AEE 2630: Don't Have the Heart to Do It? What to Say in English

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All Ears English Podcast 13 min 2 speakers 6 chapters transcribed 3 months ago
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What does it mean to not have the heart to do something?

Michelle Kaplan 0:00
This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 2630. Don't have the heart to do it? What to say in English?
Lindsay McMahon 0:10
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 hosts, Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer, and Michelle Kaplan, the New York radio girl. Coming to you from Colorado and New York City, USA. And to get your transcripts delivered by email every week, go to allearsenglish.com forward slash subscribe. Sometimes we have to deliver bad news and we just can't do it. Today, find out what to say in moments like these with a few different phrase options. Hey, Lindsay, how are you? I'm feeling pretty good, Michelle, but I have a question for you.
Lindsay McMahon 1:08
You ready? Okay. Okay. So how are you at delivering bad news to people?

How can you become fearless and fluent in English?

Lindsay McMahon 1:15
Oh, I hate it.
Michelle Kaplan 1:17
I don't think anybody would like this. This is not fun. And I might even avoid it a little bit and you just kind of have to make yourself do it.
Lindsay McMahon 1:26
What about you? Yeah, no, it's not fun. It's never fun, especially if you have a lot of empathy. It's just not a fun thing to do. I don't think anyone likes this, right?
Michelle Kaplan 1:36
No.
Lindsay McMahon 1:36
Yeah.
Michelle Kaplan 1:36
Yeah. um but there is a specific expression that we might use in english to kind of talk about this feeling it's um i don't have the heart for something or i don't have the heart to do something sorry yes this is a good it's good to have phrases usually this is what we might say to someone else when we have to tell someone else so there are three parties here you someone else and someone else
Lindsay McMahon 2:02
You wouldn't really say it directly to the person that you're going to give the bad news to, right? No, no, no, no, no, no. Yeah. Unless maybe after the fact you told them, but all right, let's do a little role play here. Okay. Did you give her the bad news yet?
No.
Michelle Kaplan 2:18
No, I don't have the heart to do it. Yeah. I mean, this could be for a great breakup also. Like, yeah, I recently actually, I had to tell someone something that I felt really bad about. And I mean, I definitely kept on putting it off.
Lindsay McMahon 2:38
Yeah.
Michelle Kaplan 2:38
But then I did it and, you know. That's hard. It's okay. Yeah. Yeah. Um, so yeah, saying I don't have the heart to do something is a great way to build connection because it's so relatable, right? Yeah. It's all about that empathy and emotion and, you know, this universal feeling of, you know, there's something hard that you have to tell someone. Yes. And you're just, I mean, even recently, so, um, Dan got free, got a free ticket to a Knicks game. Okay, nice. And my son is a huge Knicks fan. And there was only one ticket left.

What phrases can help when delivering bad news?

Michelle Kaplan 3:14
It was like to go. I mean, it would have been very strange if my son went with my friend's husband, right? Like it just like wasn't, wouldn't have worked. Right. And Dan really didn't want to tell my son. He was like, I can't, you know, I don't have the heart to do it. And he didn't, he didn't want to tell him. So at first he was going to tell him something else like, oh, I have an event. And then I said, you have to tell him. He has to deal with the disappointment. disappointment, but it's so hard.
Lindsay McMahon 3:37
That's hard. Yeah. Especially a kid, right? He might not get it. And yeah, that's tough. Yeah. Yeah. So this is all about empathy and emotion. And I think if you are using this phrase, you're already signaling that you have a high level of empathy, which means you're probably, I mean, when you have empathy, that leads to success in life, right? Yeah. So you're, you're careful about people's feelings, which is great. Yes. Yes, exactly. Guys, let's take a quick second to remind you to hit the follow button on the show. Or if you prefer to watch us on YouTube, that is a great way to learn. Hit subscribe on our YouTube channel for All Ears English. All right. Perfect. Good.
Michelle Kaplan 4:15
All right. So, yeah. What exactly does it mean, Lindsay? I don't have the heart to do something? Right.
Lindsay McMahon 4:23
It's not about your physical heart. It's not about physical ability. It means that you're emotionally unable to do something because it just feels cruel, sad, uncomfortable, awkward.

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