This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 1781 why native English conversations aren't linear and how to follow them.
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Your textbooks have taught you incorrectly.
Native English conversations never follow a straight line.
Today, learn what natives say when they are about to veer away from the main point.
Recognize and use these phrases to connect better.
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Hello, Michelle.
How's it going?
Hey, Lindsay.
Good, good.
I am so excited to be here today to talk to you.
We have a fun topic for today, don't we?
We do.
We do.
We do.
Absolutely.
I'm excited because today's topic is going to be so incredibly real, Michelle.
Yeah.
Definitely, definitely.
You know what?
I had a great weekend.
Side note, I have to ask you something later about one of our episodes.
So just remind me.
Michelle, are you over there taking notes or something?
What is happening?
What's going on?
Going on, i'm really confused.
I just said side note, but you know what?
I actually i'm not taking notes, but we're gonna talk more about that uh, today.
So this, this expression, so this is a lot of fun so uh, but before we get into notes and side notes and all the different notes, We want to thank everyone who has reviewed us.
Right, Lindsay?
Yeah, I want to call out a couple of special listeners who wrote us reviews and rated us wherever they listen to podcasts right,
That could be Apple Podcasts.
It could be CastBox, Google Podcasts, Spotify, wherever it is.
I want to thank you.
So Amal Amer, Janok Song from Korea, Matab from Iran.
Thank you to Waleed Taha from Egypt.
Wow, that's fantastic.
Listeners from Egypt.
Shaok from Saudi Arabia.
And special thanks to Omid Rajay from the United Kingdom.
All of these listeners took the time to leave us a rating and review, and we appreciate you guys.
So we want to know what you think of the show.
Michelle, what should they do?
Guys, rate us and review us, right?
We want to hear from you.
And you know what?
You can also, in your review, you could also ask a question that might be answered on the show.
Yeah, because we always read the reviews.
We always see them, guys.
That's a great way to get our attention.
Leave us a good question though, right, Michelle?
We need good questions from our listeners.
Yes.
Good specific questions that yeah, it's going to be.
It's always great to get the listener questions.
I love them.
Absolutely.
Okay.
So let's get back into this.
So you're saying, you said side note in the middle of your phrase here, and you're not taking notes.
So I want to know what's going on.
I'm so confused.
Okay.
Okay.
So yeah guys, today we're going to be talking about notes and idioms dealing with notes that are this is really good for transitions or like interruptions.
So we said side notes.
So what I mean?
When I told you oh, we're doing something about side note today, you were like oh, that's really good.
Right?
What made you, why did you...
Why did you say that?
Why did you feel that way?
Because I think we're all, you know, in a place of distraction.
And I think as a society, we're starting to learn to think laterally.
Like we move.
It's not so linear anymore.
A lot of us are thinking...
About one thing, you and I are talking about something and then boom, something else comes up.
Oh, side note.
And then you go back to the other thing you were talking about.
We're all kind of distracted.
And this is so useful because we don't speak in that linear way as native speakers.
Right.
Right.
Oh, absolutely.
Yeah, we do not speak in a linear way.
And I think it's important to realize that, so that when you're listening to someone, you know that okay, things can change.
Boom, boom, boom, very quickly.
And I think that's the problem with textbooks is that they teach you English in a linear way.
And that's why we have our group conversation program at our Coffee and Conversations program Michelle, is that we want to show you how to be nonlinear, especially in a group.
And that is hugely important, guys.
But this is a key vocabulary builder piece for being nonlinear in your conversations.
Exactly.
Exactly.
So I mean, basically what happens is you're talking about something and then you stop and you say side note, and it has to be kind of like that, right.
Like, yeah, right.
And then you switch to the other topic.
And then maybe maybe you go back to the first one, right?
Um, so Lindsay, so do you use this in your conversations?
All the time.
I was just thinking the other day Michelle, that we should talk about this on the podcast to give our listeners a truly high level piece of English.
It doesn't get more high level than this, actually.
Awesome.
Awesome.
So would you like to read the example for us?
All right, here we go.
I have to be there at 6.30 AM.
Side note, remind me to tell you the story of the traffic I got into yesterday.
Oh, anyway, I'm not looking forward to that day.
So I've gone to describing what I have to do, maybe the next day, and then a totally side conversation about the traffic from yesterday and then back to what's coming up the next day.
Right, Michelle?
Right.
Right.
Exactly.
Wow.
It's interesting.
It's interesting how we do that.
We just stick side note in there.
But there are other things that we do that also deal with transitions that use the word note.
It's kind of funny.
Lindsay, what's the first one?
Okay, so you could say on a different note, and how is this different from side note?
Michelle, is there a distinction in the meaning?
I think it's a little less choppy.
I feel like side note is when you want to chop things up a little bit more.
This one sounds a little bit more smooth to me.
That doesn't mean better.
Yeah.
You're really kind of warning someone that you're veering off topic entirely, right?
Right, right, right.
It just seems smoother to me.
I don't know why.
Yeah, I would agree with you because you are giving them that heads up.
So, for example, guys on a different note, I think we should talk about our new marketing strategy before the next meeting.
So I'm really changing the topic and then I'm probably going to come back into the original topic after that.
Right, Michelle?
Right.
Exactly.
We're just changing directions for a little bit.
And or you could say instead of on a different note, you could say on another note.
Right.
Similar idea.
On another note, do you know of any good places to get a haircut around here?
Yes.
Or if we want to get Now the next one I really like, because it's not just about changing the topic.
It's about changing the tone of the conversation.
Yeah.
So what is it?
On a more serious note, this is really good if you've been joking around, but then you want people to focus in and become a little more somber or a little more serious.
Things are going to get a little deeper now.
Right, right, right.
Exactly.
I mean, and I think that this one, this one makes me think of things like toasts or speeches, right?
So for example, if you're giving a toast and you say, Brandon isn't a perfect guy.
We all know how terrible his taste in clothes is.
On a more serious note.
Oh, sorry.
No, sorry.
Keep going, Michelle.
Keep going.
On a more serious note, he is perfect for Randy and vice versa.
Yeah, because typically in an American wedding you'd have maybe certain members of the bridal party or the groom's party giving a speech.
And typically part of that speech is kind of roasting someone a little bit, right?
Making fun of them, poking fun of them, saying what you what's... quirky about them.
And then at some point you're going to change the tone.
It's going to become deeper and more profound.
Right, Michelle?
Right.
It's like you joke around about them and then you say like, oh, but no, really?
They're a beautiful couple, blah, blah, blah.
So you might say on a more serious note or something like that.
Basically, I mean, I think you can pretty much say on an X note, right?
So you could say, like, put an emotion or a...
You know something there, like on a funnier note or on a strange note, or you know, just to kind of capture the mood that you might be changing.
But on a more serious note, I think is very common.
Yeah, you can fill in the blank here, guys.
Once you've already gotten used to using a different note, another note, the standard ones, now you can have fun with it and fill in the blank on a weirder note, on a funnier note, on a, you know, just fill in the blank with an adjective.
That's fun.
Exactly, exactly.
So that's kind of how you do it with that, with filling in the blank.
So guys, also we want you to check out All Ears English episode 575, which is about transitioning also in topics.
So speaking of natural ways to transition in English.
So check that one out.
That's from way, way back, but it's a good one.
So yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, these are the skills you guys need to really connect in that group conversation in the office when everyone starts speaking in that weird way that doesn't seem to make any sense.
They're talking about tomorrow.
Now they're going back to yesterday and now they're back in today.
This is real English, Michelle.
This is what happens.
Right.
Right, right.
It's true.
It's true.
So we have to be aware of how to do it, how to listen for it is very important.
So should we give some role play examples so we can hear how it would be?
Yeah, I think this is going to be really helpful for our listeners.
Here we go.
Here's the first one.
So I think we should play it safe and reserve the room for about 50 people.
Sounds good.
On a different note, are you booking the cars or should I?
Okay.
So here we're planning logistics of something, maybe a wedding or maybe some big event, right?
And what does it mean to play it safe?
I'm going to put that as a bonus to you.
Yeah, that's going to be a bonus for today, guys.
Great bonus, meaning we should make sure we compensate for all possibilities.
We want to be conservative, meaning we think only 40 people are coming, but there may be 50.
So we're going to get a bigger room, right?
Michelle, is that how you see that?
Right.
Yeah, exactly.
That's exactly how I was thinking of it.
So to play it safe.
But you said on a different note, are you booking the cars or should I?
So very good stuff.
And just to keep in mind, guys, you don't have to say this every time you transition topics, right?
No, no, no.
So we don't want to hear six times in a two-minute conversation when you're planning logistics of something right.
You don't have to do it.
It's just when it feels natural to let them know you're about to shift gears.
That's a good time to do it.
But after that, for the next point, you could just say, oh, and what about this?
How about the food?
And are you going to be taking care of the food or am I?
Okay?
Does that make sense, Michelle?
I just want to make sure.
No, I'm glad that you brought that up.
Guys, don't overuse.
Don't overuse it.
Don't overuse this one, but it's very useful too.
All right, let's do another one.
Okay, here we go.
Can you help me move this?
Of course.
You know I have strong muscles.
Side note, have you seen the new gym on 37th?
I haven't.
I'll check it out.
So that's a very random, you know, veering the conversation, a right turn, right?
Right.
But it happens.
It happens all the time.
Constantly.
Actually, I think about this a lot when I'm in groups.
Um, you know, over the weekend we were skiing with a couple of people.
We were in a house and I was thinking about how the conversation was moving and there was like two or three or four topics going at the same time, layered on top of each other.
I'd say two or three, you know, politics and this and someone's business.
And then the game we are playing, right.
We're layering things.
So guys be ready for this.
Oh, right.
Yeah, absolutely.
Very important skill.
Um, okay.
So yeah, you said side note, have you seen the new gym on 37th?
So yeah, we went totally.
Yeah. somewhere else with this, but yeah.
All right.
So here's the next one.
I think you should take out that part.
Why?
I'm teasing, but then I say on a more serious note.
Okay.
Let me read it.
On a more serious note, the company has been having trouble in the past few months.
That is serious.
Yeah.
Well, it will be fine, but it's important to bring up.
Okay.
So what happened here?
So I'm kind of practicing for some sort of speech, right?
Or a presentation at work.
And maybe you can kind of infer that maybe I'm talking about making some jokes and then having to transition to something more serious.
Okay.
So you were kind of saying that maybe my joking is a little much and you're saying, take that part out.
And I said- why I'm teasing.
But then I say on a more serious note, and then you read it.
Okay, let me read it on a more serious note.
The company has been having trouble, right?
So it's this transition here.
OK, got it.
So guys, the part that's not here, that you have to just imagine is in the role play, is before that we're teasing.
Maybe you're again roasting your boss, our boss.
Right.
Let's imagine that.
Or you're making fun of the colleagues or you're.
Poking fun at something or teasing someone and just having a good time.
And then you're going to get more serious and say, on a more serious note, our company is has been struggling the last few months.
Right.
So emphasis.
Exactly.
Exactly.
So on a more serious note.
So.
Wow, a lot of these have notes.
I mean, all of these have notes in them.
But yeah, I think it's very useful to transition in between topics over topics.
What do you think, Lindsay?
A hundred percent.
Again, the takeaway here for me today, guys, is natives do not speak in a linear way.
And if you want to connect, you really do need to be ready for that.
The textbooks have taught you wrong.
The textbooks have shown you a linear way of speaking.
Natives never do that.
So you need these tools.
Please use these tools or more importantly, listen for them.
That's how you know that's going to be like your benchmark, your signal, your flag.
Okay, they're going somewhere else.
They're probably going to come back here, but they're going somewhere else.
Okay, absolutely.
Yeah, yeah.
Good way to sum it up, Lindsay.
Yeah, try these out.
Not all at once.
But this is good stuff.
Good stuff.
So anyway, guys, well, thank you for listening.
Lindsay, thanks for chatting with me today.
Yeah.
Great stuff, guys.
And if you loved this episode, especially for high level learners of English guys, go over and write us a review.
Let us know what you learned today and ask a question, a follow-up question that we could cover in another episode.
All right, Michelle, I'll see you soon.
All right.
Bye, Lindsay.
Bye.
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