I attended a virtual AI conference and several speakers/ hosts, based on how they spoke, were not native English speakers. One host kept saying ‘you know’, another seemed hesitated to choose word to use, and a panelist spoke on ‘n on in circles…
At first, I was irritated then I felt bad for them (they could be very skilled in their fields but communication hindered them). Later, it occurred to me that perhaps ‘I’ was the problem…
First, to be able to speak more than one language is an achievement by itself. Second, I’ve developed ‘keen’ listening, noticing more details thanks to Toastmaster training; for most people, the speakers/ hosts might sound fine or normal. Third, I remember when I watched my (recorded) first speech at Toastmaster, I was shocked and crushed…I moved left ‘n right non-stop and seemed to use ‘you knows’ for every other sentence. Oh, no…I had been giving presentations for years, how did I…9 years later, I’m very different, thanks to feedback and practice, yet there is always room to grow.
The goal is not about speaking perfect English (or any language) or being perfect but continue getting better…in telling our stories, doing what we do, and being ourselves!