THE KEY TO LEVERAGING LANGUAGE FOR CAREER DEVELOPMENT
QUESTION: “What is your most important reason for learning English?”
MOST COMMON ANSWER: “To improve my career opportunities.”
Is this correct? Learning English is a vehicle to transport you on the highway of career advancement; this is absolutely true for most students who learn from me. You understand that English proficiency is an important component of professional development. However, it is only a beginning.
In order to attain higher pinnacles of success and respect in your work, you must become a master of communication. What does this mean? It means that once you have good command of the English language, you must learn to adapt your style of communication for developing strong relationships with all personality types. And, the skills required to do this are not that difficult.
Knowing how to recognize different personality types and respond effectively to each one will establish you as a great communicator, someone who connects with both co-workers and superiors, and someone who should be considered for managerial or leadership positions. But wait…there is more.
Everyone has a primary modality for accessing and imparting information. Have you noticed that some people are ok with receiving important information by phone call? Or, what about the boss who insists on seeing you in person to discuss an important matter? This is probably because the boss has a primary modality that is visual, while ones who are satisfied with a phone call are primarily auditory.
Does knowing this help you to understand communication preferences and develop a stronger relationship with your boss? You know it does!
Finally, you must know that conflict is inevitable in human relationships. Knowing how to manage conflict is essential to professional growth. Strategies for containing conflict will vary according to personality types. However,thereare simple responses in the face of conflict that will help defuse almost any situation.
You don’t even need to be accent-perfect to become a master of communication in English. Consider Arnold Schwarzenegger, who still has a noticeable accent yet became wildly successful in English speaking roles in movies and as governorof California. Why? Because he mastered the art of communication, the key to leveraging language for career development.
