Showing Emotions in the Workplace (A1-A2)

Podcast Introduction

Hello and welcome to the Business English Hub! I’m Daryush, your host. This is the podcast that helps you improve your business English for work. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or a job seeker, we’re here to help you feel more confident at work. I’m joined today by my co-host, Hana.

Hana: Hi everyone, great to be here!

Welcome, Hana. Before we begin, a quick reminder: we have a free transcript for this episode on our website. You can listen on the website and read along with the full transcript and even find information about one-to-one lessons there. You can also listen and read on YouTube, or if you prefer audio only, find us on Spotify and Amazon Music. So, whatever platform you like, we’ve got you covered.

Hana: That’s awesome. Reading the transcript can really help you follow the conversation. So definitely check that out!

Episode Introduction

Alright, now let’s dive into this week’s episode. Today we’re talking about expressing emotions about work situations. We all have feelings at work, sometimes good, sometimes bad. Maybe you get great news, like a promotion or a new client, and you feel excited. Or maybe something bad happens, like missing an opportunity or losing a client, and you feel disappointed. But how do you express these feelings in English, especially in a professional way? Have you ever been so surprised at work that you wanted to say, “Seriously? Wow!” or so upset that you thought, “That’s not fair!”? We’ll help you with those phrases today.

Hana: This is such an important topic. I remember when I started my first job, I was a bit shy about showing my feelings. If I was excited, I just smiled quietly. If I was upset, I didn’t say much. You know, I thought showing emotion might be unprofessional.

I understand that, Hana. Many of us feel that way at the beginning. But a little emotion at work is okay. In fact, it’s normal I think. We’re all human, and showing that you’re happy for someone or that you care when something bad happens can actually build good relationships at work. And it doesn’t matter if you work in an office, a factory, a shop, or any industry, everyone experiences good and bad news. The phrases we practice today will help you in many situations. So, our goal today is to learn some simple English expressions for feelings, both positive and negative, in common workplace scenarios. We’ll also have a short practice session near the end of this episode to help you practice these vocabulary expressions. By the end of this episode, you’ll have some useful phrases to express excitement, surprise, or empathy at work.

Hana: Sounds great! So where do we start?

Scenario 1: A Positive Situation

Let’s start with a positive situation. Imagine your boss has some good news for you. For example, you applied for a promotion, and now you’re about to hear the result. How might that conversation go? Let’s do a quick role-play. I’ll be the boss, and Hana, you’ll be the employee who applied for the promotion.

Hana: Sure, let’s do it!

Conversation 1

Boss: Hi, thanks for coming in. I wanted to talk to you about your interview for the promotion. How do you think it went?

Employee: Hi, thanks for meeting with me. I think the interview went really well. I did my best.

Boss: You did a great job. And I’m happy to say … you got the promotion! Congratulations!

Employee: Seriously? Wow! That’s amazing! Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.

Boss: You’re welcome. We believe you’re the right person for the job. This is a big achievement. Well done.

Employee: This is so exciting! It’s fantastic! I can’t wait to tell everyone the news.

Boss: I’m glad you’re excited. But please don’t tell anyone yet. I need to inform the rest of the team first, okay?

Employee: Oh … of course, I understand. I won’t say anything. No problem.

Boss: Thanks for understanding. We’ll talk more about your new role soon. Congratulations again, and have a great day!

Employee: Thank you, you too!

Now let’s look at how the employee expressed her feelings. She was surprised and happy, right? When I said, “You got the promotion,” you heard her react with “Seriously? Wow! That’s amazing!”. These short exclamations showed her surprise and excitement. First, she said “Seriously?” to show she couldn’t quite believe the good news. Then she said “wow!” because she was amazed. And then she said “That’s amazing!” to clearly express that she’s very happy. She also said, “Thank you so much,” which is an important thing to say when you receive good news or a compliment at work. She even added, “This is so exciting! It’s fantastic!” to show strong excitement. I could really hear how happy she was.

Phrases like “This is so exciting!” or “It’s fantastic!” are great for emphasizing big happiness or excitement. And did you notice the boss said, “I’m happy to say you got the promotion” and “Congratulations!”? Those are ways to give good news and respond to it. If you are giving someone good news at work, you might start with “I’m happy to say…,” for example, “I’m happy to say you passed the test” or “I’m happy to say we won the contract.” And of course, saying “Congratulations!” is how we respond to someone’s success.

So that was a happy scenario. But unfortunately, work isn’t always good news. We also need to know how to express emotions when something negative happens. Let’s try a different situation: a negative work scenario.

Scenario 2: A Negative Situation

Imagine your colleague has just found out some bad news at work. For example, they didn’t get a promotion they wanted, or a big project was canceled. How can we react in English to show sympathy or surprise? Let’s role-play that. This time, I’ll be the colleague with bad news, and Hana, you react to it.

Hana: Okay, I’m ready.

Conversation 2

Daryush: Hey, I have some bad news … Remember that promotion I applied for?

Hana: Yeah, I remember. Did you hear back?

Daryush: I did. I didn’t get the promotion.

Hana: What? Really? Oh no … I’m so sorry to hear that. That’s terrible.

Daryush: They gave the position to Richard.

Hana: That’s not fair! You worked so hard for it.

Daryush: I know … but what can I do? It’s disappointing, but I’ll try again next time.

Hana: Don’t worry, you’ll have another chance. I’m sure something good will come for you. And if you need any help, I’m here.

Daryush: Thanks. I really appreciate your support.

Now let’s talk about how Hana responded. She used a few important phrases to show sympathy and surprise. First, she said “What? Really?” when she heard the bad news. That’s a natural reaction to show shock or disbelief. You could also say “Seriously?” in that situation. It has a similar meaning: you can’t believe what you heard.

She might have said “Seriously? That’s disappointing.” So, there are a few options. After the initial surprise, Hana said “Oh no … I’m so sorry to hear that.” This is a key phrase. When someone tells you bad news about themselves, saying “I’m so sorry” or “I’m so sorry to hear that” shows you feel bad for them. It doesn’t mean you are apologizing; it means you’re expressing sympathy.

She also said, “That’s terrible.” You can say “That’s terrible” or “That’s awful” to show that the situation is really bad. And she said, “That’s not fair.” This phrase is useful when something feels unjust or unfair. For example, if a hard-working person doesn’t get a promotion, you can react with “That’s not fair!”. It shows you think the situation should have been better.

Now, also notice Hana tried to comfort me at the end by saying “Don’t worry, you’ll have another chance.” In a work context, it’s good to end on a positive or supportive note if you can.

So, to recap the negative situation phrases: for surprise or disbelief, use short questions or exclamations like “What?”, “Really?”, or “Seriously?”. For sympathy, say “Oh no!” and “I’m so sorry.” For expressing that something is very bad, “That’s terrible” is handy. And for unfair situations, “That’s not fair!” is the go-to phrase.

And one more expression we should mention is “Impossible!” Sometimes, at work, you might hear news that is so shocking you think it can’t be true. In that case, you can say “Impossible!” as an exclamation. For example, if your boss says, “We need to finish this entire project in one day,” you might whisper “Impossible!” maybe not loudly to the boss, but to your colleague later! It’s a strong word to show you think something is unbelievable.

Practice Time

Alright, now it’s practice time! We’ve already gone over the key language for reacting to news, so let’s put it into practice. Here’s how it works: Imagine Hana is your colleague or friend at work. She is going to share some news, and you’ll practice how to respond. She’ll start by giving you the basic news, then she’ll pause to give you time to react out loud. You’ll hear a buzzer. When you hear the buzzer sound, react to Hana’s news. Ready? Let’s go.

Hana: Hey, guess what? I have some exciting news. I got the promotion!

[buzzer]

Hana: Thank you! I’m really excited. But … there’s something else. I have to move to another country for the new role.

[buzzer]

So how did it go? If you responded with something like “No way! That’s fantastic news!” or “I can’t believe it, that’s amazing, congratulations!”, then you’re on the right track. Those reactions show surprise and excitement, which are perfect for good news. And for the second part, if you said something along the lines of “Oh no, I’m really going to miss you!” or “Wow, seriously? I can’t believe you have to move!”, that’s also correct. These responses show that you’re surprised and a bit sad to hear the difficult part of the news.

Now, let’s listen to a sad piece of news. Ready to react? Let’s go.

Hana: Well, I have some bad news. I didn’t get the promotion.

[buzzer]

Hana: Yeah … I’m really disappointed. And there’s more. They gave the job to someone who has less experience than me.

[buzzer]

How did it go this time? If you responded with something like “Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear that” or “That’s terrible!”, then you’re right on track. Those reactions show sympathy and care, which are perfect for sad news. And for the second part, if you said something along the lines of “That’s not fair!” or “Really? I can’t believe they did that!”, that’s also correct. These responses show that you feel the situation is unfair and you’re supporting your friend.

Don’t worry if you used slightly different words. There are many ways to express emotions. Feel free to rewind and try the exchange again with a different reaction. Practicing out loud will help build your confidence.

And this brings us to the end of this episode. We hope these examples and phrases will help you the next time you need to react to something at work. Practice them, and soon they’ll feel natural to say. I have designed an interactive exercise for you to practice these expressions. You can find the link in the episode description. And if you want to read more or practice more, remember you can always check out the full transcript on my website. You can listen and read simultaneously on our YouTube channel, or just listen on Spotify or Amazon Music when you’re on the go. Whatever works best for you!

If you found this episode helpful, please like the episode and subscribe to our podcast. We’d also love it if you left a review or a comment. Your support really helps us reach more learners.

And we’d love to hear from you, our listeners. How do you express emotions at work? Do you have a story about a time you got great news and how you reacted, or a time you had to give someone bad news? Share your experiences with us in the comments. We might even discuss some of your stories in a future episode! We learn so much from hearing your experiences, and other listeners do too.

Thank you so much for joining us today. I hope you enjoyed it. Keep practicing those phrases. Use them in your daily work life if you can. I’ll catch you in the next episode. Take care and talk to you soon.

Click here to download the full transcript in PDF format.

Click here to take the quiz and test your understanding of the phrases.