World languages mentor
I speak Polish, Slovak, Czech, French, Russian, Ukrainian, and - guess what? - I could have a pint or a business chat with a Swahili chap or a Brazilian maitre d' if you gave me 30 minutes first.
It's not hard!
You don't have to learn 50 conjugations and spelling rules, you just need to figure out how the other person wants to communicate, have the right 50 words ready and the right attitude up your sleeve. I can help with all three.
You will at least cease to look like the ignorant and arrogant foreigner that all nice Westerners worry about becoming when they get on the plane. There's every chance that you will make lasting friendships and business relationships along the way!
Offering: private lessons and corporate.
Aimed at: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced.
Rates: Negotiable
Educational history
Masters Degree in Russian, Czech and Slovak
Dates:
October 1999 - June 2004
Institution:
Oxford University
I gained fluency in a classroom context in several langages, but in the real world people don't ask you you what you think of "Leisure Time" or "Home and Family", as depicted in patronising beginners' guides.
The practical communication skills that I have learned and applied are not based in books, but in experience. Realising and accepting that most people are predictable and motivated by simple things and that this is a good thing.
Experience
6000 sales presentations in 20 different languages.
I gave 6000 sales presentations for educational products to low, middle and high income families. Some spoke English, some spoke American. Sometimes I knew their language, sometimes I didn't.
50 words in common, and someone who didn't know me would trust me enough to give me a deposit cheque for a product to be sent to them after my departure.
Why?
How?
The answer lies in the words I had picked, and how I used them. Know your audience, and have fun.
I sold to 1000 of those families, but more important than that, I made 6000 friends.
Dates:
Jun 2001 - Sep 2004
Criminal Law - Communication with Barristers and Bank Robbers
I am the Practice Development Manager of a major Criminal Law firm.
I am the main channel of new clients into the firm.
My clients have included some of the most notorious or the most unfairly maligned alleged criminals of the last 2 years. Some have been bank robbers and some drink drivers. Some have been good, others not so good. All have had something valid to say, and I hope I have listened.
Why do I include this as relevant experience?
Because I listened, I responded in a way that was meaningful to my prospective client, and he or she trusted me with his or her case and, often, his or her liberty.
This IS communication, and if you get this about being with anybody in any language, including your own, then you are ready to start to learn with Joseph.
Oh, and my firm's caseload has grown by 300 % in the last twelve months.
Dates:
Jun 1999 - Oct 2007
