This is an All Ears English Podcast, episode 2240.
Do you have the gift of gab in English?
Welcome to the All Ears English Podcast, downloaded more than 200 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 Aubrey Carter, Io 'ki, Isles Wiz, and Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer, coming to you from Arizona and Colorado, USA.
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Do you like to chit chat, chat and gab?
Bob, today, get four ways to talk about talking with others in English.
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Hello, Lindsay. How are you?
Feeling good today, Aubrey.
How are you today? Excellent.
I have a question for you.
All right. Do you like to chit chat?
clap, do I like to chit chat?
Sometimes I do, if I feel like it's interesting chit chat.
But sometimes chit chat can be kind of superficial to be right?
This is very much like, small talk superficial.
Like you said, I have a feeling that you will like ask an interesting question to try and get deeper before you let the chit chat go very long.
I'm guilty of this.
And sometimes my partner says you go too deep too fast.
You know, when you're We're like, we're a little more chitchat people.
You need to be more superficial.
But it just bores me, you know, so not much of a.
The same way, I'm the same or sometimes I'll have like an interesting question I've been thinking about and I'll throw it out there.
And then immediately realize, like I should have left the chitchat go a few minutes longer.
I think. Or as we're like, oh wow, that was quick.
I mean, it's either that or maybe you're just at the wrong party.
I mean, sometimes it's just, it's a matter of just who you're around, right?
because sometimes those questions could be right with a certain group but generally yeah for a mainstream party, mainstream culture too deep, right?
Yeah. Right so we're getting into, we've got some great vocab today about chit chat and similar phrases, we want to make sure that you guys have the app.
Every week we pull keywords so that you can very easily add them to your vocab list with just one tap.
You also get to follow along the transcripts.
That's so helpful. So if you haven't checked out the app go to all others English .com slash app ep and you get that seven -day free trial, so just go ahead and sign up for a premium plan and You get a fee for the first seven days.
You'll see you'll get your weekly role play at least once As a premium member the review of all the keywords or many of the keywords from the week There's also some right we've started doing this as a feature just for premium members Where you see a roleplay with all a lot of the keywords words of all
of the episodes of the week.
So you can see how they can come together in one conversation.
Yes, I love that! I love that.
So go over to the app, it's www .ollersenglish .com slash app, choose iOS or Android, and download it now.
Okay, Aubrey. So today we are talking about this topic of chit chatting, chatting and different ways to say this and there are a lot of nuanced meanings here between this and that.
Exactly, right? Because there is a big difference between conversation, discussion, is when When you're in a cab often when they pull up to your way, you've arrived.
This is what they're gonna say had I here you go.
And this means we've arrived to where you need to be so we're going to dive into all of the ways all the, you know, the things that here you go could like they would rather talk about something important more quickly.
Yes. Superficial. It can feel really superficial.
So, for example, the dinner was fun.
Lots of chitchat and laughter and it doesn't have to always be negative.
Of course, it depends on who's saying it and maybe it was interesting chitchat.
But with certain people, interesting chitchat can exist.
It's true. It really depends.
And we do use it more generally like this.
Like, this doesn't mean people were just talking about the weather and supersATH, but it kind of means we didn't go super deep.
No one's talking politics.
Where we might hear this, and we do have to get it right.
There are nuances, right?
For connection. We talked recently about there you go.
Here you go. We use in some pretty specific scenarios.
so we're going to talk about the kind of kinds of means, between agenda items people are bringing up there, like saying, Oh you'll never guess what happened to, right?
There's some small talk, there's some chit chat happening.
Yes. It's just another way of saying, you know, I'm giving you what you asked for.
Here you go. And then a more formal way of saying that would be here you are.
I feel like if you go to a fancy shredded straw, they would swab and here you are.
Exactly right. So what's interesting here, and we're going to dive into chat in a second.
Anytime you say chit chatting as a verb.
You could just say chatting.
I was chatting with the lady at the park.
But sometimes you will hear people say chit chatting.
Yeah. It's interesting.
Why they add that chit, right?
What it comes to, why not just, I would tend to say just chatting, but how does it kind of change, like, well, I think it does imply a little more superficiality.
If I would say I was chatting with the lady at the park, that could be about politics.
But if I say, okay, chatting, we were not talking about anything important because even chatting, it's sort of strange to hand something to someone without saying anything, right?
And I don't know what that's like elsewhere in the world as much, maybe similar, where if you're going to hand something we would and then I'd rather talk about important things.
Yeah, and we have a public service announcement for our listeners right off right.
Tell us about this at PSA.
You guys heard this before, Jessica and I know when we say this, someone we're not very comfortable with silence here, but I'm not sure if that's the reason that That we say that I'm not sure.
But we do have a roleplay Aubrey.
Shall we dive into a mini role play because very few of those words could I actually use as a synonym, right?
It was like blather, jabber, murmur and some words I haven't heard of.
I dunno, if they're more like in the UK, twaddle tapoil, which is in, and you're going to give it to them and just say, here you go.
Yes. And we have a bonus here Aubrey, you said, did you happen to bring you didn't say you really need to learn words in context.
I mean, that's why we're here, that's why we do role -plays in almost every single episode.
We need to know nuances, especially at the B2 C1 level where many of our listeners are.
Absolutely. It makes it okay if their answer is no.
Like if you had forgotten to bring that costume, it's very easy for me like, no problem, did you happen to?
I was like, oh, no noun functions a little differently.
So as a verb, I would totally say right?
The happy hour yesterday was great.
I chatted with pretty much everyone there.
It's more just means just talked.
I talk to everyone there.
Okay and maybe your kid would say, did you bring the costume on?
But friend, if your friend was doing you a favor.
Right. You might say chatter or chatting.
We use it this way as a noun.
There was a lot of chatting happening or I hear a lot of chatting.
Can we keep it down?
Yeah. And I think the word chatter, so chatter would be a good synonym for that.
Right. Instead of you could say it in the same, I love it.
Okay. So when you're handing something to someone, that is one situation where we would see here, you go, like any kind of attack that's going to happen that they'll go.
And they'll say, Oh, there's been chatter on this.
That means kind of in the back channels, whatever sources they use, whichever phones they've tapped.
Yeah. They're hearing the chatter from all of these things.
Right? And it doesn't mean it's like two ladies talking at a party, right?
Sometimes if someone is giving you a ride and they arrive at the destination, they might say, Here you go.
And that means like, we're here.
Absolutely. Right. it means both of those things.
And then as a noun, this is interesting because chat, we don't use the same way as chitchat as a noun, right?
It means usually more of like an online conversation.
Right? Did you see the message in the group chat?
And we work if, right.
And I could see it being confusing.
We can't use it that way as a noun.
Right. That's interesting, huh?
Yeah. Weird. Are you involved in a lot of like WhatsApp, chat, group chats like family, friends, ongoing, constantly.
Do you do that kind of thing?
Yes. I feel like I'm in so many.
For example, at Columbus Circle of New York, probably the taxi cab just pulls over.
Yes. They had a birthday maybe and there's a surprise.
So then you have so many different ones that you lose track of who's in which one.
I love that. Yeah, that's a reality of our modern tech.
This is how we communicate now.
It's another way of socializing.
100%. Yes. Okay. Number three, Aubrey, what is the other thing where we hear this?
Here you go. Okay. This, one of those that I feel like is a good synonym is the verb gab, right?
This also means, you know, it's usually about trivial matters if you're gabbing, if you say someone likes to gab, but it sort of implies that you're talking at length.
I wouldn't say people were gabbing.
If it were... beat me, you know, you do really well.
I might say here you go being the best chairman sort of means at length.
Yeah. For some reason, I think of gabbing, I think of gossiping, but I don't think it's not the same thing, but you could be gabbing and gossiping at the same time, potentially.
Definitely. They could go hand -in -hand for sure.
So an example. She was gabbing at the park when she got the call sick at all this year.
Oh, I agree. Yes. I have a friend that's fun to gab with and this, this might mean gossip but you're talking about anything, right?
It does imply trivial matters.
I would not assume you're talking about deep political conversations or how can we serve in our community if we say we're gabbing?
It kind of just means we're like chit chatting compliment, right?
It's definitely playful for sure.
Really about superficial conversations, not deeper ones.
Yeah. Then we have gift of gab.
And I do hear this in places or read this in places sometimes.
I do too. This is very idiomatic.
It means someone likes to talk.
They're very good at making conversation.
I think this is a great compliment if someone says, tells me that I have the gift of gab.
We have a friend that does something real.
That is for sure. Uh, for example, I'm not worried about him meeting my friends.
He has the gift of gab.
So I think he'll be fine.
And that's really nice when your partner is just really strong socially.
You just don't have to worry about them.
They could go off on their own for hours and they'd be totally fine.
Yeah exactly right this is ideal when you bring your having friends meet each here you go when you're handing some have the gift of Gab.
You feel like you need to keep them there and talk with them protect them included in the conversation.
If they have the gift of Gab, you can leave them.
They're going to be chatting with everyone in the room.
Yeah it's a good thing for sure.
What's another example?
You might say a good lawyer has the gift of Gab.
Right. This is a lot of professions they need to be they need to enjoy speaking in front of face with an opportunities This is interesting because it's not just about trivial matters, you're just mean, they like to speak their good at speaking.
I would think lawyers, yes, I, I would like to argue or not argue, but create an argument create a sort of reasoning.
Right. But also, um, reporters are really good investigative reporters.
Right? Oh yes. Good point.
Right. They're able to like make people feel comfortable chatting and then you know get the information out of them that they want.
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Okay, Aubrey, so let's do a roleplay.
So here, we are friends meeting up after not having seen each other for some amount of time.
Perfect, A couple of months.
Sorry. I've been gabbing so much about my kids.
How are you? Ah, doing okay.
I'm just glad to be able to chit -chat with you.
It had been way too long.
I agree. We need to do this more often.
Seriously. We used to meet up to chat weekly.
Life gets so busy. I know.
And I'm bad at staying in touch too.
I've never had the gift of gab.
That's not really true for me.
I definitely have the gift of gab, but not so much on the phone, I'm not a phone talker is how I say it.
So I'll lose touch with friends if they live far away.
But then once we're in person, we're going to be chit chatting away.
Yeah, it can be hard.
You have to be really intentional about the phone making phone dates with friends.
It's a lot of work.
It's true. It's true.
Especially if friends like need contact more often, right?
then that's a good idea to set a date.
Be like, we're going to talk on this day.
Exactly, exactly. So let's see what we said here.
That said sorry, I've been gabbing so much about my kids.
How are you? So it looks like we were already in this conversation.
You've been talking, and you're going to flip it back to me.
Yeah, we've been chatting and then I started talking about my kids at length.
This is a great way to say, Oh, sorry, it was gabbing so long about this one topic.
I said, I'm doing okay.
I'm just glad to be able to chit -chat with you.
Right, so I'm enjoying the time chatting or chit chatting with you.
Yes, exactly and both would work.
I'm just glad to be able to chat with you or to chit chat with you very interchangeable there.
And I want to highlight some grammar here, Fuelbury.
So here we said it had been way too long but we could also have said and I might more commonly just say it's been way too long.
Both work, right, they're both accurate.
This is kind of the tricky thing about past perfect we don't use it that often.
and it's accurate here, but often we just skip it and say, it's been way too long, right?
Because we're kind of we talk about two steps back with Passe Perfect, but we're kind of still right in this moment, right?
We're not too far away from it.
The further away we get the more likely we already use that Passe Perfect.
Yeah, good point. Yeah, what else Aubrey?
Yeah, what else Aubrey?
And then you said we used to meet up to chat weekly, so this is where we use this as a verb, it means the same as chit chat, right?
Yeah. Nice. And then you deployed your favorite phrase here.
I'm about as staying in touch too.
I've never had the gift of GAB.
Yes, this is a fun compliment.
I think that's a fun connection skill.
If you meet someone who is good at talking, loves to talk, this is nice to say you have the gift of GAB.
It's a very positive way to say, Oh, you're so good at talking to people.
Yeah. It's super interesting.
Well, there's another episode that our listeners could get into to hear more of us gabby, right?
Talking, chatting, chit chatting on the podcast.
I love this one. It was episode 10 52.
So maybe come back to the blog.
So you don't have to scroll away three questions to consider when you start a conversation with someone who is working.
I really loved that episode because you might want to chit chat at work and just gab away.
But if they're working, you mind there are some things you want to think about before you jump into that conversation.
Alright, That's really important.
And by the way, I want to mention if you're listening in the app, the iOS Android app, you actually don't have to go to the blog, you could just go to the search bar at the very top of the episode list and type in a unique word.
For example, students in our courses start to use this in our open conversation club and our student -led conversation clubs, because those are cropping up now, Aubrey right?
Yes, they're so fun, right?
Students opening speaking practice all over the world are listeners for today.
Well first of all, don't hesitate to chitchat, right?
You might be more like Lindsay, where you'd rather talk about deep topics, but it is vital to start conversations with a bit of chicken, you know, ask.
You really, you have to start some more.
transitioning all your English.
It's not normal, right?
So start light. And then if you feel like you have a connection, start to ask more interesting questions from, all right.
Absolutely. Right. And today's vocab gives you fun option.
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