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  • Welcome back to another edition  of Speak English Fluently

  • I'm your host Steve Hatherly. My guest today is Adam Benn

  • Adam has been teaching English for over 20  years now and has done so in many different  

  • countries around the world. He's made some very popular  

  • teaching videos for EngVid.com. He has his own very popular  

  • YouTube channel called Write to the Top. And recently, very interesting, he did a talk  

  • for TedX on the importance of writing. He's written his own books

  • And we're going to talk about  all of those things today

  • Let me say hello to my fellow Canadian  and, uh, guest today, Adam Benn

  • How arehow are you doing, sir? I'm very good Steve, thanks

  • How are you? I'm great thank you

  • You're from Toronto, yeah? I'm from Toronto, yeah

  • Actually, I should sayToronto”  like non-Torontonians, but… 

  • Very good, uh, so let's see now where do we begin? You've been teaching  

  • English for 24 years in total - a long time. And you've lived in so many different countries  

  • around the world. So what inspired you  

  • originally to move away from Canada? And where was your first destination

  • And you can talk about that a little bit. So I was in… I was in Toronto

  • And I loved traveling. So I just wanted to travel around the world

  • So originally, my first idea was  to, you know, learn how to cook

  • Maybe become a chef because  people have to eat everywhere

  • I can always go somewhere  and find a job as a chef

  • So I went to culinary school for a year. I did that

  • I worked in a few restaurants andrealized that I really hated that job

  • Oh, really. So I needed something else

  • And one day, I saw an advertisement, it said,  “Do you want to live overseas and teach English?” 

  • And I thought, “Yeah, I do.” So I applied

  • I got a job and I went to Japan. That was my first overseas teaching experience

  • Very good. Wherewhat other countries have you lived in

  • So I lived in Japan. I actually taught in Toronto and Vancouver

  • Oh, OK. In Canada

  • I lived in Turkey, in Israel, and now in Korea

  • Wow. So Israel was your last stop  before coming to live in Korea

  • Uh, well a while ago, I went back to Canada  since then, but then I came here, again, yeah

  • Oh, very good soWhat made you come to Korea this time  

  • having experience in so many other countries? Uh, I actually met a very nice Korean woman

  • Oh, there it is. Oh, there it is

  • So we came here. Plus, uh,  

  • I live in Busan which is on right on the coast. So I live… I have the ocean right in front of me

  • I have the mountains right behind me. It's… it's a beautiful place to live

  • Oh, Busan, uh, ifif ourour audience members  have not beenis one of the prettiest cities in  

  • Korea. There's no question, yeah. Yeah, it's a very nice place

  • So let's talk about EngVid first. Sure

  • Uh, the videos that you do for EngVid.com  that's engvid.com are insanely popular

  • They have nearly what - 2.96 million  subscribers I think was the number that I saw

  • That's just from my channel  – there's other teachers

  • Yeah, so that's incredible. They've made you one of the  

  • most popular English teachers in the world. So how did thathow did that all come to be

  • Uh, interestingly, I worked for the  relatives of the guy who owns EngVid

  • Like, while I was living in  Toronto, I was also teaching there

  • And I… and I worked with, uh, his mom. And when I came back from some travels,  

  • she contacted me, and asked me,  “Do you want to make some videos?” 

  • Because she knows I know how to teach. And I know English, and world experience,  

  • so I said, “Yeah, sure. I'll go try it.” And I did it

  • And it took off. And I have kept doing it

  • Wow, how many years has it…  how many years has it been now

  • It's funny. I was just looking at it

  • I was looking at my first video  just to see what it was like

  • It was 10 years ago. Goodness me

  • Well done. Congratulations on your success. Almost 3 million for just for your channel

  • That's incredible. Yeah

  • What types of videos do you  enjoy making for EngVid

  • To be honest, I... I like  making the grammar videos

  • I know a lot of teachers don't  like to teach the grammar

  • I know the students don't  necessarily like to learn grammar  

  • but it's very important I like grammar I like But it's very important

  • I like grammar. I like to see a student's face when he or she… 

  • Oh, I get it. You know thatAh hamoment

  • Right. And so,  

  • I… I like the grammar, so I like to teach that. But, I do all kinds of lessons

  • I do general English. I do like phrasal verbs, vocabulary,  

  • some pronunciation, writing, test  prep, a little bit of everything

  • I remember talking to my students when  I taught university here in Korea,  

  • and I said to them, I bet your grammar in  English is better than my grammar in English

  • Yeah, yeah. Because that's a large focus

  • That's where they learned the most, yeah. Uh, in in their younger years, right

  • Have you noticed that? You know,  

  • after moving to Korea and living in Turkey and  Israel and teaching in Toronto and Vancouver… 

  • Have you noticed that that Korean  students maybe have some different skills?  

  • Second language-wise or third language wise ….? Yeah, they focus. They focus  

  • very heavily on the grammar. And they do work on the vocabulary,  

  • but they don't necessarily go outsidelike they…  they look at the technical aspects and they don't… 

  • I don't think they do enough practice, whichthink is why it's a little difficult for them so… 

  • To like integrate those grammar lessons  and to use that vocabulary, etc

  • But I find that this is a Asian issuelike the way Asian education systems work

  • A lot of them focused very heavily on the  grammar and not enough about on the speaking  

  • and the writing and the conversation. But that being said, having a strong  

  • grammar foundation makes itwhole lot easier, I think, to  

  • become a great speaker in your later years, right? Yeah, but again, if you're willing to actually  

  • apply it, so that's the, that's the key, use it. That's the EngVid videos, but what about  

  • your channel - Write to the Top? How, how did that come to be when you  

  • decided toto make that, you decided  to focus it on writing specifically

  • Yeah, so where did the idea  for your own channel come from

  • Well, I again, I've taught in many  places and I've I especially started  

  • teaching a test prep like IELTS and TOEFL. And I… I looked at statistics, and I looked  

  • at my own students, and other people students, and  I realized that like very consistently, it doesn't  

  • matter what country you come from, everybody's  worst scores are in the writing section

  • And a lot of teachers, as much as  they can, they try to avoid teaching  

  • the writing because it's a very hard skill. So a lot of teachers don't like to teach it

  • Some, even English teachers are  not the best writers, like native  

  • speakers are not are not great writers. And so I realized that I should focus  

  • on that because I like it for one thing. The students need it for another thing

  • And if it helps them, especially with  tests and like getting a job and all that… 

  • A lot of people don't realize that writing is  something you're going to do your whole life

  • You're going to write resumes. You're going to write cover letters,  

  • you're going to write memos, you're going  to write all kinds of things in business,  

  • outside of business, even on social media. Your captions have to be understood, right

  • So it's all about writing. So that's why I decided to open this channel

  • I think you're absolutely right. That eveneven native English speakers are not  

  • necessarily good writers because it's something  that we learn perhaps in elementary, middle,  

  • high school, maybe in university, depending  on what you study, but that that's kind of it

  • That's… that's kind of when it stops, right? And if you're never really, if you're never  

  • really taught specifically how to  be a good writer, then it's not  

  • something that's going to come naturally, correct? No, itit doesn't come naturally because it takes  

  • a lot of focus, which is again another reasonthink a lot of people tend to stay away from it

  • And also people take for granted  that theythey speak well

  • They can communicate well. So that's it's good enough  

  • when it comes across, the message gets across in  the writing, but it's not always the case, so... 

  • When did youwhen did you start the channel? This one is about five years ago

  • Five years ago and what almost  300,000 subscribers you're at now

  • Yeah, 265, yeah. Wow, that's wonderful

  • Congratulations on that as well. Thank you

  • Does that surprise you, I wonder? Because you said that, you know,  

  • teachers don't necessarily enjoy  teaching writing and students also

  • Oh gosh, I have to write this again. Maybe something they don't love doing, but  

  • obviously your channel is extremely successful. Has the success surprised you at all

  • A little bit, because for one thingit's a little bit higher level English

  • It's notit's not for beginners. It's… you have to have a certain base of  

  • vocabulary and grammar to be able to write well. Plus, I think that, again, a lot of people  

  • don't want to learn writing - They need to. So surprised, but not surprised

  • EngVid, there's people who needs to learn  English, and those who want to learn it

  • Right. Whereas my channel,  

  • I think it's more about  needing to than wanting to

  • Understood. What are what  

  • are some of thethe basic tips that you give  students to try to improve their writing skills

  • The key is, like anything else, practice. You have to get practice, but as much as  

  • possible get feedback as well.? Because you can write all day,  

  • but if nobody, excuse me, if nobody is pointing  out the mistakes you're making, you're just  

  • going to keep making them right. So that's the hard part

  • I used… I used to tell my students…  I used to make them keep a diary

  • And I would tell them to write  about any topic they want every day

  • And I realized after I gave the assignment  teaching so many different classes at university  

  • that I had created a ton of extra work for myself. But I didn't mind

  • I didn't…. I didn't want to bring that upbut that's another reason a lot of teachers  

  • don't teach writing. So very true, right

  • But I didn't mind because the  students – “Do I have to do this?” 

  • And I said, “Well, yeah, because this  is really going to help your speaking  

  • because you're just taking the words out of your  mouth and you're putting them down on paper.” 

  • Yeah. And then once I would correct it,  

  • then I'd say, “OK, now repeat this 10, 15,  20 times that paragraph that you just wrote.” 

  • So do you agree with me? There's a strong  connection between writing andand conversation

  • So there's absolutely a connection, because  again, listening and reading are passive skills

  • You're taking in the language and you're  processing it and making it work inside your head

  • Speaking and writing are active skills. You need to produce the language

  • So writing, forces you to  think very clearly and arrange  

  • very and construct very clear sentences. Now, if you can do this regularly,  

  • it'll come out in your speaking as well. And you're speaking will be much better

  • Because normally, otherwise speaking, you can  just go around in circles to get to a point

  • Writing will help you focus your speaking as well. Oh, that's an excellent point

  • Yeah, because when you speak you can kind of say  the same thing 10 times over in a different way

  • But when you're writing, you can't do that. You have to start atat point A and get  

  • to point B by the time you're done. And there's no, there's no in between

  • Yeah, yeah. As quickly as possible

  • It's a great point, I didn't think about that. Well speaking of writing, you've written  

  • some books as well. Tell us about those

  • So again, both of these are the I've written  two books like one is a series of books

  • It's all for the IELTS exam right now. It's to help people preparing for the IELTS exam

  • The first one is called The Right Idea. Vocabulary and ideas and examples

  • Because again, if you if we're thinking  about Korean students, for example,  

  • one of the hardest things I've found that they…  one of the most difficult aspects of the exam,  

  • is coming up with ideas quickly, right? They're focusing too much on their vocabulary,  

  • focusing too much on the grammar. And then they panic because  

  • they don't have any clear ideas. And this cost them a lot of points

  • So I always tell them think  of ideas before the exam

  • So you mean on the IELTS? On the IELTS test

  • The essays, yes. They have to create something out of nowhere

  • They get a prompt. They get a question  

  • and then they have to write like a 250  words minimum essay to support their idea

  • OK. But they need to give reasons and  

  • support like examples but they don't know what  to say in like a very timed situation and they  

  • panic and then everything falls apart. If you have ideas before the test,  

  • you're much more prepared for  any question that comes up

  • So, for example, can you put  that in a context for me

  • Sure, so you're at, you're saying  like, OK, a very common question

  • Is it better to live in the  countryside or in the city

  • So, you have to choose one, like  you have to have your introduction

  • “I believe it's more important…  It's better to live in the city…” 

  • And then you have to give reasons. You have to have two body paragraphs  

  • suggestionsuggesting why the  city is better than the country

  • So, you have to give examples  like better transportation,  

  • better infrastructure, better job opportunities. Then you have to give a bit of a contrast

  • So, in the country you get more  privacy, more leisure time

  • But you don't make as much money and the cost  of living is a little harder, dot, dot, dot

  • Very basic essay there, but theyThat's a that's a great tip, though

  • I mean, if you're just talking about  a basic structure for.. for writing,  

  • that's a really excellent tip is that, you knowlist one or two or three or four ideas to support  

  • what you're saying, but then say, “Butalso, on the other side,” 1, 2, 3 maybe  

  • and then come back and say, “But, ultimately…” That's it

  • The most important don't forget  to come back to your side

  • Yeah, yeah, that's... That don't forget that last paragraph

  • It's amazing how many people forget to do that. Oh, is that right

  • Oh, that's interesting. And they lose a lot of points because of that

  • Well, I guess I… I guess I kind of get that  because you're so caught up in the moment

  • Exactly. I suppose

  • So I guess another tip forfor writing isis  go back and check, read what you've written,  

  • if you have the time. Always go back to your  

  • thesis and make sure you're  supporting that thesis

  • Mymy father was a teacher for 34 years. He was a high school vice principal and he  

  • taught English, and he was frustrated  at his students not reading, um,  

  • the things that he was asking them to read. So when he gave a test, he said, “Read all these  

  • questions before you answer any of them.” That was at the top of the page

  • And the very last thing on page two of the test  was, “Don't answer any of these questions.” 

  • And he said that. None of the student, not  one student handed it back an empty paper

  • They all wrotewrote the answers as they came. That's a mean, but effective

  • Any more books coming out and coming out for you

  • So, I just recently, like a couple of months  ago, I published another again IELTS book

  • I have about 40 samples of summaries and  essays - fully edited, with, some with  

  • notes on where people lost points and  what they could do better next time

  • And now I'm working onprepositions / collocations book

  • Very nice

  • Oh, that's a greatthat's a great book. Where you have examples of essays and then  

  • the mistakes that were made. Yeah, so

  • So it's a real practical exercise for students. I'm also an editor

  • So my edits are veryvery detailed. But it's good for them to learn from so… 

  • Well, that's your main job, right? You'reyou're an editor down in Busan

  • I am online basically, so  mostly I do everything online

  • I have it. Students from all over the world coming  

  • to me to help them with their stuff. Oh, that's really cool

  • How how's your experience  been inin Busan so far

  • It's… it's… it's interesting  for the foreign community

  • If theyif they live in Busan, they tend to  live in Busan for their duration in Korea

  • For the Seoul expats, they tend to stay  in Seoul for the duration of their times

  • But everyone I've talked to who lives in  Busan say that they absolutely love it there

  • You've enjoyed, you've enjoyed your work there? Yeah, very much

  • I mean, I lived in Tokyo, so I think I'm, I  think I'm done with the Big city experience

  • I don't think I want to live in Seoul. Plus again, when I feel like it, I go  

  • down to the beach, hang out, go paddle boardingwhatever, then come home and work on the computer

  • So it's nice. Perfect

  • I left 5 minutes from the beach. Perfect

  • Uhm, let's talk about the TEDx talk or  that that you that you did recently

  • I watched it. I think you did a great job

  • I think it was a very interesting topic

  • You talked about the importance of writing as  we've already talked about a little bit today

  • How did thedid the TEDx talk happen? They contacted you, obviously

  • Yeah, actually I'm friends with the organizer. And she's been wanting me to come for years,  

  • but there was never a theme that I would fit into. But this year, this year's theme was Empowered,  

  • and being able to write is  a very empowering thing, so 

  • it actually fits nicely this year. Well, I watched it, but I'll let you share

  • Whatwhat were some of the things that  you talked about in your in your speech

  • So, one thing I… some of these  we already mentioned, like the  

  • difference between writing and speaking. But how writing you have, it's just you and the  

  • text, and then it's just the reader and the text. Whereas speaking, you have your hands,  

  • you have your face. You can go back and forth

  • And it's like, express different ideas  until you reach an understanding

  • But writing is only the text, and  if the reader can't understand you,  

  • can't understand what you're saying, you didn't say anything

  • So it's very important to know how  to write well and I gave some tips

  • For example, the 3C's. Be clear, be concise, be correct

  • Right? Make sure you're doing  

  • all these things when you're writing. Hold on, I gotta write that down

  • Three Cs. Use this for myself

  • Yeah, every anything you writeemails, essays, anything

  • It's all about being clear. Writing less is actually better than writing more

  • A lot of people misunderstand that they  think more words is more impressive

  • It's not. It's just more confusing

  • And just make sure you're writing correct things. Don't confuse your reader

  • Make sure you know who your reader is so they  can get to your message and all that, yeah

  • Uhm, again, to use my dad as an example, he always  liked cars that had windows that you had to roll  

  • up instead of power things. Old school

  • Old school stuff and I… I said, “Why  do you? Why do you prefer that?” 

  • He said, “The more things you have in  a car, the more things can go wrong.” 

  • Absolutely. And I think, I think that's a good,  

  • uh, a good way to think about writing as well. Just because you're using more words, doesn't  

  • necessarily mean those words are effective. And I remember Doctor Terry Whalen,  

  • one of my professors in university, he would make  us, after we finished an essay, he would say,  

  • Go back and take out every single word that is  not absolutely necessary, to the point that you're  

  • taking and just strip them all away and then you  get a very clear, very concise piece of writing.” 

  • That's what you're talking about, yeah? I… I… I tell my students like when I  

  • teach writing classes, I tell them when you're  whenever you have your first draft, first step,  

  • cut out 5% of the word count. If you're good enough, make it 10%,  

  • but start with 5%. Right away

  • Just get rid of words you don't need  and then see how much clearer and more  

  • effective your writing is already  before you do any other changes

  • Your students must hate that, though, because  you're you probably give them a word count,  

  • right? Like, OK, I need a I need a 800-word  essay or something, and everybody is trying to

  • Yeah, exactly like thanks, Professor Benn. How's the response been from your students  

  • when you give them these types of lessons? Do you get that feedback that you so much enjoy

  • Uh, I do. I… I love the feedback

  • A lot of them tell me how much it's  helping them, and that's, again,  

  • that's why we're here at the end of the day  - to help them get to where they need to get

  • And again, it's thatah hamoment  where something clicks and they can  

  • go to that next step and get even better andWhen I hear students who like got into university  

  • or graduated university and they say, “ThanksYou helped me a lot,” I… but that's huge for me

  • Yeah, thatIt's really rewarding,  

  • I guess, right. Yeah, very much

  • I'll see you too, right? Oh, absolutely

  • No doubt. No doubt about it

  • The point that you made about being  clear and concise andand comparing  

  • that to speaking is something that  I never really thought about before

  • When we talk, youas you mentioned, we have  our facial expressions, we have our hands

  • As I'm using my hands now, there are all  of these, um, hidden messages, if you will,  

  • that that I'm conveying to you justjust from  using my voice tone or my facial expressions  

  • or my hand gestures my body language. So, you can easily understand perhaps  

  • what thethe main point of what I'm trying  to say, but in writing you don't have any of  

  • that extra help, and that's why you say it's  so important to be clear and concise, right

  • Absolutely 'cause it's not even…  it's not even your physical self

  • Like how you say a particular word. Where you put the stress in a sentence  

  • changes the meaning of the sentence, and  your listener generally will get that

  • But you don't have these points. Like, yeah, there are tricks to writing  

  • to convey anger or to convey humor, but it's a  little bit more nuanced, whereas in speaking,  

  • it's very obvious. If you're angry,  

  • you're going to say something angrily. If you're happy, you'll say it happily  

  • sort of thing, soIt's very different

  • I am the king of misunderstanding text messagetext message tones and that's exactly, but that's  

  • exactly what you're talking about, right? But text is so short, that text messages,  

  • so short there's no room for tone. Right, really interesting

  • So, the TEDx talk - Did you..  Did you enjoy the experience

  • I've… I've done one of those as well. I did one here in Seoul

  • And I… I was… I mean, I've worked in media  for years and years and years, but I was,  

  • I was very nervous inin the lead up to that. How did you feel about it

  • I… I was so scared. Like after I have finished,  

  • like after I got off the stageUh, huh

  • I said I was… I said to my friend, I'm the  most relaxed person in Spain right now

  • It was over. Right

  • But until then, like even a few days up that  moment, it really, really nervous and sweaty and  

  • shaking and you could hear it in my voice. My mouth was so dry from being nervous,  

  • I didn't even know how the words came out. But I was prepared

  • That's the key. Uhm, I almost said  

  • no when they asked me to do it because it's not  something that was outside of my comfort zone

  • And I also didn't know that  you don't have cue cards

  • You're not allowed to have cue cards. Exactly as member

  • You don't have a podium. You don't have a microphone to hold onto

  • I thought, oh, at least if I can  have that as a security blanket

  • But they said no, no, no, you've just got the  mic on your cheek and the rest is up to you

  • You gotta memorize it. If you have any slides, that's it, yeah

  • Oh my goodness. But youyouyou enjoyed it overall

  • You're happy that you did it? The experience, I'm happy I did it

  • You're talking about comfort zone. Completely out of my comfort zone

  • I'm like, I'm, uh, at the end of  the day, I'm a pretty shy person

  • I have no problem with a camera. I have a huge problem with a live audience

  • It's totally different. So, but I'm glad I did it

  • Like I… I tend tothe more something scares  me, the more I'm likely to actually do it

  • Oh really? That's why I'm a  

  • little strange that way. Oh, that's good

  • I mean, it's better for your future. Well, speaking about writing in general,  

  • has it changed or has it changed  I… I mean the way that we, right

  • Has that, has that developed or orororor  gone in a different direction over maybe the last  

  • 10 or 15 years, academically or otherwise? Or does it always kind of stay similar

  • I think writing at its base stays  similar, but there are changes

  • Like if you read newspapers today and you read  them before, everything is much tighter now

  • I think also social media like  captions and tweeting and all that

  • People got used to reading short. And young people today, their attention  

  • span is much shorter than it used to be. So people have to be more direct, more concise  

  • with their whatever they're writing. And I think even novels  

  • have taken that on a little bit because  you don't see as much flowery language

  • You don't see as much, you know, expansion like  if you read Gabriel Garcia, Marquez, whatever

  • That guy goes on and on and on with adjectives  but I'm not sure how popular he would be with  

  • a younger generation now. Do you know what I mean

  • The story is amazing. The writing is amazing

  • But I don't know if they have the  attention span for that these days, so… 

  • Yeah, I mean, you make a good point. Because even when you watch YouTube videos,  

  • for example. Yeah

  • Some, some, some of them have to be extremely  short because people just don't have the  

  • attention span, nor the wants, nor the desire. I guess what it is these days in our culture,  

  • our society is that it's gotta be immediate. We want things immediately

  • One of my favorite comediansRonny Chang, talks about,  

  • you know, in American culture, just like we want it now

  • Like AmazonAmazon now, like, deliver it to me  before I want it, so you can see inside my brain

  • Use AI to guess what I want. Yeah, yeah, exactly

  • That's interesting. So that's had an  

  • effect onon writing on writing as well. I think so a little bit, but again, at the end  

  • of the day you still have to be clear, so. This isbut I think if you were  

  • coming back to earlier question you asked me  like, am I surprised by my channel doing well

  • I am a little bit because my videos are not  that short and it is writing and again, but  

  • people don't want to do it, they need to do it. I think that's the big thing

  • How would you tell your students, because it's  when we talk about being clear and concise  

  • in our language and in our writing, there  is a line though where you still want to be  

  • perhaps descriptive or you still want  to be eloquent, eloquent in your in your  

  • in your writing, so wherewhere do students, how arehow are the students supposed to know  

  • where that line is of of  kind of going too far in the  

  • opposite direction and overcompensating  and not being descriptive enough

  • Yeah, I think first of all, it starts with who's  your target audience and what's the context

  • Ok. If you're in  

  • business and you're writing an e-mail, the  shorter, the absolute shortest, the better

  • 'cause people don't have time that like, if  you're lucky, if they even open your e-mail

  • If you're writing an essayagain if you have to  fill up 4 pages and but you can actually answer  

  • the question in two, then yeah, obviously  you cannot expand and give a bit more, but…. 

  • If you're getting into creative writing,  

  • then there's no limits. Do whatever you feel  

  • will make the reader interested, right? So it's all about context, I think

  • Yeah, and I… I think knowing your audience  is a… is an excellent point as well

  • Because, you know, if you're talking to a group  of people who perhaps are not familiar with  

  • certain technical vocabulary, then it's better  to not use that technical vocabulary if you can,  

  • because you're going to be, the expression  is to talk over someone's head, right

  • And in writing people dopeople don't  like that in speaking and they definitely,  

  • definitely do not enjoy it in writing because  your audience is immediately lost, right

  • Exactly, like I always say, one of the  first things I say, “Avoid jargon.” 

  • If you're in a specific field andyour  make sure you know who you're writing to

  • So sometimes I help people apply  for, let's say, medical residencies

  • They want to go do a medical  residency in the States

  • And they need help with their personal  statement, statements of purpose, etc

  • And some of them get very detailed into the  things that they actually do, like the medical  

  • procedures. Right

  • And I tell them just understand that  yes, medical people will be reading it,  

  • but also some non-medical people. Don't lose them, right

  • Be very general 'cause the medical people  will understand you, but you'll also keep the  

  • non-medical people interested, right? It's the same idea

  • Yep, that's a great point. Andand you said it extremely well,  

  • you're going to lose them. And then it you start to use words that  

  • they don't know, your audience is gone, right? Yeah, and they're and they're scanning too

  • If they scan it, I can't get this. That's it

  • They have no problem putting you  in the rejection file right away

  • It reminds me of… I've interviewed a lot of  musicians over the years, and I always find  

  • that with jazz musicians they use a lot of you  know, when they talk about like inspirations  

  • for their career, there's always a list of names  that I have no idea what they're talking about

  • But those names always come out, right? Yeah, the references. Yeah

  • Yeah, exactly. Even iflike for students who are watching  

  • like sitcoms to learn English, I know that a lot  of the jokes or a lot of the big points made,  

  • have to do with references, and it's so if you  don't understand what's going on, don't worry,  

  • because it's not about English. Yeah, right

  • It's about the cultural references. If you don't know them, you don't know them, so… 

  • Yeah, that's true. That's an excellent point

  • Well, very good. Well, we'llwe'll wrap it up  

  • here shortly, but once again, congratulations on. I mean, a lot of different things, really, right

  • You're, you're, you're EngVid  videos are extremely popular

  • You're continuing to work there, so  you can go and find Adam at engvid.com 

  • Are thosethose videos are not just at the  website, but they're also on YouTube as well

  • Is that correct? They're on, yeah, if you go 'EngVid  

  • Adam,' you'll find my videos. Very good

  • You can also find Adams homepage or  his home channel Write to the Top  

  • and that's W-R-I-T-E To the Top. A really popular channel there

  • You can watch Adam's TEDx talk on his  channel, as I did before saying hello today

  • Your books are available ontell us…  tell us where we can find your books

  • On Amazon and is there another location? Uh, writetotop.com no 'the' in the  

  • website address, yeah? OK, writetotop.com  

  • no 'the' as you mentioned, right? You can find Adam's books there as well

  • Well, very good, sir. You are an extremely busy man with all of the  

  • content that you are constantly creating. So once again, congratulations

  • Right. Yeah. It was a real pleasure toto chat with you and… 

  • You as well. Best or luck

  • And if you ever make it up to Seoul, then give us  a call and we'll get a cup of coffee or something

  • Absolutely. Thank you. Adam Benn, thank you

  • Thank you for joining us once  again on Speak English Fluently

  • I've been your host, Steve Hatherly, and if you're  interested in my own channel then you can find me

  • Search story time Steve Hatherly  and you can find me there

  • Hope you come back for the next video. And Adam, thank you, sir

  • Have a good one. Thank you.  

  • You too.

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engVid Adam Benn from Write to the Top Interview | Speak English Fluently with Steve Hatherly

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    Summer posted on 2022/09/24
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