Communicating Under Pressure

Communicating in foreign language is hard.

Communicating verbally in foreign language is harder.

Communicating online verbally in foreign language is much harder.

Communicating online verbally under some pressure in foreign language is a lot harder. :D

Since last month I work remotely for a company located in KL, Malaysia. And of course we're communicating in English. This is not my first time working in English-speaking environment but it's still hard.

And you know, I always a little bit panic when someone ask me a hard question or a question that I don't expect. And in that kind of moment, my brain will be, I don't know, between working twice harder and freezing at the same time and I will blurt whatever English word that comes to my mind hahaha.

The record shows I can work pretty well under pressure :wink:. But communication is a different point. Communication plays important role in every relationship.

I know, easier said than done.

After thinking about it for a while, I think that the remedy for me is not to learn advance English. Well I need it, that will be helpful, yes of course. But there is more important thing that I should exercise.

On the orientation day we learned on how to communicate effectively. And one important point in doing it is to welcome silence. Means you're allowed to think first before you speak. In fact, communication is not only about speaking and listening, but also thinking.

I always try to remember to remain calm.

I always tell myself, "Think! Take your time! And speak slowly"

But yeah, still working on it.

I always forget to do that.

Maybe I should write it on a post-it and put it on my monitor. :D

Do you have any tips for me?