Language Directions Newsletter
Ungained Business
Being Understood: It’s EVERYTHING!!
When people can’t understand you, they can’t buy what you’re selling, understand your requests, offer you a job, or promote you to a better position. The inability of professional, managerial, and sales staff to communicate clearly or intelligibly present complex ideas in English can also cost the employer new clients and have significant negative impact on keeping existing clients and on the credibility of the manager’s, professional’s, or salesperson’s expertise.
Have you ever ended a business, professional, or customer service conversation in anger and frustration because of the inability to understand or be understood? Does poor speech or writing ability have impact on your confidence in the service provider or professional? How confident do professionals feel when constantly asked to repeat what they say?
Many metrics exist in business to track “business lost” but nothing exists to track business ungained. Consider this real-life scenario described to me a few years ago by a business acquaintance who happened to share an elevator with two attorneys in her Manhattan accounting firm. The lawyers had just finished interviewing a forensic accounting associate for the purpose of bringing him into a matter they were handling. “Well, we certainly can’t use this firm, ” one attorney was overheard in comment to the other. “I didn’t understand a word he said.” Business ungained. No one will ever know why the firm did not get the business and no one will ever tell the associate that it was because of his heavy accent, which made his expertise unintelligible and questionable.
Could this scenario happen in your business?
Fortunately, improving pronunciation and/or writing are very teachable skills. Business owners and decision-makers are now realizing that it makes economic sense to provide language and culture-related support to their skilled and loyal employees. Professional and non-professional employees can be helped to overcome language challenges. This firm began providing accent reduction coaching to its talented foreign-born financial professionals who would be client-facing and giving oral presentations.
Language Directions can help you to help your valuable accent-challenged employees. Quickly, Efficiently, and Confidentially.
One State Many Languages
One State + Many Languages = Countless Communication Challenges
The US Census Bureau recently released the most comprehensive statistics concerning languages other than English spoken at home by U.S. residents. This past Sunday, Craig McCarthy of the Star Ledger put together the Top Ten Languages spoken in New Jersey:
- Arabic. Spoken by 59,729
- Hindi (India). Spoken by 63,342
- Polish. Spoken by 33,346
- Gujarati (India). Spoken by 75,414
- Korean. Spoken by 76,224
- Italian. Spoken by 78,856
- Tagalog (Phillipines). Spoken by 81,134
- Portuguese. Spoken by 84,160
- Chinese (all dialects). Spoken by 111,151
- Spanish (all dialects). Spoken by 1,277,000
Why are these numbers significant?
Armed with these statistics, it’s easy to understand why effective communication in the workplace can be a challenge. With each language comes corresponding cultural behaviors which can be mystifying to those not born into that culture. On the other hand, the cultural behaviors of American born residents are equally mystifying to those not born in this country.
A lack of understanding leads to a lack of trust and loss of credibility, which can negatively affect business. If confidence and mutual respect erode, safety and production errors can occur. If the only time these employees speak English is at work, an astounding 1,973,356 residents of New Jersey will have great difficulty in overcoming their language challenges to become comfortable and fluent. How can an employer be assured that all employees understand essential compliance and safety training and can ask the necessary questions to clarify what they don’t understand? Assuredly, most won’t ask those questions either for lack of sufficient English ability or fear of losing the respect of supervisors or co-workers. Is the company protected if only the English speakers receive important training? I can’t answer that one; I can only ask the question…And you should too!
A quick fix can be arranged through use of bilingual “Facilitators.” Education levels and cultural considerations often make word-by-word interpretation (spoken) inappropriate. Similarly, literacy levels might make the cost of translation (documents) irrelevant if they cannot be read. In many cases, “Facilitation” can address the challenge of communicating essential information across languages.
One or more bilingual Facilitators work in tandem with your internal trainer or vendor to paraphrase the content of the presentation to deliver it at an appropriate level of understanding to the various cultures represented in your workforce. Prepared Facilitation allows your limited-English employees to ask relevant and appropriate questions to assure their total understanding of the subject being discussed. No mutual mystification. Simple, straightforward, unambiguous understanding . In any language. In your workplace.
3 Easy Tips for Being Understood the First Time!
- Final letters can say it all. The letter at the end of a word is important. It’s there for a reason. Pronounce it. To be better understood by EVERYONE, let the listener hear the ends of your words, as well as the beginnings — carry that voice energy all the way through the word. Is it “fifteen pounds” or “fifty pounds?” Without pronouncing that final ‘’n’’ your listener won’t know. Misunderstandings and errors happen. That little letter at the end provides the key to comprehension the first time. Complete the word production and don’t leave people guessing what you mean!
- Speed kills understanding. Clear communication will improve by as much as 50% when you slow down your speech. Putting spaces between your words and speaking at a slower pace can allow those who may be translating in their heads or need more time to process complex thoughts or technical explanations the time to “decode” each word. Record yourself in normal speech and listen objectively. It may be time to apply the brakes to your speech.
- Keep it simple. People whose first language is not English and people who do not share your knowledge level of a particular subject may not be able to easily understand multiple syllable or technical terms….and definitely not idioms. Keep it simple. Choose uncomplicated words that are commonly used. This is not a time to showcase jargon or an extensive multi-syllable vocabulary.
July 2016
The Significance of Interpersonal Communication
Summer is often a time when employment options are a top priority for recent graduates and those seeking to climb the career ladder with a change in position or employer. Employers might also be spending some time in these summer months evaluating their success in gaining new business, satisfying their customers’ needs, and creating stronger brand loyalty for the company. Consider this: Interpersonal communication skills can be of more value than intelligence in the business world.Read more…