How do you go about that?

In this video, let's just assume that you have found a place where you can start speaking your target language.

It could be a class, it could be a discussion group, it could be a group of friends that you made just to practice this target language⏤

whatever it is, let's just assume that you have a place to speak.

But despite already finding a place where you can already speak, you just find it very hard to speak out because you're just so shy.

Maybe you're introverted, maybe you're just too nervous, or whatever.

So, in this video, I want to give you some tips on how you can overcome this.

One, shift the focus.

So, one of the reasons why you're probably nervous and you're too shy to speak out is probably because you are thinking out of fear.

You're thinking that people are gonna judge you.

People are gonna make fun of you.

People are gonna think your accent is weird.

People are gonna think you're stupid, etc.

The truth is, most people are too busy thinking about themselves to actually think about you.

And the hard truth, which is actually a good thing for you, is that you're not special.

Everyone else is going through the same process, everyone else is also afraid to look bad.

And most of the time, people are probably also afraid that you might judge them for their language skills, etc.

So, just shift the focus from thinking that people will think you're stupid to actually focusing on the content of your message.

So, the only thing that you need to focus on when you speak out is: How do I deliver my message clearly so that other people can understand it?

Number two, prepare beforehand.

So, if you know you're gonna be in a situation where you're going to speak out, prepare.

Especially if you know that you're a shy person, that you're gonna feel anxious when you speak out.

I really recommend you to take some time to prepare mentally or even physically before the session starts.

So, let's say you found this conversation class and it starts everyday at 3 p.m.

So, for at least a whole day or even, like, a couple of hours before, prepare.

And how do you prepare, exactly?

So, for every person, it's different.

For me, in order to prepare myself to actually speak out, I'm gonna get as much input as possible.

So, let's say a couple of hours before or maybe the night before,

I will be watching a movie in the target language or I would even try to come up with dialogues in my head when I go about my day.

Maybe I can just read that boo⏤read a book in the language.

It's up to you.

And the reason why I need enough input to prepare is to warm up the mode of the target language in my head.

For example, if I always go through my day in English, and then, I know that I'm gonna have to speak French at 3 p.m. everyday,

so, this means that the English mode and the French mode are fighting against each other.

So, giving myself enough input in French is going to strengthen the French mode, and when the French mode is strengthen in my head, it's just a lot easier for me to get it out as output, to speak out.

So, that is how I prepare, normally, and it always works.

Whenever I know I'm gonna speak French, and then I watch a series or a video beforehand, the French mode just comes out a lot more naturally.

However, this is just my way; people usually prepare in different ways.

Maybe you can give yourself a pep talk before your session.

Maybe you can take a deep breath.

You can meditate.

You can practice.

You can dance to music to feel more energized.

You can exercise to make yourself feel confident.

Whatever it is, you know best how you can prepare yourself to get better.

Number three, lower your expectation of yourself.

So, one of the reasons why you're probably nervous and you get anxious before you speak is probably because you have too high of an expectation about yourself.

I need to have the perfect accent.

I need to use difficult vocabulary to sound smart.

I shouldn't made this kind of grammatical mistake when I speak out.

So, forget all of that.

Giving yourself too much expectation is going to be counterproductive.

I can say this with confidence because I go through this problem every single week whenever I want to record a video.

Whenever I have too much expectation with myself, like, I need to get it perfect on the first take; I need to be able to do this video within a 20-minute period;

I should remember all of my points; and then I'm just gonna have to look at the camera all the time so that I don't have to do jump cuts in my video.

So, actually, giving all of these expectations of myself⏤high expectations of myself⏤is actually gonna make me a lot more nervous,

and then I will end up messing up the script, stumbling on my words, and... yeah.

So, don't expect too much of yourself.

Again, like I said in point number one, focus on the message.

What do you need to deliver in your message, and how can you make this as clear as possible to your target audience, to your conversational partner?

This is the only expectation you need to have for yourself whenever you speak out.

Other stuff?

They're gonna think I'm stupid; I need to have a perfect accent; I shouldn't make grammatical mistakes.

That doesn't work.

That's gonna make you even more nervous, and hence, you're gonna paralyze when you speak out, when you put too much pressure on yourself.

So, those are the three tips that I think can help you feel a lot less nervous when you speak out.

So, I hope you guys liked this video, and I hope they help you a little bit.

If you liked this video, make sure to give it a thumbs-up and subscribe, if you haven't already.

As usual, I will see you next week in another video.

Until then, take care and bye bye.