Do you often find yourself at a loss for words at work?
You don’t want to come to a grinding halt when trying to express yourself at work.
Listen in today to learn business English vocabulary to avoid this common problem.
Work and English
Lindsay asks Aubrey if she has ever reached an impasse at work.
Aubrey responds that she has.
This happens to everybody.
When you are in a company where your work relies on someone else, there will be roadblocks that keep you from accomplishing your tasks.
- impasse: something that prohibits progress
Lindsay adds that these situations can be frustrating.
An impasse can also be created when you can’t agree on certain things or the decision isn’t made.
You might also be stuck due to a bottleneck.
Today’s episode is about things that bring business to a halt.
Today’s question
Great video.
Could you make a video about these expressions and their differences?
- come to a grinding halt
- come to an impasse
- come to a dead end
– @fairik5539
Business English vocabulary
You need vocabulary to use at work when you come to a dead end.
Listen in as Lindsay and Aubrey give the meaning to the terms and phrases mentioned by our listener.
They’ll also share different words you can use to express yourself regarding roadblocks at work.
#1: Come to a grinding halt
This implies something has happened suddenly or a catalyst caused this impasse.
There is a bit of imagery for this phrase.
You can think of a train suddenly braking and you can hear the wheels screeching.
A horse carriage could also be called to mind when it stops suddenly.
You can hear the horses’ hooves grind on the street.
Example:
- After 2 weeks of back-and-forth, negotiations have come to a grinding halt.
- It looks like the deal came to a grinding halt. The company has decided to go with another vendor.
#2: Reached an impasse
You can say “reach an impasse” or “come to an impasse.”
This phrase means something is blocking progress or movement.
Something is in the way of progress.
This is a bit different from ‘come to a grinding halt’ where there was momentum that suddenly stopped.
If you say ‘reached an impasse’ you are met with a roadblock.
Example:
- We’ve reached an impasse on our end. We’re waiting for the contract to be signed and then we can move forward.
- The union encouraged workers to strike after salary negotiations came to an impasse.
#3: Come to a dead end
We say “come to a dead end” or “reach a dead end.”
This phrase is similar to ‘reached an impasse’ where you find something is preventing you to pass or to continue.
This is similar to being on a road and reaching a dead end.
In this case, you can’t move forward and have to find a work around.
The same thing happens at work.
Example:
- I feel like I’ve applied to every job out there and have come to a dead end.
- We reached a dead end when all the vendors weren’t available.
#4: Bottleneck
A person or activity can be a bottleneck at work.
You can imagine a glass bottle where the neck of the bottle is narrower than the rest of the bottle.
The idea is it’s hard to get things through this narrow space.
This can describe something difficult that may slow down a task or project in business.
Example:
- I don’t want to be the bottleneck here.
- This has become a real bottleneck for her.
Roleplay
In this roleplay, you’ll see how today’s phrases and vocabulary can be used in a conversation.
This will help you better understand how to use them in the business setting.
In this scenario, Lindsay and Aubrey are discussing a prospective employee.
Aubrey: It looks like we’ve reached an impasse with this candidate.
Lindsay: Yeah, it looks that way since salary negotiations came to a grinding halt last week.
Aubrey: We may be at a dead end for this position. I think we interviewed everyone that was qualified.
Lindsay: It’s worrisome because we have a bottleneck with this project until we hire someone.
Takeaway
You can check out episodes of The Business English Podcast for more tips to easily communicate in English at work.
We encourage you to listen to episode Business English 319: Don’t Send the Wrong Message With Business Meeting Vocabulary.
You’ll learn strategies to continue good relationships in business.
It’s common at work to reach an impasse.
There is a lot of interesting vocabulary to discuss these workflow problems or struggles.
Use the phrases shared in today’s episode to add to your vocabulary arsenal at work.
What are other ways you can say you’re struggling to get things done at work?
We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
