Why English Pronunciation Matters So Much In Business?

Clear, good communication should be the first thing that you learn in English. Terminology, specific vocabulary or advanced vocabulary can be substituted with simpler, easier words. However, if you don’t have good English pronunciation, everything else is secondary. Just imagine: you can form perfect, complex sentences grammatically, using intricate expressions, you can read advanced articles related to your profession or fields of expertise but people may not be able to understand you when you speak. For example, if you pronounce “sheep” as “ship” and “win” like “ween”  (see more examples here) you will have serious problems of being understood by native speakers, or in the best possible scenario confuse them a lot.

Also, this short funny video illustrates this point:

How good are your English communication skills?

Do you feel anxious every time you need to answer the phone or make an important phone call, worrying that you won’t be understood or you won’t be able to understand the pronunciation of the speaker on the other side?

Do you feel stressed when you need to take part in a meeting or present your project in English because you feel your pronunciation is not good enough?

Did you ever have to communicate in English but you had to be fast in fear that your pronunciation is not good and left the other side with a feeling that you could have said more or even contributed more?

A big number of English learners feel that pronunciation is not a priority or an area to improve on, switching focus on using “perfect” grammar and vocabulary. However, if any of the questions above have caught your attention, maybe it is a sign that you need to improve your pronunciation.

Native speakers may consider bad English pronunciation as lack of language competence. Someone with a strong accent can be difficult to understand or can be excluded because it is not pleasant to listen to. Getting through to native speakers can prove to be a difficult task when social interaction is affected by pronunciation issues.

How can you improve your pronunciation?

First of all, feel motivated! Motivation is the key to everything. Secondly, immerse yourself in English: spend some time in English speaking countries and interact with native speakers. Join English discussion courses in your city and get feedback from your trainer in class. Find an online speaking group for non-natives where you can interact live with an English native.
It goes without saying that the best would be to get pronunciation coaching by an experienced language instructor. The language instructor will be able to tell you exactly what you need to improve in terms of your pronunciation and support you in doing so. The right language instructor will help with neutralising or even losing the accent of your respective language. Listening to sounds of various letter combinations and repeating them while the language trainer is helping you understand how to produce these sounds, it will be only beneficial for you.

Think about it, when you can speak clearly and correctly, having natural flow in your speech, people will enjoy talking to you. Doing business live or via telephone would not be an issue. Presenting in front of an audience your ideas and projects with confidence will only highlight how professional you are.