Michael's Business English

How to Get Rid of an Accent

Monday, December 10, 2018 by Michael Rincon | Accent

In today's class, I am going to share a few strategies to that you can use today so that you can immediately start to speak clearly in your conversations instead of being asked to repeat yourself or risk being ignored.

Why is eliminating your accent important?

Now let me start by saying, you don’t actually need to speak perfect English; I’ve met plenty of non-native English speakers who are killing it in their careers as consultants, analysts, project managers, executives, you name it.

Accent reduction is great for those who have been learning English for a while, they know the vocabulary and some grammar, but speaking clearly and being understood consistently is still a challenge.

This affects how people respond to you. If people can’t understand you, you will lose out on career opportunities. This is also important for your self-esteem and your well-being. Having an accent that people can’t understand causes self-doubt, frustration, and anger. What should be a normal conversation becomes emotional. It’s a problem that gets worse and worse until it becomes unbearable.

Now I don’t have an accent, but I have a speech impairment and hearing loss that I have had since I was little. I won't go into a pity party, but let's just say that it was normal for me to repeat my self two or three times, and usually, someone had to translate for me.

Anyway, let’s get started.

Tip #1 Slow Down

One of the biggest challenges I see with many non-native English speakers is pace. What I mean by pace here, is that you are talking too fast. For some languages, the pace is much faster than how Americans speak English.

Part of the reason different languages have different paces is due to how fast syllables are used. For example, English is spoken at an average rate of about 6 syllables per second. While Spanish and Japanese are spoken at almost 8 syllables per second. So you may have noticed that you know the vocabulary but people can't understand you, try talking slower so that your listeners can process what you are saying.

Tip #2 Work on your Weaknesses

Each language has certain characteristics specific to that language. For example, in Japanese, there are only 5 vowels sounds, and the overall pitch range for speaking is narrow and straight, while English has 20 vowel sounds and the pitch range is wide and we use the whole range.

When I say Pitch in this context, I mean how high or low your voice is. I have included a link to a video about p itch from Roger Love. He is a world-class voice coach, and he trains people like Bradley Cooper, Tony Robbins, and Gwen Stefani. I highly suggest you check out his video for further details, its only 2 minutes long.

If you are looking for help with a specific problem or challenge, feel free to leave a question down below or send me an e-mail.

Tip #3 Practice often, record yourself

It takes time to improve your speaking. If you spend just 15 minutes a day, that’s 8 hours of practice over the course of 32 days. The more work you do the faster you will go.

Now the reason you need record yourself is you will sound different in a recording that the way you hear yourself as you speak. Sound travels away from you as you speak, it as it vibrates as it travels towards you, it will sound different. Recording yourself is also helpful for specific mouth movements that you need to make to pronounce different words and letters. When I got vocal training, one of the big tips he repeated to me was to drop my jaw. That training session was recorded, so if you would like to see the lessons I received, you can check out the link below as well. It's about 10 minutes long.

Also, to help you practice your pronunciation, I have included a link to an online converter of English text to IPA phonetic transcription, so if there are specific letters, words or phrases you have concerns about, you can hear what they sound like through this site. It is totally free to use.

To Recap: I explained why this accent reduction is important and some tips to reduce your accent which include slowing down, working on your specific weaknesses and prancing and recording yourself.

For your homework: Take these tips and apply them today, and every day going forward. Do whatever you need to do. Put it on the calendar, set reminders. Start recording yourself once a week.

Write a comment or send me an e-mail. If you have experiences like these I would love to hear them. Subscribe to my channel to receive updates when new videos come out.

If I can help you in any way I'd be happy to do it.

Best Regards,

Michael Rincon

Michael@Michaelsbusinessenglish.com

Test Taking Anxiety Tips

Saturday, November 24, 2018 by Michael Rincon | Tests; Anxiety; Confidence

In today's post, I am going to share 3 test-taking anxiety tips so that when you are faced with your next test or exam, you will have the tools you need to compose yourself instead of freaking out and not being able to focus.

These tips will help you regardless of your age, background, or career. Even as a 30-year-old data analyst and consultant, I'm regularly taking tests.

What is causing anxiety?

The answer will be different for each person and for each scenario, but in general, it's about the unknown, about uncertainty. Tony Robbins likes to say; "When you are absolutely certain, you have no fear."

If you are looking for help with a specific problem or challenge, feel free to leave a comment or send me an e-mail. Subscribe to my blog posts to receive updates when new videos come out.

Without further ado, let's get started:

Tip #1: Prepare early and often.

With standardized tests like SAT or IELTS, you usually have a few months before you must take the test to progress your career.

You can take advantage of this time by preparing and practicing in advance. For example, IELTS.org has sample questions you can review. Tutors and coaches can also help you by assessing your sticking points and blind spots that you could not accomplish through self-study.

It's also pretty common to get assigned tests without much time or material to prepare for them.

How do you prepare for these tests when you have less than a day to study?

It's okay to ask what kind of questions you can expect on the test. What I've done is use google and youtube searches for the tests, and for how to complete specific tasks such as Index Match in Microsoft Excel. That's how I passed the test for Microsoft Access even though I had never used it before.

Tip#2: Let Go Of Perfectionism

If you are feeling nervous, part of the reason might be because you feel that failure is not an option.

So I recommend two things here;

First, I recommend giving yourself permission to fail.

This might sound counterintuitive, but this will alleviate some pressure For the English Proficiency tests, most students have to take it 2 or 3 times to pass.

Secondly, you should have contingency plans.

In my line of work, sometimes I get handed tests that I have little chance of passing. Earlier this year, I got a SQL Developer test asking me questions that were well beyond my knowledge.

I was really frustrated at first but then I reminded myself that its okay if I fail, I can apply for other jobs or do more training after the test, and then when I finished the test, my contingency plan was to explain why I think I failed this test and how I have used SQL in my past roles so I can show that I'm still good for this position.

This allowed me to calm down, focus and finish the test instead of procrastinating. I ended up passing the test despite my lack of confidence.

Tip #3: Slow Down

When you are feeling anxious, you might be tempted to try and complete the test as fast as possible, because you don't want to feel the anxiety. It's actually in your best interest to do the opposite.

I live by the mantra "Accuracy over Speed."

One of the most important things you can do is carefully read the directions.

In both the English proficiency tests and some of the assessment tests I've taken, they have these things called "distractors" which provide misleading information and are intended to catch people who rush the test.

An example question that comes up is something like, "Which of the following is not a step in the process?" If you are not careful, you will misread the question and answer incorrectly.

To Recap: I provided an overview of what causes anxiety for tests and I provided 3 tips for dealing with tests.

Homework: I would like you to think about the next test is coming up and see how you can apply these tips. If you don't have any tests coming up, think about the last time you had to take a test and what problems you struggled with and why? Did you give yourself time to prepare? Were you too focused on the outcome? Did you rush through the test?

Write a comment or send me an e-mail. If you have experiences like these I would love to hear them. Subscribe to my posts to receive updates when new videos come out.

If I can help you in any way I'd be happy to do it.

Best Regards,

Michael Rincon

Michael@Michaelsbusinessenglish.com

Professional Email Writing Tips for Non-native Speakers

Saturday, November 17, 2018 by Michael Rincon | Business

Today, we are going to learn some quick tips improve your process for writing e-mails in American workplace environments. Specifically, I want to talk about the culture, the business etiquette. I want to talk about the behavior I have seen from many non-native English speakers.

Why is this important?

E-mail is one of the main forms of communication used in the workplace, and everyone is judging you based on your e-mail practices. And when it comes to building a successful career or business, how people perceive you matters.

If you do not handle your communication practices correctly, you are going to turn people off, and you will never know about it, you just won’t be invited for an interview, or they will avoid you at work and reach out to another co-worker or to your boss because you are difficult to work with.

So let's get started:

Tip #1: You don’t need to respond to every single e-mail.

I’m willing to bet you have spent time and effort writing e-mails, feeling anxiety and worrying about how they might respond. Only to never get a response.

Sending a response to e-mails that don't require it makes people think you don’t know what you are doing, its informal and unprofessional.

Some common examples of when you do not need to respond to an e-mail:

Any sort of polite greetings or comments such as “How are you?” or “Thank you.”
Any sort of FYI e-mail. Like if your boss is saying he is working from home.

How do you know if you should respond? Some things to look for:

Look for a call-to-action. Some phrases include
- “Let me know when this is completed.”
- “Please confirm receipt of this e-mail.”
- Usually, it’s a formal question such as "Do you know where I can find this information?"
Is the e-mail addressed to you, or is it addressed to someone else?
- If it is not addressed to you in any fashion, then you probably should not respond unless someone asks you to.

Tip #2: Don’t get personal or emotional

It's very easy for things to get misinterpreted over e-mail. What might seem okay to you, can be considered rude to someone else.

General rules:

Consider your tonality and avoid accusations.
- "You did not send us payment” vs “We have not received payment” – can you see the tonality difference?
Use proper format and grammar, as many professionals in America feel it is lazy if you write your e-mails in broken English.
- They will think you are being sloppy.

If this is a problem, it might be a good idea to get help. Find someone who can review your writing and provide feedback and lessons to improve your English composition and knowledge.

If you are interested in learning more about one on one customized business English lessons, visit our home page with this link.

Another reason I stress not to get personal or emotional in your e-mails is to minimize the risk of romantic misinterpretation. There are plenty of stories about women who try to network for their careers but sometimes the guys get the message that its a date.

Whenever you send an e-mail, the reason you are intending it should be clear, and obviously work-related.

To avoid any misinterpretations, stick to keywords and phrases to focus on your intention.

“I totally understand. That was not my intent. This is strictly professional. I just wanted to talk you about these goals” and then move on.
- "I wanted to learn more about your career path. For example, what kind of projects do you have? What skills are most important in your career?”

Tip #3 Create templates.

Templates allow you to repeat something over and over with minimal adjustments. If done right, it also looks professional. You treat everyone the same.

Here is one example you can use:

Email Template for Asking for Information

Subject line: I need Information about [area and a short description of information]

“Hello [Name of recipient],

Do you have any information on [be specific about the information you need]? In particular, I am interested in [list any key areas where you need particular info].

I have the following questions [list key questions] and I have already used the following resources to try and answer them [list resources].

Please send me the information and let me know if you can answer these questions.

Thanks,

[Your Name].”

Notice the call to action at the end?

Tip #4 Stay focused on your goal

It's very easy to go off topic and mention details that are not important.

Think about why you are writing this e-mail, who is it for.
- Does this person need this information?
- Who needs to be copied on the e-mail?
Make sure that everything in the e-mail is necessary.
- Keep it as simple as possible.
- Make sure you have the correct attachments and that any hyperlinks you have inserted are working properly.
Provide a clear call-to-action if you expect something from them.
- An example would be to say "Can you please let me know when this will be completed?"

Recap

We talked about why professional e-mail writing is important and I shared four tips to improve your e-mails.

Homework

Go through your e-mails and think about if any of these apply to you and how can you adjust.

Write a comment or send me an e-mail. If you have experiences like these I would love to hear them.