Accent on direct communication
If you know that someone’s English communication skills are not strong enough, could an accent reduction program be the solution? It could, but accent reduction could be just part of the solution. Maybe you should not put the accent on “accent reduction”. Put the accent on direct communication – and the hourglass. Sometimes people think that improving professional communication skills is about accent reduction. They say, “She needs accent reduction”, “We have an employee that needs accent reduction”, or someone could say, “I’m looking for an accent reduction program.” Oftentimes people look for accent reduction, but if someone is experiencing communication problems, then accent reduction could be only part of the solution. It’s possible that accent reduction is not the whole solution and not the only solution.
This is about improving English communication skills. And there are different ways to understand improving English communication skills. Here’s one way to understand improving English communication skills. These are a few observations and comments about Jan’s communication. Why is it sometimes difficult to understand what Jan says?
- Jan needs to use opening statements to let people know what she wants to talk about or explain.
- Sometimes Jan starts in the middle of what she wants to say and not at the beginning.
- Sometimes Jan’s answers or explanations are difficult to follow because she doesn’t start with the most important information. She seems to start with a detail or related information, and it takes some time before we understand what she really wants to say.
- Jan doesn’t always follow the conversation conventions that I’m used to. The most important information should come first, but it seems that Jan starts with a detail first or somewhere in the middle.
Yes, the order in which we present information is important. But not everyone presents information in the same order. When you want to communicate an idea, consider what you should say first. What do you want to say first? Don’t try to support what you want to say by providing additional information and details first. Those come later.
Think of communication as an hourglass. The most important information, or the biggest information, should come at the top of the hourglass As you continue speaking, provide additional information, reasons, explanations, and details.
It will be difficult for people to follow you if you don’t start with the most important and biggest information first. And the biggest and most important information starts at the top of the hourglass. The top of the hourglass is the widest, and from there the space gets narrow. Don’t start in the narrow part of the hourglass. Start at the top with the biggest and most important information first.
Don’t try to support what you are saying first by providing explanations and smaller pieces of information. Think about it this way: If you could use only one sentence to say what you want to say, what would it be? That’s the sentence you should use at the beginning. That’s the sentence that starts at the top of the hourglass. Everything you say after that supports what you say first. And, of course, don’t end with a detail. Be sure that people understand what you mean to say by ending with the most important information first. Tell them what you want them to know and understand.
Start with what you want people to know and understand.
The Most Important Information The Main Idea
Additional Information and Less Important
Reasons and Explanations
More Information
Details
Details
More Information
Reasons and Explanations
Additional Information Less important
The Most Important Information The Main Idea
End with what you want people to know and understand.
What about accent reduction and pronunciation? Could Jan use some help with accent and pronunciation? You bet she can. However, if accent, or pronunciation, is all that Jan improves, then the communication problem is not solved and it’s not fixed. Oftentimes people look for accent reduction, but if someone is experiencing communication problems, then accent reduction could be part of the solution. It could be that accent reduction is not the whole solution and not the only solution.