Two professionals. Six weeks. One goal: to just speak.
Sabine and Klaus didn’t know each other before the programme.
Sabine was a financial analyst – precise, prepared, professionally fluent on paper. In meetings, she froze. In small talk, she disappeared behind spreadsheets and quarterly projections. Her English wasn’t the problem. The second-guessing was.
Klaus was in HR, which meant English wasn’t optional. It came up constantly – interviews, international calls, spontaneous conversations in corridors. He got through them. But he apologised his way through every single one.
They both joined a six-week English confidence programme for the same reason: they were tired of their own hesitation.
Week one: the break room experiment
The first challenge was simple – and quietly terrifying.
Start a five-minute personal conversation with a colleague. In English. This week.
Klaus tried it in the break room. He asked a colleague about his weekend.
Within minutes, everyone had joined in. Even the CEO wandered past and chatted for a bit.
“It wasn’t perfect,” Klaus said. “But it was real.”
Sabine’s attempt went differently. She panicked – and found herself talking about quarterly projections.
“Not exactly personal,” she admitted, laughing. “But it made me realise how much I hide behind being professional.”
The weeks in between
The shifts weren’t dramatic. They were quiet and cumulative – the kind you only notice when you look back.
Sabine stopped scripting everything. One session, she joined from her kitchen with no makeup and just spoke freely.
“That felt huge,” she said.
Klaus discovered he didn’t need to be flawless. The conversations that went slightly wrong turned out to be the most useful ones. And one morning, he woke up from a dream – entirely in English.
“Weird,” he said. “But also a proud moment.“
Week six: no notes, no script
In the final session, both gave ten-minute presentations. No notes. No preparation crutch. Just themselves and the room.
Klaus talked about his journey – his fears, his progress, the moments that had surprised him. His team applauded.
“Terrifying,” he said. “And then exhilarating.“
Sabine ditched her script after thirty seconds.
“I just talked. And people listened.“
Afterwards, three colleagues asked if she’d start a casual English group. She said yes – and meant it. Klaus’s team now has English Thursdays.
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When asked what had changed, they didn’t hesitate.
Sabine: “I’m not chasing perfect anymore. I’m aiming for real.“
Klaus: “I don’t apologise for speaking English. I just speak.“
