Why Do You Sound More Boring in English?

Let me ask you a question. And this might sound a little bit mean, but… are you more boring when you speak English?

Seriously. Think about the person you are when you speak Chinese. Maybe you’re funny. Maybe you’re sarcastic. Maybe you’re dramatic. Maybe you’re the person at the dinner table who always has a story to tell. Someone says something ridiculous, and immediately you have a reaction.

「真的假的？」「太扯了吧。」「你有事吗？」「我就知道。」「拜托，他最好是。」

You don’t need to think. You don’t need to prepare. The words just come out. You know exactly when to interrupt. You know how to make a joke. You know how to exaggerate a story just enough to make it funny.

And then someone starts speaking English to you.

“Really?”

“Oh.”

“That’s good.”

“I think so.”

“Maybe.”

“Very interesting.”

What happened? Where did that funny, interesting person go?

Same person. Same brain. Same personality. But somehow, completely different energy.

And I know this feeling very, very well. When I first moved to the U.S., I remember feeling like I was a less interesting version of myself. In Chinese, I could joke around. I could tease people. I could tell stories. I could be sarcastic.

But in English, sometimes I would have a joke in my head. I knew exactly what I wanted to say. Then I had to figure out how to say it in English. And by the time I finally found the words, the conversation had already moved on.

Everyone was laughing about something else, and I was still mentally translating my brilliant joke from thirty seconds ago.

Too late. The moment was gone.

So today, I want to talk about something that I don’t think we talk about enough in language learning. Why do so many smart, funny, interesting people become kind of boring when they speak a second language?

And more importantly, how do you get your personality back?

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EP167 [全英] 为什么一说英文，你就变成了一个无聊的人？

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EP167 [全英] 为什么一说英文，你就变成了一个无聊的人？