Repeat Key Phrases to Help Accent

One of the things to remember when you are looking to speak English better, is that English is just one part of language, and language is just one part of communication. A quick way to build rapport with your listener is to take a technique from NLP and mimic or reflect back their favourite words […]

Waiter or Slave?

As I was flipping through the channels this morning, sipping my coffee, I came across the Rachael Ray show. On it were a couple of ladies who authored a book about the experiences of waiters and how to get good service. I watched for a couple of minutes, enough for them to expose their top […]

What Workshop Topic Most Interests You?

Hello everyone! I hope you are keeping well and are not feeling any sort of ‘Monday blues’. I think I am fortunate as an entrepreneur and consultant in that I never feel any particular strain on Mondays. To me, Monday is just as good as Friday! (Are some of you hating me now? Sorry, I […]

Content Stress is Best

As a general rule, ▪ Stressed words in a sentence are considered content words. These include nouns (e.g. kitchen, Peter), (most) main verbs (e.g. visit, construct), adjectives (e.g. beautiful, interesting), and adverbs (e.g. often, carefully). ▪ Non-stressed words are considered function words. These include determiners (e.g.: the, a, an), auxiliary verbs (e.g.: is, am, were), […]

One Day Communication Workshop

If you are in the Toronto area, there is a communication workshop coming up soon that you may want to go to. BRASI is sponsoring a one-day workshop and I will be doing the training. For more information please follow this link to the BRASI website. IF interested, register through BRASI. (Aftab Khan is the […]

Mind Your Ps and Qs!

This is an idiom that at first, seems a bit strange, even to a native English speaker. Why Ps and Qs? What exactly does it mean? Well, it means to “be careful” or “be respectful (i.e. to elders)” or simply it serves as a reminder to young ones to be polite and on their best […]

Polite Customer Service in Japan

I am enjoying my time in Japan. I have spent my time in Yokohama, Tokyo and Kyoto. Although I have been working with Japanese people in Toronto for 8 years this is actually my first visit here. There are many things I could write about, but today I will focus on the politeness that is […]

FYI – In Japan

Do you know this shorthand? FYI? It means “For Your Information.” It’s a great way to save time and space in text mail and email. We even can use it in actual speech! E.g. “John, I’ll see you at 6pm for dinner, and FYI, it’s your turn to pick up the tab!”  (Pay the bill). […]

In Japan

Hello everyone, I will be here in Japan until July 9th. Some work, some relaxation. I am in Tokyo and Yokohama right now and soon I will visit Shizuoka and then Kyoto. I will put together a post/newsletter soon about communication issues here in J-town. For now, sorry that I have not posted for a […]

Simplify Your English ok?

Today’s mini-lesson is simple. Be simpler. Is simple a bad thing? No. (See? A simple answer!) As a communication and career coach I have seen resumes and cover letters that are too ‘wordy’ and absolutely unclear. This little advice is not just for resumes and CVs, it is also for presentations, speeches, meetings, etc. or […]