Effective Communication in english
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This document provides tips and guidelines for effective communication in English. It covers improving speaking skills through learning phrases, relaxing, and practicing. It also discusses discussions, interruptions, dealing with difficult questions, being polite, reaching mutual understanding, and resolving conflicts. Sample phrases are provided for different communication situations.
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Effective Communication in english
- 1. 0 © 2017 Return On Intelligence, Inc. All Rights Reserved Effective Communication in English Presented by: Sophie Remizova
- 2. 1 © 2017 Return On Intelligence, Inc. All Rights Reserved Agenda Improving your speaking skills Discussions Interruptions Dealing with difficult questions Being polite Reaching mutual understanding Resolving conflict Q&A
- 3. 2 © 2017 Return On Intelligence, Inc. All Rights Reserved How can I improve my speaking skills? (a few general tips) learn sentences (not just words) • during the day • in the meantime • It’s been a long time since… • Sorry to bother you, but… • Would you mind if…? • Oh, come on! • I’m just kidding! • The bottom line is… • I’m sorry, but I can’t agree with you. • Do you feel like… [going out for a meal]? • I thought we could give it a try.
- 4. 3 © 2017 Return On Intelligence, Inc. All Rights Reserved How can I improve my speaking skills? (a few general tips) learn sentences (not just words) relax
- 5. 4 © 2017 Return On Intelligence, Inc. All Rights Reserved How can I improve my speaking skills? (a few general tips) learn sentences (not just words) relax listen
- 6. 5 © 2017 Return On Intelligence, Inc. All Rights Reserved How can I improve my speaking skills? (a few general tips) learn sentences (not just words) relax listen practice
- 7. 6 © 2017 Return On Intelligence, Inc. All Rights Reserved Choosing the right channel Which is your preferred channel? Face-to-face Video call Voice call Text messages/chat Email
- 8. 7 © 2017 Return On Intelligence, Inc. All Rights Reserved Discussions
- 9. 8 © 2017 Return On Intelligence, Inc. All Rights Reserved Discussions: useful phrases Asking for opinions: • What do you think about…? • How do you feel about…? • Do you agree? • Do you think we should…? • Would you like to make a point here? • Would you like to comment on that? Giving opinions: • I believe… • In my opinion,… • It seems to me that… • I think we should… • I’m convinced that… • It’s clear that… • Frankly, I think that… • There is no doubt in my mind that… Agreeing: • I totally agree. • Absolutely! • I couldn’t agree more. • I’m with you on that. • I think you’re right. • I agree to a certain extent. • I think I can agree up to a point. Disagreeing: • I see what you mean, but… • I’m not sure about that. • I’m afraid I can’t agree (there/with you). • I’m sorry, but I disagree. • This is not how I see it. Asking for comments:
- 10. 9 © 2017 Return On Intelligence, Inc. All Rights Reserved Interrupting and dealing with interruptions
- 11. 10 © 2017 Return On Intelligence, Inc. All Rights Reserved Interrupting and dealing with interruptions Interrupting: • I apologise for interrupting, but… • I’d like to make a point here if I could. • Sorry to interrupt, but… • Sorry, but… • Could I come in here? • Could I make a point here? • Could I just comment on that? • Can I say something here? Dealing with unwanted interruptions: • I’m sorry, but I haven’t finished (what I was saying). • If I could just finish please. • Hold on, please. • We’ll come back to you in a moment. • Just a second please. I promise we’ll come right back to you.
- 12. 11 © 2017 Return On Intelligence, Inc. All Rights Reserved Dealing with difficult questions Stalling for time: That’s a good/interesting/difficult question. That’s a tricky one! Let me answer it this way …. Let me see. Well, … Taking a time-out: I’d have to think about that. I can’t give an answer off the top of my head. I’ll have to get back to you on that one. ?
- 13. 12 © 2017 Return On Intelligence, Inc. All Rights Reserved Now you try! What do you say in these situations? 1. Someone interrupted you, but you’d like to finish your point. 2. You’ve been asked a difficult question; you need a couple of seconds to formulate your answer. 3. Your client expressed an opinion. You disagree. 4. Someone asks you for some specific statistics, which you do not know by heart. 5. You are in a meeting. One of your colleagues is speaking now, but you need to say something important at this point.
- 14. 13 © 2017 Return On Intelligence, Inc. All Rights Reserved Here are some suggestions (other options are also possible!): 1. Someone interrupted you, but you’d like to finish your point: I’m sorry, but I haven’t finished what I was saying. 2. You’ve been asked a difficult question; you need a couple of seconds to formulate your answer: That’s an interesting question. Let me see… 3. Your client expressed an opinion. You disagree: I’m afraid I can’t agree there. 4. Someone asks you for some specific statistics, which you do not know by heart: I’ll have to get back to you on that one. 5. You are in a meeting. One of your colleagues is speaking now, but you need to say something important at this point: Sorry to interrupt, but…
- 15. 14 © 2017 Return On Intelligence, Inc. All Rights Reserved Being polite helps you to keep a good relationship with your listener or reader. shows them that you value and respect them. changes or softens what you say so as not to be too direct or forceful. Remember that in the Russian culture, we tend to be rather direct. This can be seen as rude in some cultures and can lead to some serious communication problems!
- 16. 15 © 2017 Return On Intelligence, Inc. All Rights Reserved Being polite: using structure more direct softer I want to talk to you. I wanted to talk to you. I won’t attend the seminar. I won’t be attending the seminar. (Let’s) reschedule the meeting. Could we reschedule the meeting? Repeat that. Could you repeat that(please)? Move your car, please. Would you mind moving your car, (please)? Do this today. It would be great if you could do this today.
- 17. 16 © 2017 Return On Intelligence, Inc. All Rights Reserved Being polite: using vocabulary more direct softer His performance was terrible. His performance was not very good. This report is awful. This report is not really up to standard. Her management of the team was unsatisfactory. Her management of the team was a bit/somewhat unsatisfactory. It’s hot in here. It’s kind of in hot here, isn’t it? You need to improve this skill. You may need to improve this skill. Do you want to comment on that? Would you like to comment on that?
- 18. 17 © 2017 Return On Intelligence, Inc. All Rights Reserved Softening ‘bad’ news Use these words to soften the message: I’m afraid there is a problem. I’m sorry, but we are fully booked. Unfortunately, we’ll have to cancel the meeting. To avoid saying ‘NO’, use: Not really. I don’t think so. I’m afraid not.
- 19. 18 © 2017 Return On Intelligence, Inc. All Rights Reserved Being polite: using intonation Hello! How are you? How was your flight? Hi! I’m fine thank you. It was great.
- 20. 19 © 2017 Return On Intelligence, Inc. All Rights Reserved Now you try! Make these sentences softer/more polite: 1. I won’t come to the meeting. 2. I want to ask you a few questions. 3. This mockup is very bad. 4. This is out of the question. 5. The colours are too bright. 6. Do you want to have a drink? 7. Explain that.
- 21. 20 © 2017 Return On Intelligence, Inc. All Rights Reserved 1. I’m afraid I won’t be coming to the meeting. 2. I wanted to ask you a few questions./I was wondering if I could… 3. This mockup is not really up to standard. 4. I’m afraid this is out of the question. 5. The colours are a bit too bright, aren’t they? 6. Would you like to have a drink? 7. Could you explain that? Here are some suggestions (other options are also possible!):
- 22. 21 © 2017 Return On Intelligence, Inc. All Rights Reserved Reaching mutual understanding If you… • didn’t hear what the other person said • didn’t understand what the other person said • think the other person misunderstood you
- 23. 22 © 2017 Return On Intelligence, Inc. All Rights Reserved Reaching mutual understanding If you… didn’t hear what the other person said: Sorry, could you repeat that? I didn’t (quite) catch that. Could you speak up please? Could you say that again please? What? Repeat, please! One more time. speak up = speak louder
- 24. 23 © 2017 Return On Intelligence, Inc. All Rights Reserved Reaching mutual understanding If you… didn’t understand what the other person said: If I understand you correctly, ... Correct me if I’m wrong, but do you mean…? Sorry, I’m not sure if I got that. Are you saying…? Sorry, I’m not with you./Sorry, I don’t follow you. Sorry, I’m not sure what you mean. Could you clarify that?/Could you expand on that? Could you explain that (in more detail)? Could you be a bit more specific?
- 25. 24 © 2017 Return On Intelligence, Inc. All Rights Reserved Reaching mutual understanding If you… think the other person misunderstood you: Sorry, that’s not what I meant. What I mean is … I was trying to say that … My point is… Summarizing: Let me go over what we’ve agreed. Let me just summarize… To sum up, …
- 26. 25 © 2017 Return On Intelligence, Inc. All Rights Reserved Now you try! What do you say in these situations? 1. You think that you understand what your client is saying, but you want to make sure. 2. There were some technical problems on the line, and you didn’t hear what your colleague said. 3. You don’t understand the client’s suggestion. 4. You believe that your colleague didn’t understand you question.
- 27. 26 © 2017 Return On Intelligence, Inc. All Rights Reserved Here are some suggestions (other options are also possible!): 1. You think that you understand what your client is saying, but you want to make sure: Correct me if I’m wrong, but do you mean…? 2. There were some technical problems on the line, and you didn’t hear what your colleague said: Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that. Could you repeat, please? 3. You don’t understand the client’s suggestion: Sorry, I’m not sure what you mean. Could you explain that in more detail? 4. You believe that your colleague didn’t understand you: Sorry, that’s not what I meant. I was trying to say that …
- 28. 27 © 2017 Return On Intelligence, Inc. All Rights Reserved Resolving conflict Bring potential conflict and disagree- ment into the open. Try to find ‘win-win’ solutions. Encourage open and frank discussion Try to see the problem from the point of view of your opponent. Be truthful about how you see the situation.
- 29. 28 © 2017 Return On Intelligence, Inc. All Rights Reserved Resolving conflict: useful phrases Expressing your feelings My main concern is… (1) _ _ _ _ really worries/concerns me is… Showing sympathy I know (2) _ _ _ you feel. I understand what you’re saying. I can see where you’re coming from. Resolving the conflict How do you think we (5) s_ _ _ _ _ deal with this? What’s the best approach, do you think? What’s your solution? Making suggestions One thing we (3) c _ _ _ _ do is… It might be worth… It could be helpful if you… Identifying the real problem What’s really bothering you? What are you really worried (4) _ _ _ _ _? What’s the real problem?
- 30. 29 © 2017 Return On Intelligence, Inc. All Rights Reserved Resolving conflict Expressing your feelings My main concern is… What really worries me is… What concerns me is… Showing sympathy I know how you feel. I understand what you’re saying. I can see where you’re coming from. Resolving the conflict How do you think we should deal with this? What’s the best approach, do you think? What’s your solution? Making suggestions One thing we could do is… It might be worth… It could be helpful if you… Identifying the real problem What’s really bothering you? What are you really worried about? What’s the real problem?
- 31. 30 © 2017 Return On Intelligence, Inc. All Rights Reserved Further Reading: 1. Sweeney, Simon. Communicating in Business: CUP, 2004. 2. Tomalin, Barry. Key Business Skills: CollinsELT, 2012. 3. Schofield, James. Workplace English. (1 and 2) CollinsELT, 2012. 4. Thomson, Kenneth. English for Meetings: OUP, 2007. 5. Smith, David Gordon. English for Telephoning: OUP, 2011.
- 32. 31 © 2017 Return On Intelligence, Inc. All Rights Reserved Thank You We Appreciate Your Time Questions?
- 33. 32 © 2017 Return On Intelligence, Inc. All Rights Reserved Contact Us sophia.remizova@returnonintelligence.com +1 (508) 904-1626 Russia | 196158 | St. Petersburg Pulkovskoye shosse 40/4 |
Editor's Notes
- Hi everyone! Thanks for joining me today. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Sophie, I’m an in-house English teacher here at Return on Intelligence. The subject of today’s webinar is Effective Communication in English, and we are mostly going to focus on communication in business. This subject seems to be very relevant and important for my students as I get a lot of questions on how to communicate with customers and colleagues, how to deal with difficult situations and so on. So I hope that this webinar will be useful for you. We’ll mostly be focusing on spoken communication in this webinar. If you are interested in written communication, take a look at our earlier webinar, English for Emails.
- Here is the agenda of today’s webinar. [Go over the items] There will be time at the end of the webinar for you to ask questions, so if you have any questions please keep them until then. As usual, I have tried to make the webinar interactive, so there will be some tasks for you to do, and then we’ll look at the answers together. You will be able to write your answers in the chat box, so I will see them.
- How can I improve my speaking skills? My students often ask me this question. Here are a few very general tips. Learners often say “I know lots of English words, but I have a problem putting them together or remembering them when I speak.” The first ‘secret’ is to learn sentences and phrases, not just words. We speak in sentences, and most of the time we are not really very creative when we speak. Memorising whole phrases often used in a certain context will help you very much. Here are a few examples. Also, using fixed phrases gives you time to think while speaking.
- Another tip is to relax while you are speaking. Don’t worry so much about the mistakes you might make. After all, the most important goal is communication itself. You will find that when you are relaxed you speak a lot better and more fluently that when you’re nervous. So take a deep breath, smile, maybe make a little joke to ‘break the ice’.
- Thirdly, don’t forget to listen to your opponent. Remember that communication is a two-way process. Try to understand what the other person or other people are trying to say, and what they expect from you in this conversation. Remember to ask questions, clarify, reformulate and summarise what the other person is saying. Try to adjust your speech to the speech of the person you are speaking with, this is very important for effective communication.
- Finally, don’t forget that speaking is a practical skill and the only way to learn it and to improve it is by a lot of practice. Use every opportunity to speak English (in your English lessons, with friends, in skype, or when you are abroad) Remember the saying USE IT OR LOSE IT. If you stop speaking a foreign language, you’ll lose the skill very quickly.
- In business, people use different communication channels. Here are a few. Which channel do you prefer and why? Type your answers in the chat box. As I said earlier, in this webinar we’ll be mostly talking about speaking, not writing, so it will be mostly applicable to the first three channels here.
- In this section of our webinar, we’ll take a look at discussions. These can happen, for example, in meetings. Some of the most common phrases that you’ll need in discussions are asking for and expressing opinions, agreeing and disagreeing.
- Another thing that often happens during discussions or meetings, is interruptions. Most people don’t like being interrupted, so if you really have to do it you need to do it politely and tactfully. There are some fixed phrases that you can learn and use for that. Just make sure that you only interrupt someone when it’s really necessary.
- It’s a good idea to apologise if you’re interrupting someone. Or you can ask permission to interrupt. It is also useful to know some expressions that can help if someone is interrupting and you don’t want to be interrupted. Remember that you should try to remain polite, but be firm if necessary.
- Let’s move on. Sometimes you are faced with a difficult question. This can be very stressful if you have to answer in real time. Here are some phrases you can use to stall for time. While you are saying this phrase, you have a few seconds to think about the answer. If you can not answer the question straight away, use these phrases to take a time-out.
- If you want to communicate effectively, it is, of course, very important to be polite. Politeness is about keeping good relations with your listener or reader. Politeness is used to show the listener or reader that you value and respect them; and to change or soften what you say so as not to be too direct or forceful. In English, to be polite, we use both structure and vocabulary.
- How do we use Structure to make our sentences more polite? Using the past tense Using the future continuous Using questions for requests, suggestions etc Using ‘would’ and the 2nd conditional
- Also remember about your vocabulary, that means the words that you use. Avoid using vocabulary that’s too Negative Here are some phrases you can use to express criticism politely The words ‘need’ and ‘want’ could also sound a bit too direct, so here is how you can soften your message.
- When you are giving some bad news, or saying something which is not what your listener expects or wants to hear, you can use these three expressions to soften your message. The word ‘NO’ - when you answer someone’s question - can also sound very negative. To avoid this, you can use these phrases instead of the word ‘NO’.
- One thing that language learners often overlook when they speak a foreign language is INTONATION. Using the wrong intonation could be a big problem. Sometimes WHAT you say is not so important as HOW you say it.
- In the next part of our webinar we’ll talk about Reaching mutual understanding.
- Are you saying…?
- And finally, a few words about resolving conflict. This is a huge topic, so I’ll just give you a few useful expressions for such situations. Here is some advice for resolving conflicts.
- This will be your last interactive task in today’s webinar. Take a look at these sentences and write the missing words in the chat box. You have the number of letters for each word and for some of them you have the first letter to help you guess.