Best Way to Improve When English Isn't Your First Language

From listener Kelvin from Hong Kong…

Q: I am living and working in HK and English is my second language (Cantonese and putonghua are my primary languages) and I believe “listen more, speak more and write more” can improve my skills.

However, regarding  presentation skills, could you suggest a few ways to improve? I love to watch speakers in “TED” and several talk shows, but it doesn’t seem to be an effective way to learn. I’m thinking of attending a Toastmaster’s club; do you think it is a good way as well?

A: Thanks Kelvin for your question, you are on the right track. Of course, practice helps build any skill and by joining Toastmasters you will deliver more presentations. Toastmaster’s in Hong Kong (and in Asia in general) is growing very rapidly. Don’t hesitate to “shop” around for a club, as each club has it’s own personality. You can attend as a guest until you find one that seems to be a good fit for you.

…But perhaps more importantly Toastmaster’s is a good way to get feedback about your particular strengths.

This will help build your confidence. Keep in mind there are SEVERAL ways to be an effective speaker and you need to find what works best for you! (That’s why watching other speaker’s sometimes might not be as helpful. But certainly it is entertaining.)

Of course, in a Toastmaster’s club you will also get suggestions for improvement. Similar to the toastmaster program, I suggest working on one only one sub-skill (eye contact, vocal variety, gestures, etc.) at a time. In fact, I suggest to my long-term coaching clients to work on one skill for several presentations in a row, then move onto another skill. By the way, you’ll want to practice in your primary languages and in English. It’s tough because there are differences-but your club can help you with that.

Another way to get better is to audio and video record your presentations—use Viddler or Audacity to record them. Each time listen to your presentation with an objective ear (and eye) as if you are watching someone else and give yourself a balanced review. Three things you did well and three things specific things you could have done differently. Use the recordings to ask for feedback from trusted colleagues- don’t forget to give them permission to give you suggestions for improvement.

Hint, hint…you could post your recordings to online forums, like The Public Speaker Fan Page and again ask for a quick review.

Finally, presentation is a skill that requires practice—the more you do it, the easier it becomes. Volunteer for every opportunity you can find to deliver presentations. The more you do it, the more comfortable you will become.

You might even consider joining a volunteer organization specifically to get more practice. For example, my children and I now volunteer for a local free medical clinic so that we can practice conversational Spanish, practice our persuasive skills (we talk to homeless people on the street and try to convince them to come into the clinic), and practice our “presentations”. We try different approaches to see what works best. This is a great way to spend time with my children and to teach them many important life lessons.

Finally, perhaps the most important thing you can do to improve your presentations is to get good at storytelling.  It doesn’t matter which language, we all earn across all cultures using story.  It’s the way we communicate the best.

Feel free to post your recording here and we’ll give you a review! (Right, everyone?)

Other Posts You Might Find Interesting:
What I learned from the Story Slam
How to tell a Story
How to Tell Better Stories

There is 1 comment .

arfa —

Hi i am looking to improve my grammatical mistakes and spoken as english is my second language i am scared to talk with people and dont apply on jobs where in description is strong verbal and written english skills. and also i dont find how toastmaster works for me.

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