The
Confident Communication Crash Course
Helping non-native English speaking healthcare professionals express themselves more articulately and confidently in the English language
with Shweta Ramkumar
Gain more credibility in the workplace
Earn more respect among your colleagues and patients
Express yourself in an articulate, assertive and confident manner
You’re qualified, experienced, well-trained, knowledgeable, competent and professional.
You’ve been an expert in your field of healthcare for several years. However, not being fluent in English has led to:
Awkward situations
Awkward situations and uncomfortable conversations with patients and colleagues due to misunderstandings
Difficult relationships
Not being able to build a good working professional relationship with your patients and colleagues
Missing out
Missing out on the credibility and respect that you deserve
Feeling anxious
Feeling nervous and anxious about performing anything that needs you to speak up, be it interviewing for a job; applying for a promotion; presenting at a meeting, conference or seminar
Being passive
Being passive, reserved and not speaking your mind at work
Being excluded
Being excluded, discriminated, isolated and taken advantage of at professional and social situations
You’ve taken intensive English language courses to brush up on your communication skills.
You’ve passed your IELTS/TOEFL/OET exams with flying colours, and yet:
You feel stuck
You feel stuck and hold yourself back from saying Yes to opportunities that you deserve
You feel judged
You feel conscious and judged about not speaking English well
You feel frustrated
You feel frustrated about not understanding your patient’s needs and they complain about the same
You feel undervalued
You feel undervalued, undermined and unappreciated at work despite all your potential
You don’t feel good enough
You want to move to an English-speaking country for a better lifestyle / opportunities but don’t feel ‘good enough’ to do so
You feel out of place
You have already been living in an English-speaking country but feel socially unfit and out of place, therefore hesitate to interact with people from other cultural backgrounds besides yours, keeping you in your comfort zone and stop you from growing professionally and as a person
How is this course different?
No ‘set in stone’ Curriculum
Everything is personalised and customised according to your needs, goals, learning style and level
Textbooks are only guides
Textbooks and worksheets are used as a mere guide instead of the ‘Bible’
No arbitrary tests
Not using arbitrary competency exam standards and levels to evaluate your potential
Real-world application
Predominant application of grammar and language skills through hands-on communicative activities in groups and real-world situations
Personalised teaching
Teaching customised and personalised according to your individual strengths, needs, goals, learning styles, pace and level; no ‘one size fits all’ approach
Ongoing support
Ongoing 1:1 or small group support, honest and constructive feedback, accountability, progress tracker and self-evaluation
Self-learning activities
Self-learning and reflective activities but NO DIY approaches
Innovative thinking
Innovative thinking, self-expression and ditching the ‘system’ is the norm
By the end of my course you will be able to:
Gain clarity
Gain clarity on what your want from my medical career, create short and long term goals to achieve them through a tried, tested and successful roadmap
Build rapport
Build a rapport/ relationship with patients by showing more empathy and have better conversations rather than small talk just to tick boxes in paperwork
Gain credibility
Gain more credibility, recognition, respect, validation and trust from colleagues and patients for your knowledge, experience and professionalism
Express your ideas
Express your ideas, present yourself speak your mind in situations with ease, assertiveness and confidence
Better understand
Better understand the cultural nuances of communicating with different people with no more awkward situations filled with misunderstandings
Gain more self-belief
Gain more self-awareness, self-belief, willing to share your journey and build better connections and communities
Feel empowered
Feel empowered and belonged knowing that there is a place for you wherever you live or wish to move to; You can connect with and befriend anyone you wish, break the ice and communicate easily with anyone about anything, leading to a more culturally diverse social circle
Be better equipped
Be better equipped and resourced to create a home and community for themselves anywhere in the world
Here’s how we’ll work together in supporting you
All of these modules can be customised not only to your needs and financial budget but also your timeframe. For example, if you needed support on delivering a successful presentation at an upcoming meeting in 2 weeks’ time your coaching program can be designed accordingly.
On a long term basis, you have the option of working with me on a 3, 6 or 12 month basis.
- Get clarity on reasons why you want to speak English better and how it will benefit your career and lifestyle
- Reflect on what you have tried so far to improve your English and why they haven’t worked
- Brainstorm on What different strategies are you willing to try instead and why do you think they would work better
- Set short & long term goals, timeframe to achieve them by and to track progress
- Work on visual and visualisation exercises on the experience you want to create at work and living/moving abroad
- Narrow down 2-3 areas or topics that are presing and urgent for you currently, personalised of course to your current situation
- Do intensive language coaching with me to help you get to where you want in your current need of hour, based of course on your individual situation and how you like to learn
- Segway ourselves into cross-cultural comparison and nuances within the context of your ‘need of the hour’
- Rigorously practice what you have learnt so far through role play and speaking exercises; with either myself or other group members playing the role of a patient / colleague / interviewer
- Exposure to real life everyday situations you face at work
- Give each other feedback, apply what was covered in the sessions at work and reflect on how they went
- Understand that speaking English fluently and communicating effectively will vary with the context of the culture you are working or living in or relocating to
- Doing exercises that compare and contrast words and phrases in English to that in your native language to highlight differences or similarities
- Create and use resources such as cheat sheets to highlight slangs and informal words and phrases commonly used in both languages
- Exposure to and comparison of cultures in mainstream media
- Reflecting on what aspects of the culture that is different to the one you grew up in that you find challenging and how it stops you from fully being and expressing your authentic self in all situations
- Reflect on situations where you have dealt with challenging, tricky / sticky situations at work and otherwise, what was said or done, how it impacted you and how could it have been handled differently
- Compare and contrast options on what to say or do in different scenarios to reach win-win outcomes for all
- Exposure to effective and culturally sensitive body language strategies
- Similar to Phase 3 in the context of assertive communication
- Prepare to build your home away from home
- Enlisting 3-5 core areas you need to master for effective integration and community building in your new place of residence
- Mould your mindset mentally and logistically to feel belonged and connected wherever you are in the world
Meet your guide, instructor, cheerleader and supporter
I have been an ‘educator’ ever since I was born and can recall teaching my second language Hindi to my extended family, helping my peers improve their spelling and grammar, coaching them in table tennis and guiding them through the academic and social pitfalls of secondary school.
I have always had an interest in languages since childhood, working one-on-one with people to share my knowledge and experiences and equipping them with tools and strategies to solve their problems and make a lasting impact on their lives.
I have formally tutored and taught students of all ages and walks of life in Australia, UK, Thailand and Vietnam for over 15 years.
Through working closely with me over the years, my students have managed to accelerate their academic results, have developed a clearer understanding and appreciation of the nuances and concepts of the subjects I have taught them, applied them in an articulate, coherent and confident manner and have grown tremendously as individuals and in their careers.
I have received very positive feedback from my students, their peers, parents and fellow teachers through my services and have formed lifelong constructive relationships with them.
Besides teaching and my love for languages, I have a keen interest in Science and Healthcare and have spent most of my life teaching concepts and subjects in those areas to my students.
I now combine all my interests, skills, experience and competencies to work closely with healthcare professionals who work with patients regularly. I help them improve their communication skills when interacting with patients and colleagues, teach them how to show up authentically, assertively and articulately in their field of work in order for them to ultimately gain credibility, validation and respect.
As an avid traveler who has lived and worked in several countries, I also equip ESL healthcare professionals with tools and strategies on how to find their feet as an expatriate in English speaking countries, building close friendships and a community and navigate through the challenges and pitfalls of living and working in a culture different to their own in order for them to create a new “home away from home”.
