English Conversation Phrases You’ll Use Over and Over

Introduction

Hello! It’s Kristine here with the Express to Impress podcast. This episode is part two of How to Answer, “Tell Me About a Time When You Motivated a Team.” You will learn four English conversation phrases. Why is it so important to expand your English vocabulary? Well, it will allow you to communicate better with native English speakers. You won’t feel confused when you hear a phrase or idiom and will be able to keep up with the conversation. As always, you’ll get some homework at the end so you can continue to improve your English communication skills.

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If you want my tips on preparing for a job interview, I invite you to visit my website for my free five-step job interview preparation checklist. This checklist has already helped thousands of people worldwide perform well in interviews and get jobs they love. To sign up, visit my website at express-to-impress.com.

Now, let’s begin!

English Conversation Phrases

Bring (Something) to the Table

That way, you can choose appropriate stories and tell them in a way that highlights certain attributes you bring to the table. 

When you bring something to the table, you provide or offer a useful skill or attribute.

Cover (One’s) Bases

You have to cover all your bases while preparing for an interview. 

To Ensure your success by dealing with everyone. Cover your bases means to ensure your success by dealing with every potentially problematic aspect of a situation or activity. This idiom is a reference to baseball, where all defensive players have to ensure all the bases (and the runners on the bases) are accounted for. 

Ticket

Identifying potential interview questions and coming up with answers to interview questions is your ticket to a job offer. 

The literal meaning of ticket is a small piece of paper or a card that gives the holder a certain right, such as the right to participate in an event. But here, we use ticket in a more informal and figurative way to mean it’s a way in which you can achieve something. 

Tried-and-True 

Now you have a tried-and-true format to use when answering behavioral interview questions.

Tried-and-true is actually an adjective that means something has been tested and found to be reliable or workable.

Alright, now you know many new English conversation phrases. I encourage you to start using them today!

How to Succeed in a Job Interview Online Course

Interviewing is tough. Speaking in a second language is tough. Doing both at the same time is quite the challenge! So, I set out to share my knowledge about how to succeed in interviews in a few ways. I release interview training episodes on this podcast, coach people before interviews, and created the 90-minute online video course, “How to Succeed in a Job Interview.” 

Sarah, a Legal Marketing Professional in Kansas City, MO completed the online course and left the following review: “This course was really helpful to me in my current career shift. Watching it was very inspiring–I feel like I really can accomplish my career goals by following the concrete steps provided. Kristine speaks clearly and at a good pace and is very likable, knowledgeable, and informed.”

If you have an interview coming up, I urge you to consider taking my course to prepare for it. You will learn everything from body language to etiquette to answering questions confidently. You’ll get two in-depth handouts, including 14-pages of common interview questions and tips on how to answer them. 

I invite you to watch the course introduction and the Interview Etiquette and Techniques lessons for free by visiting courses.express-to-impress.com/courses. If you plan to switch jobs anytime in the future, now is the time to get my course.  

English Learning Homework

Learning takes repetition and implementation. So, I’ll give you some homework! Listen to this episode again and repeat the words out loud to practice. It will not only expand your English vocabulary but help you to improve your American English pronunciation, listening skills, and intonation. You’ll be doing the Shadowing Technique! If you need a reminder about implementing the Shadowing Technique, check out episode 15, Introducing the Shadowing Technique for English Learning.  

Like most people, I don’t want to hear advertisements when I’m listening to a podcast. One way podcasters avoid advertisements is by asking for listener support. So, I’d like to invite you to make a donation to the podcast. 100% of any amount you give will go to production expenses. You can donate on my website at express-to-impress.com/podcast.  

Thank you so much for listening to the Express to Impress podcast. If you found this episode helpful, please remember to share it with a friend. See you next time. Bye!

    

Music by Lucas Knutter