Amazing Tips to Overcome Your Fear of Speaking English for Business

Do you fear speaking English? Does the thought of using your English skills at a business meeting, presentation, or with prospective clients make you nervous?  

It may reassure you to know that the stress of speaking English (or any other non-native language) is very common in the world of language learning. According to research, as many as 80-85% of students suffer from this anxiety.  

However, if you want to achieve fluency in English for business, you must overcome your fear of Speaking English and speak more frequently. Otherwise, you may never achieve your language learning objectives or realise your true job potential. So, how can you get over your fear of speaking English, improve your fluency and meet new clients?  Or, do you confidently express yourself in business meetings and offer presentations? Let’s look into it in detail. 

How Can You Overcome Your Fear of Speaking English?

• Identify your fear

Overcome your fear by examining what you’re truly afraid of. You may face your fears about speaking English and learn how to deal with them more successfully if you can identify them. You can, for example, change your negative self-conversation into words of encouragement or summon the strength to face your worries. 

Are you afraid of being embarrassed and forgetting everything? Are you concerned that you don’t have a large enough vocabulary in English? Are you concerned about offending someone? 

• Practise alone first

If you're afraid of making mistakes when speaking English, why not start by practising on your own? Before speaking to a native English speaker, you'll enhance your pronunciation, create muscle memory, and increase your fluency. Your confidence will also grow exponentially as a result of the process.

Polyglots and experienced language learners enjoy shadowing (repeating audio after the speaker) and reading aloud into their language learning practice.

• Find a language exchange partner

Speaking English in a corporate setting can be intimidating, especially if you are not confident in your abilities. That is why, before attempting to use your language abilities at work, you should consider honing them in a more informal setting.

To get the most out of the experience, make sure you and your speaking partner are comfortable with each other and share common interests to keep the conversation flowing.

• Join the English learning community

Joining a pleasant online community is a great method to enhance your language abilities and obtain peer support.

They give you a wonderful opportunity to practise your English, meet language exchange partners, and improve your skills even if you are confined to your home due to a lockdown.

On various learning apps and Facebook, there are numerous English learning communities. Simply use the search option to locate the best group for you.

• Get plenty of input in English 

Create your own immersion environment by absorbing as much English language as possible. This will improve your listening skills and assist you in acquiring your new language rather than simply learning it. 

As a result, you’re more likely to achieve fluency in English sooner and learning new vocabulary and absorbing grammatical structures will be much easier and more natural. Spend time listening to English podcasts, watching English shows on Netflix or YouTube, and reading English books, blogs, and newspapers to keep your skills sharp. Listening to TED Talks is alos an effective and enjoyable way to improve your spoken English skills.

• Speak slowly and with smile

When communicating in English, remember to smile, speak gently, and have a cheerful and open expression on your face.

This provides you more time to think about what you want to say, calms your anxiety, and aids in the development of your fluency.

You'll also leave a pleasant impression, which can help smooth over any misunderstandings and make it easier to form new partnerships.

• Forget perfection

If you want to enhance your English language abilities for business, you must make mistakes. They are one of the greatest ways to learn because they highlight any areas in your English education that require more attention.

• Stay calm 

When you are stressed, your body releases chemicals to prepare you for fight or flight, and blood is rerouted from your brain to your muscles. Hence, you won't be able to think properly and are more likely to forget your existing English.

Unfortunately, business environments can cause anxiety in some people, which is why it's critical to develop techniques to manage your nerves so you can speak English more fluently.

Look for tried-and-true ways to stay calm, such as deep breathing and counting to ten, positive self-talk, and questioning negative thoughts.

• Just keep speaking 

Practice your speaking skills as often as possible to desensitise yourself to your fear of speaking English for business and feel less apprehensive when the time comes to utilise the language.

By exposing yourself to your fear this way, your brain will realise that speaking in English for business isn't so frightening, even if you make a few mistakes. You'll also gain valuable experience, build confidence, and improve your spoken English skills.

• Apply your new skills

Once you’ve built your confidence by using Mondly, getting plenty of input, and taking part in language exchanges, you can start using them in a business English setting.

Although this can feel daunting at first, you’ll be able to put your newly learned skills and English vocabulary for business into use and take your English skills to a whole new level.

Conclusion

Now that you have known the tips on how to overcome your fears of speaking English for business, you can apply these tips in real time and make yourself confident enough to speak fluently in front of clients. Still, if you face any issues and want some proper guidance to brush up on your English speaking skills, join FastInfo class and achieve perfection in business English in a few months.