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BUSINESS ENGLISH · VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT · INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)

DESCRIBING
COWORKERS

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1 Warm up
In pairs, discuss the following questions.

1. What adjectives would you use to describe yourself?

2. What adjectives would you use to describe your colleagues?
3. What kind of people do you normally get on with the best?
4. What kind of people do you usually find difficult to get on with?

2 Focus on vocabulary
Part A: Match the following adjectives to the definitions.

1. assertive a. having a strong sense of what is right and wrong and acting
based on this
2. principled b. being very aware of other people’s feelings and thoughts and
often easily upset by them
3. tolerant c. speaking confidently about thoughts and opinions in a way that
makes other take note
4. driven d. being relaxed and slow to get angry or upset

5. easy-going e. having good ideas and able to give thoughtful advice based on
experience and knowledge
6. sensitive f. accepting of beliefs, ideas and ways of doing things that are
different from your own
7. wise g. being a little rude in a way that can be either annoying or funny

8. cheeky h. very much wanting to succeed and being prepared to work hard
to get there

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Part B: Complete the following sentences with adjectives from Part A.

1. I know you really wanted to buy that Gucci bag, but I think it was a very decision
not to. It’s much better to save your money for university.

2. Don’t say anything about her spots when you see her. She’s very about her skin.

3. When we were growing up, my brother was always left in charge of us all which made him quite
. He’s always quick to say what he thinks should happen.

4. I got caught stealing when I was about 12 and my parents were really upset. They’d always been
very and didn’t understand why I’d do that.

5. I think he’s quite with his Grandma, but she doesn’t seem to mind at all.

6. I think if we tell Pierre we need to leave early on Friday, he’ll be fine about it. He’s one of the most
managers I’ve ever had.

7. She’s still at the office again. I used to think she was overworked, but I think she’s actually quite
and does it because she wants to.

8. I’m just going to check this again. I need to get it signed off by my manager and she’s not very
of people making mistakes.

Now in pairs, discuss the following questions.

1. Look at each adjective. Do you think they are positive, negative, or both? Why?
2. Looking at the other adjectives you did not use, who do you know who you could describe using
them? Why?

3 Listening for gist

Listen to the following speakers. Which of the adjectives could be used to talk about them or the
people they are describing?

assertive cheeky driven easy-going

principled sensitive tolerant wise

a. Speaker 1 –

b. Speaker 2 –

c. Speaker 3 –

d. Speaker 4 –

e. Speaker 5 –

f. Speaker 6 –

g. Speaker 7 –

h. Speaker 8 –

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4 Understanding idioms

In pairs, discuss the following questions about idioms used in the listening exercise.

1. How do you behave if yougo with the flow?

2. How would you like to make your mark in your industry?

3. If you hear your CEO say ‘it’s only a matter of time before we go out of business,’ what does she
mean?

4. If someone tells you that you look like death warmed up, what do they mean?

5. If someone asks you to hear them out, what do they mean?

6. If you’re not pulling your weight, what are you doing?

5 Reading for gist

Read the article on page four and match the first sentences below to paragraphs A – E. There are
more sentences than paragraphs.

1. These differences of opinion aren’t just limited to management style either.

2. It’s very likely that some relationships at work will result in romance.
3. Working alongside other people can be a challenge in any business environment.
4. There have been several examples of fights taking place at work due to the wrong personalities
having to work together.
5. Ultimately, employees should feel connected by having the same objectives.
6. For example, few people end up in the position of a CEO by chance, so being assertive is going to
be an advantage, as is being quite driven.
7. However, it’s a rare situation when all of those characteristics work well together.

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Different jobs, different personalities

Working with others

A. For any company to be successful, it requires a range of people to perform

various functions: from sales, to creative roles, to management. People who are good at different types of work
are highly likely to have different characteristics. Consider what it takes to be in certain positions, and it’s easy to
see how a company can involve varying personalities.

B. A manager dealing with a variety of different people in their team and perhaps
even co-ordinating projects internationally should be tolerant and sensitive to the needs of others. Becoming
angry each time events don’t go as planned isn’t going to help. Being principled in your dealings with other people
is also going to be a positive.

C. A sensitive employee probably won’t make good company for someone who is
assertive, for example. To further complicate matters, we all see the traits of others through the lens of our own
personality. A CEO who describes themselves as assertive and driven, may appear arrogant and obsessive to those
they lead. What a manager may think of as principled in their behaviour, another may feel as more judgemental
if they feel the rules being applied are outside of their own value system. Similarly, a middle manager who thinks
of themselves as tolerant, may be thought of as weak by their boss who doesn’t feel as though they are strict
enough with their demands. Equally, what one employee sees as wise decision-making by their manager, another
may see as cunning.

D. More junior employees may think they are being easy-going and helpful in their
openness to being told what to do, but this may seem idle and unambitious to someone who with their eye on
climbing the career ladder. Office humour can also be difficult to navigate. Men particularly, often use it as a kind
of verbal play-fight to establish themselves. Yet what they consider to be a cheeky comment may be thought of
us offensive by the person on the receiving end. Maybe this person is sensitive? But if they complain, it could be
seen by others as resentful.

E. When presented with someone who has a trait that is challenging for you, it
may be a good opportunity to try and get to know them better to understand what drives them. As for anyone
else’s opinion of you, that is really outside of your control and all you can do is treat others in the same way you
wish to be treated.

Sources: Small Business - Chron, Forbes

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6 Reading comprehension

Complete the following sentences with one, two or three words from the article on page four.

1. Employees in a company have to for it to work effectively.

2. It helps if a manager is able to be understanding of the needs of others if they are .

3. When events don’t happen , a good manager is going to need to problem-solve

rather than get annoyed and upset.

4. That fact that we all view the same behaviour in different ways can the situation
even more.

5. We each have a different and can feel unfairly if our manager thinks differently.

6. To people who want to get to the top of , people who are relaxed can seem lazy
and unambitious.

7. Socially speaking, humour is often a to show their intelligence.

8. behaviour is best dealt with by trying to understand the other person and spending
time talking to them if at all possible.

7 Finding vocabulary

Quickly read the article on page four and find words which mean the same as the following.

1. acting in a way that is proud but shows no thought for, or interest in, other
people (adj., para. C)
2. focussing on a particular thing in a way that is extreme and unreasonable (adj.,
para. C)
3. having an opinion about what others do in a negative way, while seeing
yourself as better (adj., para. C)
4. making others follow rules exactly (adj., para. C)

5. getting what you need in a way that isn’t always honest and involves tricking
people (adj., para. C)
6. doing as little work as possible (adj., para. D)

7. saying or doing things that hurt other people’s feelings (adj., para. D)

8. upset or angry about something that happened that you think wasn’t fair (adj.,
para. D)

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8 Talking point

In pairs, discuss the following questions.

1. Have you ever worked with anyone you thought of as idle? What made you think this?
2. Is there anything in your personal or professional life that you are obsessive about? What is it and
why do you feel this way?
3. When you were growing up, were your parents strict? Why would you, or would you not, describe
them like this?
4. What kind of behaviour do you find offensive?
5. How do you deal with arrogant people?
6. Has anything happened in your life that you are still resentful about? What happened?

9 Extended activity/Homework

Choose one of the following activities.

1. Write a description of yourself from the point of view of people you work with. Use any suitable
adjectives and say what you do that would make other people think this about you.
2. Write a description of one or a few of your colleagues and say what they do that makes you
describe them in this way.

You should:

• write at least 150 words,

• check your grammar, spelling and punctuation.

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