Why this assumption undermines the message of your event or meeting.
You’re sitting in a conference room in Brussels. Coffee is ready, everyone trickles in, laptop open. Around the table: colleagues from Dutch-speaking and French-speaking territories. On paper, everything is well prepared.
And then, before you’ve even begun properly, comes the moment that has become almost standard.
Someone asks a question. Someone else searches for a moment for the right words. And suddenly someone says, “Shall we continue in English? It’s easier.”
Everyone nods. We can go on.
Only … that is often the beginning of a meeting that goes quickly, but lacks the necessary depth.
English helps you get ahead, but doesn’t put everyone on the same footing
In Belgium, 58% of the population says they speak enough English to hold a conversation.
In addition, 46% of non-French speakers can express themselves in French, 17% of non-German speakers in German and 13% of non-Dutch speakers in Dutch.
Those numbers make English attractive as a common language: efficient, practical and seemingly inclusive. But “being able to hold a conversation” is not the same as:
- making your point clearly in a difficult discussion
- responding quickly to a counterargument
- add nuance to something sensitive
- daring to interrupt when you don’t understand something
And that’s exactly what you need in a meeting where decisions have to be made.
What happens in practice when you switch over
It is rarely a disaster. It remains polite. It remains professional. But you see the atmosphere changing.
1. People are becoming more cautious
In a second language, you are more likely to “play it safe.” Shorter sentences. Less detail. Less nuance.
For an update meeting this is still possible, but for strategy, HR, budgets or sensitive files you get a flattened discussion.
2. The silences get bigger
Not because people have nothing to say. It’s because they don’t feel comfortable formulating it in English, especially if it has to go quickly.
You then get those moments where everyone nods … and no one asks anything. While you sense that something is actually going on.
3. A few voices take over by themselves
Those who speak English fluently grab more space (unintentionally). They steer the conversation, set the pace, and set the lines. Everyone else follows.
And if you are unlucky, afterwards in the corridors the group does start responding – in its own language. That’s too late. And that costs you energy in the follow-up.
4. Culture plays a part
Language and culture hang together. In some teams, it is normal to respond quickly and directly. In other contexts, it is done more cautiously, indirectly or with more attention to hierarchy.
In an English-speaking meeting, that difference is more quickly noticed. Those who are less confident in English then withdraw more easily. And so you hear mostly the most assertive voices, not always the best ideas.
5. Silence is not the same as consenting
Sometimes silence is just: I half understood or I want to check this, but I’m not going to say it now.
Those things come back later. In misunderstandings. In emails. In a decision that has to be put back on the table.
Language accessibility: something you plan for, not something you hope for
If you want everyone to be along and talk along, you need to make it easy for them. There are several ways to do that, depending on your meeting.
1. Simultaneous translation when nuance is important
At corporate boards, stakeholder meetings, international board meetings … you don’t want noise on the line.
With simultaneous translation, everyone can speak in the language in which they are sharpest, and listen in the language that comes in fastest. That removes the barrier and makes the discussion richer.
2. Live subtitles as additional support
Live captions are useful if you:
- have many non-native speakers
- use technical terms
- have a hybrid audience
- sit in a room where the sound is never really ideal
You don’t have to change your format, but you do make it more comfortable to follow.
3. AI translation: smart, if you use it correctly
AI can be a good addition to provide additional languages or to make quick changes. But in sensitive topics or discussions where nuance is everything, it’s best to remain critical. A machine “translates,” but does not “interpret” the way a human does.
A simple test for your next meeting
Ask yourself this:
Should people just be able to follow along? Or do you want them to help give direction?
If the second option is important, it almost always pays to consider language as part of your meeting design.
How duvall is handling this
At duvall, we don’t start with a list of products. We start with your situation.
Who is in the audience? What languages are involved? How sensitive is the content? How much interaction do you expect? Onsite, hybrid, live stream?
Then we build a set-up that feels logical: simultaneous translation where it needs to be, subtitling where it helps, and AI where it really adds something.
So that everyone is included. And especially: so that everyone also dares to participate.
