When listening to your conversation partner, you don’t need to say anything beyond “mhmm”, “tell me more” and “interesting”.

However, you might like to use the “smile-nod”. It’s that nice non-verbal facial expression we do when we want to acknowledge someone. Adding that little extra nod takes up little energy, but it means a whole lot more to the person you’re giving it to.

As author Deborah Tannen says, “To say that a person feels listened to means a lot more than just their ideas get heard. It’s a sign of respect. It makes people feel valued”.

“We give service when we don’t criticize, when we refuse to gossip, when we don’t judge, when we smile, when we say thank you, and when we are patient and kind.”
Cheryl Esplin

I know this is difficult. But a good way to start would be to work our way backwards.

First we can practise to be patient and kind. And then to say ‘thank you’ more. To smile … and so on.

To stop judging, gossiping and criticising will be more challenging!

Let’s wish ourselves good luck! 

Imagine you’re talking to an English-speaking colleague about some of the food you like. Would you know how to translate the words?

Here’s a list to test you. You’ll find the answers below.

Jägerschnitzel
Folienkartoffeln
Blattgemüse
Bratensoße
Dinkelbrot
Eisbein
Frikadellen
Brathähnchen
Kartoffelbrei
Apfeltasche
Knödel
Kotelett
Pfannengemüse
Rosenkohl

Was this easy or diffcult? How many words did you know?

The translations
Jägerschnitzel – escalope with mushrooms and peppers
Folienkartoffeln – potatoes in their jackets
Blattgemüse – leafy vegetables | greens
Bratensoße – gravy
Dinkelbrot – spelt bread
Eisbein – pig’s trotter | knuckle of pork
Frikadellen – meat balls
Brathähnchen – grilled chicken
Kartoffelbrei – mashed potatoes
Apfeltasche – apple turnover
Knödel – dumplings
Kotelett – chop
Pfannengemüse – stir-fry vegetables
Rosenkohl – Brussel sprouts

I hope you’re not too hungry now! 😉

Native speakers do use idioms a lot. But I have a confession to make. I don’t understand them all. And I’ve realised that native speakers, who don’t come from England, might not understand the idioms I use.

So why are language teachers and trainers teaching them? Would it not be better to focus on more international English? On an English that is understood all over the world.

If you’re talking to a native speaker of English, then use those idioms you’ve learnt. But you need to know,  if you use them slightly out of context, they will probably sound weird.

If you use English in business, isn’t it more important to communicate clearly and understandably?

If we want our listeners to better understand us, we can make it easier for them by:

• avoiding long sentences and
• using simple vocabulary.

Practice might not make us perfect, but it will make us better!