Many people lack self-confidence in their ability to speak English. And, as a result, speaking English at work can be intimidating. For lots of people, even when they have good English, it is much easier to understand conversations in English than to speak in English. Are you in that case? Do you dread having to speak English to your clients? Follow our advice to overcome your fears and finally feel at ease when speaking in English at work!
Don’t try to speak perfect English
During your professional conversations in English, you are afraid you will not find the right words and use the wrong tenses? You shouldn’t worry, speaking English at work is not about using perfect grammar and syntax. When you speak in English to your clients, what matters above all is to make yourself understood. In addition, business English tends to be much more straightforward than literary English. This is because business English is used by many people of different nationalities and different native languages to communicate together. Keep it simple and avoid trying to use sentences that are too complex. Also, don’t mimic the English or American accent and try to have a perfect pronunciation that could sound very artificial. In Business English, what you say is often more important than how you say it!
Know the expressions frequently used in English conversations with Clients
If you do not need to have very sophisticated English to have conversations in English with clients, it is essential to know a few basic expressions frequently used in meetings such as:
- To greet someone -> Hello, how are you?
- To answer the question “How are you?” -> I’m fine, thank you
- When you meet someone for the first time -> Nice to meet you
- A polite way of offering something to drink -> Can I get you some water or coffee?
- Introducing a meeting -> The agenda for our meeting today is…
- Another way to introduce the key topics of a meeting -> The points we must discuss today are…
- Giving your opinion on a point that was discussed -> I agree / I don’t agree
- A polite way of saying you are waiting for an answer -> I look forward to hearing from you
- To thank the person at the end of the meeting -> Thank you for coming
For your professional conversations in English to go well, make sure to review beforehand the expressions you will have to use!
Practice with a private English tutor
But the best way to feel comfortable speaking English is without doubt to practice with a private tutor! The Live-English.net teachers can help you gain more confidence to speak in English. They will give you many tips and tricks that will help you every day. By practicing regularly with a native English-speaking teacher and by learning the vocabulary you need for your conversations in English at work, speaking English will no longer be a problem! With just a class a week, you should be able to improve very quickly!
Live-English.net is an online English school whose goal is to help professionals improve their confidence in English. Check out the reviews from Live-English.net‘s students.
