English Learners from all over the world visit our website, www.AmericanEnglishConversation.online, to improve their American English communication skills via dialogues and discussion topics. Now, we also offer a variety of helpful educational articles about effective communication skills in the English language. Click on the links below to access our articles about effective communication:
- How to Communicate More Effectively (Article 1)
- How to Communicate More Effectively (Article 2)
- How to Communicate More Effectively (Article 3)
- How to Communicate More Effectively (Article 4)
- How to Communicate More Effectively (Article 5)
- How to Communicate More Effectively (Article 6)
- How to Communicate More Effectively (Article 7)
- How to Communicate More Effectively (Article 8)
- How to Communicate More Effectively (Article 9)
- How to Communicate More Effectively (Article 10)
- How to Communicate More Effectively (Article 11)
- How to Communicate More Effectively (Article 12)
How to Communicate More Effectively in the English Language
1. Introduction
The English language has a lot to say. It is a rich, vibrant and flexible language. As such, it has a ton of potential to be a powerful means of communication. But that potential can be hindered by the fact that it is somewhat awkward to use. For example, you might feel like you have to think twice before you speak and your sentences are sometimes full of “um”s and “ah”s. The reason for this is that English speakers tend to use their speech organs (the tongue, lips and jaw) in different ways depending on whether they are speaking with an audience or not. And when they do speak, they often slip into someone else’s words or repeat themselves because their speech organs are used in a way that isn’t natural for the speaker. Furthermore, English speakers sometimes have trouble distinguishing the sounds of different vowels – for example the sound of /o/ versus /u/ – because their lips don’t always align properly when pronouncing them differently in different situations or at different speeds. What we want to do here though is not just teach you how to express yourself more naturally but also how to communicate more effectively so that others will understand you well enough so that they will be able to pick up on your thoughts as well as what you are saying. This can be done through simple tricks (such as mouthing your words) but also through more complex mechanisms (such as using split infinitives).
2. Why do I need to communicate in English well?
By far the most common question I get from people is “why do I need to communicate in English well?”. I think most of us would have at least one or two “well, that’s just not going to happen” moments when we are trying to relay information to someone who does not speak the same language. And so, we feel the need to explain ourselves in English. Language is a performance tool. It allows us to perform certain tasks very well or poorly depending on context (e.g., there are many different ways to express “hello”). So when you are communicating information in English, all you have done is put some words together that your audience understands and will respond well with them (for example, “hi there”). There is no need for an elaborate system of grammar and syntax for saying “hi there” because it will suffice for your audience (and vice versa). However, some languages require an extensive system of syntax and grammar for expressing even simple information (in Japan or Swahili or Russian). In these cases, it might be better not to use English at all and just use those specific languages instead (unless you want people who cannot read English writing about their experience with IPOs or how great everyone else shares their love of tacos). For example:
English: Hello world!
Swahili: Imo wakwakwakwa imi amu!
Russian: Привет суфийскому народу!
Japanese: 鬼神、こいつは！！！！！！！！（笑い声に返すえぇぇーんですからこれは忘れましょうってよ、とか言ってるのに。。。ってなところで動かすんだもん。。。とか言わ
3. Focusing on grammar
Grammar is one of the most important aspects of communication, but it is often neglected or misunderstood. This post will help you improve your ability to communicate in more than just English but all languages. Writing should be a very active skill for almost everyone; however, many people do not have the time or desire to learn how to write well. If you can’t stress out over grammar or spell-check, you may want to pick up a few books on writing. Here are a few of my favorites:• What To Say When You Hear “Hello” by Michael Harris (a great book on how to say things that others don’t expect)• Grammar in Use by The New York Times (though it was written years ago and the detailed explanations of usage in the book can be confusing)
4. Speaking well
Simple, relevant, and clear. I can’t say it enough: learn how to speak well in the English language so that others can understand you well. The problem with communicating effectively is that everyone is trying to do it in their own way, with their own style. There are a lot of ways to “speak well”; but even the most effective speakers tend to overdo it a bit (your mouth is your mouth, but try not to make it too big). You need a balance between conveying information clearly and managing the flow of your sentences so that they are as short as possible while still taking care of the most important points. I recently read ‘The Art Of Speaking’ which goes through some simple techniques that anyone can use to communicate better — even those who aren’t naturally eloquent or eloquent by nature. In general speech writing (and especially for public speaking) there are three basic guidelines for writing effective sentences:* Eliminate non-essential words* Eliminate unnecessary modifiers* Use less jargon (unnecessary phrases) rather than more jargon. These tips may seem obvious at first blush, but I think many people forget them because they have been taught otherwise. In any case, these tips will help you make your sentences more effective:Before you start writing: ask yourself ‘What words would this sentence look like if it were written in plain English?’ Write down all the words you do know and don’t know. Look up what words you do know in your dictionary and rewrite using them instead of the ones you don’t know. Then pick out those words again and rewrite using them instead of the ones you do know. If you find yourself using unnecessary phrases like ‘The rule is…’, then write down what phrase would go along with those two particular sentences if they were written in plain English without any extra jargon at all. When finished with this exercise be sure to clue-in any other phrases that strike your fancy from now on because these will be needed later on when writing speeches for public speaking purposes. Take note of every extra word/phrase/sentence so that when used again in future this time there are no surprises or inaccuracies (for example ‘rule’ should not be replaced by something like ‘law’ since we obviously mean different things by those terms).
5. Writing well
The English language is a beautiful thing. We live in a world where people can use it to communicate with one another and we have done so for thousands of years. Yet, it has also held us back for centuries. We may be able to say something perfectly clear and precise in the English language, but if we are unsure about our wording or phrasing and those around us are not, then the conversation will end up looking like a series of misunderstandings rather than an exchange of ideas. This is a very common problem, especially in business situations where two people need to communicate effectively with one another … And it isn’t just technical issues such as spelling or grammar that can cause miscommunication; even simple issues such as phrasing can often lead to misunderstandings. What causes these problems? Perhaps some kind of cultural bias; maybe there’s an innate assumption that some people are better communicators than others (here is a great post on understanding your audience by looking at their body-language). But the main culprits when it comes to communication are those around you: your colleagues, peers and family members. This especially applies when working with non-native English speakers because they tend to have a different way of looking at things from you and tend to interpret things differently than you do — which means that their way of thinking is likely different from yours as well (that’s why using gestures or inflections along with words may not be sufficient). So what does this mean? Well firstly, take care in your own communication skills: make sure you are using them correctly (not just when speaking but also writing) . Secondly, learn how other people think: look at the body language they use and try to decode their thoughts with an eye on what they would prefer being said instead of what they actually say (or hear). Thirdly … Focus on your strengths: if most people understand you well enough already but you still feel like you need someone else’s advice or guidance before taking action then perhaps you don’t need all that much help after all! Lastly … Be patient: do not jump too quickly into solving problems before getting others involved first; take your time stabilizing the situation so there is no movement left once everyone has calmed down
6. Conclusion
Some of the most common mistakes to avoid when trying to communicate effectively in English are listed below. Here are some that come to mind:
1. Mixing up nouns and verbs
2. Misusing words the wrong way (should be used to express intent)
3. Misusing grammar (should be used to express intent)
4. Using too many adverbs (should be used to express intent)
5. Overusing adjectives (should be used to express intent)
6. Using too many adverbs/comma punctuation
7. Using improper sentence structure
8. Inappropriate use of pronouns
9. Using improper word order
10. Wrong use of pronoun placement
11. Incorrect sentence structure
12 Misunderstanding word choice
It is clear that while one mistake may not translate into another, there are numerous other mistakes that you can make when trying to convey your message well in English — and they probably aren’t as obvious as some of these, but there are a lot of them out there and you should always look out for them.
