If you work in a company which has offices in different countries, or if your company does business with foreign companies, the chances are that you use English as a medium of communication. It's impossible to estimate how many people worldwide use English for business, but with the increase in globalisation, more and more communication in English takes place when one or both of the people involved is not a native speaker of English.

This can bring both advantages and disadvantages. Businesses that employ people from different cultures are often thought to be more dynamic and inventive. However, it is vital to have good communication to avoid misunderstandings or poor working relationships.

The following tips for successful communication in English are in two sections: tips for improving linguistic skills, and tips for improving personal skills and awareness.

Linguistic skills

1. Keep it simple

Avoid idioms and phrasal verbs and keep grammatical structures simple. This has two advantages: the person you are dealing with will be more likely to understand you, and secondly, you will be less likely to make mistakes.

2. Use clarifying and rephrasing techniques

Don't be afraid to check what you have understood. Clarifying (or rephrasing if the other person doesn't understand) saves time in the future.

If I understand you correctly…
If I can paraphrase what you've just said…
So you mean…
Let me rephrase what I've just said…
Let me say that in another way…
In other words…

3. Ask if you don't understand

Rather than making assumptions (which can turn out to be untrue) make sure you understand the other person.

Sorry, but I don't understand.
Can you go over that again?
I'm not sure I understood your last point.
Would you mind repeating that?

4. Prepare for meetings, presentations and negotiations

Before you meet someone, make sure you have prepared any vocabulary or questions you might need. The more familiar you are with any particular vocabulary, the more relaxed you will feel when you meet. It's also often helpful to "role play" a meeting or negotiation, so that you can predict what sort of questions or issues will arise and how you can best deal with them. See our other articles on meetings, presentations vocabulary and successful negotiations for useful phrases.

5. Write it down

Ask for a written agenda before a meeting so you can prepare. Take notes when others speak (during meetings, telephone conversations etc).

Follow up meetings or spoken agreements with a written note.

It was good to meet you yesterday. I'm just writing to confirm the main points of our meeting:
Following our phone call this morning, I just wanted to confirm our agreement:

I hope this topic will give you some advise for your communication.

Yes, perfect! I quite agree with what you say.

incredible good ！！！

yes it is very important

Good  document！perfect  recommendation

just open your mouth to speak English

OK，very good