When I signed up for an online conference (as an attendee), I expected experts share their expertise about the topic. And they did. But I was surprised by the organizer of the conference.

She was an elderly lady sitting at her kitchen table, with flowery curtains on the window behind her. It was a simple, unpretentious environment, the lighting wasn't perfect - nothing looked professional about her.

She made small talk with the guests (experts) and didn't seem afraid of going off at a tangent or forgetting her notes. When it was her turn to make a presentation, her slides looked almost too simple, and a bit outdated. 

It sounds like I wasted my time. But I didn't. 

The webinars were actually quite useful. I learned a lot. 

One of the lessons I learned (apart from the topics covered at the conference) was this:

Don't overthink it. 

With my perfectionism, I sometimes endlessly improve and refine a thing to make the best impression.

I often waste a lot of effort on something that wasn't worth it.

If I were trying to organize a conference, I'd think about renovating my apartment, buying new camera, creating the most incredible presentations etc etc - and I'd probably end up giving up such a huge project.

That woman didn't. She just did it.

What matters is focusing on the meat without getting hung up on the details:

She has useful information, she shared it. With imperfect lighting, kitchen curtains, and all.

When it comes to learning English, a lot of learners overthink their mistakes and things they can't do perfectly yet. 

They get so distracted by them that they forget what the point of learning English is to share, to learn, to communicate with other people.

You can't spend 3-5 years of your life hiding behind a textbook or app, before you show yourself to other English-speaking people and talk to them. 

Yes, some people will notice the imperfections - so what? You got what you wanted: learned, shared, made friends. 

👉When was the last time you communicated with people in English? Tell me about your purpose in the conversation and how it went. 

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Tania.

PS: If you want to have more conversations in English, sign up for the  Movie Discussion Community to talk about movies you've seen - or check out my Conversationalist classes. 

PPS: Thanks for reading! Reply any time.

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