Imagine yourself discussing with your colleagues or negotiating with your boss. Or even pitching your work or a project of yours to the stakeholders. In English.

What do all these evoke to you? Fun and stimulating moments that you enjoy? Or uncomfortable experiences that make you feel stressed, frustrated or disappointed?

If it’s the second option, then you should keep reading. Simply because it doesn’t have to be that way.

Communicating with others at work should be an engaging experience and a win-win situation for both. The others benefit from what you say, as a highly-skilled professional and you receive acceptance, recognition and respect, which are the foundations for advancing and achieving your professional goals.

The challenge with most non-native professionals like you is that communicating in English becomes a blockage. A high brick wall that you feel you cannot climb to get to the other side. Something that blocks you from speaking or even speaking up.

What if you could finally overcome this blockage and find your authentic voice? A voice that feels like you, despite speaking in a language other than your native one?

The success equation

You may think it is a matter of grammar, vocabulary, practice or simply confidence.

Well, I have some good news for you. This blockage is certainly not a matter of memorising words or phrases, reading grammar books or just practising with your spouse or best friend.

Let me get things straight. Of course, you need to have a good knowledge of grammar. It certainly helps when you level up your vocabulary. And it definitely empowers your communication when you put all that in practice again and again.

There is, however, one critical element missing here. The success equation is incomplete. What is missing is confidence.

As with everything in life, confidence comes from being well prepared (that’s your knowledge) and practice, practice, practice.

But for these to work, you need the right mindset. Add some mindfulness in the recipe and ta-da, there you have it!

How mindfulness can help non-native professionals nail their English

Look, mindfulness might be the latest buzzword at the moment but I am not using it here as such.

Remember, I mentioned the right mindset above? Working on creating a mindful mindset can help you boost your confidence when you communicate in English, at work or elsewhere.

What if you could apply the main elements of mindfulness in your learning experience and communication with others, to feel the kindness and safety they can provide? Trust me, the blockage would go away. Slowly but surely. And for good.

It is all about acknowledging your current situation with English, feeling OK with it, being present in the moment when speaking English and having a kind, non-judgemental attitude.

Let me highlight 7 mindful ways to nail your English at work! Watch the video below but for more details on each of the tips, please scroll  below the video.

7 mindful ways for non-native professionals to nail English at work

1. Less is more

Effective communication wins over anything else. To achieve this, you just need to choose the most appropriate words to convey your message. There is no value in trying to use more words than necessary or find sophisticated ones. This will only add to your stress and blockage. Applying this minimalist approach can help you stay in the moment and on point and make it short. Your audience will love it and thank you for that (even if they will never really articulate it).

2. Use storytelling

Stories are engaging and have been that way for millenia. They work in any business situation and can empower you to get your message across while engaging your audience. Talking with stories makes it easier for you to stay in the present and find a smooth flow. This way, your communication becomes more human and natural. You just need to work on the pattern to tell your stories and phrases and words to make them cohesive.

3. Record your voice

Aligning mind and body can remove a lot of friction in your communication. The more familiar you become with yourself talking in English, the more relaxed and focused you will be next time. People often hate it when they listen to themselves on a recording, right? More so, when speaking a language other than their mother tongue. Getting over this embarrassment can help you align with your true self, with your non-perfect pronunciation or accent. Be gentle and kind to yourself. 

4. Record your body language

I have often seen professionals self-sabotage because they don’t feel good with their body or at least the image they have of themselves. Just love who you are! Record yourself on a video with your smartphone while talking about a topic in English. Then watch it to get familiar with how you look. Find the posture that makes you feel more relaxed and comfortable. The next time you will need to communicate in English, you will see that a huge burden has been taken off your shoulders. Then, you can focus only on what matters the most: your message.

5. Work on your voice

Although you may not realise it, your voice also adds loads of points to your communication when talking in English. Talk a lot, fast, and you will get lost trying to find the right vocabulary quickly. Opt for a slower pace and a more gentle and smooth, yet confident, tone of voice. The best pace is a steady one with pauses. This helps you stay in control of what you say and be present in the moment. In addition, learn to articulate well but bear in mind that you don’t have to aim at sounding like a native speaker. Your perfectly imperfect personal differentiation is what makes you memorable. Set the right goal and go for it. You will make mistakes, and it is perfectly OK. Remember, you need to treat yourself gently.

6. Be interactive

If you talk too much, you will miss the point without letting others interact with you during a conversation or negotiation. Communicating, more so in a foreign language, includes listening, too. Being a good listener helps you create a better context, which can only add to your arguments. This enables you to control your body and breathing, stay in the moment and use these small pauses to recharge and prepare for the response. More time to get back to the present moment, should you get lost again, means more chances to feel good and like yourself again. You become more aware of the situation and what has been said up until that moment, so you maintain control.

7. Choose words wisely

Communication is all about how you, yourself, feel and how you make your audience feel, too. Choosing words that convey trust helps you engage more with them and increases the chances of genuine interest from their side. Avoid using negative words or words with a negative notion. Instead, opt for positive words that make you focus on the positive side of things. Last but not least, use words that reflect your personality. Don’t just use fancy words or words that make you sound proficient. If you speak like you would speak to a friend of yours or your mom (maintaining the appropriate formality level, of course), you will get your message across more quickly and efficiently.

So, that was it. Now you know. How do you feel? Do you see the light at the end of the tunnel?

It is essential to understand how important it is to make both your learning experience and the actual moments of getting your message across in English meaningful.

Here at ProEnglish, this is also my end-goal. To empower non-native highly- skilled professionals like you to claim what they deserve in their career by breaking down the language blockage, in a safe, kind and trustful environment.

I am Vera Daskalaki, your Mindful English Coach. You, being here and reading this, really means a lot to me.

Let me know if anything of the above hit a nerve and feel free to send me any questions. But before anything else, start working on the mindful mindset today. Action is the only way forward.

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