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  • Hi.

  • I'm Rebecca from engVid.

  • Today I'm especially excited to welcome you to a new series that I've created called:

  • "How to Speak like a Manager".

  • In this series you will learn how to take general English and upgrade it to business

  • English.

  • Okay?

  • And we'll be doing that by looking at different verbs that you can use, adjectives, nouns,

  • and so on.

  • Okay?

  • But today in this lesson we will be focusing on eight verbs.

  • But you might be asking: "Only eight verbs and I can become a manager?"

  • Well, yes.

  • "Why?"

  • Because I'm going to show you how these eight verbs, to start with, can actually be used

  • in hundreds of ways, in different collocations or combinations of words, so therefore you'll

  • be able to use them in all kinds of situations.

  • Definitely in professional situations, but also in social situations or personal situations.

  • Okay?

  • So, let's start right now.

  • Okay.

  • So let's suppose what you want to say in general English or regular English is something like

  • this: "I need to find out what's wrong."

  • Okay?

  • Now, on this side is all the regular English or the general English.

  • Okay?

  • And on this side we're going to express the same idea, but in higher English, in more

  • advanced business English or more professional English.

  • And you're going to help me because I didn't write the word in yet.

  • You're going to help me because perhaps you already know some of these words, but even

  • if you know them you might not realize how many different ways we can actually use those

  • same words, and that's what I want you to be able to do.

  • Okay?

  • So suppose your idea in your mind is that: "I need to find out what's wrong."

  • So how can we say that in more professional English?

  • "I need to", the verb starts with "i": "I need to _______ the problem.

  • I need to identify the problem."

  • Okay?

  • So, our first word today is "identify".

  • Say it after me: "identify the problem".

  • Good.

  • Now, suppose the idea you're trying to convey is: "I need to fix the problem."

  • Okay?

  • "Fix" is a very ordinary word, so what better word could we use here?

  • "I need to _______ the issue or the issues.

  • I need to", you might know this word.

  • "I need to resolve", okay?

  • So, "resolve" is just like "solve", but usually we say: "Solve the problem", but we might

  • say: "Resolve the issue".

  • And "resolve" is an even higher, more advanced word.

  • And the higher vocabulary that you use, the more professional you will sound.

  • Okay?

  • And that's what our goal is.

  • Right?

  • Okay, next: "I need to give people confidence."

  • So what's a good word or verb for that?

  • "To give somebody confidence" is to, something starts with "m": "I need to _______ my employees.

  • I need to..."

  • Do you know this word?

  • I'm sure you've heard it.

  • "Motivate".

  • Okay?

  • Say it after me: "Motivate" or "motivate".

  • You can say the "t"; sometimes it's easier and clearer for people to understand you when

  • you say the "t".

  • So let's say the "t" now: "Motivate.

  • I need to motivate my employees" or: "I need to motivate my employees."

  • Okay?

  • Instead of saying: "I need to give people confidence", because you see that all the

  • verbs here are very ordinary, everyday verbs, and those are higher-level verbs.

  • Next: "I need to give clients my attention."

  • Again, we have a very weak verb here, so how can you say that: "I need to give my attention

  • to my clients or give clients my attention"?

  • The word...

  • The verb starts with "f": "I need to _______ on our clients."

  • What's the verb?

  • Do you know it?

  • "I need to focus", okay?

  • Say it after me: "Focus".

  • Be careful how you pronounce this word because otherwise it can sound improper.

  • All right?

  • "I need to focus on our clients."

  • Sounds a lot better than saying: "I need to give my attention to my clients."

  • Okay?

  • "I need to focus".

  • Next: "I need to spend as little as possible".

  • "Spend as little" means spend as little money.

  • So what's one word that captures that idea, to spend as little as possible?

  • It starts with "m": "I need to _______ our expenses or our costs."

  • Do you know what it is?

  • Okay?

  • So the word is "minimize".

  • Okay?

  • I've written it twice because this is the American way with a "z" or a "z", and this

  • is the British spelling with a "s"; both are correct.

  • So: "I need to minimize our expenses."

  • When you minimize something, you reduce it to as much as possible.

  • Okay?

  • "Minimize".

  • And, again, we're going to see so many different ways in which we can use this verb and all

  • of these verbs.

  • Okay?

  • Not just the way I've done it here with "resolve the issues".

  • We're going to see lots of other things you can resolve or lots of other things you can

  • minimize.

  • Okay.

  • Next: "I need to make as much money as possible."

  • Don't we all?

  • Okay.

  • So, what's a good verb for that?

  • Again, something that starts with "m": "I need to _______ our earnings".

  • "Earnings" means the money that you make.

  • So what's the verb?

  • It's very similar to "minimize"...

  • It's actually the opposite of "minimize", it is...

  • Yeah, I can hear some of you.

  • "Maximize", good.

  • Okay?

  • Again, I'm going to write it with the "z" or the "z", but you can also write it with

  • an "s" and it's correct.

  • What you need to do regarding that British and American spelling is stay consistent.

  • If you're using American spelling, then use American spelling; if you're using British

  • spelling, use British.

  • Okay?

  • Try to stay consistent.

  • Next: "I need to get more work."

  • We're not making enough money.

  • We need more work.

  • So instead of saying: "Get more work", we can say: "_______ more business".

  • What's that really good verb here?

  • It starts with "g": "generate".

  • Okay?

  • "Generate more business" means to make, create...

  • Create more business.

  • Okay?

  • Instead of just saying: "Get more work", which sounds very ordinary: "We need to generate

  • more business.

  • We need to create more business."

  • Okay?

  • And the last one: "I need to use the new ideas."

  • So, instead of saying "use", there is a verb that starts with "i" which means to put something

  • into practice, to use it: "I need to _______ the strategies" or "I need to _______ the

  • recommendations."

  • Do you know that word?

  • Okay.

  • "Implement".

  • Okay?

  • "To implement an idea" means to put it into practice.

  • So let's say you have an idea.

  • Okay?

  • That's great, we all have good ideas, but what are you going to do with that idea?

  • You want to use it, you want to put it into practice, you want to implement it.

  • But not only can you implement ideas, you can implement lots of other things which we're

  • going to talk about as we continue the lesson, but here we're talking about implementing

  • a strategy, which is a plan.

  • So, repeat after me now, just get used to saying these things out loud.

  • The more you say them, the more comfortable you will be saying them, and the more likely

  • you are to actually use them at work, or in a job interview, or something...

  • Or in your emails, your professional emails.

  • Okay?

  • Just get comfortable with them.

  • Are you ready?

  • "Identify the problem", "resolve the issues", "motivate my employees", "focus on our clients",

  • "minimize our expenses", "maximize our earnings", "generate more business", and "implement the

  • strategies".

  • Good.

  • Okay?

  • Now I'm going to show you how to take these eight words and use them in so many other

  • ways.

  • I'll be right back.

  • All right, so let's start with our first four words.

  • Okay?

  • "Identify", "resolve", "motivate", and "generate".

  • All right?

  • So let's look at how many different ways we can use these words, and these are just a

  • few of them.

  • Okay?

  • I've actually created for you a resource which has more than 100 words which you can use

  • in combination with just these eight verbs.

  • Okay?

  • So afterwards I'll tell you where you can download that from, from our website.

  • Okay?

  • But now let's look at some of the possibilities, how we can use these words.

  • So, the first word: "identify", so again: What does "identify" mean?

  • It means to find who or what.

  • Okay?

  • For example: If you want to start a new business, you need to also identify the risks of starting

  • a new business.

  • What is "the risk"?

  • The danger.

  • Okay?

  • The possible problems, the risks.

  • Or if you want to hire someone, you need to identify or find, you need to identify the

  • right person for the job.

  • Right?

  • Good.

  • That's part of a manager's role, to recruit good people.

  • All right.

  • Now, what I want to show you on this side is that you can not only use these verbs in

  • business and professional situations, but also in all kinds of other situations in your

  • life.

  • For example: You and your spouse might sit down and discuss the fact that we need to

  • identify the reasons why Johnny's not doing well in school, and how we can help him.

  • Okay?

  • "We need to identify the ways in which we can save money."

  • Okay?

  • So you see that we can use it in everyday life as well, but we're using higher-level

  • vocabulary.

  • Okay.

  • Now: "resolve".

  • Again, "resolve" is like solve.

  • Okay?

  • So: "We need to resolve the situation", "We need to resolve a crisis".

  • What's "a crisis"?

  • It's a very serious situation.

  • Okay?

  • Very bad, emergency kind of situation is a crisis.

  • All right?

  • "We need to resolve the disagreements between our children because they keep fighting."

  • Or: "We need to resolve the tension between these two neighbours."

  • Okay?

  • "Tension" is like stress.

  • Okay?

  • Next word: "motivate".

  • Right?

  • "We need to motivate our staff", "We need to motivate the team to do well."

  • All right?

  • "We need to motivate our kids".

  • "Kids" is like slang for children.

  • "Motivate our kids to do their homework", "I need to motivate my spouse to find another

  • job".

  • "Spouse", what does this word mean?

  • Husband or wife.

  • Okay?

  • And now the word "generate".

  • Okay?

  • So what is "generate"?

  • To create more of something.

  • So: "To generate more sales", of course that's usually the objective and the goal of most

  • companies, or to generate more revenue.

  • "Revenue" is just a business word for basically more money.

  • Okay?

  • All right.

  • Or: "You need to generate more interest in a particular subject."

  • Let's say your child is not interested in math or in some other subject, or geography,

  • and you want to generate...

  • You want to be able to help him to generate more interest in that subject or generate

  • more enthusiasm for helping you in the house.

  • Okay?

  • Things like that.

  • Now, as I said, we can use all kinds of subjects-okay?-for...

  • In our sentence.

  • We can say: "We need to".

  • You can talk about your company, we can say: "The company needs to..."

  • You could talk about your government, you can say: "The government needs to", whatever.

  • Or: "My children need to", "My neighbours need to", "My brother needs to", "My friend

  • needs to", "I need to".

  • Okay?

  • All right.

  • And not only "need to" before all these verbs; you can say: "I need to identify the risks",

  • "I should resolve this situation", "I must motivate the staff", or "I have to generate

  • more sales".

  • Okay?

  • So you see that you can use all kinds of verbs here as well.

  • Okay?

  • Now, when I come back we'll look at the other four verbs that we learned.

  • Now let's focus on our next four words.

  • Okay?

  • And they are: "focus", "minimize", "maximize", and "implement".

  • All right?

  • Let's look at how we can use these words.

  • You can focus on your priorities.

  • What are "priorities"?

  • The things that are most important, the things you should really be paying attention to are

  • your priorities.

  • Okay?

  • Let's say you have five things to do in a day, but the first thing is the most important

  • thing, that's your most important priority, so you should focus on that priority.

  • Okay?

  • Or you can focus on your goals, your objectives, your dreams, your visions, your ambitions,

  • and so on.

  • Okay?

  • Again, we can use these words in any sphere of life, also your academic life.

  • You can...

  • Perhaps you need to focus on your studies, you need to focus on improving your grades.

  • Okay?

  • Or improving your health.

  • Okay?

  • You can also add a word in there, like I did just now: "Focus on improving my health",

  • "Focus on increasing my grades", okay?

  • Things like that.

  • Next: "minimize".

  • Again, "minimize" means to reduce to the lowest level, so: "We need to minimize costs".

  • "Costs" are like expenses.

  • "We need to minimize the time that's wasted by many people in this department."

  • Okay?

  • "We need to minimize the noise-all right?-that's sometimes in this neighbourhood."

  • And: "We need to minimize the amount of money we are spending on coffee."

  • Okay?

  • Apparently I forgot to write that.

  • Okay, never mind.

  • All right.

  • "Maximize".

  • So, "maximize" means to make as high as possible.

  • This was to make as low as possible; "maximize" is to make as high as possible.

  • So: "We need to maximize our profit."

  • Okay?

  • "Profit" is the money that you earn after you have paid everything and everyone.

  • Okay?

  • "Need to maximize efficiency".

  • "Efficiency" is productivity, how...

  • How well you work in terms of time, in terms of all your resources.

  • "Maximize efficiency".

  • Okay?

  • As a student or as a parent, you want your children or you want yourself to...

  • You want to be able to maximize your grades.

  • You want to maximize your investments.

  • If you put money into a particular stock or share, you want to make sure that the investment

  • is maximized.

  • Okay?

  • Now, here you see that I am using a lot of other business vocabulary and generally more

  • advanced vocabulary, so you have a chance as you learn these eight verbs to also learn

  • a lot of these collocations and combinations with other nouns.

  • And in case you're not familiar with what those mean, then that's an opportunity to

  • go even further with this lesson.

  • Okay?

  • All right.

  • The last verb: "implement".

  • So, "to implement something" means to actually put it into practice, not just talk about

  • it, but to actually do it.

  • So: "We need to implement the changes", "We need to implement the new policies that the

  • department or that the company has come up with", "We need to implement the safety rules",

  • or "We need to implement the consultant's suggestions or recommendations", or anything

  • like that.

  • Okay?

  • Now, again, on that resource which I've created, you will see hundreds of examples of how you

  • can use just these eight words.

  • And in future lessons you'll see more verbs and more examples, so this is a really quick

  • shortcut.

  • Okay?

  • This is a vocabulary hack, actually, for you.

  • And a hack is a shortcut, a way for you to expand your vocabulary more quickly and more

  • easily.

  • All right?

  • So, what I suggest that you do now is a few things.

  • So, first go to our website at www.engvid.com, and there you can do a quiz on these eight

  • words-okay?-to make sure that you really know the meaning, understand how to use them and

  • so on.

  • Okay?

  • Next, you can...

  • While you're at the website you can also download for free the resource that I've created on

  • how to use these eight words with many other word combinations.

  • All right?

  • Then if you really want to start implementing the recommendations that I've made to you,

  • then write a sentence, write one sentence, write two, write three - choose one word and

  • write a sentence in the comments section of our engVid website, or on our Facebook, or

  • somewhere-okay?-or on YouTube.

  • So, write a comment using one, or two, or three of these words.

  • Okay?

  • Try to really make those words your own.

  • And you could write...

  • You could say, like: "I need to maximize my income."

  • Okay?

  • Or: "Our department should minimize costs."

  • Or: "The president must..."

  • I don't know, you decide what the president must do.

  • Okay?

  • So, there's so many different kinds of examples you could write.

  • Write about something that's relevant to you, and that will help you to remember these words

  • and understand these words properly.

  • Okay?

  • And last of all, subscribe to my YouTube channel because that way you can continue to get the

  • other lessons in this series, and lots of other lessons which I've created which are

  • really, like, shortcuts and hacks for you to learn English more effectively and efficiently.

  • Okay?

  • Thanks really...

  • Thanks very much for watching, and all the best with your English.

  • Bye for now.

Hi.

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