225. Speaking Fluent Internet: How Algorithms Are Changing the Way We Speak

Summary

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Podcast Summary

Think Fast, Talk Smart: Communication Techniques

Episode 225: Speaking Fluent Internet: How Algorithms Are Changing the Way We Speak
Host: Matt Abrahams
Guest: Adam Alexik (The Etymology Nerd, linguist, educator, creator)
Date: August 26, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode delves into how algorithms and Internet culture are radically reshaping the way we create, use, and understand language—both online and in the workplace. Host Matt Abrahams interviews Adam Alexik, a linguist and popular educational creator known as "The Etymology Nerd," about the rise of "algospeak," the viral emergence of new words and labels, and the nuances of communicating across digital generations. The discussion highlights actionable strategies for adapting language to different audiences and technologies while exploring deeper cultural and social implications.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Evolution of Language in the Age of Algorithms

• Origin of Adam's Passion: Adam developed his love for linguistics from a 10th-grade experience and came to see language as much more than "fun facts," realizing its role as a core component of identity and culture.

  "Language is the way humans identify the world and relate that to each other. It's how we communicate who we are as people."
  (02:35, Adam)

• Labels & Identity: The way digital platforms create and popularize new labels (e.g., “cottagecore,” “hyper pop”) changes not just vocabulary, but even how people see themselves.

  “Now that cottagecore is out there, I’m either cottagecore, I’m not cottagecore—and that affects my identity subtly.”
  (03:10, Adam)

2. Algospeak and Algorithmic Influence on Communication

• Definition of Algospeak: Originally speech used to avoid algorithmic censorship, “algospeak” includes inventive terms like “unalive” (avoiding words like “kill” which trigger TikTok suppression).

  “Now we have kids in middle schools writing essays about Hamlet contemplating unaliving himself simply because they see it on TikTok.”
  (04:58, Adam)

• Beyond Censorship: Algorithmic reach shapes memes, trends, community language, and which words spread and take hold, sometimes even replacing traditional paths of language evolution within subcultures.

3. Intergenerational and Contextual Language Barriers

• Generational Gaps: With multiple generations in workplaces, some people speak fluent “Internet,” while others may feel excluded or confused.
• Sociolects: Each platform and context brings its own “dialect,” with certain implicit language rules (e.g., what’s fine on TikTok may be inappropriate in an office).

  “Each social setting comes with a unique set of linguistic expectations... That’s the sociolect, the social kind of dialect of the Internet.”
  (06:21, Adam)

• Leadership & Inclusion: Rather than making a list of “accepted” words, leaders should foster awareness and adaptability, understanding that implicit norms are shaped both organically and by algorithmic influence.

4. The Medium Shapes the Message

• Medium as Audience: The algorithm itself is now an “audience” to accommodate, not just the person you’re speaking to.

  “The medium is the message. Every single medium uniquely affects how we communicate, and we adapt our speech to these media.”
  (07:10, Adam)

• Audience Design: Speakers routinely adjust their language for imagined audiences—whether radio, TV, social, or now, algorithms.

  “We’re also communicating not only for the actual person in front of us… but also for the algorithm itself.”
  (08:32, Adam)

5. Limits and Workarounds of AI/Algorithms

• Bias and Lag: AI’s understanding of language is always behind human invention, and will never fully map the territory of genuine, evolving speech.

  “AI… contains an idea or representation of language that is a map. But the map can never be the territory itself.”
  (09:57, Adam)

• Continual Innovation: Online users create new words faster than algorithms can censor or comprehend them, constantly staying a step ahead (e.g., “st!ll un@live”).

6. Practical Advice for Influencers & Communicators

• Optimize for Platform Incentives: Platforms value attention, retention, and engagement—creators must be conscious of these metrics and tailor speech accordingly.

  “It’s all downstream of how the medium is baking in certain expectations, certain priorities.”
  (11:11, Adam)

• Visual Semiotics: Authority or attention can be conveyed not just by words, but symbols (fake microphones, backgrounds) that go viral or confer status, affecting perception in both social media and workplace presentations.

  “Videos where people have microphones in front of them go more viral because they connote authority.”
  (12:48, Adam)

7. Grammar, Ambiguity & Power Dynamics

• Evolving Grammar: Grammar rules are context-dependent. On messaging platforms, punctuation (e.g., periods) can signal passive-aggressiveness to younger users, despite being seen as proper elsewhere.

  “The act of sending a text itself is already a signal that the sentence is completed. So… an extra period is actually saying something extra.”
  (19:41, Adam)

• Strategic Ambiguity: Hedging language (like “kind of,” “I think”) expresses politeness or lowers perceived power, and can help negotiate hierarchical or sensitive situations.

  “Hedging does work, depending on different context… you need to show deference.”
  (15:49, Adam)

• Cross-Medium Awareness: To communicate effectively, one must be intentional about how language choices land on different platforms and with different audiences.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Words have tremendous power.” – Adam Alexik (04:13)
• “Algospeak… is memes, it’s trends, it’s which groups are created, it’s where words come from in the first place and how quickly those words spread.” – Adam Alexik (05:04)
• “If there’s one thing I can count on humans… it’s that we are ingenious and tenacious with coming up new ways to express ourselves.” – Adam Alexik (09:57)
• “Every channel through which you communicate, we have to be mindful and think through the language that we use to communicate for that channel.” – Matt Abrahams (18:58)
• “Unless we can become complacent… Now you’re out of date. You’re using periods in your text messages.” – Adam Alexik (26:07)

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Important Segments & Timestamps

• Adam’s linguistic journey and the cultural power of labels: 02:35 – 04:13
• What is algospeak? Examples and effects: 04:41 – 05:47
• Generational language barriers & recommendations: 05:47 – 08:03
• Medium as message, accommodating the algorithm: 07:10 – 09:36
• Algorithms' limitations, human creativity: 09:36 – 10:46
• Advice for creators/influencers on virality: 11:11 – 13:24
• Visual semiotics and authority: 12:42 – 13:24
• Analyzing ‘like’ and hedging in speech: 13:58 – 17:20
• Adam’s actionable takeaways: 18:08 – 18:58
• Debate on grammar across platforms: 19:41 – 20:44
• Closing thoughts, Adam's "success recipe": 25:20 – 25:57

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Actionable Takeaways

1. Be mindful of medium and context.
   Every platform (TikTok, office, text, email) has its own language rules and expectations.

   “Each medium is going to uniquely affect how we communicate, and you need to be exactly aware of what that medium is doing if you want to communicate effectively.”
   (18:08, Adam)

2. Stay aware, adapt, and keep learning.
   Language and algorithms change constantly — avoid complacency, and remain open to new words, rules, and trends.

   "Continue observing. Become more aware. It's just a cycle."
   (25:20, Adam)

3. Balance grammar to fit the setting.
   Use formal grammar where appropriate and embrace informal rules elsewhere. Understand how even punctuation signals emotion or intent in digital channels.

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Conclusion

This episode offers a fascinating and practical guide to navigating the complex digital language landscape shaped by algorithms. Adam Alexik highlights the need to understand the implicit rules and shifting cultural meanings attached to every communication medium—whether you’re texting, posting, presenting, or leading a team of mixed digital fluency. Ultimately, being aware, adaptive, and intentional is key to communicating with clarity and impact in the algorithm age.

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Transcript

[Matt Abrahams]

Hi Matt here.

Thinkfast Talk Smart Listeners from all over.

The world have shared how useful our August newsletter's article on best practices for.

Non native speakers was for them.

I wanted to remind you that for each episode we provide English Language learning support where we share useful information to help you develop your English skills. Check out these English Language learning and other resources along with our newsletter and Deep Dive videos at fastersmarter IO under.

Resources Foreign Words and Language are Conduits for Culture My name is Matt Abrahams and I teach strategic communication at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Welcome to Think Fast Talk Smart, the podcast.

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Today, I'm delighted to speak with Adam Alexik. Adam is a linguist and content creator posting educational videos under the name the Etymology Nerd and He has over 2 million followers. He's lectured on language and social media at Stanford and other top universities. His latest book is called How Social Media is Transforming the Future of Language. Well, welcome Adam. I look forward to our conversation. My younger son is a follower of yours and he and I are both really excited to hear this conversation. Thanks for being here.

[Adam Alexik]

I'm excited to be here.

[Matt Abrahams]

Thanks. Shall we get started?

[Adam Alexik]

Go ahead.

[Matt Abrahams]

As the son of both a lawyer and an elementary school teacher, language and words have always been really important and interesting in my life. I'm curious, where did your interest in passion come from? And why should any of us care about the words we use in our grammar?

[Adam Alexik]

If I'm being honest, I got into it for the fun facts. I read this book in 10th grade, the Etymologicon. Great book connecting how different words are all related to each other in different ways. Fascinating. And then the more I looked into it, the more I started doing my own research and eventually studied linguistics in college. I began to realize that language is the way humans identify the world and relate that to each other. It's so much more than just fun facts. But those are still good, you know, in and of themselves. It's how we communicate who we are as people. And you can see this as a language as a proxy for culture.

[Matt Abrahams]

Absolutely. And if you have a word to identify it, then it exists and you can share that meaning, right?

[Adam Alexik]

Exactly. But once it's identified, it also changes reality a little bit. The fact that a label is out there, you identify either with that label or against that label. If that label wasn't there, now it's not something affecting your identity. This is something that's very interesting to me because the book that I wrote gets into algorithms and how algorithms create new words. And you have new labels out there because algorithms push these, like cottagecore or something. Now that cottagecore is out there, I'm either cottagecore, I'm not cottagecore, and that affects my identity subtly.

[Matt Abrahams]

I have no idea what cottagecore is. Will you share with me?

[Adam Alexik]

It's a fashion aesthetic of like, it's sort of a bucolic lifestyle of prairies and whatever you're dressing toward that aesthetic, but it's packaged as an entire lifestyle on social media.

[Matt Abrahams]

Interesting. So when Spotify identifies a particular type of music or labels, a type of music, all of a sudden it now exists, and you're either it or not it.

[Adam Alexik]

Exactly. For this book, I actually interviewed Spotify's chief data alchemist, Glenn, and They have over 8,000 micro genres on Spotify. You know, in the past, we'd have something like R and B, hip hop, pop. Now it's also escape room preverb. These are like things they made up because they're just putting new labels on things. And now artists try to conform their musical identity. For these labels that are out there, Hyper pop is the term that wasn't really on the scene until Spotify created a hyper pop genre in 2018. And now people are trying to make hyper pop art. They're arguing over what is and what isn't hyper pop. But they wouldn't have been doing that otherwise. They would have maybe just been making music in this space and more fluid. Perhaps. But maybe the label constrains identity at the same time. Maybe the label gives people a way to pinpoint exactly what this thing is. So what you were saying, words have tremendous power.

[Matt Abrahams]

That's fascinating. The words we use not only create and identify what exists in the world, but how we see ourselves as being part of or not part of. So let me ask you talk a lot about algospeak. What is algospeak and how is it impacting our communication?

[Adam Alexik]

Traditionally, algospeak has been the label for speech used to circumvent algorithmic censorship online. The classic example is the word unalive. You can't say kill on TikTok, or you can say it, but your video might be suppressed. So many creators choose instead to use words like unalive. And now we have kids in middle schools writing essays about Hamlet contemplating unaliving himself simply because they see it on TikTok. And so now this is also changing our reality as well. That's traditionally been what's referred to as algo speak. And that's what got me interested in this because I'm a creator and I'm a linguist and I started studying my own language because you can't, not if you're those things. And I started realizing, wow, my speech is being hampered and by the algorithm I have to reroute around it. At the same time, it's so much more than censorship. Like on a live, it's memes, it's trends, it's which groups are created, it's where words come from in the first place and how quickly those words spread.

[Matt Abrahams]

Wow. So the algorithms are replacing the traditional way that new words came into being, subcultures using concepts and ideas. Given that there's this new language, if you will, or at least new words in a language, how do we best become fluent? I'm thinking of the modern day workplace where you have four generations of folks and some folks are religiously on TikTok and Instagram and part of that algorithm culture, and then you've got folks who are older, who don't even know what those things are. How can we expect to communicate when we're not even speaking the same language? In some cases.

[Adam Alexik]

Right. Each social setting comes with a unique set of linguistic expectations. In the workplace, like you described, there's still like a general corporate kind of language or an attitude about what words are acceptable and not acceptable. Same with unalive. Right. It seems unacceptable for a kid to write that in an essay, but it's acceptable to say on TikTok, because that actually is the expectation. That's the sociolect, the social kind of dialect of the Internet, that people have this certain way of speaking that defines a community.

[Matt Abrahams]

So if we are to be a leader in an organization, a manager, of a group, and I want everybody to feel included in that group. Do I have to have a glossary of terms that we agree to to use? If I've got a colleague that refers to something I don't understand, am I being left out? Am I being ostracized?

What recommendations do you have or have.

You seen so that we can all communicate the same way?

[Adam Alexik]

Well, I think a lot of these expectations are implicit, and it's strange to make a list of words that are acceptable and not. There are key words that are being flagged by the algorithm, or some words the algorithm knows are trending, and then the algorithm pushes them, and then creators use these words, and then the word gets perpetuated further into virality, and now it's more of a word that to me is also algo speak. I am a strong believer that the medium is the message. Every single medium uniquely affects how we communicate, and we adapt our speech to these media. The algorithm is one such medium, and we have a unique way of speaking for these because algorithms are an infrastructure underlying how videos get distributed. You have to appeal to this algorithm not only in which words you're using to avoid censorship, but also in which words go more viral, but also generally, if this is a social expectation that we should be speaking this way, you have to accommodate for that as well. In an office setting, the medium is different. You should not be using the word on a live in the office, and that's just not the expectation.

[Matt Abrahams]

So each context brings its own expectations, which brings along with it the certain rules that you have. I find it really interesting. One of the most ubiquitous bits of advice that comes from this podcast is you need to know your audience and you need to adjust and adapt. And I'm hearing that you're adding a new audience that some of us need to consider, which is the algorithm and the tools that we use. And that's really interesting because if I want to be understood, I need to at least speak the same language or understand and appreciate the language of the tool that I'm using.

[Adam Alexik]

The context is really important. For example, right now I know I'm talking to you, and I'm accommodating my communication to talk to you. However, we're also being observed by an audience of many other people, and I don't know who these people are. So I'm using a psycholinguistic phenomenon known as audience design, where I have an idea of a perceived imaginary audience, and I am accommodating my communication for that as well. This is something we've seen with radio hosts and broadcast presenters, you'll notice that they talk in specific accents. Right. I was on NPR the other day. They were talking about the NPR accent and how they talk like that. And we all know this. Just in breaking news, they have a certain way of speaking on TV as well. Influencers as well, have a sort of an influencer accent. They're accommodating for their perceived audience. And again, this comes with the specific social setting and the norms and the underlying values of that medium. However, we're also communicating not only for the actual person in front of us, not only for the people invisibly perceiving us, but also for the algorithm itself. There's also this invisible infrastructure that analyzes every single word that's uploaded to these platforms, and you need to be performing for that as well.

[Matt Abrahams]

I want to come back to influencers and creators in a moment, but two questions pop into mind. AI and the algorithms are only as good as the data that they have come to digest and understand. As language is changing, is it possible that the algorithms don't yet know what some of these words and terms mean and they might actually make mistakes?

[Adam Alexik]

Not only possible, but that's exactly the reality. The fact is that AI, as sophisticated as it is, has a training set and has reinforcement learning that is a biased version of reality. It contains an idea or representation of language that is a map. But the map can never be the territory itself. So the way human language is actually used in all of its nuances, in all of its little forms, in the way that it's currently changing, AI can never fully catch up to that. And that's why if you ask ChatGPT to use slang, I don't think it'll ever quite be hip to that. Human language is always one step ahead, which is why we come up with new phrases like unalive. And now that's being censored as well, because the algorithm caught onto that. But now creators use phrases like still unalive, but like spelled with an at sign instead of an A or an exclamation point instead of an I. One step ahead of the algorithm. If there's one thing I can count on humans, it's that we are ingenious and tenacious with coming up new ways to express ourselves.

[Matt Abrahams]

I want to dig into your expertise as an influencer yourself as the etymology nerd, but as somebody who studied Algospeak. If it is all about getting attention, sustaining attention, leading to virality, so your ideas get heard by more and more people, what types of advice would you give to people who are trying to be really fluent and maximize what Algospeak gives for them? Are there some specific tips and tricks that you would recommend?

[Adam Alexik]

Start with what these platforms want. The platforms give us the infrastructure and unfortunately they are trying to grab our attention as much as possible to commodify us as people so they can sell our data and so they can sell us ads. That's what they're doing. They make the structures in place. They have retention as like one of them. That's like how long people stay watching a video. They use engagement metrics and whether they recommend videos. That's like likes, comments, shares, all that normal stuff. So as influencers you are then incentivized to maximize for these things. It's all downstream of how the medium is baking in certain explanat expectations, certain priorities. And so you need to be very aware of that. And it's also again, be aware of your invisible watching audience as well. I speak differently than the lifestyle influencer because I have a different audience. The lifestyle influencer is probably speaking to young women who expect this sort of Valley girl derived accent. I speak very quickly. I mean I do in real life, but I'll online. I'll stress more words to keep you watching my video to make sure you don't scroll away. And I'll up talk as well. But it'll be like a different thing than the lifestyle influencer because I'm also accommodating for both my imaginary audience and the algorithm.

[Matt Abrahams]

Really interesting. And you're making me think about what I do linguistically when I speak. I guess I am purposely doing things for that imagined audience. It might not be good for the algorithm, which might not be good for me to get my word out there. Are there certain things people can do that enhance virality beyond just the spoken word? So for example, what we name our posts, which not everybody is an influencer or creator, but I put titles on emails, I label what my meeting is. Are there words? I mean words, communication as well.

[Adam Alexik]

Written words grab our attention more than other things. I want to bring in visual semiotics as well.

[Matt Abrahams]

Take a step back. Define semiotics for us.

[Adam Alexik]

Oh, it's symbols, things we look at that have meaning. So the fact that we have microphones right now in front of us and if this is uploaded to social media, there are studies that have been done that show that videos where people have microphones in front of them go more viral than otherwise because they connote authority. This is a semiotic symbol that holds authority within it. And so there's actually an influx right now of real creators using fake microphones because that simply goes more viral. And it literally is a visual indicator that this person has something important to say. And so we are subconsciously primed to perceive that person as more important and as having something worthy when they're talking. And so we watch further.

[Matt Abrahams]

I really find that fascinating. Not everybody, again, is going to be a creator influencer, but all of us do virtual presentations where we might put a background behind us. And you have to think about what's in that background because that sends a semiotic message as you're talking about, it's implying things.

[Adam Alexik]

I think culturally, we're still grappling with the move to zoom and the fact that you can just see inside people, people's bedrooms. Now that's crazy. So now your bedroom, this very private sanctum, is now perceived as a professional environment as well. In the same way that we see visual stuff very physically affect how we perceive a message, the same is happening with communication, both written and verbal.

[Matt Abrahams]

I'd like to talk a little bit about the word like because it is used in a variety of ways, and I'm curious to get your perception of its evolution. And people use like in some ways as a filler, in some ways as to replace the word says or said. Help me understand. Like.

[Adam Alexik]

Yeah, this isn't even algo speak. It goes back to 1980s Valley Girl speech and early Internet speak. But also, like you, I just used it as a filler word right there when you said you can use it as a synonym for said. That's not quite true. It has its own kind of feeling. Said is more connoting evidentiality. That you literally are repeating something verbatim. Like is embodying an affect of somebody who communicated something, but not necessarily saying 100% this is what they said. So if I said, then she was like, that party was low key, great. I'm not necessarily stating that she literally said that, but all these uses kind of evolved out of how young women talked in California in the 80s and 90s. And language often follows the conduits of what is perceived as popular, what is perceived as cool, what is perceived as funny, even. And the Valley Girls were popular and they spread language because of that.

[Matt Abrahams]

Yeah. I grew up in California in the 80s and I remember Valley Girls speak very much. And it's interesting to see what has lasted from that. That all these years later. You know, for the past little while, I've been studying how we can use Ambiguity in our communication, strategically hedging language, if you will, Think of things like politeness, flirtation, negotiation. All of these are situations where indirect speech, indirect language can actually be very helpful to you. We don't want to get in trouble. We don't want to risk our reputation or make a mistake. So we use this ambiguous hedging language. What are your thoughts on ambiguity and how does that play out in this world of algorithms?

[Adam Alexik]

My first ever linguistics research project that I did as a senior in high school was I was an intern at a court, and I was analyzing how lawyers talk to the judges. And they'll often say things like, your Honor, I would submit this brief. As they're submitting the brief. You don't need to say would. Right. Theoretically, because you're literally submitting the brief. You could say, your honor, I'm submitting this brief. But they say wood as a hedge. They say it because it shows deference, it shows politeness to the judge. And this is how you'll see a lot of people use this sort of. Wood is an example of a modal auxiliary verb. And you can say, I could, I should do this, I shan't do that. All of that is an example of modifying your speech to make it seem more polite. And like is actually one use of the word like is to hedge. It's showing that you're not asserting yourself too much on social media. I think it's probably bad to hedge that much because we want to convey authority. That's why the fake microphones actually work. And real microphones. These are real, I'm assuming, But hedging does work, depending on different contexts. If you're trying to talk to a judge, maybe it is good to be less abrasive.

[Matt Abrahams]

I see the hedges that bother me the most are, I think, and kind of because they diminish your status and power. But at some points, in some ways, they can serve a useful function. If I'm the big boss and you're my employee and I genuinely want your input, if I were to say, I kind of think we should do this, what do you think? That lowers my status and the certitude of my assertion so that you're more likely to say something versus we should do this, what do you think? That's a very different sounding phrase. So I find that really interesting. Do you see that play out in your world?

[Adam Alexik]

Yeah. When we're talking about performativity, one thing you're performing for is there's always an imbued power dynamic in any conversation. You're having. So if we were, like, seated on stage in front of an audience, the audience is definitely less powerful or something. Or if you're talking to your boss, that's a perfect example. You have less power than your boss, and you need to show deference. And there's languages like Japanese that literally encode this. They have many layers of, like, different particles you attach to show your relationship to this other person. In English, we do the same thing, but we do that through these sort of hedging particles.

[Matt Abrahams]

Interesting. I love learning from you and I love the ideas of language. I'd like you to reflect across all of your work, the book you've written, all of the social posts you do your own research that you've done. What are two or three key actionable takeaways that our listeners can have from that body of work that will help us in our communication and help us in the language that we use?

[Adam Alexik]

Takeaway number one, each medium is going to uniquely affect how we communicate, and you need to be exactly aware of what that medium is doing if you want to communicate effectively. Algorithms are a new inflection point for language. I think as a medium, they value attention more than any previous medium we may have had. It's causing language to occur faster. And you need to be tapped into these trends because that's another thing these algorithms are pushing. So be aware of the medium. The second one is that algorithms are changing the way we speak. It's a reality that even if you're not online, you need to be aware of these new slang words where they're coming from, because these are also conduits of culture. Like I said earlier, we know, like, in the same way that Light came from Valley Girl English. There's like, conduits of popularity what we perceive as cool or prestigious, and we borrow from that. It's good to be aware of these things so we can communicate more effectively and so that we can be more aware of our own word choice and perhaps the implications of what words we're using.

[Matt Abrahams]

I want to put an exclamation point after this notion of every channel through which you communicate. We have to be mindful and think through the language that we use to communicate for that channel. A lot of us just create one message and then put it out in lots of different channels, and we might be missing an opportunity to optimize, and we might be doing ourselves a disservice because, in essence, we're not communicating in the way that we should. And the algorithm is one big channel. We need to be considering. So I'm a grammarian. I think grammar is important. I will defend the Oxford comma. I'm curious what you think about grammar. How does grammar play out? I know in social media people don't use grammar, and in fact, when I text younger people and I put punctuation in, it actually conveys meaning that I'm not intending it to convey. What are your thoughts about grammar?

[Adam Alexik]

Grammar is a set of rules or expectations about how language should be used. This differs on context, and this is where I might push back on you. I agree grammar exists and I agree that when I'm writing my book I should use the standard grammatical conventions of English. I am an Oxford comma enjoyer in that context. If I'm texting my friend or my roommate or something like that, it doesn't matter. In fact, it would be weird if I used a period when I texted my friend because here's the thing about texts and how boomers tend to no offense, hey, they tend to use more periods in their text than younger people. The act of sending a text itself is already a signal that the sentence is completed. So going out of your way to include an extra period is actually saying something extra. You have your sentence and then you have this period at the end of it that you didn't need to send because the message as a whole already communicated that this message ended. So now we as younger people are asking ourselves, why did this person add a period? And we think that's passive aggressive. And so there's this idea of a passive aggressive period.

[Matt Abrahams]

You have convinced me not to put a period. While not a boomer, I do appreciate that. I appreciate that grammar syntax is important and it varies by channel.

[Adam Alexik]

If anything. That's what I mean when I say that every medium really affects the message. It's good to be aware of standard grammar for sure, because there's a lot of context in which that is the way you professionally communicate with other people. But it's also good to be aware of the informal grammars, and being aware of all these grammars at once allows us to communicate better across different media.

[Matt Abrahams]

Yeah, but it puts the onus on us to actually take the time to think about that and learn that. Absolutely.

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[Matt Abrahams]

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[Matt Abrahams]

Hi Matt, here.

I want to tell you about a.

Podcast that I always listen to. It's called Hidden Brain. Hidden Brain is a show that's all.

About why we do what we do.

If you've ever asked questions like how.

[Squarespace Sponsor Voice]

Can I get unstuck?

[Matt Abrahams]

Or why am I less happy the harder I try to be happy, you should definitely check out Hidden Brain. In every episode, my friend and host Shankar Vendant explores research based ideas that will help you to better understand yourself and the people around you. Listen and discover your hidden brain wherever.

You get your podcasts. So Adam, before we end, I like to ask three questions of everyone. One I create just for you and the other two I've been asking across all the episodes. Are you ready for that?

[Adam Alexik]

Let's do it.

[Matt Abrahams]

So I would like, as a very bright young linguist, for you to give a commentary on the name of this podcast because it is grammatically incorrect. Think fast, talk smart. It should not be grammatically worded that way. Is this a good thing? Is this a bad thing? What do you think?

[Adam Alexik]

It's funny because again, grammar is subjective. Here we've had an increasing informal dropping of ly suffixes, the turning of adverbs into adjectives, and vice versa. We've had this mixture and it's not grammatically incorrect if you're trying to connote this hustle vibe or like, let's get going. Yeah, I think the name of the podcast works for the feel you're trying to create if you think smarter, you.

[Matt Abrahams]

Know, smartly or whatever.

[Adam Alexik]

Yeah, it doesn't have the same vibe and different ways of speaking have different vibes. So I think you're totally fine and it's grammatically correct for what you're trying to do.

[Matt Abrahams]

Excellent. The high school English teacher that I had who is upset about the way we named the podcast. I'm gonna send this clip to him so he can understand it. But again, I think your answer shows that the language we use, the words we use, convey more than just meaning. They convey a feeling, a sense, a vibe, as you said. Question number two. Who is a communicator that you admire and why?

[Adam Alexik]

I interview a lot of different educational creators in the book, and I think these people are in a unique position because you have this desire to communicate something and let people know more about this topic, but at the same time, we're heavily constrained by this medium. You've always needed attention to educate people. A teacher still needs to get her students attention because that's how you, like, hold the floor, right? Otherwise the students will be distracted. However, educational content creators are faced with that unique sort of need to create edutainment. And I am very impressed with, especially the early people who had to figure out this space, the Green Brothers, Vsauce. I think they've done incredible work in that regard.

[Matt Abrahams]

This ability to get attention and sustain attention. I define engagement as sustained attention is critical.

[Adam Alexik]

To me, engagement is a dirty word just because it's like algorithmic social media kind of a word. But you're absolutely right.

[Matt Abrahams]

Long before these algorithms existed, I've been teaching this notion of engagement, and I'm happy to use a synonym, but there's a need to not only get attention, but to keep that attention. And whatever we call that is important. Final question for you. What are the first three ingredients that go into a successful communication recipe?

[Adam Alexik]

I'm a little biased. By what? Everything I've just said. The first ingredient is just being aware. Knowing what the rules are for each social setting, knowing what the background is of the words you're using. Being aware is just step one, always for me. Step two is know the exact setting that you're in. Now you know how these words are used across settings. Now you know what setting you're in, and then communicate conscientiously based on that. Step three, continue observing. Become more aware. It's just a cycle. We're performing our own awareness into existence as well.

[Matt Abrahams]

So really it boils down to being open and aware, to seeing what's going on and then make conscious choices to.

The language you use.

[Adam Alexik]

And then you can sort of reflexively respond to what's going on continuously. I think reevaluating our state in the world. Because here's the thing about language, it's always changing. The mediums are also always changing. And unless we can become complacent. It's so easy to become complacent. You're like, oh, I figured out how language works. This works great. And then we have a new medium. We have algorithms now, we have new words emerging and you're no longer aware. And now you're out of date. You're using periods in your text messages.

[Matt Abrahams]

I told you I'm going to stop doing that. This idea of awareness allows you to be agile and allows you to adjust and adapt, and I appreciate that. Adam, this has been fantastic. I knew it was going to be a really interesting journey. You helped us understand that it is important to think about our audience. The algorithm is one of those audiences. This notion that language is a conduit for culture and meaning is very critical. I appreciate your time and best of luck on your book. I'll go speak.

[Adam Alexik]

Thank you. It's so fun talking to you.

[Matt Abrahams]

Thank you for listening to another episode of Think Fast Talk Smart, the podcast. To learn more about language and words, tune in to episode 91 with Valerie Frieda.

This episode was produced by Kathryn Reed, Ryan Campos and me, Matt Abrahams. Our music is from Floyd Wonder with thanks to Podium podcast company. Please find us on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts. Be sure to subscribe and rate us. Also follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram and check out fastersmarterio for deep dive videos, English language learning content and our newsletters. Please consider our premium offering for extended Deep Think episodes, Ask Matt Anythings and much more at fastersmarter IO Premium. Hi Matt here. As September approaches, many of us are heading back to school in work to help get you back in the groove and hone your communication skills. Check out daily back to basic videos we'll be publishing each day in August. We have identified a weekly communication topic and we'll share a short, helpful video each day at 7am Pacific on our yout, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok channels. Please check out these practical, helpful videos and be sure to follow us to get your daily dose of Think Fast, Talk Smart. You can see a complete calendar at fastersmarter IO Basics.