7 ways to Improve your Communication Skills in English

you may know lots of vocabulary and grammar but still be a terrible communicator if i had a lot of money i would purchase a majestic mansion on the rocky coastlines of spain speaking english well and being a good communicator are not the same thing right now keep watching because you are about to improve your communication skills in english [Music] hi this is keith from the keith speaking academy and the youtube channel english speaking success also check out my new youtube channel english speaking success shorts short videos focused on english pronunciation practice so today i've got seven tips for you to help you become a better communicator in english remember right um i think communication it's a skill it's like a muscle that you need to develop a bit like confidence do you remember my last video about confidence well it's something you need to develop over time through practice a great place to practice i think is cambly cambly have got native english speaking teachers who can help you practice english and develop awesome communication skills more about that later but today the seven tips i've got are the following speed how fast you should speak emphasis how to use stress effectively speaking clearly simplicity body language communicating ideas and copying others oh and i've got a great bonus for you i'm going to tell you at the end the most powerful question that all great communicators use and this is a really effective question you can use in the ielts speaking test as well so watch out for that at the end of the video let's get straight in with tip number one tip number one speed don't speak too fast great communicators usually speak slightly more slowly than the normal speed of a conversation so that the listener will grasp the main idea and understand what they're saying right a problem for many students especially if you speak quickly even in your mother tongue um is that you think that that's fluency right speed and fluency are not the same in fact speaking too quickly is a sign that your pronunciation is not good that you don't control the pronunciation so when you're speaking speak slightly more slowly than natural conversation speed okay and use the power of pausing you should be pausing before you speak and in the middle of your speech right let's take for example um if i asked you the question what would you do if you won the lottery you might answer like this if i had a lot of money i would purchase a majestic mansion on the rocky coastlines of spain right but now let's try and improve that we could say what would you do if you won the lottery if i had a lot of money i would purchase a majestic mansion on the rocky coastlines of spain right now the pause at the beginning even for two or three seconds is very powerful because it tells the listener that you've heard them and that you're paying attention right it helps build trust and respect with the listener whether it's a colleague a friend or an examiner so that pause at the start is powerful and then phrasing the phrasing is where you have a chunk and a pause in the right place if i had a lot of money pause i would purchase small paws a majestic mansion pause on the rocky coastlines of spain powerful use of pausing in fact i just remembered i've got a whole course about this how to use phrasing correctly go and check it out fluency for ielts speaking don't go now go later right now let's move on to tip number two tip number two emphasis or stress right good communicators are really good at using stress or emphasis to convey clear meaning you need to think about stressing the right words the right phrases and even the right ideas within a speech right you can do this in different ways one of the most common ways is to use adverbs adverbs can really help you emphasize the meaning of something let's take that sentence from the beginning right if i had a lot of money i would definitely purchase a majestic mansion definitely right you're conveying the meaning of without doubt for sure that's what i would buy right it's a nice way to do it in fact there's a whole video about how to use adverbs effectively go and check it out later the second thing to do is to change the volume i'm sure if you've been to see some live music right you'll notice how in music they use volume changes in volume to convey meaning you've got the music going right there's a crescendo and then it comes down and it's such a powerful communication it's the same when you're speaking right you go from being very quiet to then getting louder and it changes the dynamics particularly with adverbs if you're stressing when you stress something you can increase the volume right if i had a lot of money i would definitely buy a majestic mansion that volume change really good to help with that now another couple of things there are some very useful phrases you can use to help you show emphasis and stress and communicate more clearly the first one is this one what's blah blah blah about it is this right um what's interesting about it is or what's amazing about it is so if somebody asks me for example is spain an interesting place to live i can say well yes it's interesting or yes what's interesting about it is the beautiful scenery how much more powerful is that right we're focusing the attention what's interesting about it is it's a lovely way of doing it what's amazing about it um what's fascinating about it you can have different adjectives in there similarly another phrase you can use is what i blank about it is so again if somebody asks me you know do you like spain yes i do i like it or um yes i do what i like about it is the beautiful scenery you see the stress what i like about it is again you can change verbs what i hate about it what i love about it is nice focus lovely way to emphasize and stress the meaning you you want so two great phrases there that you can use to help convey your meaning and be a better communicator let's move on tip number three is speak clearly you really need to enunciate oh there's a nice word enunciate it just means to speak clearly open your mouth english is one of those languages where a lot of the sounds come from the front of the mouth we use our lips and the shape and the jaw a lot a lot more than some languages right in some languages you can see people speak almost without moving the lips hello my name's keith nice to see you how are you things are good thank you what you need to be practicing is to over exaggerate practice almost like a muscle gym like a mouth gym practice moving your lips so a very good exercise is to look in front of a mirror as you're speaking and over exaggerate the movement let's take that sentence that we've been using in this video and just watch my lips right as i over exaggerate if i had a lot of money i would purchase a majestic mansion on the rocky coastlines of spain and that's it now you over exaggerate when you're in conversation you just speak naturally but when you're practicing go a bit over the top let's move on now i'm ever so thirsty let's have a drink what would you like excellent good listen i hope um you're enjoying the video so far um if you are then do subscribe and turn on notifications for future videos i'd just like to take a moment to tell you about developing your communication skills right in order to do that you need to practice and a great place to practice is on cambly cambly is an online platform with native english speaking teachers where you can have one-to-one classes with teachers and develop your speaking and communication skills it's great because you can choose which teacher you'd like to have you study when it suits you and you even decide what you want to do in the class or your teacher can guide you if you like it's great because you can also record the classes and then go back later to watch again and carry on practicing and studying cambly have a variety of different plans for different needs and i'm sure you can find a plan that will suit you as you are one of my students and as cambly are sponsoring this video thank you so much cambly for that then we've got some discounts for you if you are a first time user you can get a 10 minute class for free just to practice and try out the platform to see if you like it if you go for the one year plan that's 12 months you get a 40 discount off the regular price great saving if you sign up for cambly remember to use the code keith dash yt to get your 40 discount on the 12 month plan that's keith dash yt i think preparing for ielts is all about improving your english for the long term right english for life it's worth investing in a long term plan 12 months and improve your english go and see you can check out the links below to go and check out more see if it's right for you excellent now let's get back into those tips to help you become an even better communicator in english right tip number four simplicity or keeping things simple did you know there's a huge difference between spoken english and written english i've talked a lot about this but if you don't believe me take a book like this right longman grammar i've spoken and written english i got this in china but it's it's the british book um i mean look right this is a mammoth volume the differences i mean it's huge there are big differences let me do that blinkist thing where i summarize this in one minute two of those differences is right is that spoken english is generally simpler it uses more simple language and the second difference is spoken english has more repetition which is logical right because when you're writing you can read things again and again you don't need to repeat the words when you're spoke when you're speaking words disappear people forget so you need to repeat things again often in a slightly different way but a lot of repetition so the idea of keeping language simpler is an important one when communicating effectively do you remember that phrase we had at the start about purchasing the majestic mansion this one right now i would ask the person who said this um okay if i had a lot of money that's fine purchase we would probably say buy but you could say purchase majestic mansion that sounds poetic why did you use the majestic mansion oh no i just looked it up in the dictionary yesterday right it might be better to say well a house or a huge house right to get the meaning much clearer it's about the size of the house it's a huge house um rocky coastlines why did you say rocky oh yeah because i looked up rocky and it was a nice word to show off is it important right the fact that you're buying a house is the fact that it's rocky important no then out forget it right on the coast of spain if i had a lot of money i would buy a huge house on the coast of spain that is much more effective communication now i know what you're thinking you think keith but in ielts speaking we we need to use complex vocabulary right yes and no in fact not quite at all there's nothing in the band descriptors about complex vocabulary the bang the band descriptors talk about band-aids right uses a wide vocabulary resource readily and flexibly to convey precise meaning using vocabulary flexibly it's about using the right words in the right place at the right time not necessarily complex now i do agree there's a bit of a balance between showing off vocabulary but using the right words at the right time flexibly so it's not always the same thing okay just bear that in mind simplicity helps you communicate let's move on okay tip number five ready body language now this includes eye contact your manner whether you're friendly or unfriendly and smiling communication is far more than words right um we communicate with words but actually we communicate a lot without words just through our body language and it's very important take a simple example let me show you different ways i can use body language and words to ask for your pen right first second pen third give me a pen fourth can i borrow your pen please thanks which one is more effective right it's not only the words but it's the manner the gestures that we make as well i think the last one is a more effective communicator not always right i know it depends on the context and who you're speaking to but generally speaking the eye contact having some eye contact a pleasant manner and smiling make you a more effective communicator and it's especially true in interviews job interviews ielts speaking tests let's go back and listen to the first speaker of this video and notice the body language if i had a lot of money i would purchase a majestic mansion on the rocky coastlines of spain now let's see if i can improve it if i had a lot of money i would definitely buy a house probably a huge house on the coast of spain right more powerful communication great what you can do now practice yourself take the words try and use your body language eye contact mana smiling to be a better communicator have a go that is great keep on practicing while we move on to tip number six so tip number six is about communicating ideas communication is all about getting your ideas across it's not about speaking perfect english in order to communicate ideas well of course you need to have ideas to communicate if you've got no ideas then there's no communication but this is a common problem for many students and they ask me keith what do i do in ielts speaking if i have no idea about the topic well of course you can say one or two clever things like well i haven't thought about that before but you know it's not very effective what you really should be doing is reading and listening to a wide range of material on different topics become an avid reader start reading books books about food maybe books about edward snowden read magazines right maybe news maybe others read some interesting websites check out this one the conversation brilliant website lots of interesting ideas also be watching things videos i mean you can go to youtube i would recommend a curiosity stream right for under 20 a year you get access to a wide range of amazing documentaries films very specific topics really useful for ideas yes another thing you can do is to be asking yourself this question every day what do you think of right ask yourself that question i even in other languages um write little cards right i mean i'm a bit of a an old-fashioned person call me a an old fogey if you will but i like flash cards where i write them down so i may write down things like you know what do you think of climate change what do you think of artificial intelligence what do you think of science and just each day i'll just pick up one and i'll start answering and if i can't get an answer i'll go and read something that can help me get some ideas about it right become an avid reader great let's move on tip number seven copy others so i recommend that you watch some great speakers and communicators right and copy or imitate everything they do watch them and notice the speed the emphasis volume enunciation simplicity of language body language getting their ideas across right watch them and notice these things and then copy them you may you know you may want to look at people like i don't know i mean some people say winston churchill possibly barack obama for sure jim rohn oprah winfrey brilliant richard branson another great one um tony robbins not everybody's cup of tea but maybe just go and watch them in fact what you can even do is just take two or three sentences that they say right break it down and try and imitate exactly what they say and the way they do it just for two or three sentences record yourself do this over several days and to see how you get closer and closer to being just like them it's a great exercise to do help build up your confidence as well as communication skills that's it oh there's still a bonus let's go over to that bonus so are if you remember um at the beginning of the video i did say i would tell you the most powerful question that great communicators use so that question is what do you mean exactly it's a great question it's a great question because it makes the other person think that you're interested in them and their ideas because you're asking them to clarify it and maybe you are but also it helps build trust because they think you're interested you're trying to listen understand them better so it builds trust it's great in ielts speaking it's a great question because if especially in part three you don't fully understand something or you're not sure you just say what do you mean exactly you know if the examiner says well do you think consumerism has overtaken our society what do you mean exactly well do you think that people buy too many things ah okay and then you give your answer right it's a great question to to build trust to help you become a better communicator not just in ielts speaking but in any kind of conversation fantastic that's it i hope this helps you see that good communication is not just about good english it's so much more communication is a skill that you need to develop and it takes time remember go and check out cambly where you can practice and build up your communication skills with native english speaking teachers also if you're a first time user you can take a 10 minute free lesson to check it out see if you like it and then if you sign up for a whole year a 12-month plan you get 40 discount building communication skills takes time sign up for cambly sign up for the long term and get english for life it's well worth it and i will see you in the next video take care bye [Music] you

Channel: English Speaking Success

Views: 468,991

Keywords: ielts speaking, ielts keith, keith speaking academy, communication skills, communication skills in English, communication skills in english, communication skills in english speaking videos, communication skills in english for interview, ielts speaking improve your fluency, english body language, body language in interview in english, how to speak clearly in english, improve communication skills, effective communication, effective communication skills, good communication skills

Id: aQcj7K33MX4

Length: 25min 10sec (1510 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 28 2021