Convey Clearly Los Angeles can conduct your sessions online or in person, with the frequency that best suits your needs and schedule. Because what you have to say is important. And probably pretty genius. But it may not sound that way during the most important situations. Are people doing what you tell them to do? Are they doing it promptly and easily? You won’t believe how influential and powerful you can be.
Padma took a few accent reduction courses in her day. Each time her instructor gave her a book or a piece of paper with a particular sound on it and she practiced producing that sound till she was blue in the face. But after many sessions when she thought her accent would be gone–it wasn’t. Very frustrating.
You want to know why it didn’t get rid of her accent? A few reasons.
1. All that work on sounds makes your speech choppy and staccato.
2. Each letter in English can represent multiple sounds.
3. To get clear, persuasive speech (which Padma didn’t learn) into your life you need to work hierarchically–from easy speaking situations to challenging ones.
What if everything you’ve ever thought about accent reduction was wrong? What if everything you’re doing right now to improve your accent is actually making it worse?
Here’s what you need to do:
If you want to get rid of your accent & want to make your listeners to understand you, please follow these steps :
1. Glue your words together. Write down what you’re going to say and put a slash between phrases. Everything within the slashes should be connected with your voice.
2. Talk in the back of your mouth, not in the front. The Standard American English (SAE) accent is a very rare language in that it uses a resonance that hovers over the back of your tongue. If you’re using front resonance you end up with deep nasolabial lines and a very thin resonance. This doesn’t make you sound crystal clear, credible, authoritative or warm. Here’s how:
• Stop using your lips to formulate your sounds. I know it sounds crazy because that’s what everyone has told you to do thus far. That’s wrong!
• Pull down the back of your tongue and let the air focus it’s vibration there.
3. Use a varied intonation pattern. Make sure that you make some vowels shorter & quieter and some vowels longer & louder. You’ll find more details here.
4. Use linking. If one word ends in the same sound and the next word begins only say the sound once. For example:
To get all of this into your running speech requires bringing your new skills through the hierarchy of your life. As you go through your day take note of what you say throughout the day. Chart the easy speaking situations and work on those areas first. Continue to work through your hierarchy until it becomes a habit. More on getting these new skills into your life. As always, come & see us to make it work fast!
