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3 Tips for Speaking Your Best

As a professional speech coach, I’ve worked with countless individuals, helping them improve their speeches and more. With this experience, I thought it only made sense to share some of my top tips for speaking your best, given any occasion!

Whether you have an upcoming speech or you simply want to appear more confident, try these three tips:

1. Finish the sound of the word at the end of your sentence.

This is an all-too-common mistake people make. They find themselves trailing off, which actually doesn’t help solidify what they are trying to communicate. Instead, it appears less confident. So, make sure you finish saying the sound of that last word!

2. Add tone!

Monotone talking involves saying the same words with the same emphasis. This basically is a sure-fire way for others to NOT listen to you. Emphasize certain words. Add tonality. It helps!

3. Some words must be said longer.

Rushing never helps anyone, you or the people listening. And at the same time, saying certain words quickly can definitely give a whole other meaning. For instance, “ice” and “eyes” really only have their length differentiating them. Give certain words the length of time they need to be said!

Tips & Tricks for Getting Started With Accent Reduction

Maybe you’ve decided it’s time: You want to work on accent reduction so you can seek out better opportunities or be better understood.

First off, congrats! That’s a big step to take. As an executive speech coach, I’ve helped many individuals overcome similar hurdles.

So, what are some tips and tricks to getting started?

Here are a few:

→ Read book while listening to the audio version

→ Slow down and enunciate

→ Record yourself and listen back

→ Hire an accent coach

If you’re ready to work with an accent coach, get in touch with me today!

My Top Tips for Creating an Engaging Speech

Tired of boring speeches? Or are you tired of giving boring speeches?

Well, luckily, you’re reading this post!

Through my many years of speech coaching, I’ve helped countless individuals improve their accents, gain confidence with public speaking, and improve their speech.

The truth is… Even the most technical of speeches don’t have to be boring. In fact, if you actually want people to listen, they should be anything BUT boring or mundane.

So, without further delay, here are a few tips to help you create your most engaging speech yet:

1. Weave in stories.

People love stories. It makes ideas memorable. It makes them engaging. It allows others to take a journey with you. Whenever you can, twist your ideas into stories.

Now, this doesn’t mean writing a speech of story after story. Rather, it’s about finding an opportunity to weave it in and give people a constant line of thinking to follow.

2. Start with a hook.

Gaining your audience’s attention right off the bat is important to ensure they hear the rest of what you have to say. The first part of your speech needs to entice people! Try giving a stat or a quick fun fact - anything that might grab someone’s attention. Then, the goal is, inevitably, to keep it.

3. Change your tone and pitch

Do not talk in the same mundane, monotone voice the entire time. Your audience will fall asleep!

Instead, change your tone and pitch as you talk. If part of your speech would be more exciting with some enthusiasm, show some enthusiasm!

4. Pace yourself.

This basically means don’t talk too quickly or too fast. Some great ways to determine if you’re doing so is by recording to yourself and listening to it back, or having a friend or co-worker listen to you and provide feedback.

And don’t forget… practice, practice, practice! Happy speech-giving!

What is An Accent?

The Oxford Dictionary defines “Accent” as, “a distinctive mode of pronunciation of a language, especially one associated with a particular nation, locality, or social class.”

But… As a speech coach online, I often read and hear people say that they don’t have an accent.

Here’s the truth: ALL of us have an accent.

However, “foreign accents” refers to when a person speaks a language but uses sounds or rules from their first language.

Inevitably, this can lead to confusion for the person listening. For example, when things aren’t pronounced correctly, the listener may misunderstand the message.

And this is where an accent coach (much like myself!) comes into play.

An accent coach can help you communicate properly and confidently, helping you break through the barriers of your innate accent. For more information, get in touch with me today!

Self-Sabotaging Communication: Are You Doing Any of These?

Do you often apologize for no reason? Do you put forth an idea but then immediately follow it up with a self-deprecating comment? If you’re thinking this sounds like you… It’s time to wake up and become more aware of how these communication tactics are working against you (as opposed to FOR you).

As an executive speech coach for many years, I’ve helped many businessmen and women, as well as actors and actresses, overcome common hurdles interfering with their communication.

Here are my top 5 communication mistakes:

1. Your voice rises in pitch toward the end of a statement.

This immediately gives off the impression of uncertainty. Avoid this and speak confidently with an even pitch so others take you seriously and your ideas.

2. You over-apologize.

A trick I love is replacing “I’m sorry” with “thank you.” For instance, instead of apologizing for being late (which, ideally, you shouldn’t be), thank others for their patience.

3. You’re focused more on peace-keeping than solving the problem.

There is always a time and place for keeping harmony. When you’ve done the work though, take credit. Instead of using “we,” say “I.”

4. Using “just,” “actually,” or “kind of.”

This ends up being wishy-washy, which leads others to, again, avoid taking you seriously.

5. Rushing through your speech or presentation.

This can actually do the opposite of what you want. It can increase your nerves and also miscommunicate your ideas or points. Go slow. Articulate your points!

4 Skills of Conversation: Learn How to Win Over Any Crowd

Networking can pose a nerve-wracking and awkward situation. You don’t know what to say. You might fumble over your words. I get it. As a professional speech coach, I’ve worked with various clients on nailing down the art of conversation.

So, with that in mind, here are a few tips:

Listen - People long for others to hear them and digest what they’re saying. And in today’s world, it’s hard to find people who truly listen. So if you can do this, you’re likely to stand out in the crowd.
Give Praise (and mean it!) - The important part about praise is that it must be genuine. And when you genuinely think something nice about someone, say it! We need more positivity in this world (and you might just make someone’s day by doing so).
Ask Questions - People also desire to feel understood. By asking questions, it shows you’re not only listening but trying to understand on a deeper level.
Smile - A smile should never go underestimated! This makes you look approachable, friendly, open, and honest.

Use these at your next networking event to help you get a leg-up (or at the very least, make a few new connections).

Challenges in Hiring Independent Contractors

There are times when it can serve your business well to hire outside contractors instead of adding to your staff. However, there are also challenges when it comes to working with independent contractors that you need to be aware of before moving in this direction.

Check Their Reputation

You want to be sure that the contractors you hire are able to do the job assigned and that they will do it in a timely manner. Look for contractors who are experienced and have references. Since you won’t be working in the same location with them, it can be difficult to monitor their progress and supervise their work.

Some businesses use an online platform where everyone does their work to make it easier to keep updated on progress of projects. Others set up weekly meetings to ensure the work is coming along. Just make sure you do a thorough check of their credentials and past work history to know you’re hiring true professionals.

Ensure Adequate Communication

Many times, the people you work with will be from another part of the country or other countries. Communication is essential to a successful project, and you must be able to understand each other. People with thick accents can be more easily misunderstood. You can hire an accent reduction coach to help you learn how to speak clearly to others.

You should also have a plan in place for how you will communicate and how often. Email is often the easiest, but instructions can be misunderstood. Chats can be effective as long as you both are working at the same time. You can also do video calls if you need to touch base or explain instructions.

Know What to Outsource

Not all of your business is able to be outsourced nor should it be. You need to know what aspects can be given to someone outside of the company. For instance, marketing can often be done by independent contractors while HR tasks should be handled by an employee.

When considering what to use contractors for, think about the most important aspects of your company. Those should be kept in-house. Also, look at what areas you need help with or lack resources. IT is one area that is commonly outsourced even though they may have access to sensitive areas of the company. Many small companies don’t have the skills to handle the IT tasks, which makes outsourcing the best solution.

Make sure your contractors are dedicated to doing the work you give to them, and set out clear expectations from the beginning. This may include work hours and availability, deadlines and communication requirements. It’s a good idea to create a document that you can share with the contractors about procedures and expectations.

Working with contractors for your business is one way to save money and get the best work. However, you must be aware of the challenges and be prepared to handle issues as they arise to ensure your company remains successful.

What to Consider When You Outsource Work

If you’re a business owner or manager, you may be considering outsourcing some tasks or even positions to an independent contractor. There are many benefits to this option, including the ability to find better skilled people when location doesn’t limit the applicant search. However, there are also some things to consider, especially if you are expanding your search outside of your region or country.

Cost Efficiency

In many cases, outsourcing work can be the most cost-efficient thing to do. However, some jobs are better handled in-house, which means it will be more costly to outsource. You need to weigh the cost of hiring someone against the cost of paying an independent contractor and the profits gained by each option to determine your best option.

Independence

Some tasks can be handled without a lot of oversight. These are the ones most suited to outsourcing, especially if the person is in a different time zone. You will have limited supervision if the person is not in the office, but it becomes an even bigger issue if they are working when you are asleep. Not only should the task be one that can be completed with minimal supervision, but the person you hire should require no hand-holding.

Communication

Communicating with staff in-house can be difficult, but the issues are even more pronounced when someone is half a world away. You may have difficulty scheduling meetings that work for both your schedules. This becomes an even bigger issue if the meetings involve other people.

Another problem with communication is understanding the other person. If someone is from another country, you may have problems understanding what they say if they have a heavy accent. They may also have the same problem with you. An accent reduction coach can help with this situation because they teach you how to speak clearly without a heavy accent.

Risk

You must consider the risk of hiring someone who is not under your direct supervision. No, they may not be a scam artist or trying to gain access to your company for negative purposes. However, you do still carry some risk as to the quality of work they will do. Since you won’t be able to watch as they work, you must trust that they can meet deadlines and that their quality of work meets the company standards.

The person may turn in an outstanding portfolio of work, but does this represent the quality of what they do day in and day out? Or is it a selection of items where they worked to impress a new client before falling off on the quality?

Outsourcing work can be a great benefit for a company. However, you must make sure that the arrangement will work for both you and the contractor. Take the time to think through all aspects of this scenario before you proceed. You want to ensure you are protecting your company from any negative consequences that could happen when you work with someone who is not under your direct supervision.

3 Ways to Achieve Exceptional Customer Service

If you want your business to grow, you must have outstanding customer service for your customers before and during the sale as well as afterwards. To compete with the countless other businesses in existence, you should raise the standards for your customer service. Here are three ways to do that.

Create a Seamless Customer Experience

Customers often get frustrated when dealing with a customer service agent or even the entire process. They don’t like being left on hold if they call in or the delay in an answer if they fill out a form. They dislike trying to understand someone who speaks with an accent or doesn’t have the answers they need. Customers also hate to have to repeat themselves to multiple people as they are moved from one agent to another.

You can prevent many of these problems by creating a process that works. First, figure out how to cut down on the time a customer must be placed on hold or how many steps they must take to get to a person. Then, train your staff on how to respond appropriately to the customer. You may need to hire a business speech coach who can train your employees on how to speak clearly and professionally. At the same time, they can be warm and cordial to make the customer feel like they are important and their concern is a priority.

Get Your Customer’s Perspective

Take the time to learn from your customers. Create short surveys which address certain aspects of the customer service process. Once they fill out the surveys, use this information to improve what you do.

Let your customers know the reason you’re making changes is because of what you learned in the survey. This will help them feel like what they have to say really matters. They will be more likely to continue to respond in the future if they feel their concerns are heard.

Reward Your Agents

By rewarding your customer service agents for the best job they can do, they will be more likely to continue to improve their skills. The result is happier customers who enjoy talking to your agents.

You can create a reward system for the most responses or the best outcomes, depending on how you measure your customer service. Perhaps you reward someone who receives a positive response from a customer. You may have customers fill out a survey after speaking with an agent to tell about their experience. Only agents who receive a specific result will get the reward.

Go beyond regular customer service and seek out ways you can take it up a notch. Exceed your customers’ expectations and they will come back the next time they need your product or service. Work to get all of your customer service agents motivated to go the extra mile to see the customer satisfied. When everyone works together and attempts to meet the customer’s need, the result is that everybody wins and the business continues to grow.

Do You Need a Speech Coach If You Don’t Do Public Speaking?

If you don’t have a job which requires you to speak in front of a group, you may not consider hiring a business speech coach. Many people assume they are a resource for those who must give professional speeches, such as a consultant or motivational speaker. However, hiring a speech coach might be beneficial even if you never have to do any public speaking.

You Speak with People in Other Regions

Thanks to the advances in technology, more companies hire remote workers or use independent contractors. What this means for you is you may be working with people from all over the world. If you have a strong accent, it may be difficult for people in other regions to understand what you’re saying. An accent reduction coach can help you enunciate more clearly so your accent doesn’t get in the way of your message.

This training becomes even more important when you’re speaking over the phone or through a video app. Even the slightest distortion can be made worse if you don’t speak clearly. A speech coach can help you overcome any issues so that you’re understood no matter where you live in the world.

You Speak to Customers

If your job includes speaking to customers on a regular basis, you may benefit from hiring a speech coach. Whether in person or on the phone, improving your speech can help you get your message across better. Customers quickly become frustrated when they feel someone else doesn’t understand what they’re saying or if they can’t understand the other person.

When you hire a speech coach to help you with your speaking ability, you can improve your customer service. This will make you more valuable to your company and can improve the feedback you receive from customers.

You Lack Confidence

Even if you don’t have a strong accent or you don’t have to speak to customers on a regular basis, a speech coach can help you develop confidence with whomever you speak to. You may have a problem with shyness or anxiety when speaking to people even if it’s one-on-one. A coach can help you learn how to control that anxiety so you can deliver any communication with confidence.

You may talk to co-workers and supervisors every day, but it’s not something you enjoy. You can learn how to speak better and fake confidence so people will be more likely to listen to what you have to say.

Even if you don’t have a job that requires you to do a lot of speaking to groups now, you can hire a speech coach to help you in this area. As you develop better speaking habits and are more easily understood, you become more prepared for promotions which may require you to do more speaking.

Consider hiring a speech coach to help you improve your speaking ability so that you can get promoted to your dream job or to a position with more prestige. Don’t let your qualms about public speaking keep you from excelling in your career.

3 Types of Business Communication and How to Master Them

If you work in almost any type of business, you’re going to be communicating with other people. It may be customers and co-workers or staff and vendors. There are three main ways of communicating in the business world, and you must know how to use all of them and when to use each one.

Verbal Communication

Verbal communication has been around forever. It includes in-person meetings, phone calls and one-on-one interviews. One of the reasons it’s so popular is because you can see the person and get cues from facial expression and gestures as to what they’re really saying.

It’s often the most effective method of communicating, but you can still have issues if one person has a different style or a strong accent. In some cases, especially when delivering sensitive information, another type of communication is better.

Written Communication

For certain situations, written communication is the preferred method. You can be more concise and provide specific information without waiting for someone else’s response. It provides a record of what was said and when so there are fewer issues. There is less room for error when giving factual information.

The downside of using written communication is you don’t have the opportunity to clarify issues or answer questions immediately. Because the person doesn’t hear your tone of voice or see your facial expression, they may misunderstand your intent behind the message. Remember that anything written can be used for legal purposes, so you must be careful in what you write.

Electronic Communication

More businesses are relying on online or electronic communication because they are operating globally. Even those with local employees may have people who work from home or a remote location. Instead of trying to get everyone together, they use technology to schedule online meetings.

While electronic communication saves time and helps more to get accomplished, it can cause some issues as well. Depending on the quality of the internet connection and hardware being used, it may be difficult to see or hear another person as clearly as if they were standing in the same room. People from other countries or even other regions of the same country may have a different accent which can be enhanced online.

If someone doesn’t speak up clearly, others may not hear what they have to say. There may be misunderstandings or even lost information that could be pertinent to the successful completion of a project or task.

Regardless of which type of communication you use in your business, you must learn how to speak clearly to be effective. If you notice struggles with others to understand you or each other, it may be time to work on your speaking skills. You can hire a business speech coach who will not only help you enunciate more clearly for others to understand, they can help you present information in a better way.

Learn how and when to use all three forms of business communication to accomplish your goals.

How to Avoid Making an Embarrassing Mistake as a Public Speaker

Let’s face it. If you speak often enough in groups, at seminars or even just in your own company’s board meetings, you’re bound to make a mistake. It happens to everyone at some point if they speak in front of other people. However, you can avoid many of these situations by following certain tips.

Get Plenty of Rest

Many mistakes are made because someone is too tired to pay attention to what they are saying. They may misuse a word or substitute one word for another. Sometimes it can be silence in your speech because your mind is suddenly blank. It’s a lot more difficult to think clearly if you are tired.

Memorize Stats

If you will be including statistics in your speech, work on memorizing them or have a cheat sheet in front of you with the information. Many speakers mix up statistics and say things that don’t make sense. If you mess up numbers, your audience just might notice. You’ll also want to remember names and locations because this is another area where people forget what they meant to say. They may say something like “Welcome to Houston, Arkansas” instead of Texas because they were tired and just got mixed up.

Enunciate Clearly

You also need to work on enunciating all your words clearly. Avoid mumbling or rushing your words. You may want to hire a business speech coach to help you learn how to speak properly so you can be understood. A coach can listen to your words and note whether certain words are more difficult for you to say well enough to be understood. While this may be an issue for those with a heavy accent, it can be a problem for anyone.

Check Your Research

Sometimes mistakes in public speaking aren’t as much about messing up your words and phrases as providing inaccurate information. Perhaps you relied on outside research on a topic and get called out on a fact that is inaccurate. Maybe someone else did your research and they used a less-than-reputable source. This is one mistake that is hard to overcome. Whether you get called out during the speech or later in a newspaper or online, it’s a mistake that is difficult to overcome.

Unlike other errors in your speech, this is one that can haunt you forever. People may see you as someone who is untrustworthy or unreliable because your information wasn’t accurate. Take the time to recheck all facts or important data so you know that what you’re telling people is true.

When a mistake happens – and it will, don’t dwell on it. Move on. In some cases, it may be appropriate to make a joke to lighten the mood, but at other times, you just want to keep talking and not refer to your error. Know that mistakes happen in public speaking. Do your best to avoid them, but deal with them when they happen and you’ll continue to grow as a public speaker.

Accent Reduction – How to Lose Your Accent

You may be hoping for a promotion at work or just want to fit in with your new friends. For whatever reason, you’re hoping your accent diminishes, but you don’t want to wait for time to make a difference. Here are some ways you can work to make your accent less pronounced.

1. Hire an Accent Reduction Coach

If you want to learn something, you work with someone who knows how to do what you want to know. An accent reduction coach can tell you exactly how to lose or modify your accent. They will listen to you speak and can tell you what you need to work on. This is the best way to reduce your accent.

2. Practice and Practice Some More

Your accent reduction coach will likely tell you some tips to work on when you are on your own. The most important thing is to practice as much as you can at not speaking with an accent. Work on it every day. Be more conscious of how you speak and sound. Practice makes perfect.

3. Read Aloud

One of the best ways to get more practice in is by reading aloud. Pick a story or article you haven’t read before so you’re working with something that is unfamiliar. You’ll pay more attention and take things slower, which will help you with your speech.

4. Speak Slower

Learn to speak more slowly all the time and not just when you’re reading. People who speak slower are easier to understand even if they don’t have a strong accent. If you naturally speak fast, you may need to work on this habit. Have your friends and family tell you to slow down when you speak too fast even if they can understand you.

5. Imitate Others

Listen to native speakers and copy the way they say certain words and phrases. Notice where they put emphasis on words. Listen to the local news or radio stations to get used to hearing native speech so it becomes more familiar to you.

6. Listen to Yourself

Record yourself reading or speaking a short passage. Listen to how you speak and pay attention to areas where you need to improve. Don’t try to do it all at once but select one area where you need help and focus on that. It may be a single sound or even a single word, but you can make improvements if you’re more aware of what you should be doing.

7. Don’t Get Discouraged

Just as babies and children don’t learn to speak in one day or even one month, you can’t expect to change overnight. It takes time to reduce your accent, so just keep at it and notice improvements along the way.

Accent reduction doesn’t happen immediately even if you hire an accent reduction coach, but you can begin making improvements right away if you get started with someone who is experienced and understands the need for a reduced accent.

3 Keys to Working Globally

If you are part of a large corporation or even a medium-sized company, you probably have some interaction outside your local city base. In fact, you may sell items or work with vendors from other parts of the world and even hire people remotely who are based in another country. There are several essential keys to making a global enterprise work. Here are three of them.

Learn How to Communicate

Communication is often considered the key to success in the business world. You must learn how to communicate with customers, employees and partners to ensure your business continues to grow and thrive. However, communicating with someone around the world is quite different from talking to someone who is from the same city or state as you.

You must learn how to speak clearly so you are understood. A speech coach can be helpful in this area. A business speech coach can help you learn how to enunciate better so you are more easily understood by people whose first language is not English.

In addition, you must learn how to say what you mean in clear terms. Many Americans use slang or local phrasing that is unfamiliar to those from other areas. A phrase may be misunderstood or taken literally when you mean it figuratively. Be careful to avoid local colloquialisms and other phrases that may not make sense to people outside your area.

Consider the Time

Time differences can have a big impact on meetings, especially when it is daytime in your location and night somewhere else. You will want to schedule video conferences and phone calls for the beginning or end of the day to be considerate of others.

You’ll also want to think about national holidays in other countries that may be observed in the business world. It will be important to communicate your days off due to holidays as well so that they know how and when they can reach you.

Think about the Culture

It’s all too easy to offend someone without meaning to when they come from a different culture than you. This can be a problem not only with employees based in other countries but with customers. When you create advertising and marketing promotions, you want to make sure you not only avoid any negative connotations but also create something that is relevant.

It’s important to learn about a culture where you will be marketing or doing business. You want to avoid being offensive with your words or actions. Even simple gestures can have different meanings in various countries. It’s often helpful to study a country’s culture before you begin doing business in that area.

Thanks to technology, the world has become much smaller. It’s common for businesses to interact with customers, employees and others from one or more countries. However, cultural and language differences still exist. To be successful on a global level, you must learn how to understand these other cultures and communicate with people from around the world.

3 Tips to Help Businesses Work with Global Workers

As more companies outsource some of their jobs to independent contractors, the need for improved business communications continues to grow. It can be confusing for one outsider from another part of the nation or another country to understand the language and culture of the company. The business employees must also learn how to work with someone who has no shared history with the company. Here are three tips to help make the relationship go smoothly.

1. Hire an Accent Reduction Coach

If your staff speaks with accents, it may be necessary for one or two of them to take classes with an accent reduction coach. This course helps them learn how to speak more clearly and enunciate their words correctly.

Reducing a heavy accent allows people from other parts of the world to understand your words. Most cultures have specific ways of saying certain words that make them difficult to understand. Accent reduction focuses on teaching students how to use their mouth, tongue and voice in the correct way.

2. Select Specific Employees as Go-betweens

Limit the chance of miscommunication between the company and the independent contractors by choosing only two or three people to work with them. Have them handle all communications after teaching them proper procedures. Just make sure they report in to you on a regular schedule so you always know what’s going on.

When contractors work with the same people, it increases efficiency, which decreases cost for the company. It also reduces the chance of errors because of miscommunication. The contractor can feel more comfortable communicating with someone they are used to working with. They know who to go to when they have problems, and they are more likely to understand instructions from the same person.

3. Create Written Procedures and Processes

Larger companies aren’t the only ones hiring outside contractors. Small companies also benefit from outsourcing work. However, they often don’t have written procedures for every detail. They haven’t needed it in the past since they have fewer workers and do most of their communication verbally.

Once you start working with people who aren’t employees, you need to make sure all processes are clearly explained. Since your company likely won’t be the only one the contractor is working with, they need to have written instructions so they don’t forget or mix anything up with another client.

You must also remember to limit their access to other areas of the company. Even a trustworthy contractor can be a liability if they accidentally share confidential information or fail to protect their own technology sufficiently.

Hiring independent contractors for your business can save your business money. However, this process also presents its own set of challenges. Learn how to communicate with your contractors to ensure your business continues to operate smoothly and efficiently. With the right processes in place and people on your team, you can enjoy the benefits without the concerns that come with outsourcing certain components of your company.

What an Business Speech Coach Can Teach Your Company

If you’re looking for classes, seminars or training for your employees to further their skills, you may want to consider hiring a business speech coach. They can provide training for your employees to help them be more effective and motivated.

Better Speaking Skills

A speech coach teaches people how to speak more clearly so they can be understood. They help them learn how to enunciate their words, which clarifies their message to the listeners. All employees can probably benefit from improved speaking skills.

Your employees don’t have to get up in front of a crowd to utilize speech skills. They will do better work as customer service agents and even speaking with co-workers or vendors as they learn how to improve their speaking ability.

Improved Communication

When your staff members learn to speak so they can be understood, it improves their communication with each other and outside people. Misunderstandings often occur because someone heard something different than what was said. If someone can learn how to speak so they are understood, it lessens this problem.

Employees who are confident in their speaking ability will be more direct and confident. They may speak up more and portray the company in a better light with customers and other contacts.

More Cohesiveness

You may have an employee who comes from another region of the country or another country. They speak with a heavy accent, making it difficult for others to understand them. The result is that they stay quiet and seldom speak up in group meetings. They may appear to be loners on breaks or at lunch because they don’t socialize with other staff members.

What you may not realize is they feel isolated because they have trouble communicating with their co-workers and being understood. An accent reduction coach can help them learn to speak clearly so everyone can understand them. This will make it easier for them to do their jobs and to socialize with their co-workers, forming a stronger bond to the staff and the company as a whole.

Investing in Your Employees

Like with any good training, you’re investing in your employees. The ability to speak well is not a skill limited to one profession or one company. This training is something your employees can take with them wherever they go. You may wonder why this is important for you as a business owner. Employees who feel the employer cares about them and their own development will be more content working for the company. They will be loyal and work hard to do a good job.

Public speaking is an important skill to learn in any job, whether the person gets up in front of an audience, participates in meetings or just speaks to customers and others one-on-one. Working with a speech coach can be a great training tool for your employees and help your business grow and improve at the same time. This makes it a win-win situation for everyone involved.

How Effective are You at Business Communications?

The ability to communicate effectively in the business world is a key component of how valuable you are as an employee. Whether you’re an entry-level employee or a senior-level manager, you need to be able to get your message across to your audience. If you’re lacking in this area, you may need to take classes or hire a business speech coach to help you improve.

Listen as Much as You Talk

When someone is trying to give instructions or get an important message across, they usually focus on what they’re saying. However, the more important the message is, the more they need to focus on listening to ensure others understand what they’re saying.

Miscommunication is one of the biggest issues in workplace interactions. One person says something, and the second person hears something else. Sometimes, it can be a difference in personality. Other times, an accent may be the cause of the issue. Whatever the reason behind the miscommunication, it can be prevented by listening to how others respond to what you say.

Communicate with Tact

How you say something is just as important as what you say. While cultural differences are one instance of where you may need to be careful with how you communicate, you need to be mindful even when talking to co-workers or employees in the same office.

Most people don’t try to be insensitive, but they may fail to understand how their words impact someone else. Pay attention to how your words could hurt someone even if that’s not your intent. A speech coach can help you learn how to use the right words and avoid those with negative connotations.

Speak Positively

Even when you must deliver negative information or news, you should try to be as positive as possible. When this negative information is about the listener, it’s called constructive criticism when delivered correctly.

Most people are more open to what you have to say if you handle it in the right way. If you’re one of those people who always see the glass as half empty, you may need to work on your positive speaking. However, you will find you’re more effective in your communications once you master this skill.

Be Specific

To prevent miscommunication, you need to say what you mean and mean exactly what you say. Too many times, people are general in their conversation. They may not realize others don’t know what they’re talking about or they may not want to be too direct. However, you leave room for interpretation if you aren’t specific enough in what you say.

If you want to be more effective in your communication with co-workers, employees, customers or vendors, you should follow these tips. Avoid a lot of misunderstandings and get more accomplished when you learn how to communicate better. If this is an area where you struggle, you may want to consider hiring a business speech coach who can work with you on speaking more effectively.

Make a Good First Impression as a Public Speaker

You’ve undoubtedly listened to public speakers who were amazing, and then some of them were forgettable. Some inspired you to action while others talked you into a slumber. If you want to make a good first impression and capture your audience’s attention, follow these tips.

Speak Clearly

No matter what else you do, you must make sure your audience can understand what you’re saying. Regardless of how earth-shattering what you have to say might be, it won’t make much of an impact if the listeners miss the message.

If you have a strong accent, you may need to hire an accent reduction coach to help you improve your delivery. They can help you enunciate clearly so that you are understood. If there are other speaking issues, a business speech coach can work with you to overcome them.

Start Off Strong

Once you are speaking clearly enough to be understood, you need to create an opening that gets attention. So many speakers start off by easing into their message. They may tell something about themselves or talk about the city where they are speaking.

You have several options to capture the attention of your audience right from the start. Begin with unbelievable statistics or a quote from a famous person. Tell them a heart-rending story. Your opening should invoke emotion, whether that be anger, fear, sadness or admiration.

Play It Straight

Keep your listeners attention by sticking to the point. It’s okay to sprinkle in a few stories or jokes if your speech allows for it, but don’t lose your message. Far too many public speakers tell entertaining stories that the audience remembers but they forget the point of the speech. Don’t let your side stories take over your speech.

It’s common for speakers to try to make their speech more exciting by adding in extra features. They tell funny stories, add lights and sounds and include props to get the attention of listeners. While this might make them more entertaining, it doesn’t make the subject of the speech memorable.

Instead of trying to be entertaining, focus on how you can make your subject appeal to the audience. Get the message across by using vivid wording or using real-life stories. Even the driest subject can come alive under the right speaker.

Close with a Call

Your audience is more likely to remember the last thing you say, so make your final statements memorable. Give them a call to action so they have something to do when they leave the seminar or conference.

Your call to action should be short and urgent. Get people to take action right away and they won’t forget what you had to say.

It can be difficult to be a powerful public speaker if you don’t have a bold personality. However, you can work on your presentation and follow a few solid tips. As you improve your speaking ability and focus on the quality of your speech, you’ll capture your audience’s attention.

3 Tricks to Help You Reduce Your Accent

Do you struggle with being understood because of a thick accent? You may wonder if accent reduction could help you gain more opportunities or make new friends. A person with a heavy accent may notice the following:

People ask them to repeat themselves often
Other people just nod or stare when you speak
You have missed out on a promotion or other opportunity for no obvious reason

Accent reduction can eliminate these problems while still allowing you to have a unique accent. You won’t sound like everybody else, but you will be understood. Working with an accent reduction coach is the best way to learn how to modify your accent. However, there are some tricks you can try on your own or in addition to working with a coach.

1. Listen to Locals and Emulate Them

Listen to how the local people say certain words and phrases and imitate them. You can listen to a local radio or TV show or sit in a coffee shop and listen in on conversations. Zone in on specific phrases or sounds and learn how they are pronounced.

You may want to ask friends which words or sounds are the most difficult to understand. Work on those until they become clear for your audience.

2. Read and Listen to the Dictionary

You can look up words in the dictionary to see how they are pronounced. With online dictionaries, you can even hear the pronunciation which will help you copy it correctly. You can even find apps to install on your phone or tablet, which will enable you to hear correct enunciation.

3. Find a Practice Partner

The only way to get better at speaking English is to practice with a native speaker or someone who has mastered the language. Find someone who will work with you and have regular conversations. They will be the most help if they call your attention to areas that need improvement.

You can practice having a job interview, talking to customers or just have a regular conversation. Make sure you work with someone who is willing to tell you the truth about what you say.

Bonus Tip: slow down when you speak. It will be easier to pay attention to what you’re saying and to speak more clearly. Think about what you’re saying until it become second nature to speak that way.

You can either try these tips to help you speak more clearly and reduce your accent or you can use them along with hiring an accent reduction coach to teach you about proper enunciation. Don’t get discouraged or think you are limited if you struggle to be understood. There are ways to overcome the challenges of a heavy accent.

Let your accent be a unique part of who you are and not a stumbling block which prevents you from making connections and creating new relationships. Learn how to reduce your accent and be understood whenever you have something to say.

Why Accent Reduction Isn’t Wrong to Consider

The idea of accent reduction has received some criticism from those who believe it’s not being true to oneself. They claim that a person who wants to “lose their accent” is really trying to hide who they are. However, this may not really be the case.

Why Accent Reduction Isn’t About You

Reducing one’s accent isn’t about denying your heritage or pretending you’re someone else. To suggest that someone go through a course which modifies or reduces their accent isn’t to try to make them different than they really are.

To reduce a person’s accent is to help them communicate better. It improves their chances to get a promotion, develop friendships and network easier. Instead of working against a person, accent reduction helps them build a new life in their new home where they can build relationships.

Why Accent Reduction May be Necessary

It’s all too easy to be overlooked for jobs and other opportunities if people struggle to understand what you say. You may find that others win the job promotion that should have been yours. Miscommunication can cause issues and serious misunderstandings in the business world that impact you for the future.

It’s important to realize that reducing an accent isn’t the same as removing it completely. You learn to speak more clearly and enunciate sounds and words correctly. However, the basic accent is still there, just less noticeable.

You also have to understand that more than just the accent defines who you are. No matter whether you come from another country or just a different region in the same country, you still carry that heritage with you. For example, more than that Southern twang defines you as the person from Mississippi or Alabama. It’s about how you grew up and the values you learned.

Accent reduction can be an important way to help you move up in your career or to feel comfortable in your new home city. Don’t be afraid to try accent modification if it helps you achieve your goals.

Speech Reduction: Why How You Speak Matters As Much As What You Say

People are constantly being judged by first impressions, and that may include their speech. It’s not just about what they are saying but about how they say it. From the phrases they use to how fast they speak, others will form an idea about a person even if they have never met them before.

Slow Down

One of the most important things you can do to make a better first impression with your speech is to slow down. Speak slowly so others can understand what you are saying. Don’t worry that others will think you can’t keep up. When you speak at a slower pace, it’s easier for you to communicate more clearly.

Think About What You Want to Say

Think about your words before you begin to speak. If you aren’t a native English speaker, some terms may be unfamiliar or you may be searching for the right word to convey your thoughts. Take the time to choose the right word, remembering that the simplest word is often the best.

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help

There is nothing wrong with asking someone to help you if you can’t think of a word. It’s also a good idea to hire a speech reduction coach who can help you learn how to sound more like a native. They can help you learn how to enunciate clearly and teach you the right words and phrases to use. You’ll learn how to slow your speech down until you’ve mastered the language.

Listen to others speak. Emulate not only what they say but how they speak. Learn how to use local terms and speak in a more relaxed manner. It will help you communicate with others around you in a way that seems natural to them. You’ll pick up terms that are common in this region and learn how to use them appropriately.

As you learn to be a better communicator, focus not only on what you are saying to people but how you say it.

Why You Need an Accent Coach for Your Business

You may have heard about accent coaches, and you may think they provide services for actors. While that is one aspect of their job, they also provide a valuable skill for business people. Hiring an accent coach can help improve communication in your business.

Speak Clearly

One of the primary benefits of hiring an accent or dialect coach is that you will learn to speak more clearly. A coach can teach you to enunciate your words for better understanding. If you are not sure how this could benefit you, consider these scenarios:

You are speaking at a conference in another part of the country and you have a strong accent.

You are talking with a client from another part of the world through a video meeting.

You are training your staff in a seminar.

You are doing a presentation of your product or service to potential clients or customers.

In each one of these situations, speaking clearly so that you can be understood can enhance your results. You will be more likely to convince customers to give your product a try or win over a current client on a new idea. You will be able to communicate with your staff how to implement a new procedure or teach others at a conference about your industry or business.

If you have a strong accent or poor enunciation skills, your audience may misunderstand what you are saying. The result could be lost sales or ineffective instructions to your staff. You could have a misunderstanding on how to proceed on a project because someone didn't know what you said.

What Training Do You Need?

The kind of training will depend on your particular situation and the goals you have for your business. Perhaps you want to become a public speaker who can attend conferences around the country. Maybe you have a thick accent that you want to lose to communicate more effectively with clients in other parts of the country.

When you work with an accent coach, he or she will help you learn how to enunciate every word correctly. This will reduce the sound of your accent and make it easier for people to understand you. You can also learn how to understand other people's accents. This could be an important trait to learn if you will be opening an office in another part of the country or internationally.

You may decide that members of your staff can benefit from this same training. If you have managers who work with people around the globe or if they will be setting up offices in other locations, they may need to learn how to speak well to be understood.

Effective communication is essential in today's business world. While many think of written communication, spoken communication is just as important. Being heard and understood can have a significant impact on the bottom line on your business. As you work with people from around the world, you must learn how to speak effectively and clearly.

How a Dialect Coach in Los Angeles Can Help Your Business Grow

Thanks to the internet, the world has become a lot smaller. Instead of focusing on doing business with clients in the same town or even the same state, it is now possible to have customers or business partners from across the country or even elsewhere in the world. While the internet has enhanced the opportunities of a global economy it has not completely removed the necessity of in-person interactions.

There are times when an email just isn't enough or the chance of unclear communication requires a verbal response. During those situations, you may find the language barrier can cause effective communication to be delayed or even completely broken down. Hiring a professional dialect coach in Los Angeles can help you speak clearer English in all of your business interactions.

The Importance of Clear English in the U.S.

Even if your only business relationships happen inside the U.S. you may benefit from having a dialect coach train you on more clear enunciation. Just listen to people talk from the different parts of the country. You hear the slow drawl of the South or the clipped tones of the Mid-Atlantic areas. Even within a region, you can find various dialects.

While this variation is one of the great things about American English, it can make it difficult to understand someone from another part of the country when they speak. As professionals, it is important to convey your message in a clearly understood way. People often don't think about how they talk until someone points out their dialects. If you are trying to sell a product or service or draw up a contract, you want to make sure the other person understands what you are saying. Getting your message across clearly can help prevent misunderstandings and even improve your chances of a sale.

The Issues with Poor Enunciation

If you do not enunciate your words clearly, you may have several results with your listeners. You may be regarded as less intelligent because you of an accent that hinders your presentation. You may lose your client or customer because they do not understand you. The third result is that your listener may hear something other than what you are saying.

All of these issues lead to undesirable results. You may lose the sale or your customer may miss out on important information, causing dissatisfaction. By hiring a dialect coach in Los Angeles, you can communicate more clearly regardless of the natural dialect you have.

A dialect coach helps you become more aware of how you speak. Just paying attention to your words can help you improve. You also learn how to enunciate clearer and stop bad habits that you have formed over time from listening to others.

If you want to be seen as someone who can communicate clearly and precisely, consider hiring a dialect coach to help improve your enunciation skills. You might be surprised at the change in people when they listen to you speak.

Common Myths about Accents

There are a lot of opinions and stereotypes where accents are concerned. Some are viewed as romantic while others are seen as rough or uneducated. Many times, an accent can keep you from being understood, approached or included. However, not all information and ideas about accents and accent reduction is true.

You Can’t Change Your Accent

This first myth is false. You can make your accent less noticeable and even make it disappear altogether. You’ve probably seen many actors who don’t speak with any recognizable accent and then you learn they came from a foreign country. It’s possible through accent modification and accent reduction to alter just about any accent.

You Can’t Learn a New Accent

Just like you can alter your accent, it’s possible to learn a new one. Many actors who play British or Australian characters come from the US with no trace of the character’s accent. They may work with an accent coach who teaches them how to master the accent like a native.

Most People Don’t Have Accents

Many people believe that if you have an accent, you won’t be understood by people in other regions or countries. Everyone has an accent. For most people, they don’t realize this because they stay in the same area of the country where everyone talks like them. When someone new comes to town, that person is seen to have the accent. However, if they were to go to another part of the country or sometimes even in the same state, they would hear other people speak differently. They would be the ones with an accent even though they didn’t travel very far.

Accent Has Nothing to Do with Grammar

An accent is simply the way a person pronounces a word. Nothing more or less. Some accents roll their R’s while others skip over them completely. To change an accent means to alter the pronunciation of letters and words. Grammar is an essential part of understanding accents and enunciation will help you modify your accent.

If you listen carefully to someone you perceive to have an accent, you’ll hear certain sounds pronounced differently. It’s possible to train yourself to speak with a less noticeable accent, but the problem is that most people don’t recognize which sounds aren’t the same as other people. They hear the overall conversation instead of each individual sound, which makes it hard to make the correct alterations.

An accent reduction coach is trained to know which sounds must be changed and what areas of enunciation must be improved to reduce the accent. They can give you exercises to work on that will give the desired effect.

Accents are neither good nor bad, right or wrong. They provide a unique flavor to speech and should be considered an interesting quality about a person. However, there may be times when modifying the accent is essential to help the person be understood by those they must work and associate with. Accent reduction can assist with that goal without losing the uniqueness of the person.

Claudette Roche is an accent training coach in the Vero Beach, FL area. She teaches foreign and American accents to actors and business persons/executives. In 2010 she was named as one of The Top 5 Voice Coaches by Hollywood Weekly Magazine.

Techniques to Reduce Your Accent to Be Understood

If you have a heavy accent, you may find it difficult be understood at work with clients, co-workers or other contacts. It can be specially complicated when speaking over the phone or through video. Here are a few techniques to help you.

Slow Down

One of the things that is common with many people who are speaking in their native language. It’s the tendency to talk fast. When a person talks faster, their accent is even stronger. They skim over sounds and syllables, making it even harder to be understood. One trick that will automatically make it easier for people to know what you’re saying is to slow down and enunciate every word clearly. This takes some time, but you can get better with practice.

Learn Grammar

If English is a foreign language or even if it’s your native tongue and you have a regional accent, you need to learn the rules of grammar. You may want to brush up on these rules so you can make sure you’re using the correct pronunciation.

You can learn more by listening to people who speak clear English. Pay close attention to how they say certain sounds and mimic them when you speak. It may feel a little awkward until you get used to it, but it will become a habit in time.

Practice, Practice

Your speech won’t change overnight, but you will see improvement if you work on it. The saying “Practice makes perfect” is true. As you get used to speaking in a new way, it will become habit. You don’t just want to try the new speech at work, but use it at home, with friends and everywhere you go.

Your brain learns things through habit. As you learn a new way of speaking, your brain will begin to see this as normal, and it will become second nature. The more you speak correctly and with less of an accent, the easier it will be to do it without thinking.

Hire an Accent Reduction Coach

While you can make some changes to your speech on your own, you may need to hire professional help if you have a pronounced accent. An accent reduction coach will work with you to make your accent less noticeable.

They can teach you tips and tricks on how to hold your tongue and mouth. The coach may show you which words are more difficult to understand so you know what to work on. They will encourage you and give you specific instructions so you can know you’ll get results.

Speaking with a heavy accent can make it difficult to be understood and hamper your ability to do everything you want to do. Don’t give up on your goals. Learn how to talk so you can be heard and get ahead in your career and other areas of your life. Try these tips and be willing to get professional help if you need it to get the results you want.

How Effective are You at Business Communications?

Listen as Much as You Talk

Communicate with Tact

Speak Positively

Be Specific

Claudette Roche is a dialect coachin the Vero Beach, FL area. She teaches foreign and American accents to actors and business persons/executives. In 2010 she was named as one of The Top 5 Voice Coaches by Hollywood Weekly Magazine.

3 Types of Business Communication and How to Master Them

Verbal Communication

Written Communication

Electronic Communication

Learn how and when to use all three forms of business communication to accomplish your goals.

3 Tips on How to Improve Your Public Speaking

Public speaking is a requirement of a lot of jobs. If you want to promote up within your company, you may need to be able to talk to a group of people or even an entire room. Don’t worry if your public speaking skills aren’t what you want them to be. Here are three tips to help you improve.

Hire a Business Speech Coach

If you want to make major improvements in your ability to speak in public, you should hire a business speech coach. They can review your current skills and areas of weakness and show you what to do to improve.

A business speech coach will give you exercises for your voice or even ideas on how you can present yourself better. They can offer guidance on body language, tone of voice and other skills that will make you a more powerful public speaker. If public speaking is going to be a major part of your new career, the investment in a speech coach may be worthwhile.

Watch Speeches

Go online and watch speeches that others give. You can easily find seminars, classes and public speeches by famous speakers, politicians, teachers and other public figures. Notice how they stand, the gestures they make, their tone of voice and even what they say.

You’ll pick up a lot of good points that you can apply to your own speeches if you watch others. Mimic their habits and style as it feels comfortable to you and pertains to your situation. While it’s important to be yourself, it’s also a good idea to follow the example of those who are skilled in this area. Dynamic speakers weren’t born with their skills; they had to develop them over time. This means you can also learn to do what they do and captivate an audience with your words.

Practice

It doesn’t matter how much you read about public speaking or if you hire a coach, you won’t improve if you don’t practice. Give a speech in front of the mirror at home. Ask family and friends to sit and listen to your speeches. Get comfortable speaking aloud even if it’s just to yourself.

The more you give speeches even if it’s to your reflection or your dogs, the more comfortable you’ll feel. Once you get used to speaking aloud, you can work on other areas, such as how you stand or whether you make eye contact.

Talk to your business speech coach and ask them who to watch and what areas you need to improve in. Focus on those factors and work on your skills. With enough time and practice, you can learn to be an effective public speaker.

You may not win any awards and you may not capture the attention of everyone in the room. However, you will learn how to get your subject across and get people to do what you want them to do in your speech as you develop your skills in this area.

What Can a Speech Coach Teach You?

You may have thought about hiring a speech coach to help you improve your speaking ability. However, you may not be sure it’s an important investment. You know it will take some time and money, but you want to be sure the results will be worth the effort.

Speak with Confidence

One of the most important ways a speech coach can help you is by teaching you to speak with confidence. If you’re shy or insecure in front of a crowd, it will show by your actions and words. A speech coach can teach you to speak up and use words and phrasing that helps you sound more confident.

The phrase “Fake it until you make it” can apply here. You may not feel confident when you get in front of people, but a speech coach can help you pretend to be less nervous than what you really are. If others think you’re confident in what you’re saying, they will be more likely to listen to you.

Speak More Clearly

A business speech coach can help you be better understood so that your audience will understand you. They can help you work on your wording and accent. They can even help you reduce your accent by enunciating better. An accent reduction coach will focus on this skill which is important if you speak in different parts of the country or around the world.

You will learn to stop saying “Um” or other filler sounds and words when you speak to a group. A speech coach will help you develop the skill of pausing so others can understand what you’re saying and not speaking too fast or stumbling over your words.

Improve Body Language

Public speaking is about more than your words. A speech coach can teach you how to develop positive body language and stop bad habits. They will teach you about gestures you can use to get a point across or to draw people’s attention to your words.

A speech coach will watch what you do as much as what you say and draw attention to things you need to change. Perhaps you slouch when you talk or maybe you have a nervous habit that distracts the audience. The coach will let you know what things need to change and help you practice until you overcome those bad habits.

Enjoy Speaking

Many people dread public speaking, especially if they get nervous in front of an audience. A speech coach can help you improve your skills, develop confidence and get better results. All of these features will help you learn to enjoy speaking in public. You may not ever truly become comfortable, but you can get to the point where you like what happens with the audience, especially if you’re trying to sell something or promote an idea.

A business speech coach can help you become a better public speaker. Now that you see the benefits, you might decide this is the next step to getting the results you want.

3 Reasons Hiring a Speech Coach Will Help Your Business

As a business owner or manager, you are often looking for ways to improve the productivity or efficiency of your employees. At the same time, you want to offer the best customer experience and increase your customer base. As you look at ways to achieve these goals, you might want to consider hiring a speech coach who specializes in working with businesses.

A Speech Coach Can Improve Clarity in Communication

One of the most important reasons to hire a speech coach for your company is to help your employees be better understood. If you work with customers around the country or the world, you may find your business has a lot of misunderstandings because of poor communication. Accents are beautiful to listen to, but they can get in the way of being understood.

A speech coach can teach your employees how to articulate their words so others can understand what they’re saying. Some regions run over certain sounds without enunciating them clearly. Others may elongate sounds so that it sounds like multiple sounds. When you hire an accent reduction coach, they can remove many of these regional sounds.

A Speech Coach Can Improve Messages in Communication

A speech coach does more than just improve your words. They can help you learn the best way to articulate what you want to say. This may include using more powerful words or finding a more positive way to address a problem. It’s not just in how you say something, but what you’re saying that gives a certain message to the listener.

Speech coaches often address issues like the appropriate way to thank someone or decline an offer. They teach how to address people who are superiors, co-workers or in other cultures. As employees move up in their company, it becomes even more important that they learn how to speak professionally. In many areas and types of businesses, this may mean being more formal in their communication.

A Speech Coach Addresses Body Language

You speak as much with nonverbal language as with what you say. A speech coach can help you learn how to get your message across through gestures, tone of voice and other nonverbal cues. Even how you sit or stand can present a different message from what you’re saying.

Body language becomes even more important when interacting with people from another country or region. What is considered normal in one area may be offensive in another one. You can inadvertently offend someone by doing what you consider normal. A speech coach can familiarize you with local customs and expectations. They also teach people how to use nonverbal cues in group situations or public speaking.

Your business could benefit from hiring a speech coach. You may find that employees are better able to present their messages and handle customer issues when they understand the power of their words and even what they don’t say. It’s an investment well worth making, especially if you communicate with people from around the globe.

Claudette Roche is an executive speech coach in the Vero Beach, FL area. She teaches foreign and American accents to actors and business persons/executives. In 2010 she was named as one of The Top 5 Voice Coaches by Hollywood Weekly Magazine.

Is Your Accent Holding You Back?

You’ve been complimented about your unique accent for years. Perhaps you’ve even used it to get dates or get help when you need it. However, you may be one who finds that others look at you a little differently when they hear you speak. Maybe you feel it causes people to avoid you or ignore you. You may have even thought about working with a speech coach to help you deal with the stigma of your accent.

An accent can keep you from achieving everything you want to accomplish. Whether it’s in work or life, you may find others don’t take you seriously or become cautious once you start talking to them. It’s not all in your mind. People all over the world form a first impression based on how you talk.

What People Think of Accents

An accent often carries a perception with people. A Southern twang may create the impression that the person is slow or less intelligent just because their speech is slower. A New York accent may give the vibe that a person is unfriendly and always in a hurry just because they talk fast.

While some accents are popular and often come with a positive perception, others are attached to negative ideas. In some areas, a British accent is well-loved while in other places it may be regarded with cynicism. The same is true of other global and regional accents. Even within a country, one accent may be favored over another. If you travel a lot, you may not be sure how you will be received based on how you speak.

How Stereotypes Impact Your Life

Most accents carry a stereotype for people. Just look at comedies on TV or in other types of media to see what kind of image an accent portrays. If the stereotype is negative, it can hurt your chances at work and with friendships or other social activities.

Take the Southern accent as a prime example. Some people love hearing the slow drawl from those who live deep in the South. Others consider those who speak with that accent to be slow and less intelligent or not as well educated. If you move from Alabama or Mississippi to New York or Los Angeles, you may find that it’s harder to find a job or get promoted because people will assume you can’t handle the job due to the way you speak and the ideas they associate with it.

How to Overcome Prejudice

While it can take some time to overcome people’s prejudice about your accent, you have options to help you succeed in life no matter how you speak or where you’re from. You can hire an accent reduction coach to help you drop some of your accent. They will teach you how to speak in a more universal tone that is understood in most places.

No matter where you live or where you come from, you may be labeled by your accent. Don’t let it hold you back but use it to your advantage. Learn how to succeed in life regardless of how others perceive you based on your accent.

4 Tips to Speaking Clearly

You’re scheduled to give an important speech for work. You want the audience to like your speech and more importantly, to respond. To get the right results, the audience must be able to understand what you’re saying. To accomplish your goals, you should follow these tips.

Enunciate Your Words

Many people take shortcuts when talking. They skip over sounds and even entire words. The result is that often no one understands what they just said. While you may be able to do this in a one-on-one conversation and still be understood, you won’t get the same results when speaking to a group.

If you have trouble with enunciation, you can learn with the help of a business speech coach. You can hire a speech coach to teach you how to say your words correctly so that you’re more easily understood.

Choose the Right Words

What you say is just as important as how you say it. You should make sure to use words that are easy to pronounce. You may think that by using big words, you sound more like an expert. However, most people will prefer shorter, simpler words that are easy to understand.

Another issue with using technical or complicated language is no one will know what you’re talking about. Present your information in layman’s terms so that everyone in the audience can understand what you’re talking about. Even people in the same industry may not always know all the technical jargon, so it’s best to keep things simple.

Speak Slowly

If you’re nervous, you may be tempted to talk fast. You’re more likely to mumble your words and even skip over some in your hurry to finish. Instead, take a deep breath, pause at certain points, and try to maintain an even flow to your speech.

You may need to practice your speech several times to get the right speed. Get comfortable with speaking slowly so you can do it when it’s time to give your speech in front of others.

Don’t Let Your Accent Derail You

If you travel to give speeches, you may find you have a different accent than your listeners. A strong accent can make it difficult for others to understand what you’re saying. You may want to consider hiring an accent reduction coach to help you speak more clearly.

An accent reduction coach works with you to help you learn how to enunciate your words without an accent. They can teach you the best way to speak so anyone can understand what you say regardless of where they’re from.

Speaking in public can be challenging, but the goal is to be heard and understood. No matter how fancy your presentation or how interesting your topic, you won’t get the results you want if people don’t know what you’re saying. Learn how to enunciate your words, speak slowly and use words that everyone can understand. Don’t be afraid to hire professional help with a speech coach so you can improve your ability to be understood.

Claudette Roche is a speech coach in the Vero Beach, FL area. She teaches foreign and American accents to actors and business persons/executives. In 2010 she was named as one of The Top 5 Voice Coaches by Hollywood Weekly Magazine.

Don’t Let Props Overwhelm Your Speeches

You’re already nervous thinking about a speech you must give at work, and it’s nearly a month away. You begin imagining what it will be like when you’re in front of everyone. To help you deal with the nerves and the worry of forgetting what you want to say, you decide to add some props and make your speech into a presentation. Be careful. You never know when all these effects will get out of control.

The Accent Coach

coaching speech