The Argument for Working On Your English Communication.

It’s already 1 week in 2023. If you’re not convinced that prioritizing your English communication is important, let me provide a justification.

And I’m not simply talking about your pronunciation. Communication skills are a severely underrated skill except at the highest levels because it is one’s communication skills that negotiate deals, settle disputes, rally your team, and get people to buy-in to your vision.

Whether this is your personal or professional life, the implications that effective communication can have are widespread and if you’re reading this, it means you live in an English-centric community or are interested in an English-centric move.

In the modern world, English has become the lingua franca – the common language that is spoken and understood by people from diverse linguistic backgrounds.

In a professional setting, this is important.

This is particularly evident in the business world, where English is frequently used as the language of communication in international settings. Think of it as the ‘safest, most likely common denominator among languages’ for international communication. If you are participating in an international business meeting between companies in China, Canada and France, English is the most likely option.

But what about your personal life.

If you’re established in an English-speaking community, this is the language your communication needs to be effective in. If you’re interested in moving to an English-speaking, then all the more reason too. Whether this is communicating with a partner, a friend, a coworker, or engagements in your English-speaking community, being able to express your thoughts, feelings, and independently navigating your community independently is an important and empowering experience.

So, hopefully it’s justified in your mind that improving your English communication is relevant and can be important.

Now, here’s why it can be important specifically for you.

Reasons Why It’s Important To Non-Native English Speakers.

1. Pronunciation.

First and foremost, good pronunciation is essential for effective communication.

If a non-native speaker is unable to pronounce words correctly, it can lead to misunderstandings and difficulties in expressing oneself. This can be frustrating for both the speaker and the listener, and can hinder the speaker's ability to effectively convey their message. Now, it can spiral into a discussion of fairness, equality, prejudice and discrimination pretty quickly if the listener makes judgments on you based on your pronunciation.

I want to avoid that discussion because it’s a discussion with the listener, not the speaker.

For the speaker, the intention should simply be to pronounce the word as closely as possible to their English-speaking community to communicate as easily and effectively with their community.

2. A Baseline Standard of Understanding.

Whether you are non-native English speaking or native English speaking, pronouncing words like your community is important. I specify “like your community” instead of “correctly” because different communities pronounce words differently. This is entirely how accents are distinguished. When you say ‘garage’ in the UK and in North America, the pronunciation is different. Neither are more correct, simply specific to their respective regions. Pronouncing the word consistently with your region - that is the important take-away. It communicates a baseline standard of understanding.

3. Professionalism

Working on pronunciation can also help non-native speakers to better communicate and understand spoken English, particularly in professional settings. When words are pronounced correctly, it is easier for the listener to accurately process and understand what is being said. This can be critically beneficial in situations where the speaker is using complex or technical language, which happens in professional settings.

Whether it is medical terminology in the hospital setting (like ‘pneumothorax’, ‘Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria’, ‘progressive supranuclear palsy’), marketing terminology in an advertising agency (like ‘KPI’, ‘CTR’), or whatever else. Even if the pronunciation of the words is simple such as acronyms like KPI, the need to confirm that the acronyms are used universally among all the stakeholdersr in the meeting is important for your baseline standard of understanding.

Reasons Why It’s Important to Native English Speakers (And Non-Native English Speakers).

Now this list isn’t specific to native English speakers, but it highlights the benefits of working on your communication skills even if you grew up and learned the language natively.

While it may be tempting to assume that native English speakers do not need to worry about their communication skills, the reality is that it is always important to work on improving one's ability to communicate effectively.

Hella confidence here! 🙌

1. Confidence

Developing strong communication skills is a confidence boost because you know you can express yourself. Expressing your talents, skills, insights, fears, concerns, and everything in between is truly a strong interpersonal skill. Feeling confident that your communication skills are something you can rely on can help you represent yourself more authentically.

For example, let’s say you are an amazingly gifted programmer. You can write code for days so well. But you can’t communicate it well. During meetings, it becomes a struggle to explain your code or why you wrote it your way. It can be frustrating that other stakeholders don’t appreciate the nuance of what you do or recognize your skill because you cannot express it to them verbally. Sure, if they are proficient in reading code, they may recognize your talents. But what about those who cannot read code? What about business partners, investors, clients, and all the rest who don’t have the technical skill. You need to be able to communicate your brilliance to them in words and through English communication.

Making your English communication an asset can be the unlock for you in your professional career because it doesn’t limit your success to your technical specialty. It allows you to communicate to a larger, less technical audience.

2. Management and Interaction With Others.

Good communication skills are highly valued in the workplace. Employers often look for candidates who can communicate effectively and persuasively, as these skills are crucial for success in a wide range of roles. By working on improving your communication skills, you can make yourself a more attractive candidate to potential employers and improve your chances of success in your career. As you gain responsibilities and expertise, companies will depend on you to transfer your skills, manage others, and give you larger responsibilities that likely extend beyond the capabilities of one single person.

What this means is that you are interacting with other people. Similar to the confidence point, your ability and skill needs interpersonal growth as well. Otherwise, you can become a liability - a person who is good at their job but hard to work with, hard to communicate with, hard to give more responsibility to. Not because you can’t achieve those things or not because you aren’t qualified but because from first glance, the perceived challenge limits their commitment to investing in you.

3. Networking and Maintaining Strong Relationships

Everyone needs good communication skills to build and maintain strong relationships. Whether you are trying to build a new friendship or strengthen an existing one, the ability to communicate effectively is crucial. By working on your communication skills, you can better understand the needs and perspectives of others and develop more meaningful and fulfilling relationships. Now, this is the case for human connection beyond whether English is your first language. It’s a matter of connection with others. And who wouldn’t want to connect better and understand other people better.

So Why Not Invest In Yourself?

Communication is key. Effective communication is crucial in both personal and professional settings, highly valued in the workplace, and essential for building and maintaining strong relationships. It has benefits for both native English speakers and non-native English speakers. It has a ripple down effect in all your interactions because communication dictates how you interact. And these are transferable skills in whatever language you do speak, so whether you apply these skills to Spanish, Cantonese, French, German or whatever other language, there are transferable components to make you a more effective, persuasive, confident, charismatic, and interesting person.

So why not start now?