This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 2004, Michelle confesses her speaking quirk.
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All have our own language quirks.
That's part of real English.
Today, a listener asks us about one of Michelle's quirks.
Listen in for real podcaster confessions today.
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B-L-A-C-K-F-R-I-D-A-Y.
Hey there, Michelle.
What's shaking?
Hey, Lindsay.
Not too much.
Not too much.
I feel like we start the podcast out like that a lot.
It's like one of our habits, right?
Not too much.
Not too much.
It's easy to fall into speaking habits, right?
It is.
It is.
Do you know, like, do you have any that you've recognized, like any speaking habits that you have?
I don't.
Yeah, I mean, I do a lot of right, right?
When I say something, I look for agreement.
And I think, sometimes I think about how that's really common in other languages too, like in Japanese.
There's a lot of nay at the end of a sentence.
And sometimes I think about that culturally, right?
Like, what does it mean?
So, yeah.
But what about you, Michelle?
Do you have any habits?
I think so.
We're going to talk about it today.
I'm not going to reveal it.
Yeah, a listener pointed out one that I actually know.
I already knew it.
I already knew it.
So yeah, you guys are listening, so you know.
So I actually just said it.
So if you think you know what it is, you should write to us.
Even though we're going to talk about it, let us know if you notice as well.
But before we get into it guys, we want you to, in order to pick up on our language habits, our quirks.
From Lindsay and Michelle.
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Good stuff.
Yes.
Love it.
So I have noticed something that I say a lot on the podcast.
I mean, I'm guilty of saying like, but there's also another one.
And OK, no, just read the listener question.
OK, I'm going to hop into the question.
Here we go.
This is from Kaori, an English learner living in Japan.
We mentioned Japan a few minutes ago.
OK Kaori says I recently started listening to your podcast and I wanted to let you know how much I enjoy it.
Yay.
Awesome.
Your conversations are engaging, lively and authentic, and I find myself completely immersed in them.
Yes.
I've been actively trying to improve my English by mimicking your pronunciation, intonation and accent, and I must say that it's been a very positive experience.
However, uh-oh, there's a however, Michelle.
However, I have noticed that I've started using the phrase you know frequently, which is something I didn't do before.
While it may seem trivial, it does concern me a bit.
I've noticed that you use the phrase you know frequently during the conversation and I was wondering if you could tell me more about why you use it so often.
I hope you don't mind my asking.
I'd like to know how it sounds to native English speakers when someone uses this phrase frequently.
Why do people generally think or what do people think about this speaking habit?
She's apologizing if her question is offensive.
We're not offended, Kaori.
I'm not offended.
Not offended.
No, of course not.
I mean, honestly, our listeners know how we speak better than we do, Michelle.
It's true.
It's true.
Yeah.
And I mean, no, not offended.
Also, Kaori didn't single me out.
However, I know that I do this.
Okay, fair enough.
I mean, I don't know if you do this, but I know I do this.
I think I do.
You think so?
I say something like, you know, like I say it very...
Okay, that's really funny how you just imitated yourself.
And also, what are you talking about?
That doesn't sound like you at all.
Yeah, I do.
I do say it.
I do.
You have to analyze our transcripts, right?
That's really who's going to know best.
That's true.
That's true.
You could get our transcripts, guys, in our app, allersenglish.com slash app.
Or you could subscribe by email, allersenglish.com slash subscribe.
All right, well, let's get into it, Michelle.
So you're saying you do this.
Tell me more.
I know I do it.
Yeah.
So, I mean, this is a quirk.
So what is a quirk, Lindsay?
Well, a quirk is just something that's weird, right?
Yeah.
No offense.
Exactly.
But it's just something that's weird.
It's maybe a habit or something we do that's unique or different, or just doesn't necessarily have much of an explanation as to why.
And for more episodes making fun of me, head over to... No, not really.
It's just I'm pointing out... A whole series...
Episode 1250 was what are Michelle's two worst habits?
And there's another one, Lindsay, a recent one.
Lindsay, you want to tell us about this one?
Aubrey did an interview.
Yeah.
Well, you mentioned earlier using the phrase like, which is something you do, too.
I do it sometimes as well.
And Aubrey actually interviewed Valerie Friedland, who's a linguist, about the benefits of using like
So it's episode 1976, three benefits of like with linguist Valerie Friedland.
So go check that one out because I'm actually really excited to listen to that episode.
Yeah, that sounds great.
I want to hear about why it's okay that I say like.
I know, right?
Okay, so what else?
Okay, so basically, when I have listened to our podcast back, it is something that stands out to me and I have heard it and I know I do it and does it bother me.
A little bit.
Sometimes I'm like, why do I say that so frequently?
What's interesting is I don't I don't have recordings of myself just speaking all the time outside of this podcast, but I don't think I use it as much outside of on the podcast.
Oh.
And I was thinking about why and I think I use it a lot on the podcast because I use it when I'm trying to explain something, or maybe I'm trying to relate to you or to our listeners during the show.
Mm-hmm.
I'm imagining it's something like this.
I may say something like.
I was at a party and you know there was this friend of mine who didn't show up on time, you know.
So I was frustrated.
Yeah, you know.
Well, I think part of it must be because this show is 100 percent.
Well, OK, we do have an outline.
We have a prep here.
We know exactly what we're going to talk about, but we don't have any scripts.
We're unscripted.
Right.
So we're just an out.
We have an outline, but we don't have a script.
Most of the many podcasts out there, you're going to hear a teacher reciting a script.
And obviously that kind of podcast is not going to have any you knows or any likes, but it's not real English.
That's true.
And I think these fillers are very, very common.
And another example I could imagine, I was trying to write my own you knows, but here we go.
I think, you know, there are so many areas of English that are important.
Yeah, I mean, I guess I could see how it could be distracting to some people if they focus on it.
I was recently, where did I was recently? listening to someone speak somewhere.
And now I can't even remember where it was.
But when the person first started, I realized they had their own language quirk.
I think it was um, very frequent use of um, and it was very distracting.
And then I started to listen to the content and I completely forgot about it.
They hooked me with the content, you know?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, I have a friend.
I don't I don't even I feel bad even saying what it is.
So I won't say what she says.
But I have a friend who repeats like a word, over and over and over, basically meaning like oh, I understand.
I understand.
Basically something like that.
And I do I do notice that.
But like as time has gone on, kind of what you said, I don't really notice it anymore.
I guess I got used to it or just doesn't stand out as much.
Yeah.
So I think that we can make a conscious choice.
It's almost like we have to choose to focus on the content itself.
And this show is spontaneous.
It's lively.
You guys listen because you love it.
So most of the time, we're going to be able to move past that because again, it's real English, Michelle.
Okay.
What else, Michelle?
What else can we tell Kaori here about this?
I mean, what should we know?
Well, Kaori mentioned that she's mimicking us.
So this made me think a lot about our listeners and how they might pick up some of our speaking habits if they listen a lot right.
And some of the things that they pick up, I mean, that's great.
But there are also imperfections, like we said, because we are people.
So we might repeat something a lot and it's not going to always be perfect the way we talk.
A connection, not perfection, right?
Yeah, exactly.
But so I mean, I think one of my main takeaway is this idea is that make sure you listen to many different mediums and adopt many different ways of speaking and make your own.
So listen to all there's English, but also watch TV shows.
Also listen to podcasts that aren't necessarily teaching English.
Give yourself a variety so that you're not going to say, like end up, just like becoming Lindsay and me.
Right, right, right, right, right.
I mean, there's pros and cons to every format of a podcast, right?
I mean what we.
The pro of the way yeah, the con is, maybe sometimes we do use like, we use um, but the pro of that, the flip side is that you get to see how English is spoken in the moment.
Like you get to see what it sounds like when we talk over each other.
And you can't have, you can't have Right.
You can't have an episode completely without ums or likes because that's unrealistic.
And with the interesting way of the dynamic, real, spontaneous English is just going to happen.
Pretty much everyone inserts, I would venture to say.
Most American English speakers insert occasionally a like and um and uh.
This is just these are filler words like it is normal.
I just did it like it's normal English.
OK, so you kind of have to choose.
Like, do you want to learn robotic scripted English or do you want to learn natural English?
Give and take, you know?
Yeah.
I mean, I think that if I say you know, you know, you know, all the time, over and over, I mean distracting.
Yeah, that can be distracting.
Even if it's, you know, I just did it.
Yeah, don't get caught in that loop.
Even if it's a normal thing to say and people use it.
We all have our quirks.
So I remember a student used to tease me in a fun way because I always said, excellent.
Or Dan used to tease me because I always used to say, that's hilarious.
Yeah, that's hilarious.
That's funny.
I would say that there's a difference between the kind of language that you guys are learning now with us and presentation English or leading a meeting English, which we teach you those things in our courses.
You know what I mean?
You're not going to stand up on a podium presenting to your entire company and insert lots of likes and ums.
You're going to consciously drop those.
You're going to raise your register for the professional business world.
Right?
Exactly.
And I also noticed that I say, like, right, right, you know, went to agree with you.
Or I say, absolutely.
So, guys, let me know if I say this.
That's okay.
Everyone has their habits.
Everyone has... I mean, this is how we show our personality in English.
But it's true.
When you are giving a presentation at work something more formal or in a job interview, you do want to make a conscious effort to avoid as many fillers.
However...
I actually sometimes I've had where students are practicing job interviews, job interviews techniques with me and they end up just sounding very robotic because they've memorized their answer.
And it's so obvious.
And one of the ways, even if you do have it memorized a little bit or you've practiced, so you naturally memorize, you know, whatever you practice a little bit.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Sometimes I tell them to put in an uh or pause or add an um.
I mean, because it is natural, but not all, not constantly.
Right, right, right.
Even the IELTS exam.
I mean, you guys should go over and check out IELTS Energy Podcast to learn more about this, but...
I'm pretty sure that when it comes to IELTS, they really want to hear natural English.
So if you occasionally insert an uh, you know, that is not the worst thing in the world.
What does kill your score is if you've memorized something or if you're not using a range of vocabulary.
We're using a range between formal and informal depending on where you are in the test.
So the fact that an English test is asking you to use casual stuff, maybe it's okay to throw in an uh occasionally, right?
So...
That's real English because IELTS wants to know that you speak real English.
Right.
And, you know, you know, you know, you know, but it's true.
You want to show that you can speak real English and, you know, is filler.
Sometimes it can be when you're searching for a word and sometimes just trying to relate.
Maybe you think the person knows what you're trying to express, but aren't sure.
That's what the episode by Valerie Friedland was all about.
So check out that episode.
I can't wait to check it out.
I heard hints of it.
But she talked about how using like is actually a tool to relate.
And it actually makes people feel closer to each other.
It's really interesting.
Yeah.
That is interesting.
That is interesting.
Okay, I'm excited to hear that episode.
But just an example, Lindsay, can you give one more example of how you might use, you know...
Yeah, I'm a little bit lost in our notes here.
Okay, we're here.
We're right.
But you're right below it.
Here we go.
Here we go.
I want to dress with green, you know, sparkles on it and blue, you know, those giant sequins.
So here, I don't know.
I don't feel like it's quite as fillery.
I think it's showing the person, you know what I'm talking about.
It's the one with sparkles on it.
So that's actually not so much a filler.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Right.
So, you know, can be used just in a different kind of way.
And if you guys are interested in a follow up to this, we can really dive deep into these differences.
But let us know, because sometimes, you know, can have a different meaning and not just a filler.
Yeah.
Exactly.
Exactly.
And like as well.
So, you know, guys, we what's next, Michelle?
Now I'm thinking about it.
See, that's the thing, right?
We want you guys to have natural English.
And so we don't think too much about this stuff because we want to be authentic for you.
Right.
We want you to feel like you're sitting, like Michelle and I are in a cafe in New York City at a table catching up, and you're sitting right next to us.
And that's going to be the closest window into real English you're ever going to get.
Anywhere.
And so if we start to think about this too much, we get a little self-conscious and it kind of messes up the spontaneity of things.
Right.
That's true.
So guys, if you think, just to start to wrap it up today, if you think you are picking up on someone speaking habits today too much you're, you're gonna turn into a little lindsey or a little michelle.
Um, you know, and it's not the worst, you know yeah, it's not the worst thing, it's not the worst thing.
But if you want some variety, just you know, make sure that you do listen to multiple ways of speaking.
Um, listen to allers english watch watch, friends.
You know all the different things.
Yeah, just to make sure you're getting tons and tons of input.
Um, and what's another thing you could do, lindsay?
I mean, you can dissect how someone speaks and try to watch yourself when you say it, obviously as Kauri has been doing.
Right.
But you can also pause.
We can get used to pausing before we want to say a word.
And, you know, instead of putting the um or the like, how about just a pause?
I think that's true.
There's nothing wrong.
I think a lot of times people are afraid to do that pause because they think oh, maybe the person will think I don't know what I'm saying or I just get the wrong impression.
But I actually feel like a pause is very powerful.
Oh, pauses can be incredibly powerful.
I love it.
I mean, what's the bottom line here?
For me, this is so clearly it's about connection, Michelle.
It's about connection because there has to be a goal.
For our listeners.
Guys, if your goal is to be a linguist, Maybe it's another type of content that you should consume, right?
But if you want to connect with human beings in front of you in your life, in English, a show like this is really what's going to show you how to do that.
That's true.
That's true.
We're speaking real English as if we're sitting down for lunch with each other.
That's what we... We don't want it to be that we're being robotic or being textbook.
That's the whole point of the show.
So...
You picked up on it.
Don't worry, not offended at all.
I actually thought it was kind of cute and funny that it was brought to my attention.
Yeah, that's why I did the episode.
If I was offended, I would have said, I don't want to do that episode.
I'm embarrassed.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I love that.
I love that.
So I thought this was a great topic.
Yeah, I like the idea here.
I think what would make a great course idea that we could build a course on this would be to build a course where we show you guys the casual version of a conversation and the presentation version of that same conversation, a more buttoned up version, without the likes and the ums.
Because really what we want you guys to be able to do is move between the two.
At work in that presentation, you're in the buttoned up version.
And then after work at happy hour, you're still with your coworkers.
So you're somewhat set, but you're more semi-formal.
You're not casual.
You're semi-formal.
And then we go down to casual and we go home with our friends.
How can we move between the three?
And I think that is exactly what brings people from that intermediate to that real, real advanced level the ability to seamlessly switch between these kinds of registers.
Exactly.
Exactly.
I love it.
And final thought, Michelle, human connection.
That's the only thing that matters.
I love it.
So good.
Love it.
Okay, guys, thank you for hanging out.
Thank you for that question.
I really did like it.
This was a lot of fun to talk through this.
All right.
Good stuff, Michelle.
I'll talk to you soon.
Have a good one.
Bye.
Bye.
Bye.
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