How to be More Interesting While Talking in English

Learning a new language seems like an intimidating task. You learn the grammar, sentence structure, tense, and increase your vocabulary only to falter while making conversations. It is a frustrating and dismaying experience to be inarticulate in your speech after investing hours of your time in the language.

Be More Interesting While Talking in English

Most of these issues, however, come when we are trying to speak the language like a professional. As a learner, you must accept the fact that you are only at the beginning stage of being able to speak the language fluently and be confident in that thought. 

Here are some tips to help you speak English your way but still be interesting in your speech:

Make small talk

You don’t have to discuss political policies or international relations every time you talk in English. Use the language to make small talk. Talk about your day, favourite food, discuss your favourite music. Anything that intrigues you can be a topic to talk about. Talking about things that interest you will also make it easier for you to express your views and be casual in your speech.

Being able to hang out with friends and talk to them in English will help you learn the language a lot better than going through English speaking books, reading newspapers, English speaking course or even practising speech on your own. 

If sounding like a native speaker has always been your goal, there is no better place to start than to talk casually and hold small talks with people. 

Tell stories

We all have stories to tell. Tragic, funny, wholesome, horrific, moral or whatever, tell your stories to your friends and acquaintances in English. Don’t be hesitant if you falter in between sentences. Focus on the story and why you want everyone to know about it. It does not matter what story you tell or how you tell it, as long as you are getting your point across, you are already on the way to becoming a good English speaker.

Make sure to follow the pattern of the story as you tell it. Pause at suspenseful moments, talk loudly at exciting parts, and make a tongue in cheek jokes when required. The best part about telling stories is that you will never run out of them. We face many instances in our daily lives that can easily be made into an interesting story. Just as you talk about your day and what you did through it in your native language, try speaking the same to your friends in English. 

How to practice

Think of a story you know by heart or an instant in your life that you love to talk about. It could be anything. Something interesting you have seen recently, someone you met, or anything that you find worth talking about. 

Once you have found your story, practice talking about it in the way you would hold conversations in your native language. At the time of practice, you don’t need anyone to talk to. You can simply practice with yourself. Speak knowing that there is no one to listen to and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. When you start practicing, you will notice that there are gaps in your speech; you might be missing words or phrasing your sentences in a weird way.

Once you have figured out the gaps in your speech, try to make changes in order to rectify your story. Look up the words and phrases you are missing and practice again. 

This will help you up to your casual speech game and will make you confident in speaking in English. This is one of the best ways you can be better at speaking English and be interesting in your speech. Nevertheless, above all, you must remember that it is okay to not be a great speaker. It will take some time for you to get to where you are. In the meantime, accept your position and be confident nonetheless.