BE 430: This Is a Fantastic Episode, if You Will
15:58 Share

This is the Business English Podcast, Episode 430. This is a fantastic episode, if you will.

Welcome to the Business English podcast from All Ears English. Get the English skills you need to achieve your dreams in global business. For a presentation, a meeting, or your office party, this is Real Business English with your favorite American hosts, Lindsay and Aubrey, coming to you from Arizona and Colorado, USA.

How do you know when you've reached an advanced level in English? It's not just about having conversations. It's about being interesting when you speak. To get there, you need the right method and a clear plan. Our connection method is designed to get you there. Join our B2 English fluency course built entirely on spontaneous, unrehearsed video interviews with native speakers.

plus with brand new AI activities for instant feedback and a vibrant community to practice with every week. This is your roadmap to real English and real connection. Save up to $50 before June 29th and get a free bonus course. Go to allearsenglish.com slash B2. That's letter B number two.

Hello, Aubrey. How are you today? I'm great, Lindsay. How are you? Aubrey, how was your Mother's Day? It just happened, I guess, a few months ago. Yeah, it was so nice. I try to be a really hands-on mom, if you will, but on Mother's Day, I take the day off. No cleaning, no cooking. I was super lazy. That's amazing. You deserve it. All mothers deserve to do whatever they want to do on Mother's Day. I agree. Right? If you want a day off, you should be able to get a day off. Totally.

Totally. Oh my gosh. Guys, before we get any further into what we're talking about today, hit follow right here on the podcast because we go deep into English and how to build relationships at Work Through English. Hit the follow button.

Yes, absolutely. You guys may have noticed I said, if you will, in my answer, we got a great question about this. I'm excited to get into it. Yes, this is great. So this is a question from Mateus and I'll just go ahead and read the question. All right. I was watching a movie and there's this manager who would always say to their employees,

Do that if you would. And today I was reading an article about Snow White that said, it's a real fairy tale ending, if you will. I kind of understand the meaning, but I'm sure I'm not able to use them in conversations. Could you help me out? Thanks in advance, Mateos.

Great questions. This is always interesting when this happens because you would think these are related. It really seems like they would be if you would, if you will. They're actually not at all. They're used in very different ways and have very different meanings. Right, Lindsay? Yeah, very different. Exactly. I mean, they could have been two separate episodes even, but this is great. I'm glad that we're getting them both in today. So let's start with if you would.

Tell us about this Aubrey. Yeah, so this is added to a request in order to be more polite. It's very similar to saying please, right? You might say draft the contract this morning if you would. Yeah, and maybe it's even catching yourself if you're being too bossy and it's tacking on if you would at the end. Like there's a scenario in which the person could have just said draft the contract this morning if you would, right? They're just adding it because they forgot to be polite. Right?

Right. Yes, right. You could tack it on at the end if you find yourself. We do this a lot. We're in a hurry. We don't realize how things are coming off. We're doling out commands. And then we realize, okay, I actually should be requesting a little more politely. Exactly. We have to be very careful with our words. Here's another example. If you would draft the contract this morning, that'd be awesome. And this is where we're thinking a bit more about it. We're putting it at the beginning.

And then we're making a bit more of a complex sentence, aren't we? Yes, exactly. And this is interesting that you could, of course, just say, please draft the contract this morning. That means the same thing, right? But it's interesting when we have more chunks at our disposal like this, we can switch it up. We sound more comfortable. We're more friendly, right? So this just gives you another way to request something in a polite way.

Yes, very interesting. All right. So that is if you would, it's just kind of making something sound making a request sound more polite, essentially, just like in Mateus's example, right? Someone asking employees, you know, do this, if you would do that, if you would, they're just adding if you would to be more polite. And it's instead of please, you could say, please do this, if you would, but it's almost redundant, you kind of just do one or the other.

- Mm-hmm, exactly, exactly. And so now I wanna move on to if you will, this could have been its own episode. It's a great one. What do we need to know here? If you will, not the same thing as if you would. - Exactly, this is very different, it's interesting. So we use this.

When we want to say that a particular expression or a phrase that we're using is one way of saying something that not everybody will necessarily agree with, or maybe they would choose a different way to say it, right? So it might imply that what you're saying is not strictly accurate or is unconventional, or it's like a stretch or an adjustment of a literal meaning, right? So there's kind of a lot that might be going on here.

And then for like replacements, it has a similar meaning to if you wish to call it that or like if you agree with that way of saying this or that terminology. Right. Or if you will stretch your mind to go like to follow what I'm saying kind of in a way. Right. If you will entertain this way of using this.

this term. Exactly. Which it could be that shortened, right? If you will entertain this choice of words for saying this, all of that shortened to, if you will. I know. It's a good question. What does come after, if you will? Like what is supposed to be the rest of the phrase, right? Exactly. Let's give some examples here. You might say,

The film was mediocre, if you will. So what you're saying here is like you're calling something mediocre and you're recognizing not everybody would agree with this exact terminology. There are definitely different opinions here. You're leaving room for others to interpret something differently. Yeah. So it's kind of like also the speaker is kind of asking permission to use the word mediocre in this context in a way. Right. Right. It's almost like a back and forth, like an invitation for you to agree with me.

And then they could say, they're not going to say like, no, I won't. But they might push back and be like, I didn't think it was mediocre. Right. Great. But that would just be even more. And that would just be more about the context of what the person has said. Not so much like I disagree with the use of that word. No, no, exactly. Here's another example. When it comes to coding, he's something of a modern day wizard, if you will.

Yeah. So this is interesting because if you're going to use the word wizard, right? Call someone a modern day wizard. This is kind of a perfect example. You're saying like, he's clearly not technically a wizard. He's not literally a wizard. Like I'm using this sort of metaphorically. I'm being playful with my vocabulary. And that's why sometimes you'll tack on, if you will, a modern day wizard, if you will. Yes. I love that. And it's fun. This is a way to...

Start to get creative with your word choices analogies maybe and then sort of

show that maybe not everyone's aware of that analogy or just it just makes your speaking more complex and interesting. Yes, exactly right because you do want to be creative and sometimes you will say things that like you've actually never heard anyone say it that way or describe it that way before. This is an interesting thing to tack on if you will meaning like I you know I recognize I'm being a little creative with my words here. Maybe this doesn't quite make sense. Right.

kind of a way of staying in touch with who you're talking to in a sense like keeping a barometer on things and like are you okay that i just use that word kind of exactly yeah and these are both quite formal fairly rare in everyday conversations we do use them at work some or when writing articles when we're trying to up level our language right what do you think lindsay i don't know that these are super common in just everyday conversations but i do hear them

Yeah, I mean, I think you would be okay to use it. It wouldn't be a language crime if you did, you know, right? There are no language crimes. I think it would be okay, you could get away with it. You probably sound quite articulate, you

it, you know? And so it does come back to the conversation. Who are you around? How do you want to sound? But I think, um, I don't think this is a scenario where you'll separate yourself too much because it literally is keeping track of who's in front of you. Like, are we on the same page? Are we okay that I just use that expression?

That's a good point. And I do love that it's not uncommon. We do hear this a lot. We use it a lot. So I think this is going to be one of those things that now that we've highlighted it, you are probably going to hear it on podcasts, on TV shows as you're surrounding yourself with English, or you might even hear it at work.

work, right? A native English speaker might use it or a language learner and you are now going to know what they mean. You'll be familiar. It's going to be interesting if you start hearing it everywhere. Yeah, that's so true. Once we become aware of something, we see it everywhere. It's true. Absolutely. All right. Good stuff.

Savor every last drop of summer with Starbucks. From bold refreshers to rich cold brews, the sunniest season only gets better with a handcrafted iced beverage in your hand. Available for a limited time. Your summer favorites are ready at Starbucks.

Okay, Aubrey, let's do a role play. So here you are telling me about a negotiation that you participated in. Ooh, do you like negotiations? No, not at all. How do you feel about negotiations? I am terrible at negotiations. What about you, Lindsay?

Oh, I don't really engage in them very much, but I actually took a class in my graduate school program about intercultural negotiation, but it was really just about negotiation in general. So I kind of have a framework for thinking about it, but I don't think I do a very good job once I get into them. I have had to negotiate lately, especially when we go to Rocky Point, there are a lot of vendors that expect you to negotiate. They're setting prices

This is really high and it's sort of a cultural thing that everyone's haggling, like they'll say. Oh, haggling. Yeah. And I'm really terrible about it. I'm just either quickly paying exactly what they're asking for or maybe I'll try to bring it down a little bit. I think I'm always overpaying because I hate negotiating. That's so funny. I love that. I love that. All right. Here is our role play. So how did the negotiations go yesterday? Good, I think. I'd love for you to tell me about it if you would.

We did a sort of dance, if you will, trying to outmaneuver each other. I wish I could have been there. You haven't received their decision yet? No, but I expect to hear from them soon. Really hoping it works out. That company has become a tech giant, a digital empire, if you will. For sure. Hopefully they'll agree to our terms.

Okay, so we don't know what the results were. Usually you kind of know right away in a negotiation, right? They accept it or they don't. But sometimes I guess... Sometimes you have to wait to hear back, right? Sometimes you have to wait. Okay, so you said, I think it went well. And then I said, I'd love for you to tell me about it if you would. So again, I'm kind of using a few ways of being polite here. I'd love for you to and if you would.

Yeah. And I, and you could stop, I'd love for you to tell me about it, but then you've kind of felt that, Oh, I need to tack on this. Like it's not required. You don't have to, you're definitely, uh,

adding just a little bit to make sure that I know no pressure, right? Maybe it's something that you think I won't feel comfortable sharing details about for some reason. So you're adding that extra politeness. Exactly. And then you said, Aubrey? I said, we did a sort of dance, if you will, trying to outmaneuver each other. So this is a good example for when this would be used, right? I'm calling it a dance.

this negotiation. And I'm recognizing not everybody would call it that or see it that I'm definitely using a creative term here. So then I throw in, if you will, we did a sort of dance, if you will. Exactly. And then you probably wouldn't hear it used again in that same conversation. But for the sake of teaching here, we did it right. I said, really hoping it works out, meaning I'm really hoping it works out that companies become a tech

giant, a digital empire, if you will. And we're using tone of voice to with if you will, that's important. Aubrey. Absolutely right. It would be strange if you just monotone straight through that a digital empire, if you will. Right, the pausing where there's the comma before if you will, and then changing your voice, right? So you're calling it a tech giant.

And then you've thought of this other creative phrase to say that, a digital empire. So you add that, a digital empire, if you will. Yeah, I'm saying it with a little bit of energy, a little bit of enthusiasm because I'm kind of making up a new term. It's kind of fun, right? Exactly. Yeah. So when you're saying something that's a little bit fun, your intonation definitely needs to be a little bit fun too to match.

Yes, exactly. All right. Where should we leave our listeners here on the show? Yeah, this is interesting. When you're describing something in a way that not everyone would, it's good to flag it, to have kind of a signpost like this, because it would be strange in this role play, for example, if I said, "We did a sort of dance trying to outmaneuver each other." You could, but it's good to have this recognition that I'm saying this in a way that's a little bit outside of the box.

Yes. These are really high-level skills just to refine your English at the B2C1 level, make it more complex, and most importantly, make it more connected. It's all about that connection at work and in the professional space. Absolutely. Yes. Such a great vocabulary today for doing that. Excellent. Aubrey, I'll see you back here very soon. You have a good day. You too. See you next time. All right. Bye-bye. Bye.

Thank you for listening to Business English, a podcast just for you, the high achieving global professional. Want more from All Ears English? Don't miss our biggest and best podcast with 8 million monthly downloads. Just search for the All Ears English podcast and hit follow to get four new episodes per week on fluency, American culture, grammar, and so much more. Or

tap the link in the show notes. Remember, we believe in connection, not perfection, when it comes to learning English. Follow the All Ears English podcast now. Welcome to It Takes Energy, presented by Energy Transfer, where we talk all things oil and natural gas. Oil and gas drive our economy, ensure our country's security, and open pathways to brighter futures.

When it comes to meeting the world's energy needs, more is better. What we mean is our world needs a wide range of energy sources to meet our increasing needs. Just wind or solar won't get us there, as the sun doesn't always shine and the wind doesn't always blow. With our growing population and the increasing use of energy-demanding technologies like AI, reliability is key.

and the reliability of natural gas is unmatched by wind and solar. That doesn't mean we all can't work together, but natural gas is vital to ensuring we meet our energy needs. Look around, and you'll see the essential role oil and gas plays in our lives. Our world needs oil and gas, and people rely on us to deliver it. To learn more, visit energytransfer.com.