The key to speaking confidently is not what you think
I wanted to share something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately: what it means to speak with confidence.
The key to speaking confidently is not about never making mistakes. Instead, it’s about accepting that you will make mistakes and speaking anyway.
Being fearless doesn’t mean you’re never scared. It means seeing the fear and going towards it anyway.
The same goes for speaking confidently. When I accepted that I wouldn’t sound perfect but spoke anyway, this was when I saw the biggest improvement in my speaking.
Why? Because I spoke more, made more mistakes, got more feedback, and had more opportunities to improve.
Mistakes are what help you grow faster. When you make a mistake, you either notice it yourself or someone points it out. That’s how you find out what needs improving. But if you hide all your insecurities and avoid making mistakes, you won't get the chance to improve.
But that’s not all. Trying to control how others see you all the time is exhausting. No matter how hard you try, you can't control what others think of you.
Plus, constantly worrying about it limits what you say. You end up not trying new things or not speaking up as much, and that means you miss out on learning and growing.
Unfortunately, this was me. I was walking on eggshells, never daring to make a mistake, but always stagnant with my Chinese.
Fortunately, I realized my mistake and changed. I also got rid of a lot of stress because I wasn’t constantly worrying and overthinking about what to say.
Instead, I started to speak more freely.
But in the beginning, it's hard to know what to say. That's why I recommend copying native Chinese speakers by using the Copy Paste Speak System which teaches you how to copy native speakers, how to sound more natural when you speak, and the 8-step system I used to build a speaking habit.
If you want to learn it, grab it here:
https://copypastespeaking.danyopang.com/
Today’s the last day I’m offering a free call to personally optimize your learning for anyone who signs up. After today, it will be gone.
加油,
Danyo
PS vocab of the day:
混为一谈 (hùn wéi yī tán)
混 (hùn): To mix; to confuse.
为 (wéi): To become; to turn into.
一 (yī): One; single.
谈 (tán): To talk; to discuss.
Translation: To lump together different things and treat them as the same; to confuse one thing with another.
Example sentence: 不能把不同的问题混为一谈,每个问题都有其独特性。(Bù néng bǎ bù tóng de wèn tí hùn wéi yī tán, měi gè wèn tí dōu yǒu qí dú tè xìng.) We should not lump different issues together; each issue has its own uniqueness.