I Talk to Myself in English Every Morning

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

好吧，这听起来可能有点……奇怪。

Every morning, I talk to myself in English.

每天早上，我都用英语自言自语。

Out loud. For fifteen minutes.

大声地说，说十五分钟。

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

一年前，我在工作上遇到了一个大问题。

Suddenly, all our meetings were in English.

突然之间，我们所有的会议都改用英语了。

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

我什么都听得懂，却什么也说不出来。

I just sat there, um, nodding and smiling.

我只是坐在那儿，嗯，点头微笑。

Honestly, I felt invisible.

说实话，我觉得自己像个隐形人。

Then a colleague gave me a simple tip.

后来，一位同事给了我一个简单的建议。

'Describe your day out loud, in English.'

“大声用英语描述你的一天。”

So, the next morning, guess what I did?

于是，第二天早上，你猜我做了什么？

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

“我在煮咖啡。哦，牛奶快没了。”

'I should buy some on the way home.'

“回家路上我得买一点。”

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

嗯……一开始感觉很傻，我不骗你。

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

有一天，我的邻居隔着窗户听到了我说话！

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

她问我：“你在跟谁说话？”

Ha, I was so embarrassed!

哈，我当时太尴尬了！

After a few weeks, I made it harder.

几个星期后，我加大了难度。

I practiced what I wanted to say in meetings.

我练习自己想在会议上说的话。

I even argued with myself about work problems!

我甚至还就工作问题跟自己争论起来！

And when I didn't know a word,

而且当我遇到不认识的单词时，

I wrote it down and looked it up later.

我就把它写下来，之后再查。

Then, one Monday, my manager asked for ideas.

然后，有一个星期一，我的经理征求大家的想法。

And for the first time, I spoke up!

而我第一次开口发言了！

My hands were shaking, but my English was fine.

我的手在发抖，但我的英语没问题。

Actually, it was more than fine!

其实，何止没问题！

So, here's my challenge for you.

所以，这是我给你的挑战。

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

明天早上，大声说出你正在做的事情。

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

别担心犯错。没人在听。

Well, except maybe your neighbor!

嗯，也许除了你的邻居！