Useful Language — Delegating, Feedback & Coaching

The phrases that make you sound like a leader people want to work for — grouped by what you want to do, from delegating to coaching.

Tap the beside any phrase to hear it, then say it out loud. The note in italics tells you when to use it.

🤝 Step 1 — Delegating with ownership

“I’d like to hand over the monthly client review to you — outcome, format, the decisions are yours.” delegate the outcome, not the steps
“You might want to start with the top three accounts, but it’s your call.” suggest without commanding
“I’ll check in on Fridays, and I’ll only step in if something escalates.” define support without micromanaging

🌟 Step 2 — Positive feedback that sticks

“The way you handled that objection turned the whole meeting around.” name the exact behaviour
“What really made the difference was how early you flagged the risk.” highlight what made the difference
“That’s exactly the standard I’d love the whole team to follow.” turn praise into a standard

🪶 Step 3 — Corrective feedback, softened

“It might be worth revisiting the numbers before this goes to the client.” hedge a correction politely
“I was wondering if the report couldn’t be a bit tighter — shall we look at it together?” suggest tentatively, invite collaboration
“To be fair, part of this is on me — I probably wasn’t clear enough about the deadline.” share responsibility to keep trust

❓ Step 4 — Coaching questions

“What have you tried so far?” make them think before you answer
“What would you do if I were on holiday?” push for ownership
“Which option are you leaning towards, and why?” surface their reasoning

📈 Step 5 — Following up & support

“How is the handover going — anything slowing you down?” open a follow-up without pressure
“Is there anything you’d like me to take off your plate this week?” offer to rebalance the workload
“Let’s touch base next Friday and see where we’ve got to.” schedule the next check-in naturally

Listen: the language in action

A manager hands a big project over to a team member — using this module’s grammar: hedging & cautious language (it might be worth, I was wondering if, perhaps we could) and advanced phrasal verbs (hand over, take on, step in, follow up, talk it through). The highlighted phrases show them in action.

Show transcript

Claire: Daniel, thanks for making time. I’ll get straight to it — I’d like to hand over the quarterly business review to you. The whole thing.

Daniel: Wow. That’s quite a lot to take on. You usually run it yourself.

Claire: I do, and that’s exactly the problem. It might be worth me letting go of a few things — and honestly, you’re ready. The decisions would be yours; I’d only step in if the client escalates.

Daniel: Okay. I suppose I could start from last quarter’s deck… though the finance section seems a bit outside my comfort zone.

Claire: Fair. Perhaps we could go through the numbers together the first time — after that, I was wondering if you’d follow up with finance directly.

Daniel: That works. And if my workload gets heavy? The Kessler account is still eating up half my week.

Claire: Good point. I could probably take the Kessler reporting off your plate until June. It’s your call, though.

Daniel: I’d appreciate that. One thing — last time I presented, you jumped in halfway. To be honest, it threw me off a little.

Claire: That’s fair, and it’s probably on me. This time I’ll sit at the back. If anything comes up, we’ll talk it through in our one-to-one, not in the room.

Daniel: Then I’m in. When do we start?

Claire: Today. I’ll send the handover notes this afternoon, and let’s touch base on Friday. I have a feeling you’ll pull it off brilliantly.

Daniel: Thanks, Claire. I won’t let you down — and I’ll reach out if I get stuck.