SPEAK ENGLISH POWERFULLY: Lesson 1 | Free English Course

0:00 Today, I'm going to show you two

0:02 simple ways to speak more powerfully in English.

0:06 Now, these techniques, once you start using them,

0:09 will not only help people to understand you better,

0:13 but also to pay attention to what you're saying,

0:16 and to respect what you're saying more.

0:19 And therefore, you will come across as a more confident speaker in English.

0:24 Okay?

0:25 Would you like to do that?

0:27 Let's get started.

0:28 The first way is simply to remove the contraction.

0:33 What is a contraction?

0:34 A contraction is when we combine two words.

0:38 For example, instead of saying "I will", we say "I'll".

0:43 So "I'll" is the contraction, right?

0:46 Instead of saying "I am", we say "I'm".

0:49 So "I'm" is the contraction.

0:51 But now, what we're going to do is we are going to remove these contractions.

0:58 Not all the time, but at certain times

1:00 when you want to speak more powerfully and clearly.

1:04 Let's look at an example, and you'll understand very easily how powerful

1:10 this technique is and how useful it is.

1:13 Okay?

1:13 Let's try it.

1:14 So, instead of saying to John, "Yes, John,

1:17 that's important", let's say John said something okay?

1:21 And you say, "Yes, John, that's important." Nothing wrong with that.

1:26 Or we could say, "Yes, John, that is important." What did we do?

1:33 We took away the contraction.

1:35 We removed the contraction.

1:37 "Yes, John, that is important." John feels heard also, right?

1:44 Next, instead of saying to Mary, "Yes, Mary, you're right.

1:49 It's been a hard week." You could say that.

1:52 Or "Yes, Mary, it has been a hard week." Now, Mary feels validated.

2:00 Mary feels more connected to you also

2:02 because you're agreeing with her so powerfully.

2:06 Okay?

2:07 So, this will also improve your connection with people.

2:12 Let's look at another example.

2:13 Here, before we get to the other example,

2:16 so here what we did is we were strengthening it, right?

2:19 We were confirming that.

2:21 Here, we are clarifying or correcting it.

2:24 So, for example, if someone says to you, "So, you're not available tomorrow,

2:29 right?" And you say, "No, I'm available tomorrow." Or, "No,

2:35 I am available tomorrow." So you want to emphasize,

2:39 you want to clarify and correct what that other person was saying.

2:44 "Yes, I am available tomorrow." Or someone says,

2:49 "You haven't completed the project yet, right?" And you say,

2:53 "Yeah, we've completed the project." Sounds okay, not very impressive,

2:58 and completing a project is something important, right?

3:02 So you can say instead, "No, we have completed the project.

3:06 We are so proud.

3:08 We have completed it." Get it?

3:11 So, what did we do in all cases?

3:13 We removed the contraction.

3:16 You can't speak like this all the time, you cannot speak like this all the time,

3:21 but definitely at certain points when you use this strategy,

3:24 you will sound much more powerful.

3:27 Now, what's another way to sound even stronger?

3:32 That is to remove the negative contraction.

3:35 You got it, right.

3:37 Let's see how it works, okay?

3:39 And again, we can use this in business,

3:42 in academic context, personal situations, social situations, anything, okay?

3:48 Let's see how it sounds.

3:50 Instead of saying, "They can't meet the project deadline",

3:53 or some people might just say it really fast,

3:57 "They can't meet the project deadline",

3:59 and the person sometimes doesn't even hear the word "can't".

4:03 Because if you don't say that correctly, it can sound like "they can",

4:07 and then you're giving the wrong message,

4:09 not just a weak message, but a wrong message.

4:13 So here, you could say, for sure,

4:17 "They cannot meet the project deadline." And yes, "cannot" is one word, okay?

4:24 "They cannot meet the project deadline." So when

4:27 someone hears that, they will hear you clearly,

4:30 there'll be no mistakes, and it's very, very strong.

4:33 Next.

4:34 "The professor didn't agree." Or "The professor did not agree.

4:43 The professor did not agree." Again, you can feel the difference, right?

4:48 I know.

4:50 The next one, "She hasn't received her visa yet."

4:54 Or, "She has not received her visa yet." Okay?

5:01 And another one, "I won't be able to attend the meeting." Again,

5:06 if you don't say this word clearly, people may misunderstand you.

5:10 So break it up.

5:12 Break up the negative contraction, right?

5:14 And say, "I will not...

5:16 I will not be able to attend the meeting." Okay?

5:20 That way, you're not, in all cases, is very clear and independent,

5:26 and the message is also very clear and also not mistaken.

5:32 All right?

5:32 And you'll sound much better,

5:34 people will enjoy speaking to you more, and they'll...

5:36 Because why?

5:38 Because they understand you now, right away, easily, quickly.

5:42 All right?

5:43 Okay.

5:43 Now, let's do a little practice to make sure you've mastered this.

5:46 So before we begin our practice, please know this is one of a series of lessons

5:51 that we have on how to speak more powerfully in English,

5:56 so watch the other lessons as well.

5:59 Now let's begin.

6:01 I'm going to read the contracted sentence,

6:04 and then you tell me the full form, and then we'll say them aloud together.

6:10 This is the best way for you to really feel the difference.

6:14 All right?

6:15 So, here's the first one.

6:17 "We're the best team." How can you improve that?

6:26 "We are the best team." Say it with me.

6:29 "We are the best team." And if you can do this, that's even better.

6:33 Okay?

6:34 A little bit of body language.

6:36 "We are the best team." Next,

6:40 "I wouldn't recommend that company." Find the contraction,

6:46 remove it, say the full form.

6:50 What is it?

6:53 "I would not recommend that company." Say it with me.

6:58 "I would not recommend that company." Good for you.

7:03 That's a firm sentence.

7:05 Next, "That's a good idea." Or, say it with me, "That is a good idea.

7:17 That is a good idea." Number four,

7:22 "They shouldn't sign the contract." What would that be?

7:29 "They should not sign the contract." Repeat after me.

7:34 "They should not sign the contract." Also, you see,

7:37 it's so important because if you say this word really fast,

7:41 people might not even hear that negative part, right?

7:44 "They shouldn't sign the contract." What did you say?

7:47 Positive, negative, "I should", "I shouldn't", what did they say, right?

7:51 "They should not sign the contract" is very clear.

7:57 Next, "Don't worry.

7:58 I'll call you tonight." Now, let's say this is something really important,

8:03 you want to make sure that the person doesn't worry,

8:06 so you say, "Don't worry, I will call you tonight." Let's say it together,

8:14 "Don't worry, I will call you tonight." Great.

8:19 Number six, "The employees haven't returned yet." Say the full form,

8:28 "The employees have not returned yet." Say it together,

8:33 "The employees have not returned yet." Okay?

8:37 You're really emphasizing that.

8:38 As I said, sometimes you're clarifying because somebody

8:41 thinks the employees have returned, but they have not.

8:45 You want to emphasize it.

8:47 In all cases, you're emphasizing something by confirming

8:50 it or by clarifying and correcting it.

8:53 Okay?

8:54 Next, let's say somebody misses their flight and they're

8:58 worried and they go to the airline counter, and then the person said,

9:03 "There's a flight tonight." Or, "There is a flight tonight." Say it with me,

9:12 "There is a flight tonight.

9:13 Don't worry." Okay?

9:17 Next, number eight, "They've sent the invoice." Say it with me now,

9:26 "They have sent the invoice." "They have sent the invoice." In this case,

9:33 you might not be happy, but that's the fact.

9:35 You have to clarify it.

9:36 Right?

9:37 Next, number nine, "We've reviewed the data" or "data",

9:42 pronounced both ways, "We've reviewed the data",

9:47 "We have reviewed the data." Say it with me,

9:54 "We have reviewed the data." And it's fine, it's correct, it's accurate.

9:59 Okay?

9:59 Like that.

10:00 You're emphasizing it.

10:02 And the last one, "They don't want to sell the house." What's the full form?

10:11 "They do not want to sell the house." Repeat after me,

10:15 "They do not want to sell the house." Did

10:18 you feel the difference when you were saying these?

10:21 Don't they sound so much stronger, clearer?

10:24 And there's no question what anybody is

10:27 going to understand when you speak like this.

10:31 All right?

10:31 So, start doing this from today.

10:34 Say the sentences out loud, go back if you need to, practice again,

10:38 but say the sentences out loud.

10:40 It's not enough to think them in your head, because this is about speaking.

10:44 All right?

10:45 And as I said, this is a series,

10:47 so watch the other lessons, you will become a more powerful English speaker.

10:52 Thanks for watching.

10:53 All the best with your English.