Go like Silk
Speak like Silk
Communicating with confidence and kindness in German
Silk is always fluent.
You can be, too.
Table of contents
- What is Speak like Silk?
- Who is it for?
- What will I learn?
- How is it organised?
- What do we actually do?
- Your coaches
- Location and venue
- Prices
- Dates and registration
What is Speak like Silk?
In our workshop Speak like Silk, we get together to talk, discuss, learn, feel, laugh, … to try something new. To just be yourself in German. To find out how you want to communicate in German and discover how to flow like silk.
Silk is gentle to the touch. It keeps you warm when you need warmth. And it helps you to stay cool when things get hot. Silk is flexible to the needs of the moment. When we communicate, we need to be flexible, too. We might feel that others are cold to us. And we might worry when things get too hot. But to flow like silk, we need to stay gentle.
Speak like Silk is different from language courses and other communication workshops:
- We don’t keep correcting your grammar. We focus on letting you get the message across.
- We don’t tell you to get rid of your accent. We want you to speak like you.
- We don’t give you rules to follow. We show you how to let go of the rules.
- We don’t teach you words to learn. We want you to find your own words.
- We show you that Kindness Communication is the key.
When you’ve learned how to Speak like Silk:
- You won’t get stressed about talking to others. You will start enjoying it.
- You won’t be looking for words. You will always know what you want to say.
- You won’t compare yourself to other people. You will be speaking your way.
Who is it for?
Speak like Silk is for everyone who already has a good knowledge of German (level B1 or higher) and wants to develop their communication potential in German for their professional and everyday needs. The workshop is suitable for people who want to work and learn in a group environment.
- Do you get stressed if you have to use German without time to think about what you should say?
- Do you get nervous when you make presentations or speak at meetings in German?
- Do you feel insecure when talking to native speakers of German?
- Do you worry that other people will say that your German isn’t good enough?
- Do you want to make sure that you’ve understood the most important things and can ask productive questions?
- Do you want to improve your German to take the next step in your career?
- Would you like to be able to check whether the German from Google Translate and ChatGPT actually says what you want to say?
- Would you like to feel you can be your real self when you speak German?
If your answer to any of these questions is yes, then Speak like Silk is right for you. The workshop will give you the know-how you need and the tools to put it into practice.
If you are looking for personalised coaching tailored to your individual communication needs and goals, you can also book Speak like Silk as individual sessions.
What will I learn?
When you’ve learned how to Speak like Silk , you will:
- learn to trust yourself and feel more confident in German.
- be able to communicate successfully in different situations.
- understand what people really mean, not just what they say or write.
- feel more like the real you in German.
How is it organised?
Speak like Silk comprises 5 half-days, which can be organised to meet your requirements. One half-day is 3½ hours including a coffee break.
Examples for workshop formats:
- 1 half-day per week over five weeks
- multiple half-days per week over two or three weeks
- 2½ consecutive (full) days
The workshop can be adjusted in regard to content, length and structure to find a format that suits your requirements. Please get in touch for a tailor-made offer.
We speak German during the workshop; all teaching materials and discussions will be in German. Upon completion of the workshop, you will receive a certificate on paper confirming your successful participation.
The workshop is designed for 6 to 10 participants.
What do we actually do?
The content for Speak like Silk consists of the following:
- Part 1: introduction; basic communication principles; one-to-one activities; authentic communication; accent; making sense of ‘mistakes’; defining successful communication.
- Part 2: influence of non-verbal factors on communication (proximity/distance; status and hierarchy; spatial awareness etc.); communicative agency in specific situations.
- Part 3: cooperation, not competition; speaking spontaneously; paraphrasing and letting go of the ‘right’ word; active listening; understanding without words; presentations with individual feedback.
- Part 4: writing requests and refusals using Kindness Communication; possible interpretations and different reaction patterns; role-playing specific communication situations based on your input.
- Part 5: writing German for different communicative goals; the role of empathy in communication; practising persuasive communication; improvisation activities; speaking German under pressure; discussing individual questions and concerns; workshop feedback and certificates.
Your coaches
Your coaches for the workshop will be Michèle Cooke, PhD and Michael En, MA.
Michèle Cooke, PhD
When Michèle arrived in Vienna many years ago, she knew very little German. She studied the grammar and the vocabulary, but it was real life in Vienna that actually taught her how to communicate in German. She soon realised that German had to stop being a foreign language and start becoming one that she felt at home in. So she found her own words to express what she was thinking and feeling. Her practical experience of the link between culture, cognition and communication became the basis for her research and teaching as professor at the University of Vienna, where she worked for over thirty years.
Read more about Michèle.
Michael En, MA
Michael has worked many years as a language teacher for companies, doctors and children. He is now teaching lingua-franca communication and critical approaches to professional text design at the University of Vienna, for which he received the Univie Teaching Award 2025. In his research, he analyses the concept of the ‘native speaker’, and he also works as a translator, copy-editor and layout designer. In all this, he keeps coming back to the question of what it is that we need to understand – and what we can do when, despite our best effort, things go wrong.
Read more about Michael.
Location and venue
For our workshops, we invite you to our office in Vienna, Austria. Read more about where we work.
Prices
Our coaching prices are calculated per half-day, that is, 3½ hours including a coffee break.
| Coaching package | Companies and organisations | Private individuals without ext. funding | Reduced rates (learn more) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 half-day coaching | € 324 € 270 plus VAT | € 198 € 165 plus VAT | € 120 € 100 plus VAT |
|
Speak like Silk 5 half-days |
€ 1.620 € 1.350 plus VAT | € 990 € 825 plus VAT | € 600 € 500 plus VAT |
The price includes:
- your own piece of silk in a Go like Silk box so you can continue to practise flowing at home
- ‘How to Go like Silk’ folder with summary and further reading recommendations
- coffee, tea and non-alcoholic drinks when the workshop is held at our office
- your certificate upon completion of the workshop
You can find more details about coaching costs under ‘Our prices’.
Dates and registration
We offer Speak like Silk on fixed dates throughout the year as well as on request. We would be happy to discuss a workshop format that suits your requirements and look forward to hearing from you:
Call us, drop us a line or book an appointment for a free preliminary consultation – in English or German.
Our next regular dates for Speak like Silk are the following. To register for a specific date, please get in touch.
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Speak like Silk (5 half-days)
- : 9:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
- : 9:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
- : 9:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
- : 9:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
- : 9:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
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Speak like Silk (5 half-days)
- : 9:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
- : 9:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
- : 9:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
- : 9:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
- : 9:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Please note our terms and conditions for participating and our information on accessibility.
To be fluent means to flow.
Go like Silk