Real English Conversations Podcast | English Fluency For Newcomers And International Professionals

What would your life look like 90 days from now if you finally took a risk on yourself?
What if the biggest thing standing between you and the career, confidence, or life you want isn't a lack of ability—but the beliefs you've developed about what you can and cannot do?
In this episode of the Real English Conversations Podcast, Curtis Davies sits down with Chonsten Jennings, speaker, entrepreneur, and co-founder of The Purpose Engine, for a powerful conversation about confidence, personal growth, purpose, and overcoming the mental barriers that hold us back.
After years of coaching basketball players from college to the NBA, Chonsten walked away from a successful career when he realized it no longer fulfilled him. He faced significant personal and professional challenges before beginning a journey of rediscovering his identity, strengthening his faith, and finding a new direction through entrepreneurship, coaching, and helping others.
Today, he helps coaches and consultants build businesses that allow them to focus on the work they do best. His message is especially relevant to anyone who feels stuck, questions their abilities, or knows they have more potential than they're currently expressing.
For international professionals and English learners, this conversation also explores how confidence, authenticity, and the way we speak to ourselves can influence our communication, professional opportunities, and willingness to step outside our comfort zones.
🎯 In This Episode, You'll Learn:
💪 How to build confidence and overcome limiting beliefs that make you doubt your abilities or hold back from opportunities.
🧠 How to stop letting the fear of judgment control your decisions and focus on what you believe about yourself instead.
🎯 How to recognize your purpose and why it may be closer than you think.
🔄 Why a successful career can still leave you feeling unfulfilled and how to recognize when it's time for a change.
🌱 How difficult experiences can become valuable lessons that help you grow, develop resilience, and help others.
🗣️ How to use positive self-talk to challenge negative thinking and begin changing the way you approach your goals.
🤝 How to connect with people more naturally by finding common ground, being authentic, and focusing on what you share rather than what separates you.
💼 How to build a career or business around your strengths and values instead of pursuing success that doesn't feel meaningful.
⏳ How to approach personal growth over 90 days by breaking old habits, developing new ones, and working toward making those habits second nature.
🌎 How to build confidence in English communication and stop allowing fear of mistakes or other people's opinions to prevent you from speaking up.
🙏 How faith and perspective can help you navigate difficult seasons when you cannot yet see what comes next.

💪 Overcoming Limiting Beliefs and the Fear of Being Judged
Have you ever wanted to speak up in a meeting, apply for a better job, share an idea, or start something new—but stopped yourself because you worried about what other people might think?
You're not alone.
Curtis and Chonsten discuss how easily our own thoughts can become obstacles. We may tell ourselves that we're not good enough, that we'll make mistakes, or that other people will judge us.
But what if we challenged those beliefs instead of automatically accepting them as facts?
Chonsten encourages listeners to imagine what they could achieve if they stopped making excuses, gave themselves permission to try, and began speaking to themselves in a more constructive way.
One of the most powerful reminders from the conversation is that even when you try your best, someone may still have something to say about you. The more important question is: What are you saying about yourself?
For English learners and international professionals, this lesson can be especially important. Your accent, mistakes, or fear of saying the wrong thing don't have to define your potential. You can keep developing your skills while also building the confidence to use them.
🎯 Finding Your Purpose: Why It May Be Closer Than You Think
Chonsten shares how coaching basketball players—even at the highest levels—eventually stopped feeling fulfilling. Although it was an opportunity many people would dream of, he realized that a prestigious career doesn't automatically mean you're doing the work that's right for you.
That realization led him to ask deeper questions about his identity, strengths, values, and what he wanted to contribute to other people.
He also explains why difficult experiences can provide valuable insight into what matters to us. The challenges we overcome can help us develop the understanding and abilities that allow us to support others.
Purpose isn't necessarily about reaching a particular income, title, or professional milestone. It's also about how you use your strengths to make a meaningful difference in other people's lives.
🗣️ How to Communicate with More Confidence at Work
Confidence isn't only important when you're changing careers or starting a business. It also affects how you communicate every day.
If you're an international professional, you might understand English well but hesitate to contribute during meetings. You may have the vocabulary to express your ideas but worry that your colleagues will judge your accent or notice your mistakes.
Chonsten emphasizes authenticity, common ground, and genuine human connection. Rather than trying to impress everyone or present a perfect version of yourself, focus on connecting with the person in front of you.
Curtis and Chonsten explore how communication, confidence, and personal growth can reinforce one another—and why continuing to practice is more valuable than allowing fear to keep you silent.
⏳ The 90-Day Challenge: What Could Change If You Took a Risk on Yourself?
One of the standout moments in this episode is Chonsten's challenge to imagine what could happen if you committed to improving something important over the next 90 days.
He describes a three-stage approach to building habits:
Days 1–30: Work on breaking an old habit.

Days 31–60: Begin building a new habit.

Days 61–90: Continue practicing until the new behavior starts to feel more natural.

The process won't always be comfortable, and progress may not happen exactly as you expect. But trying gives you experience, reveals where you can improve, and helps you build the confidence to continue.
Ask yourself: If you committed to improving your communication, confidence, or career over the next 90 days, what might become possible?
You don't need to have every answer today. You need to be willing to take the next step.

👤 About Chonsten Jennings
Chonsten Jennings is a speaker, entrepreneur, and co-founder of The Purpose Engine, which helps coaches and consultants manage their businesses so they can focus on their core work.
After coaching basketball players from the college level to the NBA, Chonsten made the difficult decision to leave a career that no longer fulfilled him. His subsequent journey of personal growth, faith, entrepreneurship, and rediscovering purpose now informs the work he does to help others grow.
He shares insights on leadership, accountability, personal development, confidence, and finding purpose through life's challenges. He is also working on his book, The Proximity of Purpose: Closer Than You Think.
🔗 Connect with Chonsten Jennings
🌐 The Purpose Engine: https://thepurposeengine.co/
🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/Chonstenjennings/

🎙️ Learn English with Real English Conversations
The Real English Conversations Podcast helps intermediate and advanced English learners, immigrants, and international professionals develop the communication skills they need to succeed in English-speaking countries and international workplaces.
Hosted by Curtis Davies, an English teacher, fluency coach, and pronunciation specialist with over 12 years of experience, the podcast focuses on real-world English, listening comprehension, vocabulary, pronunciation, confidence, fluency, and professional communication.
🚀 Ready to Build Your English Confidence?
If you're ready to move beyond simply listening to English and want structured, personalized support, explore the 90-Day Next Level English Challenge.
Work one-on-one with Curtis to improve your fluency, listening, pronunciation, confidence, and professional communication. The program also incorporates an AI feedback coach designed to support your learning and progress between lessons.
🎁 Podcast listeners can get 50% OFF with code: 90DAY50
👉 Explore the 90-Day Next Level English Challenge:
https://realenglishconversations.com/memberships/our-courses/90-day-next-level-english/
🎯 Book a Trial Lesson:
https://realenglishconversations.com/memberships/member-plans/fluency-programs/trial-lesson/

🎧 Listen & Follow the Podcast
▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@realenglishconversations
🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/76ihNoEcjms6485Vt1ng5q
🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-english-conversations-podcast-real-english-for/id977345837
🌐 Website: https://realenglishconversations.com/

⭐ If You Enjoyed This Episode
Subscribe to the Real English Conversations Podcast, share this episode with someone who needs a reminder of their potential, and leave a review to help more English learners and international professionals discover the show.
Remember: Your current circumstances, your mistakes, and the doubts you have today don't have to determine what you're capable of achieving tomorrow.
What would your life look like 90 days from now if you took a risk on yourself?

🎙️ Learn English with Teacher Curtis & Real English Conversations
If you're serious about becoming more fluent, confident, and natural in English, I can help you take the next step.
⭐ Book a Trial English Lesson
Start with a personalized lesson focused on your specific English goals:
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🚀 90-Day Next Level English Challenge — 50% OFF
If you're ready for serious one-on-one support, you can join my 90-Day Next Level English Challenge.
Use coupon code:
90DAY50
for 50% OFF.
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📚 Explore My English Courses
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🎧 Podcast + Phrasal Verb Audio Course Bundle
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🌐 Real English Conversations
https://realenglishconversations.com
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⭐ If You Enjoyed This Episode...
Don't just listen—use the episode to improve your English.
Listen again, write down 5 new expressions, repeat some of the sentences out loud, and try using the new vocabulary in your own conversations.
And if you enjoyed the episode, please follow the podcast, leave a review, and share it with another English learner who could benefit from authentic English listening practice.
Thanks for listening to the Real English Conversations Podcast!
— Teacher Curtis

What if becoming a better communicator isn't about talking more?
What if it's about asking better questions, listening more carefully, and creating an environment where people actually want to share?
In this episode of the Real English Conversations Podcast, Curtis Davies sits down with Andres Lares, CEO and Managing Partner of Shapiro Negotiations Institute, to explore the communication skills that can change the outcome of a negotiation, job interview, business meeting, presentation, or difficult workplace conversation.
Andrés brings a unique perspective to this conversation because English is his second language. Originally from Venezuela, he understands many of the challenges international professionals face when communicating in English — while also having extensive experience in negotiation, influence, deal coaching, and working with organizations across industries and cultures.
And one of the biggest lessons from this conversation?
You don't necessarily become more influential by talking more.
Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is ask a great question — and genuinely listen to the answer.
🎯 In This Episode, You'll Learn:
🌎 Why pressure can backfire — and why making someone feel comfortable and in control can lead to better conversations and more information.
🔥 The "Grill vs. Barbecue" approach — Andrés explains why slowing down, building rapport, and developing genuine curiosity can produce better results than trying to get everything immediately.
🪓 Why sharpening the axe matters — how preparation before a conversation can make the actual conversation much more effective.
💬 How to ask better questions at work — including why broad, open-ended questions can encourage people to reveal more useful information.
👂 How to listen without judgment — and why acknowledging what someone says doesn't mean you have to agree with them.
🧠 How to stay composed under pressure — instead of immediately becoming defensive, ask questions such as "Tell me more about that" or "Why is that important to you?"
🎭 How to get beyond rehearsed answers — by asking questions differently and changing the environment or setting.
🕵️ What negotiators and investigators have in common — preparation, questioning, listening, empathy, and emotional intelligence.
💼 How these skills apply to job interviews, negotiations, meetings, and presentations.
🌎 Why these communication principles work across cultures — and which skills are valuable almost anywhere in the world.
💪 How preparation and confidence work together — and why confidence without preparation isn't enough.
👔 What makes a great leader — including trust, integrity, capacity, and the ability to make people believe in you.

🔥 The "Grill vs. Barbecue" Communication Lesson
One of the most memorable concepts in this episode is Andrés' "grill vs. barbecue" analogy.
When we're trying to get information, negotiate, interview someone, or have an important conversation, our instinct can be to turn up the heat.
Ask the question.
Get the answer.
Move on.
But Andrés explains why taking the "barbecue" approach can be much more effective.
Instead of immediately turning up the pressure, you take the time to build rapport, develop genuine curiosity, and understand what the other person actually wants.
The result?
People often become more comfortable, more willing to share, and more open during the conversation.

💬 One of the Most Powerful Communication Techniques
Andrés gives a remarkably simple strategy for moments when someone says something unexpected during a negotiation or important conversation:
Ask another question instead of immediately defending yourself.
Rather than reacting, you can say:
"Tell me a little bit more about that."
or
"Why is that important to you?"
This gives you more information, creates space for empathy and emotional intelligence, and can prevent you from saying something defensive that you later regret.

🎯 How to Ask Better Questions
Andrés recommends starting with broad questions and allowing the other person to decide where they want to take the conversation.
For example, instead of asking:
"What's more important to you — price or payment timing?"
you might simply ask:
"What's important to you in this negotiation?"
Then listen.
If they say "price," don't immediately start negotiating price.
Ask:
"What else is important to you?"
This allows you to discover more of the other person's priorities before you start responding to them.

👂 Acknowledge Without Accepting
Another powerful lesson is the difference between acknowledging someone's perspective and agreeing with it.
You can say:
"I understand what you're saying."
"Thank you for sharing that."
"That's an interesting perspective."
without necessarily saying:
"I agree with you."
Andrés explains that listening without immediately judging or reacting can keep the "information spigot" open. If people feel that everything they say will immediately be judged, they have less reason to continue sharing.

🎭 Getting Beyond Rehearsed Answers
This is especially relevant for job interviews.
Andrés explains that candidates are often prepared for predictable questions about their strengths, weaknesses, experience, and motivations.
The result can be highly rehearsed answers.
One way to get beyond this is to ask the question differently.
Another is to change the environment.
A formal office interview can create a very different communication dynamic from a more informal conversation over coffee.
Changing the context can change the tone — and potentially lead to more authentic answers.

🌎 Communication Across Cultures
For international professionals, this conversation contains an especially important message:
While communication styles can differ between cultures, Andrés believes that some fundamental skills are valuable almost everywhere:
Preparation.
Great questions.
Genuine curiosity.
Listening.
Empathy.
Emotional intelligence.
The cultural differences can then be layered on top of these fundamentals.
Whether you're communicating with colleagues in the United States, China, Germany, Brazil, or somewhere else, these core skills can improve your effectiveness.

💪 Confidence, English & Professional Communication
Curtis and Andrés also discuss something many international professionals struggle with:
The fear of saying the wrong thing in English.
Andrés makes an important distinction: confidence matters, but it needs to be supported by preparation and actual skill.
For international professionals, your accent or vocabulary doesn't necessarily determine how influential you can be.
Preparation, passion, good ideas, and the ability to communicate with the other person in mind can have a much greater impact.

👔 What Makes a Great Leader?
Andrés explains that leadership isn't necessarily about having the highest title or being the person who gives everyone orders.
People follow leaders because they believe in them.
That requires capacity, confidence, and integrity — the sense that the person leading them is capable and also has their best interests in mind.
For international professionals looking to advance their careers, this is a powerful reminder:
Communication isn't simply about speaking perfect English.
It's about demonstrating that you're prepared, capable, thoughtful, trustworthy, and able to engage other people effectively.

👤 About Andres Lares
Andres Lares is the CEO and Managing Partner of Shapiro Negotiations Institute, a company focused on negotiation, communication, influence, persuasion, presentations, and professional development.
Andrés brings an international perspective to his work and is himself a second-language English speaker, making this conversation particularly relevant for global professionals working across languages and cultures.
Shapiro Negotiations Institute has expanded globally and now works across multiple languages and international markets.
🔗 Connect with Andrés & Shapiro Negotiations Institute
🌐 Website: https://www.shapironegotiations.com/
🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shapiro-negotiations-institute/home/

🎙️ Learn English with Real English Conversations
The Real English Conversations Podcast helps intermediate and advanced English learners, immigrants, and international professionals develop the English communication skills they need to succeed in English-speaking countries and international workplaces.
Hosted by Curtis Davies, the podcast focuses on real-world English, listening comprehension, vocabulary, pronunciation, confidence, fluency, and professional communication.
🚀 Want Personalized Help With Your English?
If you're ready to move beyond simply listening to English and want structured, personalized coaching, check out the 90-Day Next Level English Challenge.
You'll work one-on-one with Curtis to improve your fluency, listening, pronunciation, confidence, and professional communication — with the added support of an AI feedback coach designed to help track your progress and provide additional feedback between lessons.
🎁 Podcast listeners can get 50% OFF with code: 90DAY50
👉 Learn more:
https://realenglishconversations.com/memberships/our-courses/90-day-next-level-english/
🎯 Book a Trial Lesson:
https://realenglishconversations.com/memberships/member-plans/fluency-programs/trial-lesson/

🎧 Listen & Follow the Podcast
▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@realenglishconversations
🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/76ihNoEcjms6485Vt1ng5q
🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-english-conversations-podcast-real-english-for/id977345837
🌐 Website: https://realenglishconversations.com

⭐ If You Enjoyed This Episode
Subscribe to Real English Conversations, share this episode with another international professional, and leave a review.
And remember:
You don't always become a better communicator by talking more. Sometimes you become a better communicator by asking better questions — and genuinely listening to the answers.

What if the English you've been listening to could actually become the English you speak?
What if you stopped treating podcasts as something you simply listen to…
…and started using them as a complete English-learning system?
That is exactly what Diego Nieto did.
Diego grew up in Cabimas, Zulia, Venezuela, and became fascinated by English as a child. Years later, when he was searching for a way to improve his listening, he discovered the Real English Conversations Podcast.
At first, he couldn't understand everything he heard.
So he created his own system.
He would listen to an episode without looking at the transcription, write down everything he could understand, leave blanks where he couldn't understand the words, and then compare his version with the actual Real English Conversations transcription.
He highlighted what he understood, identified what he missed, learned the vocabulary, listened again, and then used shadowing to imitate the way Curtis and the guests actually spoke.
He wasn't just studying English.
He was training his brain to hear real English, understand real English, reproduce real English, and eventually communicate naturally in English.
Diego says that by doing this consistently—sometimes spending two to three hours a day with the podcast—he built the foundation that eventually allowed him to communicate with international people, work in English, and develop the confidence to use the language in the real world.
And today?
Diego is an English teacher himself.

🌎 From a Young English Learner in Venezuela to an English Teacher
Diego's story began long before he discovered the podcast.
As a child, he became fascinated by English through movies, music, and video games. Without having easy access to formal English courses or even reliable internet at home, he used whatever resources were available—including an English-Spanish dictionary—to figure out words and build his vocabulary.
Eventually, that curiosity became something much bigger.
When Diego finally gained regular internet access, he started searching for ways to improve his listening.
That's when he discovered Real English Conversations.
And something clicked.
He realized that understanding English on paper wasn't enough.
He wanted to understand people when they actually spoke.

🎧 The Real English Conversations Method Diego Used
This is the part of Diego's story every English learner should pay attention to.
He didn't simply press play.
He turned each episode into a learning lesson.
His process looked like this:
1. Listen BEFORE reading the transcription
Diego wanted to train himself to understand English the first time he heard it.
So he deliberately avoided reading the transcript beforehand.
He listened and wrote down what he could actually understand.
Anything he couldn't understand became a blank.
2. Compare his understanding with the real transcript
After listening, Diego opened the transcription and compared it with what he had written.
He could immediately see:
✅ What he understood
❌ What he missed
🧠 Which vocabulary he didn't know
👂 Which sounds he couldn't recognize
That gave him immediate feedback about his listening ability.
3. Learn the missing vocabulary
Instead of simply moving on when he didn't understand something, Diego investigated it.
He looked up words and expressions and began understanding how they were actually being used in natural conversation.
One example was the word "guys."
He learned that although it can have a literal meaning associated with "chicos" or "men," native speakers frequently use it naturally when addressing a group of people.
He wasn't just memorizing vocabulary.
He was learning how English actually works in real communication.
4. Shadow the speakers
Diego then took pieces of the conversations and repeated them.
He tried to reproduce the way Curtis and the other speakers communicated—including pronunciation, rhythm and intonation.
He even developed the idea that:
If I can learn to speak like the people in these conversations, I can learn to communicate confidently too.
He practiced until he started hearing and feeling the difference in his own English.
5. Repeat until it becomes a pattern
This wasn't a one-time exercise.
Diego made it part of his routine.
At one point, he was spending two to three hours a day listening, studying, and working with the podcast.
That consistency became one of the biggest factors in his transformation.

🧠 He Was Secretly Training ALL FOUR English Skills
One of the fascinating discoveries Diego made was that this process wasn't only improving his listening.
He realized he was training:
Listening → hearing authentic English
Writing → writing what he could understand
Reading → studying the transcription
Speaking → shadowing and reproducing the conversations
In other words, one authentic conversation became a multi-skill English lesson.
And this is exactly why authentic English input can become much more powerful when you know how to work with it.

🔥 The Moment English Became REAL
For years, Diego knew English.
But there is a huge difference between:
knowing English
and
being able to use English.
He eventually began interacting with English speakers in real life.
At first, he was nervous.
He describes feeling his heart race when he thought about speaking with foreigners.
But he pushed himself into those uncomfortable situations anyway.
Those real interactions became another important part of building his confidence.
Then something changed.
People started asking him:
"How did you learn English?"
They were surprised by his ability to communicate.
And Diego realized that the years of listening, transcribing, studying, shadowing, and practicing were actually producing something real.

💼 English Changed His Professional Life
Eventually, English became much more than a personal goal.
It became a professional skill.
Diego began working in English, including appointment setting and real estate-related work with international clients.
He was able to communicate with people over the phone, schedule calls, and provide value professionally.
That work became a stepping stone toward a completely different future.
Today, Diego teaches English at a language institute in Venezuela, working with children, teenagers and adults.
He now gives his own students many of the same strategies that helped him learn.
👨‍🏫 From Student to Teacher
This may be the most powerful part of Diego's transformation.
He started as a young Venezuelan who simply wanted to understand English.
He became a learner.
Then a communicator.
Then a bilingual professional.
And now…
He is teaching English to other people.
He understands the frustration of struggling with structures.
He understands the fear of speaking.
He understands what it feels like to know something intellectually but not be able to use it automatically.
And now he can use those experiences to help other learners.

💡 Diego's English-Learning Secrets
Beyond the podcast, Diego shares several habits that helped him continue developing:
🎧 Listening to English consistently
🎵 Learning song lyrics and singing along
🪞 Speaking to himself in the mirror
🧠 Thinking and speaking to himself in English
🗣️ Repeating authentic English
🌎 Talking with foreigners whenever possible
📱 Using language-learning technology
🔁 Creating consistent patterns of practice
And perhaps most importantly:
He didn't stop when he became afraid.
He kept going.

💥 The Biggest Lesson: Confidence Comes From Evidence
One of the biggest misconceptions about English confidence is that you need to feel confident before you start speaking.
Diego's story suggests almost the opposite.
He became confident because he repeatedly gave himself evidence that he could do it.
He listened.
He practiced.
He made mistakes.
He spoke to people.
He survived uncomfortable conversations.
He improved.
Then he did it again.
And again.
Eventually, the person who once worried about speaking English became the person other people were asking:
"How did you learn English so well?"
That is a completely different identity.

🎯 What You'll Learn in This Episode
By listening to Diego's story, you'll discover:
✅ How to turn an English podcast into a structured learning lesson
✅ Why you should listen BEFORE looking at the transcription
✅ How Diego used transcriptions to identify exactly what he wasn't hearing
✅ How to use shadowing to improve pronunciation, rhythm and intonation
✅ How one conversation can train listening, writing, reading and speaking
✅ How to learn vocabulary from real English instead of isolated word lists
✅ How Diego went from understanding English on paper to understanding spoken English
✅ How he overcame his fear of speaking with foreigners
✅ How English became a professional skill that opened new career opportunities
✅ How he went from English learner to English teacher
✅ Why repetition and consistency matter so much
✅ How to build confidence through real-world evidence
✅ What Diego would tell the younger version of himself

🚀 What If You Didn't Have to Do This Alone?
There is something important about Diego's story.
He did an incredible amount of this work by himself.
He found the podcast.
He built his own study system.
He transcribed conversations.
He researched vocabulary.
He shadowed the speakers.
He practiced for hours.
He pushed himself into uncomfortable situations.
And he succeeded.
But Diego also recognizes something important:
Having a coach would have accelerated the process.
When Curtis asked whether working one-on-one with a teacher could have helped him reach his goal faster, Diego immediately answered:
"Faster, way faster."
And that is exactly why the 90-Day Next Level English Challenge exists.
You don't have to spend years trying to figure everything out by yourself.
Instead, you can have:
👨‍🏫 Personal 1-on-1 Coaching with Curtis
Work directly with Curtis Davies, the teacher and confidence coach behind the Real English Conversations Podcast, and get personalized guidance based on YOUR English, YOUR goals, and YOUR communication challenges.
🤖 Your New AI Feedback Coach
The 90-Day Challenge now includes an AI assistant coach designed to provide additional feedback after your lessons and help track strengths and weaknesses as you progress.
🎯 A 90-Day Structure
Instead of randomly consuming more English content and hoping your English improves, you have a structured period of focused practice and coaching.
🗣️ Build the English You Actually Need
The goal isn't simply to know more English.
It's to help you communicate more naturally, clearly, and confidently in real conversations and professional situations.

🔥 PODCAST LISTENER SPECIAL — 50% OFF
If Diego's story made you think:
"I want to finally take my English seriously."
This is your opportunity.
For a limited time, Real English Conversations podcast listeners can get:
50% OFF THE 90-DAY NEXT LEVEL ENGLISH CHALLENGE
Use coupon code:
90DAY50
The discount applies to the available 90-Day Challenge packages.
👉 Join the 90-Day Next Level English Challenge:
https://realenglishconversations.com/memberships/our-courses/90-day-next-level-english/
👉 Not sure if the program is right for you? Start with a Trial Lesson:
https://realenglishconversations.com/memberships/member-plans/fluency-programs/trial-lesson/
Don't struggle alone.
If you've been listening to the podcast for months or even years but still feel like your English isn't matching your intelligence, career ambitions, or potential, the next step may not be another podcast episode.
It may be personalized coaching and consistent accountability.
Diego built an extraordinary level of English by taking authentic English input and turning it into deliberate practice.
Now you can take that same philosophy and add a real teacher, structured coaching and AI-supported feedback to your learning process.
Your next 90 days can be different.

🎙️ About Diego Nieto
Diego Nieto is an English teacher and digital professional from Cabimas, Zulia, Venezuela.
After beginning his English journey as a child, Diego spent years developing his skills independently through movies, music, video games, dictionaries, online content, authentic English conversations, and extensive listening practice.
He discovered the Real English Conversations Podcast and used its conversations and transcriptions as a major part of his English-learning routine.
Today, Diego works as an English teacher and has experience across sales, real estate, video editing, filmmaking and digital work.
His story is a powerful example of how consistent language learning can become much more than learning another language—it can become a pathway to new confidence, professional opportunities, and the ability to help others.

🎙️ Learn English With Curtis Davies
Real English Conversations helps global professionals and English learners communicate clearly, confidently and naturally in workplace, professional, and everyday situations.
🌎 Website:
https://realenglishconversations.com
🎯 90-Day Next Level English Challenge — 50% OFF with code 90DAY50:
https://realenglishconversations.com/memberships/our-courses/90-day-next-level-english/
🎓 Book a Trial Lesson:
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What does it really take to become a trusted and valuable professional on a global team?
In today's workplace, having strong technical skills isn't always enough. If you work remotely for an international company, especially a U.S.-based organization, your ability to communicate proactively, take ownership, solve problems, build trust, and adapt to AI can have a major impact on your professional success.
In this episode of the Real English Conversations Podcast, Curtis talks with Marc Snegg, founder and CEO of Ground Game, about what it really takes to succeed as an international professional on a high-performing global team.
Marc has more than 25 years of experience building businesses and organizations and has participated in more than $200 million in commercial real estate transactions. His work with Ground Game focuses on helping U.S. companies build high-performing global teams across sales, revenue operations, marketing, operations, HR, IT, and customer success.
But Marc's approach isn't simply about outsourcing work to people in other countries.
He believes companies can build fully integrated global teams by combining exceptional talent with strong management, clear systems, shared culture, and meaningful opportunities for professional growth.
In this conversation, Marc shares practical advice about communication across cultures, building trust with managers, being proactive at work, using AI to become more valuable, developing a service mindset, and finding ways to improve the organization around you.
And for international professionals who sometimes hesitate to speak up in meetings or worry about making mistakes, Marc gives a very practical set of actions you can begin using tomorrow.
This is an especially valuable episode for anyone who wants to improve their Business English, workplace communication, confidence, leadership skills, and career opportunities in an international environment.

🌎 What Does It Take to Succeed on a Global Team?
Many international professionals have excellent technical skills, but working successfully with an international company requires more than simply completing your assigned tasks.
Marc explains that communication, ownership, and responsibility are what begin to separate a good employee from someone who becomes highly valuable to an organization.
That includes communicating proactively, asking questions when you're stuck, raising problems early, offering thoughtful recommendations, and trying to understand the bigger context of the organization.
Trust is also built through small, repeated actions: doing what you say you're going to do, consistently showing up and keeping your commitments.

💬 The Communication Mistakes International Professionals Can Make
One of the most valuable sections of this episode focuses on cross-cultural communication.
Marc explains that some professionals may come from cultures where communication with managers is more hierarchical or where people are more reserved about raising problems or asking questions.
In a U.S. workplace, however, Marc says proactive communication can be highly valued.
Instead of waiting until the last minute to tell your manager there's a problem, he recommends communicating early and explaining:
What happened → What you've tried → What the problem is → What you recommend → What you need
This demonstrates that you've already thought about the problem rather than simply handing it to your manager to solve.
💡 An important Business English lesson:
Instead of saying:
"I don't know how to do this. What should I do?"
You can communicate more professionally by saying something like:
"I've been working on this, and I've run into a problem. Here's what I've tried, here's what I think we could do next, and here's what I need to move forward."
That difference can dramatically change how your communication is perceived.

🤝 How Do You Become a Trusted Professional?
Marc explains that trust isn't usually created through one huge achievement.
It's built through small, repetitive actions.
Do what you say you'll do.
Show up.
Communicate.
Raise problems early.
Ask for feedback.
Be coachable.
And don't wait for someone else to tell you how you can improve.
Marc encourages professionals to proactively ask:
"Tell me something I can improve."
That willingness to receive feedback and put it into practice can help build stronger relationships with managers, colleagues, and the organization.

🤖 How AI Can Make You More Valuable at Work
AI is one of the most important themes in this conversation.
Marc's advice isn't simply to be afraid of AI replacing your job.
Instead, he encourages professionals to learn how to work with AI and build with it.
He describes tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini as potential thought partners and intelligent tutors that can help professionals think through problems, learn new information, explore solutions, and improve the way they work.
But Marc takes this one step further.
He believes professionals should not only learn how to use AI — they should learn how to build with AI.
For example, if you're repeatedly doing a manual task at work, you can use AI to explore whether a tool or workflow could automate or simplify part of that process.
The more capable you become at interacting with and building with AI, Marc argues, the more value you can potentially bring to your organization.

🧠 AI + Human Coaching
Ground Game is already using AI as part of its coaching and development systems.
Marc describes a sales coaching system that listens to calls and provides feedback on what someone did well and what they could improve.
That feedback can then become a starting point for live coaching conversations.
Marc explains that combining AI feedback with human coaching has helped people develop their skills more quickly.
This creates an interesting model for the future of professional development:
AI can provide information, analysis, and feedback — while humans provide context, judgment, relationships, and coaching.

💎 The Four Ground Game Core Values
Marc also explains the four principles that guide Ground Game:
Dignity
Every person has inherent value regardless of their country, position or title.
For Marc, dignity means treating people with respect while also being honest and willing to provide direct feedback when something needs to improve.
Service
Leadership is about serving others.
Marc describes service as looking for ways to solve problems, share information, document what you learn, take on new challenges, and make the organization stronger.
Creativity
Don't simply accept:
"That's the way we've always done it."
Creativity means looking for better ways to solve problems, testing new ideas, experimenting with new tools and empowering the people closest to the work to improve it.
Client Focus
The purpose of a business is to solve problems for its clients.
That means listening carefully, understanding the client's needs, communicating clearly, and taking responsibility when something goes wrong.
For Marc, it's not simply about being busy or completing activities — it's about delivering results and creating value.

📈 The Power of Definiteness of Purpose
Ground Game's leadership and mindset curriculum is inspired by the 13 principles from Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich.
Marc focuses particularly on the idea of having a definite purpose.
He explains that rather than having a vague desire for something, you can become much more focused by defining exactly what you want, when you want it, what you're willing to give in exchange for it, and what your plan of action will be.
He also describes the practice of repeatedly reading your goal and visualizing what achieving it would look and feel like.
For Marc, this isn't simply a historical business philosophy — it's something he incorporates into Ground Game's culture and revisits with his team.

🚀 Marc's 3 Practical Actions for International Professionals
Near the end of the conversation, Marc gives listeners a very practical challenge.
If you're an international professional who has strong skills and good English but still hesitates in meetings or doesn't feel completely confident on a global team, Marc recommends several simple actions.
1️⃣ Turn Your Camera On
When you're working remotely, make your presence visible.
Marc believes keeping your camera on demonstrates engagement and helps recreate some of the connection that naturally happens when people work together in person.
2️⃣ Speak at Least Once in Every Meeting
You don't need to dominate the meeting.
Ask a thoughtful question.
Offer an observation.
Summarize something you've heard.
Volunteer for a next step.
Or simply share an idea.
The important thing is to participate.
3️⃣ Send Proactive Updates & Bring One Improvement Idea
Keep your manager informed about:
What you've completed
What you're working on
What's blocking you
What you recommend doing next
And then look for one small thing you can improve.
Maybe the team is losing time, repeating manual work, or making the same mistake.
Use AI to explore a possible solution and bring the idea forward.
You don't need to reinvent the entire company.
Just demonstrate that you're engaged, proactive, and thinking about how to make things better.

🎯 What You'll Learn in This Episode
By listening to this conversation, you'll learn:
✅ What separates a task-completing employee from a highly trusted global professional
✅ Why proactive communication is so important when working remotely
✅ How to communicate problems to your manager without simply handing them the problem
✅ How cultural differences can influence workplace communication
✅ Why honesty and transparency can build professional trust
✅ How to become more coachable and actively seek feedback
✅ How to use ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini as workplace thought partners
✅ Why learning to build with AI could increase your professional value
✅ How human coaching and AI feedback can work together
✅ What Dignity, Service, Creativity and Client Focus look like in practice
✅ How a service mindset can improve leadership and career development
✅ How to apply the principle of definiteness of purpose to your professional goals
✅ Three practical actions you can start using immediately to become more engaged on a global team

💬 Memorable Communication Lesson
One of the clearest lessons from Marc's conversation is:
Don't disappear when there's a problem. Communicate early.
If you don't know something, be honest.
If you're stuck, explain what you've tried.
If you need help, ask.
If you have an idea, share it.
If you make a mistake, take responsibility.
And if you see something that could be improved, raise your hand.
These behaviors don't require perfect English.
They require clarity, courage, preparation, and proactive communication.

👤 About Marc Snegg
Marc Snegg is the founder and CEO of Ground Game, where he helps U.S. companies build high-performing global teams across sales, revenue operations, marketing, operations, HR, IT, and customer success.
Marc is a serial entrepreneur and organization builder with more than 25 years of experience and has participated in more than $200 million in commercial real estate transactions.
His work combines global talent, management systems, culture, professional development, and increasingly AI-powered workflows.
Marc's approach is centered on creating integrated teams where talented international professionals can contribute meaningfully, develop their skills, and create measurable value.

🔗 Connect with Marc Snegg
🌐 Ground Game:
https://www.groundgamesales.com/
🌎 Ground Game Global:
https://www.groundgameglobal.com/
💼 Marc Snegg on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcsnegg/
Marc also mentioned the Ground Game Global Playbook and additional resources for professionals interested in global teams and sales development.

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⭐ If You Enjoyed This Episode...
Don't just listen to this episode — practice what you learned.
The next time you're in an English meeting, try speaking at least once.
The next time you're stuck on a problem, communicate it early instead of waiting.
The next time you complete a task, ask yourself:
"How could I improve this?"
And the next time you use AI, don't just ask it for an answer. Try using it as a thought partner, tutor or builder.
If you enjoyed this conversation with Marc Snegg, follow the Real English Conversations Podcast, leave a review and share this episode with another international professional or English learner who could benefit from it.
Thanks for listening!