Hello, how are you doing?
I hope you're doing all right today and welcome back to Confident Business English.
My name is Anna. I'm your host and neuro language coach.
This is the practical podcast for senior managers who really want to build their confidence, but don't have very much free time.
On today's episode, I'm going to run through some really quick wins based on some of the most common problems that I hear all the time.
Let's crack on then, shall we?
Right then, just before we get started, I want to say thank you for tuning in every week.
I'm genuinely really happy to accompany you.
Maybe it's on your early morning fitness routine.
Maybe it's your drive into work.
That's a common one.
Your commute home, your lunch break, your dog walk.
Maybe you're doing the ironing.
I really appreciate you squeezing me in and it's really great to be here with you and I hope that you feel their podcast has helped you move forward this year.
A quick note as well about the schedule over the next few weeks.
Over the next three weeks, I'm going to be releasing little snippets.
These are five minute and under episodes full of business English tips and tricks.
I really hope that you enjoy those.
Then on the 15th of January, I'm going to be back with, let's say the full length episode.
Finally, if you want to get your hands on my little Christmas present for you before the end of the year, then make sure you sign up and become a free member of the podcast.
You're going to get the transcripts, you're going to get extra content and loads of other stuff as well.
I mean, really, why not?
Go to the link in the description box and sign up and join 9 ,000 other professionals around the world.
It's completely free.
Really, there's absolutely no excuses.
Okay, now we've got all of that out of the way.
Let's have a look at some of these quick wins.
My first quick win then is around mindset because I know what you're like.
You're a bit of a perfectionist, you work hard, you expect a certain standard.
And what this means is that you're probably always focusing on where you're not right now.
Like, yeah, but I'm not exactly where I want to be.
Or it's not quite right, or I'm still not quite good enough.
The best advice I received about progress is that progress is backwards.
Where were you last year compared to this year?
And I invite you to reflect on that.
Maybe you've had some really big wins.
Maybe you've got a new job.
Maybe you're now working on a new project in English.
Maybe you've gone from giving no presentations to a lot of presentations.
But also don't overlook the little things.
Are you preparing less?
This is often a really good sign to see if somebody is more confident.
Not meaning that you're not preparing the way that you should, but just that you're not doing that classic over preparing thing that I know you probably do, like staying awake until three in the morning, or staying up really late on a Sunday night to prepare a presentation.
Are you using words that you didn't use last year?
Are you just feeling a little bit more relaxed and calm rather than anxious and tight when you have to speak English?
Or maybe it's just that you're not as concerned who you're speaking in front of.
Maybe in the past you would have been like, oh, I really don't want to speak in front of the executive board committee.
But maybe you feel that that pressure has just gone down a little bit.
Or maybe you're saying yes to more things.
It's like maybe you work in the UK and your colleagues say, do you want to go for a drink after work?
And you say, yeah, great.
Or maybe your boss says, do you want to give a presentation at the next meeting?
And you're like, yeah, okay, great.
So often I find that one way to see progress is that, like saying yes to things that you used to say no to voluntarily.
The progress is backwards technique also avoids this over comparison with your colleagues, because it really doesn't matter how everybody else speaks English.
It's not productive at all to think about it like that.
It's where you are.
Where are you last year?
Where are you this year?
I really invite you to reflect on that before the end of the year.
Next quick win on the list.
One of the biggest things I'm hearing a lot at the moment is presentations.
I'm fine speaking in front of some people, but then when I'm in front of the executive team, for example, I have a lot of pressure and it's just not the same.
Well, of course, that's normal.
You're going to be under pressure anyway, even if it were in your own language.
My biggest piece of advice for this is if you have to give a lot of presentations, and this is something that's on your list for next year, sign up to a Toastmasters club.
I've recommended this to a few of my clients.
I go to a Toastmasters club myself.
This is a baptism of fire.
You will learn to give presentations and the best part is it's outside of the work environment.
You can make mistakes and essentially it's not going to cost you your promotion, or it's not going to affect the way that the team views you or whatever.
This is the beautiful thing about Toastmasters.
What it's really going to do is it's going to help you build your confidence speaking in English in front of other people.
That's the gold part.
It's not even just presentation skills either.
You network with the people that are in the club.
You have to do other things rather than just giving speeches.
But again, coming back to the key thing, it's about building confidence speaking in front of other people.
At the beginning, you're going to hate it.
I hated it at the beginning.
It's really uncomfortable.
Who wants to speak in front of other people for fun?
I mean, really. But trust me, if this is something that's on your list that you want to improve, I really don't see a better way or a better thing that you could do outside of the work environment and outside of doing English coaching.
I'll put a link in the description box for you to have a look, but they have online meetings.
They have face -to -face ones, so I'm sure there's one that you can join from wherever you are in the world.
Next quick win. This is hot off the press.
I got a question from Alberto this week on LinkedIn, so thanks very much for that.
You said, how can I motivate an employee?
I will give you some vocabulary here and I'm going to focus on the classics.
You're doing a great job.
And we say job here, not work.
You're doing a great job.
You're doing an excellent job.
You're doing a fantastic job.
Keep up the good work.
You could even say, you're excellent at what you do.
We just need to keep going until the end of the year, and then we can box everything off.
Box off, by the way, just means finish, like box off.
It's like, check, done.
Or, you know, I know it's tough.
I know that we're going through a difficult time, but we just need to keep going until the end of the year.
But you're doing a great job.
You're great at what you do, and I trust you to make it work.
Next week when is based on one of my clients I've been working with recently, who has to have some negotiations with people.
And she's like, Anna, how can I object to things without being rude or coming across as a little bit abrasive, let's say.
My number one tip here is you need to move away from saying, yeah, but, but, yeah, but I don't agree with you.
It's fine. It serves a purpose, but we can make it better than that.
So I would highly encourage you to use some of these phrases, like, I really understand your concern, however, I appreciate where you're coming from, but, I see what you mean, but from my perspective, you're completely wrong.
I get your point, but I'm afraid I don't agree.
Translated, I don't agree with you at all.
I think you're completely wrong, but we're going to say it in an elegant way.
Next up, this is a quick win, and I've actually had a few questions about this interestingly, which is how to give a farewell speech.
Farewell is like saying goodbye.
You're leaving the company, you're moving on, pastor's new and all of that.
What can you say? Well, I've whipped up a little example for you, and I will put it in the newsletter as well as a little template.
So I'm going to imagine that I'm leaving.
You might say something like, well, after six years here, I've decided to move on and try something new or go into a new sector.
And I just want to say a huge thanks to everybody here, especially John, my boss, Maria in the finance team.
And even though it has been challenging at times, and there's definitely been some ups and downs, it's been a real privilege to work with all of you to create this department and build it up and grow it to what it is now.
I just wanted to take a moment as well to thank you all of the team in the London office as well, because you've been really, really helpful.
And finally, I wish you all the best.
Thanks again, take care and keep in touch.
Something along those lines, short and sweet to the point, recognizing people's achievements and then that nice little close.
I wish you all the best.
Thanks again and take care.
Adios, ciao ciao, bye bye.
Sometimes it's quite nice, right?
Underneath, you might be thinking, well, I can't wait to move on and go to a different company or join a new firm or, you know, because sometimes you just need a change, right?
Sometimes you've probably worked as a senior manager up to the point that you can take it.
And then you want a new challenge, something which is going to sort of reignite your fire again.
Next quick win is related to a big problem people have or a big fear, which is starting a new job.
And maybe you're here listening to this thinking, well, I've got to start a new job next year.
How can you make a good first impression?
Well, my advice here is practice that introduction until it is automatic and you don't even have to think about it because you know full well that in those first two weeks, you're going to be having to give that introduction all the time.
Also have some questions in the bank for those little corridor conversations that you have or by the coffee machine so that you can manage those situations a little bit better.
And don't be afraid to ask the questions.
This is something I always say.
If you're worried about small talk, try and ask the questions rather than be hit with all the questions, which can be a little bit overwhelming.
It's counterintuitive, I know, but if you ask the questions, you tend to have more control over the conversation rather than being bombarded with a list of questions.
The next quick win is to address worrying about not sounding clear.
Because this is interesting, and I don't know whether you would agree with me, but I was with a client the other day and she said, people don't always tell you your colleagues if you're not on the right track.
And it's true. Sometimes people feel uncomfortable giving feedback.
You may have a trusted colleague, which is very happy to let you know if you're doing well or not, but sometimes you won't get feedback on your English.
So how do you know if you're being clear unless they ask you a question, of course, my biggest quick win, and I always come back to this, get the book The First Minute by Chris Fenning, give yourself a Christmas present.
That is going to help you with that.
I'll put the link in the description box.
The next quick win, maybe you're in this position where you're like, I just don't know what to focus on.
I don't know how to structure what I'm doing outside of my job to make sure that I'm moving forward.
And I get a lot of questions like, how can I practice speaking?
Well, speaking. How can I practice reading?
Well, reading, how can I practice listening?
Well, listening. But the thing is you need to be ruthless about the materials you choose.
You haven't got a lot of free time, so you really need to be selective and maximize the time that you do have with the resources that are actually going to move you forward.
If you're only getting Bridgerton or Game of Thrones in, don't expect miracles in your next board meeting.
My recommendation is rule of three, if you're thinking about your routine outside of work.
One resource should be industry related, so you're picking up some of that vocabulary in English related to your sector.
Second is business English related, and you've got that down here because you're listening to confident business English.
So that's done. Check.
And then the third one is just something for fun.
As always, and you will hear this with lots of other people, it's much better to have a short amount of time, but be consistent than do a lot in one day.
It's much better for your brain and your brain is going to remember more that way.
That's it for today then.
I hope you enjoyed those quick wins and I'm going to put some of them in the newsletter as well as a little bonus Christmas present with some phrases that will help you in meetings.
It's like a one sheet saves all.
If you want to sign up and get the newsletter and join our community of 9 ,000 professionals around the world, go to the link in the description box and sign up.
It's been an absolute pleasure as always, and I really hope that if you're taking any time off over the next few weeks that you can really relax and disconnect, because I'm sure you've been very busy this year and under a lot of pressure.
So I hope that you can really cherish that time.
Keep a lookout for those little snippet episodes coming up over the next few weeks if you want to check back in.
It's also the perfect time to catch up on any episodes that you have missed.
Lots of exciting things as well coming up in 2025 that I can't wait to share with you.
So please do take care and I will speak to you very very soon.
Bye bye.
