(3 min) Why Perfectionism is Killing Your English Confidence | with Daniele Ponzo

Most people who freeze when speaking English have already done everything they were supposed to do. The classes, the grammar, the certification. And it still wasn't enough.

In this three-minute clip, language coach and author Daniele Ponzo talks about the moment he realised perfectionism was the problem, not the solution - and what actually shifted when he stopped trying to sound perfect and started trying to connect. His observation that even native speakers constantly mishear each other and ask for repeats is the kind of thing that quietly rewires how you think about your own mistakes.

Daniele works with IT professionals on English confidence and hosts The Non-Native Leader podcast. His book Easy English for IT is on Amazon at danieleponzo.com.

This is Speak English with Confidence, previously 'From Lost to the River', a weekly show about language, identity, and what it really takes to speak with confidence.

More conversations, coaching options, and my new book More Than Words: Essays on Language, Identity, and the Courage to Speak at procoachenglish.com.

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