Do You Get Stuck for Words While Speaking? Here Is a Quick Way to Improve

2020-01-26T12:12:31+05:30By |Spoken English|

Do you forget words while speaking?

Do you get stuck while speaking because you can’t think of an appropriate word for what you want to say next? You know what to say in your native language, but not in English.

Unfortunately, in speaking, unlike in writing, you don’t have the luxury to pause and recall an appropriate word for what you want to say. You need to get it in a flash. Otherwise, you’ll pause, which will kill your speech – and confidence.

In this post, I’ll cover why uncomfortably long pauses happen while speaking and what you can do to reduce their frequency. Read on, there is a quick way.

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Why Most People Are Better at Speaking (English) Than at Writing?

2020-03-30T17:49:49+05:30By |Spoken English, Written English|

Few speak English well.

Far fewer write well.

That’s what I’ve seen time and again among people from multiple walks of life.

(Note that speaking here refers to regular conversations we hold and not to public speaking. And writing doesn’t mean SMS or quick 2-3 line emails. It means writing paragraphs, essays, reports, proposals, and the like.)

I’ve spoken to and reviewed application essays for international MBA programs from people working in reputable organizations, including multinational companies. I found most to be fluent speakers, but, by and large, only few could write well. And here I’m not talking of people working in any random organization. I’m talking of top-notch organizations, where we expect employees to have impeccable speaking as well as writing skills.

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Everyone Has the Potential to Speak Fluent English

2020-01-31T21:46:50+05:30By |Spoken English|

Many don’t try hard enough to become proficient in English because they think they lack something – some call it talent – that fluent speakers possess. After all, why try when talent – and not effort – matters. This post will tell you why this is not true.

Let’s get into the thick of things.

In medieval times, people believed that earth was flat. Therefore, they barely explored the world for the fear of falling off the edge of the planet if they ventured too far. But once they realized that earth was round, they started exploring. As a result, trade routes were established. Science and new ideas spread. And the world progressed much faster.

A fallacy stopped people from exploring the world.

A fallacy stops people from making whole-hearted effort to learn a language.

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Read Out Loud to Improve Your Fluency

2020-04-03T11:10:09+05:30By |Spoken English, Pronunciation|

Reading in the head doesn’t exercise your vocal organs (lips, tongue, and throat). Reading out loud does. It exercises the same vocal organs that you exercise when speaking to someone. Fundamentally, that’s the main reason reading out loud improves your fluency.

As a child, you may have read out loud in your English classes, but this exercise works for adults as well. It works for any level of fluency, but will benefit the most who are at average to above average level.

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You’re Not Too Old to Speak English Fluently

2020-03-29T19:38:18+05:30By |Spoken English|

You tried improving your English language skills, especially spoken, on multiple occasions but you didn’t go too far. Then, you thought maybe I’m too old to improve. After all, children pick languages far quicker. And with that thought you stopped your efforts.

That’s what most think and do, and that’s completely misplaced. As I’ll show in this post, learning English – and for that matter any second language – has little to do with your age. You can improve your English language skills significantly even at 60. (Later in the post, you’ll see few examples of older people doing just that.)

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