Do you ever feel that you are the one doing all the talking in team discussions at work? Perhaps, everyone is deferring to you to come up with all the ideas. If that is the case, what can you say to get your colleagues to be more involved? Well, let’s consider a few English expressions to help get you on your way to convincing them.
The first expression compliments your coworker’s skills. You can say: “You have such good silver-tongued arguments.” To be “silver tongued” means to be able to speak in such a way that makes other people do or believe what you want them to do or believe. It’s very persuasive. So a “silver-tongued” argument is one that can convince others to accept your reasoning. Silver is a metal of high value, so the expression carries the idea that what is being said is of high value, so it should be believed and accepted. So, if you want to convince your coworker to participate more in discussions, then you can offer this nice compliment for encouragement.
Our second expression uses an interesting analogy to “butter up” your co-worker, sort of speaking. You could say: “You could sell ice to an Eskimo, so you should speak up more.” An Eskimo is a person who belongs to a Northern Canadian local minority group. They are known to live in homes made of ice and are surrounded by landscapes of snow and ice. The last thing they would need is more ice, never mind actually paying money for it. So, to say that someone can “sell ice to an Eskimo” means that the person is so persuasive, that they can convince anyone to buy anything, even if the item is not needed and it’s something that the buyer already has plenty of. So, saying this would make your coworker feel good and motivate him or her to speak up in a discussion.
The next expression shows that your coworker is not doing enough. You could mention: “You need to bring more to the table.” To “bring more to the table” means to make a better effort. The “table” mentioned here refers to the table where work is done or matters are discussed. You can picture a large table in a conference room where many will sit around to have a meeting. If a person goes unprepared or with little to offer, then that person is not contributing enough. If this is the case with your coworker, then our expression would be quite appropriate. Though, you don’t have to actually be at a table to use this idiom. Hopefully, that will be convincing!
The last expression is kind of a funny one to get your coworker to start talking more. You could say: “You have to start beating our gums!” Quite simply, “beating your gums” means to talk or to get your mouth moving in order to speak. The gums are the part of your mouth that hold your teeth in place. To beat them would mean to move your jaw up and down as you would when you talk. It’s just a colorful way to tell someone to speak. The added meaning to this expression is that when a person “beats their gums” they are talking a lot. So to tell your coworker that it’s time to be beating his or her gums, is telling them to not only speak, but also to do so in great quantity! Your coworker should get the idea!
So if you are in a situation where you have to convince your coworker to get more involved in group discussions, you get to use the expressions we just spoke about. Let’s face it, having to carry the load all by yourself is no fun. With just a little preparation, a few good English expressions to get your message across and keep the mood light, you’ll have a shot at persuading your colleagues to show more effort when participating in team discussions at work. Give it a try!
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