By Nishani Tissera / BURC Lanka, February 2025
As we see it, technical expertise and strong communication skills are two sides of the same coin. While technical skills are essential, the ability to express ideas clearly and confidently often gives you the chance to stand out in today’s competitive corporate world. This belief was reiterated by our recently concluded Corporate English programme with Synex International which was an experience that was both impactful and inspiring.
Each company has its own set of requirements for what they want to improve. So, as usual, we started off with our initial assessment to figure out the necessary remedies that we can implement for this particular company. One persistent challenge that we identified was that the participants were highly competent in each of their fields, and they were quite familiar with the technical jargon of their respective fields. The issue was that they struggled to speak in full, confident sentences in English. Which was quite common in corporate settings.
From the very beginning itself, this programme was constructed with the collaboration of the employees and our team at BURC. We worked closely with the organisation by staying in constant conversations while designing the curriculum. This allowed us to construct relatable course content, and as we had focused on the participants’ actual workplace needs, what was practised in the class could be used immediately on the job.
What truly made this experience valuable was the enthusiasm of the participants. We as trainers were quite fond of this group of learners, as they were much keener on improving their skills in speaking. As the sessions progressed, the change was noticeable not just in language use but also in how confidently and comfortably participants shared their thoughts and ideas.
One participant even reflected, “I used to overthink quite a lot when I was speaking English about grammar and what not, but now I just say what comes to my mind.”
As mentioned in the beginning, to an expert in corporates, the English language is but a tool to upgrade themselves. Effective communication does not mean that you have to be perfect, rather it’s about being heard, understood and overall being confident enough to really put yourself out there.
To conclude, we would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Synex International (Pvt) Ltd for the constant support and insight they provided us throughout the programme. Moving forward, this experience will hold a special place in our journey.
