Deliver SATISFACTION

Now, let's get something straight. This article is not about music. It's about making your English as a second language delivery style far more satisfying and effective for you and for the rest of us.

But wait a second…

Maybe it is a little bit about music. After all, nobody likes to listen to something that isn't music their ears.

So here is the million dollar question:

What makes the delivery style of a speaker of English as a Second Language (ESL) satisfying for any listener?

Perfect grammar? Not really.
Perfect pronunciation? Try again.
Sophisticated vocabulary? Ice cold.

Those are very important, but to reach our goal of listener satisfaction, we need to think outside the box of conventional English courses. In fact, there are just 2 (two) steps to approaching a satisfying delivery style in English as a Second Language:

1) Use the Logic of English when constructing ideas, sentences or phrases, instead of translating from the Logic of your native language to English.

2) Develop a sense of tone. In other words, detect and decide how much formality or informality a situation requires, based on the context at hand.

Delivery style is not rocket science. But just like music, you can learn a lot from assimilating what others do in the same situation. And with the Internet today, you have infinite ways to do that.

From my experience as a TEFL and communication consultant in Latin America, I know that this is actually the area of most difficulty. Coincidentally, it's also the area most overlooked by English courses offered in Spanish-speaking countries.

But the reason for this difficulty in delivery style is simple. Native Spanish speakers often implement the same delivery style in English as they do in Spanish. This means they often use long sentences, BIG academic words (of Latin origin), very few verbs (and hardly ever phrasal verbs), too many nouns, inordinate amounts of passive voice and excessive formality.

Now for our purposes, whether this is the way to go in Spanish is irrelevant. However, in English this delivery style will in most cases undermine the value of your message. It will be perceived as wordy, not entirely candid, and even contrived. Making matters a bit more complex, English Users today have 24/7 access to English thanks to the barrage of mass media that surrounds us. But you have to know when to use what you hear.

A few years ago, I was assisting a team of young professionals. They were writing a power point presentation about "the complications in aspects of the implementation of the principal stage of the …. program". They wanted to know if the goal was clear. I told them that if you read it 27 times, it’s clear, but it sounds awful in English.

I pointed out that it would sound more English to say it was about “The challenges of implementing the main stage of the ... program”. In other words, instead of using the lifeless noun “implementation”, we "implement" something. Instead of using "complications in aspects", we use "challenges". Just reading a few power points by native English speakers (which are available… everywhere) will give you more examples of what is normally used for these.

Then in the next slide, it said, "this is how we wanna do it". Asked why they used it “wanna”, one group member replied, "If Mick Jagger uses it. we can use it too, right?". I understood their dilemma, but reminded them that the leader of the Rolling Stones was most definitely not singing about software architecture, but more informal aspects of life.

In conclusion, delivery style is all about choosing the right words and the right tone, and in recognizing that English works best when it’s written in "English”. At the very least, it’s good way to ensure that your audience won’t say they ”can't get no satisfaction!" from your message.

In the weeks ahead, look for more articles and videos that address how to improve your English delivery style.

GLOSSARY

get something straight (phrasal verb) - aclarar las cosas de entrada
outside the box (idiomatic expression) – pensar de manera lateral, no convencional
rocket science (idiom) - ciencia oculta
overlooked (adj) - ignorado porque lo pasaron por alto
the way to go (idiom) - lo que hay que hacer
undermine (verb t.) - socavar
wordy (adj) - con palabrería
candid (adj) - franco
contrived (adj) - forzado
24/7 (idiom) - las 24 hs, todos los días de la semana

© 2010 Paul Ponce

EASY language, COMPLEX Love... ACTUALLY

In today's post, we'll look at a great scene from a movie that actually uses very simple language to solve a complex dilemma.


It's from the hit romantic comedy of 2003, Love Actually.

By the way, remember that actually in English means "in fact", "in reality" and not something happening at the present time (as Spanish speakers sometimes mistake).

Anyway, as you will see in this scene, for Mark - a young man from London - it's difficult to say what he's got to say to that special someone (Juliet), even if they speak the same language.

Of course, who says you've got to say anything? Sometimes, all you actually need is some cardboard, a magic marker and some basic knowledge of verb tenses.

See for yourself and WATCH THE SCENE BY CLICKING HERE.

As you can see (and read), the language Mark uses includes:

simple present: You are perfect...

simple future: My wasted heart will...

And not much more.

Now imagine how this would change if the guy had actually tried to say his feelings instead of writing them. Put yourself in Mark's shoes or in Juliet's. What do you think they would actually say to one another?

Here at PLS English Users we can't actually recommend that this technique will work for your personal life.

But if you want to enjoy a simple and delicious comedy - in English - from the director of Four Weddings and a Funeral, we can recommend you rent Love Actually at your local DVD rental store.

And as an EXTRA from PLS English Users - if you click here - you can download a PDF of the script that was actually written to make this movie. (The script is for educational use only).

Movie scripts are fast, easy and fun to read. They are also mostly written in historical present (simple present). So, you can actually read this one before, during and after you watch it. By the way, the scene mentioned above is on page 120-121.

To catch a glimpse of the movie, you can also check out the trailer below.

Enjoy!