What you can learn about English from Jack Ma

Do you know Jack Ma? He's the founder of Alibaba and the richest man in China. He's also a great speaker, and has done hundreds of inspirational speeches and interviews all around the world.

So why am I talking to you about Jack Ma?

Well, I want to show you that you don't need to speak perfect English to be a great speaker and to have an impact internationally.

You don't need to speak perfect English to be a great speaker.

Jack's English is good: he chooses the right vocabulary for what he's talking about, he can put together his ideas coherently and he is able to use his personality and his sense of humour to make his speeches engaging and funny.

However, his English is not perfect. In fact, it's far from perfect! He rarely uses the right tenses and his pronunciation is sometimes difficult to understand (although I have noticed that this has improved a lot over the years. He still has a strong accent but he no longer mispronounces words. He obviously has a good coach!)

So ask yourself, what makes you want to listen to what Jack Ma has to say? It's the way he tells his stories, it's the way he engages the audience with his body language, eye contact and humour. He's confident.

He's making grammar mistakes, and so what? He is a great speaker in spite of his not perfect English.

---

Would you like our guide to engaging your audience when you're presenting online? Click here to download.

---

The reason I'm telling you this is because most people who join my presentation skills in English programme are afraid that they are going to make grammar mistakes when they speak to an audience. In fact, what they learn on the programme is that their mistakes are not important. They learn how to engage the audience and deliver a message that people will remember.

Just remember that Jack Ma didn't get where he is today by worrying about his grammar!