Did you know that some business people abroad don’t want to do business with Brits because we don’t speak clearly?
And this isn’t the football hooligan Brit, it’s the nicely spoken professional.
I’ve heard this before but today it cropped up again in a comment on one of my recent blogs about accents. It came from a colleague in Germany who is bi-lingual but works in English, the so-called lingua franca for business. Talking about business people in Germany who do business in English, she said a lot of them don’t understand English spoken by native speakers.
“They have been telling me for years” she went on, “that they really prefer to do business with other non-native speakers because they speak more clearly!”
Not too good for Britain’s exporting or investment chances then…
Why can’t they understand us?
It’s partly because speech fashions have changed, as I mentioned in a recent blog. And the fashion – at least in the UK – is to speak less precisely.
We use our lips and teeth less for t and d; we drop endings more than we used to 30 years ago. And we rush through multi-syllable words so that sometimes they are hardly intelligible even for other native speakers.
For instance, try speaking these words an informal way. You probably lose the t and l to a large extent, especially when they come near the end of the word:
- immediately
- disagreeable
- denominator
- refrigerator
But that’s OK sometimes, isn’t it?
Of course some words are shorter in speech than in writing. That happens in all languages and it’s part of the pronunciation of the language e.g.
- comfortable [often comf’table in speaking]
- chocolate [choc’late]
- February [the u is lost]
That’s the easy part for foreigners because it’s taught in their English classes. What isn’t taught is how to understand when native speakers’ double their speed and drop the end or middle of words . Or when English speech habits change imperceptibly over several years, even in those who “speak well”.
Any other reason we’re hard work in international business?
Yes, there’s another big problem: we speak too fast for our foreign partners to understand properly.
Whatonearthsthematter sounds like a single word if English is not your first language. And so it goes on, all the words glued together in groups. That’s how a language is spoken by its natives, but we need to consciously slow down for our non-native-speaking colleagues and clients to keep up. If we don’t slow down or the words won’t be recognised.
And in business we seem to talk faster now than ever before
In some UK organisations talk has speeded up hugely in recent years. Specially in some sectors. We don’t all speak at the same hectic speed but a lot of us do because speed for some people is a priority in every aspect of life.
So, with some of my business clients in London, I talk twice as fast as usual at the start so I sound the same as they do. Then, if we’re having a serious conversation, the speed gradually slows down as we move into deeper thinking.
Is it because we don’t speak foreign languages ourselves?
This is maybe one reason: we don’t realise how hard it is, so we find it hard to empathise. Because many Brits don’t speak a foreign language themselves (because they don’t need to, or at least not to a high level), they haven’t experienced at first-hand how difficult it is to understand a foreign language spoken between equals.
I studied Spanish to degree level so I should be able to understand it easily. Shouldn’t I?
But I still have problems deciphering what Spaniards say when they talk at their normal speed, especially to each other. Each time I go to Spain I have to ask them to slow down.
It’s a bit embarrassing and if I travelled to Spain more often I hope it wouldn’t happen, but it’s useful. It certainly makes me more careful about my own speed when I speak English with my foreign clients.
So what can we do?
Realise that clear enunciation and a calmer pace make a huge difference to whether you are perceived by your overseas customers, colleagues and partners as a good international communicator. I’d recommend these as good first steps:
- speak more slowly
- enunciate more carefully
- watch for signs of non-comprehension.
Go to https://www.opcoxford.com/international-communication/for more information and to download our free guide.
If you would like to improve your clarity, enunciation and diction so as to be better understood by international partners and clients, go to www.opcoxford.com/diction-coaching for ideas. Or contact us by email at alison.haill@opcoxford.com or phone +44 1865 436 791.
Oxford Professional Consulting is Oxford’s most specialised coaching and training company. Our goal is to enable leaders and managers to put themselves across better so they achieve the success and respect they deserve for themselves and their company. We have 30 years’ experience helping international clients create great teams, influence others and lead within their organisation. Visit www.opcOxford.com for useful downloads and information.
