Whenever people talk about how weak they are in communicating in a particular language, I am reminded of a 'funny' letter written by a railway passenger to the concerned authorities complaining about the guard of the train in which the passenger was travelling.
I'm pretty certain you must already know about this letter, however it's worth sharing again.
The letter -
Dear Sir,
I am arrive by passenger train Ahmedpur station and my belly is too much swelling with jackfruit. I am therefore went to privy. Just I doing the nuisance that guard making whistle blow for train to go off and I am running with lotah in one hand and dhoti in the next when I am fall over and expose all my shocking to man and female women on platform. I am got leaved at Ahmedpur station.
This too much bad, if passenger go to make dung that dam guard not wait train five minutes for him. I am therefore pray your honor to make big fine on that guard for public sake. Otherwise I am making big report to papers.
Your’s Faithful Servent
Okhil Ch. Sen
Funny ??? Think again. Since the formation of the Indian Railways in 1857 there was one crucial element missing in trains: toilets. Passengers had to wait for a station to arrive to answer nature’s call. This so called ‘funny’ letter written by a passenger in 1909 to the Sahibganj Divisional Office (West Bengal) led to the introduction of toilets on Indian trains, thus bringing much timely ‘relieve’ to train passengers.
Just goes to show that Communication is not only about how you speak and write, it’s about the impact you create and the results you achieve.
No doubt, it’s important to have correct grammar, the right pronunciation & good command over the language. All these can be easily developed by following a few simple steps:
1. Read an English newspaper every day. Identify new words, find their meaning and start using them in sentences. This will help build vocabulary & teach you how to structure sentences correctly.
2. If you don’t like to read, then watch English videos. Just ensure the language is English, not ‘Hinglish’ or any other adulterated form.
3. Start speaking in English as much as you can. You’ll make mistakes but slowly, steadily and surely, you’ll gain fluency and confidence.
4. Practise writing in English every day. Best way to do it is to maintain a journal.
5. Ask for feedback on the way you speak from people you trust. Take the feedback with an open mind and put it to work immediately.
6. Take help of learning apps.
Remember, good communication & developing proficiency in a language is a skill, not talent, and so can be developed with proper preparation, practise, patience & persistence, you can learn to speak English and develop effective communication skills. Today, others may laugh at the way you speak; tomorrow, you will have the last laugh.
Communication Skills Workshop for Hindalco, Hirakud.
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