This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 1416.
Are you going bananas?
What does that even mean?
Welcome to the All Ears English podcast downloaded more than 150 million times.
Are you feeling stuck with your English?
We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection, with your American hosts, Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer, and Michelle Kaplan, the New York radio girl coming to you from Colorado and New York City, USA.
What do you do when you are trying to get someone's attention but they can't see or hear you?
Today we answer a question from an Instagram follower and give you the tools for the language that you need in this exact situation.
In English
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Hey, Lindsay, how's it going?
Hey, Michelle, I'm doing well.
I'm doing well.
What about you?
Are you going to take some time off this summer to relax?
I would like to.
I don't think so.
You're a busy person.
Yeah, hopefully.
So hopefully things will be okay, though.
And I'm sure that I'll take I'll take a few days at least.
So yeah, I mean, I know August is the name.
The name of August for a lot of people around the world is relaxation, right?
Just a month to relax.
A lot of people go on vacation.
Vacations are going to be a little different this year, right?
Of course.
Yeah.
But yeah, so I hope you can have a little time to relax in August.
Yeah, well, I'll be teaching a little bit and doing this.
And I'm sure but but still, I think that it'll be good.
I'll definitely take like a good long weekend or something like that.
But for sure.
But yeah, I agree.
August is a good month for like kind of getting recharged.
Yeah, definitely.
Definitely.
So have you been spending a lot of time on Zoom?
I have.
I have.
You know, we sometimes meet on Zoom.
We've done some interviews and things like that on Zoom.
And yeah, I mean, people really depend on Zoom.
But do you ever have those moments when like, somebody's audio isn't on on Zoom and then it's so awkward.
Yeah.
Or somebody's audio isn't working and they're going nuts trying to get it to work.
Yeah.
I know.
It's painful.
It can be really frustrating because you just want to get your work done.
And that's tough.
Yeah.
Yeah, definitely.
So actually today we have an Instagram question from an Instagram follower and listener about a situation dealing with these awkward Zoom situations and how you can kind of talk about it.
So we're going to get into that in a second.
But Lindsay, what do we want to tell our listeners?
Yeah, I mean, you guys should know that Instagram is a good place to leave your questions.
We do get a lot of questions over there.
Yeah.
But we love your questions and we love to make this show about you guys.
Okay.
So, but first you got to follow us on Instagram.
You got to find our channel, follow our videos.
Pretty much every day we post something new and it's fun stuff.
It's good stuff.
You know, go to the ice cream parlor with us.
Go to the park, go have do something fun, learn something new and natural.
So go and look for All Ears English Instagram channel.
Look for that yellow.
Okay, that's us.
And follow us on Instagram.
Cool.
Awesome.
Yes, I love our Instagram.
It's so much fun.
So let's get into it.
So this question was from a couple months ago in April.
This is from Masood Masumi MM.
Okay.
And he starts off by saying, I hope all is well.
Today I was in a situation that needed a word that could explain the situation.
Yeah.
He said at that moment something crossed my mind, which was a translation from my native language, but not sure how it sounds in American culture.
So I'm going to kind of summarize the situation that Massoud was in.
Basically, he's talking about a time where, let's say, you're on a Zoom call.
And in his situation, somebody's audio wasn't working, basically.
And he was on the phone and he said he noticed that the person's audio wasn't working and they were like kind of trying to get their attention, trying to figure it out.
And he said, oh, that this person – I think he said –
Steve is killing himself.
And he said he wasn't sure.
He said, I'm not sure if killing was a proper word.
Is there any better word or phrase you could teach me?
Oh, it's not Steve.
It's Stevers.
Intense struggle.
Okay.
Uh so, or like imagine a person wants to draw attention to something from a long distance, but you can't.
You can't hear them.
You know, they maybe they're like jumping up and down.
They're trying to get your attention, but it's difficult.
So he wanted to talk about different ways to talk about these situations.
So that's what we're going to talk about today.
So that's a great question.
Yeah, great question, Masood.
I'm really glad you asked that because it's a very specific situation.
And if you can say something native and natural, you can get closer to whoever you're talking to.
Really good opportunity for connection.
So let's get into it, Michelle.
Absolutely.
So Lindsay, would you use the expression killing yourself, or would you say oh, he's killing himself, trying to get our attention or trying to figure out the audio, or whatever it is?
I might use that.
I would just be careful.
Yeah.
It's a very serious topic if it's taken out of context, of course, and we don't want to make light of that.
So, but I definitely, if it's in a, you know, if it's used in this way not literally, it could be used.
Yes.
But there are other ways, other things we could say, too.
Yeah, exactly.
Exactly.
So I mean yeah, it's hard because it definitely has a very serious meaning, but it is also I mean truthfully, it is used.
People use it in certain contexts.
Whether that's appropriate or not, you will hear this.
So, you know, it's up to you as to how comfortable you would feel using that kind of an expression.
But you know it is trying to say that you're trying really hard to do something too hard, which may be like very exhausting or tiring or stressful.
Yeah.
So yeah, we are going to teach a couple of humorous ways, because our follower was asking maybe there are some humorous expressions.
And, you know, of course, everyone's work environment is different.
So, yeah. they may not always be appropriate for a serious environment.
And they're a bit more outspoken and funny.
So guys, that's what we're going with today.
So definitely, you know, we can do follow ups on other ways to describe these situations.
But he wanted to know about humorous ways.
And that's what we're going to give him.
And sometimes that's the best way to connect in these kind of awkward situations as well.
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Yeah.
All right.
Let's do it.
So I love this first one, Michelle, going berserk.
How do you even spell that?
Berserk is B-E-S-E-R-K.
Yeah.
Okay.
Good stuff.
So do you use this one, Michelle, yourself?
Um, it's kind of like silly sounding, like it's a little bit cheesy sounding, but I definitely hear it.
I mean, it's basically like you're trying so hard.
You're like, so I mean, it can be silly.
It could be that you're angry.
Like an example could be, oh, my goodness, Steve is going berserk trying to get my attention.
I'd better figure out the audio.
Yeah yeah, like i think my mom uses this because you know, like she's a little bit older well, she's in her 70s so uh, it's kind of like it's maybe mom language a little bit, but you could totally use it guys, you could totally use it.
Um, i like this going bonkers.
Yeah, another one, also kind of silly.
Maybe a kid would say this.
You might say this to a kid, a little little juvenile, i think Yeah, but it's cute.
As you could say, I'm going bonkers waving my hands all around.
You don't see me?
Yeah, that's good.
Or the next one, losing it, you know, so losing it.
Oh, this is used in a lot of different contexts.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely.
But definitely one use is to say that you're trying hard and you're getting like a little bit exacerbated.
So what could you say?
Uh-oh, Mike is losing it.
He's jumping up and down right over there.
Wave to him and so he sees us too.
So...
Yeah.
So it kind of means you're losing control.
Maybe you're losing your mind.
Like you're just you're you are not intact.
Like you're not collected anymore.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Oh, my God.
That's so funny.
And then this next one is you know, it's funny because my, my son, is learning this word now bananas, bananas.
So you could like going bananas.
So sometimes he runs around and he's like, baby.
So funny.
So we could do a whole episode on this word and we should.
But here it's used just like the other one.
So you could say she's going bananas trying to get the audio to work.
I still can't hear her.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely.
And then the next one would be breaking your back.
So how is this one a little bit different?
Well, this one means that you're working very hard, right?
So it can be also used in like, oh, I'm breaking my back on this work or whatever.
But it can also mean breaking.
You know, kind of in the same way that we use the others.
So you could say, I can't believe you didn't see me.
I was breaking my back trying to get your attention.
I think it's a little bit it could like.
The other ones are pretty much all very silly sounding, whereas this one could also be slightly more serious.
Yeah, for sure.
I mean, the two that I use are actually not here.
I'm just going to give them as bonus episodes.
I'm just imagining what I would say in this scenario.
It's not like they're the only right ones, right?
These are perfectly fine.
Just two that I would add would be going nuts.
So, oh my gosh, I was going nuts trying to get you to like hear what I was saying, but you couldn't hear my voice.
I was just going nuts or going crazy.
I was going crazy crazy, trying to get you to hear my voice.
Okay um, those two I would add as bonuses for our listeners today.
Well, if you look at the next page, it says no, I'm just teasing.
So yeah, you could also say crazy, um.
So I I definitely agree with you Lindsay um, And if you want to hear more about that word, using that word, you can listen to episode 291, which is Crazy, Insane.
How to Use English Slang, but Stay Politically Correct.
So definitely check that one out.
Yeah.
So slightly different angle on that one, but also really good.
Very important episode there.
Right, Michelle?
Definitely.
Definitely.
That's definitely important.
So...
There are other contexts in which you can use these.
So like, for example, if you're getting frustrated that something won't work, you might say like I'm going bananas trying to get my computer to work.
Yeah, exactly.
And what else, Michelle?
What else here?
Or it could be if you're excited for something, something great is happening.
You know, I'm just losing it here.
I can't wait for this party.
That one you could say too.
You could say, I'm going nuts.
I'm so excited for the party tonight or my trip or something.
I'm going nuts because I haven't traveled by airplane in a while and I want to travel.
I hear you, Lindsay.
Oh my gosh, like it's about this time when we would have started planning a trip for the winter.
Yeah for sure.
We were supposed to go to Egypt in the spring.
That got killed.
So, yeah well, hopefully soon, hopefully soon.
So yeah, Yeah.
I mean guys, I think it's good to have phrases like these for both your personal life and the workplace, right.
You know, depending on the culture of your company.
We focused on trying to get people to see you or hear you today based on Masood's context.
And that – I think it was such a great question.
Like I like that he gave such a specific – story that we were able to hopefully get to the main issue there.
And that was an Instagram question.
So guys, remember, follow us on Instagram.
Send us your questions on Instagram.
I absolutely love it.
Yeah, guys, check it out.
So, Michelle, what should we leave our listeners with today?
Okay.
So, I mean, think how else can you use these in your life, right?
So, maybe do you go berserk when trying to get someone's attention?
Do you go bananas when you're excited about something, or when you're having a hard time with something, or when you're confused?
You're trying to figure something out?
What would you do in these situations?
How about body language?
Would you wave your arms?
Would you jump up and down?
So I also wonder about cultural standpoints here.
So it's really an interesting topic.
Yeah, it's a good question, Michelle.
Culturally, you know, what could be expected or accepted in your culture in the business space?
Let's say, for example, you know, maybe it's different across cultures.
I would be fascinated to know about that too, guys.
And you know, in our business course we definitely talk quite a bit in each episode, in each module about cultural fluency, right?
Cultural fluency in a presentation and a... in a public speaking situation, in writing emails.
So what is that?
We want to always be thinking about that because we know that language is not enough, right?
Language is just the starting point, but then we have this other piece, which is cross-cultural skills.
So cool.
Definitely.
Oh my gosh, Lindsay, this has been fun.
And thanks to our Instagram follower and listener for that question.
Yeah.
Very cool, guys.
Follow us on Instagram.
Check it out.
And to get into our business course, go to allthearsenglish.com slash business.
Okay.
Thanks so much, Lindsay.
Have a good one.
All right.
Take care, Michelle.
Bye.
Bye.
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