how to improve communication skills in english essay

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Effective Communication: The Key to Building Strong Connections

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Published: Sep 12, 2023

Words: 791 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

Table of contents

The importance of effective communication, key elements of effective communication, barriers to effective communication, strategies for improving communication, 1. building relationships:, 2. resolving conflicts:, 3. achieving goals:, 4. personal development:, 5. success in the workplace:, 1. clarity:, 2. active listening:, 3. empathy:, 4. nonverbal communication:, 5. respect:, 1. misunderstandings:, 2. lack of active listening:, 3. emotional barriers:, 4. assumptions and stereotypes:, 5. lack of feedback:, 1. practice active listening:, 2. foster empathy:, 3. be mindful of nonverbal cues:, 4. seek feedback:, 5. adapt to your audience: h3>, 6. practice constructive communication:, 7. educate yourself:.

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A (Very) Simple Way to Improve Your Writing

• Mark Rennella

It’s called the “one-idea rule” — and any level of writer can use it.

The “one idea” rule is a simple concept that can help you sharpen your writing, persuade others by presenting your argument in a clear, concise, and engaging way. What exactly does the rule say?

• Every component of a successful piece of writing should express only one idea.
• In persuasive writing, your “one idea” is often the argument or belief you are presenting to the reader. Once you identify what that argument is, the “one-idea rule” can help you develop, revise, and connect the various components of your writing.
• For instance, let’s say you’re writing an essay. There are three components you will be working with throughout your piece: the title, the paragraphs, and the sentences.
• Each of these parts should be dedicated to just one idea. The ideas are not identical, of course, but they’re all related. If done correctly, the smaller ideas (in sentences) all build (in paragraphs) to support the main point (suggested in the title).

Most advice about writing looks like a long laundry list of “do’s and don’ts.” These lists can be helpful from time to time, but they’re hard to remember … and, therefore, hard to depend on when you’re having trouble putting your thoughts to paper. During my time in academia, teaching composition at the undergraduate and graduate levels, I saw many people struggle with this.

• MR Mark Rennella is Associate Editor at HBP and has published two books, Entrepreneurs, Managers, and Leaders and The Boston Cosmopolitans .  

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How to Improve Communication Skills for Better Interaction

Did you know that a staggering 93% of communication is non-verbal? Yes, you read that right. While words are undeniably important, the way we say them, our body language, and even the tone of our voice play a crucial role in conveying our thoughts and emotions. In a world where effective communication can make or break personal and professional relationships, mastering this skill is paramount. Whether you're looking to excel in your career, strengthen your connections, or simply become a more persuasive communicator, this article is your gateway to practical strategies and tips on how to improve your communication skills.

How to Improve Communication Skills: Short Description

In this article, you'll explore why are communication skills important and their pivotal role in our lives. From unraveling the importance of effective communication to breaking down the core components of these skills, this article is your comprehensive guide. Discover practical strategies, fascinating facts, and essential book recommendations to enhance your ability to connect, persuade, and succeed!

Ready to Master the Art of Written Communication?

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Exploring What Are Communication Skills

Communication skills are the foundation upon which our ability to interact with others is built. At its core, communication is the process of exchanging information, thoughts, ideas, and emotions with clarity and understanding. But what makes up these essential skills?

• Verbal Communication: This is the most obvious aspect involving the words we choose, the tone we use, and the way we structure our sentences. Effective verbal communication ensures that our message is clear, concise, and easily comprehensible.
• Non-Verbal Communication: Often underestimated, non-verbal cues such as body language, facial expressions, and gestures play a significant role in conveying our feelings and intentions. They can either complement or contradict our verbal communication, making them a crucial aspect of overall communication skills.
• Listening Skills: Communication is a two-way street, and active listening is a vital part of it. It involves not just hearing words but understanding the speaker's perspective, asking questions, and showing empathy. Effective listeners can provide thoughtful responses and foster meaningful conversations.
• Written Communication: In our digital age, written communication is more prevalent than ever. This includes emails, text messages, reports, and even social media posts. Effective written communication requires clarity, proper grammar, and an understanding of the recipient's expectations.
• Interpersonal Skills: These skills encompass our ability to interact with others, build rapport, and maintain healthy relationships. Empathy, conflict resolution, and negotiation fall under this category, as they are crucial for navigating social interactions successfully.
• Presentation Skills: For professionals, being able to convey information persuasively and engagingly is vital. Presentation skills involve structuring content effectively, using visual aids, and delivering information with confidence.

Why Good Communication Skills Matter

Effective communication skills are far from being mere soft skills; they are the lifeblood of our personal and professional lives. According to our experts, here's why they matter:

• Career Advancement: In the workplace, the ability to communicate effectively can be a game-changer. Whether you're giving a presentation, collaborating on a project, or resolving conflicts with colleagues, strong interaction abilities are essential. They can lead to promotions, better job opportunities, and increased job satisfaction.
• Building Relationships: Communication is the cornerstone of any healthy relationship, be it with family, friends, or romantic partners. Good communication fosters trust, understanding, and empathy. It helps resolve conflicts and ensures that everyone's needs and feelings are heard and respected.
• Conflict Resolution: Disagreements and conflicts are inevitable in any human interaction. However, those with strong interaction skills can navigate these situations with grace and effectiveness. They can defuse tension, find common ground, and reach mutually beneficial solutions.
• Personal Growth: Mastering effective communication skills can lead to personal growth and self-awareness. When you can express your thoughts and feelings more clearly, you gain a deeper understanding of yourself and your needs. This self-awareness can lead to increased self-confidence and improved mental well-being.
• Influence and Persuasion: Whether you're a salesperson trying to close a deal or a leader inspiring your team, the power of persuasion is rooted in effective communication. The ability to articulate your ideas persuasively achieved through understanding how to improve your communication skills, can have a significant impact on your success in various aspects of life.

How to Improve Communication Skills: Strategies for Success

Discover the concrete strategies you need to improve communication skills. This guide provides actionable tips, from refining your listening skills to improving your verbal and non-verbal communication. By the end, you'll be equipped with the tools to become a more influential and empathetic communicator, setting yourself up for success in both personal and professional spheres.

Engage as an Attentive Listener

Listening is more than just hearing words; it's about understanding the speaker's message, emotions, and perspective. Being an attentive listener is a skill that can significantly improve your communication:

• Give Your Full Attention: When someone is speaking, put aside distractions and focus on them. Make eye contact and give them your undivided attention. This simple act shows respect and genuine interest in what they're saying.
• Avoid Interruptions: Resist the urge to interrupt or finish the speaker's sentences. Let them express themselves fully before you respond. Interruptions can be frustrating and can hinder effective communication.
• Ask Clarifying Questions: Don't hesitate to ask questions for clarification. If something is unclear, seek more information with open-ended questions like, 'Could you explain that further?' or 'Can you give me an example?'

Strive for Clarity and Brevity

• Use Simple Language: Avoid jargon and complex vocabulary, especially when communicating with a diverse audience. Simplicity often leads to better understanding. For instance, instead of saying, 'I'll optimize the process,' you can say, 'I'll make the process more efficient.'
• Organize Your Thoughts: Before communicating, take a moment to organize your ideas. Structure your message logically, starting with the most important points. This makes it easier for others to follow your thoughts.
• Consider Your Audience: Tailor your message to your audience's level of expertise and familiarity with the topic. Adjust the level of detail accordingly. For instance, when explaining a complex concept to a non-expert, provide a simple analogy or real-life example to enhance understanding.

Plan and Get Ready in Advance

Improving communication skills often involves some level of preparation. Whether you're giving a presentation, having a difficult conversation, or even participating in a casual discussion, planning in advance can boost your confidence and ensure your message is well-received:

• Outline Your Key Points: Before any important conversation or communication event, create a simple outline of the key points you want to convey. This can help you stay on track and ensure you cover all the essential information.
• Anticipate Questions: Think about potential questions or concerns your audience might have. Preparing answers in advance not only demonstrates your expertise but also helps you respond confidently during the conversation.
• Practice if Necessary: For significant presentations or speeches, practicing your message is essential. It's one of the effective time management tips to allocate time for rehearsal. This helps you refine your delivery and reduce nervousness, making your communication more effective. If you find yourself short on time or need additional assistance, consider seeking support from professionals who offer services where you can pay for essay .

Monitor Your Tone

Your tone of voice and body language can convey as much, if not more, than your words. Being aware of your tone is crucial for effective communication:

• Be Mindful of Your Tone: Pay attention to the tone of your voice. Is it friendly, neutral, or confrontational? Adjust your tone to match the message and the situation. For example, when giving feedback, a constructive and empathetic tone is usually more effective than a critical one.
• Watch Your Body Language: Your body language, including gestures, posture, and facial expressions, can either support or contradict your words. If you're saying one thing, but your body language says another, it can create confusion or mistrust.
• Consider Cultural Differences: Different cultures may interpret tone and body language differently. Be aware of cultural nuances, especially in cross-cultural communication. What is seen as friendly in one culture might be seen as intrusive in another.

Pay Attention to Nonverbal Communication

Nonverbal cues often speak louder than words. Your body language, facial expressions, and gestures can convey a wealth of information to those you're communicating with. Here's how to leverage nonverbal communication effectively:

• Maintain Eye Contact : When engaged in a conversation, maintaining appropriate eye contact is a hallmark of good communication skills. It demonstrates attentiveness and shows that you are actively participating in the interaction.
• Use Open and Inviting Body Language: Your posture can communicate whether you are open to conversation or closed off. Keep your arms uncrossed, stand or sit with an open stance, and use friendly gestures to show your receptiveness.
• Match Your Nonverbal Cues with Your Message: Ensure that your nonverbal cues align with what you're saying. For example, if you're delivering good news, your facial expressions and body language should reflect positivity and enthusiasm.

Articulate Clearly and Minimize Ambiguity

Clear and unambiguous communication is essential to prevent misunderstandings. Ambiguity can lead to confusion and misinterpretation. Here's how to articulate your message clearly:

• Be Specific: Instead of vague statements, provide concrete details. For example, rather than saying, 'We should meet sometime next week,' say, 'Let's meet on Tuesday at 3 PM.'
• Summarize and Recap: After conveying important information, summarize the key points. This reinforces the message and ensures that everyone is on the same page.
• Ask for Clarification: If you're unsure whether your message has been understood, encourage others to ask questions or provide feedback. This proactive approach can prevent misunderstandings.

Cultivate Your Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence (EQ) plays a significant role in effective communication, which can also be an engaging topic for narrative essay topics . It involves recognizing, understanding, and managing your own emotions, as well as empathizing with the emotions of others. Here's how to cultivate your EQ for better communication:

• Self-awareness: Take time to understand your own emotions and how they influence your communication. Recognize your triggers and biases.
• Empathy: Put yourself in the other person's shoes. Try to understand their emotions, perspectives, and needs. Show empathy by acknowledging their feelings.
• Emotion Regulation: Learn to manage your emotions during conversations. Avoid reacting impulsively when faced with challenging or emotional situations.
• Conflict Resolution: Use your emotional intelligence communication to navigate conflicts constructively. Focus on finding mutually beneficial solutions rather than escalating disputes.

Establish Eye Contact

Eye contact is a powerful nonverbal communication tool that can convey confidence, attentiveness, and trustworthiness. When used appropriately, it enhances the quality of your interactions. Here's how to establish effective eye contact:

• Balance Engagement: When engaging in a conversation, strike a balance with eye contact. Avoid staring intensely, which can be uncomfortable, and also refrain from completely avoiding eye contact, which may signal disinterest.
• Maintain Natural Intervals: It's natural to break eye contact occasionally, especially during moments of reflection or when transitioning between thoughts. These brief breaks help maintain a comfortable and natural flow of conversation.

Remove Filler Words and Avoid Hedging Language

Filler words (such as 'um,' 'uh,' 'like,' and 'you know') and hedging language (phrases like 'I think,' 'sort of,' and 'maybe') can weaken the impact of your message and make you appear less confident. Here's how to eliminate them while also understanding how to improve communication skills overall:

• Record Yourself: To become aware of your use of filler words and hedging phrases, record your conversations or speeches. Listening to these recordings will help you pinpoint instances where you rely on these verbal crutches. This practice not only aids in reducing their use but also enhances your overall communication skills.
• Pause Instead: Instead of resorting to filler words when you need a moment to gather your thoughts, embrace the power of well-placed pauses. Pauses not only eliminate the need for filler words but also make you appear more thoughtful and composed in your speech. This can also improve your grasp of idiom figurative language and the nuances of effective communication.

Project Confidence

Confidence in communication can inspire trust and credibility. It's not just about what you say but how you say it. Here are some ways that will not only help you project confidence in your communication but also teach you how to be confident in school :

• Maintain Good Posture: Stand or sit up straight with your shoulders back. Good posture not only makes you appear more confident but also helps with breath control for clear articulation.
• Use Gestures Purposefully: Gestures can enhance your message, but use them purposefully and naturally. Avoid excessive or distracting movements, which can undermine your confidence.
• Practice Positive Self-Talk: Believe in yourself and your message. Replace negative self-talk with affirmations that boost your self-confidence.

Communication Skills: Intriguing Facts and Stats

Communication is a universal aspect of human existence, but it's also a fascinating field of study filled with surprising facts and statistics. Here are some intriguing insights into the world of communication:

• Words Convey Only a Fraction: While words are essential for communication, research suggests that they only make up about 7% of our message's impact. The tone of voice and nonverbal cues, such as body language and facial expressions, account for the remaining 93%. This underscores the importance of the way we say things.
• The 7-38-55 Rule: Communication researcher Albert Mehrabian proposed a rule stating that in conveying feelings and attitudes, 7% comes from words, 38% from tone of voice, and 55% from body language. While this rule is often debated and may not apply universally, it highlights the multifaceted nature of communication.
• Listening Is Challenging: People generally remember only about 25-50% of what they hear, according to research by Edgar Dale. This statistic emphasizes the importance of active listening skills for effective communication.
• Texting vs. Talking: In the digital age, similar to the digital transformation in higher education , texting has emerged as a predominant mode of communication. Surprisingly, a study by the Pew Research Center found that adults aged 18-29 send and receive an average of 88 text messages per day, compared to just 17 phone calls. This shift in communication methods highlights the evolving landscape of human interaction.
• The Power of First Impressions: Studies have indicated that people form first impressions within just 7-17 seconds of meeting someone. This quick judgment underscores the significance of nonverbal cues and initial interactions in communication.

Books on Communication Skills​

If you're eager to further enhance your skills and delve deeper into the art of effective interaction, there is a wealth of valuable books on communication skills available. Here's a selection of recommended reads:

• 'Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High' by Al Switzler, Joseph Grenny, and Ron McMillan: This book offers practical strategies for navigating high-stakes conversations with confidence, focusing on maintaining dialogue and achieving mutual understanding.
• 'How to Win Friends and Influence People' by Dale Carnegie: A classic in the realm of interpersonal communication, this book provides timeless advice on building positive relationships, influencing others, and becoming a more effective communicator.
• 'Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life' by Marshall B. Rosenberg: Dr. Rosenberg presents a compassionate and empathetic approach to communication, emphasizing the importance of connecting with others on a deeper level through mindful dialogue.
• 'Talk Like TED: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World's Top Minds' by Carmine Gallo: Drawing from TED Talks, this book uncovers the techniques used by some of the world's most engaging speakers, offering practical advice for improving your public-speaking skills.
• 'The Charisma Myth: How Anyone Can Master the Art and Science of Personal Magnetism' by Olivia Fox Cabane: Charisma is a valuable asset in communication, and this book explores how to develop and exude charisma to enhance your interactions with others.

Where to Enhance These Skills

Understanding how to improve communication skills can be greatly facilitated through online educational platforms that offer courses, workshops, and resources. Here are some reputable platforms where you can hone your skills:

• Toastmasters International: Toastmasters is a renowned organization that focuses on improving public speaking and leadership skills. They offer in-person and online meetings, providing a supportive environment for practicing and enhancing your communication abilities.
• Dale Carnegie Training: The Dale Carnegie programs offer comprehensive training in interpersonal skills, public speaking, and effective communication strategies.
• Skillshare: Skillshare features an array of classes in communication-related topics, including storytelling, effective email communication, and interpersonal skills.
• MasterClass: MasterClass provides access to lessons taught by renowned experts in various fields. You can find courses on communication by experts such as Chris Voss, a negotiation expert and former FBI hostage negotiator.
• TED Talks: While not a traditional educational platform, TED Talks offer a treasure trove of inspiring and informative talks on communication-related topics. These talks can provide valuable insights and ideas for enhancing your skills.

Additionally, if you're specifically interested in Harvard free online courses , you might want to explore its offerings, which often include communication-related subjects among their diverse range of offerings.

Concluding Remarks

By applying the strategies and insights discussed here and exploring educational resources, you can become a more confident, empathetic, and impactful communicator. With practice and dedication, the journey to enhancing your communication skills is well within reach, offering the potential for greater success, meaningful relationships, and personal growth. Additionally, expanding your social circle in an academic environment can further refine your interpersonal skills, so be sure to check out our article on how to make friends at college .

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How to Improve English Communication Skills

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Enhancing your English communication skills is vital in today’s global environment. This guide provides actionable strategies and communication examples to significantly improve your proficiency. Whether it’s in writing, speaking, or understanding nuances, mastering English communication is key for personal and professional growth. Dive into practical examples that illustrate how to effectively communicate in English, from everyday conversations to formal settings. Elevate your language skills with insights and techniques designed to refine your English communication, making it more impactful and fluent.

How Can I Improve My Communication Skills in English Writing?

Improving your English writing skills is essential for effective communication, whether it be in academia, the workplace, or in personal correspondence. Here are some strategies to enhance your writing proficiency:

• Understand the Basics : A solid grasp of grammar, punctuation, and spelling is fundamental. Utilize resources like Grammarly or Purdue OWL to refine your understanding of English grammar.
• Practice Regularly : Writing consistently is key. Maintain a journal, write essays, or start a blog. The more you write, the better your communication skills will become.
• Read Widely : Reading books, articles, and other forms of written material can significantly improve your writing. It helps in understanding different styles and improving vocabulary.
• Seek Constructive Feedback : Share your writing with mentors, peers, or through online platforms to get constructive criticism. This feedback is invaluable for recognizing areas of improvement.
• Revise and Edit : Always review your work. Editing is a crucial part of the writing process and helps to clarify your message and correct errors.
• Expand Your Vocabulary : A rich vocabulary allows for more precise and compelling writing. Use tools like thesauruses or vocabulary-building apps to learn new words.
• Attend Workshops or Courses : Participating in writing workshops or online courses can provide structured learning and improve your written communication skills .
• Practice Different Types of Writing : Experiment with various forms of writing, such as creative, academic, or technical writing, to become a versatile writer.

By implementing these strategies, you can significantly improve your English writing skills , making your written communications clearer, more effective, and more engaging.

What are the Best Ways to Improve English Communication Skills?

Enhancing your English communication skills requires a holistic approach. Here’s how you can improve your overall ability to communicate in English:

• Engage in Active Conversation : Practice speaking English with friends, language exchange partners, or in speaking clubs. Regular conversation helps in building fluency and confidence.
• Listen Actively : Improve your listening skills by engaging with English media, such as podcasts, movies, and news. This not only improves comprehension but also acquaints you with different accents and colloquialisms.
• Join Language Classes or Online Courses : Structured learning environments, whether online or in-person, can provide comprehensive language training. Look for courses focused on communication skills .
• Utilize Language Learning Apps : Apps like Duolingo , Babbel , or Rosetta Stone offer interactive exercises to improve your English.
• Participate in Public Speaking : Join forums like Toastmasters to practice and get feedback on your speaking skills.
• Write Regularly : Writing in English can improve your understanding of the language’s structure, which in turn, enhances verbal communication.
• Immerse Yourself in the Language : Surround yourself with English through media, books, and conversation. Immersion is one of the most effective ways to learn a language.
• Reflect and Self-Assess : Regularly reflect on your communication experiences. Identify areas of strength and those needing improvement.

How To Develop Good English Communication Skills?

Developing good English communication skills is essential in today’s globalized world. Whether for personal growth, professional advancement, or social interaction, effective communication in English can open numerous doors. Here are strategies to enhance your English communication skills:

1. Expand Vocabulary : A rich vocabulary is the foundation of good communication. Regularly learn new words and phrases. Resources like thesauruses, vocabulary apps, or Communication Skills Books can be incredibly helpful.

2. Practice Listening Skills : Effective communication is as much about listening as it is about speaking. Listen to English podcasts, news, or songs. This not only improves your Listening in Communication Skills but also helps in understanding different accents and pronunciations.

3. Engage in Speaking Practice : Practice is key to improvement. Engage in conversations with native speakers, join language exchange meetups, or use language learning apps. Focus on Interpersonal Communication Skills and Presentation Skills in Communication .

4. Reading and Comprehension : Read English newspapers, books, or blogs to understand sentence structure and improve comprehension. This also enhances your Written Communication Skills .

5. Take Online Courses or Join Classes : Enroll in English communication courses or workshops that offer structured learning. Many online platforms offer courses focusing on Effective Communication Skills and How to Improve English Communication Skills .

6. Use Technology : Utilize language learning apps and online tools designed to improve English proficiency. These can offer interactive and engaging ways to practice Social Communication Skills and Communication Skills for Business .

How to Improve English Speaking Skills Quickly at Home?

Improving your English speaking skills at home can be both fun and effective. Here are some tips to enhance your speaking abilities rapidly:

1. Practice with Native Speakers Online : Use language exchange websites to speak with native English speakers. This helps in understanding colloquial language and idioms used in everyday conversation.

2. Record and Review Your Speech : Record yourself speaking English and listen to the playback. This self-review can help in identifying and improving areas of weakness, be it pronunciation or fluency.

3. Mimic Native Speakers : Watch English movies or shows and mimic the way characters speak. Pay attention to their tone, speed, and expressions. This technique is particularly helpful in improving Oral Communication Skills and Communication Skills Confidence .

4. Engage in Shadowing Exercises : Listen to a piece of English a and try to repeat or ‘shadow’ what is said. This exercise can greatly improve your speaking rhythm, intonation, and pronunciation.

5. Set Daily Goals : Set achievable daily goals, like learning new words, practicing speaking for a certain amount of time, or completing a lesson in a language learning app. Consistency is key in developing Strong Communication Skills .

6. Utilize Online Resources : There are numerous free online resources and tutorials that focus specifically on improving English speaking skills. Websites like BBC Learning English or TED Talks can be great sources for Communication Skills Training.

In conclusion, enhancing your English communication skills opens up a world of opportunities for personal and professional growth. To further support your journey, consider exploring additional resources. The British Council offers a wide array of learning materials and courses designed to improve English communication skills at various levels. Additionally, TED Talks provide inspiring insights and perspectives on communication from experts around the world, which can be particularly motivating for learners seeking to refine their English skills.

Remember, improving your English communication skills is an ongoing process that benefits from diverse learning methods, consistent practice, and a willingness to learn from others. Utilizing these additional resources can provide fresh perspectives and innovative techniques to further enhance your communication proficiency in English.

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How to Speak English Fluently: 33 Easy Tips

Do you want to learn how to speak English well?

Read on for 33 solid tips that will help you speak English more fluently, in less time.

Our team includes language learners from different countries who picked up English as a second language as well as native English teachers, so these are all based on our own experiences.

From pronunciation practice to handy online resources, consider this your roadmap to becoming confident speaking English. 

1. Get Clear on What Fluency Means

2. immerse yourself in english every day  , 3. accept that english grammar has a lot of exceptions, 4. use mirroring to answer english questions, 5. focus on whole phrases instead of single words, 6. learn intonation, body language and gestures, 7. use speech-to-text for text messaging, 8. talk yourself through everyday activities, 9. memorize and use conversation starters, 10. share your opinions online, 11. get direct feedback, 12. read along with podcasts, 11. learn some english slang, 12. look out for common pronunciation issues , 13. pay attention to the sounds native speakers use , 14. record your own english-language audiobooks , 15. record what you want to learn, then listen to it throughout the day, 16. think directly in english instead of translating, 17. set specific language goals, 18. figure out your weak spots, 19. don’t be afraid to make mistakes when talking, 20. record your mistakes , 21. review and test yourself often, 22. practice using new words right away , 23. expand your vocabulary with spaced repetition, 24. learn basic grammar rules  , 25. but don’t worry too much about grammar , 26. get comfortable first with the english words you know, 27. learn from everyone who speaks english, 28. hire a personal tutor, 29. make sure to use resources appropriate for your level, 30. consider a big move, 31. pre-plan conversations that you’ll need to have, 32. sing some karaoke, 33. remind yourself why you want to speak english, helpful resources for learning to speak english fluently, faqs about how to speak english well, and one more thing....

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

You know that you want to become fluent in English, but what does that mean?

There are two parts to fluency: knowing the language and knowing how to produce the language.

Being fluent means that you can use the English language comfortably. You can communicate freely and you can have conversations with native speakers without having to constantly look for help.

Fluency can also be seen in how you speak. You can know plenty of English vocabulary, but if you have to pause or repeat a lot when speaking, your fluency might not be so obvious to someone. If you speak very slowly or in a very flat, unemotional manner, then you won’t sound very fluent, either.

• Thousands of learner friendly videos (especially beginners)
• Handpicked, organized, and annotated by FluentU's experts
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On the other hand, sounding fluent doesn’t mean you actually are speaking good English.

To be fluent in English, you need to master both the language and how you speak it!

There’s often an expectation that you must know a certain number of words for fluency. But it’s important to remember that you can’t just study the words and grammar. It can be scary, but you’ll also need to practice speaking.

The tips below will help you master your speaking skills so that you can speak proper English and sound good doing it. Don’t forget how important both features of fluency are!

To read about how many words you need to know to be considered fluent, read this post:

https://www.fluentu.com/blog/how-many-words-do-i-need-to-know/

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Studying English for an hour once a week isn’t usually enough to make any real progress. The best way to quickly improve your English is to spend at least a few minutes practicing every day.

There’s a special language learning method called “immersion.” With immersion, you try to surround yourself with the language as much as you can in your day-to-day activities. You want English to become part of your daily schedule so that you’re frequently learning and practicing until it becomes natural to hear and speak the language.

You can create immersion in a lot of fun, creative ways, besides just constantly studying English from a book or a course! You can switch your phone settings to the English language. You can start watching and listening to English movies and songs, keep an English diary or volunteer in a place where English is required.

Immerse yourself in English as much as possible every time you study. Challenge yourself to listen to, read and even say things in English that you think might be too difficult for you. If you want to speak English fluently, you need to make it an essential part of your everyday life.

Watching authentic movies and videos can help with this, by exposing you to the natural sounds of the language.

FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.

You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app or Android app.

P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)

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Sometimes, you can find patterns in English grammar, but other times English doesn’t make sense at all.

For example, why are “read” (pronounced reed) and “read” (pronounced red) the same word, but said differently depending on whether you’re speaking in the past or present tense? Or why is “mice” the plural of “mouse,” but “houses” is the plural of “house”?

• Learn words in the context of sentences
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Unfortunately, there are many exceptions to English rules. It’s easy to get stuck on learning how to speak English properly if you try to find a reason for everything. Sometimes, English is just weird! So the best thing to do is just memorize the strange exceptions and move on.

Listen carefully when someone asks you a question in English and you’ll answer perfectly every time. English questions are like mirrors:

• Does he…..? → Yes, he does .
• Can she….? → Yes, she can .
• Is it….? → No, it isn’t .

If someone asks you a question and you’re not sure how to answer, start by thinking about the words used in the question. The person has already said most of the words you need to make your answer.

Instead of just memorizing English grammar, start to look for patterns like this one. There are a lot of simple ways to “cheat” and make it easier to remember the right words.

Speaking English fluently means being able to express your thoughts, feelings and ideas. Your goal is to speak English in full sentences, so why not learn it in full sentences?

You’ll find that English is more useful in your everyday life if you study whole phrases, rather than just vocabulary and verbs. Start by thinking about phrases that you use frequently in your native language, and then learn how to say them in English.

True English fluency is about more than just vocabulary and grammar. If you can figure out intonation , body language and gestures, you’ll really look and sound like a native speaker.

• FluentU builds you up, so you can build sentences on your own
• Start with multiple-choice questions and advance through sentence building to producing your own output
• Go from understanding to speaking in a natural progression.

Intonation is the “rise and fall” or tone changes in how a person speaks. Body language is how a person uses their own body to support (or go against) what they mean. Gestures are hand and body movements that work together with what someone is saying.

It’s not easy to learn these three things because they seem very natural. One way to learn is to just watch how native English speakers communicate with each other.

One way to study these aspects of the language is by hiring an English teacher, if that’s in your budget. Another is watching YouTube videos, if you can avoid getting distracted with other videos.

You can practice speaking English even when you’re texting people. Just speak your texts instead of typing them!

You may need to change your settings to enable speech-to-text first. Then, find the “speech” option on whatever keyboard you’re using. Often, you just need to tap a microphone icon on the right side of the keyboard.

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But what if most of your communication is with friends and family in your native language? Microsoft Translator has a way around this. Check to see if your native language is included in Microsoft’s Conversations feature—if it is, you can speak out loud in English, and have your words automatically translated into text in your native language.

Your chat partner can speak in your native language and have their words show up for you in English. This way, you get English speaking (and reading) practice while having the conversations you’d be having anyway.

Think about all the things you might do that have a beginning, a middle and an end. For example, following a recipe when cooking dinner or putting together a piece of furniture.

Try writing out instructions for a process in English and make them as simple as possible.

For cooking something, your instructions might start like this:

• Peel the garlic.
• Dice the garlic.
• Peel the onions.
• Slice the onions.

Once you have your instructions, follow them. In the meantime, say what you’re doing out loud. For example, “Now I’m cutting up the onions. Uh oh, my eyes are starting to water!”

A more challenging version of this would be to keep an audio diary. Record yourself on your phone describing your day or a specific experience, from beginning to end. This would force you to learn words that you often use in everyday life (or think about!), and you’ll also get more comfortable with speaking smoothly.

You might miss out on opportunities to practice English speaking if you just can’t think of anything to say.

An easy solution to this is to memorize conversation starters or ideas for beginning conversations. You can find lots of these online. For example, here’s a list of 250 conversation starters from Conversation Starters World.

Of course, you wouldn’t want to use all of these at any moment. It would probably seem weird if you just walked up to someone and said, “What three words best describe you?” But memorizing some ideas will help you feel better about talking to people in casual situations or to keep conversations going when talking to exchange partners .

To really learn English speaking, you need to learn how to express yourself in English. Even if you have ideas for conversations, it can be hard to know how to put them into your own words.

You can practice this by participating in conversations online. Posting on social media, leaving comments on articles or writing reviews are all good approaches.

Goodreads is a site where people leave their thoughts about books they’ve read. Writing about books and movies is always a nice way to practice sharing your opinions in English, because they give you a lot to think about!

But if you don’t have time to do this, there are simpler options: Watch a short video on YouTube and leave a comment underneath it. Post short opinions on Twitter about anything. There are many options for practicing your English skills before you speak out loud!

To improve your speaking, you can ask directly for feedback. Since you usually can’t do this with casual conversations, it might be worth setting up a language exchange , where you can ask the person to tell you directly if any of your sentences sound awkward or unnatural. 

There are even apps for this, like Go Correct where you can connect with English teachers. HelloTalk also allows you to chat (or voice call) in English, and then your conversation partner will literally mark out your mistakes. 

For self-studying, you can work on your grammar and sentence constructions when speaking by typing out a simple message or paragraph. Try running this through Grammarly to check your grammar. Afterwards, correct any mistakes you might have made, then try reading everything out loud! 

Podcasts and audiobooks don’t just make for amazing English listening practice —they can help with your speaking too! Most of the top English podcasts have word-for-word transcripts.

What you can do is download the transcript and then try reading the first few lines out on your own. Then play the podcast while reading along out loud, matching the speed and accent of the speaker. This is a handy technique that’s called shadowing, which can really help with your intonation and pronunciation. 

Of course, choose a podcast that matches the type of English you’re learning. This would usually be American or British English since you’ll also have to imitate the accent! 

While you should be focusing on learning standard English, it can be helpful to know English slang words and phrases so that you can “stay current” and understand modern English speech. Slang is always present, especially online , so you can’t really avoid seeing it.

Knowing slang , idioms and other casual expressions can improve real English fluency, because they can let you follow along with the kinds of conversations that happen today.

If you want to learn some great English slang, check out this post and this helpful video:

Learn popular American slang words with this guide, which covers must-know terms like “hype,” “bae” and “simp.” You’ll find these all over the internet (and even…

While there’s no single “correct” English, if people have trouble understanding you, it’ll be hard for you to speak confidently.

There’s no magic to improving pronunciation—you just need to learn the mechanics, and then practice. It’s all about how you move your mouth and use your lips, tongue and throat. For this, you should watch native speakers while they’re talking and observe not just what they say, but how they say it.

It’s also helpful to know about well-known pronunciation issues . Sounds like th and r  are difficult for a lot of English learners, but your native language has a major impact on your pronunciation. Try looking up the most common pronunciation mistakes made by speakers of your native language!

To read more about English pronunciation rules, check out this post:

English pronunciation can seem tricky, but with this guide, you will be able to speak clearly in no time! This post will take you through the 25 most important English…

When most students listen to a native English speaker, they focus on understanding what all the words mean. This is definitely important, but there’s a lot more you can learn from listening.

If you listen closely to English speakers, you’ll notice that sometimes vowels in English are pronounced as uh, such as in “th e “ , “ a gain” and “reas o n” . This is called the schwa sound . It’s the most common sound in the English language, but most English learners don’t notice it, which leads to sounding a bit different from a native speaker.

In English, words also aren’t pronounced in a disconnected way. Sometimes one word flows into another —for example, “leave it” and “no idea” both sound like they have no spaces between the words. Native speakers do this a lot!

Try to remember these details the next time you speak and your English will begin to sound more natural.

When we think of practicing a language, we often think of putting ourselves in situations where we have to use the language. But the truth is, a lot of confidence and fluency come from actually speaking. This technique can help you do a lot more of that.

Think about your favorite books. Even if you don’t have any favorite books that were written in English, you can probably find some in English translations. For example, the Harry Potter series has been sold all over the world.

Take any English-language book that you already enjoy, and record yourself reading it in English. This will take you a while, of course. But it’s a way to practice your English pronunciation every day in a way that’s fun and interesting for you.

Once you finish recording the book, you’ll have a homemade audiobook of it to listen to, which will give you a way to practice your listening skills, too.

Use the same technique described above to learn English in general while also practicing your speech.

For example, let’s say that you’d like to get better at talking to waitstaff. Maybe you see a blog post that includes examples of English conversations to have in restaurants . Instead of just reading the post and trying to remember the examples, record yourself reading it!

This will give you multiple opportunities to remember the material: when you first read it, when you read it out loud and when you listen to yourself reading it later.

Stop thinking of yourself as someone who is learning English, and start thinking of yourself as someone who speaks English. It’s a small change, but it’ll make you feel more confident and help you to better use the English you already know.

This also means you need to start thinking in English. If you want to say the word “apple” in English, for example, you probably think of the word in your native language first, and then try to think of the correct word in English. Instead, try imagining a picture of an apple, and then just think of the English word “apple.”

Real fluency happens when you stop mentally translating conversations. This is the biggest step from learning English to just being an English speaker!

Fluency is a very high level to reach and will take a long time to achieve, so “becoming fluent” can be a pretty unclear goal. Having such a big, non-specific target won’t be helpful in planning out your studies.

That’s why you should think of more concrete and obvious goals that can lead you to fluency. By themselves, they may seem like small steps, but all together they’ll provide a steady path in your English learning journey.

Good goals should be specific and achievable. When setting a goal, you should decide exactly what you want to learn, and how long you want to spend learning it.

Here are some examples of good goals:

• Learn 30 new English words in 30 days
• Have a conversation with a native English speaker this week
• Learn to conjugate five irregular verbs before your next tutoring lesson
• Perfect your pronunciation of 10 words over the weekend (then ask a native speaker to tell you how you did!)

Make sure that the goals you set are reasonable and challenging enough to keep you motivated . You want to achieve your goals without over-stressing yourself!

You might find some parts of the English language are especially difficult for you. These “weak spots” can be anything: grammar usage, pronunciation, sentence formation and so on. It’s important that you find out what they are so that you can focus on improving them.

English does have a lot of tricky features, and some can be even trickier depending on your native language. Pay attention to what you’re having problems with and dedicate more studying to it.

You want to make sure you improve in all parts of the English language without lagging behind in any of them.

To read more in depth about common errors in English, check out this post:

Read this to learn the 26 most common mistakes in English, why people make them and how to correct them. This guide includes common grammar errors, like subject-verb…

Sometimes, it can be difficult to put all those rules and words together into a simple sentence. Don’t let the fear of saying something wrong stop you from speaking at all.

Even if you think you’re making a mistake, keep speaking anyway. Most of the time, people will understand what you’re trying to say, even if you make a mistake.

Plus, the more you speak, the easier it gets, and the faster the right words will come to mind.

To read about some common mistakes when speaking a new language, check out his post:

https://www.fluentu.com/blog/errors-in-language-learning

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes… but also make sure that you understand them!

When you know that something went wrong in your English conversation, make a note of it (in your mind or, better yet, on paper). In your own time, study what exactly made you trip up. Did you use the wrong vocabulary? Was something pronounced incorrectly? Maybe you were using the wrong tense in your sentences?

Mistakes are inevitable and necessary, but to lower the chance of repeating the same mistakes, you must learn (and not run away!) from them.

Reviewing what you learn is just as important as, well, actually learning!

Without proper review, you can easily forget a lot of previously learned material. This can greatly slow you down in your path to fluency because advanced English constantly builds upon basic, easier concepts. That’s why you must frequently test your skills.

You can review your learning in a number of different ways. You can make your own vocabulary quizzes , do translation exercises or have quick training sessions with a speaking partner. There are also online resources that you can use for review .

You should also think about when to review. Maybe you want to review right after you finish a new topic or after completing a whole unit of study. Or maybe you want to be extra studious and just review every time you study English!

Your reviews and tests will help you see your progress in English. Seeing how much you’ve improved can greatly increase your motivation to learn!

If you want to find out some free websites for testing yourself, check out this post:

https://www.fluentu.com/blog/test-your-language-skills/

There’s an expression in English: “Use it or lose it,” which basically means if you don’t practice an ability, you might forget it. This idea can be used to help you remember new English vocabulary.

The best way to remember a new word is to use it right away so that it stays in your memory. When you learn a new word, try to say it in sentences a few times over the next week and you’ll be less likely to forget it.

Sometimes, you may learn a word or phrase that might not be immediately useful to you. It’s okay to not focus on memorizing that vocabulary right away, especially if there are other more important things to learn.

Do you want to find out the most common 1028 English words? Then check out this post:

The most common words in English, when added to your vocabulary, can give your communication skills an instant boost! Read on for a list of 1,028 words you will most…

Aside from using new words on your own, there’s a trick to remembering English vocabulary for good and making your reviews efficient: spaced repetition. 

If you keep it up, you’ll avoid a common pitfall: learning new words—and then forgetting them. 

No need to keep track of this manually too! There are flashcard apps like Anki  that make reviewing automatic, and many language learning apps with flashcards already have this feature. 

To read more about spaced repetition, read this post:

https://www.fluentu.com/blog/srs-spaced-repetition-language-learning/

Speaking English confidently also means having a good grasp of grammar. While you can pick up grammar just from listening and reading a lot of English, studying grammar intentionally still helps. You’ll probably have to memorize irregular verbs , which aren’t very predictable when they change tenses.

Other tricky grammar topics include subject-verb agreement —for example, saying “he smile” instead of the grammatically correct “he smiles.” Here are other tricky topics that confuse even native speakers sometimes:

• Your vs. You’re
• Fewer vs. Less

Since it’s easy to forget a new grammar concept, you can get it to stick faster in your mind with quizzes and exercises. Most grammar books, including “ English Grammar in Use”  and “Practical English Usage” , have exercises that you can work through. There are also tons of exercises and drills online about practically every grammar topic. 

To read more about English grammar rules, see this post:

Check out these top 12 English Grammar tips that can help you avoid common mistakes and speak like a natural! Whether you’re a learner or a native speaker, these tips will…

While you should still devote some time to studying grammar, don’t worry too much about having to get it right all the time. The key to learning a language is finding a balance between studying and practicing. Speaking English fluently isn’t the same as knowing perfect English grammar—even native English speakers make grammar mistakes!

Fluency is about being able to communicate. That’s why it’s also important to go out and practice your writing, reading, listening and speaking skills in the real world. As you keep practicing, you can learn plenty of grammar rules along the way.

When you’re writing and saying your own sentences, focus on using the words you’re already familiar with. You may want to use more difficult, advanced English words to sound more fluent, but you should stay true to your skill level and keep practicing what you already know.

Make sure that you’re “comfortable” with the English you use, instead of just trying out new, unfamiliar words just because you want to. Doing so can lead you to say incorrect or strange things.

Of course, you do want to learn more and more words and skills to advance. We recommend studying a new word for a little while in context (in sentences and videos) before you use it in real conversations.

Learn the 300 most used words in English here:

Are you looking for an English vocabulary list of common words? Click here to find out 300 useful English words, including nouns, verbs, adjectives and more. If you master…

You don’t have to only learn English from textbooks and teachers—anyone who speaks English can help you practice.

Imagine how you’d feel if someone asked you, in your native language, how to pronounce something. Would you be angry? No! You’d probably be happy to help, just like most English speakers are happy to help you.

If you know any English speakers, whether it’s a friend or co-worker, take advantage of the opportunity to practice and learn from them. Make sure to also ask any specific questions you have and be open to feedback.

Sometimes you have to “throw money at the problem.” This common English idiom means that sometimes, you have to invest in your future. And because this future is about speaking English, it may be a wise investment to hire a personal language tutor.

It’s like having a teacher to yourself for hours at a time. You can ask literally any question you want and get an immediate answer, and you don’t have to follow a textbook unless you want to.

To learn about some amazing websites for hiring an English tutor, read this post:

Find English tutors online to guide you on your language-learning journey with this 2024 guide! Read on for 16 excellent websites for finding a suitable English tutor…

Tailoring learning materials to your own proficiency ensures that you’re not overwhelmed by complex content or bored by material that is too basic. This approach promotes a balanced and gradual progression, allowing learners to build a solid foundation before advancing to more challenging concepts.

Level-appropriate resources also help learners stay engaged and motivated, fostering a positive learning experience. By gradually increasing the complexity of language input, learners can develop their skills in a systematic manner, leading to improved comprehension, vocabulary acquisition and overall language proficiency. 

To find out where to get some great online English resources, check out this post:

Free online English courses are a convenient and accessible way to learn the language at your own pace. Check out these 26 resources you can get online for free (or mostly…

This isn’t for everyone, I know, and there are many, many considerations you need to deal with before moving, but I can promise you this: there’s no faster way to learn English than by being completely immersed in an English language culture. 

You’ve got lots to choose from. The United States of America, of course, but also the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia , Canada and plenty of smaller countries too: Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Ireland, Jamaica, Malta, New Zealand, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and lastly, Trinidad and Tobago.

To learn about even more English-speaking countries, check out this post:

How many countries speak English? To date, we count 96 countries that speak English as a native language, an official language, or a lingua franca in the context of…

Thinking ahead about potential topics, relevant vocabulary and common phrases allows you to feel more confident and prepared during conversations. This proactive approach helps alleviate anxiety and enhances their ability to express themselves more effectively.

Pre-planning also encourages you to anticipate potential challenges in communication, enabling you to strategize solutions in advance.

Additionally, it allows individuals to focus on specific language aspects they aim to improve, such as pronunciation or grammatical structures. 

To find out some basic conversations to have in English, see this post:

English small talk is easy to learn. It will help you fill in silences and make other people happy to chat with you. All you need are these seven great topics, and you…

Yes, really.

Singing karaoke provides a relaxed and enjoyable environment for practicing pronunciation and intonation. Singing along to English songs helps you develop a natural feel for the rhythm and melody of the language, improving your overall oral communication skills.

Karaoke also exposes learners to a variety of vocabulary and colloquial expressions found in song lyrics, contributing to an expanded understanding of conversational English.

Additionally, it fosters a sense of confidence and comfort with the language, as singing allows learners to express themselves creatively.

To read more about learning through karaoke, see this post:

Learn English with karaoke and combine your language studies with music through these awesome resources! Whether you prefer singing alone or with friends, these musical…

No matter what your reason is for wanting to learn English, from work, academics, friendships, dating or travel, this is your number one motivator!

If you remind yourself each day why you’re learning English, you’ll be much more likely to stick with it.

So write it down, put it on your bathroom mirror or fridge and think about this reason every day. Believe me, it works.

To read about some of the best reasons to learn English, check out this post:

Why learn English? There are plenty of great reasons! Yes, learning English can be difficult, but it is extremely valuable. Check out these 13 reasons why learning English…

The English Speaking Practice app

This app lets you practice having basic conversations in English. It’s really simple to use!

Just choose a subject that you want to hear a conversation about. Then, listen to the conversation. After that, you can take a quiz to test your understanding, or use the “Record” tab to practice speaking.

Decide which person in the conversation to speak for, and go through the dialogue talking as them. You can then save the recording and play it back.

The SayHi translation app

This is a simple voice translation app that you can use to have bilingual conversations. However, you can also use it as a quick way to look up translations or to practice speaking, as long as the app has an option for your native language.

Set up the translator for a conversation between English and your native language. Then, try speaking English and see how your English translates. This will give you an idea of how well the app understands your English speech.

Also, if you ever forget how to say something in English, you can speak your native language into the mic and see how it translates into English. This can be much faster than using a dictionary!

Preply for Private Tutoring

Preply, an online language learning platform, is a valuable resource for English language learners looking to enhance their speaking skills.

Choose a suitable tutor by reviewing profiles and trying trial lessons for compatibility. Consistency is crucial, so schedule regular lessons for continuous improvement. Come prepared with topics or questions to ensure focused learning.

Actively engage in conversations during lessons, embracing mistakes as part of the learning process. Supplement Preply lessons with external resources like language apps or podcasts.

Practice English outside of lessons through activities like watching movies or reading books. Seek constructive feedback from tutors, addressing common mistakes. Expand vocabulary by discussing various topics during lessons and exploring recommended materials. Leverage Preply’s platform features, such as chat options and lesson reviews, for enhanced communication and progress tracking. 

American superhero movies and TV

Watching English-language movies and TV, in general, is a good way to get used to natural speech.

American superhero movies and TV series are especially great for learning English because they’re meant to appeal to a wide audience, sometimes including children. This means that it’s usually pretty easy to figure out what’s going on.

Another reason why superhero stories are easier to understand is that they tend to be very dramatic and emotional. Characters will often talk about what’s happening in a very loud and obvious way.

While there’s a lot to choose from, a good way to start is with some of the CW network shows that are available on Netflix, like “The Flash” and “Black Lightning.” These shows have a lot of talking in them, and focus a lot on relationships between characters. You can keep up with them for multiple seasons and become used to the way different characters talk to each other, all while being entertained by exciting storylines.

The English TV YouTube Channel

This YouTube channel has a bunch of videos that you can use to hear different types of English speech and conversation. For example, this video  includes over 50 minutes of multiple conversations between native English speakers.

The audio in this video and others like it on the English TV YouTube channel are actual recorded conversations. American English is the dialect of English mostly used in these conversations, but there are examples of British English and Australian English , as well.

These conversations are also spontaneous (done without a script, natural), so this is the way that English is actually spoken by native speakers. There’s a bit of slang used, but these conversations will help build your listening skills so that you can understand English speech in real life.

Loecsen Learn English

This is a free online English course with a big focus on speaking. To practice your English speaking, scroll down to “Start a new quiz.” You’ll then be able to choose from different lists of phrases that you can listen to and repeat.

When you repeat a phrase using the microphone on your computer, you get to see if the program is able to understand your speech. This is useful even if you already know the material in the lessons because you get a chance to speak English out loud and practice your pronunciation.

How can I improve my English pronunciation?

• Practice regularly by listening to native speakers, mimicking their pronunciation.
• Use pronunciation guides, online resources, or language learning apps for targeted exercises.
• Record yourself speaking and compare it to native speakers to identify areas for improvement.

What are some effective ways to expand my English vocabulary?

• Read widely in English, including books, articles and online content.
• Make use of flashcards or vocabulary apps to memorize and review new words.
• Engage in conversations with native speakers to encounter and learn new words in context.

How can I overcome the fear of speaking English in public?

• Start by practicing with friends or language exchange partners in a supportive environment.
• Gradually expose yourself to larger groups or join conversation clubs to build confidence.
• Remember that making mistakes is a natural part of the learning process and an opportunity for improvement.

What are some effective strategies for improving English fluency?

• Engage in regular conversations with native speakers or fellow learners.
• Watch movies, TV shows or listen to podcasts in English to improve comprehension and fluency.
• Set aside dedicated time each day for language practice, focusing on speaking and listening skills.

Are there specific tips for learning English as a second language?

• Immerse yourself in English-speaking environments whenever possible.
• Take advantage of language exchange programs or conversation partners.
• Use language learning apps and online platforms to supplement traditional learning methods.

How can I maintain consistency in learning and practicing English?

• Create a schedule and set realistic, achievable language-learning goals.
• Integrate English into your daily life, such as labeling items in your home in English.
• Stay motivated by celebrating small achievements and tracking your progress over time.

If you’re wondering how to improve your English speaking skills, there isn’t one easy answer.

Learning how to speak English fluently isn’t something that happens overnight. Because of this, it’s important to have tools and techniques ready for practicing every day.

Ultimately, if you have activities that you enjoy and that require you to speak English, your skills will improve more and more over time.

Try the resources and suggestions above, and pay attention to how they make you feel. Which ones help your confidence? Which ones seem to help you speak English over longer periods of time?

Use the methods that work for you, and your speaking will come together naturally.

If you like learning English through movies and online media, you should also check out FluentU. FluentU lets you learn English from popular talk shows, catchy music videos and funny commercials , as you can see here:

If you want to watch it, the FluentU app has probably got it.

The FluentU app and website makes it really easy to watch English videos. There are captions that are interactive. That means you can tap on any word to see an image, definition, and useful examples.

FluentU lets you learn engaging content with world famous celebrities.

For example, when you tap on the word "searching," you see this:

FluentU lets you tap to look up any word.

Learn all the vocabulary in any video with quizzes. Swipe left or right to see more examples for the word you’re learning.

FluentU helps you learn fast with useful questions and multiple examples. Learn more.

The best part? FluentU remembers the vocabulary that you’re learning. It gives you extra practice with difficult words—and reminds you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned. You have a truly personalized experience.

Start using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)

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18 effective strategies to improve your communication skills

Communication skills are some of the most utilized and the most sought after in the workplace. They’re essential for leaders and individual contributors to hone. Looking at our largely remot and hybrid work environments, great communication skills make the difference between connected, agile teams, and teams who fail to collaborate, stay aligned, and achieve common goals. 

The good news is that improving communication skills is easier than you might imagine. Here are some basic principles worth following in order to communicate better.

5 types of communication to develop

Whether you are in an office daily, at home managing from afar, or in a hybrid workplace between the two, you’ve likely leveraged more than one communication type.

For businesses to thrive long-term, it is important to develop communication skills that span each type. Here are the five most common communication types to focus on improving.

• Oral communication: Thoughts are shared through speech. Examples include presentations, one-on-one meetings, and virtual calls.
• Written communication: Thoughts and ideas are shared via the written word. This can be with emails, hand-written notes, or signage.
• Non-verbal communication : Information is shared without the use of written or spoken words. Examples include facial expressions, tone of voice, body language, and gestures.
• Active listening: Unlike the examples above, active listening is about receiving information. When someone is listening actively, they might ask questions to understand the information better, but refrain from focusing on their response so much that they fail to hear the speaker.
• Contextual communication: Information i s s hared with mutual, potentially un s poken, under s t anding s of variou s factor s s uch a s interper s onal relation s hip s and the environment.

What is effective communication?

The most effective communicators clearly inform others and actively listen to them at the same time. They can accept input – both verbal and non-verbal – while also expressing their thoughts and opinions in an inclusive way.

Regardless of the communication style , effective communication involves a connection with others. It is a dance with a partner that moves, at times, in ways we did not predict. This means the most powerful skill you can leverage is being in sync with your audience. It involves understanding and speaking to its needs, and then responding to real-time feedback. It means having the conversation that your audience wants to have.

But achieving all of that can take some practice.

Below are some effective communication strategies to help you listen and communicate better.

How to improve communication skills

The best messages are often simple.

There’s no value in delivering any kind of communication, whether written, verbal, formal, or casual, if the message doesn’t come across clearly.

Communicating concisely — while maintaining interest and including everything your team needs to know — is a high-level communication skill.

Here are some ways to communicate better.

1. Keep your audience in mind

Your audience will naturally be more interested and engaged when you tailor your communications to their interests. Piquing their interest by speaking directly to what matters to them will naturally engage their desire to understand and interact with the information.

2. Don’t use 10 words when one will do

Even the most engaged and committed audience will eventually get bored. Keeping your message simple and concise will make it easier to understand and retain. Remember, you already know what you’re going to say, but they’re hearing it for the first time. Keep it simple.

3. Consider the best method to deliver your message

If the information you’re conveying isn’t urgent, consider sending an email or a memo. This is especially important when communicating expectations . Written communication will give your audience more time to review it, think it over, and follow up with questions. It will also give them a handy record to refer back to.

4. Get them involved

If you’ve ever worked as an instructor, manager, trainer, or coach, you’ll know that there are few better ways to learn new information than to teach it. Ask them for their input or to take a role in explaining new concepts and policies to their colleagues.  

5. Leverage face-to-face communication when possible

Communicating face-to-face adds multiple layers of information to an exchange, whether between two people or two hundred. Often, there’s a synergy created with in-person communication that’s difficult to replicate elsewhere. Here are some tips to make the most of face time with your team:

6. Make eye contact

If you’re wondering whether or not your message is getting across, few metrics provide as much feedback as eye contact . You can easily tell if the person you’re speaking to is understanding you, is distracted, worried, or confused — much of which is lost in digital communication.

7. Ask for feedback 

Not sure they got it? Ask! A powerful technique is to ask people to repeat back their version of what you just said. Often, this can improve retention, immediate understanding, and minimize misunderstandings later on. You can also ask them to reach out to you with helpful ways that you can improve your delivery in presentations and other forms of communication.

8. Read non-verbal cues

There are various types of nonverbal-cues . Yawns, fidgeting, and looking around the room are usually clear signs that your audience is thinking about something other than what you’re trying to convey. If you notice this, don’t take it personally. Try asking them to share what’s on their mind, recap previous points they may have missed, or adjourn for a later time.

9. Minimize distractions

If you’re chatting with someone (or a group) face-to-face, keep distractions at bay by leaving unnecessary electronic devices out of the space. Keep the attendance limited to just those who need to be there, and avoid scheduling at a time when people are likely to focus on something else (like just before the end of the day or right before lunch).

How to improve online communication:

Online communication is rapidly replacing office spaces as the primary location of doing business. Especially if you’re used to working with in-person teams, it may be challenging to adjust to having meetings, conversations, and even people that collaborate with you or report to you digitally . Since online communication presents a unique way to interact, here are some things to keep in mind: 

1. Stick to a time limit

Online meetings can be even more difficult to focus on, since they incorporate the distractions of a nearly-unlimited number of settings. Keep the meetings short and to the point, and be especially vigilant about minimizing (potentially) marathon Q&A sessions. If needed, follow up through asynchronous communication methods to protect everyone's time.

2. Be mindful of the other person

Generally, the person presenting is the only one who can give the meeting their full attention. Especially when working from home, assume that participants have multiple demands for their attention and structure the content accordingly.

3. Recap important details

A lot of nonverbal and interpersonal cues can be lost over a digital connection. Ensure understanding by recapping the key points. You can either do a quick review in an online meeting or a brief summary at the end of a lengthy email.

4. Don’t forget to respond

Be sure to respond to each communication with a quick acknowledgment, even if it’s an informal one. Although you may have received the message, it’s likely that the person on the other end will have no way of knowing unless you let them know. A couple words or even a “like” will usually do the trick.

5 extra tips to sharpen your communication skills

In general, if you’re looking to strengthen your communication skills , the following tips will help you succeed no matter the situation you find yourself in (or the audience you find yourself with):

• Be approachable. If your teammates feel intimidated or worried that you may not respond well, they’re less likely to come to you with information.
• Be patient. Not everyone communicates the same way. Taking the time to be sure you’ve understood the other person and communicated clearly can pay dividends.
• Be self-aware. It’s okay if you’re still developing your communication skills, nervous, or having a bad day. It takes time — and practice — to become a skilled communicator.
• Check for understanding. Don’t be afraid to invite feedback or ask questions to ensure that everyone’s on the same page.
• Switch out the messenger. Allow other team members or leaders to develop their communication skills by empowering them to lead discussions and meetings.

How to be a better active listener

Part of knowing how to communicate better is learning how to listen better.

There is much talk about the beauty of active listening , but many people aren’t sure how it translates into actual behaviors. One of the main challenges to active listening is the preoccupation with a response. Many people are busy formulating a perfect answer, which leaves no bandwidth to engage with the input. To get out of this habit, which is not really in service of the speaker, consider the following steps.

Rethink how to add value

You may think that adding value to an exchange is mostly about what you say. But that is not always how others perceive it. Most of us value responses that help us think through our own ideas, that clarify our assumptions or point out possible blind spots. We often don’t need a listener to be brilliant or impress us with their own data. Instead, we may value most how they helped us sharpen our thoughts.

Paraphrase without judgment

If you find yourself preoccupied with responding, try changing the focus of your response. Instead of aiming to add your own thoughts, task yourself with giving a summary that withholds your opinion or judgment. As you listen, make it your goal to give a concise summary, perhaps clarifying the speaker’s initial language.

Bonus points for repeating sticky language that the speaker recognizes as their own (“so you were frustrated with the project because the deadline was an uncomfortable high ?”)

Ask questions that help speakers think

The next step from paraphrasing is to ask questions that move the needle. Much like the way a coach listens, these questions push speakers to go deeper into their own thinking, to clarify their expression or consider possible concerns. You can play devil’s advocate by pointing out inconsistencies or language that seems unclear. All of these are true gifts to a speaker and help you stay focused on listening.

Interrupt politely

Active listening isn’t mindless indulgence, and not all interruption is rude. Sometimes speakers get lost in the weeds, providing depths of detail you don’t need. Interruption can help them stay relevant – and be rewarded with more engagement.

Most speakers don’t mind being cut off by a question that lets them keep talking. Much harder, especially for introverts, is to interrupt someone in a meeting and end their floor time. Be sure to:

• Validate the speaker (“Thank you for bringing that up.”)
• Use a warm and polite tone. Get feedback from others on how you sound and come across.
• Refer to shared interest (“I’d just like to make sure we get to hear from everyone about the project.”)

Tips to keep audiences engaged when you speak

Be relevant.

As we are flooded with information, many audiences will not be impressed by data. In fact, the desire to cover all bases or anticipate all possible questions is a common reason for wordiness.

To keep listeners engaged, especially in virtual meetings, you should carefully curate content for relevance. Ask yourself: How does this information affect my audience? How may it help them with their work? Is this level of detail helpful to understand my main message?

If you have no clear answers to these questions, consider cutting the content.

A hallmark of executive presence, concision is the ability to express your ideas in as few words as possible. Listeners appreciate this, as it shows your preparation and respect for your listeners’ time. In addition, concision signals confidence: the confidence to do less, to say something once, and trust that it lands.

Especially in virtual meetings, where the feedback loop can be flat, many speakers struggle with being concise. They may repeat themselves “just to make sure” or use more examples to make a point clear. But this kind of “more” can often be less, as audiences disengage, having gotten the point the first time.

Concision is a leap of faith. The faith in your own preparation and that your delivery is clear. In virtual meetings with cameras turned off, it becomes harder to keep this faith. For your own self-care as a speaker, you may want to ask your audience to be fully present and turn cameras on — and then reward them with your confident delivery.

Leave spaces for the audience to fill

One way to slow yourself down and check in with audiences is to pause after making a point. Not just a second to catch your breath, but an actual space for silence. Both virtual and in-person, it leaves an opening for your listeners to fill, providing you with real-time feedback as to what they need next. How granular do they want you to get? Do they actually have the questions you were going to answer? Or are they taking your ideas in a whole new direction?

We often feel wary about silence, as if it means that something is wrong. But things happen in silence, and you may be surprised what your listeners offer when given the chance to jump in. However they fill the space, you may get valuable hints as to how to sync and proceed. And that is when communication becomes dancing.

Treat pushback as openings, not obstacles

You may believe that by making a compelling case, you should be rewarded with instant buy-in. Which of course, almost never happens. As your proposals are challenged you get frustrated, perhaps even defensive, as you try to explain why you are right. Soon lines are drawn and both sides double down, and you find yourself stuck in a rut.

To avoid such a shutdown of your ideas, you may want to rethink how you experience pushback. Most new ideas aren’t embraced the way they are initially proposed, and your audience may not need you to have ready-made answers to all their questions. Try to view your pitch as an opening volley, and the pushback as guidance to have the talk that you need to have. Instead of reflexive defense, ask follow-questions to validate and explore the concern.

Final thoughts on effective communication strategies

As a leader and manager, you have tremendous power to set the tone for how your team communicates. You can offer the tools and guidance for your teams to communicate better as a whole. Try some of the above recommendation to explore other tactics such as the Minto Pyramid Principle . 

While it can be easy to fall into bad communication habits, especially when transitioning to an increasingly digital interface, a shift in the way one individual communicates can open the doors for a radical shift throughout an entire workplace. Building effective communication skills takes time, but the effects are worth the effort at every level of your organization.

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Feedback in communication: 5 areas to become a better communicator

How to identify and overcome communication barriers at work, foster strong communication skills to enjoy professional success, improve your interpersonal communication skills with these 6 tips, the 5 business communication skills worth perfecting, communication is key in the workplace. here's how to improve, upward communication: what is it 5 examples, what is nonverbal communication 10 different types (with examples), we need to talk (about communication styles in the workplace), reading the room gives you an edge — no matter who you're talking to, how to improve your listening skills for better communication, effective communication in relationships: 10 tips to improve it, the significance of written communication in the workplace, your guide to what storytelling is and how to be a good storyteller, 5 zoom etiquette tips for employees, 6 presentation skills and how to improve them, stay connected with betterup, get our newsletter, event invites, plus product insights and research..

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8 Ways You Can Improve Your Communication Skills

Your guide to establishing better communication habits for success in the workplace.

Mary Sharp Emerson

A leader’s ability to communicate clearly and effectively with employees, within teams, and across the organization is one of the foundations of a successful business.

And in today’s complex and quickly evolving business environment, with hundreds of different communication tools, fully or partially remote teams, and even multicultural teams spanning multiple time zones, effective communication has never been more important — or more challenging.

Thus, the ability to communicate might be a manager’s most critical skill. 

The good news is that these skills can be learned and even mastered. 

These eight tips can help you maximize your communication skills for the success of your organization and your career.

1. Be clear and concise

Communication is primarily about word choice. And when it comes to word choice, less is more.

The key to powerful and persuasive communication — whether written or spoken — is clarity and, when possible, brevity. 

Before engaging in any form of communication, define your goals and your audience. 

Outlining carefully and explicitly what you want to convey and why will help ensure that you include all necessary information. It will also help you eliminate irrelevant details. 

Avoid unnecessary words and overly flowery language, which can distract from your message.

And while repetition may be necessary in some cases, be sure to use it carefully and sparingly. Repeating your message can ensure that your audience receives it, but too much repetition can cause them to tune you out entirely. 

2. Prepare ahead of time

Know what you are going to say and how you are going to say before you begin any type of communication.

However, being prepared means more than just practicing a presentation. 

Preparation also involves thinking about the entirety of the communication, from start to finish. Research the information you may need to support your message. Consider how you will respond to questions and criticisms. Try to anticipate the unexpected.

Before a performance review, for instance, prepare a list of concrete examples of your employee’s behavior to support your evaluation.

Before engaging in a salary or promotion negotiation, know exactly what you want. Be ready to discuss ranges and potential compromises; know what you are willing to accept and what you aren’t. And have on hand specific details to support your case, such as relevant salaries for your position and your location (but be sure that your research is based on publicly available information, not company gossip or anecdotal evidence). 

Before entering into any conversation, brainstorm potential questions, requests for additional information or clarification, and disagreements so you are ready to address them calmly and clearly.

3. Be mindful of nonverbal communication

Our facial expressions, gestures, and body language can, and often do, say more than our words. 

Nonverbal cues can have between 65 and 93 percent more impact than the spoken word. And we are more likely to believe the nonverbal signals over spoken words if the two are in disagreement. 

Leaders must be especially adept at reading nonverbal cues. 

Employees who may be unwilling to voice disagreements or concerns, for instance, may show their discomfort through crossed arms or an unwillingness to make eye contact. If you are aware of others’ body language, you may be able to adjust your communication tactics appropriately.

At the same time, leaders must also be able to control their own nonverbal communications. 

Your nonverbal cues must, at all times, support your message. At best, conflicting verbal and nonverbal communication can cause confusion. At worst, it can undermine your message and your team’s confidence in you, your organization, and even in themselves. 

4. Watch your tone

How you say something can be just as important as what you say. As with other nonverbal cues, your tone can add power and emphasis to your message, or it can undermine it entirely.

Tone can be an especially important factor in workplace disagreements and conflict. A well-chosen word with a positive connotation creates good will and trust. A poorly chosen word with unclear or negative connotations can quickly lead to misunderstanding. 

When speaking, tone includes volume, projection, and intonation as well as word choice. In real time, it can be challenging to control tone to ensure that it matches your intent. But being mindful of your tone will enable you to alter it appropriately if a communication seems to be going in the wrong direction.

Tone can be easier to control when writing. Be sure to read your communication once, even twice, while thinking about tone as well as message. You may even want to read it out loud or ask a trusted colleague to read it over, if doing so does not breach confidentiality. 

And when engaging in a heated dialogue over email or other written medium, don’t be too hasty in your replies. 

If at all possible, write out your response but then wait for a day or two to send it. In many cases, re-reading your message after your emotions have cooled allows you to moderate your tone in a way that is less likely to escalate the conflict.

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5. Practice active listening

Communication nearly always involves two or more individuals.

Therefore, listening is just as important as speaking when it comes to communicating successfully. But listening can be more challenging than we realize. 

In her blog post Mastering the Basics of Communication , communication expert Marjorie North notes that we only hear about half of what the other person says during any given conversation. 

The goal of active listening is to ensure that you hear not just the words the person is saying, but the entire message. Some tips for active listening include:

• Giving the speaker your full and undivided attention
• Clearing your mind of distractions, judgements, and counter-arguments. 
• Avoiding the temptation to interrupt with your own thoughts.
• Showing open, positive body language to keep your mind focused and to show the speaker that you are really listening
• Rephrase or paraphrase what you’ve heard when making your reply
• Ask open ended questions designed to elicit additional information

6. Build your emotional intelligence

Communication is built upon a foundation of emotional intelligence. Simply put, you cannot communicate effectively with others until you can assess and understand your own feelings. 

“If you’re aware of your own emotions and the behaviors they trigger, you can begin to manage these emotions and behaviors,” says Margaret Andrews in her post, How to Improve Your Emotional Intelligence .

Leaders with a high level of emotional intelligence will naturally find it easier to engage in active listening, maintain appropriate tone, and use positive body language, for example.  

Understanding and managing your own emotions is only part of emotional intelligence. The other part — equally important for effective communication — is empathy for others.

Empathizing with an employee can, for example, make a difficult conversation easier. 

You may still have to deliver bad news, but (actively) listening to their perspective and showing that you understand their feelings can go a long way toward smoothing hurt feelings or avoiding misunderstandings.

7. Develop a workplace communication strategy

Today’s workplace is a constant flow of information across a wide variety of formats. Every single communication must be understood in the context of that larger flow of information.

Even the most effective communicator may find it difficult to get their message across without a workplace communication strategy.

A communication strategy is the framework within which your business conveys and receives information. It can — and should — outline how and what you communicate to customers and clients, stakeholders, and managers and employees. 

Starting most broadly, your strategy should incorporate who gets what message and when. This ensures that everyone receives the correct information at the right time. 

It can be as detailed as how you communicate, including defining the type of tools you use for which information. For example, you may define when it’s appropriate to use a group chat for the entire team or organization or when a meeting should have been summarized in an email instead. 

Creating basic guidelines like this can streamline the flow of information. It will help ensure that everyone gets the details they need and that important knowledge isn’t overwhelmed by extraneous minutia. 

8. Create a positive organizational culture

The corporate culture in which you are communicating also plays a vital role in effective communication. 

In a positive work environment — one founded on transparency, trust, empathy, and open dialogue — communication in general will be easier and more effective. 

Employees will be more receptive to hearing their manager’s message if they trust that manager. And managers will find it easier to create buy-in and even offer constructive criticism if they encourage their employees to speak up, offer suggestions, and even offer constructive criticisms of their own. 

“The most dangerous organization is a silent one,” says Lorne Rubis in a blog post, Six Tips for Building a Better Workplace Culture . Communication, in both directions, can only be effective in a culture that is built on trust and a foundation of psychological safety.

Authoritative managers who refuse to share information, aren’t open to suggestions, and refuse to admit mistakes and accept criticism are likely to find their suggestions and criticisms met with defensiveness or even ignored altogether. 

Without that foundation of trust and transparency, even the smallest communication can be misconstrued and lead to misunderstandings and unnecessary conflict.

Communicating with co-workers and employees is always going to present challenges. There will always be misunderstandings and miscommunications that must be resolved and unfortunately, corporate messages aren’t always what we want to hear, especially during difficult times.

But building and mastering effective communication skills will make your job easier as a leader, even during difficult conversations. Taking the time to build these skills will certainly be time well-spent. 

Want to build your skills? Find the program that’s right for you.

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About the Author

Digital Content Producer

Emerson is a Digital Content Producer at Harvard DCE. She is a graduate of Brandeis University and Yale University and started her career as an international affairs analyst. She is an avid triathlete and has completed three Ironman triathlons, as well as the Boston Marathon.

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How to Improve English Communication Skills

Last Updated: April 1, 2024 Approved

This article was co-authored by Alyson Garrido, PCC . Alyson Garrido is an International Coach Federation accredited Professional Certified Coach (PCC), Facilitator, and Speaker. Using a strengths-based approach, she supports her clients with job search and career advancement. Alyson provides coaching for career direction, interview preparation, salary negotiation, and performance reviews as well as customized communication and leadership strategies. She is a Founding Partner of the Systemic Coach Academy of New Zealand. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article received 75 testimonials and 95% of readers who voted found it helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 1,423,503 times.

In today's day and age, having solid English skills is a must. It's becoming the language of the world and all of us gotta keep up. But if you've been learning for a while and don't find yourself really communicating with ease, how do you get around the learning slump? Luckily, with a little perseverance and dedication, it's now easier than ever to improve your English skills.

Improving Your Speaking

• Even if they're just tourists, invite them to dinner! They get a meal, you get an English lesson. Advertise on Craigslist. Take a class and get buddy-buddy with your teacher. Offer a language exchange. They're hiding out there somewhere!

• Watch people. Watch how their mouths form the words. Watch how emotion is communicated. Watch where the emphasis goes on certain sentences and how that provides context. Apart from just deciphering their words, take notice of the humor, the feeling, and the formality they employ.

• They will be patient with you -- don't worry! You just gotta be patient with yourself. It's much less frustrating to speak to someone who you understand even though they're speaking slowly than to speak to someone you don't understand at all. Speaking quickly isn't impressive if your tongue gets all jumbly.

• A great idea is to get a book on tape, record yourself reading an excerpt from it (or mimicking the narrator), and comparing yourself to the recording. That way you can do it over and over until you get it right!
• When that's a bit too much effort, just read your books aloud. You'll score points on your reading skills and your speaking skills. Half the battle is just getting comfortable with the words!

• There are specialized classes you can take, too. Accent reduction classes, business English classes, tourism classes, heck, sometimes even food classes. If you see something that interests you (let's face it, sometimes grammar doesn't cut it), go for it! You may learn more than you think.

• Heck, talk to yourself in English. Narrate your actions. While you're washing the dishes, say what you're doing, thinking, or feeling. It sounds a little silly (if you get caught!), but it keeps your brain thinking in English before your first language, which is huge. Once you can do that, the rest is just keeping it up.

• Heck, call up an English hotline. Call up Nike and ask about their sneakers. Call a phone company and make small talk about phone plans. Start a blog. Set your OS to English. Play WoW. Get into English chat rooms. There are ALWAYS opportunities to be had.

Improving Your Listening

• So the next time someone says, "Do you want to pass me that bag?" and you hear, "Djuwanapassmethabag?" you're not going crazy. Between that and all the "like," "uh," and "umm," you run into it could drive a person crazy. So when you get in the listening zone, remind yourself: it's slang time.

• And the more you hear a specific individual talk, the easier it is to understand them. English has so many accents you may find yourself not understanding someone and wondering why. Be patient! Your mind will get used to their accent in time. English-speaking people have to adjust for each other all the time.

• Even having the radio on in the background is helpful, just to keep your mind in the English zone. But the best case scenario is getting a movie and watching it over and over until your mind stops having to worry about understanding and instead can concentrate on the little things, like intonation and slang. And watching TV shows where you have the same characters over and over so you get used to their speech. In other words: repetition.

• If that's not a possibility, find some friends who all want to practice their English. Though practicing this language with non-native speakers isn't ideal, it's definitely way better than nothing. You'll be less nervous speaking it in front of them and you can learn from each others' strengths.

• Stick to songs that are slow and clear. The Beatles and Elvis are two great places to start, though modern music is good, too -- just aim for the ballads; they're usually the easiest to understand. Rap can wait till later.

Improving Your Writing

• Keep it all in one place. Having a notebook or binder dedicated to your English work will keep you organized and motivated. The better you get, the easier it will be to see your progress. You can look back and marvel at how bad you used to be and how awesome you are now.

• The Internet. It's amazing; it really is. Sites like italki.com and lang-8 can correct your work for free! Don't get off wikiHow just yet, but do keep those sites in mind.
• A friend. Obviously. But the great thing about writing is that you can email your friend and wherever they are, they can get it, correct it, and get it back to you. So whether they're a mile away or in the middle of Canada, progress can be had.

• A good idea is to start learning collocations. That's a fancy term for words that go together. "Get married" is useful, but "get married to someone" is even better -- that way you know not to say "get married with." If you said you "received a cold," you'd receive some funny looks -- but not if you said you "caught a cold." See how that works?

• Unless you are a 15-year-old girl texting her friends, text speak is not okay. "You" is "you," not "u." "For" is not "4." "2" means something very different than "to" or "too." You won't be winning any medals for writing like that.

• Anki is flashcard software. Similar things can be found on websites like Memrise, too. You can basically quiz yourself.
• OneLook is a type of dictionary that can find words for you, define them, and translate. You only need the, cough cough, one look. It also has a reverse dictionary where you can type in the concept instead!
• Visuwords creates word map visualizations, connecting the word you search with similar, associated words or words that collocate with it. Great way to expand your vocabulary!
• Similar to Visuwords, Merriam Webster has a "visual dictionary." If you type in "tire," it will show you a tire, with words pointing to every little detail of it from "tread" to "bead wire."
• Englishforums is a great place to pose questions and talk to speakers. It's basically message board after message board of English-related questions.

• Once you've corrected a piece, try to write something the next day that builds upon the mistakes you've corrected. This way you can prove to yourself that you've improved and actually notice the mistakes you're not making anymore. You'll get better and build your confidence. Bonus.

English Grammar Exercises

Expert Q&A

• Speak, learn, and practice with confidence. Thanks Helpful 55 Not Helpful 4
• Practice daily. If you don't, you'll forget! Thanks Helpful 51 Not Helpful 6
• Listen carefully and jot down any words to look up in the dictionary later. Don't stop reading to figure out the word unless you truly don't understand the overall meaning. Thanks Helpful 15 Not Helpful 5

Tips from our Readers

• Start speaking slowly, and make sure to practice slang.
• Play video games to work on your reading skills.

You Might Also Like

• ↑ http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/06/28/50-free-resources-that-will-improve-your-writing-skills/
• http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/english-writing.html
• http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/english-vocabulary-and-collocations.html
• http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2005/sep/02accent.htm

About This Article

To improve your English communication skills, start by listening to music and watching movies and TV shows in English to immerse yourself in the language. Then, make English a daily practice by speaking it at home, thinking in English, and writing in English. You can also visit websites like ankiapp.com to find English flashcards to help build your vocabulary. Additionally, try to find native speakers to converse with frequently, even if it’s over the phone or through video chat. For more tips, like how to improve your English writing, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How to Improve Your Communication Skills in English

Think of some phrases that show up repeatedly on job postings. Your list probably includes something like, “Candidate must have strong verbal and written skills,” or “Excellent communication skills a must!” With quickly changing technology and expanding globalization, it seems we are living in an increasingly communications-driven world. There are very few professions where employees can thrive without sharp English communication skills.

What’s So Important About Communication Skills?

The advent of the internet caused some observers to mourn the imminent death of personal written correspondence, but the reality couldn’t be further from the prediction. Communication with others through texts, social media, and email is increasingly important. With that, more messages means more potential for misunderstandings. Just think of the amplifying effect of social media. Something you used to say to only a few people can now be declared to thousands or millions with a few clicks. Technology has knit together the world in ways we wouldn’t have imagined just a few decades ago, but this interconnectivity also requires proficient language skills.

In this article, we talk about why communication skills in English are so important; we’ll also give you tips for meeting today’s communication demands, whether English is your first language or whether you are learning it as an additional language skill.

You’ll also learn about how National University can help you improve your English skills in our ESOL (English speakers of other languages) programs or with our offerings for English and communication majors.

What’s So Important About English?

English is a lingua franca , meaning it is a “bridge” language: When two people who speak different non-English languages meet, very often the common language they use to connect is English. This is why English is taught in many schools around the globe and why many international corporations are officially mandating English communication for employees in all global locations.

English is the common language of navigation, such as for air traffic controllers and airline pilots, and it is the most common language used on the worldwide web. It is one of the six official languages of the 193-member United Nations. It is also the language of scientific research, with some 96 percent of science journals publishing in English. Some researchers report that learning English communication is as important to obtaining their PhD as their thesis.

English is spoken by about 2 billion people today. As a native language, English ranks third, but it is the number one language learned by speakers of other languages. In fact, more people use English communication as a second language than they do their own native language.

Regardless of whether you started learning English communication in infancy or much later, being able to use English language skills effectively is a big advantage, especially in the workplace.

The Four Skills to Master

For both native speakers and ESOL speakers, strong communication in English involves four modes: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Different people have naturally differing aptitudes for these skills. You probably know someone who has terrific English conversation skills, responding to your points with keen insights and offering up witty observations seemingly without effort. This person might also be someone who never cracks a book and who panics when faced with writing a simple cover letter. You probably also know that person’s opposite: the introvert who seems tongue-tied in social settings or whose mind seems to wander when others are talking, but who reads a couple novels per week or repeatedly churns out well-crafted stories and articles.

The more well-rounded you are in all the modes of English communication, the better equipped you are to thrive personally, socially, and professionally. Whatever skill you struggle with, the best prescription for improving it is practice. Reading comprehension increases when you read often, especially if you read a variety of material. So if you shrink in fear at a school or work reading assignment, commit to reading a little every day. Pick up a magazine, read a novel a few pages at a time — no pressure to finish it quickly — or take a few minutes to actually read one of the articles a friend has linked on social media.

The same goes for writing. Do a little every day. It doesn’t have to be anything anyone ever reads, though occasionally it’s helpful to have someone read your writing and offer feedback. As a runner becomes strong and fast through regularly logging miles, a writer becomes concise and articulate by logging words.

Learning to focus your listening also takes practice. If you are the kind of person who is always planning what you’ll have for dinner while someone else is talking to you, it helps to simply catch your own mind in the act of wandering and gently bring it back to the present situation. Many experts recommend establishing a meditation practice, even if only a few minutes a day, to hone the skill of noticing when your thoughts stray and bringing them back to the point of focus.

If you have trouble speaking, whether in social groups or before audiences, try to assess exactly why; if you’re too anxious to get your point across, sometimes acknowledging your anxiety can help dispel it. Try not to be too hard on yourself if, looking back, you cringe at something you’ve said in a public speaking situation. For one thing, we tend to be our own harshest judge, so it’s likely no one else thought it was that bad. Also, ask yourself how you would treat someone else in the same position. You would likely feel sympathy and want to encourage that person — so do the same favor for yourself. If you can put aside some of your self-judgment, your mind is freed up to compile coherent thoughts on the fly, which is what public speaking is all about.

Finding Your Voice in Writing

We all look back on conversations and regret things we didn’t say or things we did say. There is no Control-Z in conversation. But there is in writing (at least if you’re using Windows!), so whether you’re a novelist, a blogger, or that person who writes only when desperate, use the power of rethinking. If time allows, walk away from your writing for a day or two and come back to it. You’ll be amazed at how the words have rearranged themselves to better effect in your mind — and how quickly you spot errors you didn’t see before. If you proofread immediately after finishing writing, you’ll just read what you meant to say. But if you give yourself some distance, the mistakes reveal themselves. It’s always a good idea, too, to read your writing aloud, even if you’re only reading it to yourself or your cats. When you hear the words, you’ll catch mistakes and awkward phrases. If you have a helpful partner or friend to read your writing back at you, all the better. Another effective technique is to use the read-aloud feature in your word processing software. You might not see a subtle error like a doubled or missing “the,” but you’ll hear it if the robot says it.

Don’t lull yourself into thinking that solid English communication skills aren’t important in everyday writing. From tweets on up, your writing reflects your thinking and it reflects you. It can be tempting to ignore the details of grammar and syntax because, “They’ll know what I meant.” Yes, they may, but confused writing is perceived as confused thinking. Meticulous writing conveys a clear mind and ordered thoughts.

Tips for Improving Your Skills

There are a number of online programs that not only help you with proofreading, but they can also help you learn to improve your English communication skills. Leading the proofing app offerings are Grammarly and ProWriting Aid , which do much more than find typos and grammar mistakes. They’ll also assess overall readability and flow, and give you suggestions for improvement. Paying close attention to the issues these programs flag is like taking a mini-course in English communication.

If you’d like to go more deeply into improving English communication skills, consider enrolling in online or local college classes like the English language programs at National University.

Learning English as a Foreign Language

Dr. Starley Dullien, Program Director of the English Language and Pathway Programs at National University, speaks English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, and is currently learning Chinese. She draws on her personal experience when she suggests day-to-day strategies for improving English communication skills.

Dr. Dullien recommends committing to at least an hour or two of English study every day. “You have to make the language a part of your life and a part of you,” she says. One tip Dr. Dullien suggests for English learners is to resist the temptation of setting your cell phone to your first language — set it to English instead.

Read and write in English as often as possible. Dr. Dullien suggests keeping a journal in English, or even just copying English articles or writing while someone dictates. This reinforces the written appearance of spoken words. Another way to engage visual learning with language learning is to make collages of magazine articles on similar subjects.

Dr. Dullien also points out that books that pair words and pictures are powerful language acquisition tools. Children’s books, comic books, and graphic novels enlist the brain’s visual abilities to cement English communication concepts.

Music is another effective way to engage different parts of the brain. “I was singing songs in Italian before I knew what they meant,” relates Dr. Dullien. She recommends listening to songs in English while following along with the lyrics, which are usually easy to find online.

You can improve your English conversation skills by simply having as many conversations in English as possible and by surrounding yourself with English media. Watch news programs in English. If the stories move too fast, try getting your news from BBC Learning English , which has news reports geared to different levels of English. Listen to podcasts or radio programs that feature stories on different subjects.

Don’t panic when you want to say something that’s on the tip of your tongue. If that sentence you’ve just read doesn’t make total sense, don’t worry about it — “tip of the tongue” is what we call an idiom. An idiom can be defined as a phrase that makes no sense in the context in which it’s used — you don’t actually have any words sitting on the tip of your tongue — it has meaning only after you’ve had time to become familiar with its usage. Idioms play with language in order to convey a special meaning; consider: English will give you a run for your money no matter how on the ball you are, but when some phrase doesn’t ring a bell, there’s no reason to have a cow, because even if you screw up, you’ll get over it. Just chill and hit the books for a while before you hit the sack!

If you want to get a handle on—that is, learn —the strange idioms of English language more quickly, you can find an idiom generator and many other useful English exercises on the site run by the American Association of Intensive English Programs (AAIEP) .

Here are a few more resources that can help you when learning English communication skills:

• BBC Learning English , in addition to its level-appropriate newscasts, offers lessons, tips, games, explanations of idioms and slang, and much more. It also offers lessons in many non-English languages for English learners who are just starting out.
• TalkEnglish has lessons for speaking and listening at various levels as well as many instructional articles.
• EnglishClub has a large array of lessons covering all four aspects of communication, as well as forums to connect with teachers and other learners.

National University: Your Partner in Learning English as a Foreign Language

According to Program Director, Dr. Dullien, National University’s ESOL offerings support all levels of English language acquisition for general, socio-cultural, academic, and workplace settings.

National University’s ESOL programs are in-person programs of varying lengths. The programs employ blended language learning (BLL) strategies, meaning students receive personal instruction along with a variety of web-based tools, allowing them to simultaneously improve their modes of understanding.

For students applying to academic programs at National University, completion of EAP meets the language proficiency requirements and waives placement tests. Students who apply to degree programs outside National University will likely be required to pass placement tests such as TOEFL, but Dr. Dullien is more than confident that students who have completed EAP will pass. “There is a difference between a score and a skill,” says Dr. Dullien, adding that a passing test score may not reflect the depth of English understanding that is actually required to thrive in the academic setting. As Dr. Dullien puts it, “By the time students are in the final classes of EAP, they will be able to write a formal research paper, make presentations, hold round-table discussions, and give speeches, so they are more than ready to pass exams.”

Students who complete this program or otherwise demonstrate satisfactory proficiency may enroll in the English for Specific Purposes (ESP) program, which Dr. Dullien characterizes as a sequence designed to enhance employment opportunities. Often, she says, professionals from non-English speaking countries take time off work and enroll in the program to improve their career performance or seek other careers. The program helps learners refine the terminology of individual areas of study, such as engineering, economics, environmental science, and many other programs. The program is customized to meet the proficiency level and subject-area needs of each student.

Getting Help With Writing

National University’s Writing Center is available to all National students, both native English-speaking and ESOL. In any college program, you can expect your written English communication skills to be called upon soon and often, and the coaches at the Writing Center can help you craft effective papers and develop the critical thinking skills you’ll need through college and beyond. Both online and in-person coaching sessions are available.

If You Want Communication in English to Be Your Career

For some, English communication is not just a necessary skill but a driving passion. For these students, National University’s College of Letters and Sciences offers numerous degree programs leading to careers based on English communication.

The Bachelor of Arts in English immerses students in rigorous literary analysis, critical thinking, and communications. Students gain an understanding of literature that spans cultures and historical periods and learn to craft persuasive written and spoken arguments. Students wishing to teach college or further their English studies for other reasons can obtain a Master of Arts in English from National University.

For students whose interest in English communication is primarily in fiction and creative nonfiction, National University offers both an Associate of Arts with a major in creative writing.

For prospective middle and high school English teachers, National University offers a BA in English with Single Subject Matter Preparation. Completion of this degree allows California residents to become English teachers without sitting for the CSET. The CSET, also referred to as CSET English, is otherwise required for candidates to gain an English teaching credential in California.

Another option for prospective California teachers is the Bachelor of Arts in English with Inspired Teaching and Learning and a Preliminary Single Subject Credential. This option intensifies candidates’ English communication skills with an enhanced program of literary analysis, linguistics, and communication. It prepares teachers to engage meaningfully with students to ensure their achievement socially and emotionally as well as academically.

The Bachelor of Arts in Strategic Communications sharpens students’ communication expertise for settings in business, marketing, and public relations. This program develops strategies for communicating on multiple levels, from the personal to the global. Students learn to craft effective messaging that can be applied to any career or workplace environment.

National University offers an array of journalism, film, and entertainment programs of study to prepare students to evolve in the fast-changing and diverse world of communication media. The Bachelor and Master of Digital Journalism programs provide students with a grounding in the principles of news reporting while also positioning them as future innovators of emerging communication media.

Whatever level of English communication you want to pursue, National University can help. Making a strong personal commitment to practice and self-study also will be helpful. The advantages gained through confident communication — on a personal level, in a business environment, or on the internet — will have a substantial impact on both your career and personal life.

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Essay on Ways to Improve English

Students are often asked to write an essay on Ways to Improve English in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Ways to Improve English

Introduction.

English is a global language, crucial for communication. Improving English skills can be achieved through various methods.

Reading Regularly

Reading books, newspapers, and online articles can help enhance vocabulary and sentence structure understanding.

Listening to English Content

Listening to English songs, podcasts, or watching English movies can improve pronunciation and listening skills.

Speaking English

Practicing spoken English with friends or family can boost confidence and fluency.

Writing Practice

With consistent effort and practice, one can significantly improve their English skills.

250 Words Essay on Ways to Improve English

English, being the global lingua franca, plays a crucial role in various aspects of life. For college students, mastering English is particularly important for academic success, career opportunities, and global communication. Here are some effective strategies to enhance English proficiency.

Immersive Learning

Immersive learning is a powerful way to improve English. This could involve spending time in an English-speaking environment or using English for everyday activities. Try watching English movies, listening to English music, or reading English books and newspapers. This approach not only improves vocabulary and comprehension but also helps understand context and cultural nuances.

Interactive Practice

Interactive practice, such as speaking English with friends or participating in English debates or presentations, can significantly improve fluency and confidence. Online platforms offer opportunities for language exchange where you can converse with native speakers.

Structured Learning

Structured learning through a well-designed curriculum is essential for mastering grammar and syntax. Online courses and textbooks can serve as valuable resources. Regular revision and practice exercises can solidify understanding and enhance language skills.

Feedback and Reflection

Improving English proficiency is a gradual process that requires consistent effort, practice, and a willingness to learn. By employing immersive learning, interactive practice, structured learning, and feedback mechanisms, college students can significantly enhance their English skills, opening doors to a world of opportunities.

500 Words Essay on Ways to Improve English

English, a universally recognized language, is a crucial tool for communication in today’s globalized world. It is no longer a luxury but a necessity for personal, academic, and professional growth. However, achieving proficiency in English is a journey that requires dedication, patience, and the right strategies. This essay explores various methods that can be employed to improve English skills.

Active Vocabulary Building

Expanding vocabulary is key to expressing thoughts and ideas more accurately. Make it a habit to learn new words daily. However, rote memorization of words is not enough. It’s essential to understand the context in which these words are used. Reading diverse genres of books, articles, and blogs can provide this context and help in vocabulary retention.

Effective Communication Skills

English learning is incomplete without effective communication skills. Practice speaking English regularly, focusing on pronunciation and intonation. Engaging in debates, group discussions, and public speaking can boost confidence and improve fluency. Remember, making mistakes is part of the learning process, so don’t shy away from opportunities to speak English.

Writing Proficiency

Use of technology.

In the digital age, technology can be a powerful ally in English learning. There are numerous online platforms offering English courses, interactive exercises, and language exchange programs. These resources provide flexibility and personalized learning experiences. Furthermore, language apps can provide real-time feedback on pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary.

Improving English is a continuous process that demands consistent effort. The strategies discussed above provide a comprehensive approach to English learning, encompassing reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. Remember, the goal is not just to learn English but to make it a part of your identity. With persistence and the right approach, English proficiency is an achievable goal.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by clicking here .

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English Language Skills Improvement Essay

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Today, in the era of high technologies, English language skills are an important component of everyone’s competence. Text messages and documents are essential to effective communication, and literacy is a significant part of the modern person’s image. To improve my English language skills, I will need to watch movies and read books in English and allot enough time for writing and speaking practice.

Watching movies in the original might help me enrich my vocabulary and improve my listening comprehension. Furthermore, this solution would allow me to combine study and pleasure and improve my motivation. I can watch my favorite movies for hours. If I start with the movies which I have already watched, I will not have difficulties with understanding what the characters say. By the way, I would be able to find some differences between the English version and the translation. However, the next step would be to start watching new movies. By the way, I will be able to watch the recently released movies, which have not been translated into other languages yet. Even if I have problems with understanding certain episodes, I may turn on the subtitles that are frequently available. Therefore, by watching movies in the original, I will get a number of advantages, including not only the improvement of my language skills but also exciting leisure time.

Along with watching English movies, reading English books might also be helpful for improving my language skills. In the time of social networks, students frequently prefer texting with their friends to reading. Certainly, communicating and texting might be beneficial, but they are not worthy substitutes for reading. When reading books, I will be able to use my visual memory and improve not only the spelling of particular words but also sentence structures. By the way, by making notes of new words and most interesting phrases, I would become a thoughtful reader and get the maximum from my reading sessions. Certainly, reading for pleasure on a comfortable couch is relaxing. However, to gain the maximum effects of reading English books, I will need to pay special attention to new words and phrases so that I can include them in my active vocabulary.

Finally, I should allow enough time for writing and speaking practice, which are actually the most powerful tools for improving language skills. A lot of learners are afraid of making mistakes. This fear can lead to writer’s blocks and public speaking anxiety. However, practice is a critical element of language competence. Otherwise, the new words, phrases and constructions learnt by watching movies and reading books in English will be easily forgotten without using them in my papers and communication. Importantly, along with overcoming my fear of making mistakes, I will need to do everything possible to improve my grammar, learning the rules and carefully proofreading the papers. For example, when working on my English papers, I should use spell, grammar and style checkers. This would allow me to gain more confidence in my language skills. As to speaking practice, along with participating in class discussions, I might find an English-speaking friend. When communicating with my peer, I will not be preoccupied with my grammar, and it can be beneficial for my speaking practice.

By watching movies, reading books in English and paying attention to writing and speaking practice, I would be able to improve my language skills and make a valuable contribution to my competence. While reading and watching movies allow combining study and pleasure, substantial practice is required for exercising the received skills and enhancing my confidence.

• Student’s Reading Ability and Level
• Legislative Effects on English Language Learning
• LG Mobile Teen Texting Campaign
• Dangers of Texting while Driving
• Texting While Driving Should Be Illegal
• Common Theories of Language Acquisition
• Reading Ability in Signing Deaf Children
• Figurative Language in English Language Learning
• Peer Tutoring and English Language Learning
• Technology in Second Language Acquisition
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2020, September 5). English Language Skills Improvement. https://ivypanda.com/essays/english-language-skills-improvement/

"English Language Skills Improvement." IvyPanda , 5 Sept. 2020, ivypanda.com/essays/english-language-skills-improvement/.

IvyPanda . (2020) 'English Language Skills Improvement'. 5 September.

IvyPanda . 2020. "English Language Skills Improvement." September 5, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/english-language-skills-improvement/.

1. IvyPanda . "English Language Skills Improvement." September 5, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/english-language-skills-improvement/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "English Language Skills Improvement." September 5, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/english-language-skills-improvement/.

The future of effective communication

Guest Matt Abrahams is a master communicator who helps others overcome their fear of speaking — before live audiences, in small groups, or even one-on-one.

His catchphrase, “Think fast, talk smart,” describes a mindset that, he says, is key to speaking well. Thinking fast is the ability to recognize and respond to patterns in order to talk smart — becoming more salient, relevant, and concise in the process. Abrahams coaches host Russ Altman on how to talk smart on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Listen on your favorite podcast platform:

Related : Matt Abrahams , lecturer, organizational behavior

[00:00:00] Matt Abrahams: You can get better at speaking spontaneously. Many of us feel like I'm either born with the gift of gab or I'm not. And in fact, everybody can improve and hone those skills. I've seen it in my own life, the people I coach, uh, the people I teach. You can definitely get better at it. 

[00:00:21] Russ Altman: This is Stanford Engineering's The Future of Everything, and I'm your host, Russ Altman. If you enjoy The Future of Everything, please hit follow in the app that you're listening in. This will guarantee that you never miss an episode. 

[00:00:32] Today, Matt Abrahams from Stanford University will tell us about communication, speaking, how can you do it effectively, how can you be confident, calm, get rid of anxiety, and get your message across. It's the future of effective communication. 

[00:00:47] Before we get started, please remember to follow the show to ensure that you get alerted to all of our new episodes and never miss an episode on the future of anything.

[00:01:04] Public speaking is an important part of both your professional and your personal life. In your professional life, you might have to do a job interview. You might have to make a pitch to your boss. You might have to present the results of a big project. But in personal life, you have to talk to your family, your friends, you have to go to parties, chit chat, small talk. All of that doesn't have to be anxiety provoking. For some people, it seems to be natural, but others really struggle. 

[00:01:29] Well, Matt Abrahams is a lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business in the Department of Organizational Behavior, and he's an expert at communication, especially speaking. He'll tell us that you can be confident, calm, you can get rid of your anxiety and it's a matter of practice. 

[00:01:48] He'll tell us that LLMs can help us become better speakers. And he'll give us a bunch of tips about how to think about speaking, to make sure you structure your communications well, and get your point across. Thanks so much, Matt. And it's great to see you.

[00:02:03] Matt Abrahams: Russ, it's great to be with you. 

[00:02:04] Russ Altman: Let me start out with your catchphrase. It really is yours. Uh, it's the name of your podcast, Think Fast, Talk Smart. It's also basically the name of a recent book you wrote, Think Faster and Talk Smarter. So help us understand, what are you trying to capture with that catchphrase?

[00:02:21] Matt Abrahams: Yeah, well, clearly you can, you see, I'm not that creative with titling. So Think Fast, Talk Smart is really all about how can we hone and develop our communication skills. Think fast refers to the ability to recognize patterns and as a response to those patterns, give our communication, hone our communication, develop our communication, to hit the mark, to be salient, to be relevant, to be concise, and that's the talking smarter part. So it's about recognizing what needs to be done. And then structuring and focusing that message to be effective. 

[00:02:53] Russ Altman: So I'm very interested in this catchphrase more than you might even expect. Because in my family, we have recognized that there's a subset of us who seem to think fast and respond quickly, and it comes out when we're doing board games and we're playing charades.

[00:03:09] And then there's another part of my family that is, they think of themselves as not thinking fast. And they think of themselves as having to really mull over something and formulate what they would argue, and this is like, you know, family dynamics, are much deeper, more profound responses than those of us who they qualify, who they characterize as the fast thinkers, um, they would also say superficial.

[00:03:33] So talk to me a little bit about this thinking fast and the range of ways that people kind of approach cognitive tasks. 

[00:03:41] Matt Abrahams: Certainly, and I'll be very curious to know which camp you see yourself in and which camp your family sees you in, uh, 

[00:03:46] Russ Altman: We can talk about that.

[00:03:47] Matt Abrahams: Which might be different, right? So just thinking fast doesn't mean you talk fast and it doesn't mean that you respond immediately.

[00:03:57] Thinking fast is all about assessment of the situation so that you can better respond. Sometimes the best thing you can do is think for a moment, and pause, structure, and develop your content. Other times responding immediately is what's needed. 

[00:04:13] We all vary in our ability to process information, as well as to formulate structured thoughts. We need to though, develop those skills so that we can be more agile. Just like an athlete would practice drills for their sport, we can practice the pattern recognition that will help us to better communicate. I had the pleasure of interviewing somebody who was a visual note taker. You've seen those people who draw the notes? I always find it fascinating. 

[00:04:43] Russ Altman: Yes, yes. And it's spectacularly beautiful sometimes. 

[00:04:46] Matt Abrahams: And incredibly helpful at getting information across. And I asked her, I said, how are you able to do that in real time? I mean, I can't draw with all the time in the world. You're doing it in real time. And she said, she trains herself to look for different patterns.

[00:05:00] So before she does an event, she spends time talking about what's the goal. She interviews some of the people. So she goes in with this cognitive frame that allows her to distill things very quickly. And we can all develop that skill. The deployment of it is up to us based on what is required in the situation.

[00:05:19] So if I'm in a meeting that's getting hot and heavy and lots of people are contributing, I'm processing, I'm doing my thinking fast part, but I might wait until the appropriate moment to contribute my part. So people do vary, uh, the value of it. So it sounds like in your family. It's binary. It's like one good, one bad. I actually think it's a sliding continuum where depending on the circumstance and context, you want to be able to do both. So it's about that agility that Think Fast, Talk Smart is all about. 

[00:05:45] Russ Altman: And what I really like about your implied statements just now is this is a learned and a honed skill. So nobody should kind of put them in a box, put themselves in a box right away and think that they're stuck there.

[00:05:57] Matt Abrahams: Absolutely. Many people, you know, my book is full of counterintuitive ideas. The first is that you can get better at speaking spontaneously. Many of us feel like I'm either born with the gift of gab or I'm not. And in fact, everybody can improve and hone those skills. I've seen it in my own life. The people I coach, uh, the people I teach, you can definitely get better at it.

[00:06:17] Russ Altman: Great. Okay. So now we're going to actually start at the beginning. We just jumped in and thank you for that. 

[00:06:22] Matt Abrahams: Yeah. 

[00:06:22] Russ Altman: Um, one of the premises of your work is that there's a ton of anxiety in the world about speaking, speaking in professional situations, job interviews. You have a great list in your work of all the places where people can get anxiety.

[00:06:37] So where are we with respect to, um, the prevalence of speaking anxiety? Is the world getting better? Is the world getting worse? What are you seeing in your practice, so to speak? Tell me about people and their anxiety about speaking. 

[00:06:51] Matt Abrahams: So it's ubiquitous. And those of us who study it believe it's innate to being human. We see it across cultures. We see it tend to develop and spike at different times in people's growth, especially moving from childhood into early teen years. We see a lot of anxiety around speaking start. Uh, so it's just part of being human. Now, your question of, is it getting worse? It's changing. So we, as our modes of communication change, so does our anxiety around it.

[00:07:19] I'm old enough to remember where we used to say, wouldn't it be great if I could give a presentation and just not be in the room with the people? It would be so much easier and I wouldn't be nervous at all. Well, lo and behold, what happened? And now we're communicating a lot, if not almost exclusively, virtually, and people are as nervous, if not more. Why? Because we don't have those reactions. I don't know if I'm speaking into the abyss or are people getting what I'm saying. So things are changing. So too are the ways that we can learn to manage it. So there are things that we can do differently. To manage anxiety, we have to address both symptoms and sources.

[00:07:54] The symptoms are the things that we physiologically experience, and the sources are the things that initiate and exacerbate. So when I'm virtual, one of the things that exacerbates the anxiety is I don't know if my message is landing. So what do I have to do? I have to build in a whole bunch of engagement techniques to assess if you're following along.

[00:08:12] Maybe I have you give me a thumbs up, or I have you type in the chat, or I make it more dialogic versus me just talking. So, there are tools that we can invoke to help us feel more comfortable and confident, but anxiety around speaking, because we believe it's evolutionary, has been around for a long time and how it manifests changes with how communication tools and techniques change, but it's still there. 

[00:08:37] Russ Altman: Now, uh, another thing, uh, that I wanted to hit upon and well, there's so much that I wanna hit on. Let's just acknowledge that we're having an amuse bouche today. 

[00:08:45] Matt Abrahams: Yes. 

[00:08:46] Russ Altman: Um, is the difference between written and oral communication. I know you think about, I know you think a lot about oral, but I know that you think about written communication as well. And they're different. And that difference is especially highlighted these days because of the availability of ChatGPT and tools like it, which we know our students, our colleagues, and pretty much anybody who's tried it out, is figuring out how to use that to improve, augment, replace their efforts in writing.

[00:09:17] Uh, but you know, so far, I'm not sure what the role of LLMs or ChatGPT is for speaking. I'm sure you've thought about this. What has been the impact or what do you see as the impact? Is this a good thing? Bad thing? Neutral? 

[00:09:29] Matt Abrahams: So I think the jury is still out. Uh, I am an optimistic person and I think AI can be very helpful to us in our communication, written and spoken.

[00:09:38] Uh, let me give you some examples of how I am asking my students to use LLMs to help them. For example, if you are preparing for a spontaneous situation, let's say a job interview, go to your LLM of choice, say interviewing at this company for this role with somebody in this position. Generate five questions for me that help me demonstrate my whatever ability.

[00:10:03] And it'll generate questions. And then you can practice answering them. Just like if you're an athlete training in a sport where you might have somebody play defense and you practice offense, or you switch that around. I think an LLM can help us. The goal isn't to memorize your answer to the question it generated. The goal is just to practice. So I think that can be very useful. 

[00:10:21] Another thing that I think could be helpful is to use a conversation with an LLM to help you bring out examples, anecdotes, stories, testimonials about yourself. So it can actually serve as an interviewer that helps you then stockpile some of these stories that are true for you, that you can then invoke in an interview, in a small talk conversation that can help.

[00:10:44] So, uh, I certainly think it can be a useful tool. And that's not even to say the value that they can provide for non-native speakers. A non-native speaker can leverage an LLM to help them just understand more colloquial ways of saying things. Again, not to memorize what was said, but to look for patterns and ways that can help them feel more comfortable.

[00:11:05] Russ Altman: Yeah, that's fantastic. And that makes perfect sense. And it's in the background. And I think there's a level of comfort that people may have where it's not even another human. Like this can be your pre, when we develop drugs, we have the prehuman phase where we do animal testing. And I think of LLMs can be a little bit like the animal testing before you go big time to actually deliver to humans.

[00:11:26] Matt Abrahams: Right. It's a way of desensitizing yourself that feels more comfortable. And I think that's very helpful. 

[00:11:33] Russ Altman: Do you find that going back to your, the things you said about, uh, the virtual, you know, the perils and, uh, and, uh, and challenges of virtual presentations, is it a different skill set? Are people who are very confident in a, like, an in-person environment, do they sometimes struggle? Because, like, maybe they've had a couple of their hands tied behind their backs. Like, tricks that they used that were very effective in a room, they can't use and conversely, are you finding that some people are well suited to these milleu.

[00:12:01] Matt Abrahams: I do think there are some different skills required and some people might have a better fit with one modality versus the other, but I do firmly believe people can learn those skills. So, for example, somebody who has high emotional intelligence can read a room well in person. That becomes very challenging virtually. It also, being virtual also requires you to multitask in a way that you don't have to, when you're physically present.

[00:12:28] Russ Altman: If I could just interrupt, I must, I'm going to agree with you so vociferously, cause I've taught classes with a hundred, two-hundred students, and I don't think the students understand how I can very quickly assess almost every one of them and whether they're listening and whether they're looking at me or whether they're, and I think they think that with two-hundred, they're anonymous.

[00:12:48] And I just want to say to them, dudes, you are not even close to anonymous. I can tell you exactly what you did for most of this lecture, for most of you in this room. 

[00:12:58] Matt Abrahams: Right. Absolutely. And you've developed that skill over time. Not most people can't do that right away. But certainly there is a connection that happens and you can observe things.

[00:13:10] I would argue that for those of us who've done a lot of virtual work, we can get some semblance of that where we can tell, uh, you can tell how quickly somebody responds. You can tell the depth of the content they enter, but the multitasking function of virtual communication can be very off putting to people.

[00:13:28] You know, I see a comment coming in, I've got a little ticker that's running there, I mean, there's just a lot to pay attention to. But some people are good at multitasking. I find my kids who play way too many video games, they actually are really good at navigating a zoom session in a way that I'm not.

[00:13:45] And I think they've just developed skills of multitasking with technology that I just don't have. So I think I can learn it. I'm certainly better than I was when the pandemic started, but I do think people lean one way or the other, but we can get better at both. 

[00:13:59] Russ Altman: So you have written a book, you've given talks and written papers about a bunch of things that I just have to ask you about, uh, kind of like, answering questions that you can't answer. In other words, when you get a question and you either, you have no idea what the answer is, or it's ill formed, tell me about that 'cause that does happen. And it is, 

[00:14:17] Matt Abrahams: Right.

[00:14:17] Russ Altman: It really can bring the whole show to a standstill if, um, if you don't have these skills. 

[00:14:23] Matt Abrahams: So I want to talk about two different types of questions you can't answer. The first is you don't know the answer. And when you don't know the answer, all the research and my practical experience says, say I don't know the answer. Just admit it. Don't make it up. Don't hem and haw. Just say, I don't know, but immediately follow it up with what you're going to do. I don't happen to know the answer, but I'm going to follow up with Russ, who I think does, and I'm going to get back to you within twenty-four hours.

[00:14:48] Now, if you have an inkling or a hunch, then say that. Say, I don't know the answer. I'm going to follow up with Russ. I'll get back to you in twenty-four hours. My hunch is the answer will be this. And we fear that when we do that, that we lose credibility. But in fact, I believe, and I know that there's some people studying this who have found preliminary results that suggest that if you actually follow up and get the person the answer, your credibility stays at the same level, or in some cases might even go higher, because you're demonstrating tenacity, grit, and the willingness to really find the answer for the person.

[00:15:18] So, saying I don't know, especially if it happens just once or twice, I don't think is the end of the world. Obviously, if you're saying I don't know to all the questions, there's some kind of mismatch.

[00:15:26] Russ Altman: Right, maybe we had a mismatch in the invite. 

[00:15:27] Matt Abrahams: Now the other set, the other set of the questions that we can't answer isn't because we don't know, it's because they're the reasons we can't answer the question. Imagine a CFO who's taking her company public and people want to know when are you going public? Well, you can't say that legally. You can't say that. So you have to give an answer and you can do, I've wrote an article on three things you can do, you can blame, explain, and reframe. 

[00:15:54] So blame is where you simply say, I can't answer because of this regulate, regulations or our company's policy. So you blame something that, why you can't answer. You can then explain, the second way to handle it is to explain the circumstances under which things would happen.

[00:16:11] So you're not answering the question. So the CFO might say, I can't tell you when we're going public. But these macroeconomic conditions would have to exist before we would ever consider it. So I'm explaining what my answer might be without actually answering the question. And then finally, the third thing to do is to take the question and reframe it slightly so you can answer it, so you can feel comfortable answering it.

[00:16:34] I'll give you an example. Let's say you are a company that's releasing a product that has lots of features. Somebody asks a question about a feature that you know is not coming out in the product. You don't want to say that because that might look bad in this circumstance. So you might take the question about when is feature X coming out in the product and say, our feature prioritization process is this.

[00:16:55] So I've reframed the question, not about that feature, but about our feature process, uh, how we prioritize. And then at the end, I would simply say that particular feature was not prioritized as high. So I actually answer the question or come back to it, but I've reframed it slightly to make it easier. So through blaming, explaining, and reframing, we can get out of those situations where we can't answer the question. 

[00:17:18] Russ Altman: This is The Future of Everything with Russ Altman. More with Matt Abrahams next.

[00:17:34] Welcome back to The Future of Everything and I'm your host, Russ Altman. I'm speaking with Matt Abrahams from the Stanford Graduate School of Business on communicating and speaking effectively. In the last segment, Matt told us about how people are anxious about speaking and he started to give us some tips about how to improve our speaking and how to think about presentations, speaking, and interactions.

[00:17:56] In this segment, he's going to tell us about how to structure your communication. It should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. But there's more to it than that. He'll also tell us that listening is an important part of speaking. And finally, he'll tell us what we all want to know. What does he think of PowerPoint and presentations on slides?

[00:18:16] So Matt, I wanted to talk about thinking about your presentation and like, how are you going to structure the communication so that it makes sense? You know, you might have ten points you want to get across, but it might not be the best thing to just say, I'm going to tell you ten things here they are. I mean, it might be because people love numbered lists.

[00:18:34] That's a whole ’nother discussion. But how do you recommend people think about structuring their communications for like maximum impact? 

[00:18:42] Matt Abrahams: Really important question. And in fact, when I teach people the process for becoming a more comfortable and confident spontaneous speaker, Q and A, feedback, small talk, introducing yourselves, I walk through a six-step process and structure is an important part of that.

[00:18:58] The methodology itself has six steps divided into two categories. The first is mindset and approach. We have to get our mindset right, and then we have to message. So it's about mindset and messaging. From a mindset perspective, to help you communicate better in general, and I'll get to structure in a second, you have to first manage anxiety. Most people are nervous. We talked about that already. 

[00:19:21] The second step is, we have to remove the pressure we put on ourselves to be perfect. When we communicate, we want to give the best answer, the right feedback. We want to give, be the most interesting in small talk. Striving for perfection gets in the way.

[00:19:36] And by the way, Russ, there is no perfect way to communicate. There're better and worse ways, but no right way. So when we focus on connection, actually getting our point across, rather than saying it the right way, which doesn't exist, we actually do better. 

[00:19:50] The third step is to see these situations as opportunities, not threats. Many of us, when we walk into small talk, we feel like I've got to do this right and we get very intimidated. When somebody asks us a question, we feel like we have to defend ourselves. All of these situations are actually opportunities for us to connect, to expand, to collaborate. And then the final step in messaging is actually listening. And many people think, what is listening got to do with communication? It is foundational. 

[00:20:17] Russ Altman: It's approximately half of it. 

[00:20:19] Matt Abrahams: You're right. If not more, right? We, if we don't listen, well, we can't respond appropriately. Most of us listen just to the top line. So when I teach people listening skills, which by the way, my wife still says I need practice on. We have to really focus on the bottom line, really, what are they saying? And then notice how they're saying it. 

[00:20:37] So that's about approach and mindset. Once we have our approach right, we then have to actually structure our messages. Lists are hard for people to process and remember. If we package information up in a logical way, and that's all I mean by a structure or framework, there's a beginning, a middle, and an end, we remember it better.

[00:20:56] Our brains are wired for structure. And if we provide that structure for people, it can really help. Let me give you an example of what I mean by a structure. If you've ever watched a television advertisement, you've seen the structure, Problem, Solution, Benefit. Here's a problem, issue, challenge, or opportunity. Our product or service helps you with that. And here's the benefit to you. That's a logical connection. 

[00:21:18] What it does for me as the communicator is it helps me prioritize and connect my ideas together. What it does for you as the recipient, be it a reader or a listener, is it packages it up in a way that's digestible for you. And repeatable. Often when I communicate, I want you to take my message and cascade it. If it's packaged well, you can do that. The final step of the methodology, which goes hand in hand with structure, is focus. Many of us say much more than we need to when we communicate. We take the audience on a discovery of our thoughts as we're having them and we say way more than we need to.

[00:21:52] Structure helps you focus. My mother has this wonderful saying, tell the time, don't build the clock. Many of us, many of us are clock builders. So structure helps us just tell the time. So that's a long-winded answer to the structure question, but you have to understand where structure fits in the overall methodology.

[00:22:10] Russ Altman: That is fantastic. And, so many thoughts about this. And obviously, as a fellow educator, I think about this quite a bit. What about, so let me just ask, one thing is about, um, cultural differences and communication styles. I've been married happily for forty years, but I grew up in New York and my wife grew up in California. Whenever I interrupt her, that is taken as an insult, an affront and a sign of disrespect. Whereas I am positive that in New York, that was a sign of I'm listening and I'm excited about what you're saying, and I'm going to chime in. So talk to me about that because I know you know, you're at a graduate school of business. And so there's a certain culture there, but what do we do about these cultural differences? 

[00:22:55] Matt Abrahams: So it's so funny the story you told about your wife, 'cause I had exactly the same experience. My wife is from the Midwest. I am from California. When my wife met my family, she's like, do you guys even like each other?

[00:23:05] Because in my family, everybody talks louder and longer than anybody else. Her family, they actually listened to each other. The woman who became my mother-in-law said something to me that no one in my family has ever said, Russ. When I was done talking, she paused, looked at me and said, tell me more. No one in my family has ever said that.

[00:23:22] And what that highlights is you're right. There are different cultures around communication. And when we hear the word culture, we usually think country of origin. And certainly different people from different countries have different ways of communicating. And we have to be sensitive to that. But we have cultures within our own society.

[00:23:38] You have it within your family and within mine. My department, my school is different than your school. Uh, my kids have a different culture and way of communicating than I do. We have to be sensitive to this. 

[00:23:50] First and foremost, we have to realize that ours is not the right way. It is a way. And if the true goal of communication is to make common, which is the origin of the word communication, comes from the idea of to make common, then we have to accept, expect, and adjust two different ways of saying things. How do we learn those? Well, we observe, we watch, we take feedback. So if your wife says, stop interrupting me, you have to respect that.

[00:24:19] And maybe what you do is you still interrupt, but you paraphrase first. So you demonstrate, I heard you, because many people who get interrupted and are offended by that, they feel like you're not listening. But if I paraphrase and say, and demonstrate, I heard you. And then I insert my thoughts. That might be a way to mitigate in that cultural clash that's happening in your communication. So it's about awareness. It's about sensitivity and realizing our approach is not necessarily the only, or even the right approach. 

[00:24:47] Russ Altman: That is great. And as obviously, well, maybe not, obviously I have gotten better over forty years, but there are still, including last night, times where it raises its ugly head and I'm like damn, we still have this issue despite my best efforts. 

[00:25:01] Matt Abrahams: Oh, I, your wife might say you still have this issue. 

[00:25:04] Russ Altman: Right, exactly. I mean, don't even let's so much to say there, uh, off camera. 

[00:25:11] Matt Abrahams: Right. 

[00:25:11] Russ Altman: Uh, so let me, I have to ask you about PowerPoint and Keynote and these pres, and their roles in the professional world, especially, um, I'll just tell a story. 

[00:25:20] Matt Abrahams: Sure.

[00:25:20] Russ Altman: And this will betray a lot of bias. I, um, as a young faculty member, I had a set of PowerPoints for my key class, the one that I taught in the major and required of all the graduate students. Uh, and it was doing perfectly well. We had a new faculty member come and I said, I'd love, and he was teaching a class as well. I said, I'd love to see your slides.

[00:25:38] He said, Russ, I don't have any slides. I do it all at the board. And that blew my mind. And I thought, and I said, you know what? I'm going to try that. And this was fifteen years ago and I was already getting pretty good avows, I was a pretty good teacher. And by going, by eschewing all these slides and going to a whiteboard, and this is in an area where people would say, no, no, no, you have to show these pictures, you have to show this.

[00:26:01] And I just said, no. And so I literally draw cartoons. I do whatever it takes, but there is no ever in this class, there is never a projected image. As I said, I'm betraying my bias, but I would love to hear your thoughts about PowerPoints, their appropriate role, and when they're just not the right thing to do.

[00:26:21] Matt Abrahams: So I think any kind of visual that helps reinforce the points that we're making can be helpful if they follow some specific rules. Before I get into those, I will say I love the real time use of a whiteboard or some other tool. There are lots of really cool tools that you can now use that aren't slides that serve to meet or fulfill these four bits of advice I'm going to give.

[00:26:48] I have seen it done very well whiteboarding. I have seen it done incredibly poorly. I have seen people who talk to the whiteboard as they're drawing things, they stand in front of them. People are like, the person's back has turned to me and I can't see what they're doing. 

[00:27:01] Russ Altman: And there's projection issues in terms of the voice and everything.

[00:27:04] Matt Abrahams: Right. And I, and I've seen, I've seen you teach and you're an, uh, a master teacher and I can imagine how you could use that very well. When it comes to using aids in your communication, be that in technological slides or whiteboards, four rules. First, it is for your audience, not for you. Many people create slides as teleprompters for themselves. It is for your audience. That rule number one, it is for your audience. 

[00:27:31] Second, you have to have a structure or a logical narrative arc, not just going from one visual to the next. There has to be a story first, a structure first, and the visuals, whatever those are, support it. Third, if you can use images, even cartoons like you said you did, charts, etcetera, they're much more helpful than words. 

[00:27:53] When I put words up, I don't care if you're writing the words, putting 'em on a slide, I am overtaxing the verbal part of your brain because you're having to read and listen to me at the same time. I'm asking you to multitask. We are not good at multitasking. And then the final thing is less is more.

[00:28:09] The less information you put on the whiteboard, on the slide, the more it helps. So, if you are using some tool, some modality, to help your audience learn and you follow those four rules, that is, it's for your audience, it's in service of a story or a structure, it's visual mostly, not just verbal, and it's not a lot, then I think anything you use will be very helpful to your audience.

[00:28:34] Russ Altman: Fantastic. And it's exactly, as you said, in terms of focus, when I stopped using slides and I was writing things on the board, and as you said, it's less writing and it forced me to decide what's really important so my message got better and this was all kind of for free. And so I've loved it.

[00:28:51] And I am now a huge fan of colored markers. But I must say, I love blackboards still. And I, if it was up to me, there would be no whiteboards. They would still be blackboards because I feel like I can get line variation from chalk that improves the quality of my communication. 

[00:29:07] Matt Abrahams: You are showing your vintage, Russ. I feel the same way. There's a feeling to chalk that, that, you know, those of us who grew up doing that. Uh, no, I don't miss the acetate slides, but I do miss the chalk. 

[00:29:21] Russ Altman: Thanks to Matt Abrahams. That was The Future of Effective Communication. Thanks for tuning into this episode. We have over 250 episodes in the archive, so you can spend many days binge listening to our discussions.

[00:29:34] But you can also just listen to a couple here and there if you're looking for really good conversations that last for about half an hour on a wide variety of topics. If you're enjoying the show, or if it's helped you in any way, please consider rating and reviewing it to share your thoughts. You can connect with me on X or Twitter, @RBAltman, and you can connect with Stanford Engineering @StanfordENG.

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• DOI: 10.70177/ijlul.v2i2.1191
• Corpus ID: 271925915

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