What about your International Communication?

Every year here at Seminal - English for Professionals, we work with some Communication Workshops. Sometimes we work with First Journey Workshop, other times with Communication for Intermediate and Advanced and also with Job interviews. The model is pretty simple:

• We usually work 2 Days for English Practice;
• 6 hours of communication;
• Communication theory and practice;
• Live Presentations (teachers and students) all the time;
• A lot of results at the end. (We have an example of a student working in Abu Dhabi - he has gotten this job using some strategies we taught in one of our workshops.

So, I'd like to give you here, before our next workshop, 6 very effective tips for you to use in your daily basis communication (these tips were the subject of our last live on Instagram. If you want to know more about it you are invited to visit our profile there).

1. Be clear and concise

First of all, define your goals and get information about your audience before engaging in any form of communication. We don't want to discourage our audience, that's why it is important to define the right content for the right audience.

After delivering a message, sometimes we need to repeat the information. Repeating a message can ensure that your audience receives it, but too much repetition can cause them to tune you out entirely.

2. Prepare ahead of time

Even when we make a presentation in our own language we need to prepare ourselves, in a language we use as a second language is much more important to be prepared.

Preparation involves working on complete communication before it happens, consider it from start to finish, it doesn't matter if you are making a presentation or participating in a meeting or a job interview.

Research the information you may need to support your message, and if you are participating in a selection process, look for information about the company. Learn about its purpose, values, and principles. This kind of information will help you to achieve your goal of getting a new job.

In every situation consider how you will answer questions and criticisms. Try to anticipate the unexpected in your presentation independently of what kind of presentation it is. Remember that presentation also means everyday communication.

It's important to know that when you effectively prepare for something you take it into practice. For your brain, there is no difference if you are doing the action or just practicing, so with practice, you can be much better in a real situation.

3. Be mindful of nonverbal communication

Our facial expressions, gestures, and body language can and often do, say more than our words.

There is a lot of research about "nonverbal communication", and according to it, nonverbal cues have more impact than the spoken word.

We need to have control of our spoken language every time, but we also need to control our own nonverbal communication because it needs to be connected with the message we want to deliver.

It's important to say that conflicting verbal and nonverbal communication can cause confusion in communication in every area of our lives. Not only in the corporate world.

4. Watch your tone

How you say something can be just as important as what you say. Our tone of voice can add power and emphasis to your message, or it can fully undermine it.

Talking about tone, it includes volume, projection, and intonation as well as word choice. Being mindful of your tone is really important once it will enable you to alter it appropriately if communication seems to be going in the wrong direction.

5. Practice active listening

The goal of active listening is to ensure that you hear not just the words the person is saying, but the entire message. We are going to share here Some tips for active listening, as sometimes it is more important for communication than talking:

• Give the speaker your full and undivided attention
• Clear your mind of distractions, judgments, and counter-arguments.
• Avoid the temptation to interrupt with your own thoughts.
• Show open, positive body language to keep your mind focused and to show the speaker that you are really listening.
• Rephrase or paraphrase what you've heard when making your reply.
• Ask open-ended questions designed to elicit additional information

6. Build your emotional intelligence

"If you're aware of your own emotions and the behaviors they trigger, you can begin to manage these emotions and behaviors". According to Margaret Andrews:

Leaders with a high level of emotional intelligence will naturally find it easier to engage in active listening, maintain appropriate tone, and use positive body language. They will also find it easier to empathize with their employees and team members. Emotional intelligence—like good communication skills—may not come naturally to all leaders. Luckily, this too is a leadership skill that can be learned and mastered.

If we want to be a better leader we can conclude that Emotional Intelligence is the heart of it.

I'm sure the content of this article can help you to improve your Communication skills, but if you want to go deeper in the subject we would like to invite you to be part of Seminal Community. On November 2023, 25th and 26th we are going to have a Seminal Communication Workshop. It is 100% online, and you are going to work on the theory and practice of Corporate Communication with English mentors Cliff Nickerson and Andrea Nickerson

Communication is a key element for us to achieve Success! Let's make it happen!