There’s something that I quickly learned since starting the Speak Better, Feel Great Blog back in January: You can’t succeed alone.
We Americans love the image of the self-made man (or woman) who single-handedly (à lui tout seul) builds their success. But it doesn’t happen like that in real life.
When I started SBFG, I tried to do everything alone.
If you watched the first SBFG Video, you know that the result was, ahem, not so great. And that’s putting it lightly (C’est le moins qu’on puisse dire). Today, that video makes me laugh, but I keep it there as a reminder: You can’t succeed alone.
The French are far better (beaucoup mieux) than Americans when it comes to (quand il s’agit de) working together to make a project succeed. I’m sure you’ve experienced this with your American colleagues. You have a project, you need to collaborate and work together, and the Americans do their own thing (font leur truc tout seul).
Trust me, it’s not just your American colleague. This article from Bloomberg, called “Why American Business School Students Can’t Stand Teamwork” (can’t stand = ne supportent pas) will help you understand why.
Mode(s) d’Emploi
But that brings me to today’s video, which exists thanks a blogger at the RegionsJob blog, Mode(s) d’Emploi named Guirec Gombert.
He wrote an article called “Parlez-vous d’anglais d’entreprise”, and so kindly let me adapt it as a SBFG Video. Then Romain added his French touch (and humor—watch the end of the video!). Next, Roger did the editing, Murthy added subtitles, and Marica put it on the blog.
Without these guys, SBFG would still resemble that first video: Like I was creating (comme si je créais) videos in my apartment.
What’s the best part of us working together? YOU!
You get to learn how to correctly use some English words that you already use (or abuse) in French. This way, you’ll stop using words you that sound English to the French, but that just sound bizarre to Americans.
Now, I’d love to hear from you.
Which of these words have you heard at your office?
Which ones do you use?
Remember, that to improve your English, you need to use it as often as possible. Sharing your comments in English here on the blog is a great opportunity to find people to practice with. After all (après tout), you can’t succeed alone.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with your colleagues, clients and friends — anyone who uses business English at work:)
Have a great week in English,
Christina
