C1 Level (Advanced)
In international workplaces, we often focus on perfect grammar, advanced vocabulary and polished pronunciation. While these elements matter, they are not what makes someone an effective communicator.
What truly sets confident professionals apart is something far more human: their ability to listen, connect and build rapport.
Over the course of many years teaching English learners from all over the world, I’ve noticed patterns emerging in the specific challenges that my students face. Many times, they’ve told me how frustrating it is for them when they can’t communicate in the ‘real world’ the way that they can when they are chatting with me, or the other Intrepid English teachers.
I began researching the impact of stress on someone’s ability to communicate, especially in a foreign language and found something astonishing:
We communicate confidently when we feel calm, inspired and relaxed; when we are ‘in the moment’, mindful and present. We speak fluently when we feel connected (to ourself and to the person or people we are speaking with). When we are stressed, we lose that connection to ourself and others and our fluency takes a nosedive.
This insight is deeply supported by research. Krashen’s Affective Filter theory shows that when anxiety rises, access to language drops dramatically. This prevents you from communicating as clearly as you can when you’re comfortable and relaxed. When you’re in a high-pressure situation, listening becomes even more important than speaking.
If you’d like to learn more, read to the end of this blog post where I include details of more research that supports this theory.
So how does active listening help us to be present and connected in real professional settings?
Presence Creates Connection
First things first, you cannot actively listen if you’re rehearsing your response in your head.
Many multilingual professionals fall into the trap of planning their next sentence before the other person has finished speaking. This creates two problems:
- You lose the thread of what they’re actually saying
- They sense that your attention isn’t fully with them
Presence; slowing down, breathing, focusing on meaning rather than formulating your next response, makes you feel more engaged and confident. People perceive presence as respect and respect builds trust.
Your Expression Profile Shapes the Way You Listen
One of the most powerful insights from a recent workshop I delivered with my collaborator, psychologist Olga Bulgakova, is that listening is not a one-size-fits-all skill. That’s why it’s important to learn techniques that suit your personality.
If you’re a quiet, observant type, learning the same techniques as people who are naturally extroverted won’t work.
That’s why we’ve developed the concept of Expression Profiles.
Your Expression Profile influences your listening habits in various ways:
- Analysers listen for detail but may overthink and later worry they didn’t express themselves the way they intended
- Harmonisers listen warmly but may agree with everything instead of contributing a fresh perspective
- Visionaries listen energetically but may interrupt without realising
- Achievers listen efficiently but sometimes get a little impatient if someone takes time to get to the point
- Reflectors listen deeply but may stay silent for fear of speaking imperfectly
Understanding this helps you recognise your patterns and gives you more control over how you show up in conversations. (You can discover your Expression Profile by taking this short quiz).
The purpose of learning your Expression Profile is not to label you, it’s to help you understand the particular challenges you face when communicating in English. You may be a blend of different EPs, but this exercise will help you to learn your primary communication patterns so that you can learn techniques that fit your personality and help you to communicate in a way that is aligned with who you are and how you want to show up.
Cultural Tendencies Influence Rapport
During the Connect Workshop that Olga and I delivered in the Global Communicators Hub, we looked at the Lewis Model, which shows that cultures tend to favour certain communication rhythms.
For example:
- Some cultures, such as UK, German or Swiss, value structure and directness
- People from Brazil, Mexico, Italy or Portugal value relational warmth and overlap in conversation
- Many Asian cultures, such as Japan, China and Vietnam value listening, patience and respectful pauses before a response
Of course, these are generalisations, but when we recognise these tendencies, we stop interpreting communication differences as “rude”, “too emotional”, or “too passive”. Instead, we begin to communicate with curiosity instead of judgement, which dramatically improves rapport.
If you work with people from different cultures, I highly recommend taking some time to review the Lewis Model. It can help you to understand the prevailing culture you’re working in and adapt accordingly.
Active Listening Techniques
Here are four simple techniques you can practise today:
- Paraphrase: “So what I’m hearing is…”
- Clarify: “Can I check I’ve understood correctly?”
- Acknowledge: “I see what you mean. That makes sense.”
- Reflect feeling: “It sounds like this is important to you.”
These tools show presence, reduce misunderstanding and help people feel heard, even if your English isn’t perfect.
In the Connect workshop (which can be found in the Classroom section of the Global Communicators Hub), you will find a range of active listening phrases to suit your Expression Profile as well as the Expression Profile of the person you’re speaking with.
Because when you have a little self-awareness and you consider the communication styles of those you are speaking with, you will feel much more confident in your communication. This will make sure you’re more present in the conversation and more able to connect with them.
Because people remember how you made them feel, not how perfect your grammar was.
Active listening isn’t about being silent.
It’s about being present.
It’s about understanding your Expression Profile, paying attention to the person in front of you and building rapport through empathy and awareness, especially in multicultural teams where communication styles vary.
When you master active listening, you don’t just become a better communicator.
You become a better leader, colleague and collaborator.
Learn These Skills Inside the Global Communicators Hub
If you’d like to explore these tools more deeply, including how your communication style, nervous system and cultural environment affect the way you listen and speak, join us inside the Global Communicators Hub.
It’s where international professionals learn communication beyond vocabulary and grammar: and develop skills of presence, clarity, confidence and cultural intelligence.
If you’re interested in learning more about the connection between stress and fluency, Krashen’s work is strongly supported by other researchers in language learning and identity:
Gwo-Jen Hwang Lin’s 2008 study showed that when learners feel relaxed, included and emotionally safe, their confidence and performance increase significantly, reinforcing the idea that lowering anxiety enhances learning.
Bonny Norton and Kathryn Toohey’s research on identity demonstrates that learners speak more freely when they feel recognised and valued within a community, not judged or evaluated.
Michele Carazzai expands on this by showing how language learning is deeply tied to identity, belonging and the communities learners imagine themselves joining.
Together, these studies highlight a powerful truth: communication flourishes not only through linguistic skill, but through emotional safety, identity support and meaningful connection. This is why active listening, self-awareness and rapport-building, not just focusing on grammar and vocabulary, form the foundation of confident communication in global professional settings.