Common English Words
Communication in English is much more stressful when you do it online. Even for native English speakers, it’s a lot harder. So today we talk about why this happens, the common English words used and how we can reduce the stress involved in communicating online.
As more of us have to move to video meetings, this is an unfamiliar worry, which we have to add onto all the others we have because of the lock downs and restrictions on socialising. It’s not something you really think about, most of us think talking online is the same as talking to someone face to face, but it’s not.
Do something nice for yourself today. Find some quiet, sit in stillness, breathe. Put your problems on pause. You deserve a break.
⭐ Akiroq Brost, German Journalist
So today, we will spend a little time looking after ourselves, which is always an excellent idea. We will practice some common English vocabulary and phrases used when talking about online video conferencing.
I also thought I would mention that our YouTube channel, which has our podcasts with the transcripts built in as closed captions (CC) is a brilliant way to follow along as you listen. If you haven’t tried this yet then check out the channel here.
Most Unusual Words:
Facetime
Doodle
Moorland
Most common 4 word phrases:
| Phrase | Count |
|---|---|
| Make Sure That You | 5 |
| The End Of The | 2 |
| If You Find Yourself | 2 |
| It’S A Good Idea | 2 |
| When You’Re Not Working | 2 |
Listen To The Audio Lesson Now
The mp3 audio and pdf transcript for this lesson is now part of the Adept English back catalogue . You can still download and listen to this lesson as part of one of our podcast bundles.Transcript: Common English Words As More Of Us Work Online
Hi there and welcome to this podcast from Adept English.
One of the things which you may find yourself doing more of at the moment, is being online for your work meetings or for your social interactions – ‘social interactions’ just means ‘meetings with friends and family’. I think the world is going to change a bit, perhaps permanently, in that we’re likely to be doing more of our ‘meeting’ remotely, online.
We are all spending more time online
Currently schools across the world are doing online lessons, we’re having online medical consultations and for many of us, our work has moved entirely online. But if you find yourself using Zoom, Microsoft Teams, GoToMeeting, Skype, Facetime, Whatsapp video call or even HouseParty – what is the effect of this, particularly for people who are in meetings for many hours of the day?
Well, many of you know that my main job, as well as Adept English, is a psychotherapist. And currently all my therapy work, my work with people is online. And I’ve noticed just how much more tired, physically tired I’ve been over the last couple of weeks. I’ve found that by the end of the day, I’m feeling tired and the muscles in my body ache.
📷
A photograph of a woman talking to a doctor online via video chat. Used to help describe the English vocabulary used as we do more online communication.
Social Interaction Online Harder Than Face To Face
I read an interesting article in a magazine called Psychology Today about all of this. Apparently, it’s much more difficult doing social interaction online. ‘Social interaction’ – so that just means the whole action of talking to people, hearing what they’re saying, catching the feelings, what we call the non-verbal signals – the signs and signals that we see about people that tell us things about them, which aren’t about the words that they use when they talk.
So it might be their tone of voice, how their voice sounds, how the person sits or how they react to us, or what we call their ‘body language’. All of these kinds of signals we pick up, we see them automatically when the person is in the same room as us. But apparently this is much, much harder, much more difficult to perceive and to pick up when we are online. It takes more concentration. And that is more true the larger the group of people that we’re trying to interact with.
Video
Fortunately, my clients are mostly individuals – so its just a one-to-one meeting and much easier to manage. But I do have some meetings, where there are a number of people – and they’re quite hard work, I find. People accidentally talk at the same time, where usually we’re very good at timing our conversation when we speak when we’re face-to-face, it’s much harder online. And the end result can be that it’s more stressful doing online meetings than doing face-to-face ones.
You Feel Like Your Every Move Is Being Watched Carefully
There’s the problem of looking at your own face for many hours at a time – and being aware of yourself from the shoulders up – that’s where the focus is. I guess at least from the waist down, you can wear what you like! But in a normal meeting face-to-face, where there are a few people, you might be able to look out of the window, check your phone, doodle – D-O-O-D-L-E. That means ‘draw’ as a way of just entertaining yourself. But if your head and shoulders are constantly on a screen – you perhaps sit ‘to attention’ a bit. You need to look attentive, like you’re interested, even when you’re not.
There’s the problem of looking at your own face for many hours at a time – and being aware of yourself from the shoulders up – that’s where the focus is. I guess at least from the waist down, you can wear what you like! But in a normal meeting face-to-face, where there are a few people, you might be able to look out of the window, check your phone, doodle – D-O-O-D-L-E. That means ‘draw’ as a way of just entertaining yourself. But if your head and shoulders are constantly on a screen – you perhaps sit ‘to attention’ a bit. You need to look attentive, like you’re interested, even when you’re not.
It can mean also that you sit in one position for a long time. When I do my face-to-face meetings, I have a whole sofa – and I’m aware I move around a lot, I switch position during a session. But if I’m online, I’ve got to sit more or less in one position, I’m not able to move very much, because I have to stay ‘on screen’. And of course, there’s the danger of eye strain, if you are having to look at a computer screen all day. What I’ve also found is that the days seem to pass very quickly – the danger is they all blur into one. Suddenly it’s Friday again and the end of the week – I think perhaps because the days are all similar, it’s more of the same.
So What Can We Do?
So what are good ways to look after yourself and minimise this effect? Before we come to that, just a reminder of our Adept English podcast download service. If you like our podcasts, are you aware that we have a large number of podcasts like this one, which you can download in bundles of 50? 50 podcasts at a time, for a small fee – onto your phone or tablet. If your understanding of my podcasts is good and you want to further improve your English, learn more with us, then our podcast download service will give you access to much more quality English language learning material. Go to the podcast download page on our website at adeptenglish.com. This is a very popular service that we provide!
Boost Your Learning With Adept English
So back to today’s podcast. What are good ways to look after yourself and minimise the effect of online meetings? Well, first of all and obviously, make sure that you are in a comfortable position when you’re online, that you’ve got space to vary the way you sit. That you can sit this way, and then that way, if you’re in online meetings a lot.
I’ve found over the last week that I’ve been able to reduce the discomfort, ease the muscles aches by purposefully relaxing my body before I go into a meeting. Sit back, take a few deep breaths before each meeting, make sure that the body is relaxed, not tense.
And between meetings, it’s a good idea if you can to take a walk around your garden or outside, have a breath of fresh air and some sunshine. Stretch your muscles – do a bit of exercise, a warm-up of your muscles perhaps, like before you go running – in between your meetings.
Remember To Get Up And Move About
Make sure that you take your hour’s exercise – if you’re allowed to go outside, that is. In the UK, we are allowed to take an hour’s exercise outside every day – walking, running, cycling whatever. It’s a good idea to make sure that you do this every day from the point of view of your physical health, your physical fitness.
But when you’re on a screen most of the day, it’s really important psychologically to get out and have what we call ‘a change of scene’, a different view. It’s especially good if you can walk, run or cycle in nature, in the trees, on grass, in fields or on moorland. That’s really therapeutic, to have the wind in your hair. But even if you live in a city, going for a walk is important and there are often parks, even in cities.
And lastly, if you find yourself working from home on a screen, make sure that you keep proper start and finish times for your work. Don’t let your work creep into the rest of your life, so that you end up working for many more hours. If you don’t have a clear separation between homelife and worklife, that can be more stressful. So when you’re working from home if you can, make sure that you use a different room for your work – so that you come out of that room, when you’re not working.
Download The Podcast Audio & Transcript
And if you haven’t got that much space, if you haven’t got that luxury, then change something about the room that you’re in – so it’s a different place when you’re not working. Make a line between working and not-working so that you can properly relax and have time off. Put your computer away, close your laptop, change the lighting, move the furniture, put on some music!
Goodbye
It’s a by-product of course, a side-effect, but we are in an interesting social experiment at the moment. And we’re noticing new and different things about our behaviour and new things that we need to pay attention to, to stay healthy.
Enough for now. Have a lovely day. Speak to you again soon. Goodbye.
