This is the Business English Podcast, episode 156.
Can you use howdy in Business English? 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.
Still translating in your head when you speak English?
It's time to change that. The Connected Communicator course from All Ears English helps you train your ear, speak naturally, and finally connect with real people.
In our tailored study plan, you'll hear unscripted interviews from tattoo artists to entrepreneurs from all across America. and you'll use new AI tools to practice speaking anytime you want.
No more stiff, scripted English. Build confidence, fluency, and cultural insight all in one course.
Plus, get real-life speaking experience at our Open Conversation Club every single week and build community with Allers English teachers and students.
Go to allersenglish.com slash connection to save $50 this week only.
Offer ends August 10th. allearsenglish.com connection hey lindsay how's it going it's excellent michelle how's everything in your world everything's good everything's good do you think we always have to be formal at work oh i don't think so no i think actually if we are always formal at work people we won't be able to connect in the same way so it's knowing when to be formal and when not to be formal is the big question Exactly.
And that's a lot of the stuff that we kind of go over on this podcast.
We try and give you guys lots of options and explain what could be used for different situations and with different people.
So yeah, that's a huge key is not just the words, but knowing what's appropriate in certain situations with certain people.
Well, that kind of sort of describes our entire business English curriculum, right?
So especially in our business English course, which guys, you can always grab that course at allersenglish.com slash business in that course.
And on this podcast, we try to show you formal, semi-formal and informal English.
And then we try to show you when do we, you know, when do we move between the two?
When do we use both? How does it work? So that's our main focus.
A lot of business English podcasts or courses or online classes will be just formal English.
But Michelle, how does that feel to interact with someone that's just formal all the time?
It feels very robotic, very awkward. Like you're not really connecting if it's super formal.
And not every relationship is meant to be like a true connection.
Some are just, you know, you got to get things done.
But, you know, we always say that business, it's still just people, right?
And so we have to think about this connection as well.
Yeah. So guys, if you love our formula, our way of teaching business English, which comes back to the connection method, then hit follow right here on this show.
All right. Good stuff. So we have a listener question today.
Yes. It's about a word that seems a little informal, and it's also about coming up with your own personality in your grading.
So Lindsay, would you like to read the question?
Yeah. So this is from Rishi from India. And he says, Hey, Lindsay, I was listening to your show in the past few months.
And I love your show because your motto connection, not perfection.
Great. As I already know English, I was actually looking at something like this.
I think I think they just mean they agree with the with the motto.
Love that. Yeah. From the past four years, I've been working closely with a U.S.-based team in my organization.
So this is exactly what I was looking for, to feel connected and make connections.
And I've already learned many idioms from the show.
I'm in love with your voice. Lindsay, you do have a great voice.
I think everyone has their own voice preferences, all of our listeners, for the four of us, right?
You have a great voice, Michelle. You have a fantastic voice.
All right. So here's the question. I have a colleague from the US team, and while we're on chat, she greets me with howdy.
So I just want to know how to respond to this with some cool ways.
Instead of old, boring, specific responses, what are the other cool ways that native speakers greet and respond to greetings?
So can you respond back here when you answer this one?
Because currently I'm browsing your old episodes.
Love that. So go through the old episodes, Rishi.
Rishi says, thanks and keep up the good work.
Rishi from India. All right. Thank you, Rishi.
Yeah, I love this. This is a great question.
This is a lot of fun. This is about your personality, right?
So this person, it becomes almost like their trademark.
You know that this person says howdy, right?
So... It's thinking, well, what might work for you?
What's a fun thing that you can say? Whether you want it to be like your trademark that everybody knows or just something you can switch around from time to time.
That's a great question. Guys, we want to direct you.
We have a ton of business English episodes.
So... Head on over to episode 149 is, are you a workaholic?
How to spice up your English vocabulary.
So there you go. Yes, I love it. So let's get into this.
Go ahead and directly answer Rishi's question and really help out a lot of our listeners, right?
Because we know, again, those old textbooks, they tell you, hello, how are you today?
Right. We don't have to do that. Yeah. No.
Right. Exactly. So what is howdy? First of all, maybe our listeners have heard it maybe in a cowboy movie or something. howdy is just sort of a casual you know version of hello right and i actually think i heard this uh my partner was having a work call the other was that friday that might have been friday and i heard that someone got on the other line and said that actually really yeah yes now i don't know if you might be more likely to hear howdy if you're working with people in the west Yeah.
And the L could be West. The American West.
I think maybe that's true. Michelle, what do you think?
I mean, do you hear this on the East Coast?
I mean, like I might, but it would be it would be a choice, right?
Like it wouldn't be it would be like, oh, I say howdy.
Like, it's just like fun. You know, I mean, it is cute and it is fun.
Like howdy. But like, I can't imagine myself saying it.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. So I think this might have a little bit of a regional flavor to it.
It doesn't mean you can't say it in New York City.
If you're on with an advertising executive in the city, doesn't mean you can't say it.
I just think you might be more likely to hear it in the South or the American West.
Yeah. Yeah. So let's just talk about, you know, other things that you can say.
So we have our formal ways that Rishi was like probably thinking of like, hello or good morning, good afternoon or how are you?
Right, Lindsay? And those are there's nothing wrong with those, but they don't have a special flair to them.
Right. Right. these are the old kind of standards that you can always fall back on but you guys are at the level where you're ready for something a little more interesting and when you feel that you're in front of someone that has a little more like there's a little more of a relationship there and you want to have a little fun maybe you know the person a little better you can experiment right michelle yeah yep exactly exactly so here are some more informal ones that have a little bit more personality um so lindsay what's the first one all right what's going on right or what's going on i would i would tend to drop the yes right what's going on yeah almost hard to say what's going on for me what's going on no i wouldn't but yeah i know someone who every time he gets on the phone he says what's going on just like that yeah And it's, and this is a professional person, like, but kind of, but that's kind of his cool.
It's like a cool personality thing. Like, and I know that that's what he says every time what's going on.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now, is that on a work call for you?
Or is that just like a friend, like you're interacting with that person as a friend?
I'm, I'm using this person's service. ah okay interesting okay okay so you're a client you're a customer or a client of that person's service interesting yeah totally viable right because you already trust that person as a professional and so you know when you have a great reputation as a professional you can kind of then bend the rules a little and be more casual yeah and also like it's kind of part of his brand it's like if you like I feel like it just goes along with him.
Like it would just I couldn't imagine him being like, Oh, hello, Michelle.
Like it just you know, it's a what's going on.
So it just kind of fits, you know, it's love it.
Yeah. Yeah. So what's another another thing you can say?
Okay, hello, hello, right? This is another one.
Was that the right intonation that I used there?
Yes, exactly. Yeah, you got it. It's like, hello, hello.
So it's not hello, hello. It's hello, hello.
It's like extending the second hello. Right.
And it's not hello, hello, right? Can you hear me?
No. it's not like that like we're always have got a connection issue this is not what we're talking about right no no no no no these are just creative ways because we get bored with hello right yeah so this is just hello twice in a fun way and lindsey you just added one in right i just added in the same vein as hello hello hey hey right hey hey right i'm trying to get the right intonation for that but you've heard that right people for sure okay okay hey hey hey hey right what else I also like hey there and that I feel like you could even use in like a text message or something like that like hey there so that's kind of fun totally I actually think it'd be interesting to do a whole episode on using there as like addressing people in different ways going over there right why do we say over there like there's something there There's a there there, Michelle.
There's a there there. Let's do an episode on that in the future, in the next few months.
Okay, guys, if you love that idea, hit follow.
That's going to be a really interesting episode because there are also expressions like there's a there there.
Yeah, or there's no there there. There's no there there.
There's a lot we could do, but let's move on here for today.
Okay, that's fun. Okay, so we did hey there.
And then this one is hiya. Hi. Yeah. Yeah.
Hi. My dad used to say that this a lot casually like towards his family, like hi.
Yeah. Right. That kind of thing. So this is for a lighthearted person.
Also, if it suits your personality. Right.
If it doesn't suit your personality, that's OK, too.
Right, right, right. Exactly. Or what's the next one?
What's happening? And this one, I would also probably take off the G depending on who's around.
In your mind, what's the difference, Michelle, between what's happening, what's happening, or what's happening?
I don't think I would ever say what's happening.
Yeah. Right. Well, unless I was saying, I mean, not as a greeting, like, Oh, I need to see what's, I need to see what's happening over there.
Like, hold on a second. Right. That's differently.
That's not a greeting. That's different.
These are greetings guys. So really important to get that straight.
So if you've already decided to color outside the lines and use some of these more creative greetings, you're probably on a casual track already.
So you're more likely to say what's happening, right?
What's happening instead of what's happening.
Right. Yeah. exactly and then the last one guys I'm sure you've heard is what's up yeah what's up what's up old standard I love it all right Abercrombie's viral denim sale is back and Spotify listeners get an extra 15% off with code Spotify AF Abercrombie is known for their denim with 30 to 50% off all jeans find out how denim should feel shop the viral denim sale in the Abercrombie app online or in stores valid in stores and online through August 11th 2025 in US and Canada Excludes clearance.
Price reflects discount. Code valid in US and Canada through August 11th, 2025.
Exclusions apply. See details online. Okay, here we go, Michelle.
Ready for a role play? Yeah, we're going to do two little teeny tiny baby role plays.
Okay, here we go. So here we are, co-workers.
Howdy, Michelle. What's happening, Lindsay?
I said what's happening with the G. Oh, you did.
Well, that's okay. I personally just, I don't think I would use howdy, right?
Does it feel to you like it's a little more masculine also?
Like the use of it? Well, it makes me think of Matthew McConaughey.
Okay, yeah, me too, me too. That's cool. like is it in your mind does it feel like it's more i mean you know if you go to the you know here in denver we have the western stock show right which is where they have all the road they have the rodeo every year they bring in they have like the mutton busting all this stuff all these events barrel racing and if you walk up to one of the women who is does who's doing the barrel racing she'll she might say like howdy right as a female but bringing it into the work world i kind of wonder if it tends to be carried over in a, like, not that women can't say it in the workplace, it just feels masculine, like kind of cowboy, a whole over from the cowboy culture.
I think it's all what you make of it. I think I personally think if you say it confidently, like it doesn't matter if you're, you know, that you can use any of these and that doesn't.
But like, I mean, I see what you're saying, but I think I really just think it's about that confidence.
Oh, interesting. Interesting. Yeah. I'm going to start to observe and try to listen.
I'll ask around. Maybe we'll do an updated episode here.
A little update for our listeners. we could actually but in the meantime it's a it's about the confidence 100 i love it okay all right one tiny little other one we're also co-workers here we go hi lindsay hello hello all right that intonation was right i think hello hello you did it you got it you got it what's the point here michelle what do we need to know Yeah, well, the point is that, you know, it's important to have personality.
And if you're tired of just saying, good morning, hello, how are you, right?
We gave you some more stuff and you can choose what goes along with your person.
It sounds like this person who says howdy, according to Rishi, is a very memorable person.
Like this person says howdy. And so that's why the question was there, right?
So if you... If you want something fun that you want to be known by, you know, go for it or just use it, you know, sprinkle it in from time to time.
But just know the context. Is it OK? I wouldn't necessarily walk into a new client and say, hey, what's happening?
Right. Unless, again, like my situation where it's part of the brand and stuff like that.
It really it really all depends who you work for, what it's like. how formal are the other people so but if we just gave you a ton of other ways that you can greet people with some personality yeah and i also think there's something here too as you're like let's say you're a consultant and you have clients let's say one of your clients is like google or something so let's say you are based in new york but you work with google in san francisco you work with their marketing department so you fly out to do business with them It's like you earn the ability to be more casual as you create results in your work.
So I do think there's something here that your work has to back up that casual nature that's kind of unfolding.
It's trust, right? They start to trust you more and then we can start to be a little more casual.
That's just kind of my gut feeling, Michelle, right?
So if we're not doing our job well or if we're not doing our job at all, if we're not meeting deadlines, that's I would say hold off on becoming a little more informal until you prove yourself to your client or your boss, right?
Or your company. Yeah. Yeah. You have to have something to back up that confidence, right?
Yes. Yes. I mean, don't come in late to a meeting and say, howdy.
15 minutes like, hey, howdy, hiya. Like, no, no, no.
I think that's a very important point that you made.
So that's We earn our ability to become semi-formal or informal through the quality of our work, 100%, which is trust.
I love it. We'll stop on that. Good takeaway.
We'll contemplate that one and we will be back again soon, Michelle.
Take care. All right. Bye, Lindsay. 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 podcast with 8 million monthly downloads.
Just search for the All Ears English podcast 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.
Follow the All Ears English podcast now.
