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048 - Stop Trying to Sound Smart

Hello there. Kevin here, with another episode of the Feel Good English podcast.

Today, we have a book episode, and I’m going to help you communicate better. There’s a good chance you’re listening to this as an English learner, somebody trying to be a better communicator in English, and the rules that I’m going to talk about from the book “Words that Work” by the author, Frank Luntz, can definitely apply to your English communication skills as much as they can to your own native language communication skills.

Getting your point across, expressing yourself, being clear about what you want to say, making sure others understand you: these are all universal principles, and just because you’re learning a new language doesn’t mean all of those rules change.

Also, a great benefit of learning how to speak more clearly and more concisely in your own language can also help you do it in English.

Sometimes, we try to overcomplicate things when learning a new language.

If we simplify it, and we use simple language, we can get to a place of fluency, faster. You don’t have to try to sound smart. You don’t have to use the biggest words, and this well–known author, Frank Luntz, who wrote the book “Words that Work,” is a highly regarded political writer. He helps politicians write speeches and influence people in the political realm, and what he has to say is valuable. Through a lot of research and studies, he has come up with certain strategies that we can all use for more effective communication.

I’m going to talk about some of the main strategies in this book, help you understand what you can do to become a better communicator, in not only your own language but also in English as well, of course.

And if you want transcripts to this episode, go over to feelgoodenglish.com “Words that Work” by Frank Luntz, the topic of the day. Let’s get into the episode.

So the first strategy from this book is about using simple language, using simple words. And to be even clearer, use small words.

Have you ever been talking to somebody or do you know someone? or maybe you are this person? They like to use big words, and this could be in English or in their own language, but they have a large vocabulary, and this isn’t necessarily bad. However, I think what we really should be doing when we’re communicating with somebody is trying to connect with them and trying to use simple language, so we know that the other person can understand us. Using big words sounds smart, “academic language,” I call it.

Sometimes, I think you just go to school, you go to college, so you can learn big words, but coming from the author of this book, who also helps politicians become better speakers, using small words is better and more effective.

This could be a big relief for your English. You don’t have to have a huge vocabulary with all these complicated words. One common mistake I see English learners make is they try to use too many words, too many expressions, too many phrasal verbs, too many different expressions and all of that stuff when you don’t have to. You can simplify what you’re trying to say. Use small words.

Which bring me to the next strategy, which is to use clear and well– organized short sentences. And another quote from this book: “Be as brief as possible. Never use a sentence when a phrase will do, and never use four words when three say just as much. When asked how long a man’s legs ought to be, Abraham Lincoln said, “Long enough to reach the ground.” So you can see that’s another quote from the book. Use short sentences.

There’s a technique that I use called the “Reverse Translation” technique with my students to help them simplify and shorten sentences in English.

Basically, what you’re doing is you’re finding new words, new vocabulary, making the very short sentence in your own language with the translation of that, and then translating from your own language into English that very short, concise sentence. This helps you speak faster, think less, and speak more concisely and clearly. By the way, if you want that course, it’s free.

Just go to my website and look for the free course on Reverse Translation.

But anyway, use short sentences. Be short and concise. This isn’t easy.

Often, I find myself talking too much, saying too many words. We call this being “wordy,” but through practice and through having clear ideas of what you want to say, you can speak more clearly.

What also can help us giving context to the situation. Set up the situation.

Describe the background or what’s going on when you are trying to express something, so people don’t have to guess what you’re talking about.

The author talks about something called the “generation effect.” Generation effect is where information is better remembered if it is generated, generation effect, from one’s own mind rather than simply read. So you want somebody to really understand something, let them generate some of the ideas from their own mind, as opposed to just giving them a bunch of new information, and you can do this by asking questions.

And the last thing here, the last idea, is to know your audience. Know who you’re talking to. Know their hopes, their beliefs, and misconceptions.

Basically, it means going into a conversation with an open mind, making sure you know who you’re talking to, and not letting misconceptions and misunderstandings control what you’re trying to say.

One study they found that Americans vote more based on the character of the nominee of the Presidential candidate, and not his political agenda. Now is the election season here in the U.S. of course, you’ve probably heard of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, and they say crazy things, one’s a Democrat, one’s a Republican. What they found is a large portion of the U.S.

simply votes on character, meaning what they think of the person who is running for President. They think Trump is “a new, rebel politician,” who is a businessman, who is successful, “he’s a man,” “he’s rude, but he’s aggressive,” and they might think Hillary Clinton is just the same type of politician, who’s been in politics for a long, long time, who is controlled by the political environment; and people vote based on these things, not exactly on their agenda.

That’s an example of how, when you think of Americans, you might misunderstand what they think about politics. So if you’re talking to them about political agenda, they might get a little lost, or you might be surprised by their emotional answer, knowing that Americans vote based on character of the candidate, would help you communicate with them better.

If you’re selling something or trying to convince people of something, know why they might be there. What are the aspirations behind the reasons that they are there? If you have employees, if you’re a manager, and you have to have a meeting with them and tell them to do things, what would be the reason they would want to do this? What are their motivations? What are their desires behind this? You can’t just come with your own desires and intentions, and know what their beliefs are.

So summarizing the book, everybody interprets language differently. What this means is that just because there’s a definition in the dictionary doesn’t mean that is the only way people will interpret your language. Effective language, effective communication is about taking the views of your audience into account, and choosing the words that will impact them the most.

Being short, concise, using simple words, small words, short sentences, have proven to be effective in politics. The author of the book, Frank Luntz, has made careers out of helping politicians be better communicators. There is no reason you can’t take this advice and apply it to your own English communication. So relax a little bit, know that using small words, simple language, can help you become a better communicator.

Going over the vocabulary from today, in the beginning, I talked about the “political realm.” Realm, R-E-A-L-M. The realm is the area or the domain where something happens. So, the political realms are simply where politics happen. Where the academic realm, it’s where academics take place. A realm is just an area. In this case, it’s like a field of study.

You also hear in this episode “ought to.” Ought, O-U-G-H-T. Very commonly used, and “ought to” simply means “should.” In American English and in English, in general, often we will say “oughta’.” You ever heard “oughta,” instead of “should”? You oughta go. There’s that song by Alanis Morissette, “You Oughta Know.” “You should know, you oughta know,” and it’s not in the past tense. You can’t use “ought to” in the past. So it’s just like using “should.” “You oughta go to my city. It’s a wonderful city.” Another word here, I used as an expression, “being wordy.” To be wordy is to use too many words. If somebody is wordy, literally the word “word,” with a “-y” on the end, means to use a lot of words. “You’re being wordy.” You’re using too many words to get your point across. So, speaking more simply, speaking more clearly, concisely is the opposite of being wordy.

A rhetorical question, if you’ve never seen the word “rhetorical.” When you ask a rhetorical question, it’s a question that you’re not really looking for the answer to. So you either ask it because the answer is obvious. A rhetorical question: You ask somebody, and you’re not looking for an answer or you’re just trying to prove your point through the question itself.

The phrasal verb I used, “tap into,” I’ve talked about this before. “Tap into” the resources is to use or to connect those resources, or if we really need to “tap into,” or also could mean “to take advantage of something.” We need to tap into this before it’s too late. We need to take advantage of this. “Take into account,” I also used. “Take the views of your audience into account,” means to consider. “To consider the views of your audience.” So, we need to take this into account. You’re in a meeting with people at work, and the manager says “Okay, we’re going to take everybody’s opinion into account.” “We’re going to consider everyone’s opinion on this issue.” If you want to try that course that helps you write more concisely, speak more clearly and use shorter sentences, go to feelgoodenglish.com and look for the free course and try it out, let me know what you think.

It’s free! What do you have to lose? Nada.

Thanks for listening to this episode. I hope you learned something about effective communication.

If you want the transcript to this episode, do go to feelgoodenglish.com, read it while listening and learn more deeply and use the new vocabulary to write short and concise sentences, right?

Having an open mind, being open to who you’re speaking with, not being afraid to use simple language, thinking that you will sound dumb if you don’t use big words, is the way we can communicate more effectively.

I will see you in the next lesson, but before I go, of course, I will leave you with a lovely joke.

What’s Donald Trump’s favorite nation? Discrimination.

See you in the next lesson.