Believe me, when I say that you are better at English than you think! The matter of the fact is, that the human brain is wired to absorb and focus on the negative, when all we really want to know is what’s going right. We tend to disregard what we do correctly. Unfortunately, we put weight on the times that we don’t succed. Today, we look at how to focus on your victories and how to apply that to gain more confidence.
In my coaching, I always work on one thing particularly. Ultimately, it’s a matter of you focusing on the resources that you possess. What I have observed is, that people forget one important advantage that they have. That is the ability to recognize the thought patterns that prevent them from gaining success.
By being aware of those tracks of thought, you will have the opportunity to elemininate them. You can do this by working with what you know and can do, in order to replace your doubts with your strengths. It is NOT a matter of disallowing yourself to question yourself, it’s about learning to redirect your focus to the creativity that comes with communication. That is exactly what I coach in addition to the language. See more about the coaching at English Attained right here.
I hve met people, who doubt their English skills for various reasons. Some people are unfamiliar with speaking a foreign language. Others, have received undeserved criticism for their efforts to speak English. Here comes an introduction as to how you can raise your self-awareness:
Item One
If people have told you that you aren’t good at English, then forget what they told you. Start by clearing your mind and reflecting on what you have done right: the times that you have understood what you have read or heard… and the times, what you have said or written was understood by other people. Every ounce of success that you experience implies, that you are capable of learning the language.
English has become an international language, that we all encounter to various degrees. The matter of the fact is, that we are exposed to English across countless of channels, be it TV, radio or newspapers. So there is a real probability that you have encountered English, but haven’t paid attention to the times you have you have read, heard, written or spoken English. With this in mind, try to be aware of it next time.
Item two
Don’t critize yourself. DON’T! Once you realize that you shouldn’t let other’s criticism define you, I want for you to realize that you shouldn’t criticize yourself. I want you to look at what you are doing right. If you can’t see what that is, then get in contact with a coach. A great coach will hear you speak and guide you to ask yourself questions, questions that make you correct your errors without much help. THAT is the foundation you need to gain the confidence to get the habit of speaking English and improving your communication technique.
Item three
Test your English skills. That doesn’t literally mean that you should take an actual test. Read a book and see how well you can paint the image of the story in your mind, provided the words written by the author. You should remove the subtitles from an English movie, and try to notice how much of the plot and the details you understand. Listen to a podcast and reflect on how well you understand the content.
Think of a word in your native language and try to translate that word into English based on your intuition. Check the dictionary to check whether your answer is correct. Whatever you do, do NOT use autocorrect, text prediction, or artifical intelligence. It is a quick solution, but it certainly doesn’t help in learning to speak or write.
So, there you have it. These are my three main starting points in coaching English communication. If you would like to know more, please contact your coach, Katrine, by pressing the green button below.