A short motivational YouTube video ("Speak up. In English.") led by Hadar Shemesh with multiple women delivering brief testimonial and exhortative lines encouraging non-native English speakers — especially women — to overcome fear of speaking, stop self-judgment, practice persistently, and support one another. The transcript contains opening remarks about systemic silencing of women, personal anecdotes (e.g., improvement through practice; a friend named Leila), repeated refrains urging confidence, and calls to shatter glass ceilings and help other women.
Chapters
Women have been silenced for decades and generations. It's in our DNA. We don't live in an equal society and women's voices are not being heard enough. As a result, women tend to be perfectionists, overly judgmental, and need to work a lot harder to prove themselves and to succeed. And when it comes to English, the fear of speaking up becomes paralyzing. When you're a non native speaker. This message is for you from your sisters around the world.
Happy day to all the women all around the world.
Hello beautiful women out there.
Hey beautiful ladies.
Hello. Hello to our great women. Happy Women's Day.
One of my dreams for us is the day that each woman has the freedom to choose their life.
What would you say to a woman who doesn't ask for a promotion, apply for a better job, afraid to speak in meetings, doesn't trouble, doesn't speak because she feels my age.
It's not good enough. I'm not fluent, it's not my mother tongue, so how could I ever speak it properly? I should just not speak because if I make mistake, I will end up being a joke. How many times have you said that to yourself? Stop. Stop focusing so much on your faults and start celebrating that you communicated successfully. It's not a measure of your intelligence, it's just a language.
All women and all around the world are beautiful.
Today I want you to think real hard about the one glass ceiling that you like to shatter, that you like to break. About small things, you know, just baby steps, but also something huge, like becoming the first female president in your own country.
I know you're afraid of speaking up and being judged. Don't let your negative thoughts drive your actions.
If you ever felt helpless, speechless, underestimated, all these things, they don't define who you truly are.
Believe in yourself and go for it.
You can do it.
Please believe in yourself. Believe that you deserve the good things and you have the right to speak up, to bring your ideas to the world.
You may think that you don't have any talent, or you're not worth it, or you don't speak that much, or you are wonderful because you are.
You do what you want, not what others want you to do. Don't let anyone set boundaries for you based on your gender. You can do anything.
Anything.
Be proud of yourself.
About a year into working on my English, I felt a bit stuck. I didn't really feel any improvement. I was frustrated. But then one day I found some old recordings of me. And not only that my pronunciation has improved, but also my intonation got so much better. And the most important thing, my confidence. Don't give up. Keep putting in the work and the results will come.
Please don't be afraid to speak English. If you feel your English isn't good enough to communicate, to participate in a meeting, be proud of how hard you are trying.
At the beginning, I listened to my voice and I hate my voice. I hate it. But with Hadar's support and discipline. I love my voice now. Yes, I do. I want you to empower your voice because you can do it too.
Support other women when you see them doing something great. We need each other.
We need to help each other. And we need to be proud and be an example for our children.
This message is for all the women who are afraid of losing their English. They think they are not up to scratch and therefore they are losing opportunities. I was ashamed myself of speaking in public. Here I am. I could travel. Everybody understood me. The same will happen to you. So don't be afraid. Speak up.
Just do it.
With luck, when I think about a strong woman, I immediately think about my friend Leila, who at the age of 14 was married off in Irvan and came here to the United States. When I met Leila, her English was poor. She couldn't communicate really well. But what I admire about her is that not even for a second did she think that's an obstacle. She wasn't afraid to follow her dreams. And she didn't think that lack of some knowledge was gonna stop her.
You can become an athlete, a housewife, an actress, a scientist, a mother, a surgeon, a pilot.
