Set Your Voice Free!

As the new year approaches it is a time to reflect on what went well in the past year and what did not. January first is traditionally a time to consider changing habits that are not working and begin new ones that will help us meet our full human potential. Committing to our best selves.
It is usually not the one big thing that needs to get done. But smaller more chronic issues that undermine letting our best selves into the world. This is how I see English pronunciation. One the larger scale often people feel that their speech habits are not affecting them except in specific circumstances. However whenever someone gets into a conversation about how their speech impacts their lives, jobs and relationships it becomes clear that it is more then just a small issue.
Maybe their speech does impact whether they can achieve certain promotions or even to land the job in the first place. Even if the promotion or job is only delayed how much did it cost in real dollars. Are you missing opportunities to network with colleagues or people in your neighborhood because you are being misunderstood. Do you not get your point across, give up or not volunteer information because the effort was just too great? Or perhaps leave an impression that was not truly reflective of you?
How would it be different if you could truly communicate without this barrier? What freedom to be assured that who you are, and what you think was clearly getting across to your boss, to your kids teacher, to the group?
This is possible, and it is possible to achieve this even with a foreign accent. Sound substitutions are not necessarily what is barring you from being misunderstood.
So before you write off the idea of an American accent, feeling for whatever reason that you could not achieve this goal, it doesn't mean that you can't still much improve your communication in English!
Look, you have come this far, achieved so much, take the final step into fluent and clear English communication. Call today and get started. The free lessons you are picking up on the internet help. There is no doubt, but nothing will substitute for the 1:1 class. Make real progress by committing to this goal in 2009.
Call and set your voice free!

Lynn founder of
Accent Master

Free Telephone Screening

Just yesterday I sent out an email offering a free telephone screening and the response was remarkable! Having the opportunity to speak one on one with so many people has been really eye opening.

It is touching and interesting to hear how individuals are affected by their spoken English skills. Their speech skills don't necessarily affect them in an obvious way, but more of a constant, nagging issue.

At first many report that others understand them without too much effort. But as the conversation goes on many reveal that they may not be in line for promotions or that their accent is distracting people from really listening to their message.
The reason it takes awhile for most callers to realize the extent of the affect of their foreign accent on their lives is because, colleagues and friends do not have an issue with it, so their everyday life is fine. However at closer inspection they know that it is holding them back. That their professional skills need to be combined with excellent communication skills if they want to make progress in their careers. Or they realize that when communication pressure is on, their accent get heavier and more difficult to understand. This undermines their confidence and performance.

These things are easy to ignore on a daily basis but cumulatively come with a high price tag.

This insight has made me even more sensitive and driven to meet the needs of my clients and my online community. If you have any suggestions for products or services that you feel the foreign born community may be looking for please let me know how I can help.

Please remember that it is not too late to get your free screening: 718 715-0706

Lynn founder of Accent Master

Don't slow down, just pause!

How many times have you heard the advice "slow down". It is said in a helpful tone, or an impatient tone and sometimes in a condescending tone. No matter what the tone it is still relatively unhelpful. Slowing down by itself will do nothing for you. People do not want to hear Hi.....my.......name......is.......Jared. Speaking one word at a time drives the listener crazy, reduces your intonation, and completely rids your sentence of any emotion.

Better advice is to use pauses between thoughts. Pausing helps on two levels. It gives your listener a chance to "catch up" to what you are saying, and it gives you a chance to begin a new intonation curve.

Pause wherever there would be a period or a comma. The more complex your subject and the less familiar the listener is with you or with the content matter, the more pausing you want to do. You will pause more of less depending on the speaking situation, your personality, and audience.

You will sometimes hear people referred to comedians as having "good timing", this means that they pause just the right amount of time to hook the audience into the joke. For your needs you want to consider how to use pausing in a way that is the most helpful to your audience's comprehension.

Pausing is not the same as hesitating and will in fact reflect confidence on your part. People who are rushed or mumbled tend to give a subtle undertone of insecurity. Those that make sure they are understood come across as confident and able.

For practice take a look at a written paragraph. Make a slash where there are commas or periods, then look at the paragraph again. Where else would be a natural place for a pause? Connecting words like, and, but, however or often used to connect two ideas and maybe a good place to pause.

So don't just slow down, think in word groups, chunking, or pausing to give your speech a natural flow while allowing your listening audience a chance to keep pace or ask for clarification if needed.

Lynn founder of Accent Master

Stress in Special Situations

In this post we will look at stress in some special circumstances such as in compound nouns and in abbreviations. This post will go along with the podcast I posted on the right side bar. It is called Stress in Special Circumstances.

Compound Nouns; always stress the first word in the compound noun. Say the following words stressing the first word, and then create sentences for each one.


Workplace........boardroom.............mailroom

Workshop.........textbook..............downsize

Showroom.........business trip.........overtime

Team leader......outcome................chairman

Network..........paycheck...............timeline

Copy machine.... fiscal year............small talk

Wholesale........weekday................parking lot

Full-time........workday................carpool

Sick leave.......executive board........salesman

Time clock.......high-tech..............office supplies

Bar graph........timesheet..............sick days


Abbreviations: Stress generally falls on the last letter.
Acronyms: Pronounce as one word

LLC................ DBA
ATM................ MBO
IRA................ SEP (acronym)
CD................ PER
IRS................ FRB
FDIC................ NYAW
SEC................ TIN
EIN................ PIN (acronym)
EPS................ ROI
EBIT (acronym................) EVA
IT................ IPO


Sentences:

2. Is the program on ABC or HBO?
3. He received his B.A and M.S from UCLA.
4. RSVP to the party and remember it’s BYOB
5. The conference was filled with RN’s and LPN’s.
6. The CEO and CFO are on the Executive Board of that organization.
7. Please reply to the memo from HR ASAP
8. The VIPs waited in the greenroom before their appearance on NBC.
9. Insert the CD in your PC or laptop.

Numbers: When counting stress the first syllable in ‘teen’ numbers and the second number above 20.
When stating numbers for time, money or amounts then you stress the last part of the teen numbers.
When referring to the ‘ten’ numbers like twenty or thirty stress the first syllable, when stressing numbers other than the ‘round’ numbers stress the last part like 1:54.

Sentences
1. The train going to Boston leaves at 10:22.
2. He will arrive at 2:30.
3. I scheduled your meeting for 11:15.
4. The reservations are for 7:30.
5. He lives at 25 217th street.
6. The zip code is 11361
7. Is there fourteen or fifteen people in the group?
8. He called 15 times this morning!
9. I always shop on 5th avenue.
10. I have twenty more minutes.

Can I really lose my accent?

The phrases that we use to describe learning an American English accent are misleading. We don't really need to "lose" our accents. What the goal is, is to learn an new way of pronouncing words, so that when we want to we can sound American.

Building on the sound system from your first language you can build up an American sound system. This may seem similar, lose you accent or gain an accent. Many will tell you that it is just a matter of semantics (a new way of saying the same old thing). But that is inaccurate. When we say we will lose our accents it reinforces cultural and psychological blocks to learning pronunciation. Our speech either subconsciously or consciously is deeply a part of who we are. To say that we will "lose" our accent is incorrect and slightly insulting.

In the end you would still like the answer, whether or not you are losing or gaining. If the question really is "can I sound American?", then the answer is yes. Of course you can.

It does take practice because it is not just an intellectual feat, but a physical one as well. You need to first grasp the information, what it takes to execute the sounds and features of spoken American English, then you must get comfortable with the changes physically.

Lets compare it to learning golf or tennis. The instructor must help you conceptualize how to execute the stroke, then you have to practice what you learned. Teach your muscles the new movement. When you first try the new stroke, it may feel awkward, you need to think about each movement necessary to execute the new stroke, the results might not be as good as with your old stroke. However with practice the new stroke becomes more natural and you find the new way is easier, and more effective.

This is similar to speech because speech takes the coordination of thought and muscles to execute. Luckily though practice comes easily because we all talk everyday! And I promise no sore muscles as with learning a sport!

Learning styles

Teaching others how to be accent trainers provides me with a great opportunity to reflect on each client I have worked with. The experience that I have gained is of great value. Each client has displayed their own unique characteristics making each class interesting. There are different learning styles and each approach needs to be tweaked in order to best reach the client.

I think most can fit into three major categories.

1. Passive learners

These clients generally feel that the instructors job is to pass on the information and their job is absorb the information. This is fantastic for instructional times, as when I am teaching a new concept and the features of that concept. They absorb the lesson and really hear what I am saying.

The downside of course is in application of the concept taught. It is the goal of each of my classes to make sure that the client understands the concept AND can apply it to their speech. This is application step is of great importance, as I will want them to practice during the week between classes and I want to be sure they are practicing correctly.

It is important to help this client feel comfortable speaking up in the session. I give highly structured practice so they will feel "safe" answering each question. I use mock-up schedules, situational paragraphs followed by questions. They are asked to answer the questions using the new concept they have learned. I save any critical feedback until the end of their speaking turn, making sure to give enough positive feedback to let them know that I do hear their improvements as well as their errors.

2. Free-wheeling

These clients are enthusiastic. They like to talk and know exactly what they would like to work on. The advantage to this client is that you never have to worry about material or providing motivation. The challenge is to get them to sit through a full lesson or helping them create a good foundation of discourse skills.

I use mainly their materials that are related to their everyday conversational situation. I also explain why they need to complete each step that leads up to the conversational level. Knowing why they are working on different areas other then the one they have identified as their challenge can be very helpful. For example if they are concerned about leaving of word endings, I will work on word and sentence stress to help them adjust their timing, reducing the need to drop word endings to save time in a sentence. When they are able to make this connection between the two goals their focus increases.

3. I don't want to be here!

Some clients don't want to be in class. They have a lot going on in their lives, or their company simply forced them into a class. For these clients motivation is the name of the game. Helping them add value to speaking standard American speech is the first order of business. Plenty of non-critical feedback and opportunities for them to recognize their own improvement can keep these clients on track.

I schedule much time in for them to practice during class time, because chances are they will not have the time outside of class. It does mean that less concepts or sounds will be covered in one course but it reduces both their frustration and mine when I don't assign work that they can't or won't get to before the next class.

There are many things that need to be assessed before a course can begin, but learning style needs to be taken into consideration if you want to see success. That is why there is no set curriculum for a course load. You must assess the individual their goal (to be more intelligible or to be linguistically invisible) what their objectives are ( linking, word stress, phonemes?) and how best to approach the instruction to be delivered.