Tips to improve your business communication skills

Figure out which words must be said together to hold meaning (or "a thought"). Say all of the words together without pausing.

For example: The other day, I gave a presentation to the boss.

There are 3 groups of words in this sentence: the other day, I gave a presentation, and to the boss.

At the end of each thought group, your intonation must change. Usually, within a sentence, the intonation goes up; at the end of sentence, the intonation goes down.

Listen to native speakers of English and see if you can figure out where the thought groups are and where the intonation is changing.

This is the biggest change you can make to your speaking - much bigger than focusing on individual sounds.

In business, people are busy. They get 50, 100, 200 emails a day. They don't always have time to read a long email.

And sometimes they miss important information because it is buried in a long email with long paragraphs.

Remember that most people don't want a lot of explanation. They want to know what they should do.  If someone wants more information, they will ask you for it.

Write what you need to say - and no more.

Be clear and concise.

Use bullet points where possible.

Put each new idea into a new paragraph. A paragraph can be one sentence.

You probably spend a lot of time creating and practicing presentations. You worry about your accent and whether you have included the best charts and written clear slides.

Then, you get up to present and, because you're nervous, you speed through the information.

You have shared your information with the audience, but they haven't understood. Not because of your accent, but because you spoke too quickly.

Remember that the more formal the situation, the slower you should speak.

I don't mean to say each word separately. You still need to speak in thought groups. 

But pause longer between the thought groups to give your audience time to hear and absorb what you are saying.

This might be new or difficult information for your audience. You are giving them the information for a reason.

So slow down - they want to hear your information and learn from you.