PUBLICATION
IMS Offers Cross Cultural Communication Program
Published: December 15, 2009
As part of the expanded Cross Cultural Communication program, Human Resources worked with Alice Kamin, president and director of Speech Potential Associates, in 2009 to help employees overcome communication barriers in the workplace that stem from varying levels of linguistic ability, culture and communicative style.
“This program is about more than just accent modification,” said Sue Royer, director, Organizational Effectiveness and Learning. “This program helps address the challenges facing employees who, because of their accents or language differences, are sometimes misunderstood, misjudged or overlooked.”
Open to employees in all departments, and at all levels, participation is based on manager nomination.
Alice worked on-site, often one-on-one with participants, helping them develop better delivery and style in their presentations, meetings, interviews, telephone conversations and written communications. Each one followed a customized program based on a comprehensive testing which measured all aspects of the participant’s language skills.
Individual and group courses were offered on a weekly basis. Group training is offered in seminar, brown bag lunch and workshop formats. Workbooks, CDs and supplementary materials are used for instruction and assignments are given for daily practice. Assistance with preparing presentations, as well as formal and informal editing and critiquing of written documents may also be offered as a part of the program.
According to Alice, time commitment, motivation and practice are the key elements for an individual’s success in her programs.
Xiaolong Jiao, Global Advanced Analytics group, is a native of a China who has been with the program since 2007. “Working in my group requires clear and effective verbal communication with clients,” she said. “After two years of training, I have made progress. I am more confident now when speaking with clients.”
Diana Lozada, senior marketing specialist and a native of Colombia, has been part of Alice’s program for almost 6 months. “The cross-cultural program helps assure foreign employees that as long as they possess business expertise, the company will invest in their development to overcome communication barriers.”
TESTIMONIALS
"Working with Alice was a wonderful experience that changed my entire life in America. I thought to give up the American dream so many times and go back to my native country of Colombia. However, this course, and especially the effort, dedication and encouragement that I found with Alice, was the light at end of the tunnel. I recommend Alice Kamin and her program to any foreign people who want to achieve success in America. Communication is the key to success in America."
Diego Villamizar
Database Projects Specialist
"Grammar.....Pronunciation.....Intonation.....Writing..... all seemed like broken pieces of a puzzle when I was learning the English language. Alice Kamin’s accent reduction course helped me put the pieces back together and in the right place. Thanks, Alice! You made a difference in my daily life!"
Panos Tzellos, M.B.A.
Financial Management Consultant
"Ms. Kamin analyzed my speech and developed a personalized plan to work on my foreign accent and grammatical problems. She analyzed the reasons for my problems and worked with me systematically to correct them. Her knowledge, experience and patience made it possible for me to achieve noticeable improvement in a short period of time. I feel much more confident in myself now and I wish I had taken this course earlier. I strongly recommend this course to anyone who wants to improve his/her accent effectively and efficiently."
Yilian Yuan, Ph.D.
Manager, Statistical Methodology
"The techniques that I acquired at Speech Potential brought the quality of my speech in sync with the level of my message"
Klaus Krause, M.B.A.
Regulatory Compliance Consultant
"I really enjoyed the accent reduction course with Alice Kamin. She was very personable, put me at ease, pinpointed and corrected my mistakes. She showed such genuine interest. This course made me aware of my pronunciation and intonation problems which I was never conscious of before. It has made a tremendous difference in my day to day English speaking skills. The course materials were also very helpful."
Usha Iyer, M.S.
Senior Statistical Programming Specialist
"This course is wonderful! It brought back my confidence. I learned more than I thought I would before I started. Not only did I learn the correct pronunciation of sounds, I learned more; beyond that, I now understand the whole picture of the English language, including intonation, linking and grammar."
Lin Xu, M.D., Ph.D.
