Struggling with English in HR? How Can I Boost My Communication Skills?

Dear friends,

I am doing MPM. My English is not up to the HR level. I want to improve my English communication skills. Please help me on how to improve my English.

Thank you.

I am also facing the same kind of problem. To overcome this problem, we have to work hard; only then can we succeed.

Tips to Enhance Communication Skills

I am providing some tips to overcome this problem, which may help you to some extent. These are all very common tips for everybody, but if we follow them, I am sure we can enhance our communication skills a lot.

Steps to Improve English Communication

What you need to do is:

1. Start speaking with your friends or colleagues who have a sound knowledge of English and ask them to correct your language.

2. Try to read interesting English articles like magazines, comic books, etc., and read English newspapers, making it a hobby.

3. Try to chat with your friends through messengers like Yahoo, G-talk, etc.

4. Try to draft sample letters and emails and show them to your friends and colleagues, asking them to correct them. While writing next time, keep in mind their suggestions. It will develop your written skills.

5. Watch English news daily on various channels and observe how they speak. It will increase your English presentation skills and vocabulary.

6. If possible, try to join any English-speaking institute. It may be helpful to you to some extent.

Apart from the above, there are a lot of ways to improve our communication skills. One thing is true: in today's competitive market, communication skills play a major role in getting a good job.

Anyway, I wish you all the best. If you plan systematically to improve your communication skills, I am sure you will find tremendous results in a very short time.

Regards,
Sravan

Please search CiteHR where this topic has been covered in a few threads such as https://www.citehr.com/253717-englis...g-modules.html. Also, search the web for good sources. For example, I found one on the pronunciation of English words with their meanings in many languages at Free online Dictionary of English Pronunciation - How to Pronounce English words.

Have a nice day.

Regards,
Simhan
A retired academic in the UK

Communication skills are the most common challenge faced by young executives. The reality is that you can improve your communication skills by communicating only. Nothing else works! Two years ago, I discovered Toastmasters and became an active member. My enriching experience not only helped me improve my communication skills but also inspired me to become a trainer.

About Toastmasters

Toastmasters is an international organization dedicated to helping people develop their communication and leadership skills. To know more about Toastmasters, please visit http://www.toastmasters.org. To know more about the Toastmasters club of New Delhi, please visit http://www.tmnd.org. To know more about me, please visit http://www.rightrack.org.

Cheers!

There are many suggestions above, but the key to your problem is in adopting some of the numerous alternatives and beginning today. It won't be easy initially, and you will get disheartened and disappointed at times. However, if you devote a fixed time and have a clear plan in mind, you will soon notice the improvement and be motivated.

Practical Tips for Improving English Communication

Here are a few practical tips for your ready reference:

The first step is to talk only in English. Never mind the stammer, the long pauses when you fumble for the right word, and ignore the laughter of people when you use the wrong word or mess up your pronunciation.

The simultaneous step is to read as much as possible in English. There will be many new words that you will come across. First, attempt to derive the meaning by reading the whole sentence. Then confirm your understanding by checking in a dictionary. Many words in the English language can have more than one meaning and can be used in various contexts. For example, "eye" is also used to refer to the small opening in a needle through which you thread it, or "bark" is also the outer covering of a tree.

Whenever possible, move around and interact with people who speak good English. We often pick up incorrect words or pronunciations or slang simply because we interact more with people from a similar background to our own who might be as weak as us in English.

If you want to improve your vocabulary, you must try not to repeat the same word in the same sentence or subsequent sentences. Use synonyms of the words. Use a Thesaurus for the same. When making notes in college, you can attempt to paraphrase the lecturer's statements and use your own words to write it down.

You are welcome to also read the following Inspirational Blogs that contain a wide variety of words and will definitely open your eyes to the richness of the English language while also motivating you:

- www.actspot.wordpress.com - Daily Inspirational Blog
- www.poweract.blogspot.com - Weekly Motivational Blog

Best Wishes.

When we try to improve our English communication skills, we should do it in a fun way. Enjoy the learning process and don't take it as a lesson in class. The suggestions from our friends above are great ways to learn English. As for me, I would add my other methods of learning English (which really help me to speak English and still have fun). Here are some tips that may be useful for you:

1. Watching English movies with English subtitles will also help you to improve your English communication skills. You can learn the vocabulary and how they speak. Please never use subtitles other than English, and you should be watching English movies. If you find some difficulties in understanding the language, you must open your English-to-English dictionary, don't use an English-to-other-language dictionary.

2. Play some English language games such as Text Twist, Bookworm, Scrabble, etc., which will help you learn vocabulary and remember them in your mind.

3. Do some English quizzes such as the ones in the Reader's Digest Magazine.

4. Find a friend abroad using the internet and chat with them a lot (using English).

5. Do some translation from English to your mother language and vice versa. Try to summarize a book or article from your language to English or from some English book to your language. Type it in MS Word or MS PowerPoint and share it with others too. This way, you will learn English faster and you can also make people happy with your published articles.

6. Listen to English songs and try to write down the lyrics by listening. If you have written it down, cross-check the lyrics with the ones published on the internet. You can find how many mistakes you've made and learn not to do them again. After you get the lyrics correct, you can try to find the meaning or translate them into your mother language. Later on, you can try to remember the English lyrics and the songs and then sing them on your way to the office.

Try this method every day, and I assure you will be able to speak English fluently as soon as possible. And you will also be happier in your life.

I am sorry to disagree with the advice given by the Banerjies. One of the problems with people whose first language is NOT English is their tendency to think in their mother tongue and then translate into English. Kindly see Give 10 reasons why your mother tongue interferes with your spoken English? - Yahoo!7 Answers, http://womenlearnthai.com/index.php/...ign-languages/, and How to improve your English | Phil Roeland | Blogs | Teaching English in Thailand.

Have a lovely day.

Regards,
Simhan A retired academic in the UK

Effective Communication: A Journey of Practice

Communication—effective communication—comes with practice. The only way is through persistent, regular endeavor. Suggestions from knowledgeable friends, even my own on Citeman, only show how to go about it. But you are the person who has to shake off hesitation, fear, and a consciousness of your limitations. Be confident and bold, and start talking. Initially, you may make faltering errors and slowly gain fluency. Confidence in achievement is essential to begin with, and once you start speaking more comfortably, you will feel more confident. It's a rigmarole. So, tighten up your belt and begin.

It's like a child learning to walk and talk.

Certainly, hooking up with a friend who can converse in English comfortably will be a boon. But don't wait to find one. Begin now.

Tell yourself, "I can do it," and like magic, it will help you move on.

The problem of good or bad English comes later. First, begin, for communication is important. In this, besides language, body language and gestures have a role to play.

In the industry, I have seen many upward-moving individuals with very little formal education gaining a comfortable level of communication in English out of necessity and motivation.

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Dear Friend,

The best way to improve English is to start writing. Writing can be anything related to your daily routine or some articles. It will really improve your English and vocabulary, and also within a week, you will see the difference in yourself.

Regards,
Hiral

Hi Dinesh,

Cultivate the habit of thinking in English rather than your mother tongue and also prepare well mentally before starting a conversation with your friend or colleague. Apart from these, try to structure your thoughts and speech.

Regards,
Sai

Pick up a newspaper and make it a practice to read aloud. Try as much as possible to communicate with everyone around in English alone. Make it a habit to read at least 10 pages a day, no matter how good you are in English.