Name: How to be more professional at work: 5 phrases to use
Uploaded: 2025-07-21T18:01:24.000Z
Duration: 21 min 29 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

To-infinitive

So, E, what you're telling me is if I do what you say, I'll be more professional, I'll be able to handle problems at work?

Today's lesson, I'm going to give you five things that you can do that will help you at work solve some problems and make you seem, not seem, be more professional.

But just before we do that, I want you to just look down, click like for the video.

Just take a second or two to do that, and I'm going to go through what we're going to  We're going to go through the five things, we'll have a little bit of a quiz, we're going to give you some bonus information, and of course, homework.

Thanks for coming back and watching, and let's go to the lesson.

So, a lot of times at work we have issues, especially what the problem is when we have to deal with people equal to ourselves, our colleagues, colleagues we work together, co-workers.

Colleagues is what you say in a more professional way, co-worker in a more casual way.

It's easy to talk to someone who's not at the same level as you, but when you have to speak to someone higher.

These will hopefully help you deal with those situations, especially when English isn't your first language.

It'll make you be professional and be taken seriously.

The first one, I want to make sure we're on the same page.

As you know, I wrote, it has two meanings actually.

Some people say it means just this, but really, the way in which you say it will denote or give the idea of what you really want to get across.

The first one is, I'm not sure you understand.

So if I say, I'm talking to you, da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da-da, and then you're like, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh, yeah, uh-huh, uh-huh, I'm like, okay, I just want to make sure we're on the same page.

You know you have to come to work when you are supposed to be at work.

And sometimes, maybe you're sitting there in the meeting, the boss is talking, many big words, a lot of stuff, and you're like, okay, I just want to make sure we're on the same page, because I think this, and I want to make sure that's correct.

That will let the other person know that you're trying to confirm the message that you've been given.

That's a good thing, because it says, I'm serious, and I want to make sure we understand each other so everybody does their job properly.

So, the first one, you want to make sure they understand so there aren't any mistakes made.

The other one is, you're making sure that you let people know that your job is important to you, and you want to be clear to make sure you take the correct actions.

This is an interesting one, because when you say, I need your help, you're thinking, well, how does that make me more professional?

Basically, someone is doing something incorrect, or they're not doing what they promised to do, and what you're doing is saying something in a way that makes them think that they're helping or contributing, so you can turn around and say, hey, you're screwing up, that means making a mistake, we need to address it and change it.

But if it's your boss, you can't say you're screwing up, can you?

So, you go, boss, I need your help, I have this problem.

You haven't paid me, man, you gotta pay me.

So, but you say that to someone, maybe someone is at your office, they're making fish at the office, putting it in the microwave, you told them a couple of times, other employees are complaining, this is a good person, but you don't want to have too much confrontation, that means fighting, you might say, hey, Mr. E, I need your help, we have a situation in the lunchroom.

And of course, E will think that they're helping, yeah, how can I help out?

We need you to stop cooking the fish in the microwave, because it's making the other workers sick.

I need your help to do that, to make the other workers feel good, okay?

So, it's a way of taking the pressure off them, so they are able to talk to you and not feel that they're being pointed at, like, you need to do this, you need to do that.

It's also a good one you can take home with your partner.

Anyway, number three, I believe and my perspective is, I'm going to go straight here, right, and talk about, don't start with, I think or I'm not sure.

You didn't do it with the other ones, I'm like, yeah, well, here is what the deal is.

A lot of times, because you're not a native speaker, you might say, I think, you know, I think or I'm not sure, but this is not a strong way, remember I said I also want you to be taken seriously?

It's not a strong way to say, I think or I'm not sure, because I think is like, eh, changing it to I believe is a stronger statement.

I believe in the power of Jesus, okay, you know, they don't say, I think Jesus is power, they go, I believe in the power of Jesus is strong.

So, you say, I believe if we do this, next quarter we will be making a 25% profit, it's different than, I think, if we, if we, I'm going to take the glasses out, I think, I've been thinking that if we do this, no, no one's going to take you seriously, you've got to do it like this, I believe that if we do this, next quarter we'll all be driving Mercedes.

No, they take the car seriously, not you, but the point is made.

I believe, where am I here, sorry, I believe in my perspective, that's also saying from my perspective, I'm not saying I'm 100% correct, I'm just saying from the knowledge that I have, what I'm dealing with, where I'm sitting, this is the idea I'm getting, and I believe, I believe this is the correct course.

I could be wrong, but I'm strongly thinking I'm correct, okay?

So, my perspective is this, my view, I'm not taking anyone else's view, so it's a position of strength, and I believe it's also a position of strength.

I think, and I'm not sure, if you're in a business environment, it leads people to not really trust you 100%, because they're like, if you're not sure, why should I be sure?

If they're not sure, they don't want to do business with you.

If you've ever watched baseball, hey, it's out of the park, and the guy runs by, he just touches the base and keeps going, touches the base.

You never see a guy in the baseball, hit it out of the park, get on the base and look around going, okay, what's going to happen next?

I don't know, let's just see how this is going to go, no, he moves, he moves, he moves.

So, when you're in the office and you go, yo, Mr. E, I just want to touch base about the project we were working on last week, I want to have a quick conversation, I am not going to waste your time, I don't want my time wasted, I want to be updated to know what is happening, but let's make it quick, we both have busy days, all right, so give me a little bit of information and I'll move on from here.

So, this is a great one to use, especially if you have to talk to a busy boss who's like, what do you want?

James, I'm busy and important, I'm moving my books around, as you can see, why?

Boss, I just want to touch base, I was working on that project you asked me to do, I've got a report on my desk, whenever you want, I can bring it up.

I've touched base, I've updated you, told you there was a report, I've told you where it is, I'm done, okay, so you want to touch base with someone, you just want to get some quick information, move on so everybody is at the same place, touching base.

Number five, okay, if you've been paying attention, everything's black and blue, black and blue, very, very open, but then I have this one in red, I will explain it to you, I have been told many a time, especially by my one special person, that I told you so is not good to say.

Now, I don't know what cultures it is okay to say, so I'm just saying, if you've ever done it in your culture, people might be upset, but in the English culture, nobody wants to hear I told you so.

Even when you did tell them so several times, you wrote it down and made a video about it, you're still not allowed to tell them they told you so, I told them so, anyway, you're not allowed to say it, so this is a way you can tell your boss or other employees without saying I told you so, I told you so, let's go to the board, huh, okay, so what you say is, I did previously mention that this was a possibility or could happen, how will you rectify this or how will you resolve this issue?

What you're really saying is, yo, I told you so, it's wrong, how are you going to fix this?

But you didn't say that, because you're a professional, right, and it's all professionals, right, as all professionals, we want to make sure that we do a good job, no, not a good job, an excellent job, so I'm going to go and give you a quiz to test your knowledge and to see if you remember how to do this, all right, here's our five, and I'll see you in a second.

A quick review before we go to the quiz, do you remember the five sentences?

I want to make sure we're on the same page, I want to make sure we both understand what's going on, I need your help, translation, we have a problem, and we need to deal with it, but it's actually your problem, and I need your help to solve it, I believe, or my perspective is, saying something from a position of strength so that people will believe more of what you're saying and will probably follow along, because you're correct, I want to touch base, I just want to have a quick conversation to be updated, not a long conversation, and I did previously mention that this might happen, how will you resolve it, I did tell you this is going to happen, how are you going to fix it now, now, on to the show, let's go to the quiz.

Time to do the quiz, you ready, let's go to the board, so we did the quick review of the five phrases that should help you at work, and now let's take a look and see how well you learned your lessons, number one, Mr. E keeps warming up fish in the microwave at work after promising not to do it again, what do we say, do we say, I want to touch base, or I need your help, what phrase do you think will best help solve the problem without confrontation, if you said I need your help, you're correct, remember, you're inviting them to help you with the solution, less confrontation, better work environment.

Next, let's do the next one, Mr. E looks confused after you explained how you intend on starting the project, he's like, what, should you say I want to be on the same page, I want to make sure we're on the same page, or I want to touch base, if you picked A, you are correct, you want to make sure you're on the same page, a look of confusion is that that person understands up to a point, but maybe not further, they need some help, you want to be the one who makes sure that you're on the same page by explaining if necessary, okay, you don't want to touch base, it's not a quick meeting, because they're already confused.

Number three, you told Mr. E not to do something, and now he has a problem, what is the best way to engage with this person, that means make contact, communicate, if you said B, you are correct, I did previously mention, which previously means before now, that this might happen, right, and now how will we resolve it, or how will you fix it, you're basically saying, hey, you screwed up, you got to fix it, but it's a nice way of saying it without saying what is the magic word you're not supposed to say, I told you so, do not say that.

Number four, you want Mr. E to take you seriously, what is a way in which you can do that, would it be number A, I did previously mention that this might happen, or B, I believe or my perspective is, which one, I believe or my perspective is, as mentioned before, when you say I believe, it's strong, stronger than I think, which is I have an idea, I believe is a firm holding of an idea in your mind, my perspective, the way that I see it, that I'm looking at it with all the information that I have and expertise, my perspective is this, this is how I look at it, and it might be beneficial for you, beneficial meaning good for you.

Now, finally, you want Mr. E to know your interruption will not be long, what do you need to say that you can get to talk to this person who is probably busy, and maybe they are a superior, that you can get in to talk to them and they will allow it, what would you say, I need your help or I want to touch base, this one's a bit tricky, yes, if you say I want to touch base, just like we're talking about baseball, just a second, I'm going to touch the base and move on, you're busy, you don't have time for me to take up your time, when I say I need your help, in this particular situation, they might think, well, Johnson, I'm a very, very busy man and I don't have the time to give to you that you may need towards this problem, so perhaps, well, no, just I need to touch base is enough to say this is it, this is it, I'm out, I want to touch base because the interruption, unlike my tongue, will not be long, anyway, you got perfect on your quiz, we did do a mild review just before we got to it, so let's go to the board, because as you know, I always give a quiz, then I'd like to give you a little bit extra, because you've done this video this long, clearly, I want to give you something that will help you a little bit further and this thing I'm going to give you is called nonverbal communication, I gave you two statements and what I'm going to give you now will make those two statements much more powerful, right, and how do I do this, first, do you remember when I said I need your help, you can say it like this, Johnson, I need your help, that's aggressive, that's powerful, that's very manly, that's good, yeah, now, remember, when I said you want to say this statement, it was more about someone's causing a problem and you want to invite them in, being assertive or aggressive in this case might make them step back, so I have to preface this, let me say something before I continue, some of you may be offended because you go, oh my gosh, you're saying this and it's not true, in body language terminology, a tilted head is more of a female gesture of I am listening to you, while a straight head gesture is more authoritative or assertive, check out your body language books, you'll see for yourself, so I need your help in tilting your head, makes it much more of a softer gesture, so that the person doesn't feel like you're going to be aggressive or they're in trouble, so it's a way of bringing them in, now, if you want to know why, the word I was trying to avoid is the word submissive, it happens in the animal kingdom, anyone who's ever owned a dog, the dog will put its neck up to be bitten by another dog to say, I am no threat to you, I cannot hurt you, by putting your neck forward, you're saying, look, I am very vulnerable right now, I cannot hurt you, and by saying I cannot hurt you, the other person feels, oh, then I am safe, and then we bring them into the trap, sorry, what I mean by that is because you seem a little bit more as a non-threatening person, that they are more able to open up to you and work with you, so tilt your head when you say, Johnson, I need your help with this problem I'm having, you know it's their problem, but you want to invite them in, second one, I want you to keep your eyes on the person and do not speak when you use this one, I did previously mention that this might happen, now how will you resolve this issue, notice I didn't speak for about three seconds, don't speak, don't fill the space, I did a video previously about holding, when there's a gap in a conversation for more than three seconds, people feel uncomfortable, and then you know it's time to end a conversation, this time I'm not ending the conversation, I'm allowing you to fill that space by saying, listen, there was a problem, I told you it was going to happen, how are you going to fix it, you need to speak, I'm not going to tilt my head, I'm not being, I'm here to help you, I'm not, you screwed up son, own up to it, fix it, cool?

So, these are non-verbals and these are when you should use them, best time to use them, okay?

Keep that in mind, it's going to supercharge your professionalism at work, people will take you seriously definitely, and when you do come with the other one with the head tilted, they'll actually trust you, meaning you're there to help them, cool?

Now, here's what I want you to do for homework, because as we always have, like, it's a classroom, right?

And I want you to take this experience that you've been having with me out into the real world and make it work for you.

Best way to do that is our homework, and in this case, the first one thing I want you to do is write down where you would use one of these phrases, like, write, get into your head, sit down and go, okay, there's this guy at work, he never listens to what I say and he's always got problems, I've got to use this, I did previously mention, that's a good place.

This will help you prepare you for when you meet this person or the situation comes up, you'll be prepared to speak and you will sound very professional, okay?