Dic: switch gears, shift gears, change gear

• I'd like to shift gears now and talk about a personal concern.
• The boss expects us to be able to change gear just like that
• If this idea doesn't work, we're going to have to shift gears.
• After giving an intense performance it was difficult for the actress to change gears and become herself again.

* * *

△to suddenly change what you are doing. [Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms]

• I'd like to shift gears now and talk about a personal concern.

Etymology: based on the idea that a vehicle will change speed when you change gears (machine parts)

△to start doing something in a different way, especially using more or less energy or effort [LDOCE]

• The boss expects us to be able to change gear just like that.

△to change the way you think about or do something [MacMillan]

• If this idea doesn't work, we're going to have to shift gears.

△ [OALD]

1. to put a motor vehicle or a bicycle into a different gear
2. to move from one activity or interest to another

• After giving an intense performance it was difficult for the actress to change gears and become herself again.