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I understand almost everything in English. Why is speaking so difficult for me?
03.06.26
I’ve heard this so many times during my English teaching career. Most recently a month ago from a new client. Her listening skills are so good she can understand movies in English without subtitles. But if she is in an English meeting, she always asks colleagues to cover her part as she feels she can't do it.
In our discovery call, she was telling me this and said “I don’t understand why I find speaking so difficult. Every week, I get hours of English practice from the TV and from reading but I still speak English like I’m a child.”
So I told her: “Think of it like football. If you watched football every weekend but never actually practiced or played with the ball yourself, you wouldn’t be able to play well in a football match.”
Watching TV and reading in English helps improve your English (vocab, a better feeling for grammar, understanding) so I recommend you do this too. However, if you want to get better at speaking English, the most important thing to practice is speaking itself. This is true for everyone, as producing a language is a different skill to understanding it. But it is particularly important if you feel nervous about speaking English. Over time this practice will not only give you the fluency you need but it will also give you the confidence to speak up in your English meetings without hesitation or doubt.
There are many ways to get this practice:
AI makes a great speaking partner.
You can find a 'tandem' exchange partner.
There are endless free online possibilities where you can chat to people all over the world.
If you would like a safe-space to practice speaking English with real people (!), who have a similar level to you and where the conversation is focussed on work topics, tasks and discussions, you can also check out my Just Talk Club.
03.06.26
I’ve heard this so many times during my English teaching career. Most recently a month ago from a new client. Her listening skills are so good she can understand movies in English without subtitles. But if she is in an English meeting, she always asks colleagues to cover her part as she feels she can't do it.
In our discovery call, she was telling me this and said “I don’t understand why I find speaking so difficult. Every week, I get hours of English practice from the TV and from reading but I still speak English like I’m a child.”
So I told her: “Think of it like football. If you watched football every weekend but never actually practiced or played with the ball yourself, you wouldn’t be able to play well in a football match.”
Watching TV and reading in English helps improve your English (vocab, a better feeling for grammar, understanding) so I recommend you do this too. However, if you want to get better at speaking English, the most important thing to practice is speaking itself. This is true for everyone, as producing a language is a different skill to understanding it. But it is particularly important if you feel nervous about speaking English. Over time this practice will not only give you the fluency you need but it will also give you the confidence to speak up in your English meetings without hesitation or doubt.
There are many ways to get this practice:
AI makes a great speaking partner.
You can find a 'tandem' exchange partner.
There are endless free online possibilities where you can chat to people all over the world.
If you would like a safe-space to practice speaking English with real people (!), who have a similar level to you and where the conversation is focussed on work topics, tasks and discussions, you can also check out my Just Talk Club.
What to say if you don’t understand a native English speaker at work
27.05.26
One of the biggest challenges for professionals speaking English at work is understanding native English speakers in real conversations.
Maybe it's a call.
Maybe it's a chat in a coffee break.
Maybe it's someone you've just met at a conference.
The native speaker is talking and you can't understand enough. Maybe you are missing some important details or perhaps you are totally confused.
When this happens, many of my clients say they feel embarrassed, ashamed or like they are failing. Normally they try to hide the fact that they don’t understand.
But you shouldn’t feel this way. Communication is a two-way process and the native speaker also has a responsibility to speak at a level that you can understand. Therefore, it is perfectly OK to ask them to adapt the way they speak slightly and you don't need to apologise for this!
Here are two useful phrases to politely and professionally do this:
If the person is speaking too fast:
“Please could you slow down. English is not my first language, so I need a little time to process what you’re saying.”
If the problem is the language (idioms, technical language, very complex words):
“Please could you use simpler words. English is not my first language, and it is difficult for me to understand everything you're saying.”
27.05.26
One of the biggest challenges for professionals speaking English at work is understanding native English speakers in real conversations.
Maybe it's a call.
Maybe it's a chat in a coffee break.
Maybe it's someone you've just met at a conference.
The native speaker is talking and you can't understand enough. Maybe you are missing some important details or perhaps you are totally confused.
When this happens, many of my clients say they feel embarrassed, ashamed or like they are failing. Normally they try to hide the fact that they don’t understand.
But you shouldn’t feel this way. Communication is a two-way process and the native speaker also has a responsibility to speak at a level that you can understand. Therefore, it is perfectly OK to ask them to adapt the way they speak slightly and you don't need to apologise for this!
Here are two useful phrases to politely and professionally do this:
If the person is speaking too fast:
“Please could you slow down. English is not my first language, so I need a little time to process what you’re saying.”
If the problem is the language (idioms, technical language, very complex words):
“Please could you use simpler words. English is not my first language, and it is difficult for me to understand everything you're saying.”
How cultural differences affect communication in English meetings
20.05.26
20.05.26
As English is the international business language, communication issues can often be related to culture not just language.
For example:
Every culture has a different set of social norms and a different way of working. There is no right or wrong way, they are simply different.
Intercultural communication is a HUGE topic but a simple starting point is this free tool from The Culture Factor. You enter the nationalities you want to compare (e.g. Germany and Japan) and it tells you the main cultural differences between the two countries.
https://www.theculturefactor.com/country-comparison-tool
If you work internationally, improving your English is only one part of successful communication. Understanding cultural differences can also make meetings, feedback and teamwork much smoother.
For example:
- German directness can be interpreted as rudeness or arrogance.
- British politeness can be confusing for non-Brits to the point that you have no idea if the feedback is negative or positive. (It took years for my German husband and I to get this clear! )
- Silence from your Asian colleagues, might not mean they have nothing to say. Maybe they are waiting to be asked to speak.
Every culture has a different set of social norms and a different way of working. There is no right or wrong way, they are simply different.
Intercultural communication is a HUGE topic but a simple starting point is this free tool from The Culture Factor. You enter the nationalities you want to compare (e.g. Germany and Japan) and it tells you the main cultural differences between the two countries.
https://www.theculturefactor.com/country-comparison-tool
If you work internationally, improving your English is only one part of successful communication. Understanding cultural differences can also make meetings, feedback and teamwork much smoother.
A great strategy for clear communication in English meetings
13.05.26
13.05.26
Many professionals who speak English as a second language find it difficult to communicate clearly in meetings. At a recent business English session for staff from the Freie Universität, we practised using the Pyramid Principle to improve clarity and structure in workplace communication.
Here is a summary:
1: Start with your key point
Often when asking for something or making a suggestion, people spend a lot of time talking about what is wrong currently and then at the end say 'that is why we need to do X'. Using the Pyramid Principle, the opposite is true. Your first line is 'We need to do X'.
2: Split your argument very clearly into the different reasons
To keep your argument easy to follow, when preparing think about the distinct reasons behind your request/decision. Each reason then forms one paragraph. Start the paragraph by stating the reason.
3: Add Supporting Evidence
Once you have your distinct reasons, you add supporting evidence to back these reasons up or explain them further. This could be experience, data, facts or examples.
If you feel that people don't listen to you in your English meetings, or fail to understand the point you want to make, next time try following the Pyramid Principle and see if it makes a difference.
Here is a summary:
1: Start with your key point
Often when asking for something or making a suggestion, people spend a lot of time talking about what is wrong currently and then at the end say 'that is why we need to do X'. Using the Pyramid Principle, the opposite is true. Your first line is 'We need to do X'.
2: Split your argument very clearly into the different reasons
To keep your argument easy to follow, when preparing think about the distinct reasons behind your request/decision. Each reason then forms one paragraph. Start the paragraph by stating the reason.
3: Add Supporting Evidence
Once you have your distinct reasons, you add supporting evidence to back these reasons up or explain them further. This could be experience, data, facts or examples.
If you feel that people don't listen to you in your English meetings, or fail to understand the point you want to make, next time try following the Pyramid Principle and see if it makes a difference.
Tips for making small talk in English
06.05.26
For many professionals, making small talk in English is extremely stressful. The good news is that preparation can help.
Before an event/meeting where you know that you will meet new people, take a few minutes beforehand to think about good small talk topics for this particular occassion. Once you have the topic, plan some conversation starter questions.
For example, if you are going to a conference, here are some possible conversation starter questions:
If you are short on ideas for small talk topics or starter questions you can download my PDF here.
Next, don't forget to plan an 'exit' strategy. Politely leaving a small talk conversation is often more difficult than starting it so this also needs to be planned.
An easy way to do this, is give a short reason e.g. I need to:
Remember, whether a topic is appropriate for small talk depends on both the type of occasion (100% business event, social business event or private event) and the cultures of the people involved. If you are not sure, you can always ask AI.
Finally, don't automatically blame yourself if you find making small talk with someone hard. A good conversation takes two people. If someone is giving you one-word answers and not asking you any questions, then it is not your fault the conversation is not working!
06.05.26
For many professionals, making small talk in English is extremely stressful. The good news is that preparation can help.
Before an event/meeting where you know that you will meet new people, take a few minutes beforehand to think about good small talk topics for this particular occassion. Once you have the topic, plan some conversation starter questions.
For example, if you are going to a conference, here are some possible conversation starter questions:
- Is this your first time here?
- What do you think of the conference so far?
- Have you been before?
- Have you got any recommendations?
- What are the topics you are most interested in?
- Have you been to any other conferences recently?
If you are short on ideas for small talk topics or starter questions you can download my PDF here.
Next, don't forget to plan an 'exit' strategy. Politely leaving a small talk conversation is often more difficult than starting it so this also needs to be planned.
An easy way to do this, is give a short reason e.g. I need to:
- get a coffee
- prepare X
- say hello to X
- make a phone call/check my emails
Remember, whether a topic is appropriate for small talk depends on both the type of occasion (100% business event, social business event or private event) and the cultures of the people involved. If you are not sure, you can always ask AI.
Finally, don't automatically blame yourself if you find making small talk with someone hard. A good conversation takes two people. If someone is giving you one-word answers and not asking you any questions, then it is not your fault the conversation is not working!