Redefining Confidence

What if a lack of confidence isn’t the problem with your professional English?

Imagine you’re in a meeting. You know you’re good at your job. You know what you want to contribute. But when the meeting is in English, something changes.

You’re processing what other people are saying, working out how to respond and trying to find the words you need - all in real time. And somehow, what comes out doesn’t quite reflect the experienced professional you know yourself to be.

It’s no wonder that “I want to feel more confident speaking English” is one of the things I hear most often from the international landscape architects and designers I work with.

But what if a lack of confidence isn’t the problem?

Let’s think of something you do day to day without really thinking about it. Driving to your local supermarket, for example. You probably don’t notice yourself doing it. Driving is a skill that has become second nature.

However, think back to your first driving lesson.

Were you nervous? Maybe terrified? You probably made mistakes. You had to consciously think about the things you now do automatically.

You didn’t need to feel confident before you got into the car. You took action first. And gradually, as you became more capable and familiar with what you were doing, confidence followed.

Speaking English isn’t so different.

When someone tells me they want to feel more confident speaking English, I want to know first what they need to be able to DO that they’re finding difficult now.

Because once we get specific, we can start to see what might actually be getting in the way.

Perhaps you know exactly what you want to say, but can’t access the words quickly enough. Perhaps you can explain the basic idea, but not with the precision or nuance you want. Perhaps your English works perfectly well until you’re under pressure. Or perhaps you’re so focused on avoiding mistakes that you simplify what you say, stay quiet or over-prepare.

These can all feel like a lack of confidence. But they’re not necessarily the same problem - and they don’t necessarily need the same solution.

If you believe you need to feel confident before you speak, it’s very easy to keep waiting for that moment.

You might stay quiet in meetings even though you have something valuable to contribute. You might over-prepare or try to memorise what you’re going to say. You might avoid situations where you could be put on the spot. Or you might spend so much attention monitoring your English that there’s less attention available for the conversation itself.

The problem is that this can create a frustrating loop where one problem causes another.

If you speak less, you get less practice. Less practice gives you less experience to draw on, which can feed your self-doubt - so you speak even less.

And there’s another problem.

If you’re constantly looking for evidence that your English isn’t good enough, every hesitation, imperfect sentence or word you couldn’t remember can start to feel like proof.

That’s why I don’t think the answer is to wait until you feel confident.

So what do you do instead?

First, notice where you actually need English at work. Then identify what you need to be able to DO in those situations. And practise those things.

Explain the reasoning behind a design decision. Present an idea clearly. Respond to an unexpected question. Disagree professionally. Explain your role and contribution to a project. Adapt when a conversation goes in a direction you hadn’t anticipated.

Practise. Notice what happens. Get feedback. Adjust. Try again.

And, importantly, you don’t need to wait until the nerves disappear. You can feel nervous and communicate effectively. Each time you do that, you gain evidence that you can handle the situation. And over time, what once required enormous conscious effort can start to become more familiar.

Confidence becomes a result of doing - it is not a prerequisite for starting.

So, what is getting in the way of accessing the English you need when you speak about your work?

It might be that you can’t access the words and phrases you already know quickly enough. It might be difficult to express your thinking with the precision or nuance you want. You might find it harder to organise complex ideas while you’re speaking, or to adapt your language when the conversation becomes unpredictable.

Perhaps your English changes when the stakes are high - for example, in an important client meeting or site meeting.

Or perhaps the problem is simply that you’ve been trying to improve everything, rather than identifying the English that would make the biggest difference to your work.

You may not need more English. You may need help accessing the English you need, when you need it. And finding out what is actually getting in the way gives you somewhere much more useful to start.

If you want to understand what may be affecting your confidence when you speak English at work, take my Professional English Confidence Quiz for Designers.

In around five minutes, you’ll get a personalised profile showing what may be getting in the way of your English fully reflecting your expertise - and where it may be worth focusing your attention instead of trying to improve everything.

You don’t need to transform your English overnight. Start by identifying what would make the biggest difference to the way you communicate at work - and focus there. Because confidence isn’t something you have to find before you begin. It grows through doing. Small steps create big shifts.