📘 Part 3: Opinions and perspectives

This episode's vocabulary

Tangible (adj.) - real and not imaginary; able to be shown, touched, or experienced.

Concrete (adj.) - clear and certain, or real and existing in a form that can be seen or felt.

Abstract (adj.) - an abstract argument or discussion is general and not based on particular examples.

To constitute (verb) - to be or be considered as something.

To navigate (verb) - to successfully find a way from one place to another.

Readily (adverb) - quickly, immediately, willingly, or without any problem.

Persuasive (adj.) - making you want to do or believe a particular thing.

Unequivocal (adj.) - total, or expressed in a clear and certain way.

Principled (adj.) - always behaving in an honest and moral way.

To spout (verb) - to speak a lot, in a way that is boring or annoying for other people.

To compromise (verb) - to accept that you will reduce your demands or change your opinion in order to reach an agreement with someone.

To stick to your guns (idiom) - to continue to have your beliefs or continue with a plan of action, even if other people disagree with you.

Consensus (noun) - a generally accepted opinion or decision among a group of people.

To air (verb) - to make opinions or complaints known to other people.

Grievance (noun) - a complaint or a strong feeling that you have been treated unfairly.

Questions and Answers

M: What things do young people have strong opinions about?

R: That's a good question, actually. I mean, probably as many things as there are young people, but popular topics would probably include their views on fashion and music, since those play a fairly large role in their lives these days, or at least they seem to, based on what I hear.

M: Why do they have these strong opinions?

R: Well, that's sort of lost on me, to be honest. I mean, it's not like these are particularly important compared to other things like government corruption. At a guess, I'd say it's because they're pretty tangible things. You can see and hear music and fashion a concrete way that you don't with things like government corruption. At least in my country.

M: And what things do older people have strong opinions about?

R: Less tangible and more abstract concepts, like how to deal with other people and what constitutes good manners, for example. I mean, since they've been in the culture so long, it makes sense they would be able to navigate discussions about these topics more readily and easily.

M: Which is more important? Listening to others or persuading others?

R: Surely that depends on what you want to achieve. I mean, if it's about finding out information, then listening would be better. But if you want to achieve some kind of change in the world, being persuasive is probably going to be a high priority.

M: Do you think we should only say something after thinking it through?

R: I think many people think that, but we rarely actually do it. Again, it will depend on what we hope to achieve. If it's a discussion where you're expected to give unequivocal support, well, then you don't need to do much thinking, do you? However, if we're being asked for a measured opinion, it's important to pause for thought before saying what you think about something.

M: Do you think it's good to have strong opinions?

R: Well, not particularly. It's not a bad thing either, depending on the context. For instance, it could be taken as a sign of being a very principled person, but it could also land you in a lot of trouble if you're spouting off about people like powerful political figures. And the other thing is, at least for politicians, people who voice their strong opinions tend to be full of hot air. So there's also that to consider.

M: And what can people do with a person who has very strong opinions?

R: Well, generally speaking, if someone is not willing to compromise, and they're just sticking to what they think and sticking to their guns without any hope of some sort of consensus, then you just listen to them, what they have to say. I think that's generally... If someone is like that, then they're probably just looking for someone to listen to them and so they can air their grievances. There's no point trying to change their minds, because that's not what the purpose of the discussion is.

Discussion

M: Yay! Thank you, Rory, for your story! Right, dear listener! What synonyms do you remember from our previous episode? Do you? Synonyms for a person with strong opinions? Idioms? If you don't remember anything, just go back and take a look. Choose three good phrases. Okay? Because you can use them also in speaking part three. No, don't repeat all of them. But kind of like some popular topics include fashion, music, religion. Yeah, and like, people could have strong opinions about life in general, about parents, about having children, about money, about all sorts of topics, dear listener. About, I don't know...

R: Even the kind of phone that you have, or the phone cover. The number of people that have a go at me, which means have an argument with me, or criticize me, that have an argument with me about my phone cover. Apparently, I have a very Boomer phone cover. It's a cover for old men and old women, because it's got a case on it for credit cards.

M: Yeah, it's pretty old, Rory.

R: I don't care. Like it doesn't bother anyone else. It's not their concern.

M: But it's kind of, you're like a grandpa, Rory.

R: Perhaps we could talk about the vocabulary and grammar I have used?

M: Yeah, you see? I have a strong opinion now. Yeah, but actually, I find it very funny. And kind of, this cover is very Rory. So that's cute. Why do people have strong opinions? Well, all sorts of reason. And you can say that sort of lost on me. I don't know. Instead of saying I don't know, you can say that sort of lost on me, to be honest. Rory, could you say it with your beautiful intonation?

R: That's sort of lost on me, to be honest. Because I'm an old person. And really, old people should stop with their opinions about the young people. They've been doing it for 5000 years, and it's always the same thing. The young people are terrible and everything is going to pot. But in fact, that's probably not true, because here we are, we're still here.

M: And you can say that young people usually have strong opinions about fashion, music, because they are concrete things.

R: You can see them.

M: Yeah, you can see them, you can touch them, but it's more difficult to have strong opinions about corruption, about something which is more abstract, rather than like tangible things. Tangible things are things you can touch, physical things. And they're easier to talk about, rather than abstract things like love, hate, corruption.

R: Power. And the abuse of it thereof.

M: Older people sometimes have strong opinions about less tangible things. So they have strong opinions about more abstract, more abstract concepts. Like corruption, etiquette. No, good manners?

R: Yes.

M: Is it something abstract?

R: I think so. Well, at least what constitutes good matters is pretty abstract.

M: Old people have been in the culture so long, so like they are able to talk about less tangible things and be opinionated, have strong opinions about these topics, and they can navigate discussion about these topics. So if you navigate a discussion, you kind of manage this discussion. You can talk about these topics. When we persuade people, we want to convince them. So persuade, make someone do or believe something, by giving them reasons, by talking to them. So you listen to a person, and then when you speak, you might want to persuade them. And you can say, it depends on what you want to achieve. If you want to find out information, then listen. If you want a change in the world, then being persuasive is the priority, so you change a verb in the task to persuade people. It's an adjective. Be persuasive. So you can say, sometimes it's important to be persuasive.

R: I cannot stress this enough. You do not repeat the question in your answers. So you cannot say persuading others is more important than listening to others if that is the question. You have missed a chance to paraphrase and you sound like a robot.

M: Yeah. But you can change the part of speech. If the examiner says persuade others, you change it into an adjective, being persuasive. And this is high-level paraphrasing. The next question is very funny. Like, should you say something after thinking about it? You should think about it first and then say it? Yes? Uh-huh?

R: Well, people, adults in particular, often come out with this, and yet people don't do it. They rarely do it. There's always this like, immediate reaction that people have, and they're not guided by their thoughts. They're guided by their feelings. People are feeling creatures. They're not thinking creatures.

M: Yeah, so sometimes, so we say things without thinking about it, right?

R: Not sometimes. Most of the time.

M: You've used an interesting adjective with the word support. So what kind of support?

R: Oh, unequivocal support. That just means that you give complete support, 100% no questions asked.

M: Unequivocal support, total or expressed in a clear and certain way. For example. Could you give us an example with this unequivocal?

R: Well, people in a political party usually give their unequivocal support to the leader of that party. Otherwise, it could compromise the functioning of the party, and when they do, it's usually a sign things are not going well.

M: What about our friends and parents?

R: I think people often think they want unequivocal support from their friends and family, but only if the result is good or if they're doing the right thing. If you're doing the wrong thing, then surely you don't want to be supported. And you want to be told.

M: If we are asked for a measured opinion... A measured opinion? Like your friend asks you for your opinion, for your like true opinion, measured. It's important to pause for thought, so you make a pause, you think about it, and then you give this opinion.

R: Well, it could be your true opinion, but the measured opinion is the opinion where you think and weigh up or assess different options. So you don't say, like, whoa, everything is amazing. Go and do it. You might say, do this, but be careful about these things. That is a measured opinion.

M: Yeah, pluses and minuses. Is it good to have strong opinions? Is it good to be opinionated? Remember, this is a negative word. Not particularly. Could be good, but could be not good. So it's not a bad thing either, but it's not good at the same time.

R: Yeah. It's not like the best thing in the world.

M: What does it mean to be a very principled person?

R: Well, if you're principled, it just means that you're consistent with the values that you have, so it's clear where your reasoning comes from, and you don't change what you say to reflect someone else's principles. You keep it to your own principles. For the opposite example of this, look up any politician who has ever lived.

M: Having strong opinions could lend you in a lot of trouble. So to land in trouble. That's a very nice one.

R: If you land in trouble, it just means you get into trouble. But usually it's like very serious trouble. If you land yourself in trouble, it means you get yourself into trouble.

M: Yeah. So having strong opinions could get you in trouble, or having strong opinions could land you in a lot of trouble. And then, Rory, you've used this strange verb. If you are spouting off about powerful figures. To spout off?

R: Well, that just means, like giving your opinion to everybody uncontrolled, especially emotionally uncontrolled.

M: Yeah, to spout means to speak. And again, this verb is disapproving, so it's negative. To speak a lot in a way that is boring or annoying for other people. To spout is negative.

R: I'm going to guess that it's a C2-level word. Am I right?

M: Ooh, I don't know. The Cambridge online dictionary doesn't have the level.

R: Oh...

M: Sorry.

R: Let's just say it is.

M: Yeah, it's pretty, it's pretty high level, dear listener, yeah. So if people spout off or on, like you are annoyed and you don't like that.

R: Usually spout off about something.

M: Spout off about something.

R: You would never catch someone doing anything like that on this podcast.

M: No... People voice their strong opinions, or people express their strong opinions. They voice their strong opinions, or they air out their strong opinions. To air something out - to express it. And what did you mean when you said that people who voice their strong opinions are full of hot air?

R: Well, if you're full of hot air just means you're only full of words. You don't intend to do anything about it or take any action, you just say things. Thank heavens that never happens in today's world.

M: Sweet. Thank you very much for listening, dear listener! Hopefully, now you are full of super vocabulary. Okay? And super adjectives and synonyms. Yeah. A very interesting topic, strong opinions. All right?

R: Something we never have. You would never catch us doing that. Very good.

M: No, we are very flexible, dear listener. We are tolerant.

R: Demure, mindful, very neutral.

M: Yeah, we're super, super neutral. Yeah, we are the definition of being neutral, dear listener. It's a joke. We are sending you lots of love, hugs and joy. All right? Bye!

R: Bye!

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