Long Story Short & Other ways to be concise in English | English with Jennifer

7,405 views ・ 2023-03-31

English with Jennifer


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

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[Music]  
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Hi everyone. I'm Jennifer from English with  Jennifer. Let me ask you something. How much time  
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do you need to get your point across to people?  Take a quick quiz. Do you like to tell stories?  
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When you tell a story, does your  listener start to look distracted?
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Do you sometimes go off topic? Meaning you  
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start talking about something  that seems more interesting.
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Do people often ask you, "What do you mean?"
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Do people sometimes respond with,  "So what you're saying is..."
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If you answered yes to any of those questions,  
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you may need more time than others to convey  an idea or relay a message. And that's okay  
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as long as you have a patient listener.  But maybe it would help to summarize a  
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point and simply be more concise. That's what  I'll teach you to do in this video [Music]
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In a word. You can use this at the beginning,  in the middle, or at the end of an explanation  
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as a way to be brief. Use it before  a single word or a short thought.
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How can you improve your mental performance?  In a word, sleep better. Your sleep affects  
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your brain. Improve the quality of  your sleep, and you'll perform better.  
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Why do some people post photos  every day throughout the day?
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Social media is, in a word,  social. Some people are more  
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social than others. They feel the need  to connect more strongly than others.
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In a nutshell. This is the same kind of phrase,  but it's a bit more informal. A nutshell is  
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very small, so we use this phrase to  summarize or make a brief statement.  
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How do you learn vocabulary? In  a nutshell, you need exposure and  
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practice. Make sure you read and listen to  English. Then find ways to use new words.
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Why do some diets fail to work? Different  sources will tell you what to eat and  
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what not to eat. That's your basic diet in a  nutshell. But everybody's body is different,  
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so a diet that works for one  person may not work for another.
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In short. This is a good informal alternative to  "In conclusion" or "To summarize." Let's just say  
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I've listed all the benefits of being a member  of my Patreon program. You know about the Zoom  
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classes and practice tasks and the bonus audio  materials. In short, it's an ongoing program  
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that combines group and independent study for  advanced learners who wish to work on all skills.  
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At the end of the day. What's a typical day like?  I think we know what matters most at the end of  
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the day. Did we complete our work? Did we do  the best we could? Did we try to be helpful and  
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kind to others? If so, then we can forgive  the little mistakes we made along the way.  
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When you have to take a lot into consideration  and then form an opinion, you can choose to focus  
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on what matters most by saying, "At the end  of the day..." The decision to go to college,  
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for instance, is a big one. There are many  factors to consider. Young adults today have  
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more choices than I did when I was 18. College  isn't the only path forward. The internet makes  
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lifelong learning possible, so at the end of the  day, a high school graduate needs to decide what's  
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best for them based on their goals, the lifestyle  they want to live, and their financial situation.
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In the end. This is a similar way to sum up  what matters most and express an opinion.  
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For example, I recently had to replace the water  heater in my home. I paid more than I thought it  
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would be, but in the end, I reasoned that I was  making a good investment. Water heaters last for  
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at least 10 years, and I'm not willing to live  without hot water, so I paid to have a quality  
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product installed by professionals. You might also  use "in the end" as you're finishing up a story,  
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but here's a more colorful way to do that.  Long story short. You can say this to  
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shorten an otherwise long story. Skip some of the  details and simply tell what happened in the end.  
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Do you know how I ended up teaching English?  Originally, I thought I was going to teach  
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Russian as a foreign language. I got certified in  the state of Pennsylvania . Ten I decided that I  
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needed to improve my Russian language skills.  My graduate work took me over to Moscow. Long  
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story short, I discovered my true calling, and  I got certified in ESL when I came back home.  
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When all is said and done. This is yet another  very conversational way to sum up your point. What  
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matters and why? Typically, we use this at the  beginning of a statement after laying out a bigger  
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argument . When's the last time you gave thought  to a problem in your country? Big or small.  
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There's plenty to think about, right? One of my  private students recently traveled to Singapore,  
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and she told me how clean it was because they have  strict laws against littering and even chewing  
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gum. Sadly, our cities here in the U.S are not  pristine. So, what's the difference? Well, when  
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all is said and done, it's about education and  accountability. First, people have to be taught  
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at a young age not to litter. And second, there  should be consequences. Laws need to be enforced.
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Why don't you consider a big or small  problem that your country faces? Use one  
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of the expressions from this lesson to  tell me your opinion -- and be concise.  
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So, what's the plan? In a word, you. In a  nutshell, yes. So...so like, um, in short,  
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what are my options here? At the end of the  day, all that matters is what you think.  
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In the end, I'd probably lose. Long story short,  I've been dealing with some personal crap.  
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But uh, after all is said and done, you you  did get me home and I really appreciate it.
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If you're looking for extended  speaking or writing practice,  
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check out my Patreon program for advanced  learners. Details are in the video description.  
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That's all for now. Please like and share the  video if you found the lesson useful. And if  
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you haven't already, please subscribe. Thank you  to all my current YouTube members and Patrons  
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on Patreon. Thank you, everyone, for watching  and I wish you happy studies. I'd like to say  
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a special thank you to a Kind-Hearted Patron.  Libor pledged two dollars a month. Thank you.
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Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter,  
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and Patreon. And don't forget to subscribe  here on YouTube. Turn on those notifications.
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