Web Site Design When Your Listeners Don't Understand What You Have Said | When Your Listeners Don't Understand What You Have Said |
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Making presentations, engaging in significant conversations with potential investors, and dealing with customers and vendors can be stressful under the best of circumstances. If you are having these communications in a language other than your native tongue, miscommunications, frustrations, and anxieties can grow exponentially. Each time your listener doesn’t understand you, there is the potential for lost opportunity and revenue. Whether you are making an important presentation to a decision-maker or speaking informally in a meeting, there may be times when you sense that you are not being understood. A blank uncomprehending stare or a request to repeat what you just said can be frustrating and uncomfortable. If English is not your native language, these situations can be unpleasant, but they not unavoidable. By becoming aware of some simple techniques, you’ll repeat yourself less and be understood more. Here’s how: 1. Repeat the same words and speak more slowly. When you’re nervous, you tend to speak more rapidly and hinder understanding even more. Say the entire sentence. Perhaps it was a key word or phrase in the middle of your sentence that the listener didn’t hear. 2. Spell the misunderstood word or name - slowly. 3. Make use of synonyms and alternative expressions. Look for words that have the same meaning as those that are hard for you to pronounce. 4. Rephrase, or summarize what you said, using different words. 5. Create a "bridge" to understanding for the listener by making an association. This works especially well when referring to place names. "Worlds Fair Drive. You know the exit in Somerset off of Route 287. Worlds Fair Drive." 6. Mentally ‘’scan’’ your sentence to see if you have mispronounced one of your "trouble" sounds (Have you said "leeve" for "live"; "tank" for "thank"; or "rich’’ for "reach?") If you suspect that this is the problem, say the word again, using the correct sound. 7. If a listener has misunderstood a specific word ("Did you say ‘word’?"), repeat it with more stress and then repeat the whole sentence: "No, I said ‘’world". "I’ll go anywhere in the — world." OTHER TIPS: 8. Always pause slightly before, during, and after saying a proper noun such as your name, the name of a company, a state, or a country (‘’My name is Bond---James Bond.---). Also pause between numbers (973----228----8848). Remember this especially when leaving voice mail messages or giving information on the phone. 9. Clearly pronounce the ends of your words and put small pauses between words. Listeners need to be able to hear each word distinctly. Be especially aware of plurals and words that end with a consonant sound (twenty dollars, fifteen years, five times). 10. Always — ALWAYS — speak more slowly than you would normally speak in your native language. Speaking rapidly only confuses the message. Slow down and you will be better understood. Pause consistently and watch for visual cues that you have ‘’lost’’ your listener and need to employ one of the techiques above. Remember that no one can buy from you, invest with you, hire you, or promote you to a higher position if your verbal communication cannot be understood. When you do the things listed above and think about the meaning behind every word or phrase you speak, your pronunciation and delivery become much clearer, which has a huge impact on your audience’s ability to receive and understand your message. Sharlene Vichness is president of Language Directions, LLC. a company providing accent modification and presentation skills training to foreign-born speakers of American English in the workplace. She can be reached at sharlene@languagedirections.com or 973-228-8848. |
