Making communication fun can alleviate stress and improve your speaking skills, and I know no better way to have fun than to celebrate Carnival in Brazil. In this month’s blog post, we’re drawing from the spontaneity and liveliness of Rio de Janeiro during Carnival so that you can bring more levity to your communication.  

Brazil’s Carnival Spirit Will Enhance Your Speaking Skills 

Imagine the streets of Rio de Janeiro transformed into a vibrant tapestry of color, music, and dance. The air is electric with the rhythms of samba, as thousands of locals and tourists, adorned in shiney costumes, move together to the infectious beats. Music plays atop vans and buses as crowds gather around in celebration. The Copacabana Palace is preparing for its Saturday evening Ball and the Samba schools are lined up for their competition at the stadium with their floats and performers adorned in intricate designs and larger-than-life figures. Masterpieces of creativity and art are everywhere. Even with the heat reaching almost 100 degrees Fahrenheit, everywhere you look, there are smiles, laughter, and an overwhelming sense of joy and unity. This is Carnival in Rio de Janeiro—a celebration of life, culture, and the sheer joy of being alive. It's a time when the city comes together to dance, sing, and revel in the magic of the moment, leaving behind the worries of the day.

How would you like to leave your communication worries behind?

Well, by embracing the Carnival spirit into your speech, you can do just that. After all a relaxed and stress-free environment makes for a more effective communication experience.

Let’s dive in.

Why Perfection Is Not Required

I know how perfect you want your spoken English to be.

➔ It’ll help you fit in.

➔ It’ll reduce your frustrations.

➔ And it’ll mean you’ve achieved your English-speaking dreams.

But, perfection is not required in your communication in order for you to:

➔ Be inderstood

➔ Contribute

➔ Suceed

Instead of aiming for perfection what if you embraced imperfections? It could allow you to be authentic and human. Just like in Carnival, where the focus is on enjoyment rather than flawlessness, effective communication is about connecting with others, even if we make mistakes. Here are a few parallels between Carnival and your “imperfect” communication:

➔ Authenticity: During Carnival, people express themselves fully and freely. That brings out their authenticity flaws and all. You could do the same thing with your speech. Let your genuine and honest side out regardless of the mistakes and watch how you can build greater trust and stronger connections.

➔ Joy and Positivity: Who doesn’t like to laugh and have fun? When you bring a positive attitude to your interactions, you can make conversations more enjoyable and engaging. Take it from the positive energy of Carnival and enjoy yourself!

➔ Acceptance of Imperfections: Carnival celebrates diversity and uniqueness. The block parties and competitions are filled with people from all races and colors. In communication, you can accept your own and others' imperfections and experience more open and meaningful exchanges.

➔ Creativity: Take a cue from the creativity seen in Carnival costumes and performances. They inspire us to be more creative in how we express ourselves. The same can be true for making your communication more dynamic and interesting. Think outside the box!

➔ Community and Connection: By allowing for imperfections in your communication you are being real. This can foster a greater sense of community and connection just like we see when people come together in shared activities at Carnival. Our human and relatable sides show up.

Incorporating Humor in Conversations

I’ve heard many of my clients talk about how challenging it can be to understand and use humor when speaking English as a foreign language.

I get it. In English we have several types of humor (e.g., puns, jokes, wordplay, funny anecdotes), and it’s hard to keep up.

I speak Portuguese as a second language and I miss a lot.

But I will tell you that it has felt really great when I am able to insert a humorous comment into the conversation. It demonstrates my levity and breaks the ice so people can feel more comfortable with me as a foreigner.

If you’d like to insert some humor into your conversations start simply.

✔︎ You can share a personal thing that happened to you that was funny. Tell the story.

✔︎ You can start with something you know very well like your own culture. Say something like: "In my country, we have a saying that if you can’t find something, it’s probably in the last place you look. Turns out, that’s true everywhere!"

✔︎ You can even try our famous Knock-Knock jokes if you want. Here’s one:

You say: Knock-knock (like you are knocking on a door)

They say: Who’s there?

You say: Lettuce

They say: Lettuce who?

You say: Lettuce (let us) in. It’s cold out here!

The idea is to keep it light and respectful.

Just use technology to help you find some simple ways that you can bring humor to your next lunch and see how it goes. You won’t know until you try.

Creating a Supportive Environment

Coming back to Carnival, we know that it is very communal. People gather on street corners, in restaurants, and on the beaches to have fun.

This supportive atmosphere can inspire you to find safe spaces for you to enhance your communication. It might be a Resource Group at work or an online communication club.

If you can’t find one, you can create one yourself.

Ask some of your closest colleagues if they’d be interested in having lunch together once a month to practice your communication skills.

You’ll receive positive reinforcement and constructive feedback in a group of like-minded peers.

It’ll be fun and the time will pass so fast, you’ll wish you had another hour together.

Don’t Miss the Moments

Some of my most successful graduates have been folks who made learning fun.

They knew how to laugh at their mistakes and make light of their development.

This is so important because if we have a heavy attitude when we set out to achieve our goals, we miss the process. And that’s all there really is anyway, right?

When I was younger, I was quite serious about everything I set out to do. I even found myself in judgment of those who seemed to be having fun while tackling the same things I was.

I thought: “How can they possibly reach their dreams with such a light-hearted attitude?”

Turns out they may have accomplished them sooner than me because they weren’t so hard on themselves.

Brazil, and certainly Carnival, has been a great teacher for me over the years teaching me how to laugh and let go. All my wishes to fulfill a well laid out plan? Forget it! Most of the Brazilians I know just want to have fun.

And it doesn’t mean that they aren’t smart or hard-working or able to achieve great things. They do. But, they don’t miss the moments.

As you strive to become a more skillful presenter in English, let loose, be free, and engage in the moments like they are the only thing you get. Because in reality, they are the only thing we get.

Enhancing your Language Skills With Fun

Here are a few things you can do on the weekends to tap into enjoyment while you improve your speaking skills:

➔ Games: Try your hand at some common games like charades, Pictionary, or a word association game. Drop the comment (husband) below if you want me to share a very funny story with you about how my husband succeeded at a game he never thought he could play (He’s Brazilian.)

➔  Interactive Storytelling: Create stories together with some peers. One of you begins a tale and after about a minute, you pass it onto the next person. You continue this way and can go around as many times exploring your creativity through language.

➔  Language Learning Apps: You may think that your English skills are too high for some of these apps, but you never know. You could try learning a new language on Duolingo and see how the fun transfers to your English. You can also check out a site like Bored Panda and catch some laughs from some language errors. It’ll put you in the right mood to stay light.     

Conclusion: Remember the Carnival Spirit

As one of my coaches has taught me, we have to prime ourselves before we step into learning activities.

That means that if you want to have fun while you speak, you’ll need to watch something funny or seek out things that are enjoyable first.

In my case, I was working on tapping into my inner child. I had been setting and achieving physical world goals for two months and my coach suggested that I get creative and imagine what my inner child would like to do that I am suppressing.

But, he said that I couldn’t think about it intellectually. He said I had to do some fun things before I did the activity so that the inner child could be more available.

It worked. I played with my dogs. I turned on my favorite childhood music. And I ate sweets without regret. Then, I was able to know more intuitively what that inner child was missing.

I think you could tap into your joy of speaking English by getting to know the wonder of Carnival. When you have some time, do an internet search for Carnival 2025 and see what videos and images you find.

➔ Then, pick out an article to read out loud.

➔ Or, start a conversation in English with a spouse or a friend.

➔ Or, listen to a podcast in English and see how much you understand.

Whatever you do, don’t worry about being perfect or serious. Communication can be fun, creative, and stress-free just like Carnival. Give it a try!