Running a business teaches you something quite quickly: being right isn't enough. You still have to explain your idea clearly enough for someone else to understand it, question it and act on it.
I've spent more than 13 years teaching English in England, Thailand and Vietnam, and I also co-founded and ran a language centre in Da Nang. Alongside the lessons came the other side of the job: managing a team, making decisions, solving problems and communicating across cultures.
Those experiences changed the way I think about Business English. Nobody in a meeting is interested in how many grammar rules you know. They want to understand your point.
Think about the conversations that actually matter
Imagine you need to tell a colleague that a project won't be ready on time. You know exactly what has happened, but explaining it in English can feel harder than solving the original problem.
You could start with, “There is a problem with the project.” It's understandable, but it leaves a lot of questions unanswered. A clearer version might be:
“We're a little behind schedule because the supplier changed the delivery date. I've spoken to the team, and we can still meet the client's deadline if we adjust the testing plan.”
That example is fictional, but the communication challenge is real. The second version explains the situation, gives a reason and offers a way forward. That's what makes it useful.
Three skills I've come to value
Say the important thing first. A listener shouldn't have to wait until the end of a long explanation to understand the main point. Start with the decision, problem or recommendation, then add the detail.
Choose the tone that suits the relationship. “You're wrong” and “I see your point, but I have a concern” can both communicate disagreement. They create rather different conversations.
Be ready for the next question. Preparation isn't only about rehearsing what you plan to say. It also means handling the question you didn't expect, asking for clarification and recovering when you lose your train of thought.
Try this before your next meeting
Choose one decision or problem you might need to discuss at work. Give yourself 30 seconds to explain it aloud using this order: the main point → the reason → what happens next. Then repeat it without reading a script.
If the explanation feels too long, see whether you can remove a sentence without losing meaning. Clear Business English is not about sounding grand. It's about being understood.
What this means for my coaching
When somebody comes to Phillips English for an interview, presentation or meeting, I want to understand the real situation behind it. We can work on the language, of course, but also on the structure, pronunciation, delivery and the awkward follow-up questions that sometimes catch people off guard.
The experience of running a language centre didn't give me a shortcut to teaching all of that. It gave me a sharper appreciation of why it matters.
If there's an important English conversation coming up in your working life, tell me what you're preparing for. I'd be glad to help you feel more ready for it.
