BE 580: Jog My Memory! 4 Idioms for Remembering at Work

This is the Business English Podcast, Episode 580, Jog My Memory, Four Idioms for Remembering at Work. Welcome to the Business English Podcast from All Ears English. Get the English skills you need to achieve your dreams in global business. For a presentation, a meeting, or your office party, this is Real Business English with your favorite American hosts, Aubrey and Michelle, coming to you from Arizona and New York City, USA.

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Hey, Aubrey. I am good. How are you? I'm excellent. I'm curious. Do you remember when we first met? Well, if memory serves me well, we had kind of an intro to Aubrey video chat.

And I think I was in the middle of Manhattan. I think I was. You were in Washington Square Park. Yes. Yes. I remember vividly because I recognized it from having lived in New York City.

I was like, are you in Washington Square Park? And I remember you were impressed that I recognized the park. Because it's not a park that is as recognizable as far as like landmarks and things, but I've been there a lot. I took my kids a lot there.

They would have like mommy and me playtime fun things that I would take them to. Yes. Exactly. So yeah, if memory serves me well, I guess we both agree.

So that was the first time and now look at us. Now look at us several years later. I love that you use that phrase, if memory serves me well. That's one of the remembering idioms that we are covering today.

We have a few of really good ones and we're answering a great question we got on YouTube about this. Yeah, this question is from Saddam Mohamed U1G from YouTube. Guys, we do have a YouTube channel for All Ears English. So if you first of all, if you haven't heard of All Ears English, that is one of our other shows.

Really good one. Search for it. Hit follow. And on YouTube, you could go over there and watch the show and hit subscribe. And as you're seeing, leave comments there, but we might answer them here on Business English or over on All Ears English.

So follow both podcasts so that you can hear your question answered. Exactly. So the question says, what an awesome episode, guys. I really loved it. So I don't know which one this is from, but I think we did one on remember versus...

It was about memorize versus remember. I remember that as well. Yeah. Interesting. I've heard this mistake where someone will say memorize when they mean remember or vice versa.

So I love that you and Lindsay dove into that. Yeah, that was fun. So he says, memorization and remembering are a bit confusing for some learners. But if they watch this episode, all confusion will dissipate.

Well, thank you. And so well put. I agree. And yes, really well put. Yeah. So memorization is a process of saving data and information in one's mind while remembering is the moment while you recall something you already memorized.

Could you talk about idioms related to remembering? Example, to ring a bell if memory serves me well and I can't place you, etc. Thanks a million for your great effort. So yeah, Saddam gave us a lot of good questions.

I mean, a lot of good suggestions of things that are great to teach. So thank you for your feedback. And we're really happy to answer your question. Yes.

Thank you, everyone who leaves comments on YouTube. We read those. We are grateful for all of the feedback. And we love getting questions there. So keep sending them.

Keep commenting on YouTube and giving us these great episode ideas. Yes, exactly. So, yeah, idioms related to remembering are also very good for business situations because you often have to remember information or people and these idioms can work really well for introducing that information or acknowledging that you can't remember something. So, again, guys, hit follow wherever you're listening.

Remember to hit follow. So, Let's start with Saddam mentioned to ring a bell. Aubrey, what do you think about this one? Yeah, something sounds familiar, but you're not entirely sure about it or where you've heard it.

It might be about recalling someone, someone's name or something in general. We use this a lot in meetings when we're recognizing an idea. Let's do a little role play to show that. I'll start us.

Have you worked with the Orion Project before? Hmm, that rings a bell. Yes, this is a perfect idiom just to mean that sounds a bit familiar. I can't place it.

I don't remember where I heard it or who said it, but it sounds familiar. Exactly. Or when hearing a name or company. So for example, do you know a client named Anderson?

That rings a bell. I think I've heard that name before. Mm-hmm. And a lot of times you might hear it in the negative, actually. So it doesn't ring a bell.

Something is not familiar at all. Yeah. For example, do you remember the Smith account? No, that doesn't ring a bell. Yeah. I use these a lot. Do you use this one, Michelle?

Or rather, this is the same one, but I use it positive and negative like this. Yeah, I would say that I more would use it in the negative sense. Like, oh, something doesn't ring about. Yeah, I think I do use it that way as well.

I hear this a lot too. This is very common. Great one to use at work. Yep. And the second one is if memory serves me well. So yeah, this is what, is this the one?

If memory serves me well, this is the one. You use this at the top of the episode. If memory serves me well, I said this at the beginning of the episode.

So this is you think you remember correctly. So you're saying like if your brain is working and my memory is correct, right? But you're not 100% sure. So it's similar to ring a bell, but it's more about, I would say, specific details rather than recalling something or someone in general.

I agree. Exactly. And we only use it in the positive way. We don't say, if memory doesn't serve me well, I think I've forgotten that. No. We just say this.

And the positive to say, if I'm remembering correctly, if memory serves me well, that's accurate. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. And I also like that this one kind of shows a little bit of humility, right?

Like you're open to being wrong. If memory serves me well, this is what I think, but you're showing, okay, it could be wrong. Yes. And really, it's just wise to say something like that when you're acknowledging that you might be misremembering.

It could be wrong. So that humility is key and important at work when you're not sure. Exactly. Yeah. So yeah, you can use this for recalling details in meetings.

So for example, if memory serves me well, the deadline is next Friday. Yes, or for giving approximate information. For example, if memory serves me well, we discussed this last quarter.

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All right. And then the third one is I can't place with someone. So you recognize someone, but you don't remember where from. I mean, this happens. Oh, my gosh.

This actually happens a lot because we actually we were at the aquarium yesterday. And someone recognized my husband and he remembered, oh, wait, I think I know you from... Right? So that happens all the time.

Absolutely. That happens to me a lot. And my pet peeve, I'm going to share with you guys a pet peeve here, is when someone comes up to me and will say something like, do you remember how we met? Oh,

Or guess it or something. And they don't give me a clue as to who they are. They know who I am. I can't place them. And they sort of make a game up for some reason that really gets me.

I don't do that. I think the polite thing is be like, Oh, I'm Aubrey. Remember, we met at such and such instead of putting them on the spot like that.

Oh, God. Actually, now I just remember I walked by someone. I was walking in like this downtown area the other day and somebody was eating dinner outside with their kids. And I was walking with my husband and kids and they said, oh, hi.

And they said, it's so good to see you with your family. And I was like, Oh, no, I can't recognize them. No. And I was like, very good. And I this normally I'm normally it's normally Dan who's terrible at this.

And I'm normally very good with remembering people. But I don't know. Is there a chance it was a podcast listener? I would love that if you're the person who this happened with and you saw Michelle out on the street.

Please let us know let us know comment in youtube michelle that would be amazing that would mean you like someone spotted you like a celebrity on the sidewalk that has yet to happen to me if any of you spot me out on the streets of phoenix definitely say hi but tell me like oh i listened to the allers english podcast because i will probably think i know you from my kid's school or volleyball or who knows right like you did you're thinking you knew them from life and maybe it's a listener maybe they see but i have i have been spotted in public but Yes. Once I was out at dinner and there was someone and they spotted me and I thought Dan was playing a trick on me.

And then, no, but it was a real listener. So cool. That's so fun. Very fun. One day. That's on my bucket list. Yes. So again, this is soft. than saying you don't remember someone.

And it's used a lot in social situations. So when can you use it, Aubrey? Yeah, maybe at a networking event, right? If I said, have we met before? You look familiar.

What could you say? I could say, yeah, I think so. I can't quite place you. I don't know if I would. That might be... I would probably say this to someone else.

I can't quite place that guy. Do you know him? I don't know that I would say it to someone's face like this. Maybe. Some people might. It doesn't feel especially rude, but it is a little more of a direct.

I hesitate to do this. I often will have a friend. I'll tell them, come and ask them their name so that you know what I mean? To avoid them knowing that I forgot because I don't want to admit that I forgot.

I know. It makes me feel bad. Yeah. And it's not even not wanting to admit a memory weakness in me. I don't want them to feel badly because I've forgotten them.

Like I didn't value the relationship enough. So I avoid that at all costs. Yeah, I agree. But you could also use this at conferences. So, for example, I saw her speak earlier, but I can't place her.

And I might say, oh, she was on the panel this morning. So that's how I would see it most frequently. And I also might hear I can't quite place her. Right.

That's a little chunk you might hear. Or in client meetings. So that client looks familiar, but I can't place him. Oh, he joined us on a call last quarter.

Yeah, we would use it this way a lot. Less to someone's face. That's very direct. And in American culture, a lot of cultures, we try to save face. We're trying to preserve the other person's feelings or the relationship in order.

We're like being deceptive about forgetting in order to not be blunt about the fact that we forgot someone's name or face. Yeah. Yeah, definitely. So, and then there's one more we're adding in today, which is, uh, jog my memory, which I love.

So this means, you know, to help me remember something I've forgotten. Like they're shaking your brain. Jog my memory. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So this acknowledges that you don't remember something fully, but the info is in your mind.

You know, it's there. Um, but you just need this tiny. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Um, This sounds polite, I think, right? We might say it when requesting help.

We'll often use it just in the question, can you jog my memory? Which means like, remind me, remind me how we know each other. Right. So for example, can you jog my memory?

What was the deadline we agreed on? Oh, it's next Friday. Yes. It means the same as can you remind me, but it's idiomatic. It's more fun and playful. Or you might say, sorry, can you jog my memory?

Who's leading this project? Oh, Sarah's in charge of it. Okay. Or jog my memory. What did the client request? They asked for a revised proposal. So I love this one.

I do too. It's interesting how much it softens from remind me. It's just to have more idiomatic, playful language like this. pulls kind of that what I was trying to avoid that blunt directness of I have forgotten this.

You can even maybe say to someone like, jog my memory, where do we know each other from? And that doesn't feel so like the something I would have to avoid saying to someone. Yeah, yeah, definitely. So should we do a role play?

Yes, you and I are work colleagues. We are reviewing key details about a previous client. I will start us out. Hey, quick question. Do you remember the Parker account?

Hmm, that rings a bell, but I'm not completely sure. If memory serves me well, they were one of our biggest clients last year. Right. That sounds familiar.

Jog my memory. Which project did we do with them? I believe it was the marketing campaign for their product launch. Oh, okay. I recognize the name now.

I just couldn't place them at first. Perfect role play to see how we use this at work. And this is one where we do need this variety of vocabulary. We can't say, I don't remember.

I don't remember over and over like a broken robot. We want this variety, right? You first said that rings a bell, which is just a fun way of saying that sounds familiar. Yeah.

Mm-hmm. And then you said, if memory serves me well, they were one of our biggest clients last year. Yeah. Another way of saying if I'm remembering correctly, but a more fun way of saying that.

And then you said, jog my memory. What project did we do with them? Means the same thing as remind me, but again, is a lot more fun. Yes. And then I said, oh, okay.

I recognize the name now. I just couldn't place them at first. So I just couldn't get them into my head. Guys, check out episode 574 if you haven't already of the Business English Podcast that was given the circumstances we think you should listen today.

Yes, great episode. Scroll up if you missed it. Be sure to hit follow if you're missing any of our amazing episodes. And as a takeaway here, one thing is avoid vocabulary repetition.

As a language learner, maybe even in your first language, some people do this where you're repeating the same phrases over and over. You want to avoid that. You want variety in your vocabulary, not only for specific nuances for things, but even when it's kind of the same meaning, you just don't want to be repetitive. And so you want to switch it up.

Keep it fun. Yep. I love that. All right, Aubrey. Well, I'm glad we talked about this today. And I was going to try and use the... I'm always impressed when you can come up this...

Here, let me jog your memory, Michelle. Thank you. If memory serves me well, we're recording later today as well. There you go. All right, Aubrey. Nice job.

Thank you so much, guys. Thanks for listening. And guys, we'll see you next time. See you next time. Bye. Bye. Thank you for listening to Business English, a podcast just for you, the high achieving global professional.

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