Communication: master the English of your profession!

A company’s communications department plays a key role in its functioning. This department is often behind the public perception of the company, it’s where the company’s key messages come from, and the people working in the department are the face and voice of the business.

Communicating the company’s message is the guiding principle of the communications department, but within this come many more key responsibilities, such as:

• Managing media (writing news releases and news content)
• Organizing events (logistics and promotion)
• Marketing efforts, including social media management
• Website management
• Arranging media communications for key employees (interviews)
• Responding to client queries and solving problems
• Keeping the customer base informed (newsletters, social media, brochures)
• Responding to emails and calls from customers and new leads
• Managing crisis communications (sudden closures, public safety issues)
• Announcing internal company news

If your company has a large workforce, some of these responsibilities could be taken care of by other key departments, such as marketing or customer service. However, depending on the structure of your organization, it’s possible that all of the above could fall on your department’s plate.

There are a range of more specific job functions within a communications department, such as:

• Chief Communications Officer (CCO): the head of communications at corporate level
• Communications Manager: managing communications on a day-to-day level
• Communications Officer/Assistant: more junior role dealing with specific communications tasks
• Communications Intern: a supporting role to the team

Other roles that could fall under the communications department include PR Manager, Community Manager, Marketing Manager, and Public Affairs Specialist.

As you can see, there is broad scope in the communications department, meaning that lots of different types of people could find their niche there. To be a good communications professional, you need to have good communication skills:

• Be a good listener
• Be attentive and empathetic to other people’s needs
• Be a problem solver
• Present well
• Be creative

The specific areas of expertise or experience that you might need to be hired as a communications professional will depend on the industry and company type you are looking to work in, but the following things can be a big plus:

• Proven experience in written communication (copywriting, SEO)
• Fluent in technology (website and social media management)
• Knowledge of targeting specific audiences (analytics).

f you need to improve your communications skills at work quickly, the best way to do this is expanding your vocabulary. Here’s a short list of example vocabulary that you could be confronted with in a communications environment:

• Branding
• Press release
• Reach
• Round-up
• Lead time
• Impressions
• Engagement
• EOD (End of day)
• Back office

How many of these words are you already familiar with?

As a communications professional, you’ll be expected to be at ease communicating with colleagues, customers and the public. Let’s look at some of the ways to form everyday phrases and expressions that crop up in the communications sphere.

• Why don’t we…? (making a suggestion)
• How about we…? (making a suggestion)
• Your idea sounds good but…? (rejecting a suggestion)
• Let me think about that one (rejecting a suggestion)
• Let’s give that a go (accepting a suggestion)
• That might be worth a try (accepting a suggestion)
• What are your thoughts? (seeking advice)
• I agree up to a point (agreeing partly)
• Yes and no (evaluation a suggestion)
• Let’s come back to that (agreeing partly)

Having some of these in your back pocket can really help when you’re stuck for words.

When you take your English learning online with the GlobalExam platform, we recommend beginning your journey by clicking on “Boost my career” then “Communication”. Here is where you can find our specialized learning materials for the communications profession. We have a whole online course in English dedicated to marketing, available across three levels: beginner; intermediate; and advanced.

The intermediate marketing course covers the following topics:

• Introduction to corporate communication
• Communicate effectively with prospects and clients
• Build strong press and media relations
• Communicate internally
• Maintain effective communication through change

Each theme in the course is made up of situations designed to prepare you for various communications-related scenarios. The unit “Building strong press and media relations” includes the following nine scenarios:

• Is this launch soft?
• Let’s cast light on your copy strategy!
• Sky’s the limit
• Hold your horses!
• The best thing since sliced bread
• Would you take the elevator?
• In the public eye
• Let’s craft ORM
• Investor relations have reached a landmark

Each of these situations takes approximately 20 minutes to complete. Each one follows a similar structure, beginning with a video that explains the situation, introducing you to essential vocabulary, and asking you to complete exercises. These can involve doing things like reordering a sentence, multiple choice questions, and filling in the gaps. GlobalExam exercises are fun and it’s easy to complete a situation without feeling like you’re studying.

Here’s an example communications exercise from the “In the public eye” situation:

Good communication is a skill like any other: it can be learned and improved. To improve your communication skills for the workplace, we recommend working on these key things:

• Speak in a clear and concise way
• Know how to persuade and convince
• Learn to disagree in a kind and fair way
• Practice public speaking
• Give positive and negative feedback
• Know how to set clear boundaries
• Listen to what other people say in an active way

A big part of communicating comes down to language. If you don’t have the right words to convey your opinion, how can you make sure your point of view has been understood? This is why we have a whole communications pathway on GlobalExam. Use it to refine your English language skills, including vocabulary and grammar.

Find out more and learn top 10 tips to stay motivated when learning English online.

Are you familiar with virtual learning? If the answer is “no”, we’re here to explain why it could work for you.

At GlobalExam we’ve incorporated online lessons to our e-learning platform as a way of extending the learning experience to include real face-to-face interaction. There are two possible lesson formats: a 30-minute individual session; or a one-hour group session.

Our group lessons cover pre-selected themes and take place according to the following schedule:

• Making a phone call - every Wednesday 6pm
• Planning a meeting - every Thursday 7pm
• Giving a presentation - every Friday 6pm
• Participating in video & conference calls - every Friday 7pm

Lessons are scheduled for Paris time.

Do not wait any longer and start taking a professional English course online with GlobalExam!

Our Business has three different levels: the beginner, the intermediate and the expert level. To determine your level before you begin your studies, we offer a level test; this way you won’t waste your valuable time on a level that is too easy or too difficult.

Business provides you with a variety to choose from. There are courses, adapted to different pathways and objectives that you can follow, according to your personal and career needs.

Boost my Skills is the one for you if any of the following are aspects that you want to address: negotiating, managing a project,managing interculturality, writing a professional email, recruitment, answering the phone, travelling in business, conducting a meeting or greeting a client .

Boost my Career is the one to follow if any of the following are what you need. English for communication is one of 7 Business online courses dedicated to job skills, here is the list of the others you can find:

• English marketing course with GlobalExam
• English course for Human resources
• Business course for sales
• English for purchasing
• English course for management
• English for customer service

Boost my Level is the one for you to develop or hone your general Business. It doesn’t matter if you are a beginner or an expert, we have options for you.

The choice is yours! Select what you need and start the Business course today to boost your career. There’s no need to sit through hours of irrelevant material.

Our Business platform offers the following materials and services:

• Scripted content with coaching
• 25 scripted paths allowing for better immersion
• 500 situations from real working life that deals with real situations
• Video coaching with our instructors
• Detailed corrections for each question, so you will know what you have done wrong and how to improve
• Certification of each course after completion
• Learn to craft a professional, succinct English CV

Having access to our attractive and easy to navigate website along with staff who care and want to provide the best service possible is all part of Business, too.