Episode 171
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Hi, I am Georgiana, your English teacher and founder of SpeakEnglishPodcast.com. and I am here to help you speak English fluently with no grammar and no textbooks.
Today, I will talk about different ways to greet someone while avoiding physical contact as much as possible.
And with mini-story, you will improve your fluency. I will ask you many questions that you will need to answer right away. It's like speaking English with another person.
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The situation has changed quite a bit since last year. It has impacted the way we interact with other people drastically.
Nowadays, instead of shaking hands, we tend to wave from a distance.
Today we will look at some ways of saying hello that have become popular over the last year.
Let's start!
1. Elbow bump.
The idea is to use your elbow to touch the other person's elbow. The elbow is the joint we have in the middle of each arm.
I consider this kind of greeting a bit absurd since you end up making physical contact in another way, but you avoid contact with your hands.
However, it is easy to touch your elbows with your hands. For example, you might touch your elbows when crossing your arms. So, it’s better not to have any contact at all.
2. Saying hello with your feet.
Yes. I’ve seen some people use their feet to say hello. And it looks strange, but the first time I saw it, I thought it was hilarious. The idea is to make each other's feet collide.
I guess it's safer than the elbow bump, but it requires some skill to stay balanced.
For a couple of seconds, you need to stand on one foot. So perhaps for older people, it's not the best idea.
3. High five from a distance.
See, this seems more logical to me. You raise your right hand and pretend you are high-fiving. There is no contact whatsoever.
However, imagine you will greet someone, and you high-five in the air, but the other person doesn't and stares at what you're doing. It's a bit embarrassing.
4. Military style salute.
As you can imagine, it is the typical salute that militaries give. Although we do it in a more relaxed and less abrupt way.
When I greet someone on the street, I raise my hand and say, "hello." I do it quickly, and it's more natural that way. I don't like the elbow or foot greeting.
Do you know how you can help me? You can share the podcast with your friends and family. And tell them to go to SpeakEnglishPodcast.com to get my free mini-course. That would mean a lot to me. Thanks.
Ok! Let’s continue with a mini-story.
Now, let’s practice.
Speaking Practice
Mini-Story: Speaking Practice
Answer each question out loud, then listen to the answer and respond quickly. Don’t worry about mistakes.
Speaking practice
Let’s Start!
James didn't know how to say hello, so he started winking as a greeting.
Did James know how to say hello?
No. James didn't know how to say hello.
Who didn't know how to say hello?
James. James didn't know how to say hello.
Did it occur to James to do the military salute?
No. He didn't think of that. He thought of winking. That is, close and open his eye.
One day James winked at a married woman, and she slapped him.
Did James wink at a single woman?
No. No. He winked at a married woman.
Did she give him a kiss?
No, not a kiss, but a slap. She slapped him.
What did the woman give poor James?
A slap. She slapped him.
James tried something new. This time he waved his hands.
What did James decide?
He decided to wave his hands.
How did James salute after he got slapped?
He no longer winked. He waved his hands.
People started imitating James, and his salute became popular.
What did people start doing?
People started imitating James.
Did his salute become popular?
Yes, it became popular.
Why did it become popular?
Because people started to imitate James.
When people greet each other, it looks like they are catching flies.
Does it look like people are catching flies?
Yes, it looks people are catching flies when they greet each other.
Does it look like they are hunting elephants?
No. No. It looks like they are catching flies.
Thanks for listening, and I’ll see you in the next episode.
Review
Vocabulary from This Episode
Review useful words and expressions before listening again.
01 greet someone
say or do something when meeting a person.
02 wave
move your hand to say hello or goodbye.
03 elbow bump
a greeting made by touching elbows.
04 fist bump
a greeting made by touching closed fists.
05 wink
close one eye briefly as a signal.
06 physical contact
touching another person.
07 from a distance
without being physically close.
08 catching flies
a humorous description of waving arms awkwardly.
Very thankful