2026 | 2025 Part 2 | 2025 Part 1 | 2024 | 2023
Presenting Confidently and Clearly in a Non-native Language
by Matt Abrahams
For most of us, presenting confidently and clearly in our native language is hard enough, but communicating in another language is marked by unique challenges and opportunities for growth. What follows is specific advice that can help all non-native speakers…
Matt's favorite ELL podcasts
Jonathan Berek & Phil Polakoff
02/19/2026
level (verb)
Definition: to make something flat, even, or equal in height or amount
Example from the episode: “I guess the first thing I think of is the process of what some people call leveling, which is be sure that first of all, you know your audience.”
Example sentence: “She tried to level her answer to match the question.”
trifecta (noun)
Definition: a group of three important things that happen together or are connected
Example from the episode: “I now have the trifecta of words. So it could be, what are the three most important things in one's life? It's relationships, it's service, and purpose.”
Example sentence: “The movie has a trifecta of action, adventure, and comedy.”
affable (adjective)
Definition: friendly and easy to talk to
Example from the episode: “You're just both affable, super bright, and very articulate.”
Example sentence: “She is affable and makes new friends quickly.”
tear at the heartstrings (idiom)
Definition: to cause strong feelings of sadness or sympathy
Example from the episode: “In my case, I do a lot of medical-related types of films, and I use patient stories, which tears at the heartstrings often.”
Example sentence: “His speech about helping others tears at the heartstrings.”
Fareed Zakaria
02/16/2026
upend (verb)
Definition: to turn something upside down or change it completely
Example from the episode: “So if you look at the base of change, particularly along the kind of key drivers that have tended to produce this kind of sense of society being upended, they tend to be technology in the first instance.”
Example sentence: “The new rule upended our plan.”
node (noun)
Definition: a point where lines or connections meet, often in a network
Example from the episode: “Today in a networked many-to-many broadcast system, there is no node to take over.”
Example sentence: “The computer is a node in the network.”
contested (adjective)
Definition: disputed or fought over because people disagree
Example from the episode: “There's no hierarchy of information, and in that situation, you are going to see a much greater degree of contested facts, contested narratives, and things like that.”
Example sentence: “The rule is still contested by experts.”
post-truth (idiom)
Definition: a situation where facts matter less than emotions or beliefs when people form opinions
Example from the episode: “It's very disconcerting because it does mean, as you're suggesting, a kind of post-fact or post-truth environment.”
Example sentence: “In a post-truth time, stories spread fast.”
Nick Thompson
02/12/2026
itemize (verb)
Definition: to write or say things one by one in a list
Example from the episode: “So many people just list and itemize.”
Example sentence: “Can you itemize what is inside the box?”
voice (noun)
Definition: the special style a writer uses
Example from the episode: “And you yourself, you write, how have you found your voice in all of this?”
Example sentence: “I like the writer's voice in this book.”
brisk (adjective)
Definition: quick and full of energy
Example from the episode: “I try to add humor. I try to make it as brisk as possible.”
Example sentence: “The meeting was brisk and short.”
a necessary evil (idiom)
Definition: something unpleasant that you must accept because it helps or is needed
Example from the episode: “I used to think editing was just a necessary evil, but in fact, I think the most creative things happen during editing.”
Example sentence: “Doctor visits are a necessary evil to stay healthy.”
Patsy Rodenburg
02/09/2026
slump (verb)
Definition: to fall into a lower position or to sit with your body bent forward and tired
Example from the episode: “If we brace or slump, we reduce our breath and the energy gets stuck in the throat, which is when those wonderful ideas you have, they come out on a monotone.”
Example sentence: “He slumped in his chair after the long day.”
craft (noun)
Definition: a skill or job where someone makes things or does special work with their hands or training
Example from the episode: “My work is about embodiment and it's about a craft that is returning people to their natural selves.”
Example sentence: “She learned the craft of pottery at camp.”
inferior (adjective)
Definition: not as good as someone or something else
Example from the episode: “First circle people, by pulling back, they're not necessarily inferior, but they're signaling inferiority.”
Example sentence: “He thought his work was inferior to hers.”
along the line (idiom)
Definition: at some time during a process or at some point in the future or past
Example from the episode: “The good news is the vast majority of people are born with amazing voices and somewhere along the line, they lose them.”
Example sentence: “Problems can appear along the line.”
Rebecca Hinds
02/05/2026
elapse (verb)
Definition: to pass or go by, usually about time
Example from the episode: “And after those 48 hours have elapsed, employees are instructed to rebuild their calendar from scratch.”
Example sentence: “Days elapse quickly when you are having fun.”
aura (noun)
Definition: a feeling or atmosphere that seems to surround a person or place
Example from the episode: “And because of this, there's this aura of negativity around meetings.”
Example sentence: “The garden has a peaceful aura early in the morning.”
accustomed (adjective)
Definition: used to something and comfortable with it
Example from the episode: “And so, part of this is we're so accustomed to using a meeting as a communication tool, even when we have other things called Slack or Asana that often are much more efficient ways to communicate, we default to the meeting.”
Example sentence: “I am accustomed to waking up early.”
knee-jerk reaction (idiom)
Definition: a quick and automatic response without thinking carefully
Example from the episode: “And yet, our knee-jerk reaction is to use them whenever we have a problem, whenever we need alignment, if we're unclear on next steps.”
Example sentence: “When scared, his knee-jerk reaction is to run away.”
Bill Burnett & Dave Evans
02/02/2026
ideate (verb)
Definition: to think of new ideate ideas or plans
Example from the episode: “Because a lot of times, the social pressure of staying in their lane is so powerful that they can't even ideate about something different.”
Example sentence: “We ideate ideas for our class project.”
tenet (noun)
Definition: a basic belief or idea that people in a group follow
Example from the episode: “In your book, Designing for Life, Dave, you leverage one of the tenets of design thinking when you advocate for prototyping conversations to gather data.”
Example sentence: “The rule became a tenet for the team.”
user-centered (adjective)
Definition: focused on the needs and wishes of the people who will use something
Example from the episode: “Well, you know, we're user-centered designers.”
Example sentence: “We made a user-centered website.”
wild card (idiom)
Definition: an unexpected person or thing that can change a situation
Example from the episode: “And then the wild card plan, the third plan is, what would you do if you had all the money and the resources that you needed, and no one would say, well, that's a stupid thing?”
Example sentence: “He is a wild card in the game.”
Lerone Martin
01/19/2026
architect (verb)
Definition: to plan and design something carefully so all the parts work together
Example from the episode: “I actually find his Nobel Prize acceptance speech to be more rousing and better architected.”
Example sentence: “They architect a plan for the class project.”
sermon (noun)
Definition: a talk by a religious leader that teaches or gives advice about life or faith
Example from the episode: “Do you have a favorite speech, sermon or writing of his, and if so, what is it and why?”
Example sentence: “We listened to the sermon at church.”
oratorical (adjective)
Definition: about public speaking and the way someone gives a speech
Example from the episode: “You've highlighted some already, but he was excellent at using lots of different oratorical and rhetorical devices to really engage.”
Example sentence: “His oratorical style was calm and clear.”
muscle memory (idiom)
Definition: when your body remembers how to do something because you practiced it many times
Example from the episode: “Thinking about Steph Curry and LeBron James and others, like they do what they do and sometimes it's impromptu, but that muscle memory right, enables them to do that.”
Example sentence: “The pianist plays the song from muscle memory.”
Bonnie Hayden Cheng
01/15/2026
operationalize (verb)
Definition: to put an idea or plan into action so it can be used in real life
Example from the episode: “What does kindness actually look like when it's operationalized in organizations?”
Example sentence: “The manager operationalized the new rules this month.”
betterment (noun)
Definition: the act of making something better or improving it
Example from the episode: “So I define kind leadership as taking intentional action in service to and for the betterment of the people under your care.”
Example sentence: “Volunteers act for the betterment of animals.”
generalizable (adjective)
Definition: able to be used or applied in many different places or situations
Example from the episode: “So the RISE model really has quite generalizable applications, which I think makes it a lot more of a practical application.”
Example sentence: “Her method is generalizable to new problems.”
red tape (idiom)
Definition: official rules, paperwork, or procedures that make it slow or hard to get things done
Example from the episode: “A lot of times people get stuck not because of capability issues, but it's more about resource or admin or red tape issues.”
Example sentence: “Red tape made the permit take months.”
Adam Bryant
01/13/2026
demystify (verb)
Definition: to make something easier to understand by explaining it clearly
Example from the episode: “His work focuses on demystifying leadership, identifying the key qualities of successful leaders, and translating those insights into actionable advice for managers.”
Example sentence: “The teacher will demystify the science topic today.”
synthesis (noun)
Definition: the process of combining different ideas or information to make something new.
Example from the episode: “When you look back at the synthesis you've done, the career journeys that you've seen, is there a particular mistake or two that leaders tend to make, especially when it comes to communicating around themselves or their companies that you've seen that we could learn from and try to avoid?”
Example sentence: “The essay is a synthesis of three articles.”
shorthand (adjective)
Definition: a quick, short way to say or write something
Example from the episode: “And my shorthand version of his theory is the Einstein Theory of Communication.”
Example sentence: “He wrote a shorthand note after the meeting.”
near and dear (idiom)
Definition: very important or special to someone
Example from the episode: “So the first one is the ability to simplify complexity, which I know is a topic that's near and dear to your heart.”
Example sentence: “Family is near and dear to him.”
Wendy De La Rosa
01/06/2026
trigger (verb)
Definition: to cause something to start or happen
Example from the episode: “Can you give a specific example of how a leader or manager's communication framing of, let's say, a budget cut or some new financial policy can either trigger a scarcity mindset or inspire a problem-solving mindset?”
Example sentence: “Touching the red button will trigger the toy to move.”
cue (noun)
Definition: a sign or signal that tells someone to do something
Example from the episode: “But it's a cue to say there's a meaningful change happening.”
Example sentence: “The bell is a cue that class has ended.”
taboo (adjective)
Definition: not allowed or not talked about in a group or culture
Example from the episode: “I have found in my life with lots of topics that are taboo that just initiating the conversation opens up the opportunity for others to share.”
Example sentence: “People said it was taboo to ask her age.”
give credit where credit is due (idiom)
Definition: to say that someone deserves praise for something they did
Example from the episode: “I want to give credit where credit is due.”
Example sentence: “Always give credit where credit is due to your teammates.”