We live in a global world where speaking more than one language is not only an advantage, it’s becoming a necessity. This is especially true in the business world, where international transactions and relationships are the norm. However, as the global marketplace becomes increasingly competitive, simply being able to speak Business English is not always enough. Whether you’re working in a traditional business setting or a more creative field, your employees need to be able to speak the language of your industry.
What is the difference between Business English and industry-focused English?
Business and industry language skills are two different things, but they both play essential roles in the workplace. Business language skills are the ability to communicate effectively in a business setting. This includes knowing the right words to use, understanding the tone of a conversation, and being able to navigate through corporate politics.
Industry language skills, on the other hand, are specific to the industry that you work in. They include terms and phrases that are commonly used in that industry, as well as knowledge about the types of businesses that operate in it.
So why is specialized vocabulary so essential?
Avoid the pitfalls of miscommunication
In many industries, it’s critical for employees to know the proper terminology for the products or services they provide. While “sales forecast” and “attrition rate” are common in the business world, those terms could be meaningless to employees in other industries. For example, the phrase “attrition rate” has a very different meaning in the airline industry than in business. If an airline employee who doesn’t know the difference between “attrition rate” and “accident rate” misuses terminology, it could cause communication problems or even safety issues.
Poorly-worded emails, careless reading or listening, poor document design, or inaccurate information all have costs for your company. This is why being able to speak fluently and use the right wording is essential.
Build trust with your clients and partners
Mastering industry-specific language can also assist in creating a more professional image for your company, be it during business meetings, conferences, trade fairs… or even in your recruitment process!
It helps you build trust with customers, partners, potential applicants, and make your company seem more credible. A company being only as good as its employees, polishing the communication skills of your talent is also what sets you apart from the competition.
Increase efficiency and innovation
Business requires innovation and efficiency. Innovation comes from diverse thinking. Efficiency comes from a common language that brings all your minds together. Mastering industry-specific language allows your talent to take on new information and data, understand new trends, leverage their knowledge, share their expertise flawlessly internally, better work together, and ultimately better serve your business and your clients.
Help your employees grow
Finally, in addition to impressing your clients and improving communication, industry-specific language can also increase your employees’ promotion chances. Learning a language will help your employees grow, and a skills-based learning program will help them develop the industry-focused conversational skills they need to advance their careers.
To sum up
Sometimes, business English is not enough for your talent. Your employees need to learn the specialized vocabulary and grammatical structures specific to their industry in order to communicate effectively on the job. Industry-focused language courses are the best way to do this. When it comes to choosing the right type of English training for your employees, it’s important to consider the type of business you are in. If you are in a customer-facing industry, you will need to focus on customer service skills. If you are in a technical industry, then you will need to concentrate on technical vocabulary.
There are many general English courses available as well as Business English courses, but very few are industry-focused and address the issues specific to your industry. Learnship offers an impactful 5-week training course, which allows your employees to develop the right skills in scenarios based on authentic business situations and tailored to the needs of your industry.
At Learnship, we provide highly tailored language learning programs through our state-of-the-art platform.
Get in touch with us and let Learnship kick-start your global journey.