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Every Thursday you receive tips and content to help you improve your English skills, 1 % at a time.

The world is getting smaller. Not literally, but in terms of travel, commerce and business in general, it has never been easier for people, products and services to traverse borders. Nowadays the people you serve can come from every corner of the globe, and this presents both opportunities and challenges.

One of the challenges is cross-cultural communication. Building rapport (connection), strategies for buying and selling, and understanding different accents all need to be done effectively with clients. The good news is, you don't need to reinvent the wheel. You just need to learn how to translate your knowledge into English, and remember a few important points if you want to be an effective communicator.

One way of 'translating your knowledge' is to master the vocabulary of your field and sub-fields in English. If you work in a hotel restaurant, you need to be able to explain the dishes on a menu, or to take orders, but a sub-field could be giving recommendations in the city where the hotel is based, or dealing with complaints. Or if you work in sales, you will need to know your product/service, but you will also need to know persuasive language to sell it.

You will also need to understand different accents in English. If you are unable to understand someone, you will be unable to converse. An Indian speaker is completely different to a Canadian, and a native is different to a non-native, so being exposed to different accents will help you to understand people, so you can respond accordingly and effectively.

Another great way to make your interactions more successful is to predict what the other person may need. This has more benefits than just a language one. You can do this by firstly asking questions and becoming aware of what the other person's likes/needs are, and then anticipating this need in the future. This is especially important in sales or hospitality.

And if you want to make your interactions even more powerful and productive, turn small talk into big talk. Don't just say "how was your flight?" to the diner in the restaurant, ask about their intentions during their stay, then you will discover something about their profession (if it's a business trip) or their interests (if it's for pleasure). Maybe you discover you have things in common, or you have an interest in their work. This will help you to make the conversation more interesting and memorable, rather than mechanical and superficial.

After all, we generally go back to a place, or do business with someone because of a feeling that was created between two or more humans. And this feeling is always created with words and actions to accompany them.

So always think how you can use words more effectively to make your communication more meaningful, and therefore more effective.

You just need to start...

TIPS

Know the language of your field/sub-field: Learn all of the words you are likely to use or hear.
Practise listening to different accents: Especially the ones you have to deal with the most and/or have the most difficulties with.
Anticipate people's needs: This makes communication easier and makes the person remember you.
Listen to what people say: So you can respond with better comments/questions.
Convert small talk into big talk: When you listen to what people say and ask better questions, you can have better conversations, which create better connections, which make people remember you more and what to come back/and or do business with you.

CONTENT

Your work and yourself are your content: Think of the language you need to be able to communicate effectively in English.
This is a starting point for practising different accents
Practise your English speaking skills consistently to really improve. See for yourself how our spontaneous speaking activities help you with your confidence and fluency in English. Try the Fluent In 50 Days Course For Free...

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A CHALLENGE

In order to communicate effectively you need to be able to understand different accents, and to know the language of your field/sub-field. Start practising for five minutes per day:

Five minutes of listening practice plus learn one new relevant word...

You just need to start...