Hadar Shemesh tells non-native English speakers to stop apologizing for their English at the start of conversations. Apologizing positions you as inferior when mistakes in a second language are completely normal and expected, like not apologizing for being short.
You walked into a conversation or a meeting, and the first thing you said is, I'm sorry for my English. I'm sorry for my mistakes. My English is terrible. The first thing, before you even started talking, you apologized. You have already positioned yourself below the person in front of you. You've said, I'm a little inferior to you because I don't know how to speak the language that well. I make mistakes. Now, first of all, newsflash. English is your second language, which means that you will be making mistakes in English. If you speak a language that is not your native language, you are very likely to make mistakes. That's just circumstances. That's facts of life. And that is okay. You do not need to apologize for it. I don't apologize for the fact that I'm short. I was born that way. I wouldn't think about saying something like, oh, I'm really sorry for the fact that I'm so short and you have to look down when speaking to me. Right. Same idea.
Read Out Loud with me! Dare to Lead by Brené Brown | Pronunciation & Vocabulary practice
