Филологические науки/Методика  преподавания языка и литературы

A. Timchenko

Poltava University of Economics and Trade, Ukraine

WAYS TO IMPROVE COMMUNICATION SKILLS IN BUSINESS ENGLISH

Communication is perhaps the most essential component in business. Without communication, companies cannot interact with their customers. Internally, confusion and slow productivity will arise. Without well-defined oral communication skills a worker will not likely advance in his or her career and may even be terminated. So, let’s consider some ways to improve our communication skills.

First of all, try to use introductory phrases before your message to catch people’s attention, so they are listening before you emit your main point. This will also let listeners adjust their hearing to your speed, pronunciation and tone of voice. Be careful and memorize key words – since you will not have time to look for them when needed. Knowing the meaning of words is not enough. They aren’t useful until you’ve been through the whole learning cycle. This implies that you have to understand the word, know how to use it, memorize it and be able to recall it when needed. The audience must feel your awareness in the deal and strong purposefulness to achieve the aim, whatever you are talking about.

There is one very good advice from a management consultant Hilary Rhodes who specializes in meeting skills: “Actually, to catch success in meeting, try to use one idea to a sentence and build the sentence around the idea”. It means that many listeners are used to short sentences and find it hard to handle several notions in one phrase. It is better to repeat the same ideas in several formats so people who do not follow your point in one way have the chance to understand it in another. I think it is not so difficult to do, because “English is a language of few, precise words where economy is a plus.”

Organize words in your sentences according to rules, because mixing priorities will confuse listeners. Define a word pattern and try to apply it to all your constructions because even though there are several ways to say a sentence correctly, it’s better to play it safe if you are not sure. Do not use slang, ironical expressions or foul language, even if others do. This could confuse listeners because your speech will unexpectedly change register.

Generally there is one more small trick in question tags. It will not be appropriate to apply tail phrases on leading questions, since they are a legitimate way to make listeners assert to your proposals. Be attentive: question tags ending with negative tail phrases elicit affirmative answers, and on the other hand, question tags ending with positive tail phrases elicit negative answers.

The next very important aspect in conversations is gesticulating. Remember that body language transmits a lot of information so don’t be afraid of gesticulating. Listeners will take non-verbal signs as part of your personality and will not pay conscious attention to your gestures. Magnify facial gestures, since they will help to get your message across in case verbal language fails and people don’t follow your words. As a foreign speaker your weakest area of communication is verbal language, so make up for this lack with stronger non-verbal signs.

By the way it will be better to practice intonation before your speech, as natives grant importance to words based on stress. Remember that every language’s cadence is different, so tone variations applied in Spanish are not valid for English. Sometimes listeners will not get the gist of your sentences if you apply the wrong intonation patterns. Don’t hide your accent by speaking with your mouth closed or increasing your speed, because people will find it harder to follow you. Talk slowly, look at listeners and don’t try to compete with outside noises. If there’s a noise, wait until it subsides. Do not trust your instinct, because pronunciation is often unpredictable! Learn difficult words and practice them often. When in doubt with names, ask how to pronounce them correctly.

Remember that if it’s difficult for you to speak, it is also difficult for listeners to understand. Thus, give them lots of clues to help them navigate your speech. It’s a good idea to remember you must give listeners a map of your speech – people must know exactly where they are standing so they don’t get lost. Listeners might be getting just part of your message, so markers help them to know which subject is now being discussed.

Another very important aspect in any conversation is an ability to interrupt. Interrupting is difficult in a language that you don’t handle well, because often when your opportunity comes you can’t find the right words! Therefore, it’s essential to learn how to interrupt with proper expressions. You will need to use these phrases without any delay when inserting a comment or disagreeing with a statement. Speed is important, as opportunities to say something rarely last for long. The key to effective interruptions is the right mix of forcefulness and politeness. Don’t worry if you sometimes need to insist several times until you catch people’s attention.

The success in meeting, however, is to achieve the aim to leave everyone feeling they have had a chance to say what they wanted to say and gain lasting and well-deserved popularity by finishing when you said the meeting would finish.

So, try to follow all these pieces of advice, improve yourself every day, work hard and I guess everyone can be a good speaker or even a chairperson and remember the last but not the least trick: in every communication speak more about your counterpart and not about you. Most communications fail because people are interested in saying “I”. When you speak about yourself it is generally boring. When you speak about others it is gossip. Most intelligent and interesting conversations are when you speak about your counterpart.

References

1. Fuhrmann, B. S., and A. F. Grasha. A Practical Handbook for College and University Teaching. Boston: Little, Brown, 1983.

2. Shannon, T. M. “Introducing Simulation and Role-Play.” In Strategies for Active Teaching and Learning in University Classrooms, ed. S. F. Schomberg. Minneapolis: Office of Educational Development Programs, University of Minnesota, 1986.