English Podcast For Learning English | English Leap Podcast | Overcome Your Fear of Speaking English — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:03hi everyone and welcome back to another
2. 0:05episode of speak English with class I'm
3. 0:08Jennifer and I'm Marco today we're
4. 0:11diving into a topic that I'm sure hits
5. 0:13close to home for a lot of you my mind
6. 0:16goes blank when I try to speak English
7. 0:18oh this one's a biggie Marco you know
8. 0:20it's that moment when you're all set to
9. 0:22speak English you've rehearsed what
10. 0:23you're going to say maybe even practiced
11. 0:26in your head but as soon as you open
12. 0:28your mouth
13. 0:32nothing your mind just goes blank
14. 0:35exactly it's like your brain decides to
15. 0:36take an unplanned vacation just when you
16. 0:38need it the most you know Jennifer mm
17. 0:41this reminds me of the time I had my
18. 0:42first job interview in English I had
19. 0:45prepared so much even rehearsed answers
20. 0:47in front of the mirror but when the
21. 0:49interviewer asked me the first question
22. 0:51my mind went completely blank I just
23. 0:53stared at him like a deer in headlights
24. 0:56oh no Marco what did you do well I
25. 0:58panicked for a second but then I just
26. 1:00blurted out I'm sorry could you repeat
27. 1:02the question it bought me a little time
28. 1:05to gather my thoughts and I was able to
29. 1:07get through it but man that was
30. 1:08nerve-wracking uh-huh that's such a
31. 1:10relatable story I had a similar
32. 1:13experience when I first moved to Paris I
33. 1:15was in a bakery and I wanted to order a
34. 1:17croissant simple right mhm but when it
35. 1:20was my turn I just froze my mind went
36. 1:23completely blank and I ended up pointing
37. 1:25at the display and saying one of those
38. 1:28please the baker gave me the funniest
39. 1:30look that's priceless it just goes to
40. 1:33show that no matter how prepared you are
41. 1:36sometimes your brain just decides to
42. 1:37take a break but don't worry today we're
43. 1:40going to explore why this happens and
44. 1:41share some practical tips to help you
45. 1:43keep the conversation going even when
46. 1:45your mind seems to check out absolutely
47. 1:48so if you've ever found yourself in this
48. 1:50situation keep listening because we've
49. 1:52got some great strategies to help you
50. 1:54stay cool and confident when speaking
51. 1:56English all right let's get into it
52. 1:59first things first Jennifer why does our
53. 2:00mind go blank when we try to speak a
54. 2:02foreign language especially English well
55. 2:04Marco it's usually a combination of
56. 2:07nerves and cognitive overload when
57. 2:09you're trying to speak a language that's
58. 2:11not your native one your brain is doing
59. 2:13a lot of work it's processing grammar
60. 2:15vocabulary pronunciation and all of that
61. 2:18in real time if you add a little
62. 2:20pressure like speaking in front of
63. 2:22someone or trying to impress your boss
64. 2:24your brain can just freeze up it's like
65. 2:26trying to run multiple apps on an old
66. 2:28computer eventually something's going to
67. 2:30crash that makes total sense it's like
68. 2:33trying to juggle too many balls at once
69. 2:35eventually one or two are going to hit
70. 2:37the ground and let's be honest the fear
71. 2:40of making mistakes doesn't help either
72. 2:42you're so worried about saying the wrong
73. 2:43thing that your brain just says you know
74. 2:45what I'm out of here exactly so let's
75. 2:49talk about how to overcome this blank
76. 2:51mind syndrome one great tip is to
77. 2:53prepare some go-to phrases in advance
78. 2:56think of them as your safety net if your
79. 2:58mind goes blank you can can rely on
80. 3:00these phrases to keep the conversation
81. 3:02going for example if you're struggling
82. 3:04to find the right words you could say
83. 3:06let me think about that for a moment or
84. 3:09I'm not sure how to say this but these
85. 3:12phrases buy you time and keep the
86. 3:14conversation flowing that's such a
87. 3:16useful tip it's like having a Lifeline
88. 3:18when you're stuck let's try a quick
89. 3:20example imagine you're in a meeting and
90. 3:22someone asks for your opinion on a
91. 3:24project instead of panicking you could
92. 3:26say that's a great question let me take
93. 3:28a second to gather my thoughts
94. 3:30this gives you a moment to breathe and
95. 3:32think before diving into your answer
96. 3:34exactly and here's another tip practice
97. 3:37speaking in low pressure situations the
98. 3:40more you practice the more comfortable
99. 3:41you'll get start by talking to yourself
100. 3:44in the mirror narrating your day or even
101. 3:46chatting with a pet for example you
102. 3:49might say I'm making breakfast now I
103. 3:51need to fry some eggs and make coffee
104. 3:54these low pressure situations help you
105. 3:56get used to speaking without the fear of
106. 3:57judgment that's a great way to build
107. 4:00confidence I remember when I first
108. 4:02started learning Italian I would
109. 4:03practice by narrating everything I was
110. 4:05doing I'd say things like now I'm
111. 4:08brushing my teeth or I'm going to the
112. 4:10store to buy some bread it felt a bit
113. 4:12silly at first but it really helped me
114. 4:14get used to forming sentences in Italian
115. 4:17that's a great example Marco and if you
116. 4:19want to make it even more fun try
117. 4:21shadowing exercises this is where you
118. 4:23listen to a native speaker and repeat
119. 4:25what they say as closely as possible
120. 4:28it's like being their shadow you copy
121. 4:30their pronunciation intonation and
122. 4:32Rhythm let's say you're watching an
123. 4:34episode of your favorite show in English
124. 4:37pick a character and try to mimic
125. 4:38everything they say this not only helps
126. 4:41with pronunciation but also with fluency
127. 4:44oh I've done that before I used to
128. 4:46Shadow characters from TV shows to
129. 4:48practice my English accent I remember
130. 4:50trying to mimic Joey from Friends you
131. 4:52know with his famous line how you doing
132. 4:55it was a lot of fun and it really helped
133. 4:57me improve my accent and intonation
134. 4:59that's awesome marco and speaking of
135. 5:01tools here's another essential tip focus
136. 5:04on the message not the exact words
137. 5:07sometimes we get so caught up in trying
138. 5:08to find the perfect word that we lose
139. 5:10sight of what we're trying to
140. 5:11communicate remember the goal is to get
141. 5:14your message across let's say you forget
142. 5:16the word refrigerator instead of
143. 5:19freezing up you could say the thing in
144. 5:21the kitchen that keeps food cold it
145. 5:23might not be perfect but it gets the
146. 5:25point across that's a great Point
147. 5:26Jennifer it reminds me of the time I was
148. 5:29trying to describe a microwave in
149. 5:30Spanish I couldn't remember the word so
150. 5:33I said the box that makes food hot
151. 5:35quickly the person I was talking to
152. 5:38laughed but they understood what I meant
153. 5:41it's all about improvising when
154. 5:42necessary exactly and that brings us to
155. 5:45another key tip learn to breathe and
156. 5:47slow down when your mind goes blank it's
157. 5:50easy to start rushing or getting
158. 5:52flustered but slowing down gives you
159. 5:54time to think and reduces the pressure
160. 5:57for instance if you're giving a
161. 5:59presentation and lose your train of
162. 6:00thought just pause take a deep breath
163. 6:02and then continue your audience will
164. 6:04appreciate the clarity and you'll feel
165. 6:06more in
166. 6:07control yes speaking slowly can make a
167. 6:10huge difference you're not in a race so
168. 6:12take your time and here's a fun tip use
169. 6:15humor to diffuse the situation if you
170. 6:17forget a word or stumble laugh it off
171. 6:20for example if you mix up desert and
172. 6:22dessert you could say well I guess I was
173. 6:24craving sand instead of cake it takes
174. 6:27the pressure off and shows that you're
175. 6:28confident enough to handle mistakes
176. 6:31that's such good advice and honestly
177. 6:33most people will appreciate your effort
178. 6:35and won't mind if you make a few
179. 6:36mistakes they might even help you out by
180. 6:38suggesting the word you're looking for
181. 6:41exactly and here's something else to
182. 6:43remember visualize success before you
183. 6:45speak take a moment to picture yourself
184. 6:47confidently having the conversation
185. 6:49visualization can be a powerful tool to
186. 6:51help reduce anxiety and boost your
187. 6:54confidence imagine yourself in a meeting
188. 6:56speaking fluently and engagingly and
189. 6:59your mind is less likely to freeze up
190. 7:00when the time comes visualization is
191. 7:03such a powerful technique it's like
192. 7:05rehearsing in your mind before the
193. 7:07actual performance and speaking of
194. 7:09preparation let's not forget the
195. 7:11importance of expanding your
196. 7:13vocabulary sometimes our minds go blank
197. 7:16simply because we don't have the words
198. 7:18we need the more vocabulary you know the
199. 7:21easier it is to express yourself for
200. 7:23instance if you're learning words
201. 7:25related to business make sure you know
202. 7:27different ways to talk about profit
203. 7:30losses negotiations and so on this way
204. 7:33you won't get stuck searching for the
205. 7:34right word in the middle of a
206. 7:36conversation that's a great point and
207. 7:38one way to build your vocabulary is by
208. 7:40reading regularly it doesn't have to be
209. 7:42complicated texts even reading a short
210. 7:44news article or a blog post each day can
211. 7:47introduce you to new words and phrases
212. 7:49then try to use those new words and
213. 7:51sentences throughout the day for example
214. 7:54if you learn the word negotiation you
215. 7:56might say I have a negotiation with a
216. 7:58client tomorrow
217. 8:00even if you're just practicing by
218. 8:01yourself absolutely and here's another
219. 8:05tip related to vocabulary group your new
220. 8:07words into themes for example learn all
221. 8:10the words related to cooking one week
222. 8:13like stir boil bake and then practice
223. 8:16them by talking about your favorite
224. 8:18recipes mhm the next week you could
225. 8:21focus on Words related to travel like
226. 8:23luggage boarding pass departure and use
227. 8:26them in sentences about a trip you've
228. 8:28taken or planned to take
229. 8:30themed vocabulary learning is a
230. 8:32GameChanger it helps you remember words
231. 8:34better because they're all related and
232. 8:37you're more likely to use them together
233. 8:38in conversation plus it's much more
234. 8:41interesting to learn vocabulary in
235. 8:42context rather than just memorizing
236. 8:45random words exactly and the more words
237. 8:48you have at your disposal the less
238. 8:49likely your mind will go blank so to all
239. 8:52our listeners out there don't worry if
240. 8:54your mind goes blank sometimes it
241. 8:56happens to everyone even native speakers
242. 8:59the the important thing is to keep
243. 9:00practicing stay positive and use the
244. 9:03tips we've shared today to keep moving
245. 9:04forward yes remember speaking a new
246. 9:07language is a journey and every
247. 9:09conversation is a step in the right
248. 9:10direction so be kind to yourself and
249. 9:13don't be afraid to make mistakes they're
250. 9:15all part of the process and with that
251. 9:17we're wrapping up today's episode we
252. 9:19hope these tips help you the next time
253. 9:21your mind goes blank while speaking
254. 9:23English and we'd love to hear from you
255. 9:25what tips or strategies have helped you
256. 9:27in similar situations
257. 9:29yes share your thoughts with us in the
258. 9:31comments or on social media we're all in
259. 9:34this together and your experiences might
260. 9:36just help someone else thanks for tuning
261. 9:38in to speak English with class keep
262. 9:41practicing stay confident and remember
263. 9:43you've got this until next time take
264. 9:45care and keep speaking English with
265. 9:49class your progress doesn't end here to
266. 9:52continue advancing your English skills
267. 9:54click on the next video or explore the
268. 9:56additional videos we've thoughtfully
269. 9:57selected for you