You know the words. You understand the grammar. You can have a conversation in English. But you still don’t quite feel like yourself.
Perhaps you’re funny in your first language, but your humour rarely comes through in English. You’re warm and expressive with friends, but sound rather formal with colleagues. Or you have strong opinions, yet find yourself sounding hesitant when you share them.
You can get your message across, but something of your personality gets lost along the way.
In my coaching sessions, this is when I ask: describe your personal brand to me.
If it were an image, what would it look like? What would you want people to notice about you?
What do you want people to hear?
Mine would be a hat, big oversized sunglasses and a huge smile underneath.
The hat and glasses say confident and self-assured. The smile brings the warmth. That feels like me, and it’s what I’d want people to hear when I speak, too.
Your image might be completely different. Thoughtful and composed. Energetic and direct. Approachable, with a dry sense of humour.
You don’t need to come up with a polished business persona. Think about the qualities you already have, and whether those qualities come through when you speak English.
Once we’ve talked about that, we can explore whether your speech is giving people the impression you intend.
When your words and delivery don’t quite match
Imagine you want to sound enthusiastic about a colleague’s idea. You say, “That sounds really interesting,” but your pitch barely changes and none of the words receives much emphasis. The words express interest, but your colleague might be unsure whether you mean them.
Or perhaps you have a useful recommendation to share in a meeting. Before you get to it, you say, “Sorry, I’m not sure, but maybe we could…” Your suggestion may be well considered, yet the introduction makes it sound as though you have little confidence in it.
There’s nothing wrong with being measured or using softer language. The question is whether you’re choosing that approach deliberately, or relying on it because you don’t feel comfortable expressing yourself another way.
Can you disagree without feeling abrupt? Make a joke without overthinking every word? Show enthusiasm without feeling as though you’re acting?
These are useful questions to explore, even when your English is already advanced.
How pronunciation, voice and communication work together
Each area contributes something different to how you come across.
Pronunciation includes the sounds you make, word stress, rhythm and the way you connect words. Working on these features can help your speech flow and make your message easier to follow.
Voice is about how you deliver that message. Pitch, resonance, volume, pace and pauses can all help you express warmth, confidence, interest or authority.
Communication includes the language you choose and how you organise your ideas. You might work on giving a direct answer, disagreeing diplomatically, joining a conversation or choosing expressions that feel natural to you.
For example, if you want to sound more assured in meetings, we might practise stating your recommendation clearly, emphasising the words that carry your main point and pausing instead of filling the space immediately.
If you want more warmth in your conversations, we might explore pitch variation alongside less formal language and ways to show interest.
The work depends on what you want to express and what is getting in the way.
Finding your voice in English
You don’t have to become louder, more outgoing or more formal to communicate effectively. A quiet, thoughtful speaker can have a strong presence. Someone who is naturally expressive should have room to bring that energy into English, too.
The aim is to give you more choice in how you speak, so you can adapt to different situations while still feeling like yourself.
So, what would your personal brand look like as an image? And would someone recognise it from the way you speak English?
If you’d like to explore how pronunciation, voice and communication coaching could help you express more of your personality, book a free discovery call. We can talk about how you want to come across and where you’d like to feel more comfortable.