How to Improve Your Business English

One of the most important things to have if you want to achieve anything is to have the motivation to do it. What can motivate you to master your Business English? Perhaps earning a bigger salary, fulfilling your true potential and expanding your career horizons? I can continue this list. I am sure you have your own motivation.

Secondly, I think you should focus on your business area first. It can be marketing or finance, for example. After you have mastered Business English in your area of expertise you can move on to other areas such as business development, management accounting, human resources management and so on.

Finally, structure your learning process. I will divide it into two parts.

The first one is your passive language, namely understanding Business English. This can be developed by listening and reading silently. I recommend listening to the BBC Business News, Bloomberg Radio and the audiobook Get Rid of your Accent for Business, Part Three.

The second part is your active Business English. This can be achieved by working with the Business English Speech app, writing and giving presentations. One of the best options would be to join a public speaking club such as Toastmasters (TM).  In TM you can give prepared and impromptu speeches, get evaluated and receive constructive feedback about what you are doing well and what can be improved. You can also learn how to conduct a TM meeting. This is an essential skill if you want to conduct/facilitate a meeting.

Below are a few practical daily tips:

1. Make notes of 2-5 phrases you hear and repeat them five times several times a day.

2. Write emails on Business topics and check the grammar with Grammarly. Make a note of your mistakes.

3. Read a short article in English 3 times out loud (250 words)

4. Work with the app Business English Speech for 15-45 minutes. This app is written in the style of the Economist and The Financial Times. You can master your Business vocabulary and pronunciation.

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Are we born confident? If not, can we ever become truly confident?

We are born with a certain prevailing temperament:

There are four types of temperament:
1. Sanguine (optimistic, social, and associated with the element of air)
2. Melancholic (analytical, quiet, earth)
3. Choleric (short-tempered, irritable, fire)
4. Phlegmatic (relaxed, peaceful, water)

Some temperaments may appear to be stronger and therefore more confident.

Confidence is an action. When you were a little child you did not have the confidence to walk. After many tries and falls you have learned how to walk. Then you did not know how to lace up your shoes and your mom did for you, but then you learned how to do it.

If you want to develop confidence in a certain area just learn and practice to become confident at doing it. Confidence is not the same as perfection. You can do something confidently but not perfectly. For example, I was afraid to speak in public but after delivering 25 speeches I became confident at doing it. Now I can speak in front of a large audience.

I know people who are confident in business but lack confidence in romantic relationships. When they meet a woman they act like clueless geeks and cannot get anywhere with her. The reason for that is that they devote all their time to managing projects/people to achieve the bottom line by a deadline. Becoming confident in relationships requires different skills and practices: listening to and hearing your partner, studying what they like and do not like, and so on.

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How effective are the accent reduction training programs?

The answer to this question depends on three factors:

1. The teacher’s competence and work experience

2. The student’s ability to hear the differences in sounds and the amount of time and effort he/she is putting into the accent reduction process

3. The quality of training material: books, apps, video courses

Which teachers to choose?
Accent reduction should be taught by a qualified speech tutor (in the past speech tutors were called elocution teachers). A qualified speech tutor knows how sounds are produced in the mouth, the exact position of the tongue, lips and jaw for a particular sound. This is the key. To achieve the best results book a few elocution lessons.

What is expected of a student?
To reduce an accent one must substitute old habits of speaking with new ones which takes time and effort. It is a process. Usually, we recommend mastering a sound minimum for a week. Some sounds are easier and some may take longer to master. For example, /w/ sound does not exist in Russian. It is produced with lips going forward in a tight whistle and requires certain lip muscles. If the muscles are not trained it might take a while to train them to produce an energised /w/ sound. It’s a bit like going to the gym. If I tell you to go to the gym and come with a six-pack after one session you know that it will not happen. It is important to practice regularly, every day for 15-45 minutes rather than two hours once a week.

How to practice? Which books and apps to use?
I recommend that you download professional accent reduction apps ‎Get Rid of your Accent UK1 and ‎Fluent English Speech (British English) or ‎American Accent App and ‎Fluent American Speech (American English).
There is also an Elocution Lessons app to master essential English and a Business English Speech app that contains business vocabulary (both are for British English).
All the above apps have accompanying video courses, Get Rid of your Accent Part One and Get Rid of your Accent Part Two.

It is also a good idea to listen to good RP speakers, copy a section at a time, and record yourself.

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How to introduce a speaker

This blog post is useful for people who participate in public speaking events and social gatherings.
To introduce a speaker is a very important task. If you do it right you will make yourself popular.

1. The main principle to follow is to showcase the speaker's best qualities and talk very highly of his/her achievements, mentioning their awards, work and other contributions. Do your homework and find out the facts about the speaker.

2. Learn how to pronounce their name correctly and articulate it well when calling the person.

3. When calling the presenter smile, use a loud voice and upward inflections because it will make you sound optimistic and energetic. Maintain a straight posture and good eye contact with the audience. When the presenter comes to the stage shake his/her hand and make eye contact with him/her.

4. It would be fantastic to ask the audience to clap: “Let’s give a round of applause to our next speaker Simon Bird.”

5. Stress the most important words by saying them louder.
   Below is an example of an introduction; I put the most important words in italic font:
   “It is a great owner to introduce our next speaker, Simon Bird. Simon has a Ph.D. in Politics and is a Nobel Prize winner. It is impossible to overestimate his contributions to human rights in this country. Ladies and gentlemen, let’s give our warm welcome and a round of applause to Simon Bird!”

You can master the skills of presenting and more with the apps ‎Get Rid of your Accent UK1 and ‎Fluent English Speech (British English) or ‎American Accent App and ‎Fluent American Speech (American English), and Power, Pitch, Pace, Pause.

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Soft skills for success

1. Communication and public speaking
   With new technology developments and then isolation caused by COVID-19 many people complain to me that they do not communicate much. I say: say “yes” to life; do not avoid communication; be open and flexible with people. Have fun and enjoy speaking in public and in meetings. You can find useful tips on this topic at www.batcsglobal.com

2. Leadership
   One can be a born leader (like me for example :-). To be a strong leader you need to:
   - develop assertiveness and decisiveness;
   - practise taking responsibility; the majority of people would like to get rid of responsibilities, and leaders will take it; remember that the person who is in charge takes it all.
   - be active, express your ideas, initiate, and be in charge of bringing these ideas to fruition.
   - develop a sincere interest in other people.

3. Delegate and build a team around you
   Do not do everything by yourself or else you will not get far;
   Find the best people in their field;
   Opt only for an A-class talent if you want the best results.

4. Innovate and be creative
   Do not do the same things in the same way for years.
   Be open to new ways of doing things;
   Be spontaneous.

5. Time management and planning
   Ask yourself questions:
   - What benefits am I getting in doing this thing right now?
   - If I was not doing this could I do something more useful?
   Think about the long-term consequences of doing something for a while.
   Distribute your time according to your individual energy levels. Make sure you do not overwork and allow time for resting.

6. Constant improvement
   Constantly think: how can you improve what you are doing already?
   Analyze your results, identify your mistakes, and make a plan for improvements.
   Conduct PEST Analysis: analyse political, economic, social and technological developments and see how your business can benefit from them.

7. Self-motivation
   Get inspired by the greatness of others.
   Do sports daily.
   Listen to music that drives you.
   Never settle for boredom.

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