Speaking to an audience in the age of AI: why confidence is built from childhood | Berlitz BG

What does learning a foreign language add?

When such exercises occur in English, German or another foreign language, the child receives an additional opportunity for development.

He cannot always rely on ready-made expressions that he uses in his mother tongue. He must look for other ways to explain his thought, use context, ask questions and orient himself by the reaction of his interlocutors.

Thus, learning a language can become an exercise not only in vocabulary and grammar, but also in communicative ingenuity.

In Berlitz language courses for children and teenagers,  speaking is at the center of learning. Through dialogues, games and situations from everyday life, children get the opportunity to practice how to express their own thoughts in a new language.

This is a good foundation for the confidence they will later need in school, university and professional life.

With adults, the challenge is often to dare to speak

Many adults know the unpleasant feeling of having something to say but not joining the conversation.

Sometimes the reason is worrying about the attention of others. Other times it is the fear that they will make a mistake, that they will not express themselves clearly enough, or that someone will interrupt them.

In a foreign language, this hesitation can become even stronger.

We can understand almost everything we hear and still avoid asking a question. Knowing the grammar rules, but keeping silent about an interesting idea because we are not sure how to formulate it.

Therefore, confident speaking should not be considered only as a quality of sociable people. It is a skill that can be practiced and developed.

Small conversations are preparation for a large audience

We do not need to start by speaking in front of dozens of people.

We can first learn to tell a short story, explain a position, or present our own idea in a small group.

For example, explaining in English why we recommend a certain place to travel. Participating in a discussion where another person disagrees with us. Asking an additional question instead of ending the conversation at the first difficulty.

These situations develop skills that we later use in front of an audience: clear thought structure, adaptation to the interlocutor, active listening and reaction in the moment.

In Berlitz language courses for adults , learning begins with the active use of the target language. Thus, conversation is not just a final test of knowledge, but part of how it is acquired.

In work, presentation skills are already a necessity

In the professional environment, speaking in front of people is rarely limited to a formal presentation.

Sometimes it's a two-minute presentation of an idea during a meeting. Other times, it's explaining a complex problem to a client or defending a proposal to management.

In international companies, the need to communicate in a foreign language is added to this.

A well-known situation arises here: one of the most prepared people in the room does not get involved in the discussion because it is difficult for him to formulate his arguments quickly enough in English.

His silence can be misinterpreted as a lack of opinion or initiative. In reality, the problem is sometimes only linguistic confidence.

When a professional has the opportunity to practice presenting ideas, answering objections and participating in discussions, he gradually begins to make more full use of the knowledge he already has.

The real test comes after the last slide

Every professional presentation has two parts.

The first is the one that we can prepare in advance: the content, the sequence, the examples and the visuals.

The second begins when the audience reacts.

Someone disagrees. Someone else asks for additional data. A third raises a question that is not foreseen in the presentation.

In such moments, both language and communication skills are needed. We need to understand the question, organize our answer and express it clearly without losing touch with the audience.

This is also the reason why Berlitz corporate language training includes practical situations such as business meetings, presentations and negotiations. The goal is for employees to be able to use the language for specific tasks in their professional lives.

How do you train confident speaking?

One of the most useful exercises is to try to explain a familiar idea in one minute, without pre-written text.

We can start with a simple structure: what is our main thought, why we think so, and what example we can use to support it.

The exercise then becomes more interesting when another person asks a question.

Can we answer without repeating what is said verbatim? Can we explain the complex more simply? And if we don't know the answer, can we safely admit it and specify what we need to check?

This latter is also part of confident communication. A persuasive speaker is not the person who always has a ready answer, but the one who can have a meaningful conversation even in uncertainty.

Practicing in a foreign language environment adds another useful challenge. If we don't know a specific word, we need to explain it in a different way. If we don't understand the question, we need to ask for clarification. If someone doesn't understand us, we need to reformulate our thought.

These are skills that are difficult to build by memorization alone.

That is why the Berlitz method puts speaking and practice in a real context at the heart of learning. Instead of waiting for the moment when we know everything we need, we start using the language while we are learning it.

In the future, it will not be enough just to have a good idea

Artificial intelligence gives us more and more opportunities to prepare information, research topics and shape our own ideas.

But communication remains a process between people.

An idea becomes meaningful when we can explain why it is important, discuss it with others, and take responsibility for it.

Therefore, speaking in front of an audience is not just a useful addition to education or professional qualifications. It is a skill that helps us turn our knowledge into participation, influence and opportunities.

For the child, this can begin with the first story in front of the group. For the adult, with the conversation in which he finally dares to express his opinion. For the professional, with the presentation in which he not only shows his work, but manages to defend it.

Because it is important not only what you know, but also what you can do with your words.