The Power Of Language And How It Makes You Better At Business

Is Mandarin the most important language currently? Is English still the lingua franca for business? Has Spanish lost its prominence in the hierarchy of languages?

The jury may still be out on which languages should be prioritized and which shouldn’t. But why limit yourself to knowing just one language?

In the current age of globalization, speaking more than one language opens up the world and results in more inclusion, understanding and even financial rewards.

Indeed, from helping folks secure jobs and promotions to facilitating business growth, multilingualism is a tool with numerous benefits.

With that in mind, and in conjunction with International Mother Language Day on 21 February — a day marked by the United Nations to celebrate the various languages of planet Earth — here’s a look at how being multilingual can drive entrepreneurial success and make you a better direct seller.

Ensures more effective communication

Whether you’re interacting with your team, developing a sales strategy or marketing products on social media, effective communication is vital.

In fact, to hear distinguished entrepreneurs like Sir Richard Branson tell it, communication is the most important skill required of business owners.

That being the case, entrepreneurs and direct sellers who operate in multilingual societies should consider how learning and speaking different languages could make them better communicators.

Are you concerned that team members and customers occasionally struggle to grasp your thoughts and ideas? Being multilingual could help you bridge language and culture gaps and make you more easily understood.

Incidentally, if you’re determined to hone your English skills, qLearn’s Presentation and Writing Skills programme, which was specifically designed to help entrepreneurs communicate better, will put you on the path to success.

Allows you to think and manage better

The entrepreneurial brain, science tells us, is constantly at work and focused on meeting goals and managing people. And that is precisely why you need to ensure this most vital of organs is fit and healthy.

We all know that eating right and getting enough sleep will help maintain optimum brain health. But doctors say one of the best ways to ensure you’re at your thinking and managerial best is to learn a new language.

Think of how you are constantly called upon to deal with demanding clients while also having to formulate plans for your business. Well, studies show that being multilingual can help you not only resolve issues more efficiently, but also plan better.

Encourages productivity

On the subject of boosting brain health, one of the biggest selling points of multilingualism is how it encourages productivity.

Research has found that people who can converse in multiple languages can toggle between thought processes easily. And that, in turn, helps one both filter out irrelevant information and multitask.

Granted, it doesn’t immediately follow that by learning a new language, direct sellers will automatically be able to double or triple sales volumes and commissions.

However, there’s ample evidence to prove that multilingualism can swell business bottom lines. By a lot!

Opens up more markets

If there’s one thing that’s been true about communication throughout history, it’s that language allows for the opening up of more avenues for trade.

From Ancient Greece and Egypt to the Roman Empire, economic success was always determined by how effectively one could cut across language, demographic and cultural divides. Even Marco Polo’s success is widely attributed to his command of several languages!

Have you thought about expanding your network into different cultural or international markets? The globalized world we live in presents innumerable opportunities for savvy direct sellers. And being multilingual like the great Venetian merchant could allow you to extend your reach more effectively.

The bottom line here is that entrepreneurship is more dynamic than ever. And one way to be at the forefront of change and ensure both personal and business growth is to tap into the power of language.