AEE 2416: Long Story Short! Make Sure You Don't Bore Your Friends in English
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This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 2416. Long story short, make sure you don't bore your friends in English.

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.

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Do you like to tell stories? The one thing that will kill a story before it even gets started is too many irrelevant details. Listen in today to find out how to use one elegant phrase to cut out the details and build the drama.

Are you still translating from your native language into English in your head? Are you always getting confused between the different grammar tenses? Let's figure out what you need to work on. Find your current English level with our five-minute quiz at allearsenglish.com slash fluency score. Hello there, Michelle. How's it going today? Are you a little tired? It sounds like you were up doing laundry late last night.

was up doing laundry late last night basically i made a mistake and i put too big of a load in the washer and that was fine but i put it in the dryer and i didn't realize it didn't completely dry and i didn't check on it for like a day and i went in last night and it just was smelled rancid it was disgusting and

And so long story short, I had to kind of use vinegar and then wash everything again and figure that whole thing out. So I didn't get to sleep until late. That was late. All right.

All right. So you had quite a dramatic night in the laundry room last night. And I heard some really great bonus words in there. Rancid, a really good one. But what I want to highlight from what you just said is the phrase long story short. I love that. What are we getting into in today's episode for our listeners? Yeah, we're going to be talking about this expression and storytelling. We love to talk about storytelling on this show because that is

That is one of the super, super, super keys to connection in my opinion. Yes, I completely agree. And with Aubrey on Allers English, we've been doing a series recently about how to be concise in English, but we didn't talk about this phrase and it's actually a key piece of how to be concise.

It definitely is. And we're lucky because we got a listener question about this today and it's perfect for, you know, talking about storytelling. So this is from Catherine from Belarus. Okay. And it was through a five-star review. Lindsay, would you like to read it? Catherine, thank you so much for your wonderful review guys. Don't forget to review the podcast. All right. So Catherine says definitely one of my favorites. And I think she's talking about the episode that she, that she rated or when she rated the show. Do

"Dear host, I want to thank you for all the things your show is covering. Listening to you is not only extremely helpful in terms of grammar and vocabulary, but also amusing and energizing. Keep airing forever." Aw. I love it. Thank you. That is so wonderful to get that comment from Catherine. Here's the question. My question is, "I've recently found out about a phrase, 'long story short,' which means, as I understand it, getting straight to the core of the questions without any details.

So am I right? And what can be other options to say the same way?

to say the same in a natural way. Thank you for all the brilliant work again, Catherine from Belarus. Well, thank you. Wonderful. Thank you. Yeah, this is an awesome question. I'm excited to talk about this. Everybody can kind of relate to that moment when you're telling a story and you realize there's, you're in the middle. I mean, I, there were more, way more details in my story, but it's not that,

- You're gonna be interested in every single detail and not every single detail is important. And it's kind of that moment when you have that realization, right? - Yes, exactly.

Okay. They don't need to know what kind of detergent I use and what kind of vinegar I used. Yeah, it's true. Once you start to get bored with your own story, that's a sign that you should drop in this expression because other people are possibly getting bored. I wasn't bored with your story though, Michelle. It was a chaotic evening over in your residence there. Yes, yes, exactly. Exactly. So, I mean, it just...

exactly it's that moment where you realize okay i better i better just wrap this up get to the point right get to the point and you know we've talked about this we heard this in our professional english level one course some of the native speakers that i interviewed talked about meeting length and that's not storytelling but there is something about you have people's attention

It is valuable, right? And so keep it short, just let them know what they need to know. And you're building the story at the beginning and the end, right? It's more about setting the scene of the story. We don't need all the details. Right. Yes, exactly. So, and you know, it can be used when you, I mean, maybe you just don't have a lot of time. You don't want to go through all the details.

Sometimes you might anticipate needing this phrase, right? So you might know, okay, I'm about to tell this story. I mean, even for me, I'm realizing, okay, I'm going to tell this story. This is kind of a, it's not that interesting of a story. It's just kind of chaotic, but I might know I'm going to cut out some details. But again, sometimes it's just in that moment. Okay, whoa, whoa, whoa. Why am I telling, you know, about the fabric softener?

you know and exactly exactly so it can either be pre-planned and you intend to use it or you can throw it in when you start to realize okay you've gone too far it's time to rescue the story and pull it back right yeah yeah um do we have a role play to show some examples well we're gonna do a couple examples actually um so here you want to go for the first one here's the first example so there we were at the top of the hill and I could see all the beautiful trees it was just gorgeous anyway

Long story short, we made it down just fine and I have great pictures to keep forever. - I gave you a nature one. - Yeah, so here I'm probably hiking, right? And I don't need to describe all the leaves and the trees. The point is what happened at the end? It's like people wanna know what happened at the end. Did I make it down?

And I guess you did because you're telling the story. But yeah, it's almost like in this moment, you're kind of seeing what you're saying, right? So there we were at the top of the hill and I could see all the beautiful trees. It's almost like I get the sense that you're seeing them in your mind now and you're saying it was just gorgeous. And then you kind of have this moment of, okay, let me snap out of it, right? You kind of get lost in your own...

your own story does that make sense ah that makes sense yeah i like that i like that and it's good to get in some ways it's good to get lost in your own story as long as you keep uh your finger on the pulse of who you're talking to right right right so here's another example it wasn't a big deal long story short harper wanted the keys to the car and i said no and there was a fight but it's fine exactly and then michelle what what are some other times when we might use this

Yeah, I mean, because sometimes it's not even for particular stories. It's more it could just be for sharing details, directions, results, right? It doesn't have to. It doesn't always have to be for, oh, let me tell you the story about my laundry or let me tell you the story about my vacation. It can just be for something basic where, you know, there's a lot of details. So it doesn't have to be a story. And I think that's important.

Yeah. And here are some examples. So this is not a story at all. This is about our finances, right? It's a lot to digest, but long story short, we exceeded our goal for this quarter and can start to look ahead to next quarter. Yeah. So this is not like a storytelling campfire situation. Yeah. Right. Right. This is probably a team meeting or a update, a sync, a daily standup or something. Right. Yeah.

Yes, exactly. Because it's something where there's a lot of information, but you're not going to go through it signaling. We're not going to go through all the details, right? So here's another one. So there's a few keys you need to keep track of while I'm away. Long story short, the gold. Oh, sorry. I was thinking key. Yeah, that's what I'm going to start over. Okay. Okay. There's a few keys you need to keep track of while I'm away. Long story short, the gold ones are important and the other ones you can leave to the side.

Okay, nice. Yes. Okay, so giving instructions kind of, right? You're giving instructions to someone who's going to take care of your house when you're gone, maybe? Right, right, right. So it's like, I'm imagining I have this thing of keys and there's a bunch of them on there. And I, yeah, I could go over it and say, oh, the silverware.

silver one is for this right and all these other things but you don't need that information right right so and sometimes people say long story short but sometimes they might say the full version which is what Lindsay the full version of this phrase is to make a long story short and I also hear sometimes do you ever hear take off the two make a long story short

blah, blah, blah. I feel like I do, but I think it's much more common to just say long story short. Yeah, that's to me. I don't hear that other way necessarily, but I might hear to make a long story short

Maybe at the end. Right. So and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Yeah. To make a long story short. Right. Yeah. Like I do that. It's like it's kind of OK. You you've said this. You realize you left out some details. So you might just say. Yeah. And and I'm just really tired today to make a long story short. Right. Right. But you wouldn't. Yeah. The other one is more for introducing it. Long story short. Love.

Love it. Yeah. And there's no rule against putting at the end of your story as, as Michelle said, so we can be creative with this and that we just want to remember the point. It's about the connection skill here and the connection skill is shortening your story so you don't bore people. And again, guys, check out our series on how to be concise in English. The three part series Aubrey and I are doing right now. All right, we'll take a quick break and then we'll get back with some other alternatives, Michelle. All right. Okay.

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Make it an Abercrombie summer. Shop their newest arrivals in-store, online, and in the app. Okay, we are back. So there are other ways we can say this if we're telling a story and we're noticing maybe we're getting bored, maybe we're giving too many details, or the audience is getting bored. What could we say, Michelle?

Okay, so the first one you could say is I'll get to the point, right? So the thunder was crazy and I couldn't see where I was going, but I'll get to the point. We made a home safe, but our clothes are soaked. Nice. I like it, but I don't like it as much as long story short.

Right, right. Exactly. Yeah. These are, these are all. So what about this one, Lindsay? How about, how do you like this one? This next one? Okay. What is it? This one I'll cut to the chase. I would give this an okay rating. It's okay. I don't mind it. I

I don't mind it here we go here's a sample sentence I know there's a lot to learn here but I'll cut to the chase I will always be here for you to ask questions and I completely know what to do here so don't worry okay whoa we're doing something maybe operating heavy machinery or something sounds like a serious thing going on right so cut to the chase means get to the most important part

Yes. Or then there's in a nutshell, which I believe we've talked about a little bit before, but let's mention this one. So in a nutshell, she made it to school, but she doesn't have her school project with her and we need to drop it off. So you imagine it was a crazy morning and everything was nuts. But everything was fine. So I'm not going to go over the details.

Yes, exactly. And I hear this more. I hear this a lot in a nutshell. It's so funny. You think of a little nutshell, like a shell, right? Like, what is it like a walnut shell or something covering the walnut? And I think of a peanut. I don't know. That's just in my head. Peanut. Okay. So like the meaning the skin of the peanut, that kind of shell, you know, when it's in the shell and you have to like break it open. Of course. Yeah. I never buy them that way, except at the ball games.

baseball games. Exactly. Yeah. Traditions. We love it. All right. And then some people sometimes might say other things. For example, they might say, I won't bore you with all the details. Right. But here are some details.

Right, right, right, right, right. So I won't bore you with all the details of my trip, but I do have pictures to show you. Oh, we've talked about this before on the show, Michelle. Should you break out pictures? You know, do you like looking at other people's pictures from their trips? A very limited number. Give me three max, you know.

I think we had this conversation years ago on the podcast. What are the cues when you know you should maybe break out the album or put it away? You got to be careful there, for sure. Yes. Yes. Yes, exactly. But yeah, this is all just so huge for connection. It signals what you're about to say or that you're kind of wrapping something up. So it lets the listener know what's coming up. And it also signals

To me, it shows that you're kind of emotionally intelligent. You're thinking about what can be cut out to keep things short. You're thinking you're respecting the other person's time. You're showing that you want to hear from them as well. You're not just going to occupy the whole conversation. So there's so much here. Yeah. I mean, a conversation should be like ping pong back and forth or tennis, right? Back and forth and back and forth. It shouldn't be one person doing a monologue.

That is so incredible. But unfortunately, some people do. They go off and go off and they're very long winded, which is a word we learned on the other episode in the series. So Michelle, let's go into a role play. Are you ready? All right, let's do it. So we're not going to use all of these, but we'll give you an idea. So here we go. I went on vacation and I'm telling you about it. Okay, here we go. All right. It

It was incredible, Lindsay. You know, I won't bore you with all the details, but I can show you my album. Sure, that's great. Okay, so here we are on our hike. It was so beautiful. The leaves were turning brown, but then it got crazy. Long story short, we totally got rained on. Oh, no. What did you do? Well, we had to go back to the hotel. The staff was so friendly and helpful, but our bags were lost.

- No. - Yes. Anyway, I'll cut to the chase. In a nutshell, the hotel ordered us clothes to wear for the day. They were incredible. - Oh, wow. Lucky you. Great hotel.

All right. So you had a story, you had photos, right? The photos came out. Yes. And but you did do some important things to kind of keep me engaged, right? It was really a back and forth. It wasn't a monologue about your trip, right? Yes, exactly. So the first thing I said was, I won't bore you with all the details, but I can show you my album. Yes, exactly. I won't bore you with all the details. And

And then you break out the album and then you said, okay, so here we are in our hike. It was so beautiful. The leaves were turning brown, but then it got crazy. Long story short, we totally got rained on.

Yep. Well, that's good. You could have said more things. You could have said, oh, and we saw the clouds approaching, but we didn't think it was going to rain because the forecast had said it wouldn't rain. You could have gone on and on and on. Right, right, right. Oh, and I had checked the weather. I had checked it and I thought so. Yeah. Yeah. That's the part that you cut out. And that's where a long story short comes in so beautifully. Right. Yeah.

Yeah. And then I said, anyway, oh, and then we have this fun moment, which is pretty common in conversations, right? Where you say no. And I say, yes. Yes. We've talked about this before on the podcast, but maybe it's time to revisit that on another episode, Michelle. That would be kind of fun. I think. Yes, exactly. And then I said, anyway, I'll cut to the chase. And then I used in a nutshell, the hotel ordered us clothes. So I don't need to, I didn't need to use both of those, but sprinkled it in.

Yeah. You, you may have cut out details of, Oh, we filled out a form with the hotel and they used our, our security deposit to buy us. No, we don't care about all that. The hotel ordered us close, right? That's all there was to it. Yes. Love it. Exactly. Perfect. So yeah, Lindsay, um, what's another episode that our listeners could check out to learn more fun things?

Well, I've mentioned a couple of times the three-part series on being concise that we did just in the past few weeks. So go check out those episodes. And then episode 2376, how to pick the preposition during, since, or for would be a great one because at any time you're telling stories, you're going to be using prepositions. Right, Michelle?

Exactly. So go over there to review and learn those. So takeaway for today, Lindsay. Yeah, I think to me, it's have your own ears open when you're telling a story, right? Don't just be spitting it out. Listen to yourself and consider the flow of the conversation.

Yeah. I mean, stories, connection is built around stories, right? That's when we learn about people's quirks, about their lifestyle, about how they handle crazy situations, scary, different kinds of situations, but they don't need all the details. Okay. So monitor your audience, monitor yourself and drop in this phrase, long story short, to let your listeners go on with their day. Yeah.

Perfect. Let your audience kind of go on and then let them, and then make it more of a back and forth. They can ask you follow-up questions. That's ideal, right? That's better. That's a good point. That's a good point. I'm glad you brought that up. So let them ask you, right? Make it a little bit more,

mysterious. Oh, and then, right. So, and then you'll know what they're really interested in. So you're not going to bore them. All right, Lindsay. All right, Michelle. Long story short, I think it's time that we go. That sounds good, Michelle. You have a good day. I'll talk to you soon. All right. Bye. Bye.

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