Speak like a Manager: Adjectives 1

Hi. I'm Rebecca from www.engvid.com. Imagine for a moment that there are two people who

are interviewing for a particular job or a particular position. One of them speaks in

one way, and the other one speaks in a slightly different way. Let's hear them out, and then

you tell me what you think would happen.

So, the first person says things like this. That's very necessary. That's really great.

That's possible, but not required. That's most important. That's exactly right. That's

a lot. That's helpful. That's a good thing to do. Now, did that person say anything wrong?

No, not wrong, but let's listen to the next interview. That person speaks like this. That's

essential. That's exceptional. That's optional. That's paramount. That's accurate. That's

substantial. That's beneficial. That's advisable. Now, who do you think is more likely to get

the job? Probably this candidate, right? Why? Really, both people were speaking about the

same thing. However, this candidate was using higher level vocabulary, right? More advanced

vocabulary, and therefore, this person was more likely to get the job. Why? Because companies

do want to hire people who are more fluent, who speak well, who speak articulately, clearly,

expressing their thoughts and ideas and feelings, okay? So, that's what this lesson is about.

It's to introduce you or to tell you about words, eight words, eight business adjectives

that you can use to sound more fluent and more professional in English, okay? So, let's

go over them now, because actually, the meanings were right here, but now, let's connect the

two.

So, the first one, which means very necessary, is the word "essential". So, when you're learning

this, you can do two things. One is, of course, to learn the meaning of the word, and the

second is to learn the pronunciation of the word so that you can also start using it when

you're speaking and not only in writing, okay? So, say it after me. Essential. That's essential.

That's essential means that's very necessary, okay? For example, in a business context,

we could say, "Cutting costs is essential." Reducing our costs is essential, okay? Costs

means the money that we spend, our expenses, for example, okay? It's essential means it's

very necessary. Good.

The next one. Instead of just saying, "That's really great", you could say, "That's exceptional."

Okay? Where could you use that? For example, one of your colleagues gives a presentation

and you think that he did a fantastic job, so you could say to him, "That was exceptional.

That was an exceptional presentation. I really enjoyed it. You did a fantastic job." Okay?

You did an exceptional job. Your presentation was exceptional. That means really good, very

strong, okay?

Next. Let's look at the next one. Instead of saying that something is possible but not

required, that's a lot of words. To really say one word, it's optional, okay? For example,

let's suppose there's a meeting and you don't have to go. It's possible, but it's not required

for you to attend the meeting. So, you could say, "That meeting is optional." Okay? Attending

that meeting is optional. Alright? You don't have to go, you can, but you don't have to.

Next. If you say that something is - this is the most important thing, okay? Instead

of saying "most important", which is not wrong, okay? Nothing here is wrong, it's just there

is a better option, okay? There is a better way to express that. So, instead of saying

"most important", you could use this fancy word, "paramount". Say it after me, "paramount".

So, for example, we could say, "In our company, safety is paramount." Alright? So, doesn't

that sound much more impressive than just saying safety is the most important thing,

right? Safety is paramount.

Let's pronounce these again. Say them after me, "paramount", "optional", "exceptional",

and "essential". Okay? Good. Now, let's look at these four. So, instead of saying "That's

exactly right", you could say, "That's accurate". Say it after me, "accurate". Good. So, for

example, let's suppose you're looking at a report, a business report, and you say, "Okay,

these figures are accurate." Or you could ask somebody, "Are these figures accurate?

Are these figures" means numbers, statistics, numerical information, okay? "Are these figures

accurate?" And you say, "Yes, those figures are accurate." Okay? "Accurate" means exactly

right. Okay, good.

The next one. If you want to say "That's a lot" or "That's very high", you could say,

"That's substantial". "That's substantial". Say it after me, "substantial". Okay? So,

you see when I'm saying "substantial", I'm using my hands like this, these gestures,

right? Substantial, a lot. So, for example, you could say, "She received a substantial

increase in her salary." A very high increase, not just a little bit, but a lot. Substantial.

Or you could say, "Somebody improved their English substantially." Adverb, but from the

same word, means a lot, okay? Substantial. Next. "That's helpful", okay? Another way

of saying "helpful" is to say "beneficial". Say it after me, "beneficial". Okay? So, "beneficial"

you could use in this context. For example, "If the employees in your department attended

this particular computer training, I think it would be very beneficial." The training

would be beneficial, means it would be helpful. Okay? Got that? Say it after me, "beneficial".

Good.

And instead of saying, "Well, that's a good thing to do", "That would be a good thing

to do", a more professional way to express that idea is "That is advisable". Say it after

me, "advisable". "That would be advisable." For example, "In this situation, I think consulting

your lawyer is advisable." "Consulting your lawyer is advisable." "Consulting an accountant

is advisable." You need a professional's advice. It's advisable. Okay? So, let's pronounce

them again. Let's go from the bottom up. Ready?

"Advisable", "beneficial", "substantial", "accurate", "paramount", "optional", "exceptional",

and "essential". Now, now you've learned them, you've heard this, you've heard my explanations,

now what you need to do in order to really lock these in and make sure they become part

of your vocabulary, you need to take a few steps - a few more steps, okay? It's great

that you watched the video. What could you do next? So, the first thing you could do

that I recommend is go to our website at www.engvid.com, and there you can do a quiz with these words,

okay? Because you've just been introduced to them, you want to make sure that you really

understand how they're used, you want a few more examples, so there, you can lock that

in, do some exercises, make sure you're really choosing the right word in the right context,

okay? That's one, that's choosing the word. Then, you want to actually start using those

words actively yourself, and you can do that in conversation, you can do that by writing

out your own examples. How could you apply these words to some of the things happening

in your office right now, okay, or in your professional life? So, that's the second way,

okay, to make it active. Use it. And also, maybe you don't want to learn all the words

right away, but choose a few. Choose a couple to start with that you use in your own language,

and then you probably want to use that kind of word in English as well, because you think

with that word. So, it's very useful to actually be able to use the correct word, alright?

So, this is all part of my Speak Like a Manager series. If you haven't had a chance to watch

some of the other videos, it would be a great time to check that out. You can do that, and

this way, you will build up your business vocabulary, which is a little bit different

than the general English that you see on this side, for example, okay? And don't forget

to subscribe so you can continue to get more lessons to improve your English. Thanks for

watching. Bye for now.