In German, bitte is a softener. You reach for it automatically. It rounds off a request. It removes the edge.

So in English, you add “please.” Same logic. Makes sense.

But “please” in English doesn’t always land the way bitte does.

“Send me the report by Friday, please.”

Polite. But the request still sounds direct. The “please” arrives too late – after the instruction is already sitting there.

In English, the softener comes at the beginning. It’s built into the structure.

✔ Please could you send me the report by Friday?
✔ Would it be possible to get that by Friday?
✔ I was wondering if you could send that over.

Same request. Different opening. Completely different tone.

The word isn’t doing the work. The structure is.

Please didn’t disappear from English. It just moved to the front.

In German, you switch automatically.

You wouldn’t say Ich will einen Termin mit Ihnen to a client. You’d say Ich möchte einen Termin vereinbaren. The context tells you which one fits. You don’t think about it.

In English, the same choice exists. Most German speakers just weren’t shown it.

“I want” = wollen. Direct. Clear. Fine with people you know well. “I’d like” = möchten. Softer. More professional. The one to reach for in formal situations or with new contacts.

“I want a meeting on Thursday” – correct.
“I’d like to arrange a meeting on Thursday” – same message. Warmer landing.

You already know how to make this choice. You make it every day in German.

You’ve been using möchten for thirty years. In English, it’s called “I’d like.” Same instinct. Different word.

This kind of transfer – taking what you already do in German and applying it in English – is exactly what we work on in coaching.

“That makes no sense for me.”

In German, Das macht für mich keinen Sinn is neutral. You’re saying something doesn’t fit your thinking. Clear. Direct. Completely normal.

In English, it lands harder.

“Makes no sense” sounds like a verdict – like you’re saying the idea is confused or the person isn’t thinking straight. The “for me” doesn’t soften it the way für mich does in German.

Nobody corrects you. Nobody explains why the room shifted.

What you probably meant:

✔ I’m not sure I follow.
✔ I’d see it differently.
✔ That doesn’t quite work for me.
✔ Could you explain that differently?

Same thought. Much softer landing.

The problem isn’t your English. It’s that German directness translates differently – and nobody ever tells you.

This is one of the things we work on in coaching. Not fixing your English, but understanding where it lands differently than you expect. 

Welcome to this week’s Sparks Plus. Short reflections and examples to help you speak up, respond and disagree in English without putting extra pressure on yourself. Six short sections. Easy to read. Designed to reduce effort, not add more.

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1️⃣ Quick Win

Someone asks you to handle something. You want to say yes – confidently, without fuss.

Try this: Leave it with me.

It’s short. It’s professional. It closes the conversation cleanly. No grammar stress. No over-explaining.

✔ Leave it with me.
✔ I’ll take care of it.
✔ I’ll sort that out.

Quick win: When someone delegates a task, “Leave it with me” is all you need.

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2️⃣ Real-World English in Action

A client wanted to tell her colleague she would check on a report.

She said: “I control that.”

Her colleague paused.

In English, “I control that” sounds like authority – like you have power over something. In German, kontrollieren often means to check or verify. In English, “to control” means something quite different.

✔ I’ll check on that.
✔ I’ll look into it.
✔ I’ll have a look and come back to you.

Same intention. No confusion.

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3️⃣ Tip of the Week

Softening disagreement

Saying “I disagree” in a meeting can feel blunt – even when you don’t mean it that way.

A softer phrase keeps the conversation open:

✔ I see it slightly differently.
✔ That’s interesting — from my side…
✔ I’d add something to that.

You’re not agreeing. You’re not fighting. You’re staying in the conversation – which is where the real work happens.

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4️⃣ Micro Clarity Tip

“By” or “until”?

In German, bis covers both. In English, they mean different things.

• By = deadline. “I’ll send it by Friday” – before Friday ends.
• Until = duration. “I’m in meetings until Friday” – the whole time up to Friday.

“I need this until Friday” sounds wrong to a native speaker. “I need this by Friday” is what you mean.

One small word. One clear difference.

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5️⃣ Reader Question

“A colleague told me my English is very good. I felt embarrassed and said: ‘Oh no, it’s really not.’ Was that wrong?”

Not wrong – but worth noticing.

When you deflect a compliment, the other person sometimes wonders if they said something awkward. They meant it. You redirected it.

Next time, try: “Thank you – I appreciate that.” Two seconds. Then move on.

You don’t have to agree with the compliment. You just have to receive it.

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6️⃣ This week’s reflection

This week’s Sparks were all about the same thing, from different angles.

Your accent is yours. The classroom is behind you. A tangled sentence has an exit door. And the apology you reach for before you even start – nobody needed it.

Your English is already working.

That’s enough.

— Christine

“I’m sorry — my English isn’t very good.”

A client said this at the start of almost every call. Every meeting. Every presentation.

Until a colleague stopped her.

“Stop apologising. I’ve never noticed.”

She had been announcing a problem that nobody else could see.

The apology doesn’t protect you. It redirects attention – straight to the thing you were trying to hide.

Your English doesn’t need an introduction. It needs a first sentence.

Quick win: Next time you feel the apology coming – swap it for your opening line. Start with what you want to say, not with what you’re afraid of.

Nobody was listening for flaws until you told them where to look.

💬 Do you apologise for your English before you’ve even started?

— Christine