Speaking English Confidently as a Non Native Speaker for Professionals

Have you ever seen people who speak English with so much confidence even though their English isn't as good as yours? They travel, they work internationally, and basically they're living the life you have in mind for yourself. And you wonder, wait, my English is actually better than theirs. So why am I not living that international life? Why is it that I can't speak confidently You think to yourself, I've been practicing English for years and I have at least an intermediate English level. But still, deep down, you don't feel ready or confident enough to follow your international dreams. Are you tired of playing it small in life just because when it's time to speak, you just freeze? As a result, you don't show your true self and others can't see your abilities when speaking English. Here's the truth. The practices that help you speak English fluently are not the same as the practices that help you speak English confidently. They're completely two different skills. In a previous video, I explained that to speak fluently, you need to train your brain to think in English. So your focus is more on the physical side of your language learning journey, which is learning the language the right way. If you haven't seen that yet, I'll link it below. So in that video, I received a question about, okay, so what's the next step after fluency? And how can we speak English confidently in real life situations? So in this video, we're going to talk about why you might still struggle with speaking confidently, even if on paper, your English is at an intermediate or even upper intermediate level and exactly what to do to fix it. So let's get into it. Let's be real. The first thing most people blame is my English isn't good enough yet. And they focus on learning more vocabulary or grammar. And yes, language skills do matter. If you're still a beginner, then of course, you might feel unsure. That's normal. But here's the thing. If your English is good enough to understand or speak in a safe space, then you need to check one of these three things next. And these are all the things I've experienced myself in my own English journey. And I had to overcome them all. This is a big one. If deep down your thought sounds like my English isn't good enough, I can't speak like a native speaker. What if they judge me? What if it's a stupid question to ask? Then of course, you're going to feel more nervous and hold yourself back. I remember when I first visited the US, my English was already good. I could understand very well what people were saying. I could speak if I wanted to. But still, I wouldn't speak much. Why? Because I was surrounded by native speakers. And that made me feel like every word I say would be judged, misunderstood, or laughed at. So I was stuck in my own head. I was terrified of creating an embarrassing situation. So instead of joining conversations or expressing myself, I stayed quiet. I would just nod along and smile politely. But deep down, I was frustrated because I knew I was capable of more. Here's another big one most people ignore. Let's say you're in a work meeting. You know what you want to say, but suddenly your heart starts racing, your palms get sweaty, and your mind goes blank, and you freeze. Sounds familiar? Well, that's not a language problem. I got to experience this side when I was studying at an international course. And whenever I had to make a presentation in front of others or raise my hand to ask a question, this would happen. So why does this happen? Because it's important to also learn how to manage our feelings of fear and stress well. When you feel fear, anxiety, or pressure, you cannot access your brain's full potential. So even if you know the words, they don't come out because of stress, or they come out in an awkward way. And this can create embarrassing situations for you. But you're not broken. You just haven't learned how to manage your emotions in high-pressure moments. This is something no English textbook teaches, but it makes a huge difference in how others perceive you, confident or not confident. Real unshakable confidence doesn't come from knowing all the answers or being great and perfect. When I finally stopped worrying about sounding perfect and instead focused on connecting with people and showing my true self, that's when everything changed for me. I realized people don't connect with perfection. They connect with us when they feel we're human. And no human is perfect. And in the age of artificial intelligence, this becomes even more important. So when you're in the middle of a conversation, focusing too much on trying to sound perfect and how others see you distracts you from the bigger picture. The main goal of speaking a language is creating a positive impact and connection. Now that we moved beyond the surface level and talked about the deeper reasons that you can't speak confidently, let's talk about how to fix them. Even fluent speakers forget words. Even native speakers pause, correct themselves, or say the wrong things. The difference between a confident speaker and a nervous one isn't what happens during the conversation. It's how they react when things don't go perfectly. That's why I teach my students to build what I call a confidence survival kit. This is a set of simple phrases or responses you can use when things get uncomfortable. For example, if you forget a word, instead of getting nervous in the middle of the conversation, you can calmly say, oh what's the word? It's on the tip of my tongue. Then pause to think about what you are saying. And if you still don't remember, you can simply say, what I'm trying to say is that. And then say what you wanted to say in a different way. That's why in that speaking fluently stage, we talk about the importance of training your mind to think in English and learning vocabulary and grammar in English. Because in this way, you learn how to say the same idea in different ways and using different vocabulary. So when in the middle of a conversation, that specific word you're looking for doesn't come to your mind, you know how to handle it. You don't need to panic or say, oh sorry, my English isn't good. Oh sorry for my bad English. But you don't need to do that. And that's how you communicate your confidence level. Not because you've been perfect, but because knowing that even if things go wrong, you can handle it. So ask yourself, what kind of situation can make you freeze or feel embarrassed? For example, forgetting words, making a mistake, someone laughing at you, someone disagreeing with you, or even when you don't understand things. The list can go on. Write them all down. Then prepare a simple professional way to react in that situation. And then practice that on your own and later in real life. And by the way, I'm working on a full guide to help you create this confidence survival kit. If it's ready by the time you're watching this, you can find the link in the description. So the next thing you need to work on is shift your mindset and reprogram limiting beliefs. The way you talk to yourself matters. If you keep saying, I can't speak English confidently, I have a terrible accent, no one will understand, then over time your brain starts to believe all of them. That's how the brain works. As a result, you start to feel less and less confident. So you need to be kinder to yourself and start talking more positively to yourself. This doesn't mean telling yourself things that are hard to believe. Just say things that are believable. For example, don't tell yourself, I'm a great speaker. If you don't believe that to be true yet, instead say, I'm doing great, I'm improving my English every day, I'm becoming more confident step by step, and the list goes on. Then don't just stop there and prove it to yourself with a small action. For example, you can start as small as leaving a comment on your favorite YouTube video and then expand your comfort zone slowly to introducing yourself in a group. Every action builds your confidence, not just in your language but also in yourself. And the final thing is that speak with purpose and focus on connection, not perfection. As we previously mentioned, real confidence doesn't come from knowing everything and not making any mistakes. So we need to change our mindset and see confidence differently. Real confidence comes from knowing that I know I'm not perfect and that's okay because no one in this world is perfect. We are all human and we are all learning something or dealing with something personal in our head and that can exactly be our point of connection with others. Isn't that the main purpose of speaking with others? Think about it. Are we learning a language to say how perfect we are or are we learning a language to create a positive impact or connection in the real world? When your main focus is on the bigger picture, that's when you can show your true confidence and impact. Now, if you want to go deeper and learn how to speak English with a holistic approach, check out the link in the description. You can find more resources there. Now, I'd love to hear from you. What was your favorite part of the video? Which areas do you need to work on to feel more confident? Let me know in the comment section and I love reading about your experiences. Thank you so much for watching and see you in the next video.