I’m currently visiting Continental Europe for a holiday. Because I come from an English-speaking country, I speak English only in Continental Europe. Interestingly, most people that I’ve met in Europe speak English as well because they are obviously bilingual, but I’ve learned something extremely important in this process.
I must slow down.
Usually, I talk really fast because I think fast. In fact, I know that’s a bad habit because my mentor told me exactly how he feels – He said to me, “You should slow down when you are talking so that it’s easier for other people to understand you.”
Sometimes I might forget what he said, so I still talk pretty fast. In Continental Europe, people’s first language isn’t English. Therefore, it’s probably not very easy for them to understand me.
That’s my fault.
But it doesn’t mean I should blame myself. To be more exact, that’s my responsibility. Yes, I should slow down while I’m talking so other people can understand me more easily.
In order to slow down as I’m talking, I need a relaxed mindset. Recently, I noticed that reading enlightening books helps me to cultivate a relaxed mindset which is good for me in general – I talk relatively slowly when I feel truly relaxed.
What I actually learned from a Zoom meeting today:
While I’m visiting Continental Europe, occasionally I still attend work meetings on Zoom. This afternoon, I joined a Zoom meeting where I was asked to talk about something. I noticed that I was talking too fast, but it was hard for me to slow down when I didn’t prepare exactly what to say – I was a bit nervous. Even though all of my colleagues are native speakers of English, I don’t think it was very easy for them to fully understand what I said today. I shouldn’t beat myself up for making that mistake because perfection is a joke (it doesn’t exist). Constantly thinking about what I said is simply mental checking which isn’t helpful because that’s not good for mental health. What’s done can’t be undone. It is what it is. I can’t change it anymore, so I should totally focus on what I’ll do in the future. There is room for improvement – I’ll only get better – isn’t that the silver lining? 😉
Ideally, I should think fast but talk slowly. Apparently, it’s a skill that I need to develop from now on.
Indeed, personal development is an ongoing activity. It’s a journey. I would be well-advised to love the journey. 😊
“If you only speak English, you should be able to visit Continental Europe with no problem because European people can speak English as well. However, you’d better slow down when you are talking so as to help other people understand what you are saying.”
