When you are talking on the phone, what can you do if the listener cannot understand an important word that you are saying, even after you repeat it slowly? For example, your name, address, website, or city?

You might spell the word, but the listener may not hear the letters correctly. If I spell my name, “R-O-B-I-N”, the listener can easily confuse the letters. For example, the person may confuse the “B” for a “D”, the “N” for an “M”, etc. These are very common problems when we cannot see the person we are speaking to.

To make sure important words are understood over the phone, we can use a telephone alphabet, or a word-spelling alphabet. These are a list of words that represent letters of the alphabet. If I use a telephone alphabet to clarify my name, ROBIN, I could say:“That’s ‘R’ as in Romeo, ‘O’ as in Oscar, ‘B’ as in Bravo, “I” as in India, and ‘N’ as in November.”

The most well-known telephone alphabet is the NATO alphabet. This alphabet is commonly used by airports, military, and sea travel. Many other professionals who exchange important information over the phone also use it.

See the article below and learn the NATO alphabet! It can come in very handy for anyone, whether English is our first or second language.

How would you ‘spell’ your name using the NATO alphabet?

If English is your second language and you are interested in enhancing aspects of your English communication, 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙎𝙥𝙚𝙚𝙘𝙝 at www.speech3.com provides customized training focused on effective, clear, and confident speech.

https://www.worldometers.info/languages/nato-phonetic-alphabet/

Should we say “𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫!” or “𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫’𝙨͇!”? 𝐀𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫: Always say “Happy New Yea𝐫”, with 𝐧𝐨 “s”!

Many of us 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 say “Happy New Year’𝐬!”, because we hear 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵 phrases such as: “On New Year’s, I usually spend time with my family” , or “What are you doing for New Year’s?” These phrases are correct because we are implying either New Year’s 𝐃𝐚𝐲 or New Year’s 𝐄𝐯𝐞. We use ‘𝒔 here because we’re referring to a specific day, not the whole year 2020.

The following article from 𝐃𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲.𝐜𝐨𝐦 further explains when to correctly use New Year vs. New Year’s. Many of us use the incorrect phrase, whether English is our first or second language. Check it out!

So, Happy New Yea𝐫! Also, enjoy New Year’𝐬 with your friends and family 🙂

If English is your second language and you are interested in enhancing aspects of your English communication, 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙎𝙥𝙚𝙚𝙘𝙝 at www.speech3.com provides customized training focused on effective, clear, and confident speech.

https://www.dictionary.com/e/new-years/

Are you comfortable asking people for clarification when you don’t understand them? How about offering clarification to make sure people understand you?

Some of us may not like to ask for clarification because we don’t want to seem inattentive or disrespectful. We may hesitate to offer clarification because we don’t want to be perceived as lacking confidence in our speech or in other cases, patronizing.

However, being completely confident with both of these is useful, and in some cases crucial, for successful communication. This is true whether English is your first language or second language.

The article below, from ThoughtCo., provides common phrases that you can use to effectively clarify and check information. 

When using these phrases, it’s also important to use the right tone. For example, using a polite and professional tone may be appropriate in most of these situations.

Observe how others ask and give clarification. Consider recording and re recording yourself saying some of the phrases until it conveys the attitude you wish to express.

If English is your second language and you are interested in enhancing aspects of your English communication, Progressive Speech provides customized training focused on effective, clear, and confident speech.

How to Politely Ask Someone to Rephrase or Confirm Something

During business meetings, with directions it’s important to make sure you’ve understood everything. Clarify information in English with these phrases.

This article, from the British Council Voices Magazine, highlights the importance of English 𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 or the ‘music’ of English. Using incorrect intonation can lead to major misunderstanding, even if English is our first language!

If English is your second language 𝙖𝙣𝙙 you feel that your speech sometimes limits your effectiveness, then sharpening your English intonation skills can help minimize the chances of miscommunication.

The article explains two simple ways to begin improving our English intonation: be aware of how others use intonation and examine our own intonation. During the day, notice how others use the music of their speech to express themselves. Also, record and re-record your own voice regularly until it conveys the attitude you wish to express.

If you are interested in more formal training in English intonation, 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙎𝙥𝙚𝙚𝙘𝙝 at https://speech3.com/ provides customized lessons to strengthen your intonation for effective, clear, and confident speech.

https://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/how-english-learners-can-improve-intonation