When you are bilingual, and you are not experienced or practicing the second language regularly or on daily basis you will not expect the struggle you face, also you will never guess that your listening skills will be affected with that.
During the first year after coming to the USA, that was a struggle for me, and it stied that way because I was not employed and not in constant interaction with people who speak English that much or involved in long conversations.
In a series of events in my first year after moving to Toledo, which needs different post to tell, I ended up in a training given by Debby Peters from Connexnation, one of the people getting the training with me was the president of Westgate Toastmaster who is now a dear friend invited me to visit the club, and all it took is one visit, then visited another few times by November 2017 I was member.
Lucky me I joined at the time of releasing the “Pathway” program to replace legacy program, from that point everything changed, the way a Toastmasters meeting is setup give you the freedom to make mistake while making sure where you did wrong and where you did great, this way you know what to keep and what to fix.
It did not change or improve my English, It restored a certain level of self-trust, and believing that you can do whatever you start doing, Toastmasters help you practice your English, eliminate your fear from public speaking and Grouw your leadership skills. and as a startup owner that’s exactly what you need.
Fast forward to today, I’m surgent in arms for my club, finished three levels on my pathway under “Strategic relationships” which account to ~12 evaluated speeches.
Next time you think you need to become a better public speaker go and join Toastmasters club in your area.
Leo Make 