Determining your need for one of the courses offered on Talk Business-Online® is a crucial step in maximizing you or your employees’ ability to communicate successfully on the job. Below are descriptions and examples of individuals who can and have benefited from the use of courses provided by Talk Business-Online®. By reading below, you should be able to determine whether you can benefit from taking one of the courses.
Voice Course
The Voice Course is applicable to a range of individuals.The Voice Course can benefit individuals who experience vocal fatigue after speaking or singing, who have a hoarse voice, who are interested in better protecting their vocal chords, or who depend on their voice to make their lliving. Those with any medical problem should not take this Course unless it has been approved by their doctor.
Ms. V. is a newscaster for the local TV station. She “talks through her nose” and is difficult to understand.
Ms. K. is the CEO of a large corporation. She must constantly make presentations. She has an allergy problem which makes her hoarse, and she does not know what to do to relieve her resulting voice problem.
Mr. P. is the receptionist. He speaks in such a monotone, you question whether customers will ever be motivated enough to want to buy your new widgets.
For a detailed description of the Voice Course, visit its course page.
Foreign Accent Modification Course
The Foreign Accent Modification Course is designed to help individuals learn better American pronunciation of common troublesome consonants and vowels, rate of conversational speech, intonation (rhythm) patterns, common language areas such as pronouns or plurals, and general American telephone usage.
Mr. B. is an international businessman from Japan who does business within the United States. He knows American English, but people still have a hard time understanding him.
Miss R. is a flight attendant. She talks so fast as she announces the gate changes on the intercom that all of the passengers are confused and disgusted.
Mr. H. works out of Bombay, India, as a customer service representative for an American computer company. Although he knows English, he is difficult to understand due to the way he pronounces some sounds, his fast rate of talking, and his incorrect intonation patterns.
Dr. C. is a famous surgeon from a foreign country. He is possibly endangering people’s lives
by not being understood on the telephone when he calls in patients’
orders. Instead of having his native tongue “hold him back,”
he desires to reduce its impact so that it does not interfere with
his job as much.
For a more detailed description of the Foreign Accent Modification
Course, visit its course page.
Consonants Course
The Consonants Course helps provids general information about the place of articulation, voicing, and manner of production of American English consonant sounds. Specific drills from individual consonant sounds through complex conversation are given to help individuals on sounds they have difficulty with. This course can also be beneficial for parents who want to teach their children correct pronunciation of the consonant sounds so that they are able to speak and read them accurately.
Mr. M. is the receptionist at the front desk. He cannot pronounce his “r” correctly so behind his back, people call him “Elmer Fudd.”
Mrs. J.'s daughter who is being Home Schooled needs help learning the proper pronunciation of American English Consonant Sounds so that she may be more successful in speaking and reading skills.
Mr. S. is the spokesperson for a multi-national factory. He is interviewed on TV quite frequently, and he has a very noticeable lisp. People end up paying more attention to how he is speaking rather than to what he is saying.
For a detailed description of the Consonants Course, visit its course page.
Telephone Skills Course
The Telephone Skills Course helps provides more extensive practice in how to properly place and return telephone calls, leave telephone messages by voice mail or answering machines, ask for missing or misunderstood information transmitted over the telephone, learn American telephone etiquette, and provide general sales techniques such as the handling of difficult telephone situations. The course teaches skills useful for those whose job success may depend upon their telephone adeptness.
Mrs. S., in a letter written to your company, complains, “The receptionist you have at the front has no telephone manners!”
Mr. C.has to answer the telephone frequently and use it for telephone sales, but he doesn’t feel comfortable doing it.
For a detailed description of the Telephone Skills Course, visit its course page.
Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) Course
The ADA Course is designed to address disability concerns stemming from speech, language or hearing difficulties from either your customer or your employee’s perspective. This course is helpful for raising the sensitivity level of management and/or staff to these issues. Today’s diversity among staff and customers can lead to misunderstanding causing inefficiency and offense.
Mr. L. knows there is an Americans with Disabilities Act to which his company should adhere, but all the company has done to address this issue of disability accommodation is install a wheelchair ramp. What are the guidelines as they apply to speech, language or hearing issues for his customers and employees?
Miss B. came into your store and because she was wearing a hearing aid, your clerk made fun of her and would not face her when she told him she needed him to look at her when he was talking to her.
For a detailed description of the ADA Course, visit the its course page.
