Being an advanced English speaker doesn’t mean you always need to use advanced level grammar, vocabulary or pronunciation.
In fact, some of the things that make you an advanced speaker are “simple, but genius”. They’re so simple that you wonder why you never did them before!
Here are three of them.
Repeating words
You can add emphasis to what you say by the simple (but very effective) way of repeating words – rather than using an extra phrase. Here are two examples for you:
1. Repeating single words
You can use this technique when you feel very strongly about something. It works particularly well with the words “really” and “never / ever”, but would sound strange with other words. You’ll need to stress the words to create emphasis.
“I really, really detest the cold.”
“I never, never want to hear from you again!”
“Don’t ever, ever say that word again!”
2. In comparisons
Repeat “much”, “far” and “way” for a comparison with emphasis. Again, make sure you stress the repeated word.
“People are much, much friendlier in this town!”
“I’m far, far happier now that I’ve changed jobs.”
“She’s way, way easier to get on with than her colleague.”
Listen to the audio to hear the emphasis.
Setting time expectations
This is a simple way to make sure people listen to you. You can use a phrase before you speak which tells people how long you will speak for, or how much you want to say. When you do this, people know what to expect, so they are less likely to interrupt you. A brilliant strategy!
Use a phrase like this:
“I’d like to make a couple of points / comments / observations. The first is this….”
“There are two things I’d like to add / say. Firstly…”
The power of “because”
I’m including this psychological tip, because it helps to get you a positive result when you use English.
The word “because” is one of the most powerful ways to get someone else to agree to a request. When you say “because” and then give a reason, the other person is much (much!) more likely to do what you ask.
“Do you mind if I sit by the window, because I’m waiting for someone.”
“Could you help me with my bag, because it’s a little heavy for me?”
“Can you help me with this report, because I don’t know if I can do it in time.”
Get more “simple but genius” speaking tips!
These tips all come from my new program Advanced English Speaking In 100 Steps. These steps give you speaking phrases, conversation skills, grammar & vocabulary and pronunciation tips to get to advanced speaking level, so that you can navigate English conversations easily and speak with authority and influence.
You also get two study plans which give you the exact sequence of steps and follow-up activities. Click below to get started!