Bridging The Communication Gap

Sarah Berry Nov 27, 2018

There are many crossroads in life- that we all know, but standing on one, trying to make the best decision possible, at that point in time, may not always be an easy one, especially if it pertains to weaving a career. Embarking on a career and building on it require many elements that catalyze to compound the professional life, one of which is consistent upskilling and learning.

So, whether it is a skill acquired that needs to be upskilled, or a new skill honed, or for that matter, a medium of communication enhanced, that rather elusive and challenging upward curve is guaranteed only with unlearning, learning and relearning. So, why should learning or mastering a language be left out?

In my professional journey, I have come across many, who wear their degrees with pride, and rightfully so, but when it comes to the basic of introducing oneself, in, say, five sentences, it seems like a task that defeats all other exams surpassed. Communication underlines itself in every domain, in today’s world, which is why the increasing emphasis is placed on the same. Language forms an integral part of verbal communication. I have always felt that irrespective of the language one knows, mastery of the same is a challenge that one could (and should) consider. The pronunciation, vocabulary, and the play with words in written and verbal formats are as challenging and exciting a journey as anything can be.

Let us begin with English and Hindi. From many of my students, I hear the amalgamated version of Hinglish, which makes me encourage them to choose either instead, and work on, at least, getting two sentences right in any one language. ‘Verbal yoga’ – an exercise that is a ‘good cure’ for fillers is one such assignment that finds a good place among communication improvement tools. Reading different genre of texts, with intonation, recording, and playing back is another fine assignment for those who wish to empower their voice modulation. Learning five new words, each day, and using them in sentences, enables enlarging the vocab, vital for meaningful conversations. Besides this, there are innumerable tools that enhance the art and science of communication within a language skill set.

Some months back, I got to know of a program called EnglishBolo that helps empower communication in the English language, targeted towards professionals, enabling customized learning, anywhere, anytime, at one’s own pace. The USP is not only the customization, or the price (INR 999), but the flexibility that this ensures, something that I, for example, as a learner never had during my journey as a languages learner. The course comprises of self-learning and teacher-led classes, an interesting amalgamation. Of course, there are, possibly, other options too. The crux remains that irrespective of the tools that technology brings at one’s doorstep, the fact remains that communication skills cannot be learnt right out of a textbook, but need just three important things: practice, practice and practice-these accompanied by the will and patience to absorb, understand, apply, and adopt.