hey Michelle how's it going today hey Lindsay good how are you excellent
feeling great to be on the mic what are we getting into on oller's English well and
well I'm gonna get you a lemonade okay well we're about to record an episode so I don't know if I
can actually do that but oh I'm sorry I'm sorry yeah I guess I would I guess our listeners don't
want to see your feet I don't know no I wouldn't think so oh okay all right so guys we're gonna
talk more about this in just a second what in the world am I talking about so but before we do that
guys we want to you to hit follow on the podcast so that you never miss anything from all ears
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let us know what you think about all ears English so today we're giving giving our listeners a very
strategic skill that I'm sure they haven't learned in their textbook yeah this is awesome I'm excited
so guys we've we've talked about about the word just you know quite a bit on the show I'm sure
um but today we're going to be talking about kind of a unique way to use it
um and it can be used the word just j-u-s-t can be used as as a command or a strong suggestion so
Lindsay is there is there any uh slogan company slogan that you can think of that uses just oh
my gosh the Nike slogan just do it just do it yeah I love that slogan and I feel like when they came
up with it it was probably weird kind of strange right I'm sure people were fighting against it
in the company but it was it's a smart one and yeah it's good well tell me more like what is
that like why isn't it do it why is it what does the just do that's a good question so why is it
not just it is just do it but why isn't it just do it wait it is why isn't it do it do it just do
it okay it's making it seem as the speaker when I say that to you Michelle just do it as opposed
to do it it's making it seem more approachable come on it shouldn't be that hard right right go
for it it's obvious that you should do this right right right right right exactly let's so let's do
another example so if somebody if somebody were to say to you uh just finish this before the
weekend how would I mean instead of just finish this before the weekend it kind of It kind of
changes the meaning a little bit we're trying to you know dive into this word just and see what
it's doing yeah I think in some ways it depends on the tone of voice that we deliver that in too
but if I'm at the office with my co-workers and my English speaking co-worker says to me
just do this before the end of the weekend or before the weekend just finish this before the
weekend it could feel like you're rushing like you're forcing like you're being more aggressive
um there's a sense of urgency in there I would say what do you think Michelle yeah I think so
too I but again like you said tone of voice if you're just like oh like like okay let's
say it's Tuesday okay and I'm just like um yeah just finished this before the weekend
you know it's it's almost like giving a little more space whereas if it's Thursday and you're
like just finish this before the weekend that you know that kind of time kind of puts a different
kind of pressure a different feel to the word just so it really depends on the situation and
how you deliver it it could be the same word and it could have two quite different implications of
what you're trying to say right Michelle right so it's kind of interesting let's do another
example where is that book just find it already it must be somewhere okay so this is a better
example of what we're trying to get at here today right now we're honing in on the very
specific way I wanted to talk about yeah this is the way I mean this would be used in emergencies
right or if yolks something is time there's time pressure around something all right right right
right right right I mean if you were saying like like you just saying like just find it already
um the addition of the word just kind of um makes me feel a little bit rushed makes me
feel a little bit like you're you're oh little meetings right it's a little different because
I'm I'm saying it should be easy for you come on this should be easy just find it come on like
yeah like why like almost like why can't you do that like just find it already like yes yeah so
it it feels a little bit I don't know a little bit funny but it can also on the on the flip
side it can sound encouraging or friendly yeah let's let's turn that around now so here we go
um I have so much to do and I have to do the dishes just leave it to me Michelle I'm here
to help so I'm volunteering and I'm trying to say so I think in general the the Common Thread
between both of these examples is that just makes it sound easy yes I yes oh I like that
I like that for a title make it sound easy make it sound easy and I have a few interesting things to
add here today for this one because this makes me think of a I was thinking about this a lot
um so let me just share this story so sometimes I go on podcasts about podcasting and I talk about
how to podcast how to launch a successful podcast and I'm very conscious about using the word just
do this just do that because podcasting has become a lot more competitive than it was and a lot
harder to get ahead and get a lot of new listeners than it was in 2013 when we launched so I try to
avoid saying oh just publish a lot of episodes just just do it every day like just just just
know that's that's condescending that is making it seem too easy and could seem a little bit
um what's the word tone deaf a little tone deaf and a little blind irrelevant right right right
right right exactly like that you're just might be different from someone else's jest and like
in that example you're talking about you know the time that something was done although don't
sell yourself short Lindsay aller's English is amazing yes yeah exactly I mean it's I don't
think it's just it's just I don't think it's only a product of oh it was started in 2013.
no no no I think you're right and I know that for sure I think there's a bit of a problem when it
comes to any any kind of let's say expert I'm not saying I'm an expert on podcasting but I'm saying
anytime there's an expert who is 10 steps ahead of beginners it becomes really hard because the
expert might just really forget the challenges that they went through at that time when they
started so they kind of gloss over things so just really kind of glosses over I love that expression
too Michelle cross is over right it just kind of in a way ignores or just skips skips the tough
stuff it makes it seem easy yeah that's what it is right there I love it so good okay Michelle where
should we take this episode I think we have really like gotten to the root of this let's go a little
bit further all right so should we should we give one example that uh somebody might use with their
child yeah let's do that I love it all right okay something you could say so you might just say my
just just okay then it's hard not to say it so I might say just remember to look both ways okay
yeah exactly so when you're when you're giving kind of like an important instruction yeah um you
know it's like you're like let's go like please don't you know because that's very important
um so that's just another way right and when I tell that to my kid I'm trying um by using just
there I'm trying not to like impose I'm trying to say I'm not asking you to do a million things
I'm just asking you to do this one thing just remember right that's the feeling here exactly
because yeah you don't like do this do that do this do that and this is like oh no this is the
core thing and again it does go back to that idea that you're talking about about making it easy
it's like you only have this one thing right like like let's like this is the most important you I'm
making it easy for you just remember to look both ways exactly and any you know successful speaker
or teacher should be able to do this or a parent right at the end of like a talk or a class should
be able to boil it down to just a few things that the person needs to remember or needs to focus on
right simplifying things right just remember these three strategies in our IELTS course there's three
strategies for every section of the test every type of question right just remember these okay
so this is powerful and useful absolutely absolutely and and again it like that's the
basic core but then it could be used in a more aggressive way and right more friendly way and
a more this is an important way but when we tie it all together that's really what we're getting
at so that's what we're getting at you can use it for a lot of things so let's kind of combine some
of these things into a role play to see how it all works out all right so in this case we're in the
workplace we know you guys are really interested in business English by the way Michelle we have a
new podcast 100 on business English and a lot of people are listening over there yes I love it yep
the business English podcast yeah so guys if you have not found that podcast go over and hit the
search bar in your podcast listener app and type in business English from allers English and you
will find it good stuff oh yeah I would love it so all right well here we go all right so where
should we file this uh just put it under that cabinet okay uh just wait I'll get the step stool
oh thanks oh no all the papers fell just pick them up now that sounds a little rude just because I'm
frustrated with you come on all right let's go back through it Michelle so where was the first
just employed here says you said where should we file this and I said oh just put it under the
cabinet right so seems easy just one instruction seems easy so in this case it's used in a friendly
way yeah you're just making it easy you're trying to kind of make my life a little easier simplify
what I should do just do that right right right right right and what's the next one and then I
said okay and then you said just wait I'll get the steps tool so what's the feeling behind this use
of just it's like uh kind of like a friendly I'm gonna make it easy on you right like I'm I'm gonna
do you the favor I'll get the steps to like just wait right like just wait okay yep yep but I've
I could hear this being used and also the more aggressive way like let's say you're a teacher
and you have a lot of little kids in your class and they're being crazy and you might say just
wait okay just wait but that's still right like friendlier friendly or Snappy it still goes back
to the core like this way like I only want this please like get to the core I'm thinking of my son
now I bet you use it all the time right For Better or For Worse is the parent of small children right
um oh man we can think of so many examples because actually guys this is very common okay [Music]
um and then for the last one then I really got snippy and I said just pick them up now it's like
I'm frustrated it's like I just like just do that like please like a simple like it should be easy
like like it's kind of like you know you're you're trying to put things away and you're just like
frustrating me I'm like friendly friendly and then you drop everything and I'm like yeah you know
what comes to mind when I think about that last part of it is The Devil Wears Prada and Miranda
talking to the intern then yeah like everything she would say she walks in every morning throws
her bag on her desk just put that away right just put that away just do this just bring me
that right just bring that to my house right kind of in that rude and aggressive tone right right
right exactly it's it's oh this should be easy it's like oh it's just it's very condescending
I think condescending exactly bossy um I love that movie by the way you've seen that right I have but
not in a long time and I want to see it again I know it was such a classic I was just talking to
someone about that I think that's also a really well known internationally I hope our listeners
know that movie it's a great one it's a great one and that's right I have to watch it again but yeah
guys I mean if you go through and take away the just you know it's a different feeling right oh
where should we file it put it under that cabinet wait I'll get the step stool it feels almost like
it's missing something in my opinion something yeah just it's also like this filler that can
just that can just add something yeah yeah I'm excited to write the title for this episode
it's gonna be fun all right Michelle I mean the takeaway is guys this is how we can humanize our
language right we can use it for commands or we can use it to make something friendlier but the
core again is get to the most important thing you want someone to do right simplify things
for people okay to simplify yeah exactly you guys can take a look if uh I I'm sure you know
listen out for when we may have talked about this before I was trying to find specific episodes but
um yeah if you if you find the specific just episode um let us know and also this is kind
kind of a unique take on it now yeah I love it just about just meaning only right yeah and then
you know think about areas in which another thing you guys could think about where areas in which
you have developed a real skill and it seems easy to you but sometimes you are maybe teaching it to
someone else and you're oversimplifying it right you know for us we say just plug in a microphone
and start podcasting right it's not that easy but we might say that coming from us right so
what are the areas in which you're an expert and when are the times that you're actually making
that mistake you could be making people feel like it's so easy when it's actually not right
that's an interesting question because we're all experts in something yeah that's good and say no
I really I like that I like that mindfulness when you're an expert in something to be able
to realize that not everybody is and people are trying to learn and don't make it seem like you
know don't forget that it was once hard for you too exactly and I think there is I don't know
who wrote about that but the term is the curse of knowledge right the curse of knowing something so
well that you don't understand that other people don't know it as well so find out what your curse
of knowledge is and how you can bring it down to add value for people I love it love it love it
yeah good stuff Michelle so good and I'll see you on the next one all right bye
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