In theory, the best thing is to simply learn to speak English better, and for those who have the resources, this is definitely my first recommendation*. In reality it is a job of months and years, and sometimes also an investment of a lot of money, in addition there is often a great distance between the English we have and the English available to us on stage.

Therefore, the simpler and more effective tool is to improve the English we already have - this is a simpler action than learning more English, and anyone who has spent a few days abroad knows that it is absolutely possible. The techniques I present in the rest of the article are techniques I use in my English public speaking course to refresh the spoken English of the participants and to make the most of this English available on stage. The techniques I present here can also work for self-use at home, but mainly for the purpose of improving English 1 on 1 and less in English in front of an audience (for that you need an audience).

Background - active and passive vocabulary

Each person has an active vocabulary and a passive vocabulary - the passive is all the words we know, and that when someone else uses them we will understand them. The active vocabulary is the one that is available to us when we need to speak or write, and of course this vocabulary is only a part of the passive vocabulary. This division into passive-active also exists in our mother tongue, but it is much more acute in foreign languages. Equally under pressure (for example in front of an audience) the active vocabulary is reduced and there are several techniques that allow to increase it.

Avoid speaking in Hebrew before the speech

The most effective way is to speak before the speech in English only. The more we speak English our brain will get used to thinking in this language, and in addition all the words we use will become much more available on stage. Not only the words will become more natural but also the grammar patterns and way of thinking of the language will be more fluent. This is why every time I would go to debate competitions abroad I would make sure to arrive at least two days before to 'acclimatize' in English. In the same way, many business people say that their English when they come back from a week's trip is much better than the one they left with. In this context it is very important to talk only English, and avoid as much as possible Hebrew near the speech, because using Hebrew returns us to the comfortable and natural pattern of speaking in our mother tongue.

Try to think in English

And what if it is not possible? Sometimes we don't have the opportunity to stay with English speakers and 'use' them to improve ourselves. In such a situation we should at least do all our thinking in English. Another exercise is to speak to ourselves in English - for example to read the English name of every item we come across (refrigerator, shower, computer, traffic light). In these cases, it's also worth making an effort to surround ourselves with the English language, for example by leaving the TV on CNN and playing only English music from CDs instead of a CD player.

* Please note, by the way, that a course at an institute like Berlitz costs the same as a month's vacation abroad. So it may very well be more effective, and certainly more fun, to spend a few weeks in a London pub than in a classroom in Azrieli