Feifei Hello and welcome to The English We Speak with me, Feifei…
Neil…and me, Neil.
Feifei In this programme, we have an expression you can use to describe someone who talks confidently about a topic, but might not actually know that much about it.
Neil Which reminds me, Feifei. Did I tell you that I’ve started a new evening course?
Feifei No. What’s it in?
Neil Well, see if you can guess… My lords, ladies and gentlemen. It is indeed an immense honour and privilege to stand here before you on this great occasion and humbly offer my thoughts…
FeifeiEr… Neil. What are you going on about?
Neil Public speaking! It’s my new course.
FeifeiRight. Well, you can certainly talk the talk.
NeilOh good – that’s the whole point.
Feifei Hmm. That’s not really a compliment. When we say someone can talk the talk, it means they talk a lot about a subject, but they might not really know that much about it – even if they sound confident.
Neil How dare you! Well, let’s hear some examples of this expression in action.
ExamplesOh no, not another meeting chaired by Binh. He can certainly talk the talk but he actually knows nothing!
OK, go in there, talk the talk, and get out before they realise we don’t have a clue about marketing!
It’s one thing talking the talk, but we need action. We need someone who can walk the walk.
Feifei
You’re listening to The English We Speak from BBC Learning English. In this programme, we’re looking at the expression ’talk the talk’. It refers to people who talk confidently on a topic without necessarily knowing much about it.
NeilThat’s right, Feifei. You know, you’re really quite knowledgeable about the English language, aren’t you?
Feifei Thanks.
Neil I mean, you don’t just talk the talk – you can walk the walk too.
Feifei Absolutely! As you heard in the earlier example, and just then from Neil, the opposite of ’talk the talk’ is ‘walk the walk’.
Neil That refers to someone who shows their abilities through action – not just talking.
Feifei Like you, Neil.
Neil You know what? I think I’ll give up that public speaking course and join a hiking club – to learn how to walk the walk.
Feifei Ha! Good idea.
BothBye!