by Susan Berkley
 
The United States has always been a nation of immigrants and with the global economy, many of us deal with more non-native speakers of English than ever before. These relationships are valuable and to make them work we need not only good communication skills but also mutual respect.
 
1. CULTIVATE RAPPORT
I have lived abroad [...]

By: Brian Tracy
 
Over the years, I’ve learned that fully 85 percent of what you accomplish in your career and in your personal life will be determined by how well you get your message across and by how capable you are of inspiring people to take action on your ideas and recommendations.
 
You can be limited in [...]

by Susan Berkley

Last week I wrote that volume level should not be confused with projection. To project the voice, don’t try to yell or force it out of your body. This causes strain. To have a voice that carries well, you must use your body’s natural resonators.
 
This week: The Way You Feel About Yourself 
I have found that there is often [...]

by Susan Berkley
 
If you are not being heard, you may think it’s because you are not speaking loudly enough. But actually, volume may be only part of the problem.  
 
Last week, I wrote about vocal volume.  A conversational volume level will differ with each situation. It must be adjusted so that we are speaking at a level that [...]

by Susan Berkley
 

Last week I wrote that there is a difference between not being heard (being inaudible) and not being understood (being unintelligible). Sometimes people confuse the two.  I suggested consulting a licensed speech pathologist for articulation problems and a good dictionary, such as the one at the Merriam Webster website  
http://www.m-w.com, which has an audio player for most words. 
 
This week: Vocal Volume Level [...]

by Susan Berkley
If you are not being heard, you may think it’s because you are not speaking loudly enough. But actually, volume may be only part of the problem. I suggest doing a systems check on these four areas. I’ll cover one each week, over the next four weeks.

Articulation/pronunciation

Vocal volume level

Voice projection

Your [...]