A client said to me recently, “I’m worried they’ll notice my mistakes.”

I understand that feeling.

But here’s what I see again and again… The people listening to you aren’t focused on every tense or preposition.

They’re listening for your message.

They’re asking themselves, “Is this useful? Does this answer my question? What can I take away from it?“

When you spend all your energy monitoring your English, you have less left for the point you’re trying to make.

And that’s the part people remember.

(I still catch myself doing this in German more often than I’d like.)

Next time you speak, put your attention on being clear and not perfect.

💬 What would change if you trusted your message a little more than your grammar?

 

Good news about to, too and two. Out loud, you can never get them wrong. All three sound exactly the same.

The worry only turns up when you write. You finish a quick email, hover over one small word, and suddenly you’re not sure which one you meant.

So this was never a speaking problem. In a meeting, on a call, in the corridor, the difference simply isn’t there. Your ear hands the right one to the listener every time.

Which means you can stop carrying this into conversations. Keep the second glance for the page, where it actually belongs. (I still take that glance myself, by the way.)

Quick win: when you’re writing and unsure, remember that “too” has an extra “o” for its extra meaning, “also” or “very“. “Two too many” uses both. The plain little “to” quietly covers the rest.

💬 Which little word makes you pause before you hit send?

You saw the list. The best free apps to finally speak English. You downloaded one, maybe two, full of good intentions. Then opened them twice.

Your English is already good. An app that scores every sentence only adds one more place to be marked wrong, all day.

A client told me last week she had three of these on her phone. She still held her breath before every English call. The apps were never what held her back.

What helps costs nothing, and no app sells it. Permission to be understood instead of perfect. To let a sentence out before it’s polished, and stay in the room as yourself.

Quick win: Before your next English call, take one slow breath and tell yourself, “Understood” is enough today.

A new client proudly told me she’d learned 1,000 new English words in a month.

Then Monday came. And a colleague asked, “How was your weekend?”

She froze. Not because her English was poor. And not because she didn’t know the grammar. She’d spent so much time collecting new words that she stopped trusting the ones she already knew.

She could explain complex ideas. She understood specialist vocabulary. Yet she struggled to say, “It was sunny.”

A lot of professionals make the same mistake.

They download vocabulary lists, save useful expressions and mark up every article they read. But they rarely use the English they already have.

So they end up with a larger vocabulary, but not more confidence.

Most conversations don’t need impressive words. They need words you can reach for quickly. Words that sound natural coming from you. Words you can use without searching for them.

Fluency isn’t about how much English you know. It’s about how much English you can use when you need it.

Quick win: Before you learn five new words today, use five you already know.

There’s a quick test for “I” or “me” that never fails. You already use it without thinking.

It usually slips in when you’re being careful. “She invited my colleague and I.” The extra effort makes it sound polished, so it feels right in the room.

Here’s the test.

Take the other person out of the sentence. “She invited I“? No. You’d say, “She invited me.” Put your colleague back in and it stays “me“: “She invited my colleague and me.“

You don’t need to remember a rule for this. Your ear already knows the answer the moment the second person is gone.

Quick win: When you’re unsure, drop the other name and listen to what’s left. The word that sounds right on its own is the right one.

💬 Which version slips out of you in meetings?

A client showed me a list last week. Everyday words on the left, “advanced” ones on the right, an arrow between them. “Get” became “obtain”. “Help” became “assist”. “Ask” became “enquire”.

She’d started using them in her emails. Correct, formal and somehow not her. One line read like a letter from a solicitor about a parking dispute.

The real skill is quieter than vocabulary. It’s register: knowing which word belongs in the room. A surgeon obtains consent, then gets a second opinion from a colleague. Same person, two registers, both right.

You’re allowed to use the simple word. Most of the time, it’s the clearer one too.

Quick win: Next time you reach for the impressive word, try the plain one first. Ask whether it actually fits the room.

💬 Which “advanced” English word were you taught to use that you later stopped using?