How Creating an Alter Ego Helps Me Switch Between Different Languages
A trick to make your multilingual brain function better
I recently read “The Alter Ego Effect” book by Todd Herman. Its main idea is that every person can create an alter ego to show up better in chosen areas of life. As imperfect human beings, sometimes we lack skills, or cannot overcome waves of emotions that make us act in a way we don’t want to.
These areas of life can be anything you want to improve: business, career, parenting, sport, cooking, or virtually any pursuit you care about. The trick is to create an alter ego and use it when you are about to embark on an activity of impact. It can be anything: having a difficult conversation you have been postponing for ages due to a strong fear of rejection; performing during a strenuous training session when you are about to give up; or sitting down to write an article, fearing being judged by readers.
Alter ego seemed a good strategy to utilize when learning languages. For me, switching between them kind of implied turning into someone else, a person of a particular culture and worldview.
Learning languages has been my passion for well a decade. However, I’m not the kind of polyglot you can think of who learns five languages simultaneously and can effortlessly juggle between them in their sleep. I find it challenging not to mix up words and to feel confident despite making silly mistakes when talking to natives.
When I started learning Spanish, and especially when I progressed to the level of being conversational about difficult topics, I felt a huge number of Spanish words and phrases had invaded my German. My brain felt like it was on the verge of exploding as I tried to silence the persistent Spanish girl in my head who refused to stop talking.
So, the neurons in my brain responsible for speaking these beautiful languages intertwined and refused to separate. I felt frustrated and told my interlocutors they needed to take Spanish classes to grasp my multicultural speech. Unfortunately for me, they were unsure they could squeeze them into their busy calendars.
I needed to find a way to break out of this linguistic mess. When I read about the Alter Ego concept, I had an “aha” moment. If businessmen and athletes could alter their performance by becoming someone else, using it for language learning made even more sense.
According to studies, people behave and feel differently when speaking different languages. This phenomenon is referred to as “cultural frame switching”. Why not use this discrepancy to your advantage? It’s like putting on a mask free from the psychological burdens of your past. This new persona is your creation, and you can tweak it any way you wish.
Creating an alter ego for every language you learn
My native language is Ukrainian but, at work, I speak English and sometimes German. I also take Spanish classes and plan to revitalize my Czech which I learned long ago.
Following my ambitious pursuits, I want to create an alter ego for every language. I will walk you through the steps but you can customize them to your needs. This is an art, not a science.
I want to use these alter egos for two interconnected purposes. Firstly, I want to completely switch my brain to the language I’m speaking. Secondly, I would like these alter egos to help me achieve the goals I might pursue when speaking a particular language.
The first thing Todd Herman recommends is to give your alter ego a name. It brings your alter ego to life and gives it human shape. Let’s give my English alter ego a name — Amanda. Then I’d like to create a full profile of her personality; it should be close to mine with additional cool features. As I use English a lot in work-related communication, I will try to bind speaking the language with achieving professional success.
“Amanda is a 29—year—old American. She is fit and stylish, wears a bold pink-and-purple hairstyle. She works as a Software Engineer and utilizes her seazoned technical and communication skills daily.
Amanda is smart and creative.
She lives in New York City and frequently visits technical events in the downtown. Sometimes she gives talks on software development topics that excite her. She likes presenting, and her engaging talks leave a lasting positive impression.
Amanda likes wearing comfortable but elegant clothes. She is confident and easy-going. She frequently speaks up during meetings and experiences joy contributing to the success of her team.”
So, I created an overall picture of my new alter ego. Adding more details can help deepen the emotional connection but too much can make the new person too complex. I want to feel like Amanda, not think of all the nitty-gritty of her personality and appearance.
Other important questions I can consider answering when creating the alter ego of Amanda:
- “What does my alter ego believe she can do or create?”
Amanda feels she can make an impact. She believes she can build a great career that fulfills her potential. She is a communication pro.
- “What are the superpowers of my alter ego?”
Amanda is not afraid of failure. She tries things, speaks up, and shows the best version of herself in her daily work. When she feels insecure, she recalls her past successes to boost her confidence. Whenever faced with a challenging task, she drinks a sip of her favorite coffee and gets straight to doing the hard thing.
- “What are Amanda’s traits that bring her to live in her extraordinary world?”
She is curious, persistent, creative, smart, and joyful. She is a logical thinker and a problem solver.
I hope you’ve gotten the hint of how to design a new version of yourself. There might be many areas of life where I can use Amanda — professional, hobby, communication, etc. But the most important thing is that Amanda is bound to English. Whenever my field of play requires speaking English, Amanda can step in and help me.
Now it’s time to invent cues that will help you switch to that new personality when you have to perform your best when speaking a chosen language.
Linking yourself to your alter ego
I have a newly baked shiny alter ego. However, it’s hard for me to step into her shoes. I still feel like my old self, a much less confident overthinker with imposter syndrome, struggling to find the right words when speaking impromptu.
Let’s imagine I’m having a job interview ahead of me. My objective is to boost my confidence and feel more excited than intimidated.
The clock is ticking. It’s exactly one minute before my important interview with the company of my dreams. I’m feeling my heart rate spike to the level of tachycardia (should I see my doctor?), and my palms are sweating. Now it’s high time to bring Amanda into the game.
How do I switch to being this confident English-speaking girl eager to have a fluent flawless conversation? A physical cue is one of the most effective ways to trigger the switch.
As you may remember, Amanda likes coffee. Thus I can use a cup of this steaming delicious drink to trick my brain into becoming her. With the first sip of coffee, I put on the mask and can leverage Amanda’s communication strengths.
It actually works
I noticed that I sound more confident and make fewer mistakes when I leverage my language alter egos. And, as any language is inseparable from its usage context, I reap additional benefits from improved language fluency.
This alter ego might not need to be exclusive. It should depend on your needs and preferences. You may want to behave differently at work and when delivering a talk about something, even if you use the same language as the alter ego. This may require creating additional alter egos or elaborating on the existing ones.
The most important thing to remember is that this alter ego is already a part of you. It brings forward the best version of yourself and helps separate the different personalities you embody when learning multiple languages. Who said polyglots weren’t chameleons, seamlessly adapting to various personas? 😏
