Case Study: How Marta transformed into a confident leader with her business English in just 12 weeks

“Now, English is another language I speak and not just a common language I used to communicate with others at work!”

This is what Marta Kusnierz told me at the end of our last session and as we contemplated what we did the past 3 months working together on her business English.

It was not an easy ride but rather a roller coaster. 

And how can it not be such when English (or any other language) is not someone’s mother tongue but something they began learning some time ago (from months to years).

You see, although a multi-talented professional, Marta found it really hard to express herself in English in a way that sounded professional yet gave space to her personality and talent to shine.

Polish is her native language, and English became the language everybody used to communicate at work.

Having worked in various Swiss corporations, Marta managed to have her merit appreciated and rewarded: from promotion to promotion and a new job with even better prospects.

Still, she felt something was missing. Her business English did not allow her to speak the language with her unique, authentic voice. She had to do something, and she didn’t let things to luck.

Did she struggle to start off working on her English? Yes, as most professionals do. Did she try other alternatives that did not work? Absolutely.

In the end, she managed to transform into a more confident leader with her business English, and wanted to share her story. 

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

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

“I talked a lot, much more than I had to, and I often missed the point and what I wanted to achieve.”

When Marta started working with me, I asked her “What is the one major issue you feel you have already identified when it comes to your business English?”.

She didn’t hesitate and replied that she talked a lot. Some would argue whether that’s a bad thing or not. I say it’s a bad habit.

I’ve seen many talented and highly skilled professionals do it mainly because it’s a natural tendency as a result of a lack of confidence. They are unsure about their English in any way (from a grammar or vocabulary point of view to listening comprehension and speaking).

That lack of confidence is due to fear, which usually takes two forms: the fear of inadequacy and the fear of failure.

Marta apparently struggled with both (as most professionals do whatsoever).

As we kept diving deeper and wider into her business English, we identified a few more challenges that held Marta back from speaking English naturally and confidently.

When speaking or presenting in English at work, she often missed the point and couldn’t express herself clearly and concisely with specific points covered and calls to action at the end.

Furthermore, her delegating style was poor but that was not because of her poor management skills. Talking too much made her appear overpowering which did not motivate her team members. 

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 Marta turned the game to her favour and now leads a fulfilled professional life full of new opportunities and great achievements. Follow the story below!

What worked for Marta

Here is how we approached the road to Marta’s success. Before elaborating, let me highlight that the approach to pushing the right buttons was mindful. 

All professionals carry trauma from past failures and fear for future ones. So, jumping on the bandwagon of improvement may not end well.

Instead, we mindfully set realistic goals about her business English, learned to acknowledge her weak and strong points, and opted for a non-judgemental attitude that helps heal past trauma.

1. Breaking down her presentation skills & improving many different aspects

Marta brought a couple of failed presentations to the table. Her material lacked focus, and she explained what went wrong both technically and personally. On the technical side of things, her presentations were not on point and to the point. Also, her presenting style did not reinforce the points she wanted to make and confused the audience.

We worked on these cases and broke down what exactly was wrong and what went well. Acknowledging both pros and cons is crucial for a mindful mindset. We discovered what could be improved in the way she wrote in English when explaining things or more complex issues.

Then, we made sure she understood how important flow is. So, instead of using many words when communicating in English, she learned how to deploy simplicity and storytelling to get her message across. It’s fundamental that your message, whether written or spoken, is coherent and helps its receiver understand AND comprehend it effortlessly. It was also very fruitful working on Marta’s presentation technique.

When you present in a language other than your native one, it’s even more challenging to control your body language: voice, intonation, posture, breathing, and body movements. Acing all these aspects made Marta nail her presentation skills and speeches.

2. Learning to communicate with mindfulness

They say that people may forget what you told them but they will never forget how you made them feel. It’s true, and its implications span across all areas of human communication. In a business context, which was Marta’s case, she found it hard delegating in English.

She often talked a lot and her tone of voice may sometimes have crossed the lines of sounding intense. We worked on instilling mindfulness into her speech so she could communicate her message effectively while still making her team members feel appreciated and stay motivated.

Being firm is one thing; you need specific words and structures to achieve it. Going over the top is another thing, and no manager should do it.

After practising mindfulness with exercises and linking that to her selection of words and intonation, Marta managed to excel in her skill and improve the workflow and the whole team’s motivation, culture and, ultimately results. 

3. Focusing on what matters the most

Instead of communicating in a simple, clear and concise way, being on point and to the point, Marta often drifted towards talking too much. That resulted in the wrong selection of words and instances where she froze as she struggled to find more and more words to use. We worked on ways to apply the “less is more” concept.

Simplicity always wins over complexity. It’s like a game where the main rule is to convey your message with the least possible words. That’s the goal and mindfulness helped in that direction. Marta learned to be flexible and creative without overtalking. Picking the right word or explaining what she wants to say with less words if she can’t find the exact wording helped her transition from ambiguous speech to be on point and to the point.

She learned ways to expand her vocabulary sustainably without memorising words and adopt mindful sentence structures that helped her avoid long, complex sentences and meanings with no clearly stated call to action.

EXTRA POINT:

When asked why she chose to work with a language coach instead of opting for a language school or an English teacher, she was clear: working with a language coach made things more fun and inspiring and that motivated her to do her best and achieve those impressive results. 

The results: “Even my native English speaking friends saw a big difference in my English!”

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

In just 12 weeks (my 90-day coaching programme), Marta managed to

– Improve her public speaking and presentation skills significantly.  

– Improve and refine her vocabulary sustainably, knowing how to learn new words and use them in the proper context, be it when delegating tasks to her team or when presenting in front of an audience at work.

– Boost her confidence with English and use it as a language of her own not just as the means to communicate with others at work. Instead of dreading the possible negative outcomes when speaking English, she now enjoys the language and uses it easily at work and beyond.

– Open up and embrace her English level and use it the best way she can. Her level was already good enough and she managed to make the most out of it without feeling the urge to study more grammar, syntax and rules.

– Go out of her comfort zone and seize new opportunities for meaningful conversations and relationships.

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 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. Ask Marta about it! 

How you can benefit, too

As in the case of Marta, 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 get themselves together and regain their lost confidence in their 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 with supporting you to improve 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 then to improve 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 has a positive effect on 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 Marta would YOU like to be (become)? The troubled one at the beginning, who lacked confidence and mastery? Or the confident leader who can communicate with her team with mindfulness and showcase her talent and personality with her presentations and speeches in English?

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 Marta 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!