Désolé pour ce billet, mais il doit se lire en anglais, car pas drôle du tout en français.  Ce billet a paru dans une revue anglophone concernant une anecdote de votre humble serviteur.  Vous pouvez vous payez ma gueule, on appelle cela de l’expérience…enfin j’espère!

Bonjour,
My name is Mario Loubier and I am from Québec, Canada.  To get a clearer picture and understanding of my story imagine this text being read in English by a guy with a very strong French accent.  You’ll see why French is really my first language!

A few years ago I had to attend a very important meeting and deliver my first training in English.  I was 32 years old and it was my second year of making a living by training people.  It happened in Dearborn, Michigan.  The meeting was significant because of the people that were there.  There were 5 or 6 Canadian and American ‘big cheeses’ from a legendary auto manufacturer.

My little boss from Québec and my big boss from Toronto were also there.  No need to tell you that I practiced a lot for that presentation.  The night before I had a chat with my good friend Robert, who is also a professional trainer and speaker in Canada.  We were talking about everything and then he asked me what was new with my life?  I told him I had heard that one of my most important client was looking to hire a few trainers to send to Europe and I was really interested in the opportunity.  For that reason I was learning German.  “Why German?” Robert asked me.  “Because I am pretty good with French, not so bad with English so a third language in Europe would be an asset to get the contract and a lot of people speaks German in Europe.”   “Oh, sounds like a good idea Mario.  You want to have that ace in the hole!”  At the time I did not know what the expression meant and my friend Robert kindly explained it to me.  I knew I had to use that expression as soon as possible to remember it.  If you have learned a new language you know what I mean.  We had a few drinks and some laughs and I went to bed early to be in good shape for the important delivery I had to do in the morning.  It came fast!  You know the feeling I’m sure.  That morning I was so nervous looking at them filing in.  Oh, I forgot to tell that about 10 others trainers from the US and Canada (my peers) were also there to watch the show and kind of add a little bit more pressure!

So here it comes.  I started my presentation and I went blank.  Babbling, mixing words with my strong accent EN FRANÇAIS!  I did not know where to go.  My good friend Robert saw me struggling and looking like a fool with my presentation. The clients were impatient, I could feel it.  So to rescue me, Robert jumped in and told me to calm down.  He said: “Why don’t you tell everybody why you are learning German?”  Maybe he thought that chatting about something else would help me to compose myself.  So here is what I told them in front of the big cheese, the little boss, the big boss and all my peers.  “I am learning German to be part of the European training opportunity.  I want also to have the hole in the a..!”

I can still see the explosion of laughter that happened in the room.  Robert explained what I had just said and I quickly replied: “Isn’t it the place it’s supposed to be?”  They could not stand it anymore.  I did my presentation the best I could under those circumstances.  Help from a friend and being genuine paid off that day and I guess I can say after that story that I have a “je ne sais quoi!”.