By Olga Smith
Good English is important in organisation communication influences:
Clarity of communication within the organisation such as meetings, presentations and task assignments.
The reputation of the organisation when communicating with customers, clients and partners.
The professional success of the people
There are apps, books and video courses based on elocution lessons that help professionals to master this essential skill.
When you do not speak clearly in English that leads to a number of disadvantages.
Let me present a few examples given to us by our students:
"I work as an IT consultant, but because I speak with a strong Spanish accent and not all what I say is being understood, I am not invited to meetings. I know if I don't start to speak more clearly, I will be staring at the PC screen and have the same salary for many years to come..."
"After your accent reduction course I got promoted to an area manager, and now I want to master my speech even more as it became absolutely clear to me that communication is power."
"I am a dietician in Chelsea and all my clients have a posh accent (RP). In order to be trusted by my clients, I need to improve my accent".
Our Turkish student working as a Stock Exchange trader in London told us what her manager said to her: "If you don't lose your accent you lose your job". On the trading floor, people are so stressed and have no time to understand thick foreign accents.
My business partner from Silicon Valley told me that many Chinese and Indian IT specialists working there earn peanuts because it's difficult to understand their English. He further specified: they are making $100k now, but if they changed their accent they would make $400.
We have recently conducted research. We contacted native English people who work with non-native English speakers. We asked them what they thought about colleagues with a foreign accent that is difficult to understand.
These were their replies:
· Frustration
· Anxiety;
· Doubt if they are being understood;
· Accent distracting them from what is being said.