I Talk to Myself in English Every Morning

Okay, this might sound a little... strange.

好吧，這聽起來可能有點……奇怪。

Every morning, I talk to myself in English.

每天早上，我都用英文自言自語。

Out loud. For fifteen minutes.

大聲地說，說十五分鐘。

A year ago, I had a big problem at work.

一年前，我在工作上遇到了一個大問題。

Suddenly, all our meetings were in English.

突然之間，我們所有的會議都改用英文了。

I understood everything, but I couldn't say anything.

我什麼都聽得懂，卻什麼也說不出口。

I just sat there, um, nodding and smiling.

我只是坐在那裡，嗯，點頭微笑。

Honestly, I felt invisible.

老實說，我覺得自己像個隱形人。

Then a colleague gave me a simple tip.

後來，有一位同事給了我一個簡單的小撇步。

'Describe your day out loud, in English.'

「大聲用英文描述你的一天。」

So, the next morning, guess what I did?

於是，隔天早上，你猜我做了什麼？

'I'm making coffee. Oh, the milk is almost finished.'

「我在煮咖啡。喔，牛奶快沒了。」

'I should buy some on the way home.'

「回家路上我得買一點。」

Well... it felt silly at first, I won't lie.

嗯……一開始覺得很蠢，我不騙你。

And one day, my neighbor heard me through the window!

有一天，我的鄰居隔著窗戶聽到了我說話！

She asked me, 'Who are you talking to?'

她問我：「你在跟誰說話？」

Ha, I was so embarrassed!

哈，我當時超尷尬的！

After a few weeks, I made it harder.

幾個星期後，我提高了難度。

I practiced what I wanted to say in meetings.

我練習自己想在會議上說的話。

I even argued with myself about work problems!

我甚至還就工作問題跟自己爭論起來！

And when I didn't know a word,

而且當我遇到不認識的單字時，

I wrote it down and looked it up later.

我就把它寫下來，之後再查。

Then, one Monday, my manager asked for ideas.

然後，有一個星期一，我的主管徵求大家的想法。

And for the first time, I spoke up!

而我第一次開口發言了！

My hands were shaking, but my English was fine.

我的手在發抖，但我的英文沒問題。

Actually, it was more than fine!

其實，何止沒問題！

So, here's my challenge for you.

所以，這是我給你的挑戰。

Tomorrow morning, describe what you're doing out loud.

明天早上，大聲說出你正在做的事。

Don't worry about mistakes. Nobody's listening.

別擔心犯錯。沒人在聽。

Well, except maybe your neighbor!

嗯，也許除了你的鄰居！