AEE 2359: How to Connect Ideas and People in English
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This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 2359. How to connect ideas and people 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 and New York City, USA. To get real-time transcripts right on your phone and create your personalized vocabulary list, try the All Ears English app for iOS and Android. Start your seven-day free trial today.

at allearsenglish.com forward slash app. A key skill in English is articulating how ideas connect together so that you will be better understood and being able to connect people to others by showing what they have in common. Listen in today to find out how.

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Hello, Michelle. How are you doing today? I'm good, Lindsay. How are you? I'm feeling all right. I'm feeling all right. You have a question for me today? I do. Lindsay, who do you know in your life who is most similar to you? Oh my gosh. Probably my parents, actually. My parents.

It's so scary. We always think, oh, we don't want to be like our parents. But then when you become an adult and you look at your parents, you're like, yep, I got this from you and this from you. And I'm like a mix of both of them. It's so funny. What about you, Rochelle? Anyone that you're really similar to? Any friends or siblings or parents? Definitely, I would agree with you. I would say my parents. Especially, I mean, my mom and I look alike. But that's different. But we have...

I think I have, huh? I have my dad's, uh, extroverted NIS, if that's a word, my dad loves to talk. He could talk forever. He loves people. You know, my mom is more introverted, but then there are other, like there are other quirks that I get from my mom. Yeah. Oh, wow. I love that. I love that. Why are we talking about this Michelle today?

Well, because we are going to be talking about an expression used to say things are very similar. I'm excited about this episode. Yeah. And I mean, I've, you know, met a couple of new friends recently, you know, always meeting people. And it's always exciting to meet someone who you realize, you know, you have a lot in common with, or maybe they're similar to you in some ways. Or even now with my kids, I am finding that

Oh, I think that's me. I think that's Dan. Oh, that's so funny. Like my son is starting to become a night owl and I'm like, Oh no, that's me. Yeah.

Interesting. That must be so fun to watch that happen and kind of point that out. That is so cool. Yeah, that's pretty cool. So yeah, we're going to talk about this expression today. But before we do that, Lindsay, we had some amazing reviews recently. Yeah, really good reviews. We got a really lovely review from Lily from South Korea. It was a five-star review and Apple podcast on January 19th. So thank you to Lily and thank you to Jian Zhang on

on January 16th, as well as Freddie George on January 15th and Ferubia on January 10th. Guys, if you want us to read your review, if you want to get your name announced on the show, go over to wherever you're listening, whether you're in the app or the Android app or the iOS app or Apple podcast and write a review for us. All right. We want to know what you think about the show. Love it. Definitely. Thank you so much, guys. And yes, please write us

We want more. I want to hear what you guys think. Yes, we want to know what you think. I love it. So good. All right. All right. So yeah, I mean, this is a connection building expression, I think. And it's used to comment on things that are similar. And this came, we had a recent episode where this kind of came up naturally and we said, ah, we got to write that one down. So we're going to go for it today. So what exactly is the exact expression that we're getting into for our listeners today, Michelle?

We are doing in a similar vein. Yeah. And I guess I do use this because it came up naturally. And that's how that's a good bar, a good sense of whether we're, you know, are we making up this English? Are we going to textbooks? No. Right. We are listening to our friends. We are taking notes at parties. Michelle, you have your little notebook that you put in your front pocket. I know. Right.

Right. Exactly. Yeah. But to me, this is very professional sounding. Yes.

It's, it's, it's, um, what is the word we use? Oh, it's just buttoned up. It's a little buttoned up. Okay. Yeah, I would say so too. It's a little bit astute, a little smart sounding. I agree. Yes. Yes. So let's talk about this today. This is going to be really helpful, um, for our English here. Okay. So what does it mean though? Well, it means in a similar way or in the same way or similarly. Okay.

Yes. Right, right, right. Exactly. So and it doesn't have to just be in a similar vein, right? You can also say in the same vein. Yes. Both are good options in a similar vein, in the same vein. I actually hear in the same vein more often.

And when it comes to spelling this, Michelle, unless our listeners have the, you know, unless they're listening in the app with the premium membership, they may not see the transcript. So how do you spell vein? Yeah, it's, it is actually V E I N. Yeah. So that's the same vein as if you look at your hand and you see the blood running through your veins, right? Yeah. Yeah. So that's, that's interesting. I wonder, I wonder why. Um,

Well, I mean, maybe that's what it came from, from this idea of like your veins are running like they're like freeways kind of running through your body. Right, if you look at them. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah, maybe.

So for similar, right, if you say similar vein, it's they're nearly alike, but not quite. It's often used to show a comparison, I would say. And you may hear this more so as a transition statement after the first point is made. So let's do some examples to clear that up. Lindsay, you want to read the first one? Yeah. And I think the transition is so key here for making your English sound coherent and smooth and connected.

Right. So here's an example. Rebecca's family is very active. She loves riding horses. And in a similar vein, her brother is an avid runner. Yeah. So that makes sense. Right. You need something to connect two ideas. She loves riding horses and her brother is a runner. So both those things are active. Right.

Right, right, right, right. Here's one with in the same vein. So I like to travel to countries in the same vein as Paris. Lots of history and lots of good food. Yeah. And I hear it used a little less in that way, but that's a creative way to use it.

Right? Yeah, I would agree. I would say the first way is more common. That's why to me, I know we, I hear in the same vein, but I, I don't know when I, when I think of it, I think of in a similar vein for some reason. Here's another example. We need to spend less on eating dinners out in a similar vein. We should pull back on our grocery bills. So you're saying basically in the same way or for the same reason in the same line of thinking is basically what you're saying here, right? Michelle? Yes, exactly. Okay.

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Okay, Michelle, we are back now. What are some other ways? Again, as I said earlier in the show, I think this is incredibly important. Why do we need to be able to transition and show that the next thing we're going to say is similar or is lined up with what we just said? Like, why is that so important for connection?

Well, to me, it shows that you're putting some thought into something. You're thinking about what you have to say. It's also a signal, right? We always talk about letting the listener in on what you're actually trying to say. So to me, it kind of has those two functions. You're showing this awareness.

and that you've planned, right? You've thought of what you're saying. It just sounds to me like you've put some thought into things. And I think it's also a good signpost. If we're worried that people may not understand us because of our accent, if you are using high-level transition vocabulary like this, this gives them another chance.

right? So when they hear that, they think, okay, I know what's happening. They're making a comparison and the similar thing is coming next. It's going to help. It's just, it just makes everything a bit more coherent. Yes, exactly. Exactly. So, but let's talk about, there are some other ways to express a similar idea. Okay. So let's get into it. So the first one is on a similar note, right? Instead of a vein, we're talking about a note. Okay.

So for example, on a similar note, my birthday is also next week. So maybe we can plan for that. And so we have to assume here with this example, we've been saying something. What have we been saying before? Again, it's a transition. So what? Yeah. So potentially we've been talking about plans for the next week, something that's coming up. Yes. And so I'm saying, well, reminder,

My birthday is next week. Lindsay, I actually, here's a question. Do you like to, do you broadcast when it's your birthday? Do I remind people? Yeah. Do you have like, Oh, birthday month? Uh, sometimes. Yeah. I'll try to squeeze out more of a birthday week or a birthday month or, you know, when it comes to like, it's two weeks after my birthday and I'm talking with someone, what movie should we go to? Well, it's my birthday month. So I should really choose. Yeah. Um,

Another one here is similarly. Now that is a mouthful, Michelle. Similarly. Yeah. Some kind of gymnastics there with your tongue to be able to say that. But similarly, my brother is really into basketball. Similarly, I love football, but not quite as much as he loves basketball. So what are the things that you're what is the transition? What is the link here?

Well, sports. Sports. Yeah, exactly. Your brother likes basketball and you like football. So you're trying to bridge between what your brother likes and what you like.

Exactly. Or the last one is along the same lines. So let's take a look at the calendar. Along the same lines, we should ask Hal when is good for him. Okay, nice. Hal. We'll see what Hal's schedule is like then. I'm always trying to think of these more creative names, Lindsay. I know. I love that. I love that. Which is your favorite, Michelle? Which of these do you like the best? I mean, which do you tend to use the most?

Hmm. You know what? I think I want to add in one. Okay. Love that. I would say in the same way.

Yeah. Same way is also a very conversational on like, Oh, in the same way we should. Yeah. I like that. It's more conversational for sure. It doesn't sound quite as formal as in the same vein, but it's conversational. It's connected. Right. But, but I would say as far as the ones that we, we taught earlier, I would say in a similar vein is my favorite. What about you? I like along the same lines, along the same lines. I feel like I use that a lot. Yeah.

I don't know. It's just personal preference. You know, of course, good to be able to use them all. And again, we've already talked about why this is important. You're showing that you're thinking on that deeper level. You're showing, I think it's really important socially to show that how you connect to the world or how, or actually more importantly, when you're at a party, you want to pull someone into the connection, into the conversation. Maybe they're on the outside, but

someone's already talking about something, you might use this transition to pull in this other person and say, oh, in a similar vein, I know that Mary likes to, you know, skateboard. Right. You might need these tools to kind of smooth things over socially and be that connector.

I like that idea. It's like when you think of, you know, you're making a bed and there's that wrinkled part and you're kind of smoothing it over, right? It is an expression that can do that. So that's very functional in that way. It's functional. So I don't want to just pass over this. We want to make sure we know, and some people are brilliant at this socially, but you still, even if you have that social skill, you're always thinking, how do I pull this person in? What's the connection between this person and this person? You still need the language to do it.

Yeah, for sure. All right. Well, should we use a few of these in a role play? Yeah, let's do it. So here we are classmates and we are working on a project. All right. Here we go. All right. So we can see from these results that our research is definitely valid. In a similar vein, we also got back a lot of really helpful surveys. Yeah, we're really in a good spot. On a similar note, maybe we should start one big spreadsheet to analyze everything.

Oh, good idea. These results are along the same lines. So I think our thesis will be proven. That's so exciting.

Okay. We're so confident in our research here, Michelle. We are. We are. We've worked hard. Oh, that's funny. All right. So we use, again, this is a situation where you may not hear quite as many of these same functions at the same time right after each other, right? In a line like this. But here's the first one we said, is that we can see from these results that our research is valid. In a similar vein, we also got back a lot of really helpful surveys.

So connecting the idea that we believe our research is valid and we got useful surveys. And then you said, yeah, we are really in a good spot. On a similar note, maybe we should start one big spreadsheet to analyze everything. So I'm connecting

Well, you're connecting that we're in a good spot. And also let's take it one step further and we can use this for extra help. Good. Yes. And then you said, good idea. These results are along the same lines. So along the same lines as...

As what? So basically our results line up is what we're saying here. Exactly. Right? Exactly. Our results line up. So I think because of that, that shows that what we're working toward is going to be proven. Nice. I feel like generally when you present your research to your colleagues, it's probably a lot harder.

I don't know how it works for research scientists. I don't know to what extent, that's actually an interesting question. To what extent do your colleagues poke at your work or meaning not poke at it, but like challenge your work and question your work. I know when people do the PhD defense,

that definitely is challenging. And you sit in a room with all these professors and I'm sure a lot of our listeners have gone through this incredibly stressful questioning your work. So I wonder what it's like for scientists. Yeah. Period. Journals, things like that. But that's for another day, Michelle. What's another episode that we think is connected to this? Well, speaking of people doing their PhDs, um,

This episode, definitely listen to this one. It's episode 2354 and it's called Is Everyone Smart? It's a thought-provoking title. So definitely go on over there and check out 2354. What's our takeaway for today? I like the idea of smoothing things over. When you get to a certain level of English, you can use certain... You realize not everything is...

just content and functional. It's more just about connecting ideas and having things start to really flow together. And to me, that is really going to bring you up to that next level, knowing these kinds of things that maybe they're not the most fun expressions, right? Maybe it's, but they're so functional and just help

with that flow, that natural flow. Yeah. It reminds me a lot of our C1 course, because in that course we really do, we talk about connection skills and this kind of is one of them. It's using language to, again, how do we introduce someone into a group of people? How do we make sure people understand, understand us and what we're about to say or how two ideas connect? This is huge, Michelle.

Exactly. All right. Well, I'm so glad we talked about this today. And in a similar vein, I guess it's time to go. I guess it is, Michelle. Well, I'll see you next time. Have a good one. All right. All right. You too. Bye. Bye.

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