Over the past 18 years or so, one of the nicest things to see has been how people’s confidence grew during training.  Sometimes people don’t even realise it’s happening because it happens gradually. It is more often the other guys on your international teams who notice.  People will notice that your English is better.  Confidence, the kind we have in our own native languages, when displayed while speaking another language, is what everyone subconsciously associates with “really good English”, including your clients and bosses.

Give yourself a chance

English classes that specifically set out with the primary goal of building confidence in speaking are often ignored during your school or college days.  The priority there is really to teach grammar and vocabulary.  Speaking confidence has to be actively developed for most people.  Speaking another language feels like wearing someone else’s shoes for a very long time.  You probably haven’t had that opportunity to just concentrate on building your confidence.  Now is your chance!

You are one of many

Most people learned English at school. But most people did not go on to use it on a regular basis afterwards. It is completely normal therefore to feel shy about using it. You are one of many. That feeling will begin to go away once you start to use it for a purpose in a relaxed training environment. After some time, speaking English will become normal and your concentration will become more and more focused on the subject of the conversation and less on the language.

What kind of fear is it?

The fear you have about speaking English in front of others is based generally on specific past negative experiences. You might have been using English at meetings for years and others gave you the feeling that you are weak.  Ability to speak English well is unfortunately often used as a power tool by some. That can really erode your confidence.  Our workshop training is designed specifically to increase your confidence in meetings, negotiations and other daily business situations by first of all coming together with a trainer and group of people who listen and both value and encourage your contribution.

Get confident with one-to-one training

If you haven’t had any training at all since school or college, one great way to get started is to take a few hours of one-to-one training in advance of your group training.  In that way, you can get the ball rolling and you will feel stronger when you join your group course.

Suitable group

If you don’t feel comfortable about the group you have been placed in, talk to your training co-ordinator. There might be another option. For us, the most important thing is that our participants learn with a group of people who make them feel at ease. We’ve observed the growing confidence of our participants over the years and once it reaches a certain level, there is no going back!