I’ve studied linguistics for 20 years, and today I speak five languages. Today, I help non-native English professionals strategize their communication skills by using the research and techniques that I once used.

I’ve taught thousands of university students — and everything I teach is grounded in research. That’s why my students pay tens of thousands of dollars to learn the most effective language learning methods.

This is the research-backed roadmap to success that I use in my university courses — a framework that shows you exactly where to focus to make real progress in English.

Because being ‘good’ at English isn’t about memorizing grammar rules. One time, my student told me, “I need an extension,” and trust me, she needed more than an extension- she needed a lesson in tone.

Since the 1970s, researchers have known that real language ability means saying the right thing in the right situation.

In linguistics, we call this communicative competence.

It has three parts:

• Accuracy — grammar and vocabulary.
  
• Appropriateness — saying the right thing in the right situation and using the right tone for the context.
  
• Structure — organizing your message clearly and logically.

Most professionals obsess over grammar, but credibility is often built — or lost — through tone and structure.

When you understand all three areas, you stop guessing.
You start improving strategically.

I used this exact framework to create professional email templates and an email builder cheat sheet — so you can write clear, confident emails that build relationships. I set the tone for 4 of the most common functions of a professional email: requesting, following-up, providing good news, and providing bad news. I also give tips for your to improve your email structure and tone for any function on any given day.

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What has your experience been using tone and structure for daily communications?