Beyond English Fluency: Personality and Communication

Does Personality Impact Your Ability to Communicate and Speak in English??

In Beyond English Fluency, I will be diving into topics and sharing strategies around communication that go beyond language.?

When I first started Fluent Speakers, I realised that what is holding many incredible professionals back from opportunities and their full potential is their communication skills. Many of them could speak English (some were even native English speakers!). It was clear that they didn’t need English lessons but to learn how to bring together their knowledge and skills and apply it to professional situations in English and a global environment.?

If you want to learn more about how I do that, feel free to reach out or read my story here .?

What I realised is that we have the power to bring about change. No matter what language you speak, we all have so much potential to excel.

There are many factors that influence how we communicate and how we express ourselves.

It goes beyond the language.

Our own preferences also impact those around us, how we respond to information, how we are perceived and the relationships we build.

It can also influence the success or failure of a project or a team.

You may have been made to think that extroverts have an advantage when it comes to language learning and communicating.

Not everyone enjoys the social aspect of learning a language and communicating with others.

The thought of meeting strangers to speak with them in a foreign language might make you want to stay at home and hide in your duvet. On the other hand, it might make you very excited to use your language and speak with others.

The variables related to personality can include anxiety or self-esteem, extroversion and introversion and our individual differences.

Our personality affects the way we respond and the way we prefer to learn.

But how much?

While there are multiple factors that impact how we learn and communicate, the roles of individual differences in personality are significant.

One of those individual differences is our extroversion or introversion.

Extroversion has been viewed as being a positive factor in the development of second language learning and interpersonal skills. There is a belief that extroverted learners are more likely to interact and be able to interact with ease in a foreign language.

Before I go deeper into the topic, here is how I would define extroversion and introversion.

Extroversion and introversion refer to where people receive energy from. If you are an extrovert you will be energised by being around people, socialising, having lots of friends, instead of a few intimate ones where as an introvert gets their energy from being alone or with a smaller group of friends.

As an extrovert you tend to enjoy working in a group and are most comfortable when working with people. You feel most energised to collaborate and work with others. You usually want to try something new. You are more likely to take risks, generally find it easy to express yourself, you are more sociable and are pretty optimistic- which as a language learner can be very important traits to have.

As an introvert you tend to consider things more carefully, you spend a lot of time thinking things over. Generally, you also prefer to avoid conflict. You are less likely to start a conversation with people you don’t know very well - even with people you do know well.

You might prefer to respond to people and share your ideas through writing. This gives you a chance to think over what you want to say, which feels most comfortable for you. You do your best work in your head and work through ideas using your imagination instead of talking things through with someone.

As an introvert, you drain your energy when you are around a lot of people, social gatherings can make you feel tired and you need lots of time for yourself to wind down after a long day.

Language learning is an individual pursuit.

I want to add that there is no right or wrong, and your personality is uniquely yours.

You might believe an extrovert is someone who is outgoing but that isn’t necessarily the case. One of the biggest myths is that introverts are shy and extroverts are outgoing.

Some research has found that introverts may study target language with more ease and develop higher levels of cognitive academic language proficiency.

Extroverts are more likely to participate in interactions and spend more time practicing the language. As an extrovert you enjoy speaking with people.

Extroverts get energised from external sources whereas introverts gain energy from their internal ideas, thoughts and impressions.

It might be that you feel you don’t fit into either of those or that you are a little bit of both.

I would encourage you to take advantage of your strengths and work on using your weaknesses to your advantage.

As an introvert:

Do: Take advantage of the time when you are alone as it is a great opportunity to focus on building your communication and language skills.

Do: Spend the time listening to podcasts, studying and practicing, building your vocabulary and foundations.

Do: Start small with people you trust and build your skills from there.

Don’t: Stay in your comfort zone and never practice your skills!

You want to push yourself out of your comfort zone, speak to new people and do some things that might feel a little scary but in a way that you understand your own energy and how much you can handle.

Don’t: Be afraid to make mistakes.

I’ve worked with many introverts who have a very high level of grammar, vocabulary, reading, writing… they are very good at the language but because they don’t spend enough time developing speaking skills they may struggle with expressing themselves - simply because they do not put as much time into practicing.

As an extrovert:

Do: When you have to do activities like reading and writing, try doing it with a friend.

Do: Process what you learn out loud. You like to verbalise your thoughts out loud and this helps you to process your ideas.

Do: Listen to others and focus on building your active listening skills.

Don’t: Get distracted! You might find that it is hard to concentrate when working alone and it can help to be around others. If you have to focus it can help to set timers for short periods of time to get the work completed.

Be aware that not everyone gets energised being around others. Sometimes your introverted colleagues and friends require space, and time alone.

For everyone:

• Find ways to enjoy learning and take advantage of them.
• Understand your own personality and traits - if you feel drained around lots of people and large groups how can you reserve your energy and use it to your advantage?
• Understand the personality and communication style of those around you - does your boss want all the details or only the most important data?
• Learn how you prefer to communicate and how you prefer to share your ideas. How can you best share information and ideas?

So what do you think? How much does your personality Impact your ability to communicate??

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Gemma