Get to the nitty-gritty of international business communication with Melanie Hussell.
Melanie Hussell arrived in Belgium 16 years ago following a long career in drinks, electronics and retail. She founded ‘Speak Up’, her Business Communication Coaching company in 2014 and since then has been on a mission to help business professionals to Speak Up with confidence and clarity to drive the change they want for their organisations. This Thursday, Melanie will deliver a one-hour webinar providing you with practical tips to ‘Present virtually with impact’.
AHK debelux wanted to know what she does in her Business Communication Coaching and why it makes a difference. AHK debelux interviewed Melanie to discover more about her Business Communication services and what challenges do busy professionals face when communicating in English.
Melanie, what inspired you to become a communication coach?
I love to combine my corporate background with my linguistic expertise, especially in pronunciation, and my extensive experience in developing people’s soft skills. I have helped many nationalities: French, Dutch, Spanish, Turkish and Chinese speakers. With this mix, I focus on what the individual or what the company really wants to change, and help them embrace this and push themselves forward. Often, I challenge them to go out of their comfort zones with a safety net and lots of practical support. My work is so interesting as I help, say Technical, Sales or Finance teams and I work across all levels, from CEO to the biochemist in the laboratory.
What are the typical challenges for people working in an English environment?
I think two of the main challenges are - the lack of confidence when speaking and issues around their own pronunciation and understanding the speech of non-European speakers of English, especially people from parts of Asia.
Many people come to me because they lack confidence. They think that their level needs to be the equivalent of a native or very advanced speaker and therefore they are intimidated by them. But what they don’t realise is that native speakers only consist of about one fifth of speakers that are currently communicating in English. So, their main goal is to be understood and to understand. So, their level doesn’t need to be as high as they think. For example a Dutch person may be communicating with a Chinese person in English and so forth. So, there is an important change in mindset required.
Why is confidence and pronunciation in Business English such a weak point?
Sadly, I think the reason is that in many schools and universities they don’t focus enough on spoken language.And that really gives you confidence. Also, it is a sad fact that many educators do not teach pronunciation. They do not have the tools or confidence to assist in this core competency so it’s usually missed out of the curriculum. On the other hand, they do teach a lot of grammar but this is often written so many struggle with choosing the right tenses when speaking. The good news is that listening, reading, fluency and business vocabulary are good, much higher than the other competencies.
To give you a bit of background, the average adult person in Belgium has a language level of a high pre-intermediate to intermediate level. My estimation is, that the average business person is a bit higher, about intermediate, that’s B1 in the CEFR levels or B1+ level in spoken English. I usually focus on the spoken language as this is the main method used to drive change.
How do you change this?
I don’t focus on their level. Because it can be too negative and it’s such hard work to jump a level. They say “oh I am B1”, “oh I want to be B2but I try to steer away from that as much as possible. Of course I listen to their spoken grammar, to their pronunciation, to their fluency - how fast they are speaking, and I assess their listening skills, their vocabulary etc.
But then I focus on five core pillars: confidence, vocabulary, pronunciation, presentation skills and their audience.
When I refer to the audience I include e-mail writing. Sometimes people use formal e-mail-writing when actually, it should be informal and the other way around. It is about being a sort of chameleon, to be able to adapt to whom you are communicating with. Who is your audience? Is it the leadership board, your peers employees, suppliers or customers? Are they Chinese people or your Belgium office? Is it formal or informal? With this in mind can they adapt their language to reflect the situation?
What do companies expect nowadays of the communication skills of their employees?
I think companies expect their employees not only to have good English but also to have good communication skills. Many expect them to already arrive with these skills. Conversely, schools and universities in Belgium like in many other European countries seem to expect that their students will be trained by the companies that employ them. So, in my opinion there is a huge gap.
I also feel that many individuals are not equipped with business English and basic presentation skills. Yes, the content of any presentation is absolutely key, but after that the delivery is important especially if the change is going to meet some form of resistance, which is normally the case. Nobody wants to listen to a boring speaker or to someone who doesn’t engage and inspire you to change , especially online.
Could you name one skill that is crucial for a successful communication in a business context?
If I just pick one, I would say, confidence is the number one item for successful business communication. And I like to break it down to four areas: confidence in your expertise and background, in the product or service, in your own linguistic abilities, and lastly in your own communication skills, I mean here, your delivery. If you are confident in those four then you can make an impact and drive change.
How do reach that confidence?
To change their confidence level, we first need to change their mind set. Usually, my clients speak two, sometimes three or four languages. Most of them are incredible linguists already. And I also look at their background, many of them are a huge amount of expertise, and are super qualified. This is very inspiring. So we first speak about their work and I encourage them to talk about what they really need to do in English for their job. No correction. Just talking. Then the second thing I focus on is: Do they have the vocabulary needed in their area? And then are they able to pronounce this vocabulary clearly? So, when they do speak, people understand what they say regardless of where they are in the world.
Does pronunciation matter?
I think pronunciation is critical, epecially when we are communicating virtually. It is even more noticeable. Mispronunciation is one of key causes of miscommunication, it’s not grammar! Many of my clients now are on a calls with may be ten people sometimes from two or three different continents. So, clarity of speech is really important, too. And simple, concise language is all that is needed.
What are the main challenges for communicating in online meetings?
I think that the confidence of most people goes down. They feel very exposed. All the friendly non-verbal communication is gone. So, they don’t have that warm handshake or eye-to-eye-contact for reassurance. They are left feeling very vulnerable. Also, there is no energy from their colleagues, no one is able to give them a boost.
As a result their stress and anxiety levels are higher, and they are even more frustrated that they cannot say what they really want to say. Communication training globally is set to increase over the next coming years, as people realise this soft skill is really pressing. In addition remote working is set to double after the pandemic so our workforce needs to upskill and get used to remote international communication.
How do you address this frustration in your webinar “Present virtually with impact”?
When people present virtually they have to put a lot more energy in, a lot more voice, a lot more body. I cover these areas in the webinar. They need to amplify everything. Many people need much sharper presentation skills to really drive the change they want so I provide practical tips in other areas too, such as structure and goal setting. I also include online presence, so people are more aware of how they come across virtually.
Are you planning to give more group seminars?
Yes, I have a 15 step persuasive presentation programme for individuals and groups. Here, I start with the presentation/communication goal which I share in the webinar. Other steps include the structure. who the audience is, how to start, how to finish etc. I focus on linguistic skills as well. For example: how to use repetition, rhetorical questions or compelling adjectives and so on. Many people lack powerful presentation skills, especially scientists, engineers and introverts of all professions. They have amazing expertise and wonderful products or services but when communicating their important work, they sometimes have a skill gap.
Can people also work on their presentation skills with you?
Yes, sometimes I just teach presentation skills, perhaps eight to ten hours one-to-one. We work through my 15 step presentation course which includes playing with the voice - pausing, tonality and rate of speech etc. - and each client chooses which models, which tips they wish to include so they can feel more comfortable and as authentic as possible with they speak.
Actually, I teach the basics of presentation skills to just every client because everyone is presenting at some point. Even if it is just ten minutes a week to pitch a new idea to the team. For me,it’s just down to the nitty-gritty business of international communication. Forget your language level. What exactly do you need to collaborate, share your ideas and drive change?
Thank you, Melanie, for this interview.
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