What happens if you don’t make your voice heard
The monthly project meeting is about to start and Anna expects to be contributing quite a lot this time. She’s a little nervous about having to do it in English, but she’s well prepared and feeling quietly confident that she’ll manage. Yet as the meeting unfolds Anna feels less and less satisfied with the way […]
Raising awareness for the situation of non-native speakers
Native English speakers often lack the experience of working in a foreign language. So they aren’t familiar with the difficulties involved. They hear you speaking English and are genuinely impressed by your language skills. But, unlike you, they don’t know that you would in fact like to say much more, but lack the vocabulary. And they […]
Three ways to handle intrusive questions
I expect we’ve all been there: you’re chatting to a colleague at lunch or a fellow participant at a conference when suddenly they come out with a question that you find much too personal. Perhaps How much do you earn? or When are you going to start a family? or Why aren’t you drinking tonight? Your first […]
