I’ve read a piece by Shrinivas Rao from TED talk recently. There he explains why it is important to be wrong sometimes while you are chasing your dream. And I remembered how often I hear ‘I don’t know how to say it right’ during the lesson. Indeed, so many people rather be quiet than allow themselves to make a mistake.

 It might be a good strategy in some cases, I don’t know, but English lesson is definitely not the time and place for that. Of all places here you’re supposed to say something wrong – how will you learn otherwise? – as well as try and speak as much as you can.

The main problem here, as I see it, is excessive concentration on what you want to say. And there are several ways to deal with it.

- Try to hold something in your hands while you’re speaking. Like a pen or a cup of tea. Back to days when I taught students at my office, I always offered them tea or coffee before the lesson. That created more informal atmosphere and helped them feel more relaxed about speaking. Moreover, they could gain extra time for thinking while they took a sip from the cup.

- If possible, turn on background music. Really, do you listen to the radio or your play list while you do chores, work on a project, or drive a car? A melody to your taste helps to ‘stay tuned’ on the task you’re dealing with right now, taking away everything that is not important at the moment.

- There is one more way, possibly rather dramatic, but it works great for me. When I face an important conversation, I invite my interlocutor for a walk. Amazing, but walking keeps me both relaxed and focused at the same time. I feel less tensed about how to say things that I want to say, and I find it easy to come up with different arguments to support my point of view.

And what are your ways to stop worrying and start talking?