Case Study: How Marta started speaking English naturally & confidently in just 12 weeks
“This is my personal “Bible”!”. Regardless of being a religious person or not, having faith is super important for achieving your goals. Be it a professional career goal or a personal goal, such as mastering a language other than your native one.
Believing in yourself is of utmost importance and highly essential in language learning. This is why Marta called our mindful and personalised work together her “Bible”. The toolkit that we designed and worked on together helped her gain faith and confidence in herself and excel at her job.
You see, in most cases, it is NOT poor grammar or vocabulary to blame for not being able to communicate in English, naturally and confidently. It is the lack of confidence that generates fear, making people reluctant to pursue their goals, stressed and depressed.
Let’s talk about Marta, a wonderful client I have recently been working with. First, let me assure you that this is a real example, and Marta’s story is 100% true, albeit without her full name. Organisational policies make things complicated sometimes. Such were her thoughts and feelings, too, when she first contacted me via the free discovery call.
Can you relate to Marta and her challenges?
Marta works in Human Resources at a pharmaceutical organisation based in Zurich, Switzerland. She is Italian though and works from home, based herself in the Italian-speaking part of the country. For those of you who may not know, Switzerland is a beautiful mix of people, speaking one or more (most of the times) of the official languages. It’s also a melting pot of people from all around the world, bringing a lot of talent and diversity into their workplaces.
This is the exact case with Marta. An Italian herself, she now lives in Ticino. Her beautiful Italian language sometimes makes it harder for her to communicate effectively, although her English language level is high. When it comes to talking and, most importantly, speaking in English at work, she did not feel confident.
If I could pick one phrase from her sayings, right at the beginning of working together, that would be “I’m not sure if…”. Can you relate? Marta, a highly-skilled, intelligent and empathetic HR professional, kept feeling unsure about her own skills and competencies, which hindered her professional progress.
She felt unsure about her English vocabulary and if her English grammar knowledge sufficed or needed to study more and upgrade. I assure you they sufficed. She even succumbed to self-doubt, that she could not live up to her bosses’ expectations when it came to presenting a case or proposal or negotiating.
Marta told me she always had a million ideas to share, but something was blocking her from expressing it the right way. After exploring these issues, we found out that the reasons behind all this were lying within her and how she responded to her boss.
Let me explain with a real-life example.
A real story: an important meeting going completely wrong
Once, Marta was at an important meeting with her boss and top-level managers from other departments. A lot was at stake since they had to work on the new hiring and benefits policy. She has extensive experience working in interdepartmental settings, and she can easily connect the dots between HR, finance and operations.
She told me she had prepared many proposals that would really help the company level up their workforce satisfaction and productivity alike while keeping costs under control. She started straightforwardly presenting her proposals and felt everything went fine. Everyone seemed to listen carefully and discreetly nod positively.
Then her boss started asking questions, one after the other. Her bosses’ American culture and talking speed made it impossible for her to respond effectively. She could not follow the pace of the questions while thinking of her response and still looking professional and competent.
In the end, things didn’t turn out as planned. Although there was a positive vibe in the room, the blockage she felt when trying to respond in perfect English and with professionalism was that strong that actually made her boss pause the discussion and reschedule for another meeting.
Marta wondered what happened, then felt frustrated but also disappointed with her performance and started self-doubting. What if the same would happen the next time again? Stress and anxiety started creeping in.
After analysing the circumstances with Marta, we managed to get to the root of all evil. What happened was that her approach was not the appropriate one. Coming from an Italian culture and language background, Marta and her talking style was very straightforward, that other English native speakers (including her boss) did not understand and/or appreciate. They could not follow her train of thought. Then, they had to bombard her with questions, and the rest is history.
There was nothing wrong with her vocabulary, grammar or accent. What she needed to change was her communication style in English. A style that would let her personality and competence shine instead of making her look incompetent, rude or robotic.
What worked wonders for Marta
Here is how we approached the road to her success. All it took me was to ask Marta the right questions, make her feel comfortable (even online) in a kind, safe and non-judgemental environment and come up with a customised strategy we started implementing right away.
Personalised toolkit
In language learning, there is no one-size-fits-all strategy. Every individual is a different case that needs a personalised approach. Instead of working on generic English language skills (she was already outstanding), I focused on creating a personalised toolkit for Marta. It would include all those strategies, tips and tools she could use to improve her English communication style by tackling her challenges one by one.
Breathing pattern
The first thing we tackled was how she let herself feel, and her body reacts to the stressful situation of taking part in important business meetings with her boss and stakeholders. Instead of feeling stressed to the bone, Marta learned to control her breathing and pause. Your breath is your best friend. Pausing at regular intervals to take a breath sends more oxygen to your brain, making you feel calmer and more focused. Controlling your breath and keeping a steady breathing pace helps you manage your body and mind. Aligning these two is a significant step towards getting in control of yourself and the conversation that is taking place.
Focus on listening
Communication means a two-way interaction. Both parties must talk and listen. Only then they both can get their message across. In the case of Marta, we worked on creating a mindset that allows her to listen to her boss carefully and mindfully. Even though it takes her (the boss) a lot of time to make a point. Listening is one of the essential communication skills. Falsely, most people believe that they only communicate with another person when they talk. Being a good listener helps you have a better context of the conversation, prepare for your mindful response and look more engaged.
Mindful responses
Marta found it hard to respond to all the questions her boss asked her at a swift pace. Trying to do it made her lose her focus entirely. Listening helps, as I wrote above. But also, acknowledging that you may not have the answers to every possible question on the spot is a game-changer. Marta learned to respond in no rush but at her own pace, often needing a minute or two to gather her thoughts. She also learned to get more elaborate with her responses. One of the challenges was to explain her train of thought. She usually jumped right at the solution or proposal, which puzzled her colleagues and boss. It was not easy coming from a more straightforward culture, but we made it happen with practice and the right exercises. We called it the “going backwards” approach, and it certainly worked!
Ask questions
There are no Frequently Asked Questions in an important meeting or negotiation; I love to say. Whenever you don’t know or understand something, just ask. Because of her lack of confidence, Marta didn’t ask clarifying questions, often missing the point. Asking questions certainly doesn’t make you seem incompetent. Instead, it shows you are actively and passionately engaged in the conversation and paying attention to the details. Marta learned to do it, and she found this insider tip of mine very helpful: asking questions to her boss by using her (bosses’) own words and expressions to make sure everyone is on the same page. That took enough burden off her shoulders because she didn’t have to think about which vocabulary and phrases to use in her questions.
Within all the areas of improvement mentioned above, Marta learned the appropriate yet smart phrases to use during an important conversation or negotiation. She can now use them in any situation, no matter how stressful or intense it might be.
The results: This is my “Bible”!
It’s super exciting to hear Marta say it. And the reason is not that I seek praise. It’s because Marta managed to overcome all of her challenges and get to the other side. And you know what? The other side is a place of personal accomplishment and prosperity. This is what makes me happy and fulfilled.
In just 12 weeks, Marta managed to
– Be fluent in her thoughts in English and take her time to develop an answer or explain her ideas very calm. Her speaking pace dropped to a slower speed, which helped her mind to sync with her mouth fully.
– Get over feeling intimidated by her boss or her boss when they ask her to contribute on the spot. She has mindfully learned to managed stressful situations, maintain her confidence and give a super credible response.
– Upgrade her vocabulary bank because she started thinking a step back. She is now more precise with the message she needs to get across and knows exactly how to do it. Instead of going straight to the points, she can now develop each idea, justify it in top-notch English and get full approval from her boss and the CE0.
– Adapt to how others have to digest her way of thinking. Instead of putting herself against them, trying to convince them about her opinion or proposal, she now listens mindfully and adapts her way of speaking and presenting her thoughts to her audience’s needs.
– Accept her cute Italian accent and the small mistakes she sometimes makes, embracing fully where she comes from.
Remember I talked about Marta’s lack of self-confidence at the beginning of this story? It’s gone.
Within 12 weeks, she transformed into a calm, more collected professional, enjoying sharing her views and even presenting almost daily to her team and the stakeholders!
She calls the toolkit we crafted her personal “Bible” because it contains comfort, guidance and solutions to all her fears and challenges.
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 career 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 definitely 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 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 like being as fluent in English as in your own 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 every 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. With our recorded practice exercises, you can track your progress from session to session. 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 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 what you believe.
At this point, I only have one question: Do you prefer to be like Marta at the beginning or the end of the story? Insecure, unsure, with little to no confidence? Or dynamic, confident and able to achieve your professional goals by overcoming the language blockage?
If anything of the above hit a nerve, let’s talk about it and sort things out. You can book a free, no-obligation discovery call here and chat with me for 30 minutes.
You may find it very short, but my years-long experience helps me identify your pain points and challenges quickly and provide some first-level guidance on the areas you must improve.
Book your free discovery call today, and let’s see how you can transform to the after-Marta of the story. The call is totally free, and you have no obligation to work with me or commit to anything. It will just be our first touchpoint, and I am looking forward to chatting with you!
