How to Talk to a Native Speaker (R&W)

When it’s time to (...), set aside grammar and vocabulary. (1) Confidence, (2) precision, and (3) tact will help both you and your counterpart walk away satisfied. (A companion article to How to Talk to a Non-Native Speaker.)

Embarrassing moments aside, all second language learners will eventually face the need to use their second language (...). That might be in an actual life-or-death situation where you need to get to a hospital. It might also be something as banal-but-stressful as a job interview.

But if speaking with native speakers is not something you’re used to, then you’re certain to feel blocked or intimidated at first. Words won’t come out the way you want them to. Phrases you’re sure you learned will be forgotten and linger (...).

Be confident in what you want to say — even if you’re not confident in how to say it. (...) you can’t communicate well unless you have something to communicate. If you can’t explain an idea successfully in your own native language, it’s unlikely you’ll succeed in doing so in your second or third.

Much of the time people don’t notice when you make mistakes or deviate from your agenda. When you defy your listener’s expectations, (...) it was a mistake. There’s also a chance that you’ve improvised a better way to convey your idea.

(...) the stereotype of a non-native speaker who over-uses idioms in daily speech. Such non-native implementations of “native” speaking norms are very jarring to native speaker ears, and they risk drawing even more attention to your language skills rather than pushing attention away from them.

Such interactions (...). Cross-cultural communication is more than words. It is also body language, cultural courtesies, and even talking time.

Knowing what cultural (...) a conversation will permit you to better adapt to the needs of your counterpart.

(...) This is an excellent way of telling your partner that there was a word you didn’t understand. You also succeed in avoiding an embarrassing situation in which they just repeat the same thing they said before, but slower or louder.

(...) This is another way of getting things explained to you. However, the power of this phrase is that it’s a question that a native speaker might ask of another native speaker. By asking this specific question, you’re able to keep the “language factor” out of the conversation.