Your English Is Good Enough

Most people believe that they just need to learn more and more English to feel confident speaking in meetings.

This is what schools teach us. You're not an 'advanced level speaker' unless you have learnt all this grammar and know 5000 words.

They tell you to start at the bottom level, and every year you move up one level.

Each level has one course book that you work through with the teacher. You finish coursebook 1, you start coursebook 2 .....

But at the end, if you even make it to the top level, you still won't feel confident in your business meetings.

Why?

People start from the idea that they don’t have enough. This is what they are told. They think they need:

• more vocabulary
• more advanced grammar
• more practise
• more fluency

It's easy to understand why. It seems so logical. You don't feel confident so you believe that if you learn more, you will be more confident.

This is what all the schools have told us.

However, this is a scarcity mindset. We believe that we don’t have enough and so we want more.

• I don’t have enough vocabulary to explain myself clearly.
• I don’t have enough grammar to talk clearly about this.
• I don't have time to practise.
• I can’t speak fluently enough and I pause a lot.

These are scary thoughts. And all these scary thoughts – scare you!

This scarcity mindset is bad for you.

You are convinced that you can’t do a good job in English, and so you won’t.

Your mind is fixed on all the mistakes you MIGHT make, and so you make lots of mistakes.

Instead of focussing on why you are in the meeting, you're worrying that you won't understand.

Instead of getting on with business, you're scared someone is going to ask you a question and won't be able to answer.

Changing from Scarcity to Abundance

You need to shift your mindset and start from a point of abundance.

Abundance means you believe you do have the vocabulary to explain yourself. Your grammar is enough to talk clearly.

The first step towards believing your English is enough, towards an abundance mindset, is preparation.

The more you prepare your mind for the up-coming meeting, the easier it will be.

So how do you prepare?

1. Think about your role in the meeting and ask yourself some questions.

Make lots of notes.

'What is the purpose of this meeting?'

'What do I already know about this topic?'

'What do I need to talk about this in the meeting? How can I do that clearly and easily?'

''Do I need to ask questions?' If yes, what questions?'

'What could the answers be to those questions?'

'What questions will people ask me? What answers can I have ready before the meeting so I'm prepared?'

It's important to write everything down. Take the time to think about the words you will need to use and the words you will hear.

2. Keep it simple.

You do not need to impress people with big fancy words and long complicated sentences.

Keep your sentences simple and your words simple. This way, you are not stressed and everyone understands.

Follow these 2 steps and your mind will be full of the right words, phrases and grammar.

You know what you are going to say; you have even practised a bit so you will remember. Your English is enough.

Abundance!

Instead of focussing on all the mistakes you might make, you can focus on the business.

You will look confident because you ARE confident. You will look professional because you ARE professional.

Will you make some mistakes? Yes!

Are they important? No!

Why?

You are now confidently communicating your message. And people are there to hear your message, not your mistakes.

Communication skills are not taught in language schools.

Language schools are businesses. They need you to move slowly up their 'levels'.

They want you to have a scarcity mindset. They NEED you to have a scarcity mindset.

Your English is most probably good enough right now to do the business you need to do. Shift to an abundance mindset and work on how to communicate your message simply and clearly.

These skills will bring you confidence in your communication abilities and yourself. And your confidence will get you noticed.

These are your real communication skills, not a piece of paper saying you passed an exam.

Let me know in the comments what your opinion is on this.

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