This is the Business English Podcast, Episode 222.
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Hi, Michelle. How's everything today? Hey, Lindsay.
Everything is good. How are you? I'm feeling great.
Do you have a question to start off the day today for me?
I do. When you are learning something new, do you usually get super into it or do you kind of slowly progress in? i'm a little bit of like an obsessive mind when i get into things i go pretty deep into things yeah kind of tunnel vision yeah it just really like i think about it all the time um like when i'm at the gym i'll be like thinking through what i'm trying to learn so but that's not always the right way because that leads to burnout quickly.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Interesting. I mean, sometimes, um, let's see when I'm starting something new.
I, I feel like I've kind of had a little bit of a short attention span lately.
I think a lot of people do. I mean, right.
Like, I mean, and I think social media is to blame, right?
Like, so sometimes I'll think, you know, Oh, I want to learn about Yeah.
Like, I don't know, even like getting inspiration for things like furniture or or parenting things or language things.
I follow different language accounts. I mean, you know, and you jump between things so much and it becomes hard.
So honestly, that's that's my honest answer. i think i think that's accurate now for a lot of a lot of like social media just pulls us in a thousand different directions doesn't it and i think what the mind wants sometimes is to be immersed in that in that refreshing way focus on one thing but that's what we're getting into today because sometimes it's actually better to start slow with something and then ramp it up right michelle right right because i mean whatever it is music learning an instrumental language some a new program at work whatever it is it can be really exciting to start it um and then yeah like you said it might lead to burnout so we are going to talk about that today but guys if you haven't already head over to business english episode 207 was how to teach a process using the passive voice in english yeah this year this month or last month the last few months we've given you guys some amazing episodes on good hard language skills when you're onboarding someone new at your work in english or you're just informally helping someone out explaining a process an sop standard operating procedure this is what we need for business english so go over and get that guys good stuff definitely what else michelle all right All right.
So let's get into some expressions about this.
So we're going to talk about, you know, this idea of going big right away.
Actually, that makes me think of that expression, go big or go home.
You hear that? Go big or go home. Of course.
I know that. Yeah. Yeah. So today we're going to talk about our thoughts on this and give you some useful idioms to go along with that idea.
So sometimes you do kind of need to, I guess, you mentioned like ramp it up.
Yeah, ramp it up. And the opposite of that, I would say, is to reel it in.
Oh, ramp it up, reel it in. I like it. Ramp it up, reel it in.
Oh, this could be a good title. So sometimes you need to know how to reel it in and kind of take it easy.
So these are really what this is about. So what's the first expression?
All right. So the first one is start small.
So this is intuitive what it means, guys.
My advice is to start small. Don't bite off more than you can chew.
Right. There's always time to do more as you get more comfortable.
And of course, like we said before, this is kind of the path to not burning out and learning.
And, you know, for example, we are going to be getting started here at All Ears English with Monday.com.
We're going to try out using a task management product.
Yeah. And so. Coming soon, Michelle. So we have to learn this.
There's a bit of a learning curve, to be honest.
And it can be very overwhelming if we say this week we have to fully master Monday.com.
Yeah. Instead, we have to just watch a few tutorials and gradually get on there.
Okay. Yeah. So good example. Yeah. Yeah, it is true.
And you know, when you're starting a job or starting anything at work, it can be extremely overwhelming.
And like, how are you going? I mean, what is that?
That other expression? How do you eat an elephant?
Right? What is it? How do you eat an elephant?
One bite at a time? Yeah, I know. One bite at a time.
I think it's like, I think that's the expression.
But it is true. Like everything can look so incredibly overwhelming if you look at it. the big picture.
But when you make smaller, more manageable goals, when you start small, it starts to feel a little bit better.
Yeah. And I would just say I could see today's episode being super useful for you guys if you are a project manager or a product manager because it's your job actually to break up a project.
Your boss gives you a goal. For example, we're going to publish xyz course for example b2 fluency we're going to publish it on april 1st so now our project manager is going to go and break up the task into small pieces and maybe deliver this kind of language as they're introducing tasks and assignments right yeah yeah perfect example yeah that's definitely useful so the next one thing you could say is baby steps do you ever say this lindsay Hmm.
Yeah, I do. I do. I like it. It's kind of encouraging, you know, uh, what, what, where do we go here?
Have you ever, have you ever seen the movie?
What about Bob? That one? I actually don't think I got to see.
Yeah. Oh, you should see it. It's very funny.
Um, like some, maybe not PC things for this day and age, but like came out in the nineties, right?
It was a nineties. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, there's, yeah, but, um, but it's very good.
It's with, um, Richard Dreyfuss and Bill Murray, um, So two amazing actors.
But yeah, one of the things is that he's he writes a book called Baby Steps.
But yeah, so they say that a lot. So an example of this could be you don't have to learn everything on the first day.
Baby Steps. So you can just say it like that.
Like you don't need to say, you need to take baby steps.
We can also just throw it in like baby steps, baby steps, you know?
Yeah. And I think we've talked before, maybe with Aubrey, I'm not sure.
We've done some episodes on like how to, I think we did a guest episode on how to feel out whether a new job will have the right company culture for you.
As you're onboarding at a new job, guys, these are some of the things that you want to hear from your company.
They should have a clear onboarding plan, a checklist for you, videos you're studying, things you're doing.
And it should be assuming that you're going to gradually onboard.
You're not going to learn everything in a day.
It's very overwhelming, right, Michelle?
Very overwhelming. We've talked about that together.
Yeah. Yeah. And at some point things become second nature, but at first it's like, what is the context?
You need a lot of context. So have patience for yourself.
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Love the next one. I like it. All right.
Do you, have you, have you been in the pool recently?
Oh no, I haven't been swimming in a pool in a while, but I like the imagery here.
I love, you know, using English that builds imagery, you know, because it's very clear what it means.
Yeah. What is it? What is it? Dip your toe in the water.
Yeah. So for example, I'm not that comfortable going all in on this, but I'd like to learn a little, you know, dip my toes in the water.
Yeah. Yeah. Do you think I was thinking as I was writing this, do people usually say dip my toe or toes?
I think we dip my toe. I think it's a toe.
I think it's one toe. Dip my toe in the water.
One toe. Because my image is that I'm standing in front of like a pool or a lake and I'm just putting one toe in because if I put two toes in, I'll fall.
I don't know. Yeah, but in some ways it's harder to put just one toe in because I feel like that's harder to balance.
True, true, true, true. Yes. I digress. whatever but yes it's true i do think it is dip my toe in the water so that's just to get a little bit of taste give it a little bit of a try yeah and i think the difference between this one and the next one we're going to share with our listeners is that this one can go for really learning anything not just for work tasks right just dip your toe in the water just take one violin lesson just give it a try right but the next one i feel like is really related to your career do you think so I think so.
I think it's more suitable for that. Um, but it's also about, about feet, um, get your feet wet.
So either, so in one we're doing just the toe, but here we have the both, we have the feet in.
So what is that to get your feet wet? yeah so just to get a little experience and there's another one that we don't have here but maybe we'll do a bonus on it again also having to get your foot in the door uh right a little bit different though that would be a different meaning wouldn't it yeah we'll do that another day so all right we'll stick with this one get your feet wet i'm going to in to meet my co-workers on tuesday and just to get my feet wet um it will be good to have an orientation day So I hear people using this a lot as they're coming out of college or university.
I need to get my feet wet in the banking industry, so I'm going to be an intern.
I mean, that's the reason that people do internships.
You did a bunch of internships, Michelle.
Oh, yeah. A whole boatload. You did a lot of internships.
Probably to get your feet wet in different industries, right?
Yeah. Yes, exactly. Exactly. So yeah, um, I mean, Lindsay, so do you think in general, like this is the way to live?
Is there ever a time when it's better to just go all in?
Or is it always better to kind of start small?
I guess it just depends on the situation. i think until if we're just checking something out and seeing if we like it or if we want to commit to it then that's okay but once we've made it maybe we choose like a timeline or a certain point at which we'll decide this is what i'm going for and then i think it's the time to go all in because it is concerning i i agree with you michelle social media pulls us in a thousand different directions so if we're floating through live and we never really find something to go into super deep it could be unsatisfying Yeah, it's true.
It's true. So good, good point. Let's do let's do a role play here to try these out.
So here we go. Lindsay, here you are frustrated that you aren't learning a design program faster at work and I'm your friend. nice okay i just don't get it i'm working three hours a day after hours to learn this why can't i get it lindsay you have to just start small rome wasn't built in a day i know i have to crawl before i can walk but i just want to be good at this already baby steps one thing at a time can you just focus on getting good at the first activity before you move on yeah i could do that get my feet wet Exactly.
Dip your toe in the water. You'll get there.
Thanks, Michelle. I think it's tough because anytime that we're learning something new, our brains need a win early on.
Yes, that's true. Yeah. Do you have any experience with that?
Well, no, I mean, I mean, I'm thinking, I mean, I'm thinking about, well, our listeners.
I mean, I think that like you need to have a good experience like to language in order to feel like, OK, I'm getting the momentum going.
I'm also thinking about a musical instrument like they say guitar is awesome.
I think they say, what is the expression?
It's the easiest instrument to learn, but the hardest to master.
So like, you know, with the guitar, one good thing is you can learn a song with two or three chords and, you know, feel really good about yourself.
So I think you have to start that way. Yep, you need to win.
Yeah, the brain needs a win. Like with Monday.com, learningmonday.com, just last night I had my first win.
So nerdy, right? But I figured out that we have to combine three automations to make one board do what we want it to do.
And that was like a light bulb moment. And I was like, yes, I get it.
This is awesome. But leading up to that, I was starting to get really frustrated because I hadn't had a win yet.
It was all an uphill climb. So this is important for our listeners.
If you're designing learning programs or you're training, you need to structure those wins.
Yeah. yeah right yeah exactly yeah that's a good point gosh wow we have used so many idioms expressions today like an uphill punch today michelle yeah packing a punch needle and uh uh reeling it in ramping it up oh my gosh all of them this episode is gold today gold yeah lots of stuff in here so let's go through the role play So you are frustrated.
So you said you didn't get it. And then I said, Lindsay, you just have to start small, right?
But then I did, this is a bonus, Rome wasn't built in a day.
Lindsay, that's a common one, right? For sure, for sure.
And this would also be useful talking to like an entrepreneur as they're starting a company and maybe they're not having that win quite yet.
It's very, very hard to start a company.
So saying maybe a partner of an entrepreneur would say that to that person too, right?
Yeah, exactly. Yes. And then we added in a bonus for today.
I said, I know I have to crawl before I can walk.
So we'll talk about that one another day.
Maybe we'll save that for another episode.
A similar idea. Yeah, similar idea. And then I said, baby steps, one thing at a time.
Nice. And then I said, yeah, I could do that.
Just get my feet wet. And I added adjust there too.
It just felt more natural, Michelle. Okay, good, good, good.
And then I said, exactly. Dip your toe in the water.
So that's just one toe. Lindsay, if you could choose one toe to dip in the water, which one would it be?
Ah, that's a good question. Probably my right toe because I feel that I'd have more balance for some reason.
I don't know. Okay. Okay. Okay. Good. Sounds good.
I'm glad we found that out. Good to know.
This has been fun, Lindsay. What's the takeaway for today?
Well, this is, oh God, we've gotten a lot of insights today on how people learn, what keeps them motivated, what you want to hear from a new company as you're onboarding.
So I hope that you guys have heard something of gold for you today and you've taken in your own direction.
That's the key. But I do think it's important to know people need a win and we need some patience for ourselves at the beginning.
And then there needs to be a win as we're engineering some kind of learning plan.
Yeah, for sure. So good. All right. Well, good stuff.
And yeah, I'm glad we talked about this.
So have a great day and I will talk to you later.
All right, Michelle. Talk soon. Bye. Bye.
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