I realize that may sound arrogant as it assumes that the land of opportunity has to be where English happens to be the first language but no one can argue that countries like the United States, Canada and Australia (and certainly some European countries) have been a common destination for the world’s immigrants over the past few centuries. People searching for a better life pack their bags and leave everything behind including their parents, relatives and friends. The thing is the term “better life” is relative. For many, it just means survival, for others, it is a bit more ambitious. In either case, you leave your country seeking progress and evolution. Decades ago, you could get your “opportunity” in the land of opportunity without having to say much, that was a different world, a different era wasn’t it? The world has grown much more demanding since then, and with it, the need for superior communication. Let’s be realistic though. There are still some jobs that do not require much speaking skills but there are now more jobs that do.
Despite all that, it’s amazing how many non-native English speakers I see completely unaware of the opportunities they are missing out on as a result of poor pronunciation in English. People! Pronunciation is not just an area of the language, it’s the sounds of the language. Do you guys know what that means? That means it’s what people hear when you open your mouth to say something about you, them and anything in between. In other words, it’s your voice and the manner you use it. Do you understand how important your voice is in communication? I can even argue that the sounds you make and the voice you use to make them are very much connected to culture, behavior, mannerism and many other fields that play a critical role in everyday and business communication.
As an Australian, I can tell you, yes Australia is the land of opportunity but opportunities are definitely getting harder to come by. You cannot afford to take any risks. Anything that could potentially jeopardize your progress needs to be eliminated. I think pronunciation or “the way you speak” could easily be a source of trouble, if not, then the key to unlocking your full potential as a professional. With good pronunciation, you sound more convincing, credible and trustworthy. People trust you when they can relate to you, or find more things in common with you like….well, the way you speak. Look, accents are fine, cute accents, different accents and popular accents are totally okay but accents that cause people to focus a bit more than they should during the conversation are definitely trouble.
You may have high degrees, ample of experience, and other great stuff going for you, but if you don’t sound good when you talk, you’re doing yourself a huge disservice. The first thing you ought to do when you start learning English is get the sounds right. Train your ears and mouth to respond well to the sounds of English. Tune up your ears and tame your mouth. Tune up and tame. That’s all you have to do at the beginning. That’s where it all starts. If you keep putting it off, your ears and mouth will get too comfortable with wrong English and you will end up forming bad habits that will be much tougher to break.
We all deserve an opportunity and there are so many opportunities waiting for all of us out there. Opportunities though often land themselves onto those who can communicate well. It’s not only the choice of words or accurate use of grammar that get people listening to you or connecting to you, it’s rather HOW you say those words, the sounds, the voice, the tone, the pitch, even your hand gestures and body language. There’s a strong connection between intonation and body language but I’m not going to delve into that as that’s beyond the scope of this article. It’s been said that we begin to form judgements on someone’s character or personality upon hearing the very first few words that come out of his mouth. The dangerous thing is that we often believe that our early judgements are true.
Are you willing to take the risk? I wouldn’t. Remember. Tune up those ears and tame that mouth. The rewards are much greater than the cost. Don’t you think so? Well how about you tell me what you think or even ask me questions. Like, share or comment.
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