How to help your international employees adjust to life in the USA as a new resident

Are you planning to move to the USA in 2015, or will you be bringing international employees to the USA? There's more to welcoming them effectively than a simple "hello, we're glad you are here!".

New residents coming from other countries to study or work here are often surprised by details that are different from their native countries' ways of doing things. As one example, post offices in the USA handle mail - and only mail. They do not have banking functions, as they do in some other countries.

Speaking of banking, Americans use checks sometimes, in addition to credit and debit cards. Newcomers who establish bank accounts here should know how to write a check for the occasional place or situation in which a credit or debit card is not accepted.

Coming to the USA is a concise e-book that was written based on the questions of many professionals who moved here from Europe and S America. Get details on topics ranging from insurance to mailboxes, and much more! The more you understand, the easier life will be here for you and your family. And if you are on your way to the USA as you read this, welcome!

Holiday Events and Hearing Loss: 3 Tips for Coping

Do you dread going to noisy holiday parties because you are having trouble hearing people? Here are some tips to help.

First, if you have a hearing aid, wear it! It has been programmed to your specific hearing pattern, so use it! If you don't use it much, read the manual or online instructions and try it out in a noisy place ahead of time.

At the party, you will hear better with less competing noise. Talk to people in a side room or hall if that's quieter.

If you are really interested in talking to someone, self-advocate! Tell the person you have a hearing loss, and ask if they can repeat a specific word or sentence. If they try to talk louder, ask if they can talk a little slower instead, but not exaggerate their words.

If you are at a Thanksgiving dinner or other event, try to face the person whom you are interested in talking to. This will help with lip-reading as well as watching body language.

The e-book What Did You Say? Coping with Hearing Loss in the Workplace, has practical strategies and is a quick-read concise source of help. Get it before your next event!

Verbal mistake: The message is right, but something's missing!

Have you ever sent an e-mail, and found it was totally misinterpreted? The reason may have been that when you speak, your tone of voice conveys emotion, sarcasm, and interest (or lack of it). When you write, you choose a formal or an informal tone, active or passive voice, and assume your reader knows how you feel.

This can be easily misinterpreted. A formal note can seem to the reader like the writer has no interest. An informal note, meant to be sarcastic, can be interpreted literally.

The right choice of vocabulary can show your level of emotion and enthusiasm. Instead of saying you are looking forward to meeting the other person, try adding "eagerly" looking forward to meeting him.  Add other powerful words as appropriate.  Avoid sarcasm in a short note or text.

The true test of a well-written note is that it conveys the message you want, with the appropriate tone included. Is it to be formal, boring-but-have-to-write-something, or warm and caring?

In verbal and non-verbal communication, we also work to convey the proper attitude, whether eager, respectful but casual,   formal, etc. Our tone of voice,  use of slang, and choice of vocabulary can make or break this attitude.

Non-verbally, we use eye contact, giving full or distracted attention, and positioning (such as facing the other person directly or at a side angle) to also convey our attitude.

An example of this going wrong at work is when a manager uses a computer to answer routine e-mails during an appointment with an employee, telling the employee, "I can multi-task." The employee may feel the manager doesn't care about the appointment or the employee, due to his lack of full attention and eye contact.

Business Speech Improvement provides individual and small group coaching on communication skills. Visit us online!

Social Skills in the Workplace

A manager came up to me at an event , and told me he had a quandary.

He had a number of highly technically qualified employees who had contact with the public and also had poor social skills. He asked me if help was available.  The answer was a qualified "yes", if the employees knew they had a problem with this and if they truly wanted the help. The amount they would benefit would depend on these two factors,  their willingness to put the skills to work, and some support from an onsite mentor in addition to an outside coach.

What are some of the social skills we are talking about? They would include tone of voice, eye contact, greeting others, knowing how to start, continue, join and end a conversation, awareness of how to  talk with a customer, colleague and supervisor, how to phrase negative messages positively,  how to understand the company culture, and more.

For example, in your office, who makes the coffee, if there is any, and cleans the coffee maker? Does everyone take a turn bringing in baked goodies? Who helps out colleagues who need assistance, or volunteers for specific tasks?

Who is to attend various meetings, and who speaks at them? Who is a leader in your department, even though he or she may not have the title? (That person may have influence over decisions, and knowledge of people and processes.) How do you handle workplace conflicts fairly and appropriately? Should you call your supervisor by his first name, or more formally by his title and last name (eg, Mr. Smith, Dr. Jones)?

Social skills are related to emotional intelligence, or EI.  EI involves understanding your own and others' emotions, and acting on them appropriately.  Social skills involve being aware of how your actions impact your own and others' perceptions of you. Most social skills involve verbal or non-verbal communication.

What can be done to help people improve their social skills at work? The process starts with the supervisor and employee completing questionnaires to determine the areas of concern, and then individual coaching to address those areas.

Business Speech Improvement provides communication skills coaching to adults in the workforce.

It also offers an e-book, Small Talk:Connecting with Others, which is packed with specific techniques, for those whose primary concern is this particular skill.

Multi-tasking and the Non-verbal Message

The supervisor typed busily away on his computer, while his employee, who had an appointment with him,waited uneasily for him to look up. "Go ahead, I'm multi-tasking," encouraged the supervisor. The employee thought, "I even made an appointment with him, but he doesn't care  enough to give me his full attention."

Have you ever been in a situation like this? How did you feel when someone did not look at you and give you his full attention?

Many research studies have shown that multi-tasking is an ineffective way to accomplish your work. One study at Stanford by Clifford Nass shows that you may be 40% less effective when you multi-task. That does not even count the impact on others when you multi-task instead of giving them your full attention.

One leadership project had corporate leaders deliberately give others their full attention during meetings. They reported people were impressed enough to mention this to their peers.

Great speech makes business sense. Learn  18 crucial communication skills leaders need to be effective in their organizations, from the e-book, Executive Communication Strategies!

This is the e-book you'll wish your boss had read. Get it today!

Getting right to the point; changing your focus

Are you ever so focused on what you want to say when you go to see someone, that you forget to say "hello" first and see how the other person is doing? That's a common experience. You know it's rude, but you don't know how to change this.

When asked about this today, I advised the person asking me to imagine himself walking into his workplace and having a periscope rising from his head. Using the imaginary periscope, he is to look around and notice others, ask how they are doing, notice what they are doing, and only then to say what is on his mind. He may discover, for example, that when he notices his boss, she is in a bad mood or too rushed to listen to him at that time. He will know then to wait until another time to discuss the topic on his mind, or to see if someone else can help him.

Business  Speech Improvement offers intensive coaching and economical e-books on many aspects of verbal communication, such as executive communication skills, presentation skills, verbal networking and more! Enroll today in our free online e-magazine, too!

The On-boarding Process and Your New Employees: 3 Questions to Ask and When

When a new employee starts, especially if there is only one starting at that time, the orientation or on-boarding process can be given little attention. The goal is to get the person to be a productive worker as fast as possible, so why worry about the "frills"?

The extra information presented, often at a slightly slower pace than warp speed, allows the newcomer to get acclimated to the company's culture and ways of doing things. On-boarding often occurs over a period of several days, weeks or even a year, depending on the complexity of the job and the amount to be learned.

After the new employee has been there a month, it's a great time to realize the employee may have ideas to share with his new employer - if the employer cares enough to ask. The employee may have worked for other companies with different ways of doing things, and may know a better way to do a process or project. He may know helpful websites, or have concerns about how things are done at your company. However, he is not likely to say these - unless a manager takes the time to ask these 3 invaluable questions.

1. You've worked at other places. Based on that (or what you've learned in school, if the employee is a new graduate), do you have some suggestions on how we might do things better? Every employee's ideas are of interest to us! We might not notice what we do, because we've done it so long or so often, but you as a new employee would notice these things right away.

2. Do you know of  non-confidential websites, great equipment or other resources that might be of special benefit to the company? If you find these, please let us know.

3. What information related to your job, the company or the industry would help you most at this time? Do you need training in a specific area? If so, do you know how to request it?

This is also a time to share some initial feedback with the employee, of positive things you have noticed. The employee then realizes that he matters to you,  that you notice what he does, and  he will usually try to please you.

Business Speech Improvement provides intensive coaching and e-books on various types of communication. If you found the above technique helpful, you'll definitely want to read Executive Communication Techniques, our e-book on many other practical strategies leaders can take to improve communication skills!

American English Pronunciation: LIttle-Known Rules that Matter

It's 11:15 AM on the first day of a small group seminar on American English Pronunciation Improvement for Non-native Professionals. The instructor is explaining about the 3 words in American English which have "th" in their spelling, but in which the "th" is silent: months, clothes and asthma. The learners comment, "I didn't know about this rule!"

Later, the students learn about other letters which are not pronounced, such as the "L" when written after an "a" and before another consonant, as in  walk, talk,  palms and psalms. The "a" is pronounced like "aw" in walk and talk, and like "ah" in palms and psalms.

The American English Pronunciation Improvement for Non-native Professionals seminar is a three-day intensive seminar. It includes individual speech assessments, targeted training, materials - and instruction on these essential rules.

Only 6 people are accepted in this exciting seminar. Get the details and enroll online by clicking here!

Business Speech Improvement provides intensive, customized training in many verbal skills, including American English pronunciation improvement. Economical e-books on verbal skills are also available.

Speech training and you!

Are you concerned about your speech or the speech of an employee? Speech training provides an assessment and a targeted program designed to make a person's speech as good as it can be, within a certain time frame of instruction. Listen as I explain what services are available from Business Speech Improvement. Business Speech Improvement also offers e-books and other products, for those who prefer them. Think about this: all of business requires some form of communication, whether it be pointing, talking or using electronics. Improve your verbal skills; visit www.BusinessSpeechImprovement.com today!

Leadership development and executive communication

This year, reportedly 40% of American workers are planning to leave their jobs, often because they dislike how their boss treats them. Are you one of them? Such a "brain drain" has dire effects on a company's profits, as it can be expensive to recruit, hire and train a new worker. In addition, the productivity of new workers is usually lower for a while. A smart solution would be to spend time, effort and funds on training supervisors to be more effective communicators. For many supervisors, a simple e-book just released, called "Executive Communication Strategies" would provide many strategies they could use. This concise new e-book offers many easy tips. Special ones include a list of questions smart leaders use when considering new ideas, professional listening strategies, conflict resolution suggestions, explanations of why many people do not speak at meetings (and what a wise leader could do about this), and even tips on how to let employees know you appreciate them. (After all, how did you feel the last time your manager told you what a great job you were doing? (If your manager has never told you this, do you want your employees to feel as unappreciated as you feel?) The basics of training strategies for adults, improving communication at meetings and much more are included. "Executive Communication Strategies" could be included in a leadership development seminar, an MBA course on leadership, or in private Mastermind groups to share new techniques. Great communication matters! Business Speech Improvement provides intensive coaching and e-books on many aspects of communication. Visit us today!

Training adults?

Are you giving a presentation to adults to train new employees or group members? Here are some training tips you can use.

Adults are not little sponges, eager to soak up every last word you say. Although they may sit still and not interrupt, they quickly decide whether to pay attention or not. Presenters who ignore this fact risk losing their audience's attention - and may never know it.

1. Get adults involved in a brief interaction with the person sitting next to them or a small group, or involved in an individual exercise, every 20 minutes. Possibilities: Remember the best/worst ______ (e.g.teacher, pet, friend) you ever had. What made it so special? (Note: Memory and emotion are connected in the brain. You remember things that are emotional.) Interview the person sitting next to you, and tell your small group about his interests. There are many books and probably websites with similar training exercises.

2. Quickly show how people in the audience will benefit from your presentation. "Today, you will learn _______. This will help you by ____________."

3. If appropriate, put some clean and appropriate jokes or a funny story in your presentation. Other stories involving people using the information, or how they were affected by a situation, also help people learn.

4. Make certain your Power-point or other visual is big enough for people in the last row to see. In a recent presentation, the speaker held up a book of materials she was demonstrating.
She was apparently showing some of the exercises on a page. The people in the back row could not see anything other than the fact that she was holding a book of some sort. They were frustrated and patiently waited until she finished. If she had put the page on a Power-point slide (as she represented the publisher, copyright was not an issue), it would have been much better.

Business Speech Improvement provides intensive training and e-books in verbal skills, including public speaking, diction, accent modification and more.

Front line staff and your PR program

What are the first people prospective customers/clients/patients see doing to increase your organization's public relations?

In one healthcare organization I visited yesterday, the first employee I was directed to see appeared ironically to be very sick. When I asked her why she was at work, she told me that her department had let many employees go, and was very short-staffed. The next person I was sent to had her head down on the desk. When I expressed concern about her health, apparently conscious that everyone in a crowded waiting area could hear her, she self-consciously laughed and said she was mostly bored - despite the place being very busy. If this facility took such poor care of the front line employees, I wondered how they expected the employees to take exceptional care of their patients.

Regardless of your industry, how are you taking care of your front line employees? What are you doing to show them that you care about them? Are you teaching them the critical role they play in getting new customers or patients? Are you doing it with frequent spoken and written compliments, flowers, occasional free meals or gift cards, making sure they take time off when they need to, a career ladder to help them develop skills for other jobs, or some other method? Times are tough in many companies, but often without meaning to, front liners can derail your expensive public relations efforts.

Please let us know your company's efforts to make your front line team feel special!

Are you worried about your speech skills for business?

Excellent communication skills are essential for business. Many companies put such skills in their list of required qualifications, and offer training (or send employees to classes elsewhere where they can get the needed skills).

Insufficient communication skills can cause lost career development or promotion opportunities, can result in lost clients, or at least can cause embarrassment or frustration. Is that how you are feeling?

Currently, Business Speech Improvement is evaluating what additional seminars, e-books, or individual coaching should be offered. Currently, training in foreign and regional accent modification, presentation skills, techniques to speak slower, general diction, improving communication with someone who has a hearing loss, and communication skills for leadership are available. Many are offered in seminars, individual coaching and/or e-books.

If you would like training in a different topic, or a different format, please comment below or send us an e-mail with the topic and referred format. The first 25 responses will receive a complimentary e-book! Please do let us know how you would like to get help for yourself or an employee!

If you would like to schedule training in one of the above topics, or enroll in an open enrollment seminar, please click here.

How to assess your American English pronunciation

You want to improve your American English pronunciation. Maybe you want a chance at a professional job. Possibly you are frustrated by people giving you puzzled looks and asking, "What did you say". Try this self-test. Count the "no" answers.

1. You can say the two American "th" sounds clearly - in conversation.

2. You know which 3 words are spelled with "th" - but the "th" is silent.

3. In British English, "pro" is always pronounced as "pro", with a long o sound. In American English, you know which words have a "pro" that is pronounced as "prah" instead.

4. You can say all of the following sound combinations clearly:
str (as in "street"), asks (as in "tasks"), sp (as in "special") and st (as in "first").

5. You can say the following single consonants the American way: l,r,v, w.

6. The vowel- r sounds ar (as in "hard"), er (as in "person") and or (as in "born") are clear.

7. When you speak, your rate is reasonably slow so others can understand you.

8. You can emphasize the correct syllable of at least most all of the words you use.

If you score is less than 8, here are three ways to improve it.

Business Speech Improvement offers intensive small group open enrollment courses in Pronunciation Improvement for Non-native Professionals. The program takes only 3 days, which may be consecutive. This makes it ideal for those who want to improve in a hurry!Individual coaching is offered as well, for those with strong foreign or regional accents that impede clear communication. Economical e-books are also available for those living far away.

The bottom line is that your speech matters. Poor communication may be costing you. How will you improve it?

How to pronounce three difficult words in English

"How do you say that word?" is a frequent comment I receive. As a communications coach, I work with non-native professionals from all over the world who are in the USA to live and work.

Three of the most common questions are about world, excellent, and schedule. To say "world", pronounce it in 2 parts: "wor" and "uld". It sounds like "WOR-uld". "Excellent" is pronounced as "EK-sel-lent", while "schedule" is
"SKED-jule". (The British pronunciation is "SHED-jule".)

A full three day seminar on American English Pronunciation Improvement for Non-native Professionals is offered periodically by Business Speech Improvement. For more details on this, on e-books and other seminars, click here.

Foreign accent modification training: what do people learn?

A professional from another country reported, "I've wanted to speak English better, but I didn't know what to do. Now, after this seminar, I do."

In (American English) Pronunciation Improvement for Non-native Professionals, each attendee gets an individual speech assessment. Even two people from the same native language, such as Spanish, may pronounce English differently. Each person then receives a customized program so he learns what he specifically needs. Learners study the silent letters in English, such as the three words in which "th" is not pronounced.

Materials and activities are geared to professionals. For example, at the end of the session, a professor may give a short lecture using his new speech skills.
A physician may practice giving a case history. Someone else may interview a vendor. Attendees enjoy these activities! After the seminar, there is a detailed follow-up plan to help skills be maintained.

Past learners report they feel more confident speaking English, and know what to do to make their pronunciation better.

For those who cannot attend, e-books of exercises are onsite.

Isn't this what you are searching for, for yourself or an
employee?

Business Speech Improvement provides intensive training in may aspects of verbal communication.

Want speech improvement to speak American English more clearly?

Do you need to improve your American English,but coaching is not an option right now?

Learn from an innovative combination of a down-loadable audio file and a pdf, " Learn how to pronounce American English more clearly". Hear a professional speech coach and native American English speaker read specially written paragraphs with many examples of a given sound. Listen as often as you like, and repeat! Each part of the series has several sounds on it; get one or all of them at www.BusinessSpeechImprovement.com.

Business Speech Improvement provides intensive coaching in verbal communication skills, including accent modification, executive communication skills, presentation skills and much more. Training is offered through in-person coaching, e-books and this new audio/pdf series. Great speech makes business sense!

Rate of speech and persuasiveess

Many people think of salespeople as "fast-talking". Does a faster rate of speech increase their (or your) persuasiveness? An interesting study by Caroline Jones, Lynn Berry and Catherine Stevens found that use of a normal rate of speech was more persuasive. They also found that talking fast reduces the ability of the listener to understand. This makes sense, because people who don't understand don't usually buy. Also, children and senior citizens process language more slowly than other people.

What do you do if you are a fast talker and want to reduce your rate of speech?
Business Speech Improvement (www.BusinessSpeechImprovement.com) offers a one day class on Speak Slowly! Speech Rate Reduction Strategies to be held July 9, 2010. It also offers an e-book on Six Simple Steps to Speak Slower. More information is at www.BusinessSpeechImprovement.com.

Connecting training in customer ervice to the bottom line

Three people were standing in a line at a discount store, and the store was about to close. The clerk suddenly announced that she had to take a "lunch break", and would only help the first two customers. The third customer announced firmly, "But I have been standing in line waiting for several minutes!" The second customer, not wanting to deal with the conflict and also furious with the store clerk, replied to the third customer, "I will go into another lane, and then you will get waited on." A few minutes later, the third customer had been waited on and saw the second customer still waiting at the end of another line. She mouthed the words, "Thank you!" and left the store. The second customer commented to someone nearby that she would not shop at the store again, and would tell others about the poor customer service.

Apparently the clerk had not had her break that shift, and, instead of notifying her supervisor, decided to close her check-out herself. If you were the manager, clerk or one of the customers, how would you have handled this situation?

Speak too fast?

One of the most common complaints about a speaker is that he or she speaks too fast, and can't be easily understood. Speech rate can be influenced by many factors, from the rate of the general culture (such as NYC) to a person's health status.

Speak slower! Speech Rate Reduction is an intensive one day workshop offered Friday, July 9th in Chattanooga, TN. It includes work-related speech simulations. This course is not suitable for people with such disorders as Parkinson's or other neurological issues. For more information, visit http://businessspeechimprovement.com/enabler/scripts/category.pl?Classes and scroll down to "speech rate and timing".