"MIT Lab" is introducing the first near-telepathic device, "AlterEgo."

Besides converting speech thought to text, "AlterEgo" allows you to communicate with another device wearer in thoughts, without saying a word out loud. In most common languages.

🤯 Yes, your thoughts can be translated into the target language live!

TRANSCRIPT
Alter Ego gives you the power of telepathy, but only for the thoughts you want to share. With Alter Ego, you talk just like you normally would, but without making a sound. Let me show you how it works.

[Thinking]: "From the outside it looks like telepathy."

We all have moments when inspiration strikes* and you want to save an idea before it slips away*. You can now capture those instantly without lifting a finger*. For example: "Make a note I need to pack hiking boots for my trip to Bulgaria." Just going to see if that sync. Oh yeah. Awesome.

Alter Ego has tiny cameras built in and can make sense of the world around me from my perspective. Here I have a postcard and when I find something interesting, I can point to specific parts and ask questions about what I'm seeing:

— "Who's this character?"

— "That's Europa, who represents Europe, shaking hands with America to celebrate the first transatlantic telegraph cable."

— That's cool. "Remind me to send the postcard back."

— "Okay, reminder is added to your notes app."
— Awesome.

You can get so much done with Alter Ego, but I want to talk about how it changes communication. This is where it gets really interesting. Alter Ego works with your other devices, but it also works with other people wearing an Alter Ego. It feels almost telepathic.

— "Where do you want to get lunch after this?"

— "Thai food could be good."

It doesn't matter where Arnov and I are. It could be a noisy environment or a quiet office. Having a direct conversation is possible without saying a word. The signals Alter Ego detects aren't affected by environmental noise. So even if you're walking past a wind tunnel or a construction zone, what you want to say will always get across.* It's like having infinite noise cancellation.

If you're traveling, your silent speech can be converted into any language.

— Scott, how's my Mandarin? "When I visit Shanghai, I'm hoping you can show me around the city."

[Trasnlates into Mandarin.] "I would be glad to show you Shanghai. I'm going to use my Alter Ego to give you a travel tip in Hindi."

For all of human history, we've built tools to extend our abilities, but we never perfected the tool and the interface to extend the human mind. Alter Ego gives us that, a way to communicate at the speed of thought. We believe this is the beginning of that future where technology is no longer an external box we carry but a natural extension of who we are. Thank you for being here with us today at the beginning of that future. You can visit us at altergo (dot) io to sign up for early access.

5 phrases yoused in the video you can benifit from using in your speech

GLOSSARY

🫧

Inspiration strikes

- A sudden, clear, good idea comes to you.

🫧

To slip away

- To be forgotten or lost.

🫧

Without lifting a finger

- Without any physical effort.

🫧

To get across

- To be understood by someone else.

🫧

A natural extension of who we are

- A tool that feels like a normal, effortless part of yourself.

AlterEgo website. You can learn more and even sign up for early access.

👍 I want to try “AlterEgo”!
💀 I am afraid of “AlterEgo.”

💅 By the time you're seeing this, @ybeymlina and most committed EFI readers’ve already discussed this and 5 other emerging trends (see yesterday’s post) using high level English.
Text Wedensday to @ybeymlina to sign up for our next focused practice.

🍕 An actual pizza order for "a very pregnant" wife

The Problem with "Very Pregnant"

"Pregnant" is what linguists call an absolute or non-gradable adjective. You either are pregnant or you aren't. There's no middle ground. You can't be "somewhat pregnant" or "extremely pregnant" in the literal sense.

That said, colloquially, people often say "very pregnant" to mean visibly, obviously, or far along in pregnancy. It's not technically correct, but everyone understands it means someone is showing clearly or in their third trimester.

The husband's pizza order is absolutely chaotic. It's loaded with bizarre combinations (banana peppers, half portions of everything, light jalapeños, olives) and includes an anxious, rambling customer request about his "very pregnant wife."

The phrase "very pregnant wife" signals two things:
1. She's far enough along that her cravings are intense and specific
2. He's terrified of getting the order wrong

Usage Tip

"Very pregnant" is widely understood in casual speech to mean "obviously/heavily pregnant."

🔠It's not grammatically neutral!

You can call it someone:

🫧close to you as a term of endearment
🫧annoying in a derogatory way
🫧but hardly ever in a neutral way

🌸 Send this to someone you want to make "very pregnant," if you dare ;)

Introduce yourself like a boss ☺️

There're 3 ways to introduce yourlsef, at least
1. A way that builds trust and clarity
2. A way that manupulates your listener to push your authority through
3. A way that is low key to downplay yourself

All 3 are valid, when suiting the circumstances. The guy in the video is definitely No. ... 2. Key characteristics:
🫧Vague language: "a culture of innovation," "leveraging* synergies"
🫧Highfalutin metaphors: "to steer* the ship"
🫧Deflecting intrusive questions: "Do you ever do anything? It's less about "do," more about* "be"

Master all 3 characteristics of No. 2, and you will never be put on the spot.
🔠 DON'T use No. 2 to win partners, not likely to work out.
🔠 DO use to encite curiosity and emerge as an authority, for some.

TRANSCRIPT
— What do you do for work?
— I'm a CEO.
— Can I ask what does that actually look like?
— Strategic oversight, mostly.
— But like, what do you do all day?
— I steer* the ship, leveraging* synergies and fostering holistic growth.
— But how do you actually steer? Like, what are some examples?
— I create a culture of innovation.
— But what are your daily tasks
— Leadership isn't about tasks.
— Do you ever do anything?
— It's less about "do," more about* "be." Being present. Being a leader.
— Okay, just name one thing.
— Lamp.
— Oh, my my God.

IG reference clickupcomedy

*GLOSSARY

🫧

To steer

- to guide or control where something goes

To steer a ship, a car, a company

🫧

To leverage

- to use what you have to get a better result

To leverage your network, education, strength

🫧

It's less about ..., more about ...

- showing more and less important parts of something

It’s less about looks, more about traits when entering a relationship

Your turn
👙 I love telling people what I do
🧦 I hate telling people what I do

The Core Skills for 2030 according to WEF (World Economic Forum)

How do you spend the last week of the year? As my B-day falls on* the same week as NYE, this period calls for double reflection. Not always pleasant, always useful.

In the fast-changing world, the question I ask myself: what do I need to learn to stay relevant* and keep being useful to people? In search for the answer, I started looking up most high authority resources on skill development for the future.

It turns out, there are not many of them! The most credible I've dug up is "WEF." Do you know a better one? Let me know in comment.

As I was browsing through the upper-right quadrant*, "core skills," I've realised I suck at quite a few of them: my "AI and big data" and "tech literacy" especially can easily be beaten by many of my techie friends.

🐷 At the same time, I realised 2 interesting things:

1️⃣ I don't wish to grow the skills I am weak at. On the contrary, I've recognised that the skills I already have and take for granted actually are sought after*. I intend to double down* on them instead.

2️⃣ I've realised that our 2 products develop way way more than English speaking skills. Here, I give credit to the users who have especially done a great job growing core 2030 skills this year with us:

> Curiosity & Lifelong Learning

"PitchUp" member @TheEdinorog, the author of @theedinorogblog has shown intense curiosity following founder speeches from a variety of industries, not directly relevant to his. This pays off as he can verbalise opinions and leverage relationships across industries.

> Leadership & Social intelligence

"PitchUp" member @Eugen_Targaryen, the author of @bdsmmchannel has given thoughtful feedback on product descriptions and founding stories to PMs and entrepreneurs in the workshops. His comments show both guidance and celebrating the strengths, key feedback traits of a good leader.

> Empathy & Active listening

"S2S" user @anasteisha1k has sharpened her active listening even further becoming an engaging interlocutor who can find an approach to diverse speaking partners.

*Glossary
🫧To fall on - to happen on a certain day
🫧Quadrant - one of four parts of something
🫧To stay relevant - to remain important
🫧To be sought after - many people want it
🫧To double-down on - to put in more effort or focus on something

🪴 WBU, Is there a skill you'd like to grow in 2026? Is it one from your strengths or weaknesses?

🐄 Happy Holidays, EFI!

I'm so happy that I started this channel back in March. By the end of the year, communicating with you here has become a stable part of my weekly routine. I wish to continue this in 2026.

Coming-out: I did start a TG channel before my employement in Yandex, and grew that one to 2K. After moving abroad, I deleted it as I didn't wish to cater solely to speakers of 1 language. I can't fail but observe that growing audience is way more challenging this year than back in 2020. All the better, it makes our dialogue mean even more.

🌲 To those of you who put 'Boost English' on your 'New Year Resolution List,' let me remind:

Prices for "S2S" and "PitchUp" change in January. Before December, 31, 2025, you can get "S2S" and/or "PitchUp" subscription at the old price. You can activate it until the end of January. Gift certificates're available.

"S2S": general English speaking and vocabulary growth for professionals from Intermediate to Advanced.

Every week: one 45 minute meeting with a new peer, one feedback report, one group meeting with Yulia (optional)

🫧3 months: $79
🫧6 months: $119
🫧12 months: $199

"PitchUp": presentations, interviews, Q&As in English for founders. product managers, and top managers.

Every week: one 90 minute group meeting with fellow founders and @ybeymlina, access to the Miro board and private chat, 1 individual task with feedback (optional)

🫧3 months: $180
🫧6 months: $300
🫧12 months: $530

💷 RUB, crypto trasfers: accepted. Text "S2S" / "PitchUp" to @ybeymlina to apply

To all the rest, even engaging with 1 high quality post in English a day is more than 0. Don't underestimate your efforts and keep doing what you can. I'm rooting for you.

🎅Drop your Santa requests in the comments: what do you want to see more of in this channel in 2026?

It pays off to be an attentive reader 😊

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: Nik Storonsky's Sharing his Vision for Revolut in 3 Years Time

This time of the year, when most of us reflect on the past and plan forward, "EFI" brings to you how this is done by the most efficient of us. Nik Storonsky, co-founder & CEO of "Revolut" (a neo-bank valued at $75B), shares his 3 year goals with Harry Stebbings from "20VC," one of its investors.

For ~4 minutes, Nik covers such sub-questions as his current market position, US vs Europe priority, Banking consolidation vs fragmentation, plans for IPO, and his listing locations preferences.

Nik, a native Russian speaker, handles these challenging questions in English. How does his fare?

✨ Nik's 3 Year Vision strengths:

🫧Top-notch clarity: he is self-aware of his current market position and has measurable, time-bound goals
"We're number one in 19 or 20 markets"
"We intend to grow our market penetration from 10% to 40% in our top markets in 3 years"

🫧Thorough knowledge of his business: has all key stats & figures at his fingertips
"We're live in 39 markets"

🫧No-bullshit approach: data-driven and precise, Nik comes up confident and doesn't mince his words. He doesn't try to please anyone, only to inform.
"Look, I mean, the problem with the UK is - if you think about UK versus US - the US is much more liquid, right? And then trading in the US is free. If you look at trading in the UK, you always pay stamp duty tax, which is 0.5%."

✨ Nik's 3 Year Vision growth areas:

🫧Poor English: Nik's speaking is at the lower end of B2 Upper-Intermediate / higher end of B1 Intermediate.

- mixes up vocab: 'depends' instead of 'varies' in "Our market penetration depends: from 5% to 70%"
- uses direct calques from Russian: "a similar picture was in the venture business, right" instead of "The VC scene used to look the same"/"The state of the VC market was quite similar"
- makes grammar errors: confuses the adverb "less" with the adjective "lower" in "you'll see much less number of bank"
- overuses Russian flat intonation

🫧Doesn't elaborate: the most annoying thing about Nik's speech is that he only churns out facts. He never attempts to build a story or engage the listener. He doesn't anticipate further related questions and forces his interlocutor to act as an interrogator, always drilling him with follow up questions. Quite exhausting.

To sum up, Nik's business prowess is as overwhelming as his public speaking is underwhelming. Beginner founders cannot afford to keep things this way. To be heard and followed, please, do not just churn out data statements, you're not an ATM! Anticipate further questions and give a fuller answer. Don't wait to be interrogated, lead the narrative.

In "PitchUp" meetings, driven founders, product managers, and top managers construct and present their own mini-speeches following the frameworks of the world's top founders every week.

WBU
⭐️ I am making a plan for 2026
🌷 I am taking it 1 day at a time

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🪴 Thank you for choosing English, communications, and rhetoric growth @EnglishForImpact. Love you all