Struggling with English at Work: How Can I Improve My Communication Skills?

Dear All,

Could you please advise me on how I can improve my communication skills? I am currently working in a Travel Management company and facing a lot of problems because of English. Please provide some guidance.

Regards,
Ruchin Gupta

Read English newspapers. Read them aloud to friends, sisters, and brothers. Ask them to correct. Read novels to understand. Take a video and see for yourself. Correct spelling, pronunciation, presentation, delivery, clarity, and voice modulation. Note new words you come across, write them down, find meanings, try to use them, and remember them. Practice, practice, and practice.

---
The corrected text has been formatted into clear and concise paragraphs with corrected spelling and grammar errors.

Hi Rachin,

Below are the steps you can follow:

1) Read the newspaper every day out loud. This will help you gain knowledge of new words and improve your pronunciation.
2) Practice tongue twisters. This will help reduce any influence from your mother tongue.
3) Stand in front of a mirror and talk in English on any topic. This will help you overcome stage fear and improve your fluency.
4) MOST IMPORTANT - TALK ONLY IN ENGLISH WITH EVERYONE. Let others speak in whatever language they prefer, but you speak only in English.

I am sure these steps will help you a lot. All the best.

Dear friend,

Just overcome the inferiority complex that you are not good at spoken or written English. Read Chandamama, Amar Chitra Katha, Karadi Tales, Panchatantra series, etc., for a few months. They have the simplest English to speak and learn. Read all seven volumes of Harry Potter. If you have any grammar books in your box, BURN them for a year while you are learning. Make lots and lots of mistakes boldly, courageously, and without fear, BUT SPEAK ENGLISH.

Blessings,
Dr. Ram
Professor

Tips to Improve English Communication Skills

• Listen to English songs and try to understand the lyrics.
• Read English newspapers.
• Communicate in English as much as you can.

Regards

Dear friend,

Most of my other friends have given you the best advice; I would like to add just one more thing. We face the problem of not being able to talk fluently in English due to one basic reason - when we think in our mother tongue but try to speak in English. You need to practice and think in English to see good results.

Best of luck for all your efforts.

Regards,
Vandana

Hi dear,

One of my tricks, if you are finding difficulty speaking with others in English, is to practice the same on your mobile offline. Nobody will check whether there is anyone on the other side. However, be careful to set your ringtone to mute or vibration mode.

I would appreciate your feedback on this trick.

Improve Your English Speaking and English Pronunciation Skills

The first rule of speaking English is to speak clearly, concisely, and use simple vocabulary. KISS - keep it short and simple. The value in what you have to say is what you say, not how clever you look or sound when you say it.

English speaking tips:
Get over any fear you might have of making mistakes. You will make mistakes. Be patient with yourself. Learning any language can be frustrating, but frustration won't help you, so let it go. Grasp every opportunity you have to speak with people in English. Talk to friends who are also learning English. Read short stories out loud and try to see. Try singing along to English songs. Use the internet to improve English.

Pronunciation skills:
Don't get too hung up on trying to sound like a native speaker. Learn the phonetic alphabet. List words that have the same sound and add to the lists as you learn more words. Work on one problem sound at a time. Read slowly, concentrating on the pronunciation of particular words. Pay particular attention to speed and diction. Above all, you can use the beautiful book "Word Power" by Norman Lewis, which improves your vocabulary to a great extent.

Radhakrishna S Training Manager

Hello Ruchin,

I don't have any idea about some website that can help you, but I have improved my communication through writing. I started writing on a daily basis, like my day-to-day routine or on my favourite topic. I also read a lot, whether it's online, novels, or newspapers. This has really shown improvements in me; check out if it will help you.

Regards,
Hiral Jethwa

Hi Dear,

The best way to learn any language is to speak with others in that language. Let others laugh at you if they do; you will learn from it. Never be ashamed that you are learning. To learn any language, you have to speak in that language, read English novels, and watch good English movies. However, speaking in English is essential to learn the language.

You have received very valuable suggestions from your fellow site members. I would like to add, "just keep on practicing English, following the above steps." I hope you will soon have a good hold on English.

Best wishes,

Keep on trying,
Ravi Goel

Practice English to Improve Communication Skills

Practicing English is very important. Just reading an English newspaper carefully for one hour daily, and reading it out loud, will help you over the course of a year. Also, when you encounter a new word, find out its meaning from the dictionary.

Most importantly, look at how the word has been used in a sentence to understand its meaning and create context.

Improving English Communication Skills

Read, read, read... read everything in English that you can lay your hands on. Try to keep away from material that has a lot of slang usage in it. I have realized that we communicate most effectively in the language that we think in. So, start thinking about things in English!

You should make a habit of reading English newspapers for at least one hour a day with a dictionary to try and understand the meaning of all the words. After making your vocabulary somewhat stronger, try to convert it into your own words. Certainly, all these exercises will improve your English.

Regards,
Rajiv Singh

First, concentrate on your vocabulary. Expand your word bank to enhance your speaking skills. Next, work on overcoming your fear when interacting with customers. Be confident in expressing yourself regardless of your proficiency in English. To improve fluency, practice reading aloud in front of a mirror or consider joining English classes.

Dear all,

English has rules that govern the writing and speaking (grammar and consonants). The following steps can assist you:

1. Understand the English alphabet (A-Z).
2. Get used to:
- First person singular
- Second person singular
- Third person singular
- First to third plural

3. Master the punctuation marks:
- Comma
- Semicolon
- Full stop, etc.

4. Speak English regularly and monitor your tenses, also pay attention to how you construct your statements.

5. Be mindful of when to use the present tense, past tense, and past participle.

6. Read regularly and look up the meanings of new words in the dictionary.

Regards,
Adekalu

Before adding any advice, I'd like to know how good your English is. For instance, you were able to write for help in English, so your knowledge is not null. Am I right? If you want, we can talk more about it.

Best regards,
Cristina.

My suggestion is to go back to your school days and remember the mischievous action of reading books other than subject-related ones. I mean to say the best way is by reading pictorial comics or engaging with storybooks, which will help in faster understanding and language acquisition. It will also improve the way of expressing oneself. This practical exposure has been gained through my own experience.

Venkat Bala

First and foremost, START THINKING in ENGLISH....
Usually we always tend think in our mother tongue and then try to speak English. With this we try to mix or miss out English's grammar and language flow.
So, first think in English and then speak.......and also do follow other important tips suggested by members.
Be consistent and practice regularly after few days it becomes habit.
All the best....
Pavan Kumar SH
Manager – HR & Client Relations, URC Infotec

Dear Ruchin,

Make your mistakes your experience, talk in English, walk in English, eat in English, sleep in English, and dream in English. Wrong or right, just speak in English; let people correct your mistakes. Don't get frustrated by corrections; rather, accept them. Then your mistakes will become your experience, and you will achieve whatever goal you set for yourself.

Warm Regards,
Vijay

Hello,

Language is a means of communication. We cannot be perfect in any one language, especially English, as this language has been used and abused in many different ways. Everyone speaks in their own style.

First of all, you need to have a correct and genial attitude - be confident. Keep speaking and using the English language the way you know - keep an open mind. Listen to others, take tips from the speakers, listen to the way they pronounce the words, and imitate.

Practice - don't give up even if your friends laugh, for they are not your friends.

Ravi Menon

My advice:

- Remove the fear that you can't speak English.
- Fluency comes from practice.
- Keep yourself enthusiastic about learning.
- If you think to speak, just start speaking.
- Learn a few sentence-building rules if you are not aware of them.
- Think in English.
- Read the newspaper.
- Talk in English. Make friends with a group who are keen to become fluent.
- If you can afford it, join a spoken English class so that you will meet people like you.
All the best. Perhaps, English is the easiest language to learn, and that's why it is an internationally accepted language.

Talk English, sing English, sleep English, and wake English... i.e., my dear friend, whatever you do, use English as the conversation language. You will definitely improve.

The Importance of English in Life

English is very important for life. If you have good English knowledge, you can go anywhere in the world without any problems. So, let's do the following:

• Take English books from LKG to 10th standard. This will help you improve your English skills.

Dear Friend,

There are certain things that would help you improve your verbal communication skills as mentioned below:

1. Every day, read an English newspaper.
2. Every day, listen to an English news channel, movies, or programs where you will come to know the use of the right "words" at the right time, place, and situation. For example, we can't use "drowning" for ship instead of shipping.
3. To improve your communication, speak in front of the mirror as suggested by a friend.
4. To improve your vocabulary, use words with similar texture but different meanings like train, brain, again, bargain, main, drain, etc. These are words of the same family but with different meanings.
5. Always try to know the Hindi or any regional language meaning of any English word you know. The person who has a good command of "one language" can command the other language very easily.

Good Luck!!

Learning any language takes a lot of effort. First, you need to study English very hard. Second, you can find an experienced English teacher under whom you can study. Third, try to use English at all times. If you have no one to talk to, try summarizing the stories you read. You can also write on paper. For example, keep writing your diaries, journals, or essays frequently and have them proofread.

Could you please advise me on how I can improve my communication skills? I am currently working in an insurance company and facing a lot of problems because of English. Please provide some guidance.

Thank you & Regards,
Rajendra Singh
Madhubani, Bihar

Here are some key points to overcome communication problems:

Start Thinking in English

Vandana's point is vital. This will actually help you in overcoming all communication issues. Start thinking in English.

ALL THE BEST! 

Dear Ruchin,

Before practicing, please have confidence that you will be able to speak English fluently like others. Don't have an inferiority complex that you will not be able to speak English. In many developed countries, English is not spoken compulsorily.

Okay. Start reading English newspapers loudly, at least one page daily. Keep watching English news channels - watch their lips movement, listen carefully to their pronunciation and modulation. Please decide well in advance what you want to communicate, form the sentences in your mind, and then start speaking - speak slowly word by word, conveying what you want to communicate.

By practicing, you will become a master. All the best.

Regards, LK

Hi Ruchin,

Take the help of any one of your close friends who is good at the English language, i.e., with pronunciations and spellings. You take the initiative to use English at work and with your friend and ask him to correct you as soon as you make a mistake. This will help you. Any word you do not understand, make use of a pocket dictionary and keep one at work and home.

All the very best, and I'm sure you will speak better if you follow the advice given to you by people on this forum.

Very nice forum to learn a lot of things, and I like the intensity of the people to help others through this forum. Ruchin, now you have so much advice from the nice people here, use it properly. As someone said in this thread, "Talk English, eat English, sleep English."

Take care!

Lots of good suggestions to improve English. I do believe these suggestions work, as I was also facing the same problem a year ago. Now, I speak confidently, but I still struggle to improve my pronunciation. Can anyone suggest the best way to enhance pronunciation and reduce the influence of my mother tongue?

Regards,
Prabhat

English is not an easy language, as you know. Please focus on English. You should read English newspapers, watch English news and English movies, and practice speaking English regularly.

Regards,
Atul Patel

Dear Ruchin,

Join the Toastmasters club nearby to you in your city. I believe you are shy to shine, but they can help you overcome your shyness. Definitely, you will conquer the English language. The Toastmasters gather for the same purposes and likely they are like-minded people. You can quench your thirst.

Regards,
Selvam

I would like to suggest watching TV programs on interviews or group discussions on current topics. These programs are aired on Doordarshan channels. Additionally, listen to All India Radio's news broadcast division for discussions on current burning topics.

Thank you.

Hi there,

The best way is to pick some amazing movies like "The Sound of Music," the "Harry Potter" series, or even "The Lord of the Rings." When you watch them, they are entertaining yet turn out to be a learning experience. Watch them with subtitles. Also, watch the daily news in English; their diction and articulation are excellent. You can find videos to help improve your English skills; try them. Remember, when you are learning, happily accept your mistakes and be quick to say "I beg your pardon" and correct yourself. You can also subscribe to daily emails from dictionary.com, which teach one new word every day to complement your learning. Practice is crucial when it comes to language skills, and I believe it is a continuous journey. Try any of the suggestions slowly and have patience; you are bound to see a positive change. All the best!

You have received a number of suggestions. Besides, you can watch some of your favorite programs in English with subtitles and enjoy the learning.