You're an entrepreneur,
you know that networking is essential for growing your business,
but what if you know, networking in English,
you're just not confident doing it,
or you just don't like networking in any language,
and you just never really know what to say or how to say it?
Well, let me help you with all of these in today's episode. Let's go.
Hi, I'm your English coach Christina,
and I'm an entrepreneur who networks in English and in French.
And welcome to business English with Christina,
where you're gonna learn how to grow your business and grow your level
in English.
Did you know that a lot of jobs and contracts and opportunities
are well, kind of like, kind of like a secret.
It's like you have to know the right person to discover the
opportunity that's just there and waiting for you. Now, over on the blog,
there's an entire article from entrepreneur.com all
about this, um, phenomenon,
maybe we can call it. But here is what you
need to know in a nutshell, the best business for startups,
solo entrepreneurs, um, small businesses,
all of that often comes through referral or word of
mouth. When you know,
you know someone who knows someone who could use your services,
and then they tell their friend, Hey, go and work with Christina.
She's like the best English coach ever. You know,
nobody knows about that opportunity,
but it's through referral or word of mouth that it happens.
And that's why networking is so important because you have to
get out there and know people,
and they know what you do so that they can refer you so that they can tell their
friends about you. Now, here's a little secret.
You don't have to speak perfect English to be really good
at networking. And honestly,
I think that that is sort of a, like a,
a limiting belief that a lot of, uh,
entrepreneurs or business owners have when they speak English as a foreign
language, they feel like, you know, I've gotta be totally bilingual or,
you know, I'm gonna try to network,
but I know that I'm gonna not have some vocabulary,
so I'm just gonna avoid that uncomfortable situation. But
that, that's,
that's stopping a lot of opportunities from coming your way.
And like I said,
you don't have to be perfect in the language to be good at
networking. I mean, like I speak French, yes, I speak French, um,
fluently. That was not always the case. Uh, but when I speak French,
like I have an American accent, like people after one.
Sentence say, Oh, where are you from? Where is this accent?
But I don't let those things stop me from going out
and trying to meet people and make contacts. And, you know,
you can use that as like part just part of your identity.
And people who, if, if that bothers them, I mean,
maybe that's not the kind of person that you want to work with.
So even if you are not a native speaker,
and even if you are not perfectly bilingual,
you can still go out and network and create relationships that
are going to help grow your business. And you know,
one thing with networking is that yes, it does require,
um, a bit of confidence,
like to go and to approach someone and to start
that conversation. Uh, it's not easy,
but if you feel confident about how you can take that first step,
like it can just open doors for you. Now,
here are some examples of things that you can say to just
break the ice, As we say. Let's imagine you're at, I don't know,
it could be a conference, it could be a networking event, it could be, um,
some kind of meeting or seminar or, you know,
any kind of a business event where you go and meet people.
Are you having issues with the wifi? Because, well,
there's always a problem with wifi at these places.
Another thing, talk about the food,
and then you can comment on like how good the food is. I mean,
it's just to start the conversation. The goal is not to get into, um,
like a philosophical discussion of, you know,
the guest astronomy of, you know what, That's not the idea.
It's just to break the ice. That sandwich looks really good.
Where did you get it? And then after you've done that,
that's maybe the right moment to just introduce yourself with something very
simple like, Oh, I'm Christina, by the way. And yes,
it can be that simple and that easy, and yes, it works.
Like that's kind of the, the way that we often break the ice.
And then introduce ourselves.
And then you can continue the conversation with another easy question.
Generally talking, you know, about
the shared event that you're experiencing together because it's an easy topic
of conversation, for example, here or two, Um,
very versatile, very useful questions.
Is this your first time attending this conference or is this
your first time in Las Vegas? And if the person has experience.
Coming to this event,
then you can ask them maybe for some tips or why they,
you know, come, why they keep coming back. Um, ask, you know,
use their experience. Uh,
I would say to get some more knowledge and insights about the event and how to
get the most out of it. And if it is their first time,
then you can ask them like what they think of the city,
if they have found any good places to eat, um, you know,
just have like a, a conversation.
Like don't put the pressure on yourself to have a
fantastic conversation.
You're just making those first steps and getting to know the person
just at the beginning so that you can go into the deeper subjects later and
feel more comfortable with that person. And then maybe you can ask, you know,
if they are at the conference to see any specific,
uh, events or talks or anything like that,
because that will give you a little more insight into maybe their interest.
Maybe they'll talk about what they do and you're getting deeper into
the, maybe the more interesting parts of the conversation.
Are you here to see any specific presentations? Now,
a little bit about, you know,
this idea of going out and doing business in a language
that is not your own. A lot of the people that I work with,
they feel like because English is not their native language,
they're like less than maybe some of the people whose
language whose native language is English.
But the fact that you have learned another language that you are
bilingual in the sense that you speak to language is not in the sense that you
speak to languages perfectly, um, but that you've had that experience,
that you have that more open mind,
like you are able to offer something that
another entrepreneur or,
or partner or whatever who only speaks one language that they cannot
offer. So don't see the fact that English is not your native
language as a weakness.
See the fact that you speak more than one language as a strength.
Now maybe you're thinking like, okay, yes, Christina,
that's great and lovely and all, but um,
I have to understand the other person. They have to understand me.
Sometimes the communication is difficult because it's in English and that's not
my language. I understand that.
But I would also say that maybe that's the case today,
but that's also why you're here improving your English so that you can
improve those skills and you can become better at communicating and doing
business in English. But you know,
if you need maybe some more proof of,
of this message that you know,
the fact that English is not your native language can be a strength.
Over on my blog, there's a,
a link to a very interesting article from ink.com all about
why, you know,
bilingual entrepreneurs are better business people. So definitely
go and check that out if you need a little, um, motivation boost,
let's say. And while you're there, um,
maybe take just a few minutes to sign up for my newsletter,
because when you get my newsletter,
of course you get the video delivered directly to your inbox. Uh,
so you don't even have to think about, you know,
going to do your English for the week, but also in the newsletter,
there's a quiz on the video of the week so that you can actually
test yourself and learn better. Now,
I wanna end today with a, um, just a good networking tip,
and that is to give more than you get.
And that means don't just go out and network and wait and
hope that other people will refer you.
Be proactive in also referring other people in putting
people in touch.
Like be that central person that people think of because you've
done something for them,
because you know the people and then they come back to you because they know
you also, I mean, just,
just think about it like when you are looking for, I don't know,
a good graphic designer or a good copywriter,
and you ask your around your friends like, Hey,
do you know a good copywriter? If they give you a good contact
and you start working with that person and it makes your life easier. Like,
you are so thankful to your friend who put you in contact with that
person. So you wanna be that person, you know,
the the person that the middle person, let's say. Um,
because then I, like I said, it just brings back all that like,
good energy back to you and people think of you when they need
whatever it is that you do. So if you want to, you know,
be proactive and recommend other people,
here's an example of how you can do that. You know what,
I know someone who would be perfect to help you.
She's a consultant and she specializes in helping small companies
transition to become big companies. Do you want me to put you in contact?
Or maybe you just, you know, you're,
you're talking to this new person and you feel like, wow,
they would really work well with my friend. I don't know, Janine,
I should put them in touch and maybe they can, I don't know,
work some magic together. Who knows, Be proactive and offer.
To put them in contact. Here's what you can say. You know,
I think I might know someone that you would like to meet because I think he
could have some really great ideas on that project that you're working on. Um,
maybe I can put you two in touch now. If you don't use it, you lose it.
So here's how you can use your English today and practice and think about
all of the things that you've learned today in the comments below.
Tell me for you,
what is the hardest part about networking English. Like don't be shy,
don't be ashamed. You know,
networking is a skill that you have to learn.
English is a skill that you have to learn. Nobody's perfect at any of those.
So yeah,
just share with us what's difficult for you and you'll probably see you're not
alone. And if this lesson was helpful for you,
I would love to know. And there are three ways that you can tell me. Of course,
subscribe to my channel. I'd love to see you back here every week.
Go over to my blog post and sign up for my newsletter so that you get
the quiz that goes with the weekly lesson. Um,
and I can just send you the weekly lesson directly to your inbox and
go ahead and watch this next video,
which is all about how to introduce yourself in English.
It's a key skill that you'll need. So maybe it's worth, I don't know,
10 minutes of your time to watch that video and learn how to do that. Well,
as always,
just thank you so much for learning with me and with business English with
Christina, and I'll see you next time.