AEE 2660: Stop Dropping Names! Connect Your Listeners to the Story
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What is the episode about and why should I care about 'dropping names'?
This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 2660. Stop dropping names. Connect your listeners to the story.
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. When you say someone's name while talking with people who may not know the person, you can let them sit there confused, or you can pull them in by giving them a little bit of context so they can relate. Learn how to do it today.
Do you ever feel like you become a different person when you speak English at work? More formal, less natural, maybe even a little robotic? Business English isn't just about presentations, meetings, and professional vocabulary. It's about building real relationships with the people you work with. On our Business English podcast, we'll help you sound confident, natural, and human at work. Search for All Ears English Business English wherever you listen and listen to Aubrey, Michelle, and Lindsay three days a week. See you there.
Hello, Michelle. How's it going today? Hey, Lindsay. I'm good. How are you? Good, Michelle. Who do you usually celebrate the holidays with?
I would say family. But sometimes recently there was a holiday that we went to our friend's house. Well, a couple of times, actually, we've gotten been to friends houses, you know, just if our family isn't in town or it's more convenient. How about you?
Yeah. Yeah, I mean, definitely family, I would say, either East Coast or in Colorado. So depending on if I go to my brother's house, it'll be all of his wife's family. So extended families, things like that, you know?
Yeah, yeah, exactly. So when we talk about other people, things can get confusing when we're with a certain group. So especially if the person we're talking to doesn't know the people. Like, have you ever... been in a situation where a couple people were talking and they maybe they went to high school together and you met them later on in life and then they're just talking about it and you're like all right like I guess I'll just zone out like it's fine you get because you get it it's fun to have that for them to have that connection moment so you don't want to get in the way but you're just like Okay.
Yeah. That'd be great. Exactly. Exactly. So, but, but again, we're all about connection moments here on All Ears English. And this is, so we need a skill. What is the skill we need to have then, Michelle, to be able to pull people in so that doesn't happen? Right.
So it's important to give context, to explain, give a bit of a background instead of just saying, oh, and Stacey, remember when Stacey did this and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And they're all talking about Stacey. And you're like, I don't, you know.
Yes, totally. 100%. So we're getting into this. So instead of just saying people's names, you pull in someone who maybe doesn't know Stacey by giving them context of who they are and why we should care, right? In a way.
Right. So, yeah. So, like, by contacts, we mean, you know, describing the relationship briefly so it makes sense to the other person. So, like, if someone asks me who I spent the holidays with, I'm not going to just say random people's names. Oh, I spent the holidays with Joe and Bob and... Steven. Okay. You know, because if the listener doesn't know them, they're going to feel confused or even disconnected. And certainly we don't want that. Exactly.
I can't wait to get into this skill together because it's very key. And obviously our listeners know this in their native languages, but we need this as a connection skill in English. So guys, go ahead and hit follow right now on the show. So you don't miss any one of our amazing five episodes a week here on All Ears English.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the episode about and why should I care about 'dropping names'?
0:00–6:45
2
Why does saying a name without context make listeners feel excluded?
6:45–12:23
3
How can brief background details pull people into a conversation?
12:23–17:13
4
What real-life story illustrates giving context instead of just a name?
17:13–20:42
Speakers
4 identifiedMore from All Ears English Podcast
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