Understanding the Language Barrier
For many speakers, communicating in a non-native language harms their effectiveness. It hinders their fluency and confidence. It slow down their pace. It interferes with their ability to respond well to questions and offer quick smart responses. Put simply, it plants a doubt in their own head that they can actually do it well. The language barrier arises prominently in vocabulary choices, idioms, and slang. As mentioned in previous posts, the speaker should ideally adjust their style, and language, too, to the speaking conditions — the venue, the audience, the topic and more. Feeling unconfident in a language takes away this freedom, turning the speaker “survival mode” on.
While it is perfectly normal not to be as proficient and fluent in one’s second language, we all strive to sound as natural as possible in that language when lecturing, pitching, talking in front of an audience, or even when going out for a beer with the people from the site you are visiting for work. Choosing sophisticated vocabulary makes you sound smarter (beware of trying too hard), using idioms, makes you professional, and slang make you sound up-to-date. And pronunciation? what about pronunciation?
The Distinction Between Professional and Everyday Language
While possessing a strong command of professional jargon is advantageous in the workplace, it’s not the be-all and end-all. Everyday conversations is still an integral part of the ability to communicate, even at work or in professional lectures during the lecture or in the small talk that precedes. Moreover, even professional jargon may include tongue-twisters, difficult to pronounce (even if perfectly understandable when red), borrowed idiomatic expressions, whose context in the conversation matters, and cultural usage of terms and phrases. Therefore, preparing to interacting in a second language involves much more than just the vocabulary needed for professional interactions; it requires a deeper understanding of cultural context and nuance.
The Rain in Spain Stays Mainly in the Plain
Practicing your second language is crucial, and here’s where the creativity of language can shine through. Just as Eliza Doolittle found her voice in My Fair Lady, regular practice can help you overcome speaking challenges. As great as it sounds it can get very impractical, as we all race through our daily schedules, always busy, never having enough time. To optimize your preparation to speaking in a second language, you should focus on things that matter most first.
Take-Stage is a great place to start. It identifies your language strengths and weaknesses, including pronunciation, and help you focus your preparation time on what will make you a memorable speaker.