Help: How to squeeze in and boost my confidence to speak in group discussion?

I am an international student and English is my second language. I find it a bit hard to speak in a group discussion because very often I react slower than the others who can give response very fast. Sometimes when I have idea on my mind, I found myself hesitating thinking about whether it is right to say (which is a cultural difference I guess as I notice British tend to speak whatever comes up their mind) and whether or not my idea will help the others. That made me very quiet in the group and in the end it will affect the grade.

I am quite frustrated with this and would like to find ways to improve. Would anyone have any suggestions on how to improve and speak in group?

Thank you very much!

Reply 1

cheesecakelove

20

Original post by Molimolimolly

I am an international student and English is my second language. I find it a bit hard to speak in a group discussion because very often I react slower than the others who can give response very fast. Sometimes when I have idea on my mind, I found myself hesitating thinking about whether it is right to say (which is a cultural difference I guess as I notice British tend to speak whatever comes up their mind) and whether or not my idea will help the others. That made me very quiet in the group and in the end it will affect the grade.

I am quite frustrated with this and would like to find ways to improve. Would anyone have any suggestions on how to improve and speak in group?

Thank you very much!

Usually you will be given a topic or a reading for the seminar. Before then, make notes and try to come up with a list of points to mention. You could start off the group discussion by mentioning one of these points, which will help to set the direction of the conversation. There are no wrong ideas - someone may take a different view or disagree with you, but that is what a group discussion is: talking about points and ideas about the topic and debating them.

Hey @Molimolimolly

A big thing about confidence is faking it until you make it. The majority of the time, you can trick yourself into believing you're confident even if you aren't. Eventually, situations like this will melt away into the norm as you no longer have to fake it after building up your confidence.

When it comes to a group discussion, if you feel the topic is moving on too quickly and you haven't made your points, try and stop people. Say things like, "I have something to say on X Y Z topic.", "actually, I had a point to make about ...." and bring the flow of conversation back to you. That way, you're able to take some control back.

Hope this helps :smile:

Josh

Reply 3

PQ

Clearing and Applications Advisor

21

Are these group discussion with a lecturer or tutor?

If so then they should be facilitating the discussion to make sure everyone is included.

As someone from a different background who speaks a different language your insights are likely to be the most valuable within the group (it’s a pretty useless group if it’s just everyone with the same opinions agreeing with each other!).

Try speaking to your tutor about how you find it difficult to contribute and see whether they can help guide the discussions better or ask for your opinions in the group.

Reply 4

wonderland.16

11

The above posters have mostly covered what I was going to say. I am not outspoken at all and struggled with this sort of thing in the past. What I sometimes did was tell myself to have 'x' minutes of confidence. In other words, for a certain length of time I would speak my mind on a topic, within reason, and I would hesitate as little as possible. It worked in certain situations. You could also discuss with your group members that when you give a hand signal you would like to pick up on a point. However, this could result in hand signals being constantly used so I am uncertain whether it would be completely effective. Otherwise maybe just try and use your English as much as possible prior to the assignment to practice? I hope that it goes well for you!

Original post by Molimolimolly

I am an international student and English is my second language. I find it a bit hard to speak in a group discussion because very often I react slower than the others who can give response very fast. Sometimes when I have idea on my mind, I found myself hesitating thinking about whether it is right to say (which is a cultural difference I guess as I notice British tend to speak whatever comes up their mind) and whether or not my idea will help the others. That made me very quiet in the group and in the end it will affect the grade.

I am quite frustrated with this and would like to find ways to improve. Would anyone have any suggestions on how to improve and speak in group?

Thank you very much!

Hey!
Sorry to hear you are struggling with this. Have you tried explaining this to the group before so that they are aware that you need it to be a little slower?
This should hopefully help!
Sophia :smile:

Help: How to squeeze in and boost my confidence to speak in group discussion?

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