Why is it essential to improve your English communication skills?

English is universally acknowledged as the primary language used in many businesses, communication and trade. Thus, at present, improving your communication skills can benefit you in many ways to achieve both your personal and professional goals more successfully. A non-native speaker who is not that exposed to English might go through a difficult time to learn various modes of the language with special reference to business communication. However, for both native and non-native (English as a Second Language) speakers, there are four ways to effectively communicate in English, which are;?reading, writing, speaking, and listening. It is essential for an individual learner to become proficient at all four of these modes if they want to communicate effectively in English.

?It is fair to say that you might find it difficult to communicate well in English if you have not been learning it for a long period. All learners including yourself must have tried various methods to improve your skills in English by memorizing multiple words/vocabulary and learning different grammatical forms. Yet, may be you are possibly still having trouble expressing yourself effectively to another person. As a result, despite the fact that it is essential to improve your English communication skills it is equally important to know how to do so in an efficient manner. The key point is to do this by taking your own time to improve your communication skills, which could be very beneficial. Once you identify your own capacity, you can establish stronger relationships with the people around you and effectively convey your opinions by improving your communication skills in your own speed.?

?As mentioned above, communication skills mainly consist of four main skills; reading, writing, speaking and listening, along with grammar components which can be improved by practicing simultaneously giving equal importance to each method. Then again why do you need to improve your reading skills to speak English? Majority of people assume that reading is not necessary to develop your speaking. INCORRECT! One must begin with reading to enhance your vocabulary, grammar and different elements of various fields, even your own the ‘business field’. As said, ‘Reading completes the man’ by helping us to be aware of our own surrounding, environment, field, worldwide matters to engage in an effective and productive conversation with another, which would be beneficial to display your knowledge about a certain topic. In the same way, improving your writing skills will enable you to improve your knowledge on business correspondence skills such as writing emails, memorandums, formal letters, meeting minutes or even business reports. This assists you to depict your proficiency in business communication and show your skills to your colleagues and clients.

?Speaking and listening to most learners are the two most important skills in business communication. Listening to native English-speakers can help you communicate more effectively with accuracy. You'll have a good opportunity to pick up on native speakers’ accents, body language, and tone. Particularly in a business environment, listening to professional conversations would support you to be familiar with useful technical terms and their figure of speech. As the skill of speaking overall represents all the other communication skills it is a crucial method to master when considering English language skills. As we have learnt from generations, ‘Practice Makes Perfect’. Therefore, no matter how much you learn or memorize various types of communication skills, without accurate and continuous practice you may fail to face speak English with confidence to an audience or even with an individual. Further, asking questions when in need can assist you improve your communication skills which is also wise. It will not just boost your confidence in making conversation but will also display your interest in who you’re talking to and what they’re saying. Hence, focus on growing yourself in all four essential communication skills with abundant practice, for you will never stop learning something new with the English Language.

?Learning business English communication skills further enables one to acquire a variety of additional abilities. In several corporate surroundings, some believe that English language should be learnt and mastered individually by their own will, then share with others making comparatively less mistakes. This myth should be cleared from the society, instead facilitating employees to connect and communicate with their coworkers and external customers more effectively, as well as to express and represent themselves in their roles with assurance. Not only this would benefit to improve their English communication skills, nevertheless will allow employees to build their self-confidence and enhance interpersonal skills for better opportunities. Moreover, by being affluent in English communication skills, one can prevent difficult and uncomfortable situations occurring in an office or a corporate environment. If you can start now it will never be late to enhance your communication skills which will enable you to thrive with new opportunities in your work life and grow as an exemplified individual in the society.

?Written By: Dureksha Siriwardena