3 Simple Steps to Boost Your Work Performance and Secure Your Dream Job

As a manager in the environment industry, you know that you are really good at your job. You’ve probably been working in this field for a few years now and you are confident and professional at what you do.

However, do you feel the same when you have to communicate in meetings with colleagues, managers and clients from other countries?

It is often the case that even the most professional and experienced people feel that their communication skills in English do NOT reflect their level of professionalism. Even though you have all the right phrases to participate actively in discussions in your own language, your mind can suddenly go blank when you try to find those words and phrases quickly in English.

And this has a second effect on you. Your confidence drops. And if you don’t feel confident communicating in your international meetings, you feel that you look unprofessional and are not taken as seriously as you deserve to be by your international colleagues, potential clients and investors.

Not only that, but you probably also know that you are missing new opportunities to work on exciting international projects or to apply for more senior positions because of your communication skills are not strong enough.

So why has this happened?

You might think that the reason you haven’t managed to upgrade your communication skills is:

• You haven’t got time to improve
• You haven’t found the right resources to help you
• You haven’t got any opportunities to practice with native speakers?

But I’m going to tell you the true reason you have got stuck. And it is NONE of the above.

The truth is that you have been focusing on learning English as a language when you should be focusing learning communication in English as a skill.

Instead of trying to learn everything, you need to focus on what communication skills you need to improve your performance at work and get future job opportunities - skills that are specific for the situations that you need to use English to communicate in your job.?

You can read all the books you want, and watch a hundred more videos on YouTube, but unless you have a systematic approach to developing the specific language skills that you need, you’re really just wasting your time.

Let me clarify.?

Do you drive?

In order to drive a car safely and pass your test you need to learn a specific set of skills. These include:

• using the accelerator, the brake and the clutch
• using the mirrors and indicators
• navigating in traffic without hitting anyone
• learning the road signs
• having a basic understanding of the engine

There are more of course, but the point is you learn specific things.

You do NOT need to learn how to build a car, how to drive a truck or a tractor or how to take the engine apart and rebuild it. Those are all related to driving but not NEEDED to pass your driving test.

It seems obvious when I use this example, but this is exactly what has been happening on your English learning journey.

You have tried to learn everything about English, but in fact you need to think in terms of only the communication skills you need for your job so that you feel confident and in control when you participate in meetings where you have to use English.

So what should you do?

In order to improve your communication skills so you can improve your job performance and secure exciting future career opportunities, you need to follow these 3 steps.

1. Solidify your communication foundation

Learn the specific business expressions, phrases and idioms that you need to help you express yourself better in your job. Don't waste time learning random sets of words and phrases because you won't need these in your meetings with international clients and colleagues.

When you go into a meeting, you need the right words to make your points clear. There is no point knowing in your head what you want to say in your own language if you can’t express those thoughts and ideas clearly in English.?

So, analyse what you often need to do when you are in meetings or networking events. Do you need to negotiate agreements, diplomatically disagree with people and then make strong recommendations? Then learn the phrases that allow you to do those tasks effectively.

However, learning and remembering new words and phrases is also a skill which needs practice. Try out different methods and see which one works for you.

2. Improve your communication clarity?and efficiency

Now that you have mastered the words and phrases you need to make your point clearly and get your ideas across, you need to activate and implement that language so that your speaking in business meetings is more spontaneous and fluent.

The more you build this skill of speaking, listening and responding appropriately, the more confident you will feel in the real situations.

In addition, work on your, word stress, intonation and sentence rhythm. It’s not just what you say, but how you say it!??

Why? There are 2 reasons.

1.????A lot of the meaning of a sentence is conveyed by which words are stressed, not by the actual words. If you stress the wrong part of the sentence, the meaning will change and you won't be saying what you actually think you're saying. It is even possible to offend someone by stressing the wrong words.

2.????If you don’t stress words correctly or use the correct intonation, people will not actually be able to understand you, even if all the words and grammar are correct. A sentence without any word stress or intonation becomes very difficult to interpret. To get the right message across, you must emphasise the right words or your message will be lost

You want your colleagues and clients to understand you clearly, and you need confidence while attending meetings that you are saying what you mean. You do not want to have to repeat yourself to clarify what you say all the time. You want to get it right the first time you say it!

3. Be sensitive to different business cultures

Now that you’ve mastered the vocabulary and phrases you need to effectively and confidently participate in your meetings, it’s time to take culture into consideration.

Your business colleagues and clients will most likely be in a variety of countries. Each one will do business in a slightly (or completely) different way. Learn these differences and adjust your language accordingly so that you remain on good terms and do not accidently offend anyone.

This is also a good place to think about small talk. We often have to make casual conversation at the start and end of meetings. No-one likes those awkward silences! As well as mastering how to start and continue conversations, you should also make sure you know which topics are ‘off limits’ in certain countries.

I help my clients following this exact approach.?

Before working with me, they felt uncomfortable and nervous about speaking in meetings where they had to use English. They told me they often tried not to speak much in case they made mistakes. This meant that they couldn’t make important contributions to conversations and be involved in decision-making.

Now they are more confident and involved in the discussions. They don't take a back seat any more in discussions, and they no longer worry about making mistakes, because they are now full of confidence and able to implement the specific knowledge that they have learnt.

Not only that but having this confidence now opens doors for them to promotions and higher salaries that previously they could only dream about.

What would it mean to you and your family if you had the right comunication skills to move up in your career and earn a higher salary?

So why not let me help you too?

Message me for a chat to discuss your communication needs and how I can help you.

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