of your head and in the room.
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And tell us in the comments, what's the hardest part of talking about problems at work for you?
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Owning a mistake?
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Asking for help?
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Speaking up in a meeting?
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We read every one, and your answer might become our next episode.
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New episodes twice a week.
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If this one helped, send it to the colleague who carries every problem silently until it's enormous.
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Gently.
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As a kindness.
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We've all been that person.
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So this week, pick your one problem, pick your one phrase, and just say it.
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And if it works, remember, it was my advice.
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If it doesn't, you must have misheard me.
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Take care.

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Tudo o que você precisa para falar fluentemente

Pronúncia com IANota em cada frase
Prática de IPADomine cada som
VocabulárioMonte seu banco de palavras
Jogo de vocabulárioAprenda brincando

Vocabulário e dicas de fala para esta lição

Esta aula de conversação usa o vídeo “English for Problems at Work — Raise Issues Without Sounding Negative”. Este vídeo tem 408 frases e 3756 palavras para praticar shadowing. A fala dura 23:38. O falante fala em ritmo natural, cerca de 159 palavras por minuto, próximo de uma conversa do dia a dia. 85% das palavras estão entre as 3.000 mais comuns do inglês; vale a pena estudar o restante antes de começar.

Vocabulário principal deste vídeo

15 palavras do vídeo que vale a pena aprender, com pronúncia e significado:

PalavraPronúnciaSignificado
phrase substantivo/ˈfɹeɪ̯z/expressão, frase
solve verbo/sɒlv/resolver, solucionar
complain verbo/kəmˈpleɪn/reclamar, queixar-se
deadline substantivo/ˈdɛdˌlaɪn/prazo final
disaster substantivo/dɪˈzɑːs.təː/desastre
panic substantivo/ˈpænɪk/pânico
suggestion substantivo/səˈd͡ʒɛst.ʃən/sugestão, proposta
radar substantivo/ˈɹeɪˌdɑɹ/radar
quietly advérbio/ˈkwaɪ.ɪt.li/silenciosamente
colleague substantivo/ˈkɒliːɡ/colega
informal adjetivo/ɪnˈfɔɹ.m(ə)l/informal
ignore verbo/ɪɡˈnɔː/ignorar
silence substantivo/ˈsaɪ̯ləns/silêncio
formal adjetivo/ˈfɔɹməl/formal
badly advérbio/ˈbæd.li/mal

Phrasal verbs que você vai ouvir

PalavraPronúnciaSignificado
speak up verbo/ˌspik ˈʌp/falar mais alto, falar mais claro/claramente
come out verbo/ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/sair, partir
fall apart verbocair aos pedaços
figure out verbodescobrir, deduzir
go ahead verbo/ˌɡoʊ əˈhɛd/vai em frente
go up verbosubir
grow up verbocrescer
move forward verboadiantar

Frases que vale a pena repetir

Frases curtas e completas do vídeo que você pode usar na conversa do dia a dia:

  • Franco, do you have two minutes?
  • She didn't say, we have a problem, what do we do?
  • How wrong are we talking?
  • Greta, do you have a minute?
  • Maybe it's, can I pick your brain?

Gramática neste vídeo

As estruturas que o falante mais usa, com as palavras exatas do vídeo:

EstruturaNo vídeo
Present perfect have/has + particípio passado — uma ação passada que ainda importa agoraI've hit · hasn't happened · has just discovered
Orações relativas who / which + oração — informação extra sobre uma pessoa ou coisapeople who do · ones who can · person who finds

Pronúncia para ficar de olho

O falante usa 123 contrações e formas reduzidas, como I've, you're, don't. Diga-as na forma curta, do jeito que você ouve.

  • Os sons de “th”: gather /ˈɡæðɚ/, underneath /ˌʌndɚˈniθ/, trustworthy /ˈtɹʌst.wɜː.ði/
  • Os sons de “sh” e “zh”: suggestion /səˈd͡ʒɛst.ʃən/, shield /ˈʃild/, crucial /ˈkɹuː.ʃəl/, confession /kənˈfɛʃən/, proportionate /pɹəˈpɔɹʃənət/
  • Palavras longas — acerte a sílaba tônica: naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, successfully /səkˈsɛs.fə.li/, accidentally /ˌæk.sɪˈdɛnt(ə)li/, apologize /əˈpɑləˌd͡ʒaɪz/, apology /əˈpɑ.lə.d͡ʒi/

Sons difíceis para falantes de português:

  • Consoante final — sem acrescentar um “i” depois: panic /ˈpænɪk/, colleague /ˈkɒliːɡ/, complaint /kəmˈpleɪnt/, invite /ɪnˈvaɪt/, slip /ˈslɪp/
  • /l/ final — a língua toca o céu da boca, não vira “u”: informal /ɪnˈfɔɹ.m(ə)l/, formal /ˈfɔɹməl/, skill /skɪl/, crucial /ˈkɹuː.ʃəl/, miracle /ˈmɪɹ.ə.kəl/
  • /h/ — um sopro suave, diferente do “r”: helpless /ˈhɛlplɪs/, mishear /mɪsˈhɪə(ɹ)/

Como praticar com este vídeo

  1. Ouça o vídeo inteiro uma vez sem falar e anote as palavras que você não conhece.
  2. Comece na velocidade 0,75×, faça shadowing frase por frase e volte à velocidade normal quando ficar fácil.
  3. Grave a sua voz e compare com o original, prestando atenção a palavras como phrase, solve, complain.

O que é a Técnica de Shadowing?

Shadowing é uma técnica de aprendizado de idiomas com base científica, originalmente desenvolvida para o treinamento de intérpretes profissionais. O método é simples, mas poderoso: você ouve áudio em inglês nativo e repete imediatamente em voz alta — como uma sombra seguindo o falante com 1-2 segundos de atraso. Pesquisas mostram melhora significativa na precisão da pronúncia, entonação, ritmo, sons conectados, compreensão auditiva e fluência na fala.

Técnica de shadowing: leia o guia completo passo a passo →