English is the major language of business, education and technology, and there is growing awareness that effective communication is vital for personal and professional success.

A Melbourne communication skills consultant Barbara John, believes that many Indian speakers of English are fluent but often misunderstood due to imprecise pronunciation.

During her extensive consultancy work in India, Barbara realised that although India is surging ahead economically, particularly in the field of IT, spoken communication in English is still an area that needs refining. With the growing links that India has established with the rest of the world, good communication skills are becoming more important than ever.

"In this era of high-speed information access, listening should be easy and a pleasure, not a struggle", she says.

Barbara believes that spoken language that meets the understanding of the listener is the cornerstone of successful communication, and Indians working in the Australian workplace should be able to communicate with clients, customers and colleagues with ease and confidence.

"Individuals whose speech is clear and effective are the ones who gain an advantage at job interviews, business presentations and in social interaction", she says.

Barbara has developed a unique learning system that addresses the pronunciation difficulties faced by Indian speakers of English. She says that Indian English is characterised by a variety of sounds that are not used in English and vice versa. "PERFECT PRONUNCIATION" helps Indian speakers master the sounds that are particular to English, with instruction on how and where each sound is formed in the mouth, including practice words and sentences. It deals with the different English sounds in words, which often have no bearing on their irregular spelling. This helps Indian speakers eliminate those frustrating roadblocks that can lead to misunderstanding and confusion. There is a special section that focuses on the problem sounds that are difficult to negotiate by Indian speakers of English. The program is recorded on 2CDs with an accompanying 4-colour, 56 page booklet. It is easy to use and can even be played in the car.