Hi guys, and welcome to Speak English with Christina, where you’ll have fun becoming fluent in American English. Today, we have a special bonus episode, all about how to win more professional opportunities in English.
Watch this episode now!

This is bonus lesson Number One. There are three in total. But, this is the first. So, let’s go ahead and get started.

(This is the complete transcript of the video lesson. Feel free to print it and highlight the important things!)

Opportunities come anywhere, at any time

First, something to remember. Great professional opportunities can come anywhere at any time. They’re not just at job interviews. You could meet someone who could become a potential business partner, or a potential employer. You never know when these opportunities are gonna come, so you should always be prepared.

Now, you don’t need to be bilingual. You really just need the right method, plus, preparation, so that you are prepared, and this… If you do this, this will give you success, always. I guarantee, I promise.

Method, preparation, success

You’ll learn to be simple, clear, and to the point, so that you avoid long, complex sentences, that are difficult to understand. But, no. Simple, clear, to the point, a lot like Americans, sometimes.

Also, when you’re prepared, you know exactly how to highlight your experience with the right vocabulary, so you feel confident talking about why you are the right person for the job, for the position, for the mission, whatever.
But, in all of that, if your English isn’t convincing, they won’t choose you for, like I said, the job, the mission, the promotion, whatever, so… Always, always, always, be prepared.

And we’re gonna start preparing today.

How can I help you do this?

Well, first of all, with some of my online courses, they’re more efficient than just finding different online resources, where you have to look at different websites, select the material that is good, and create your own method. That takes a lot of time and energy that you could better put into your effort of improving your professional English.

So, I’m gonna help you save time, save energy, save frustration, and have better results, and that’s what the Get The Job course does, is it really guides you step-by-step to your success.

Extra bonuses! Yay!

Also, I’ve got some extra bonuses for you. So, if you go to this website, before Tuesday, November 7th, you can get two special bonuses, tips from a recruiter, and then my own tips, plus English expressions, to help you in an interview in English.

And also, you’ll get a special invitation to join the Get The Job course, with lots of extra bonuses, and fun stuff that you love, in Speak English with Christina.

Tell me about yourself: Highlight your experience

Now, let’s look at highlighting your experience. For example, in a job interview, this is often the question, tell me about yourself.

If you’re at a networking event, someone might ask, so, what do you do, exactly? And, you want to highlight the good things, the interesting things, about your job, not just your regular daily routine. That’s probably not the most interesting.

Or, if you’re at a meeting or a presentation, and you have to introduce yourself, use, you know, let me introduce myself, my name’s Christina. And then, you highlight your experience, so that others know why your profile is interesting or valuable for them.

Professional vs. school English

You also want to make sure that you’re doing this with professional English. You know, you’re an adult, you’re a professional, you’re in a job, or looking for a job, so, you want to sound like a professional, not like a school student, who starts their introduction with, “Um, okay. Um, hello, my name is Christina, I’m 36 years old, um, I have a cat. Um, oh, and I’m an English teacher.”

No, that’s not convincing. That is not professional.

So, you want to have a clear structure, that makes your introduction clear, easy to follow, and interesting to the people listening. And we’re gonna look at exactly how to do that.

Test yourself today

But I want to give you a test, something you can do now, to see if your introduction sounds professional and convincing. Record yourself. Just, take your smartphone, and record yourself, for example, answering, tell me about yourself, and, listen to yourself.

Do you sound clear, professional, and credible, or not? If you do, that’s great. Um, you know, maybe you don’t need this course, but if you’re not convinced about your introduction, then you might want to think about it. But, test yourself and see. And, I’ll give you an exercise to do that.

Structure your answer: present, past, future

Now, the structure you can use, present, past, future. And, we’re gonna look at exactly what to say.

In the present, this is your situation today. And, its connection to the potential opportunity in a job interview or networking event, or your connection to the context, if you’re in a meeting. For example, “Right now, I’m a, job title, at, company name, where I…” And, give maybe one or two activities connected to the opportunity or the context of the meeting.

Then, go back and talk about your past. So, your present is more interesting, that’s why we start with the present. But, we also want a little bit of your past, How your previous experience helped you arrive in your current situation. For example, “Before that, I…”, and, describe something relevant about your previous experience, “where I…”, and then, an activity that you did, things you learned, again, always relevant to the discussion.

And then, we go to the future, why you’re excited about the possibilities for the new opportunity. Again, job interview, networking, or any interview, really. Or why you’re happy to be at this meeting, even if you’re not really happy to be in a meeting. I don’t know anyone who is happy to be at meetings!

But, why you are perhaps interested in the subject: “So, now, I’m hoping to…” What you want from the opportunity or the meeting, and then, the benefit that you bring to your potential partner, client, or company (this one is more for interviews and networking events).

A sample answer

Here’s an example of a complete response in the context of a job interview for a position as a senior manager:

“So, right now, I’m a junior manager at PWC, where I manage teams in a retail business unit.

Before that, I was a team leader, where I was in charge of a team of five people.

Now, I’m hoping to move into a senior management position, where I can use my leadership experience to drive team projects.”

So, you see, it’s, pretty short, it’s clear, it’s structured, and if the person listening to you, if they want more details, if they want more information, they’ll ask for it.

For example, they say, “Oh, you’re a team leader, tell me a little more about this experience.”

Don’t drown the interviewer in details

So, this introduction is not the complete introduction. It’s really just the way to start the discussion, in an interesting way, without talking for five minutes with no structure, and after, while the interviewer, or the person you’re talking to starts getting bored. You don’t want that.

So, this gives them material to continue the conversation about your experience.

Let me introduce myself…

Oh, and I forgot to actually introduce myself! We’re talking about introductions, but let me tell you a little bit about me. So, right now, I’m an English coach. I’ve been doing this since 2004, and, I coach students all around the world, to help them become more fluent in English, and to help them work better, or live better with Americans.

You probably know that I’m the creator of Speak English with Christina TV, and, today, something I’m very proud of, is that we have more than 80,000 Speak English ambassadors. These are my students who are learning with me at ChristinaRebuffet.com.

So, um, if you’re not one of my ambassadors, please go to ChristinaRebuffet.com. Check out the website. Check out the videos. And, if you like learning English with me, go ahead and sign up.

Don’t wait until the last minute

Now, like I said, you must be prepared to convince people that you are the right person for the job, the mission, the project, etc. You don’t want stress in the moment. Don’t wait until the last minute, because that’s when you stress, you panic, and you lose the opportunity because you weren’t prepared.

I know that you can’t memorize fixed answers by heart. No. Conversation is spontaneous. So, you have to improvise, and be clear, and be relevant to the topic of discussion, and all of that in English.

That’s what the course Get the Job does.

It gives you the English lessons that you need, to defend your profile and highlight your experience. So, you get the clear structures, plus the simple sentences, and that gives you more confidence, and they choose you for that professional opportunity.

Create a great answer today

Now, I told you I would have an activity for you. And, here it is:

Complete this text for yourself. This could become your introduction for your next opportunity, your next interview, your next networking event, whatever.

You can pause this video, take the time to write out your introduction, and then, like I said earlier, just record yourself with your smartphone, to practice and see if you sound credible. (Watch the video to see the text to complete for yourself!)

Hesitations are normal

Now, maybe you’re hesitating, you’re thinking:

• “Yes, Christina, but, I can find resources on the internet for this. I don’t need a course.”
• “I can’t memorize responses by heart. How can I be prepared for anything?”
• “I need to practice with someone, it’s nice to record myself on my smartphone, but I need a teacher. I need someone to practice with!”

We’re gonna see all of those hesitations next time, and my solutions to these problems.

Secrets, storytelling, and more

And, we’re also going to see:

• two secrets, that you should know about job interviews in the USA.
• a solid structure for talking about your past experiences clearly, using some storytelling techniques, which are quite popular at the moment, and how to use this, in interviews, networking events, and meetings. your answers, or my answers to your “Yes, but…” hesitations
• why they’re not really… I don’t want to say they’re not valid, but, why there’s a solution to those hesitations.

Now, I have a question for you before we finish

Have you ever introduced yourself at an interview, networking event, or meeting, in English? And, how was that experience?
Tell me about this in the comments, because, I love reading about how you’re using your English, the questions that you have for the difficulties, so that I can create lessons for you to help you with that.

Don’t forget your extra bonuses!

Be sure to go to this website before Tuesday, November 7th, to get those free bonuses that are so valuable if you are preparing any kind of interview in English.

Alright, now, that’s it for Lesson One. Bonus Lesson Number Two is coming in just a few days. So, be sure to check back here, and, watch Lesson Number Two. Because, again, you’re gonna learn lots of great things, to help you feel more confident in professional English.

Alright, thanks so much, you guys. I’m Christina, and I’ll see you next time.

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