This is an All Ears English podcast episode 2099.
How to switch topics like a pro for better connections.
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 host, Aubrey Carter, the IELTS whiz, and Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer coming to you from Arizona and Colorado, USA.
To get real-time transcripts right on your phone and create your personalized vocabulary list, try the All Ears English app for iOS and Android.
Start your seven-day free trial at allearsenglish.com forward slash app.
Do you ever get stuck when you want to transition to a new topic in a conversation?
Today, get three winning ways to move to a new topic, while making the person feel heard and building the connection.
This Black Friday, stop piecing together random TikToks and YouTube videos that don't lead anywhere.
Join our 2026 English mastery bundle, a complete nine to 12 month curriculum designed for goal oriented learners like you.
You'll follow a clear, structured path from intermediate to high intermediate and even to advanced fluency, with every course flowing naturally into the next.
No gaps, no guesswork, no searching for extra resources.
Plus, you'll get live speaking practice, community, and teacher support.
It's a done-for-you plan.
Everything you need in one place.
All unlocked with a single one-time investment.
This Black Friday only.
Build your English for the long term.
Start today.
Go to allersenglish.com slash blackfriday to save 50% off the normal price.
Expires at midnight on Friday. allersenglish.com slash blackfriday.
B-L-A-C-K-F-R-I-D-A-Y.
Hey, Aubrey, what's shaking?
Not much.
How are you, Lindsay?
I'm feeling pretty good today.
Sun is shining here on the East Coast.
I'm visiting my family out here.
So all good.
All good.
Awesome.
Do you have anything really fun like planned to do while you're visiting family?
We've done a lot of fun things.
We went to a wedding.
We've been spending a lot of time by the ocean, you know, the seashore.
So it's been good, but we're heading home soon.
So back to Denver, the long road trip.
Nice.
Okay.
So I have a question while you're at that wedding, right?
And yes, chatting with people maybe you haven't seen in a while.
Are you really good at like switching topics in a conversation?
Yeah, I think I'm a pretty good conversationalist.
I'm not the best.
I'm not exceptional, but I think I probably get like an A- in my conversational skills.
I love how you translated that directly to like, are you a good conversationalist?
Because I absolutely agree.
This is one of the biggest signs of a good conversationalist.
If you can transition from one topic to another without awkward pauses, that's huge.
This is a very subtle art and very important that we're talking about this today for our listeners, because if you do it wrong, you could really make people feel like you don't want to be talking to them, like you're distracted.
There's a lot of things that could go wrong here.
Absolutely right, nothing says connection like switching topics naturally.
You guys probably recognize that phrase from a very recent episode 2096, where you and Michelle talked about that phrase.
Nothing says connection like.
So good.
Scroll up if you guys have missed it, and hit follow if you missed it, because you're missing great episodes.
Yeah, just two or three days ago.
Guys, go back and check out that episode.
And while you're doing that, hit that follow button on the All Ears English podcast. podcast.
All right.
Today is from a question from a listener, which I love.
Yes, exactly.
You want to read the question for us, Lindsay?
All right.
Here it goes.
Hello, Lindsay.
This is Azli.
I'd like to ask you how to switch to a different topic.
When I bring up some different topics, I often feel it's too sudden.
Could you please give me some good phrases to change topics smoothly?
I hope my question will help you make an amazing episode.
By the way, I'm a university student and I live in Japan.
All ears English podcast is so popular here in Japan and I know a lot of English learners enjoy listening to it.
Once I was researching podcasts for studying English, I found a tweet saying that All Ears English is the most effective one.
And that was the moment I found you guys, and here I am.
Thank you for making such a great podcast.
Oh, that's amazing.
Thank you, Aisley.
That's fantastic.
I know.
I love this.
It's such a good question.
Like you said Lindsay, this is such an important skill for conversation, but also just thank you for this amazing compliment and the shout out.
I love it.
You know, we love to hear that we're making a difference for people.
Yeah, that's why we do this is for you guys.
It's always about you guys as the listeners.
And what we believe in the world is maybe missing in the world, and that is important is human connection.
So we're looking to get there together.
Good stuff.
Yeah.
So yeah, this absolutely is a vital skill.
Like we said, I love the question.
We are going to share some phrases today that can help you do this naturally.
Switch to another topic.
But first we're going to share a very important pro tip because Aisley Asley was asking.
Sometimes I feel like it's too sudden to bring up a different topic.
And this is a pro tip to let people share about the current topic before switching, right?
Let it run its course.
Have some patience is what you're trying to say.
Right, exactly.
It can feel rude or abrupt to sort of interrupt or switch topics prematurely when you know, and then someone has to say something like oh, can i share?
First i wanted to say this, so that is a skill as well, to like let people have a chance to comment, don't be so excited to jump in and switch topics.
Oh my gosh, i think i'm guilty of this, not so much in the social realm but on business calls, like if i get on customer support, i'll be like question one two three boom boom, boom.
I don't give them a chance to answer question one.
It's so bad.
It must be overwhelming because you're excited to get all of the answers.
And it's the same with conversations.
Like if we think of a new topic and we have something exciting to say.
It's really tempting to cut in or switch topics when there's this art to feeling that people still have something to say about the current topic.
And letting that happen is and holding on to what you want to say right.
Yeah, I'm glad we're saying... I love your pro tips, Aubrey.
I know there's English, by the way.
Our listeners love them.
It's nice that you're able to break down the most important thing at the top of the episode for us.
And I want to extend on that.
Remember, everyone's brain works differently.
Some people think in a more linear direction.
No way is more intelligent.
Neither way is more correct.
But people think differently.
Some people think in a more linear way, like an engineer mind.
Some people think in a more.
I don't know, is it that right brain kind of boom boom, boom popcorn style?
And you may be talking to someone who thinks in a different way.
So just step back a little.
Let them ride it out.
Right.
Let it happen naturally.
Yeah, that's a really good point.
And you, and that takes a lot of observation as well to be able to sort of read the person you're talking to and recognize how they kind of think and how they're sharing information.
And not expect everyone to act the same as you do or think the same as you do.
That is really when we can create those deeper connections, when we're allowing everyone to process what's being said and share as well.
And to get insight that we may never have gotten if we didn't let someone have that time and space to come up with something and stay the course.
With one topic, you might be moving on to the next, but there may be something really great.
That person is going to say
So give them a chance.
So, all right, what does this mean Aubrey, in practical kind of just playing it out for our listeners?
Yeah.
So we have great phrases because when you do, when you're ready to transition right, you have let the topic sort of run its course.
Everyone's had a chance to share.
There is that moment.
This is really a big skill when you feel that it's like, I could switch topics now, right?
We've kind of said what we're going to say and doing it before there's a chance for there to be like awkward conversation.
Everyone takes a drink.
Now I'm going to say something, right?
To jump in and use a phrase that transitions to a new topic.
And I think we're all, especially in the U.S., we're so terrified of that awkward silence.
It's true.
At least I am.
I can tell you that.
Especially when I'm around people I'm not totally comfortable with.
Everyone takes the drink and drinks go back down and then there's nothing and I just panic.
It's so painful.
It's so painful.
And you can avoid it.
Maybe it's not.
It probably is very cultural and maybe it doesn't bother you, listener, out there.
But if it does, or if you feel like you're in a culture where it's better to avoid that awkward pause, then use one of these phrases to transition right into the next one.
So our first one here is to start with, did you hear?
And then you can fill that in with anything that you've read in the news or you heard on a podcast right,
This is another reason for filling your mind with lots of ideas in English listening, bringing in lots of English so that you have ideas.
Lots of things you could say after, did you hear?
Yeah, I love this, right?
So I would, depending on who you're around, I would be careful about being too niche on.
Did you hear right?
What's the content?
Like our example here is, did you hear the latest episode of SmartList?
That's a podcast with Jason Bateman, right?
It's a popular podcast.
Do you listen to it?
I did because they did like a Netflix special where it was like a video of them on their tour.
And it was so funny.
So then I started listening to the podcast.
But you're right.
This is a little more niche.
This is maybe assuming you're with a group that has already mentioned that they listen to the podcast maybe.
You could say like, did you hear about this pawpaw fruit that's all the rage in Canada?
Hopefully you caught that episode already.
And if not scroll up, it was very fun, but it could be anything, right?
It can be something you read in the news.
It could, like you said, you don't want to be too niche.
It wants to.
You want to be pretty general here about something that they could have heard about but maybe haven't.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Exactly.
Exactly.
And or if you know this person, maybe you're talking one-on-one or maybe you're talking I'm imagining you speaking with people in your neighborhood, right?
Aubrey.
So did you hear that the Johnsons are moving?
Right.
So people talk to each other around the neighborhood.
You said you have a pretty close knit community, right, where you live.
Yes.
Right.
Right.
Five or six families that we all travel together.
We went to Mexico together just recently.
And it's true.
That is something that would definitely.
Or did you hear there's a new dog park opening up down there?
Or did you hear a new restaurant is opening up?
Anything about the community like that that everyone would be interested in is ideal.
That was really good.
Or here where I'm staying with my parents.
You know they live right along kind of the harbor and the oceans on the other side.
They want to rebuild the seawall because one day the ocean's just going to come and get them.
And so you know, did anyone in this neighborhood?
There's signs everywhere that next Monday they're taking a vote whether they're going to rebuild the seawall to protect this neighborhood.
And so I could say to anyone when I walk my dog, when we finish recording today did you hear about the vote next?
You know next Monday about the seawall, right?
Oh yeah, also really good.
Making conversation reminds me when we were in mexico.
My kids kept wanting to build a sand castle yeah, but it was like the tide was coming in.
So they want to build it and i knew the tide.
I'm like you guys are going to learn the perils of beachfront property here, because every time they'd build one and then the waves would just take it out.
Yeah, it's really a high risk, high reward kind of scenario, Right?
Your castle here has great views, but you need a seawall.
Probably going to be gone in 50 years.
Yeah, exactly.
Climate change is a thing.
But political issues coming up, maybe not being too political, but that's more of a community issue, right?
So also great that people really will care about whoever you interact with.
So I love it.
So did you hear?
Did you hear?
What else, Aubrey?
And our second one is I do this all the time.
I think it's so fun and native and natural to either say, oh, hey, or oh, by the way.
And then there's it's very general.
You can follow that up with anything.
But if, if I don't add the like oh, by the way, or the oh hey, then it's kind of this stark transition from one topic to another.
But just those couple of words and you can ask anything, right?
Oh, hey, how was your camping trip?
I love the importance of just these little words.
This is what we get here on the show, right?
That you don't get in a textbook, guys, and they matter.
It matters for connection.
What does it do in my mind?
It also makes it more casual.
It makes it more kind of like happenstance.
Oh, by the way, right?
Oh, hey, hey, I just thought of this.
Because otherwise it feels like you've sat and you've rehearsed this thing, which feels awkward.
Exactly, right?
You might say, oh, by the way, did you run that marathon you were training for?
And if you just stop, like say you guys are talking about pop off route.
That's all the rage.
And then you just stop and say, did you run that marathon you were training for?
It's weird.
It's not casual enough.
Like you said, it feels like you were thinking of what you could say.
It's too stark of a transit.
There's no transition.
It feels too robotic.
It feels creepy almost in a way.
You're exactly right that these few little words make it spur of the moment.
Oh, by the way, it's like, I just thought of this.
So it's totally natural and normal that I'm asking you.
Yeah.
Right.
Exactly.
And our listeners.
I think our listeners are going to love this episode Aubrey, because they want to feel spontaneous and natural with their English.
And it's like, fake it till we make it, right?
Until we do feel that spontaneity, we kind of add in words that imply that spontaneity.
Exactly.
Yes.
Okay.
I'm excited for the third.
So far, I've really liked these first two.
What's the third, Aubrey?
Nice.
The third is I've been meaning to ask you.
This is very general, right?
It can be used for any topic change.
You can then ask their opinion about the news or something about their life, or for a recommendation or a favor.
This could be followed by anything.
This is great.
Yeah, exactly.
This kind of goes along with the same vibe of you know, it's something I've been wanting to talk about, but it's not so robotic or rehearsed right.
For example, I've been meaning to ask you, where did you take those waterfall pictures?
You posted on Instagram, okay?
Yeah, so this is great, right?
And that is going, imagine the conversation that opens up after that, right?
They get to share about their trip and this beautiful waterfall that they visited.
And maybe then you get the opportunity to go visit it, right?
And you can just start it with that.
You also could for sure say like oh, by the way, or oh hey, these are all pretty interchangeable.
Yes, and what's the second example here?
Yeah, you could say i mean, i've been meaning to ask you, do you have a pediatrician you'd recommend?
So this happens so often with parents asking for recommendations for doctors or restaurants.
You know this kind of thing comes up all the time and i often will preface it with this i've been meaning to ask you.
This also adds kind of a nice social layer where you're kind of showing that you respect the person's opinion, so It's not as starkly going where did you find your pediatrician?
Who's your pediatrician?
I've been thinking about you and I know that I trust your judgment.
And so now I've been meaning to ask you this question.
There's something about- That's such a good point.
Yeah.
Because it is that above the like oh, by the way, that's very much like oh.
I just thought of this.
I've been meaning to ask you is like, hey, I value your opinion.
And I know you've lived here a while.
You have this experience.
So I've thought of you when I needed a recommendation for this.
Yeah, guys-
These words are the missing piece for connection.
These little pieces we're teaching you today are gonna build that picture and create that connection that might be missing.
Now that you can get to by inserting these little nuances into your English.
So good.
Absolutely.
Let's do a role play and show all of these in just like a normal conversation.
You and I are just chatting at the park for this, all right?
Okay, all right, here we go.
It was a pretty fun trip though.
I'd love to go back.
Oh, by the way, how's the new school going for your kids?
Good.
They really love it.
It's a bit of a drive, but smaller classes, which is nice.
Glad to hear it.
How's the administration?
It seems great.
Really supportive.
Good communication.
No problems so far.
Hey, I've been meaning to ask you, have you found a good Thai restaurant?
Yes, there's a good one near our house.
I'll text it to you.
Get the panang curry.
That sounds amazing.
Do they have mango and sticky rice?
I've been craving it.
Oh, yes.
And it's to die for.
Ooh, I haven't had mango and sticky rice in a long time.
I love mango and sticky rice.
That's one of my favorite desserts.
It's so good.
When it's warm, it's amazing.
Absolutely.
I'm always disappointed if I go to a Thai restaurant and then they say they don't have mango.
It's not in season.
I was like, oh, you broke my heart.
That is a heartbreaker.
All right, let's go through this.
So first you threw in that, oh, by the way, right?
I'm clear.
I've been talking about a trip.
I'm like, oh, it's a really fun trip.
I'd go back.
And you transition here with, oh, by the way, how's the new school going for your kids?
Yeah.
And it's also good because it almost will help people understand you better, right?
It's like putting these benchmarks, these signposts in place.
I'm changing the topic now, right?
That's a good point too, right?
When you hear this oh, by the way Then they're like oh, I got to listen because this is a new topic, a new question.
Totally.
Keep people from falling asleep.
I mean, it's good.
All around, it's good.
Absolutely.
What else did I say?
Let's see.
We were kind of talking about that school.
And then I transitioned to ask you about the Thai restaurant.
I said, hey, I've been meaning to ask you.
And this, I've kind of combined two here.
I do this all the time with that.
Oh, hey, or hey, before.
Hey, I've been meaning to ask you.
Just so clear. casual and natural.
It's nice.
It's friendly.
Hey, I've been meaning to ask you.
I could do a little thing with your voice there.
It just sounds friendly.
It sounds interested, like you're interested in what the person's about to say.
Exactly.
These are such great transitions for any topic.
And I love how, for any of these, you can add so many different things after this little, like you said, signpost marker.
We're transitioning now.
We're opening it up to ask about so many different things.
I love it.
Aubrey, what's our takeaway for today?
This episode is super important, first of all.
It is.
I agree, right?
This is such an important social skill to know when and how to switch topics in a conversation.
I really love today's tips and our phrases.
So you guys will be ready for this.
Yeah, guys.
Again, it's the little things we put into our English.
And sometimes...
And most of the time, even if you make a grammar mistake, you can get away with that if again, you maintain the eye contact, maintain the connection and add in these pieces that are going to make people feel like you want to know what they have to say.
They can understand you.
You're changing the topic.
Connection's right there, right?
Absolutely, right?
They're not going to remember a grammar mistake.
What they're going to remember is this very natural native connection they felt with you.
Love it.
So good.
Let's leave it at that, guys.
If you love our style of connection, not perfection, hit that follow button now because we can drop right into your listening queue for four days a week of All Ears English.
Good stuff.
All right.
Thanks, Lindsay.
See you next time.
Have a good one.
Take care.
Bye.
Bye.
Thanks for listening to all ears English.
Would you like to know your English level?
Take our two minute quiz.
Go to allearsenglish.com forward slash fluency score.
And if you believe in connection, not perfection, then hit subscribe now to make sure you don't miss anything.
See you next time.
