How an intermediate level of business English can work to your advantage!
Here’s something I hear all the time:
“I feel confident in business English conversations with people who have my level of English, but I feel nervous when I speak to native English speakers.”
If your clients or target clients speak a kind of international business English i.e. with a B2 or C1 level, they may feel more confident doing business with your company, if the people they’re talking to also have a B2 or C1 level.
This is good news for you! You don’t need to have a C2 or proficiency level of business English to do business in English. A good command of English, what’s often described as “verhandlungssicheres englisch” is usually enough.
When switching the company working language from German into English, it’s worth modelling this. Make sure that you encourage B2 and C1 level speakers to speak up in business English meetings. When people see that their level of business English for presentations is good enough for a professional meeting or event, it will boost confidence all round.
For native speakers or people who have a proficiency level of English, don’t despair! Just adapt your English to make it more international English friendly. To find out how to do this, check out my next blogpost.
Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash