Let me tell you two stories where two working professional found it hard to overcome the fear of making mistakes.
1. A Regional Sales Manager of a manufacturing firm was eyeing the position of Network and System Manager (NSM) in the next 2 years.
"It's not English. I know Grammar and vocabulary. It's more about how I sound when I speak it."
Were you able to figure out what problem became a challenge for him? I'll explain. There are two of them:
The challenge of communicating ideas effectively in a language that's not his mother tongue, and
NOT making mistakes while speaking.
2. Something similar happened with an IT professional hailing from Hyderabad. With 10 years of experience, he works as a Team Lead in an MNC.
He struggles to speak English because his mother tongue is Telugu. Due to this, his customers ask him to repeat himself a LOT.
Both the Regional Sales Manager and the IT professional faced embarrassment due to failure because the fear of mistakes took over.
Why? Because their language had a strong influence of MTI - Mother Tongue Influence.
The different sounds, pronunciations, and accents make it harder for others to understand.
But mistakes also make you learn a lot of things. Here's how:
🧘🏼 A mistake is an opportunity for learning and growth.
🧘🏼 It's always better to acknowledge the mistake and take responsibility. Avoid making excuses or blaming your dialect.
🧘🏼 Reflect on what happened and why the mistake occurred. Identify the issue and be aware of not making it next time.
🧘🏼 Don't let one mistake define you or your abilities. Remember that you have many strengths and accomplishments, focus on those.
Last but not least, join an online spoken English communication course where a personal coach can help you remove MTI. Blackboard Radio (BBR)
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