Are younger people speaking faster? - and if so, does it matter?

I recently attended a British Council webinar where Linguist David Crystal talked about the #future of #English and one of things he mentioned was the #speed of #speech in younger generations. Evidence suggests that the influence of short-form videos on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube is contributing to faster speech patterns among younger people. 

This caught my attention. Why?

I deliver #intercultural #communication #skills #training to a range of UK organisations and speed of speech is always the first barrier to communication that we address. This trend of faster speech has the potential to further widen the gap in understanding between younger L1 (native English) employees and their L2 (non-native English) colleagues.

So what can help bridge this communication gap?

We can be more mindful of how fast we're speaking and slow down, but we can also add #pauses to our speech. Just a brief pause between ideas and sentences can allow crucial #processing #time for colleagues speaking English as an additional language.

✨Remember adjusting your pace, adding pauses and allowing processing time are three key steps to clearer communication in intercultural teams.

#effectivcommunication #inclusionforall #internationalrecruitment #clarity #empathy #inclusiveleadership #globalbusiness