Women and men of the global econosphere please listen up! When you work with people for whom English is a second (or third, fourth or fifth language), do you:
- Speak softly even when people are conferenced in and listening to you via cell phones or speakerphones
- Establish subject matter mastery via sophisticated or technical words and complex sentence structures
- Talk at the speed of light either because you are under 30 (or want others to think you are) or because you think it makes you sound smart
If you answered YES to any of the above, PLEASE HEAR THIS!: YOU ARE THE RUDE CAUSE OF POOR COMMUNICATION – SO STOP IT!
We all know that failure to communicate is a primary cause of business failure to execute on strategy. For the sake of your expensive McKinsey strategic reports, your BHAGs and your visions of market leadership, it is time to learn and practice the rules of Global English. Do your L.A.P.S.S.S.!
- Loud – Speak loudly so people can at least receive the soundwaves.
- Attention – Look directly at the person you are speaking to. If you are not sure they are paying attention, use their name. If they are not awake, use their name plus rule #1.
- Pause – Many non-native English speakers are “translating in their head”. Give them the grace of a slow feed.
- Slow – Speak slowly . . . very slowly…with occasional pauses (see rule #2)….That’s…better.
- Simple – Use simple words. Native English speakers use over 5000 different words, but non-native speakers use 500 – 1500. If you have a native English speaker’s vocabulary, surely you can come up with simple synonyms in the interest of being understood.
- Short – Use short sentences. Do not speak in long, run on sentences, even if they are technically good english, because this will require the listener to catalog backwards to your earlier phrases to try to find the simple noun-verb-object through-line that will help them to make sense of what you just said. – Capiche?!
- Smile – If they can’t understand you, maybe you can make them feel comfortable enough to ask you to repeat it one more time.
For more specific examples of how to apply Global English go here:
http://www.webpagecontent.com/arc_archive/139/5/
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theses are really good rules.
I may have just few additional:
- no idioms and proverbs (we not only do not get them but we may get totally different meaning)
- speak to the microphone (if there is room with few people combined with telecon, people tend to speak to the folks in the room or to their presentation)
- be flexible/creative if you hear from non-native speaker a sentence which is not great english