Cultivate Focus
Diagnose. Prioritise. Know what to work on in English.
You know your English is good. But it doesn't always reflect the experienced professional you are.
In this focused 1:1 online session, we'll look at what actually happens when you talk through your designs in English - so you can stop trying to improve everything and start working on what will actually make a difference.
You know what you want to say. But it doesn’t always come out that way.
Perhaps you can explain your design clearly when you've had time to prepare, but an unexpected question leaves you searching for words.
Perhaps you understand the reasoning behind a decision perfectly, but struggle to explain it with the same precision in English.
Or you find yourself shortening or simplifying what you want to say because that's the version you can produce quickly enough in the moment.
You might put this down to confidence, grammar or vocabulary.
But before you start trying to improve any of those things, it’s worth finding out what’s actually getting in the way.
That’s what Cultivate Focus is designed to do.
What happens in your Cultivate Focus session?
Before we meet, I’ll ask you a few questions about your work, the situations where you use English and what you currently feel is getting in the way.
During our session, you’ll talk me through a project or design concept you know well, just as you might with a client or colleague.
I’ll listen to how effectively your English communicates your professional thinking - not simply whether your grammar is correct.
We’ll also explore what happens when the conversation becomes less predictable. I might ask you to explain a decision, clarify your reasoning, consider an alternative or respond to a question you haven’t prepared for.
Together, we’ll identify what’s already working, what may be getting in the way and what is actually worth working on.
And we won't spend the hour simply talking about it. We'll choose one priority to work on together, so you can experience what happens when you change it.
So instead of leaving thinking:“I need to improve my English.” You’ll have a much clearer answer to: “What do I actually need to work on first - and why?”
What am I listening for?
I’m not listening for every mistake you make. I’m primarily interested in whether your English is allowing your professional expertise to come across clearly.
I’ll be paying attention to five things:
Precision - Can you express what you really mean?
Access - Can you retrieve the English you already know when you need it?
Flexibility - Can you adapt your English to what you need to do?
Structure - Can someone else easily follow your thinking?
Performance - What happens when you have to respond in the moment?
Your grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation may form part of what we discover — but we’ll only focus on them where they affect what you need to communicate.
Who is Cultivate Focus for?
Cultivate Focus is designed for international landscape architects, urban designers and garden designers who already have a good level of English, but don't always feel their English reflects the professional they are.
This isn't an English test!
You won't be given a score or a list of everything that's wrong with your English. And you don't need to prepare a polished presentation for me.
The purpose of the session is to see how your English works when you're using it to communicate your professional thinking - and to identify what is genuinely worth working on next.
If you're looking for general English lessons or need to develop your English from a beginner level, Cultivate Focus probably isn't the right place to start.
A good place to start working with me.
You don't need to improve everything. You need to know what will make a difference.
Cultivate Focus £125
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You'll leave knowing your three most important communication priorities, with practical coaching on one of them during our session.

