“The way I improved my English with you was just being me! I had a feeling of release after each session. It was like doing therapy in a way!”

This is what Jose V. told me at the end of our last session after going through what happened during the time we worked together: from frustration and stress to a relaxed mind and a more confident voice and messaging in English.

It was a challenging time, and Jose had a lot to deal with. Three things that helped him overcome his challenges: mindfulness and preparation.

When he came to me for help, there was one recurring word in our conversation: stress. 

Being stressed is the worst thing that can happen to a professional speaking in a language other than their native tongue. It can be productive at a very early stage (because it keeps you active and alert) but it quickly becomes a mountain that blocks your view to the ocean.

Jose, like many other professionals regarded speaking English as a huge mountain or wall he could not climb. The more he thought about it each time, the worse English he spoke.

And it’s not a matter of perfection (i.e. to speak a like a pro or a native speaker). It’s a matter of communicating with others and communicating your message effectively.

Curious to discover her challenges and possibly relate to them? Read on!

Jose’s challenges as a non-native English speaking professional

“I found it very hard to improve my relationship with stress when speaking English!”

When we started working together, I asked Jose (like I do with all my new clients when onboarding them): What is the #1 thing you would like to improve with your business English?

Stress. There was no pondering or hesitation. Jose felt his English level was good but wanted to improve more. But above all, he felt he needed something to unblock him from the stress that kept coming back, more and more powerful each time he had to speak English at work. For instance, during a call, meeting or when leading a presentation.

He comes from Latin America, and worked hard to get where he is now. Jose took on more and more responsibilities at work with time but his English couldn’t sync with his role.

At the same time, his new role and responsibilities brought much more exposure to internal stakeholders and this caused even more stress.

As he put it, “the way I tried to work on my English and stress (with teachers, schools, books, etc.) didn’t work out. So, I needed to do something different!”

Can you relate?  Those challenges are very common among professionals like you. I see them very often and, unfortunately, are the cause of misery at work.

Let’s see how Jose turned the game in his favour and relocated to the United States- another significant milestone for his career. Follow the story below!

What worked for Jose

Here is how we approached the road to Jose’s success. Before talking about the specifics, let me point out this: as many professionals carry trauma from past failures and/or fear of future failure (“I will mess up again next time!”) it was imperative to work on Jose’s self-blockages first (the ones that kept making him super stressed when speaking English).

As I love to say, my superpower is mindfulness. We used that a lot during our sessions to unblock Jose from what was holding him back while working on his hard and soft English skills at the same time.

Here is how we worked together:

1. Laser focusing on specific areas of English that made Jose extra stressed

When onboarding, we discussed Jose’s major challenges and struggles so we could focus on them specifically. There was no point in going over the basics as his English level was good enough. What was missing was Jose’s ability to leverage what he already knew to speak English more naturally and confidently. We worked on hard English skills, like boosting and refining his vocabulary (focusing entirely on his industry), but mainly elaborated on and practised how he could deliver a speech, lead a call or meeting, or present in front of stakeholders (his soft English skills). As Jose put it “I now have a set of tools to help me navigate these business occasions in English effectively!”. 

2. Fight back stress with mindfulness

As mentioned previously, Jose’s primary challenge was stress. Stress caused by fear, and fear, in turn, was a result of Jose’s past failures and lack of the right preparation. You see, it’s not enough for a professional to do their exercises, learn more grammar and rules from books, and take tests. Don’t get me wrong. You need those if you If you want to get an English certification or degree, you need those. However, what matters the most for highly-skilled professionals like Jose is to learn to communicate in an effectively, while letting their talent and personality shine. The latter are usually overshadowed by fear, stress, or attempts to fake it to sound or look more proficient (but not the real you). We used mindfulness techniques and tips to calm Jose down and teach him how to do it in real-business circumstances (e.g. before a meeting or call). It’s key to stay in flow during a conversation rather than trying to find the most appropriate word or phrase to use. Flow brings connection, and connection helps build relationships. Jose now knows how to stay calm and relaxed before and throughout an important occasion at work where he needs to speak English.

3. Gain clarity with his “voice” and messaging

Being clear and straightforward (without being disrespectful, of course) can get a professional far. Speaking with a lack of clarity is a downward spiral as people don’t understand what you mean and that causes misunderstandings and a loss of connection. Clarity is one of the biggest assets for a professional like Jose. Because of his role, he has to speak and speak up when necessary, negotiate, and disagree. These are not for the faint-hearted. We worked on regaining Jose’s clarity: Who he is as a professional. What he stands for and how he can express all that in English. How to communicate in English clearly, on casual and more formal or even stressful occasions at work. How he can be authentic (the real Jose) when speaking English. Working on his body language also helped a lot with those tasks: a confident body posture, speech speed, and the natural breathing patterns helped him be in control or retake control when lost.

The results: “I gained confidence, expertise and a mindful mindset that helps me shift from aiming at perfection to achieving connection!”

That was music to my ears, and I felt so fulfilled and happy for her. 

With the bespoke 1-on-1 ProEnglish Coaching Programme, Jose managed to:

– Improve his hard English skills (leading calls/meetings, presenting in front of stakeholders

– Refine his vocabulary so he can use the right words at the right time, and not “freeze” when he can’t do that. Flow is more important. And all that without having to memorise lists of words or phrases. Isn’t that great?

– Boost his confidence in English and learned to manage his stress levels before and during the occasions where he had to speak English. 

– Communicate with clarity and authenticity, without being disrespectful.

– Shift his mindset from perfection to connection. Perfectionism is resourceful, drains your energy, it actually never works. Switching from the stress of a perfectionist mindset to the calmness of a focused mind aiming at communicating and connecting with others was a game-changer for Jose.

– Enjoy the process. That’s super important if you want to achieve results. As Jose told me “Your coaching was a blessing! It distracted me from my busy schedule and also helped me improve my English enormously while having fun!” Improving your English doesn’t have to be another burden in your schedule, right?

Now, let me stress this: however you decide to work on your business English, you need to have or set up a system to track progress. Otherwise, motivation may disappear, and procrastination may kick in.

I use recordings to make sure there is progress and that my clients can actually see it. We record sessions or short exercises / cases, depending on the specific area of the language and topic on their agenda we work on. We then watch them again to see what went wrong and what went well and compare them with previous recordings.

This way, progress is tracked and visible. Jose can verify that! 

How you can benefit, too

As in the case of Jose, I empower non-native English-speaking professionals to claim what they deserve in their careers by breaking down their language blockage in a safe, kind and trustful environment.

Mindfulness is part of who I am and what I do, and I find that it helps people like you. Learn to access your calm centre and regain the lost confidence in your English communication skills.

You can benefit from this mindful approach tremendously because it helps you

• acknowledge where you stand at every point, feel OK with it and take it from there
• be present when speaking in English
• have a kind, non-judgemental attitude towards yourself and the learning experience

My approach and method go beyond books, vocabulary and memorisation. It’s about aligning body and mind, learning the tools and creating the mindset for speaking English naturally and confidently, for good.

If you trust me to support you in improving your English communication skills, you will

– Overcome the language blockage. Even after the first session, you will feel that you speak and communicate in English more naturally. Focusing on improvement and correcting mistakes will make you feel as fluent in English as in your native language. It’s all about learning to express yourself. Let go of feeling uncomfortable and embarrassed.

– Save time. Progress is real and comes fast. You get my full attention during the one-on-one sessions, and their duration is optimal. Not too short to lose momentum, not too long to make them unproductive. Just the right balance for the most progress.

– Save money. Instead of investing money now and again in improving your communication in English, I teach you the tools and the mindset to learn how to communicate confidently, once and for all. You won’t need to have any more English lessons in the future. My method has a long-term effect.

– Be in control. You can track your progress from session to session with our recorded practice exercises. Thus, you know if and how much progress you make and remain in control of your learning experience and return on investment.

– Improve your health and well-being. Falling short of your expectations and goals because of the language barrier has a toll on your physical and mental health. I help you overcome the fear of expressing yourself and the self-doubt that you don’t deserve more chances at work and in life. Reversing your blockages and maintaining your headspace  positively affect your mind, body and soul.

– Boost confidence. Preparation and positivity are the keys to success. If you prepare for an unplanned interview, chat or meeting on the spot, you will feel more confident that you will make it. Maintaining a positive attitude that you can do it, using the tools and mindset I provide, will make sure you will nail it every time you need to express yourself and/or stand up for your values and beliefs.

At this point, I only have one question:

Which version of Jose would YOU like to be (become)? The stressed, reserved, and hesitant about everything one? Or the confident leader who uses English to communicate, connect and build long-lasting relationships while enjoying it?

If anything of the above hits a nerve, let’s talk about it and sort things out. You can book a free and non-binding Clarity Call here and chat with me for 30 minutes.

You may find it very short, but my years-long experience helps me quickly identify your pain points and challenges and provide some first-level guidance on the areas you must improve.

Book your free Clarity Call today, and let’s see how you can transform into the best version of Jose in the story.

The call is free, and you have no obligation to work with me or commit to anything. It will just be our first touchpoint, and I look forward to chatting with you!