📘 Part 3: Talking to people

This episode's vocabulary

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

A new dimension - something new, a new direction.

Knock-on (adj.) - causing other events or situations to happen, although not directly.

Repercussion (noun) - the effect that an action, event, or decision has on something, especially a bad effect.

Cynical (adj.) - believing that people are only interested in themselves and are not sincere.

Perspective (noun) - a particular way of considering something.

Plaster around the table  - gather around the table.

Vigor (noun) - strength, energy, or enthusiasm.

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

Intergenerational (adj.) - of or involving persons of different generations, as parents and children.

Dichotomy (noun) - a difference between two completely opposite ideas or things.

Prima facie (adj.) - at first sight (= based on what seems to be the truth when first seen or heard).

Hindrance (noun) - something that makes it more difficult for you to do something or for something to develop.

Holographic (adj.) - related to images in which objects look as if they are solid and real, not flat.

In your mind's eye (noun) - in your imagination or memory.

Visual cortex (noun) - the visual cortex of the brain is the area of the cerebral cortex that processes visual information.

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Questions and Answers

M: Let's talk about talking to people. What are young people interested in talking to each other about?

R: Probably the same things adults like talking about, I suppose, but less developed extent and in a less sophisticated manner. Take relationships, for example, they can comment on whether something is fair or unfair, but they struggle to say why and articulate how to manage any issues that might happen beyond the most crude solutions.

M: Are young people interested in talking to older people?

R: Oh, I should certainly hope so if they want to learn anything, I think there are two main reasons for it, curiosity and some concrete purpose.

M: Do you agree that conversations are more interesting if people don't agree with each other?

R: Well, not necessarily, though it's like this at times. Sometimes it can be interesting to hear a new dimension to consider, for example.

M: Let's talk about being good listener. What problems might occur when someone doesn't listen carefully?

R: At the most basic level, people can do the wrong thing or fail to do the right thing. These are different things. And then this has knock-on effects with far-reaching repercussions in some cases.

M: How can someone who is talking know if the other person is really listening?

R: Well, there are lots of ways, eye contact, nodding, whether the eyes are glazed over or not, engagement with other distractions, oh, and asking questions at the most simple level. I find that to be a useful sign. If no one asks questions, then they aren't really listening, or they haven't been listening or caring about what you've been saying.

M: But do you think it's easy to fake it?

R: I think people try and fake it. But then they might ask you a question. But if you ask a follow up question, and they're just like, I don't really know, or they say something that you've already talked, but then it becomes clear that they haven't been paying attention.

M: But do you think like most people are just waiting for the turn to speak instead of listening?

R: Some times yes. But, again, it's a bit cynical, isn't it? You want to believe that people have conversations for genuinely constructive purposes. And that's what I choose to believe.

M: Would you agree that people who talk about themselves a lot are not good listeners?

R: Well, I don't know about that. People who are self-involved aren't good listeners. But that doesn't translate to people who talk about themselves. It's possible that people are interested in what they have to say. Or they might have some wealth of knowledge or experience that others lack. So you know that these two things aren't the same.

M: Let's talk about changes in communication. How has the use of computers and phones changed personal communication?

R: Well, it increased the distances over which communication can take place, for one. Like I mean, like I can talk to somebody from the other side of the planet and gain their insight and perspective on things. Although on the subject of perspective, it seems to have distanced us socially from each other as well. You see people plastering around with their phones at the dinner table, for example.

M: But do you think most people enjoy face-to-face communication?

R: Yes.

M: That's the answer. Good. Okay, thank you very much. That's the speaking test.

R: You can tell from the way that people react, they're smiling, and they're having fun, they make jokes. Maybe they don't necessarily do these things, but they enjoy the interaction that they have with a real person, as opposed to something on a screen, which is less real. Even if you're having that communication with a real person at the end of it the representation of them on the screen isn't a real person. If you see what I mean, it's not physically real.

M: What about the language? Does communication technology have a greater impact on the language young people use, or the language older people use?

R: Well, I think young people are always into the latest thing. And, well, they've got more vigor. So they'll probably more readily communicate in new ways. But this could have a significant effect on intergenerational communications too. So I'm not sure dichotomy exists here, despite what we think sort of prima facie.

M: Face to face communication is a basic human need. What do you think, Rory?

R: Well, I couldn't agree more with that. Despite the barriers and hindrances we face in terms of it now, you experience the whole person when you're well in person, for lack of a better term.

M: What about the future, Rory? What's going to happen in the future to people's communication?

R: Well, I imagine it will just become more advanced and sophisticated means of what we already have, we already communicate over long distances, we already communicate more often and with greater speed than we did before. And there's no reason why that can't accelerate I suppose, if we think about very futuristic possibilities then holographic communication with 3D versions of people. And then the means by which we accomplish this will be more complex. So instead of a screen, it could be a projection into your mind's eye almost or your visual cortex. So it's just going to become more sophisticated ways of what we already do.

M: Thank you for your lovely answers.

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Discussion

M: Yeah, so now we're already talking about vocabulary. And the first vocabulary item on the list is visual cortex, right? A visual cortex is a part of our brain, right, Rory?

R: The visual cortex of the brain is the area of the cerebral cortex that processes visual information. So a cortex is just a way of saying part of the brain. It's a really specific piece of vocabulary. I would like to point out that I did not write that down, I just pulled it out of my head. And the only reason I know that visual cortex exists is because of Star Trek. So there you go. Science fiction can be useful.

M: Yes, indeed. And speaking part three is more flexible, because in this part, the examiner has some freedom, and can change questions can build on what you're saying. That's why, you know...

R: That's why you did that?

M: Yes, I did that. I just asked you a question. Not random question. But like, depending on what you've told me.

R: A follow up question.

M: A follow up questions. Yes, they're called follow up questions. So visual cortex. And it's okay to use specific terms like visual cortex.

R: As long as you know what it means.

M: Yes, you need this visual cortex, you know.

R: Make sure you know what you're talking about.

M: What was this sentence? How did you use this visual cortex in the sentence?

R: Well, it would be like what, an image projected into your visual cortex. So although admittedly, that's not entirely correct, because the visual cortex is part of your brain. So you can't project an image into it. You could create an image using it, but you project images onto things that can see. But your visual cortex can't do that. It just processes information.

M: Dear listener, are you still with us? Good. Okay.

R: Sorry. I know a bit about brains. Which is ironic, because I'm quite stupid.

M: Okay, we're gonna start from the end of this episode, because at the very end, there are some nice terms and words. For example, a good phrase is "I couldn't agree more with that". Very often, the examiner asks you "do you agree", "what do you think". And you say, "I couldn't agree more with that". Rory, could you, could you show us the intonation?

R: I couldn't agree more with that. I couldn't agree more with that, because...

M: Very nice. And then you go despite the barriers and hindrances. Nice. So barrier first. And what is a hindrance?

R: Well, they're both ways of... A barrier stop something from happening and a hindrance slows it down. So it's important to point out the difference between these two things. So a barrier to communication might be, it's difficult to talk to people who speak a completely different language from you. A hindrance might be you don't have the same grasp of the language as the other person that you're talking to. Like, you didn't know what a visual cortex was. So that was a hindrance, it slowed you down. But it didn't slow you down from... That didn't stop you, because you just pressed on and asked afterward. What the hecks is a visual cortex by the way?

M: Yeah, yeah. Cool. So you can say like, despite the barriers and hindrances we face in terms of communication, people still talk to each other. Right?

R: Should say, if you're a biologist, and you're listening to this, like despairing about my description of visual cortex, bear in mind, I'm an English teacher, not a doctor.

M: Not a neuroscientist or surgeon. What is...

R: Dichotomy? Dichotomy is like two, well, it comes from the Latin word for two systems, basically. So it means like, there's either one way or the other way, it's only two choices, like a yes or no answer. That's a dichotomous choice because you only can pick two answers. Another way of thinking about it is like black and white, yes or no, one or two, or zero or one even.

M: And then you go, I'm not sure a dichotomy exists.

R: Yes. And I'm not sure if dichotomy exists. So just say like... That's a good strategy in the exam, actually, if someone asks you a yes or no question, you can say like, I'm not really sure that dichotomy exists, because life is complicated. And then you explain why life is complicated to your examiner.

M: Nice. That's a really good strategy. You've used another one, which starts with P, and another one starts with F.

R: Primo facie is just a Latin expression for on the face of it.

M: Wow, how do we use it?

R: Well, it's just like, it's another way of saying something seems to be the case by just looking at it, but you didn't actually do any further analysis yet. So here you might think that young people have all the advantages in terms of the effects of communications technology. But that's just what it seems like and then so that's prima facie. And then you look further. And you understand that actually, there might be potential for intergenerational communication.

M: Yes. Intergenerational communication, generation, intergenerational - in between generations.

R: Yeah.

M: Okay, dear listener, how are you? And everything was pretty much in one sentence, right?

R: You just need to use all this complex vocabulary in one sentence, and you've got your band nine score. Done.

M: Yes, and then you look at the examiner, you got that? Who's the boss now? Yeah, me. So this could have a significant effect on intergenerational communication, too. So I'm not sure a dichotomy exists here. Despite what we think prima facie. Oh my God, it's band 15. So, teenagers, young people are always in the latest thing. We don't say in the last thing, because last is the last, right, the final thing. So the latest thing, the latest trends, latest news, what else? The latest book. Rory's latest book.

R: You're just saying things that I want to say now and I'm running out of options.

M: It's okay. You can just agree with me. And young people have more vigor. That's a nice one. Vigor.

R: Yeah. Vigor is just like energy. It's almost like reckless energy. If you do something vigorously. It's like how you do things when you've had too much coffee, for example. Not me though. I'm drinking my matcha latte.

M: Yum, yum, yum. Yes, dear listener, we are recording in the morning.

R: We are recording in the morning. It's not real coffee, though. It's a matcha. So it's like without caffeine, which makes the whole thing pointless. Right?

M: Well, you did go to Starbucks, right? So...

R: Well, yeah. So it's not really coffee. It's just American.

M: So this is what it's called. Right? See, dear listener, it's American. Yeah. I really enjoyed the way how you paraphrased the examiner's words. The question was, would you agree that people who talk about themselves a lot are not good listeners, and Rory goes, people who are self-involved aren't good listeners. Really nice. And, dear listener, if you can, you should paraphrase the examiner's question. Like the examiner asks you what's important, you say it's critical, or it's essential?

R: Yeah. Although it's important to point out that talking about yourself and being self-involved are not the same thing. Like, you can talk about yourself, but make it interesting for other people, but people who are self-involved don't care. They're just like, I'm the center of this conversation, whether you like it or not, and I don't care about involving you in this. It's all about me.

M: Yeah, but still, like similar.

R: They're similar, but they're not exactly the same things. Otherwise, we wouldn't have two different words.

M: True. It has a knock-on effect.

R: We talked about this before. A knock-on effect. It's like, what happens after the initial thing. So for example, the knock-on effects of smoking are an increased risk of cancer. The knock-on effects of drinking at Starbucks is funding American imperialism. You know, it's all, it's all terrible. Usually, it's used to describe bad things.

M: This listening to our podcast have any knock-on effects? I've heard from some people that they started using lovely, more often and certain words are pronounced with a certain type of intonation in a kind of Rory way, or maybe Maria way.

R: Really?

M: Or maybe like people who are addicted to listening to our podcast, they sometimes in the middle of the day, they just shut out Scotland freedom. Or every time they hear the word freedom, they go Scotland freedom. What do you think?

R: Well, there's only one cure for that. They need to get a life.

M: What do you mean? No, you can't say that.

R: I just did.

M: No, listening to our podcast is getting a life. Get a life means like, enjoy your life.

R: Let's not be over-optimistic, shall we?

M: Alright, moving on. repercussions. Repercussions.

R: Repercussions.

M: Yeah, repercussions. Repercussions, there could be some repercussions, if you don't listen to our podcast. Is it correct?

R: You are the worst self-promoter, you're even worse than I am.

M: Listen to our podcast or...

R: It's important to point out though collocations, so it's always knock-on effects, but far-reaching repercussions. So repercussions are like the consequences of something, but far-reaching repercussions are consequences that continue for a long time. Like, think about Chernobyl. The far-reaching repercussions of Chernobyl are that that area of the planet is uninhabitable for what the next 10,000 years.

M: True. Yeah. Yeah. Far-reaching repercussions. Can I use this in an essay, in the IELTS? essay?

R: I think so.

M: This could have far-reaching repercussions.

R: You'd have to say what the farreaching repercussions are to demonstrate you understand what that means.

M: Yeah. True, true. For example, blah, blah, blah. Could you spell repercussions, please?

R: No, you spell it.

M: You are today super spelling hero. He's reading from the script.

R: I am reading from a script.

M: It's okay. It's a difficult word, but a very good to use.

R: Is there a name for that phenomenon? Like I could spell it if I write it down. But I can't spell it when I say it is. Is there a name for this phenomenon?

M: Yes, yes, there is a name. It's Rory's spelling phenomenon.

R: No, there must be a name for this. There's a scientific name for this and I'm going to find it later.

M: Okay, how about R phenomenon?

R: What about the next piece of vocabulary?

M: Yes, some concrete purpose. So the word concrete is very interesting. Some concrete purpose. When can I use this concrete word?

R: Well, it's another collocation, we should really do a Podcourse on collocations. Although we did, we'd be here all day. It's always concrete purpose together. A concrete purpose is like something that you can easily demonstrate or easily understand. Another way of thinking about it is you have concrete nouns, which are words that represent physical things in the world. So light, microphone, hat, they're all things that physically exists. So something concrete physically exists as well. But in this sense, if we talk about a concrete purpose, then it's something that's clear and easy to see.

M: Yeah, yeah. Concrete is also material. So you can have concrete walls, you can make concrete. So this, you know, like gray thingie they put on the ground, on the pavement.

R: Thingy.

M: Material.

R: Material. There we go.

M: It's gray, you know, concrete. Okay. When you give examples in speaking part three, it's a very nice expression to say, for example, like, take relationships, for example. Take people in Russia, for example. Take iPhones, for example, yeah? Not just, for example, iPhones, but take iPhones, for example. That's a nice one.

R: So, thank you, dear listener. Hopefully, we provided you with some concrete solutions to your problems. In terms of getting prepared for the IELTS exam.

M: We'd be happy to see on Telegram, Instagram, or directly on Patreon. Bye!

R: Bye!

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