A big part of my job as a neurolanguage coach is teaching people that some of the things they learned about English aren’t true.
Especially when it comes to having better, more fluent conversations.
In fact, a lot of people think that if you want to have great conversations in English you
- have to have perfect grammar,
- or learn perfect pronunciation…
- or reach some other impossible goal.
And if you think you have to be perfect to achieve your goal…
Well, then your goal will seem impossible. It’s what we can ‘setting yourself up for failure.’ Or creating a situation where you cannot succeed. Who wants that?
And yet, a lot of smart, capable people are stuck for this reason.
So the very first thing I want you to do today is to set yourself up for success.
Let go of being perfect. Then choose to focus on a few key things you can learn starting today that will make a real difference in the way you feel when you have a conversation in English.
Feeling more fluent in English conversations is not as difficult as you may imagine.
Yes, you do need to master certain specific conversation skills.
And it takes effort and some consistent work.
But I know you. You know how to do the work.
Let’s get started today. I’ll show you the conversation skills you need to work on so that you can make a real change in your English conversations. That way, you can stop wasting your energy worrying about being ‘perfect’ and just be you in English.
I can’t wait to get started.
Index:
1. How to stop feeling shy about starting conversations.
2. What to do when you don’t understand.
3. Typical little words & expressions for fluid conversations.
4. How to politely end a conversation.
#1. How to stop feeling shy about starting conversations.
If you’ve ever felt shy about starting conversations in English…you’re not alone!
This is one of the things my students worry about the most.
And, as you’ve surely noticed, focusing on being perfect at grammar, or pronunciation (or anything) just makes your problem worse.
Remember, today we’re giving up on being perfect (in grammar or anything else) and focusing on a few specific skills you can master so you can feel more like yourself.
And I have a lesson for you that will help you start a conversation with anyone.
Right now. Today, if you want.
You don’t have to wait until you’re perfect, you just have to be yourself. And make the effort to learn a few great conversation starters that you can use from now on.
How to start a conversation in English with anyone (and not be shy).
#2. What to do when you don’t understand.
Do you know what people miss out on when they worry about being perfect at anything in English? Having great conversations and making real connections with real people.
You don’t have to understand every conversation perfectly–you just need to master a few ways to respond when you don’t understand.
When you let go of the impossible goal of being perfect, you can learn something new and better.
The fact is that native speakers don’t understand 100% of conversations either.
And these phrases and techniques you’ll learn in the next lesson will make you better than ‘perfect.’ They’ll teach you to be a great listener, to really ‘hear’ what the person you’re speaking with is saying.
So check out: What to do when you don’t understand someone in English. Learn the phrases and habits to help you feel more fluent and confident in your conversations. And become a better listener in the process.
#3. Typical little words & expressions for fluid conversations.
Did you know that even if you have perfect grammar, pronunciation, and fluency…
And still offend a native speaker with your conversation style?
What if you could learn typical expressions and conversation styles that will help you feel fluent AND help you avoid awkward conversations?
Conversation styles, expressions to learn. Yes they take a little work, but that’s work you can do. So give up on perfection, get started strategies that work and…
Join me for the blog post and video: 3 Tips For a Friendly Small Talk with Americans.
#4. How to politely end a conversation.
Congratulations! You’ve started a conversation with a native speaker…but now you want to end it and go do something else.
Knowing how to end a conversation politely with a few simple phrases will help you bring all those great conversations you’ve learned to start to a close.
In this lesson, you’re sure to find a few expressions you can learn today to end your conversation like a (polite) native speaker. These are tiny shortcuts for feeling more fluent in a very common situation.
And you can do it in a way that makes native speakers feel good about talking to you. So that you can feel like you’re confident, social self. That’s much better than ‘perfect.’
You’ll find everything you need in this lesson: How to conclude a conversation politely.
If you don’t use it, you lose it. So here’s how you can use what you learned today!
The best way to become more confident using Business English is to practice!
Here’s your weekly challenge for this week:
- Write a sentence you could use to start a conversation in English, in the comments.
- The hardest part of a conversation is starting. So if you can do that, you’ll be well on your way to feeling confident making conversations in English.
If you learned something from this lesson, please share it with your coworkers & friends. You can send your message to them in English for more practice!
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Stop struggling to learn & use phrasal verbs in English
If you would like to master 30 phrasal verbs in 30 days, take the 30-Day Phrasal Verb Challenge!
I’ll send you one short exercise per day for 30 days. In 5 minutes per day, you’ll effortlessly add 30 new phrasal verbs to your English vocabulary!
And it’s fun!
To start the 30-Day Challenge today, go to https://christinarebuffetcourses.com/30-day-phrasal-verb-challenge-join-now
Can’t wait to see you in the Challenge,
Christina
