We all want to feel appreciated and valued in the workplace but we are all also imperfect human beings, who occasionally have an off-day. However, sometimes the feedback we get from others in the workplace may indicate that we could improve something in how we communicate in the professional domain.
Do any of the following questions apply to you?
1. Do you get clarification requests regularly to frequently in response to your e-mails?
2. Do you get clarification requests regularly to frequently in response to presentations you have given or reports you have written?
3. Does drafting reports and other documents take a long time?
4. Do you send documents off right after having written the final sentence and saved the file on your device? Do you reserve time to edit your documents at all?
5. Have you ever received direct, negative feedback on your communication style after having communicated in English, for example from a peer or someone higher up in the organization you work or worked for at the time?
6. Do people respond to you in an unfriendly manner when speaking in English? Are they a bit short with you? Or do they frown or look at you a bit longer than they typically would while speaking with you?
7. Do people tend to get impatient with you in meetings?
8. If you prefer a more forward/direct style of communication, do you notice any strong language being used by others or does a response take you aback occasionally, regularly or more frequently than that? Have you noticed that you are using language that could come across as too forward or even aggressive? Are you familiar with or are currently using politeness strategies in English?
9. Has someone ever suggested to you that taking an English course may be something to consider?
How you should take these types of feedback
Although our co-workers are also fallible and imperfect human beings who may have their own preferences and things they may dislike on a more personal level that has little to nothing to do with you, it may be a good idea to see if more than one person offers this type of feedback implicitly or explicitly to you for this may indicate a potential blind spot. The more you experience receiving such forms of feedback, the more likely it is that you may want to improve or could use benefit from skills training; after all, skills have to be developed and maintained to be able to be utilized effectively.
These aspects could thus all be indicators that you may want to start learning how to communicate more effectively in the language. We develop tailor-made/customized training services for all of our clients, which means that services start wherever you are at in your language journey and we’ll collaborate with on achieving your objectives. The bottom line is that we offer you a partnership in your journey.
Our intakes includes: language aptitude tests, communication assessments and an intake meeting in which your wants and perceived needs are discussed. All of this input will be used to be able to propose a training service to you that allows you to work on the areas that may need some improvement including preparing for official, formal exams should you wish to partake in one shortly. In such an intake procedure, you could also indicate what your budget is if that makes it all easier for you; that way, we can see what we can do within that budget.
Please contact us for more information. We look forward to hearing from you!
