3 Golden Rules For Effective Communication Questions: 1.

Have you been wondering how to put together an impressively-phrased PowerPoint presentation? 2. Have you been wondering how to compose an e-mail that captures your strategies and goals effectively? As a young professional in today's global business world, it is imperative that you are competent in both oral as well as written communication. Important forms of oral communication at the workplace include: 1. Building interpersonal relationships. 2. Giving presentations and debating viewpoints effectively. 3. You need to master oral skills for both in-person and over-the-phone interactions. Similarly, important written communication includes: 1. Writing professional e-mails 2. Putting together concise reports. 3. Creating visually powerful PowerPoint presentations. Here are some easy tips to do it on your own: 1. Improve diction There are a few tricks to making a vernacular accent more globally understandable. ~ Try making sure that 'air' comes out of your mouth when saying the letters, 'T, P, K' and the sound 'Ch'. ~ Focus on elongating your vowel sounds. This will also automatically slow down your rate of speech. ~ Sing English songs out loud! ~ Watch news shows on channels like CNN and BBC. ~ The web site www.m-w.com is great for pronunciation help. ~ Would also suggest buying books on pronunciation and language that come with audio cassettes. 2. Spruce up your writing skills ~ Believe it or not, you have to Read More! ~ Well-written magazines, like The Economist and India Today, are great to read not only to improve language skills but also to learn more about the world. ~ In terms of books, read what interests you. The basic goal is to read as much as you can. ~ People tend to forget basic grammar when writing e-mails. An e-mail is nothing more than a letter which is sent electronically. Make sure salutations and content are professional. Use special phrases when attaching documents. For example, "Please find attached with this e-mail a report on..." This helps you sound professional. 3. Five exercises to practice every day! I. Pretend you are a newscaster and read out the newspaper to your mirror. II. Do not read local newspapers. Focus on national newspapers. III. While reading a book, underline all the words you do not know. Look them up in the dictionary. IV. Make a list of these words, and make sure you use at least five of them in a conversation during the day. V. Most important, make an effort to speak in English to your friends and family.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 10 Tips To Improve The Way You Speak English Question : Can I 'neutralize' my accent? Yes, you can. All you need to do is train yourself to speak English as comfortably and perfectly as you speak your mother tongue. How do you train yourself? - By inculcating certain practices in your daily lifestyle. This will get you closer to sounding like a native English speaker and equip you with a global accent. I. Observe the mouth movements of those who speak English well and try to imitate them. When you are watching television, observe the mouth movements of the speakers. Repeat what they are saying, while imitating the intonation and rhythm of their speech. II. Until you learn the correct intonation and rhythm of English, slow your speech. If you speak too quickly, and with the wrong intonation and rhythm, native speakers will have a hard time understanding you. Do not worry about your listener getting impatient with your slow speech -- it is more important that everything you say be understood. III. Listen to the 'music' of English Do not use the 'music' of your native language when you speak English. Each language has its own way of 'singing'. IV. Use the dictionary Try and familiarize yourself with the phonetic symbols of your dictionary. Look the correct pronunciation of words that are hard for you to say. V. Make a list of frequently used words that you find difficult to pronounce and ask someone who speaks the language well to pronounce them for you. Record these words listen to them and practice saying them. Listen and read at the same time. VI. Buy books on tape Record yourself reading some sections of the book. Compare the sound of your English with that of the person reading the book on the tape. VII. Pronounce the ending of each word Pay special attention to 'S' and 'ED' endings. This will help you strengthen the mouth muscles that you use when you speak English. VIII. Read aloud in English for 15-20 minutes every day Research has shown it takes about three months of daily practice to develop strong mouth muscles for speaking a new language. IX. Record your own voice and listen for pronunciation mistakes Many people hate to hear the sound of their voice and avoid listening to themselves speak. However, this is a very important exercise because doing it will help you become conscious of the mistakes you are making. X. Be patient You can change the way you speak but it won't happen overnight. People often expect instant results and give up too soon. You can change the way you sound if you are willing to put some effort into it.

Quick tips Various versions of the English language exist. Begin by identifying the category you fall into and start by improving the clarity of your speech. ~ Focus on removing the mother tongue influence and the 'Indianisms' that creep into your English conversations. ~ Watch the English news on television channels (Star World, CNN & BBC) ~ Listen to and sing English songs. Hope the above tips would help us to 'neutralize' our accent. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Customer Service - Serving Well * How important is Customer Service to you? * How well is the service meeting Our Customers need? Serving Well Description This dimension focuses on the execution of the service, whereas the other dimensions focus more on the interface between the customer and the Customer Service Representative/Technical Support Representative. In other words, providing accurate, dependable, and timely service. Delivering the service as promised is a precursor to customer satisfaction. Standards We perform the service on time and as promised. We return all phone calls and email within 24 hours of receipt. If more time is needed, we let the customer know how long it will take to resolve an issue. We listen actively, acknowledge the problem, and ask questions before providing an answer. If we cannot provide what is asked, we offer suggestions and options.

Problems and complaints are resolved quickly with minimal effort on the customers part. We investigate the source of problems, so they do not recur. Conveying Courtesy & Respect Description This dimension stresses the interaction between the Customer Service Representative/Technical Support Representative and the customer. Customer Service Representative/Technical Support Representative convey courtesy and respect through their ability to portray a genuine concern for their customers well being. For example, listening to customers, working with them to find a solution, maintaining a friendly and polite manner, and keeping customers informed. Standards We will introduce ourselves and remain courteous and positive in all our interactions. We will be empathetic and helpful, even if we have to say No .

We maintain active listening through our expressions and body language.

On the phone, we wait until an individual has finished speaking, and then paraphrase what was said to ensure that we understand the request. When resolving problems, we follow up with customers to ensure their issues are resolved, and we provide periodic updates if a resolution takes longer than anticipated. Important * A customer feedback form is available in every company, so customers can tell us how we are doing and what improvements required to increase the service level. * We understand our customer's needs and to assess our services. We report our findings and take action based upon them. Happy Serving!!