The friction that slows work

A client of mine—let’s call him Markus—is an engineering director at a Swiss manufacturing company. He’s brilliant when he talks about technical details in German. But in English, something changes. He hesitates. He uses simpler words. He sounds less certain.

Markus didn’t need more vocabulary. He needed to remove the friction that appeared every time he presented to international stakeholders. The friction wasn’t about grammar; it was about confidence, flow, and the subtle authority he carried in his native language.

A recent article on language training trends made the same point I’ve been noticing in my coaching sessions: the biggest gains come from removing friction, not adding courses. The article, Online Language Training in 2026: From Fluency Goals to Friction‑Free Work, frames language training as a workflow necessity rather than a learning benefit. Companies don’t lose time because employees know nothing; they lose time because communication has friction.

“Companies don’t lose time because employees know nothing; they lose time because communication has friction.”

That’s the shift that matters. It’s not about teaching more English; it’s about identifying where communication slows work down—in meetings, in writing, in leadership presence—and designing training around those specific friction points.

Why courses often miss the point

Most corporate English programmes start with a course catalogue. They offer general business English, presentation skills, negotiation phrases. That’s useful, but it’s backward.

When you start with a course, you’re assuming the problem is a lack of knowledge. But the professionals I work with already know a lot of English. The gap isn’t knowledge; it’s the ability to use that knowledge smoothly under pressure.

The article cites Eurostat data: 25.9% of adults in the EU had unmet training needs in 2022. The number‑one barrier wasn’t cost or motivation—it was scheduling. If your training programme doesn’t fit around real work, it doesn’t matter how good it is.

I’ve seen this mismatch firsthand. A company invested in a 12‑week business‑English course for its sales team. Attendance was high, test scores improved, but six months later the sales directors said nothing had changed in real client meetings. The training had taught English; it hadn’t removed the friction that appeared during live negotiations.

How to start with friction

So how do you flip the model? Instead of asking “What course do we need?”, start by asking “Where does communication slow work down?”

In my practice, that means beginning with a discovery conversation. We map the real situations where English matters: weekly project updates with a US team, quarterly board presentations, cross‑border client negotiations, daily Slack messages. Then we identify the friction points:

Once we know where the friction is, we design practice around those specific situations. It’s not a course; it’s a series of targeted sessions that fit into the workweek, often 30‑45 minutes at a time. The goal isn’t to cover a syllabus; it’s to make the next real situation a little smoother.

Practical note

If you’re responsible for training budgets, try this: ask three people in your team to describe one moment in the last month when English felt like a barrier. Not a grammar problem—a moment when communication slowed work down. That’s your starting point.

Markus and I worked on his presentation friction. We didn’t study presentation vocabulary; we rehearsed his actual slides, refined his transitions, and built his confidence handling Q&A. After six sessions, he told me: “Now when I present to international stakeholders, I’m not just understood. I’m influential.”

That’s the shift that changes ROI. It’s measurable not in test scores but in smoother meetings, faster decisions, and restored authority.

If you’re designing or commissioning English training, where could you start with friction instead of courses?