Is the Way You Speak Holding You Back in the Business World?

Is the way you speak holding you back in the business world? Although to some it may seem unfair often the way we say something is judged as much as what we say. The best prepared presentation or speech in the world can be ruined if words are mispronounced or slang is inadvertently included. While it may be natural for a person to use certain phrases in their everyday conversation with friends the use of the same in the business world may raise eyebrows and diminish the reputation of the speaker.

For example, consider this sentence; "I really likes this product". Of course when you see it written in black and white on the page you know how wrong it is, yet it was a phrase spoken to me a few days ago by an otherwise very impressive salesperson. That single mistake completely changed my opinion about his credibility.

Having a strong accent can often be a problem too. This is a problem for non native English speakers and those who were born in an English speaking country. Many people spend a great deal of time and effort learning to speak English as a second language, and the result is that they do so very well. But they retain their strong accent, which can impede their ability to communicate effectively in the English speaking business world.

The same can be said for those native English speakers who have strong regional accents. There is nothing wrong with being proud of where you come from but sometimes a strong accent can be difficult for others to understand and that makes it hard to get your point across, especially in a business setting.

Even if you have a neutral accent, the use of improper grammar can also adversely affect the way you are perceived in the business world. Mixing up words like "affect" and "effect" is easily done, but that simple mistake made in speech or presentation can really detract from what might have otherwise been a very successful presentation.

The basic point I make trying to make here is that if you take the time to think as much about how you are going to say something as well as what you are going to say can only serve to make your next speech or presentation far more effective.