⭐️ 1 question Intermediate+ English learners can ask themselves to build meaningful connections when speaking English📌9-minute video from the S2S founder and an S2S assessor

While English learners obssess over grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary, 1 important skills is left neglected: building rapport and meaningful connections internationally. This channel - and this video in particular - is on a mission to give light to this much neglected area

⏰ Timecode

00:05 Intro
00:21 Goal of the video
00:34 Brough to you by S2S
00:52 The points we cover in this video
01:32 Introducing to you an S2S assessor
02:00 "Very Demure" trend — how to sound awesome, speak more, and build meaningful connection while expressing your opinions
02:28 Not a great speech example
03:01 What's wrong with the typical learner speech
03:46 A better learner speech
06:23 1 question that made the learner speech better
07:04 Taken you speech from "so-so" to "I want to be friends with her"
08:31 Summary
09:06 Invitation to S2S
09:34 Bye

Video Glossary

🫧 A powerful force to be reckoned with — Something (or someone) that is very strong or important, and cannot be ignored
🫧 A silly pastime to be discounted — Something that seems unimportant or stupid, so people don’t take it seriously
🫧 Ultimately — In the end / Finally / After everything is considered

🌷 Type in comments any other phrases you want to memorise, understand, or use more yourself — this will help you to commit them to memory!

Resource

📌 "Very Demure, Very Mindful" S2S speaking plan mentioned in the video

🪴 Want videos with a better sound quality and higher image resolution? We too! Support this channel growth to make a better quality possible — repost this in your chats and stories

📎 Pinned post about S2S

💷 Why you're likely to pay more if you're an Apple phone user 💷 Dynamic Pricing 📌S2S weekly speaking plan

Introducing to you an excerpt (=short extract) from this week's S2S speaking plan on "Dynamic Pricing", based on a reel from a Bangalore woman, with 1.6M views
We share this as we want more Intermediate+ learners to lift up from the Intermediate plateau, reach their full potential, and stop feeling awkward speaking on high level topics

Excerpt: Dynamic pricing enables retailers to adapt prices in real-time by analyzing market trends, competitor strategies and customer demand

Dynamic pricing is a game-changer for businesses. It's the algorithmic backbone* that adjusts prices in real-time*, often based on factors like location, demand, and yes — device type. According to Forbes, Amazon adjusts prices 2.5 million times a day using machine learning models, factoring in device type as one of many parameters

iPhone users tend to spend more on apps and in-app purchases than Android users. This indicates that iPhone users may be more willing to pay a premium*

Resources

📌

The reel creator's IG account

📌

Are we paying a Luxury Tax for using an iPhone? LinkedIn post

*

Post Glossary

🫧

Backbone

— The most important part of something that helps it work

🫧

To adjust (prices) in real time

— To change (something, for example, prices) immediately, as things happen

🫧

To be more willing to pay a premium

— To be ready to pay more money than usual for something

Voting
👌- It's OKAY to charge customers different prices based on the kind of phone they use
🤬 - It's NOT OKAY to charge customers different prices based on the kind of phone they use

🪴Do you want to check if you're ready to speak on high level topics like "Dynamic Pricing"? Get your spot at an open Zoom meetup of our subscribers tomorrow, Wednesday, 6-7PM MSC time

Fill out the form today to get your invitation to our open Zoom tomorrow — this will open to you a different way of getting your English boosted

Saw this too late? Contact @ybeymlina to get life join-next-time instructions

📎Post with open Zoom details

🔪 Top-3 Most Butchered-Up Words of the Previous Week 📌 Learn from mistakes of others

Outcry for help from S2S assessors has been recorded:

"S.O.S.: this has to be stopped! Our users pronounce these words in an entirely unrecognisable way — we could barely understand what they were saying! Please - please - please, help them to learn how to pronounce these 3 words!"

dit-dah-dit-dah-dit (·−·−·)
End of message, in Morse code

🐿🆘 Of course, we couldn't ignore the outcry. Stepping in to remedy the situation ;)

Top-3 Butchered-Up Words, Corrected.
Drill their pronunication to be understood! Stressed syllables are in CAPS

🫧Alias
Meaning: a fake name
Pronunciation: /ˈEi.li.əs/
🫧Threat
Meaning: a danger, sth or smb that can hurt you
Pronunciation: /θrɛt/
🫧Critique
Meaning: a detailed opinion, review
Pronunciation: /krɪˈTIːK/

🎧 Sound on to listen to the correct pronunciation

Your turn
⭐️ I feel like a superhuman — will drop my voice messages with the 3 words, to drill their pronunciation once and for good!
🐷 Screw English, I'm done. Will learn the Morse code instead

📎 Pinned post about S2S

🚬 4 Corporate Phrases that Went So Wrong

Wanna pass for an insider in an Anglo-Saxon team? Unpack these 4 phrases

👁‍🗨 Juices worth the squeeze

Corporate meaning: The reward is worth the effort
Literal meaning: Imagine pressing a fruit so hard that its juice comes out
Usage: Moderately common, used to justify hard work or risk

👁‍🗨 Leaving no stone unturned

Corporate meaning: To search thoroughly; to explore every possibility
Literal meaning: Imagine someone physically turning over stones
Usage: Very common, in formal and informal contexts

👁‍🗨 Onboarding

Corporate meaning: The process of integrating a new employee/user
Literal meaning: Getting on a board (as if surfing or skating)
Usage: Very common in HR, tech, product design

👁‍🗨 Stakes have never been higher

Corporate meaning: The situation is extremely important or risky
Literal meaning: (!) Putting a meat "steak" 🥩 high in the air sounds the same, but the word is different in spelling, meaning, etimology. "Stake" and "steak" are homophones
Usage: Very common in business, media, politics

Resource
📌 Clickupcomedy IG account More reels making fun of American corp life and building brand for "Clickup". "Clickup" has raised $538M, they're an IT firm that offers IT, marketing, engineering, design, and operations solutions and products to improve workplace efficiency

Your turn
👩‍💼 I'm a corp slave
☕️ I'm free: work 24/7 with 0 days-off for myself
🐷 Work? Nah
We wanna learn more about you and how you use English in your life

🪴 You know the friend who'll say "Thank you" when you forward this post. Sharing is caring!

🌷 Your personal cheerleader 🌷 What's different about our approach to error correction in English and why it's important

3 things we do differently when we correct our users' English:

📌Pointing out achievements, not only errors
📌Delayed written feedback after speaking, so that you don't lose the flow
📌Helping you notice growth areas in Interaction patterns, not only Grammar, Vocabulary, Pronunciation. We're here to grow your communication skills in English

👁 Have a look at a randomly selected Feedback report for one of S2S users
[Access the Google doc with the Feedback Report]

Meet the team who makes this happen for you. Today, we introduce to you Darya Mosina

💓 Cool facts about Darya

💓 Darya has 4 years of experience working across cultures. She's worked with international exchange students at Ryazan State Medical University. She's also contributed to their PR efforts by submitting blog posts about her experience
💓She's moved to a new city ans started life from scratch 2 times
💓Darya's message to S2S users:

"I am constantly amazed at how brave and open-minded you are, meeting new people and collaborating across cultures. How incredibly kind you are to each other!
I wish for you to regularly get hands-on English practice, face little challenges that will make you more confident and proud of yourselves.
Next step you can take already today: pretend to order a product or service from abroad and chat with a customer service representative. It's free!"

> UPD: Competion's completed
If you want to try S2S but not quite sure if it's a good fit for you — today is your day!
Guess: if Darya's #1, #2 or #3 in the picture and get a free trial
Hint: You can see her featured in the video "1 Question Intermediate Learners can Ask themselves to Build Connections" posted on Monday, Jul, 14
The winner will be randomly selected from the comments on Sunday

❤️ To thank Darya for her contributions to effective cross-border communication

📎 S2S website

⭐ Which Unicorn are YOU Today?
🫧Heavy assault - a very strong and intense attack
🫧Submersible - can go deep under water

👩‍💼 10 Common Slack Abbreviations 📌Use them in both Corp & Startup cultures to sound natural in Sillicon Valley and beyond

Andy Byron (see the post above👆) probably won't have to use these phrases for a while, but if you haven't been coldplayed — you still can!

1. ETA — Estimated Time of Arrival
What’s the ETA on the bugfix?

2. OOO — Out of Office
I’ll be OOO tomorrow.

3. EOD/EOW — End of Day / End of Week
Can we ship this by EOD?

4. WIP — Work in Progress
Still WIP, but feedback welcome.

5. ICYMI — In Case You Missed It
ICYMI: we updated the roadmap.

6. AMA — Ask Me Anything
Running an AMA Friday 3PM!

7. BRB — Be Right Back
Need coffee ☕️ BRB.

8. LGTM — Looks Good To Me
Let's ship it to customers, LGTM

9. TBD — To Be Decided
The onboarding meeting will kick off around 5pm, TBD

10. PTAL — Please Take A Look
Common in code reviews

How many out of 10 did you know before this post?
Our editorial team: 8/10
(Learned 2. OOO, 6. AMA during post reserach)

📈 You know who to share this with

😐 Ever wondered how to get public and investor support even when half of the world think you're stupid or evil? 📌Learn to speak like Donald =)

Today, at our PitchUp club meeting, we've deconstructed 3 minutes of Donald Trump's State of the Union Address and Professor Jonah Berger's take on what makes his speech so influential

Action points: 3 things you can start saying to get people to support your ideas
📌Absolutisms: Take ownership and say what you will do and why it is good without hesitations
"Obviously, our program will allow America to get great afain"

📌Lists: speak in bullet points and repeat key points
"The first pillar of our program is...The second pillar of our program is...These pillars will clearly..."

📌Precision matters: make yourself sound knowledgeable by including concrete shocking stats, not generalisations
"In 2016, we lost 64,000 Americans to drug overdoses —174 deaths per day. Seven per hour"

Glossary: 3 "absolutisms" we learned from Donald
🫧 We will prevail — Our plans will succeed despite all hardships
🫧 My iron-clad pledge — My oh so strong, unbreakable promis
🫧 My administration's commited to fighting drug dealers — We're united to fight agains and will not go back

The meeting was especially fruitful due to high-grade participants: CEO at Aventica, the author of TheEdinorogBlog, Founder at Playable Worlds AI, +2 more power players, +1 promising talent

⭐ You can be one of us already next Wednesday — text @ybeymlina "Learn to Convince" to find out how. Only 2 spots remain in the group!

🪴Share @EnglishForImpact in your social groups to help next 100 people get confidence in English faster. Your support matters!

😊 4 WTF phrases that Anglo-Saxons use when they want to face palm but tooo polite 💓Your real translator

Alert: DON'T learn to use these phrases! We do not encourage you to turn into passive agressive anglo saxs. Please please please stay your wonderful honest straightforward selves

Just learn these phrases to smell and identify BS (=bullshit). Too many international friends have fallen prey to thinking people're friendly with them, when they weren't. We're here to help you translate beyond words — translate motives

4 Fake “Fuck You” Compliments — That Go Far Beyond Knitting

1. How unusual = How ugly

2. I've not tried knitting with that before = That yarn 🧶 is horrid and scratchy

3. That's such a brave choice! I've not seen that used before = What an ugly colour

4. I can really tell you made it yourself = Your technique is terrible

🎧 Sound on to catch the vibe and proper intonation

Does any of that ring familiar? Have you ever received insults masked as compliments?

🌷 You know a friend who needs to receive this anti-BS shield. Sharing is caring

🤍 Your personal angel-guardian 📌 The S2S assessor with a proven track record of commitment to your growth

At S2S, every learner receives a personal written feedback report after each speaking session. This report is safely stored in your personal Google folder, so you can always go back to it later. It helps you remember what you learned, see your progress, and review past mistakes, even weeks or months after the session. Unlike quick corrections during a traditional lesson, this written feedback stays with you and creates long-term impact. It’s a powerful tool for serious learners

As you’ve seen in our earlier posts about Darya and Natalia, these feedback reports are written by trusted, experienced professionals. After many years of teaching adults at B1+ level, both Daria and Natalia joined our S2S training program. They learned how to give clear and helpful written feedback, designed especially for learners who want to break from the Intermediate plateau

But every team has a special story

One of our top assessors is actually still a university student majoring in English. She joined our team 10 months ago and surprised everyone. Her strong motivation to help Intermediate learners speak more clearly, use better words, and build strong communication habits made a huge difference. She quickly adapted to the fast-moving startup environment and now even helps onboarding more senior colleagues. Despite being the youngest on the team, she’s now one of our most skilled feedback writers, and an example of what dedication can do

💓 Today, we introduce to you Alina Zhuravleva. 3 Truths and 1 Lie about Alina

1. Alina’s 29 y.o.
2. Alina’s delivered 125 feedback reports to Intermediate-Advanced students
3. Alina’s got the 1st prize in the International Linguistic Competition held by the Siberian Federal University
4. Alina’s a huge history junkie: loves discovering mysteries of the Pre-Civilization period

💓Alina’s message to S2S users:
“I wish you a steady and meaningful progress. Language is an amazing tool that opens up a great deal of unexpected doors”

👁 Have a look at Alina's most recent Feedback report to one of S2S users
[Access Google Doc with Alina's Most Recent Feedback Report to a Lucky S2S User🌸]

🔐UPD Closed.

If you want to try S2S but not quite sure if we're a good fit for each other — today is your day!

Guess

: Which out of 4 facts about Alina is a lie? And why?

Win

: 2 weeks of free use of S2S!
The winner will be randomly selected from the comments on Sunday

❤️ To thank Alina for her contributions to effective cross-border communication

📎 S2S website

🎀 You're "Esperanto" too, if you're "the on who hopes." For the world without war, peace, and better future

Esperanto is the world's most spoken constructed language. It's also an "auxiliary" language. The term "auxiliary" means that it is designed as an additional language for communication between the people of the world. Not the one to replace their first language

Concentration of speakers is highest in Europe, East Asia, South America. The community is close-knit and takes measures to keep the language alive and support each other. For example, they've even come up with "Pasporta Servo," a platform where Esperanto travelers can stay for free at each other's houses

Esperanto's mission to keep the world close is at the heart of S2S product. Every week, S2S users learn to communicate on trending topics in English, with other high level English learners. They learn to get heard, express their opinions clearly, and form lasting personal and professional connections this way. Clearly, the best way to peace is through understanding

Resources
📌Esperanto, Wikipedia
📌A song in Esperanto
📌Pasporta Servo = Couchsurfing for Esperanto speakers

🪴 Book a Zoom call with the founder to try S2S here Esperanto Day Gift! Founder slots will be closed on Monday
📎 S2S website