Tips for successful communication
If you work in a company which has offices in different countries, or if your company does business with foreign companies, the chances are that you use English as a medium of communication. It's impossible to estimate how many people worldwide use English for business, but with the increase in globalisation, more and more communication in English takes place when one or both of the people involved is not a native speaker of English.
This can bring both advantages and disadvantages. Businesses that employ people from different cultures are often thought to be more dynamic and inventive. However, it is vital to have good communication to avoid misunderstandings or poor working relationships.
The following tips for successful communication in English are in two sections: tips for improving linguistic skills, and tips for improving personal skills and awareness.
Linguistic skills
1. Keep it simple
Avoid idioms and phrasal verbs and keep grammatical structures simple. This has two advantages: the person you are dealing with will be more likely to understand you, and secondly, you will be less likely to make mistakes.
2. Use clarifying and rephrasing techniques
Don't be afraid to check what you have understood. Clarifying (or rephrasing if the other person doesn't understand) saves time in the future.
If I understand you correctly…
If I can paraphrase what you've just said…
So you mean…
Let me rephrase what I've just said…
Let me say that in another way…
In other words…
3. Ask if you don't understand
Rather than making assumptions (which can turn out to be untrue) make sure you understand the other person.
Sorry, but I don't understand.
Can you go over that again?
I'm not sure I understood your last point.
Would you mind repeating that?
4. Prepare for meetings, presentations and negotiations
Before you meet someone, make sure you have prepared any vocabulary or questions you might need. The more familiar you are with any particular vocabulary, the more relaxed you will feel when you meet. It's also often helpful to "role play" a meeting or negotiation, so that you can predict what sort of questions or issues will arise and how you can best deal with them. See our other articles on meetings, presentations vocabulary and successful negotiations for useful phrases.
5. Write it down
Ask for a written agenda before a meeting so you can prepare. Take notes when others speak (during meetings, telephone conversations etc).
Follow up meetings or spoken agreements with a written note.
It was good to meet you yesterday. I'm just writing to confirm the main points of our meeting:
Following our phone call this morning, I just wanted to confirm our agreement:
Personal skills
6. Respect different cultures
Different cultures have different business etiquette, customs and ethics. Doing business successfully in other countries means being able to accept that other people do things differently. It also means being sensitive and understanding other cultures so that you don't cause offence.
7. Be flexible
Rather than getting angry or irritated if things don't go to plan, try to find solutions to problems. Having a flexible approach will help you resolve problems, rather than increasing them.
8. Ask for training
This last tip is perhaps the most difficult to achieve! If you work closely with people where you need to use English, consider asking your HR department for language or cultural training. If you can pinpoint areas of weakness (telephoning skills, or proposal writing skills, for example) then it's easier to demonstrate to someone that there will be a definite return on investment than if you simply ask for English lessons.
