This lesson will focus on using a variety of expressions related to lack of control.
This lesson will help you use idioms describing lack of control. You will also get a chance to talk about your own experiences.
The topic is lack of control, which may or may not be a familiar subject for most students.
Guide to Business Idioms
Why idioms?
Idioms bring up a lot of pre-packaged imagery. They are emotive and they resonate with native speakers.
Don't over-use them, but on the other hand, a well-placed idiom will bring your language to life.
Warm Up
- Be quick & interesting.
- Note idioms the student uses unprompted.
- You may say, "That was a clear answer, but it wasn't very natural. Let's add some natural expressions using the phrases in the Language section."
- Praise or recommend good spoken grammar:
- use of contractions (it isn't, they're, etc...);
- short, active sentences (clear spoken English often employs such language);
- emphatic language.
Language section
You may take multiple classes for this.
- Encourage short answers, but don't move too quickly (find a balance).
- Focus on the phrase at hand.
- Make sure the student is confident with each one before moving on.
- Encourage the student to express themselves using their own experiences or knowledge as much as possible.
- Model the target language as much as possible.
Describe a time when you felt powerless to change something.
This warm-up should take 2–3 minutes.
A work experience would be ideal, but for struggling students, suggest they think back to their childhood or school years. They should have lots of examples from those times! The point is for them to recall feeling a lack of authority to effect change.
Example:
I worked at a company that repeatedly promoted people who weren't very competent in those positions. Meanwhile, skilled employees were passed over. It was very frustrating, but there was nothing I could do about it, since I'd also been passed over for promotion.
Please consider each expression and match them to the images. Your instructor has an example and a question regarding each one.
- (something is) out of my hands—something is not in my power to do.
- out of the loop—not involved in the decision-making process.
- throw in the towel—surrender, give up, quit.
- like a headless chicken—disorganised, uncontrolled, in a panic.
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(someone's) hands are tied—someone is powerless, unable to influence events.
A: |
B: |
C: |
D: |
E: |
Spend as long or as short a time as necessary on each phrase, but make sure the student can use it smoothly before moving on. The student should rephrase the "Practice" sentence with the target idiom, and then answer the "Question" using the target idiom.
1. (B) (something is) out of my hands
E.g.: Sorry, but I'm not the boss so I can't make the decision. It's out of my hands.
Practice: I asked my boss to stop the company from firing me, but he said it wasn't his decision and he couldn't interfere.
→Example answer: I asked my boss to stop the company from firing me, but he said it was out of his hands.
Question: Have you ever felt powerless at work?
→Example answer: I feel disappointed when I can't choose which project to work on. It's out of my hands, but I would prefer to have a say.
2. (A) out of the loop
E.g.: He was out of the loop, so he wasn't consulted about the decision.
Practice: The email about the meeting went to everybody except James.
→Example answer: James was out of the loop so he didn't get the email about the meeting.
Question: Are you involved in all the decisions made in your job?
→Example answer: No, I'm not in the loop when the client is first approached, but I am involved later when the project has been set.
3. (E) throw in the towel [If you think your student might find this interesting, you can tell them the idiom originated from boxing—when a boxer is worn out, their trainer indicates surrender by throwing a towel into the ring.]
E.g.: After a long argument, I threw in the towel and let my daughter go to the concert.
Practice: He tried to fix the computer but eventually stopped because he couldn't do it.
→Example answer: He tried to fix the computer but eventually threw in the towel.
Question: Have you ever quit something which was too hard to do?
→Example answer: I tried to do an MBA, but it was so difficult I threw in the towel and got a job instead.
4. (C) like a headless chicken [In American English, this is like a chicken with its head cut off.]
E.g.: He had no idea what to do in the emergency, and the boss was out of the office. He was running around like a headless chicken.
Practice: She panicked when the fire alarm went off in the middle of the meeting.
→Example answer: She was like a headless chicken when the fire alarm went off in the middle of the meeting.
Question: Have you ever experienced chaos in the office?
→Example answer: Once there was an earthquake warning and we were like headless chickens until the all-clear came.
5. (D) (someone's) hands are tied
E.g.: I'm afraid the rules say that I can't do anything. My hands are tied.
Practice: They didn't have the authority to influence the decision.
→Example answer: Their hands were tied so they couldn't influence the decision.
Question: What is the limit of your authority at work?
→Example answer: When it comes to deciding who will be on my team, my hands are tied. The rules say my boss makes that decision.
A. Complete the anecdote
Read each section and choose an appropriate idiom from the list above.
- Jennifer wanted to transfer to America, but she couldn’t get a work permit. She spoke with the HR department, but they said that the law was clear and there was nothing they could do to solve the problem. Their...
- Clear lines of communication are vital for a project to run smoothly. An agile environment requires that each member of the team knows what others are doing, and nobody is...
-
Learning English may be difficult at times, but don't ever...!
- The team leader tended to panic in an emergency. So when something urgent and unexpected needed to be done, he just ran around...
- The decision is not my responsibility. My manager is dealing with it, so honestly...
B. Discussion
Use idioms to discuss the following topics.
- What are the consequences of quitting a difficult task?
- Have you ever panicked?
- Do you have enough power at work?
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