You've probably heard the saying, "If you don't care where you're going, any road will get you there."
But
what if you do care where you're going, but can't communicate it
clearly to the person driving. Or, even worse, what if you are
confident that you have the skills to get you where you want to go, but
you still end up in the wrong place. Pretty humbling experience, isn't
it?
Let me tell you a story that happened to me when I was in
college. I minored in French in college and had already been to Paris
once after high school, so on this trip to Paris, I was feeling a bit
too sure of myself.
My French was good enough to communicate with
those around me, and just for fun, I wandered away from the tourist hot
spots to areas with more "local flavor" to try my language skills on
the real native speakers. I did just fine in several little shops,
which boosted my confidence even more.
I decided that I was ready
for a little day trip, and someone had recommended that I visit the
Chateau at Chantilly. I went to the bus station, asked for directions
and boarded the correct bus. Or so I thought. As the bus pulled away, I
looked at the list of bus stops for this bus. Chantilly was not one of
the stops listed. How could the attendant have told me to get on the
wrong bus?
However, as I looked more carefully at the list of
stops, I realized what had happened. I was on the bus headed for
Chatelet. I thought my French pronunciation was good enough to get me
through any situation, but in this case, a subtle difference in the way
I said a word had landed me on the wrong bus.
Fortunately for me
that day, it didn't really matter where I ended up. But, I missed
seeing a sight that I was looking forward to and may not ever have the
opportunity to see again.
But, what if that day, I had been
headed for a job interview, and I missed a great job opportunity
because of that little pronunciation difference?
Then, it would have mattered. A lot.
What
job opportunities or promotions might you have missed out on because
your speech wasn't quite as clear as you thought? Some very intelligent
professionals are so confident in their abilities that they do not
realize the difficulties that their accented speech can cause. Have you
ever thought about the consequences of being misunderstood? Of missing
a promotion...a critical contract...or a better job offer? Did you know
that by working with an accent reduction specialist, you could
eliminate those consequences altogether?
You know that clear
speech and accurate communication are critical to getting where you
want to go in your career, and an accent reduction specialist can help
you to get there. If you are a non-native speaker of English or an
American with a regional dialect, you can experience a significant
change in the clarity of your speech in just a few short weeks. So, if
you have any question about your communication skills, contact a
professional who can help you improve the clarity of your speech and
the direction of your career.
I don't want you to miss the bus.
tweet this!