When someone asks “How are you?” in English, how do you respond?

Chances are, you don’t even think about it—you just say something like:

👉 “I’m good, thanks! How are you?”

It comes out automatically because you’ve said it so many times that it’s become a reflex.

Now, imagine this happening in a foreign language.

If someone asks me in French, “Comment allez-vous?”, I immediately reply:

👉 “Très bien, merci, et vous?”

If someone asks me in Spanish, “¿Cómo está?”, I instantly say:

👉 “Estoy bien, gracias, ¿y usted?”

I don’t have to translate in my head—it just happens.

This is what I call installing a motor. 🚀

A motor is a reflex phrase that helps you speed through conversations without hesitation.

Think of it like autopilot for speaking. 🛫

Just like physical reflexes (pulling your hand away from something hot 🔥), language motors help you respond quickly and naturally.

The more motors you install, the faster and smoother your conversations become.

When you speak your native language, most of what you say is not new—it’s things you’ve said before.

For example:
✔ At work, you say the same greetings every day.
✔ Talking to customers, you repeat the same explanations.
✔ In casual chats, you use familiar expressions.

The more you say something, the easier and more fluent it becomes.

🔎 Example:
Imagine asking a heart surgeon to give a lecture on the heart—they they would likely give an interesting lecture where they sound very proficient in what they’re talking about.

However, if you ask that same heart surgeon to talk about something completely different, such as the country they live in, their lecture would probably run a lot less smoothly, and they wouldn’t sound as proficient. This is because a heart surgeon talks about hearts all day long to patients, so they know exactly how to explain things, they know where to add anecdotes to give better clarity, and they know which areas to swerve in order to avoid boredom or unnecessary complication. Yet, when they talk about their own country, despite knowing all about it, if they’ve never had the opportunity to talk about it before, there will be long pauses, mistakes, and a lot of “erm…”.

The more we speak about something, the better we get at it. And this is exactly how language motors work—by practicing the same useful phrases over and over, they become automatic.

Building a motor is easy! The hardest part is choosing what to focus on.

Follow this 5-step method to install your own motors:

Pick a situation you’ll use frequently, like:
✔ Greeting someone
✔ Booking a table
✔ Ordering food
✔ Asking for directions
✔ Talking about the weather

Choose a short and useful phrase that fits the situation.
For example, for greetings in French:
👉 “Bonjour, comment allez-vous?” (Hello, how are you?)

📢 Repeat the phrase several times a day until you don’t have to think about it.
You can even whisper it to yourself while walking around!

💭 Imagine yourself in a café, at a hotel, or meeting someone new.
🌍 Picture yourself confidently saying the phrase.

The first time might feel scary.
The second time will feel easier.
By the fifth or tenth time, it will be second nature!

🎯 GOAL: Get to the point where the phrase comes out without hesitation.

When I first lived in France, I had to order a taxi by phone. 📞🚖

I was nervous, so I rehearsed what I was going to say in my head.

When I made the call, I did okay, but there were a couple of moments where I panicked because the taxi operator asked something I wasn’t prepared for.

But after six months, I had ordered so many taxis that the first line of my conversation was always the same.

✅ At first, I had to think about it.
✅ Then, it became automatic.
✅ Eventually, it just rolled off my tongue.

That’s when I realized I had installed a motor.

The best first motor to install is greetings.

Try this in your target language:

📢 “Hello, how are you?”
📢 “I’m good, thanks! And you?”

Then, make yourself say it:
✔ When you enter a restaurant
✔ When you check into a hotel
✔ When you walk into a shop
✔ When you pass someone on the street

Do this enough times, and soon you won’t even have to think about it!