I meet them every week — and they always make me smile. ✌

There’s Present Perfect Peter:

“I have written the report yesterday.”

Freeze-Up Fiona:
C1 certificate… but silent in meetings.

Dictionary Diana:
Fluent — as long as DeepL is running.

Polite Petra:
Starts every team email with “Dear Sir or Madam.”

And then…

• Overthinking Olga – rehearses every sentence three times
• Accent-Anxious Anni – apologises before every English word
• Culture-Worried Klaus – terrified of sounding rude
• Direct Dieter – allergic to small talk
• Grammar-Obsessed Greg – lives by the rulebook
• Shy Simon – barely heard in meetings
• Chitchat-Challenged Christina – freezes at “How was your weekend?”
• Idiom-Confused Ingo – takes them all literally
• Perfectionist Peter – rewrites everything three times

Hand on heart:
Which one are you?
The perfectionist?
The cautious one?
The formal one?

(It’s okay to be a mix. Most of us are. 😉)

PS Not sure. Do the fun quiz to find out! 

“Best regards” is like that colleague who’s always polite…
but never really warm.

I see it everywhere.
German professionals sign off every email with it.
Formal. Predictable.
And completely forgettable.

Your email closing is your digital handshake.
It’s the last thing people read.
And Best regards often feels like a limp handshake — safe, but not exactly memorable.

You have other options:
Ones that sound warmer.
Ones that match the relationship.
Ones that actually feel human.

The shift?
Stop defaulting to Best regards just because it feels safe.
Choose something that fits the person and the context.

Your emails will feel different.
And so will the way people respond to you.

💬 Be honest — what’s your real go-to sign-off?

“Let’s not do that.”
Too direct in English?
Not if you do this…

A German client asked if phrases like:

• “Let’s not do that”
• “That won’t work”
• “I disagree”

…sound too harsh in English meetings.

My answer?

Not if you add context.

Try:

• “Let’s not do that because…”
• “I disagree, and here’s why…”
• “That won’t work for us, since…”

See the shift?
You’re not softening your opinion — you’re explaining it.

That’s how you stay direct, without sounding blunt.

💡 German directness + a little context = perfect for global teams.

So stop holding back.
Start speaking up.
Just say what you think — and why.

P.S. Is there a phrase YOU avoid in meetings?

Some habits are automatic.
Brushing your teeth.
Folding laundry.
Washing the dishes.

You don’t overthink them. You just do them.

And that’s exactly the kind of habit you need for your English.

Not a 3-hour grammar session once a month.
But short, simple routines that build over time.

• 5 minutes reading something real
• Listening to a podcast while folding clothes
• Sending one message in English a day

Consistency beats intensity.
You don’t need more pressure.
You need more practice.

Keep it simple.
Keep it regular.
Let it become part of your life.

What’s one small English habit you could build this week?

That’s the lefty life — resilient and rare.

Did you know? Today is International Left-handers Day.

Being left-handed in a right-handed world?
Not always easy. Not always fun.
Opening doors becomes an adventure.
Writing in spiral notebooks? A challenge.
Using right-handed scissors? Pure frustration.
Bumping elbows at the dinner table? Daily.
Smudging ink while writing? Always.
But here’s the thing about lefties (at least I like to believe it’s all true!):

We’re creative thinkers.
We’re problem solvers.
We’re adaptable.
We’re resilient.
We’re unique (only 10% of the population.)

And guess what? We’re in good company:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was left-handed.
Albert Einstein too.
Bill Gates? Yes.
Marie Curie? Also a leftie.

To all my fellow left-handers out there: You’re special. You’re amazing. You see the world differently.

And to right-handers:

Thank you for your patience when we bump elbows. 😊

P.S. Are you also proud to be left-handed? 🖐️