This is the Business English Podcast Episode 290.
Are you a swifty? Why you should talk about it at work.
Welcome to the Business English Podcast from all ears English.
Get the English skills you need to achieve your dreams in global business.
For a presentation, a meeting, or your office party, this is real Business English with your favorite American hosts, Lindsay and Michelle coming to you from New York City and Colorado USA.
Do you want to feel more confident with your Business English?
Learn with Lindsay and Michelle three days a week.
Hit follow now to make sure that you don't miss an episode of Business English Podcast from all ears English.
Hit the follow button in your podcast player now.
Thanks for listening. Hello Michelle, what's going on?
How you doing? I'm good.
Lindsay, are you a swifty?
I'm really not a swifty Michelle.
Are you a swifty? I'm not.
I mean, I think she's fine.
I mean, I appreciate everything that she's done and I respect her, of course, but I don't know all of her songs.
I know the big ones. But what about Beyoncé fan?
Or who is your favorite if you'd have to choose Taylor's or Beyoncé?
I don't listen to either of them to be honest.
I think some of Taylor's with songs are a little catchy, but I neither can I choose Credence Clearwater Revival.
That's funny. Can I choose Tom Petty instead?
I just, I don't, yeah, neither of these.
I just, I can't, I just don't, I'm not.
Not into it. I don't know.
I think Taylor's with music is a little, this is a hot take.
I think it's a little wordy.
And I can't take 100% credit for that take either.
That is something I read.
Oh, yeah. And in the New York Times, there was a critique of her music and saying that like, she's very lyric heavy and I agree with that.
When I listen, I, there was a lot of lyrics happening here and it feels overwhelming, almost to the extent that we lose the music aspect of it.
Oh, you know what I mean?
Yeah. But that is a very hot take I know and we'll have a lot of listeners pushing back.
So, but that's okay. We all have our own thoughts.
Why are we even talking about this?
Isn't this the business English podcast?
Why are we talking about this?
It's a great question, Michelle.
I mean, let's first ask our listeners to hit follow on the show for more business English episodes.
Guys hit that follow button and let's see why we're talking about it.
I mean, why is it? Yeah. Okay, well, so I actually came across an article about this topic and I wanted to discuss it today.
We're not going to share too much from the article, just the premise and we're going to put our own spin and spin on it and teach you some vocabulary.
So, but this article, I thought was interesting when I found it.
It's from cnbc.com. And the name of the article is, the title of the article is The Big Boss is wearing friendship bracelets.
How the universal language of Taylor Swift and Beyonce is helping out work.
So this was interesting.
Yeah. Friday, May 24, 2024 by Alex Herring and Hayden Field.
So I thought we got to talk about this because you don't typically think about Taylor Swift for work.
Yes. But this article is basically talking about how Taylor Swift and Beyonce have brought co-workers together and it even talks about how it could be even if they're from different generations.
So people maybe in their early 20s, love Taylor Swift or Beyonce and then maybe people in their 50s have kids who do when they become, because the parents get into it if their kids like it.
Of course. Of course. 100%.
So it does span across Gen Z, whatever the generation is before Gen Z.
I don't think I have a name yet.
Is it alpha or something?
I don't know. And then millennials.
And yeah, it does, you know, someone like Taylor Swift or Beyonce would span across all of those generations, which is amazing.
Yeah. We're just moving the baby boomers out.
So I'm feeling like more of a baby boomer in this case.
But. Yeah. Well, and the other thing is that it mentions that these are, everything is so intense in the world.
And these things are, these topics are pretty benign.
You know, they're not politics.
It's nothing to controversial.
And also people, particularly these two have really have strong opinions about them.
They, if you're a Taylor Swift fan, you are a Taylor Swift fan.
So. And then you might probably have emotions.
You're excited to talk about them.
Yeah. I've never, I don't know.
I mean, maybe in the past, there have been artists that people identified within the same way.
But maybe it actually is a matter of the division that we see just in general.
And people cling to things like they identify with things, not in a negative way.
We need to have someone or something to identify with now.
Whereas before, you know, like they're a bit like a wreath of Franklin.
They've been big, famous artists that people really love.
But did they identify with these artists in the same way that they are to the sports team?
Yeah. It's a different.
And I do wonder if that's because we're just so things are so heated right now in society.
It's happening. It's all over the world that we're divided, you know, it's interesting.
Yeah. So somebody could, somebody might have a totally different political opinion, but they might have the same taste of music or whatever.
So and Lizzie, this actually reminded me just a couple episodes ago, on episode 283 of this podcast, we did Manic Monday, how native speakers reference music lyrics and conversation.
So this is really a huge broader topic about how pop culture works itself into your office, right?
Yeah, 100%. Music is a very important part of our lives.
And we bring our whole selves to work.
And so that's it right there.
I love that. Yeah. Yeah.
So check out that episode right, Michelle.
Right. Right. Yep. Do that.
So yeah, it can build this connection, especially if people are huge fans.
So for example, Taylor Swift is famous for those friendship bracelets.
I don't know anything about that.
I'm sure. Okay. So I think I don't know exactly either, but I think it's those ones.
I mean, I even have some that say like, like, boy, mom, girl, mom, mom, you know, they just like have messages on them.
And I think that's Taylor Swift thing.
That's not why I wear them.
But I think it's just kind of this style they'll have her songs on it or Swift D or something like that.
I think that's what it is.
But so if somebody is wearing maybe a Taylor Swift friendship bracelet, you know, it could definitely connect you.
But we're going to talk about how can you bring this up at work?
Yeah. And some of these are some of these are ideas from the article, but actually more so, yeah, things that we've come up with, maybe a mix.
So here we go. So I mean, one thing you can do is let's say you're a little bit unsure about how to bring it up.
If you work in a super casual office where people wear casual shirts and everything, you can wear a concert t-shirt.
Yeah, or sometimes I, but I guess offices still do this.
They have like a casual Friday.
Yeah. Yeah, where you can wear jeans and maybe just a branded t-shirt or something that would be a time to maybe do that, right?
Right. Yeah. Right. Yeah.
Exactly. And the other thing you can do is go ahead and talk about it.
So we're going to share what you can do to what can you say to talk about it.
Yeah. Okay. This is good.
So one thing you could say, Michelle, is anyone here is swifty?
And so essentially you're asking, is anyone here a swifty, a Taylor Swift fan?
Right. Yes. Right. And of course, you could replace this with somebody else.
Anyone here, Beyonce fan, you know, some of these articles artists have names for their fans.
Some don't, right? And it depends or another thing you could say is my kids love Taylor Swift.
So I know all of her songs.
Or I love that Beyonce song.
I love that Beyonce is doing country music now, right?
Nice. Yeah, that's right.
So she, that the poker song, right?
That she has that. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. I like it. Great.
It's catchy. It's catchy.
Absolutely. 100% catchy.
Now I have it in my head. I'm going to listen to it after we were caught.
And then another one, I bought tickets for the Beyonce concert.
I can't wait. So you're just floating a statement to see if people are like, oh my gosh, I love Beyonce.
Right? This is how we communicate one way to communicate who we are and what we like.
Yeah. I have seen Beyonce in concert a few times and she is incredible.
Not just tour, but I do. Yeah.
Yeah. I'm more of a Beyonce fan.
I think more of a Beyonce than Taylor Swift.
Yeah. I love that. And then what's another one?
Okay. So this is a common topic for the Taylor Swift tour in particular is what did you wear when you went to the Ares tour?
Because do you hear people talking about that?
Yeah. I have some friends who are big Swifties for sure.
Yeah. Older Swifties I guess in their 30s.
But you know, I've heard of the Ares tour, but I don't know about what you, the people are dressing for different Ares.
Oh. Taylor Swift. So you might, so people are really like working hard and what they wear to these concerts.
I see. So that's a big, if you are a Taylor Swift fan, you know, that would be a good thing to bring up.
Interesting. Even that one.
Okay. Got it. Got it. Yeah.
So I know that she is this summer.
She's having a tour in Europe.
So I think a lot of our European listeners are going to be able to relate to this.
Yeah. Right. Let us know if you're going to her tour.
Yeah. What makes you truly fluent in English?
Understanding the crosstalk.
When native speakers cut each other off or false starts, we capture all of these in our human created transcripts, which you can view in real time as you listen on the Aller's English app.
You can even try different listening speeds now, like 1.4x or 0.9x.
Check it out at allearsenglish.com slash a p p.
Okay. So now, not everyone likes these two artists, right?
But they are definitely universal and safe choices.
So a lot of people do, right, Michelle?
Right. What do you want to say here?
Yeah. Well, the article did mention, you know, that it's like these are very universal choices.
And you know, you don't have to pretend that you like an artist if you don't like them, but choose someone you do like and talk about them.
So you know, let's say somebody says, oh, are you a swifty and you're not, you don't just have to say, no, right?
Don't close. We talk about this a lot.
Just don't cut the conversation off.
You could say something like, oh, I'm not, see, this is, I mean, this is true for me.
I'm not much of a swifty, but I'm a huge pink fan.
So share what you do like.
Yeah, completely. There's something really awful about like misrepresenting your taste because you want to, you want to just be smooth with people, you know what I mean?
By saying that you are a swifty when you're not, it just feels icky.
And you're going to get caught.
You're going to be talking about something and you're going to do that song and that lyric and all these things.
So 100%. I mean, I would say I'm not much of a swifty, but I'm a huge Whitney fan.
Oh, I think I like an older generation of singers.
Like Whitney Houston to me just blows everyone out of the water.
Just boys, the boys, the boys.
Oh, my God. I know. Yeah, you can really, you can take this as an opportunity to push back a little bit, show your independence, show you your individual thinking, right?
That you like someone else and here's who you like.
Okay. Right? I can't say it's good, but I'm more into rock music, right?
So just sharing something about what you do like and seeing what comes from that.
So but Lindsay, I mean, is this professional again?
You know, you want to think about when you discuss this.
Yeah. In general, I think it's more for a lunchtime talker when people are on a break, but not always.
I mean, it could be that everybody's coming in for this meeting and somebody has a friendship bracelet and then everybody talks about it.
And that's what I think is so interesting about.
And this topic that it can come up in these professionals' situations.
Yeah. And I think it just because we're human beings, most meetings everywhere across the world start in a personal way, right?
Yeah. Usually some kind of small talk before every like on Zoom, before everyone gets there, this could easily come up, you know, I was just listening to a Taylor Swift song before we got on the call, our USWifty.
Yeah. Oh, yeah, I went to her concert.
Sure. This could totally happen in those minutes before the meeting, which is something our listeners, I know you guys want to work on.
You're having a handle those minutes before the meeting during the first five minutes, yeah?
Yeah, that's a great point.
That is a very interesting time before those minutes before the meeting starts, because people are kind of putting on two different identities at that point.
You kind of come in maybe a little bit more casually, not always, but and then when you start the meeting, it's almost like you're putting on your hat for for, okay, now I'm in my meeting, I don't know, my meeting, my work identity, right?
Oh my gosh, it's super interesting.
I think we're going to address this more this summer into the fall when we create more business courses for you guys.
That's coming soon, but I think the key here is what can we remember about that person we're talking to that happened to show up at the same time three minutes early or two minutes.
What do you remember what they shared before and what could you ask about?
Hey, how's the move going?
Right? Yeah. Something like that.
Perfect. Yeah, okay. Michelle, should we get into the role play for today?
Yes. All right. So we are co-workers.
All right. Is that a Taylor Swift friendship bracelet?
Yes. Are you a swifty? A big swifty.
My kids love Taylor's web, so I know all of her songs.
Oh, awesome. Did you go to the era's tour?
Of course. Life changing.
You? Oh, not yet. I'm actually flying to Philadelphia to see her tour on Friday night.
What did you went? What did you wear when you went to the era's tour?
Oh, I had so much fun with my outfit.
Let me tell you. Dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, and then it goes on and then half the meeting has gone by right?
Yeah. No. Yeah. So I could see this conversation opening up at the beginning of a meeting at a happy hour and lunchtime in the break room.
All these in-between moments that really do matter at work.
Right, Michelle? Yeah.
Yeah. I mean, you don't necessarily bring it up during the most serious point of the meeting.
You know, you're going to be smart about it and also read the room.
But this is, yeah, just because it's pop culture doesn't mean it's not professional or not in the office.
People talk about it and it can actually help connect you.
I love that concept. I love that.
I love our approach to business English, which is very real, very human guys and always looking for connection.
Love it. All right, Michelle.
Well, thanks for being on the show.
I don't think we went through the music.
We did. We did it. I know we did a whole take away.
And so I'm just excited.
Yeah. All right. So, so first thing I said was, yes, you said this.
Are you a swifty? Right.
And then you said, a big swifty.
My kids love Taylor Swift, so I know all of her songs.
Nice. And then you said, I'm flying to Philadelphia to see the torn Friday night.
What did you wear when you went to the Aristotle?
So you're getting advice or trying to get a sense of what people are doing with this theme, right?
Yeah. And I went into it.
Nice. Well, I guess we've done the take away already, Michelle.
So I guess we did. So that's it.
I mean, we're going to hop off the mic for today, guys, but just keep in mind, like I said, we are human beings at work.
Bring your whole self because people actually kind of won't trust you as much if you're just trying to put on a professional formal tone.
There's someone behind that, right?
And there are moments when it's the right time to reveal that and moments when we maybe want to pull back and become more professional and we're constantly moving between the two, right?
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, that's a huge scale.
Yeah, it's good stuff. All right, Michelle.
I'll see you in the next one.
Take care. Bye. Bye. Thank you for listening to Business English, a podcast just for you, the high achieving global professional.
Want more from all ears English?
Don't miss our biggest and best podcasts with 8 million monthly downloads.
Just search for the all ears English podcasts and hit follow to get four new episodes per week on fluency American culture grammar and so much more or tap the link in the show notes.
Remember, we believe in connection, not perfection when it comes to learning English.
So the all ears English podcast now.
See how that's going on us shots left and right.
I know they know our next play before we even make it.
We got to tighten up off the court too.
Businesses track and sell our personal information.
They don't call us all the time with that data.
Wait, what do you mean? You have to exercise your privacy rights.
If you don't opt out of the sale and sharing of your information, businesses will always have the upper hand.
The ball is in your court.
Get your digital privacy game plan at privacy.ca.gov.
