How do I delegate a task in English?
Think in three steps. First, say clearly what you need: "Could you take care of the client report?" or "I'd like you to prepare the agenda." Then give the deadline and the goal: "I need it by Friday. It's for the board meeting." Finally, check that it works and offer help: "Does that work for you? Let me know if you run into any problems." Watch the German traps: for a deadline, say "by Friday", not "until Friday", and instead of "I want that you …", say "I'd like you to …".
- The three steps: name the task, give the deadline and the goal, check in.
- Deadline = "by Friday" (no later than), not "until Friday".
- "I'd like you to …", not "I want that you …".
B2 · Customer Contact · 10 minDelegating tasks in English, taught brick by brick.
A structured ten-slide lesson for B2 learners. Hear how to hand over a task with a deadline, learn the three steps from a tutor — say what you need, give the deadline and the goal, check in and offer support — then practise them in the interactive drills before a final quiz. The whole arc is under ten minutes and nothing requires a signup.
- CEFR levelB2 · Upper intermediate
- Time to completeAbout 10 minutes
- SkillsSpeaking, Writing, Vocabulary, Business English
- Bricks10 blocks
01 / 06
Why delegating needs its own phrases
Anyone who works in a team hands over tasks all the time: a report, a customer call, the preparation for a meeting or cover during a holiday. In English, many learners find this tricky, because handing over a task means giving someone work. If the request sounds too direct, it comes across as an order; if it sounds too cautious, the other person does not know whether they are really responsible, or by when. This lesson therefore splits delegating into three steps. In the first step, you say clearly what you need: "Could you take care of the client report?" In the second step, you give the deadline and the goal: "I need it by Friday. It's for the board meeting." In the third step, you check that it works and offer support: "Does that work for you?" and "Let me know if you run into any problems." On top of that come a few German traps, above all "until Friday" for a deadline and "I want that you …". The order is not a fixed law, but it helps you not to forget anything important, especially when things have to move fast.
02 / 06
Step 1: say clearly what you need
Name the task in one clear sentence. "Could you take care of …?" is a friendly request that still hands over responsibility: "Could you take care of the client report?" asks the other person to deal with the whole report, not just part of it. "I'd like you to + verb" is a little more direct and works well when you lead the team: "I'd like you to prepare the agenda for Monday." Even more cautious is "Would you be able to …?", which leaves the other person more room to say no: "Would you be able to join the call with the supplier?" If someone takes responsibility for a task previously handled by someone else, "take over" fits: "Could you take over the weekly report while I'm away?" And the person who is officially responsible is "in charge of" it: "You'll be in charge of the trade fair stand." What matters is naming the task concretely. "The client report for Müller GmbH" is clearer than "the thing we talked about", and "the figures for the third quarter" is clearer than "the numbers". The more precise the first sentence, the fewer questions come later.
03 / 06
Step 2: give the deadline and the goal
A task without a deadline easily ends up at the bottom of the pile. For a deadline, use "by": "by Friday", "by 3 pm", "by the end of the week", "by the end of the month". "By" means "no later than that point", so earlier is fine too. If you want to stress the limit, add "at the latest": "I need it by Thursday at the latest." If the deadline is flexible, say so: "Ideally by Wednesday, but Friday is fine too." Then name the goal: "It's for the board meeting" or "The client wants to compare it with last year." People who know what something is for can decide many small details themselves and do not have to come to you with every question. With "The main thing is …" you show what matters most: "The main thing is the sales figures; the design can stay simple." That way the other person knows where to spend their time if it gets tight. Together, the deadline and the goal turn a vague request into a clear assignment.
04 / 06
Step 3: check in and offer support
At the end comes a question: "Does that work for you?" or "Is that realistic with everything else you have on?" This gives the other person a chance to raise a problem now, not on Friday afternoon. Then offer help: "Let me know if you run into any problems" or "Let me know if you need anything." For longer tasks, a short check-in is worth it: "Shall we check in on Wednesday?" or simply "Keep me posted." The other role matters just as much. When someone gives you a task, accept it and confirm the deadline: "Sure, I'll have it ready by Thursday." If the deadline is tight, say so politely and make a suggestion: "I can do it, but I'm a bit stretched this week. Could it wait until Monday?" Here "until" fits, because the waiting continues up to Monday. If something is unclear, ask: "Just to check: do you need the full report or only the summary?" A clear yes, an honest "Not by Friday, but by Monday" or a precise question is always better than a commitment you cannot honour.
05 / 06
The German traps: until, "I want that you" and overtake
Three places where German gets in the way. First, "bis Freitag": German "bis" covers two English words. For a deadline, meaning "no later than Friday", you say "by Friday": "Please send it by Friday." "Until Friday", by contrast, describes something that continues up to Friday: "I'm in Munich until Friday" or "The offer is valid until Friday." So "Could you send it until Friday?" is not usual for a deadline. Another natural pattern is "You don't need to send it until Friday": there is no need to send it before Friday, but you may do so. "Until" marks the end of the period in which sending it is not yet necessary. Second, "Ich möchte, dass du …": the word-for-word translation "I want that you …" or "I would like that you …" is not idiomatic in modern English. You say "I'd like you to prepare the agenda" or "I want you to call the client", with an object and "to". Third, "übernehmen": the similar-sounding "overtake" means to pass someone, for example on the road or when a competitor moves ahead. For a task, say "take over": "Could you take over the project while I'm away?"
06 / 06
Delegating by email, in chat and in a team
The three steps also work in writing. In an email, a clear subject line with the deadline helps, such as "Supplier offer – needed by Friday". In the text, give the task, the deadline and the goal, ideally in separate sentences: "Could you take care of the supplier offer? I need it by Friday, because we're meeting the client on Monday." At the end comes the question: "Does that work for you?" In a chat, things can be shorter, but the deadline should still be there: "Could you check the invoice by 2 pm? Thanks!" Where possible, give a task to one named person, not to "someone" in a large group; otherwise nobody feels responsible in the end. In a team meeting, it helps to sum up at the end who is doing what by when: "So, Anna is taking care of the budget by Wednesday, and Tom is updating the slides by Thursday." And say thank you when the task is done: "Thanks for taking care of this — it really helped." People who hand over tasks clearly and recognise the work afterwards are more likely to get a quick yes next time.