YOU  AND YOUR ACCENT is a monthly feature in the Asian Fortune Newspaper.  Articles from the past six months can be accessed here.   To view other articles from this newspaper go to www.asianfortunenews.com/

Speaking Successfully

February, 2008

Happy New Year!  The year of the Rat celebrates new beginnings.  I hope this year brings many good beginnings to the special readers of The Asian Fortune. 

We are planning some new beginnings ourselves.  February, 2008, our new PRISM CD and workbook will be released, and will now be sold commercially to other trainers across the country.  We’ve added new material and made lessons easier to locate. 

All of our new clients who attend either the group or private program will be using our new PRISM materials.  

If you are ready to begin focusing on new and improved communication skills, the year of the Rat is an excellent time to start.  Communication skills are key to job and personal interaction.  Reading, writing and speaking are all important business skills that require on-going improvement.  Those who communicate best within their fields are highly valued and respected.  As you rise within an organization, those skills become even more important. 

People often have wonderful ideas that fail to gain attention due to an inability to effectively communicate or sell the concept to others.  Sometimes this is due to limited vocabulary, poor grammar, unclear pronunciation or just plain lack of proper vocal enthusiasm. 

These deficit areas are not limited to non-native speakers of English.  Many Americans fail to convey the proper message in either written or verbal communication.  They too, can be limited in job advancement due to failure to communicate. 

Make this the year to begin re-dedicating yourself to developing those skills that will enhance your communication.  If a clearer and more professional speech style is one of those skills, contact us about our March/April group program.  

January, 2008

Happy New Year.  I hope 2008 will be a great year for all of you.  I am very excited because 2008 is the year our new PRISM accent modification program is available to other trainers for use with their clients.  We’re going national! 

Change can be very motivational, frightening, or exciting; sometimes all three at once.  The New Year is a great time to consider what you need to change in your life;  a new job, a new house, a new you?  No matter what change you make, it requires hard work and risk. 

Developing new speaking skills requires dedication and risk taking.  The in-class pronunciation work is easy and fun, especially in groups where everyone is in the same predicament.  Learning what changes you need to make and how to make them in the safety of the classroom is exciting and motivational. 

The hard part is the carry-over to the day-to-day speaking.  People are often afraid someone might ‘notice’ they are speaking differently.  But isn’t that what they wanted?  To speak differently?  

The problem is that we can be very self-conscious of our speech.  We want to change, but we fear the change.  We fear the failure of trying and not succeeding.  We fear people may notice we are speaking differently.  Yet, the reason they want to begin a program is because they are self-conscious and people are noticing their errors.  The reality is, there is little to lose and much to gain by working to improve your communication skills! 

For those willing to take the risk and expand their communication skills, the rewards are great:  clearer communication, more self-confidence, and more options in the workplace.    Call to learn more about our spring program if you are ready to make 2008 your ‘year of change.  Class begins March 8. 

December, 2007

To speak effectively we must first be heard!  Too often clients complain that they are frequently asked to repeat, which they find frustrating. 

Obviously, the quick fix is SPEAK MORE LOUDLY.  This is easy to say, but difficult to do if your culture or upbringing equates speaking up with yelling.  In addition, some clients developed a softer speaking voice as a defense mechanism to ‘hide’ their insecurity of speaking a new language.  This softer way eventually became a habit, even though their communication skills improved. 

There are physiological differences between voice projection for more volume, and yelling.  The first uses lung- power to increase volume and does not cause an increase in tension in the vocal mechanism.  Yelling increases tension in the throat and can cause damage to the vocal folds over time.

Voice projection is an important skill to have for meetings and conversations, especially

in noisy environments.  Rustling papers, coughing, air conditioning or heating fans all impede our ability to hear.  If your voice must reach someone sitting 15 feet away, you need to make changes to your speaking style so they can understand you more easily.

An interesting side benefit of voice projection is an improvement in articulation.  As you increase the volume you automatically begin to use more and lip movement.  It’s hard to mumble when speaking up. Try it and see what happens.

Correct posture and breath control are important requirements for voice projection to avoid abusing your vocal folds.  These skills can be addressed as necessary during our communication skills improvement program.

November, 2007

The /r/ sound is a difficult sound for many non-native speakers to incorporate into American English.  We use this sound as both a vowel (as in early) and a consonant (as in red).  The primary difference is that the r vowel has a slight vowel that precedes it.

Most cultures use a reduced r sound which sounds like our ‘uh’ sound.  The British and parts of the American northeast and southeast don’t use the strong /r/ that most Americans use.  But these are exceptions.  If you watch Wheel of Fortune you will notice most contestants choose r as one of their letters due to its high frequency use.

The r ‘s can be produced in two different ways.  The tongue tip can be pointed up towards the roof of the mouth, or the bulk of the tongue can be pulled back in the mouth (close to the position for /k/ sound.)  In either position, it should not be making contact with other parts of the mouth.  I am unconcerned about which way a client uses, as long as it is clear and produced well.  We work from client’s strengths when improving communication skills; our goal is to improve communication skill, not to force clients into producing sounds in the exact same manner as we do.

While most clients are concerned about pronunciation of sounds, it is critical that the melody, timing and rhythm are correct.  Throughout our pronunciation improvement work, we focus on integrating these other skills.  This results in a much better over-all improvement in communication skills.

October, 2007

Final consonants are important features of American English and one we address with nearly all of our clients.  Including final consonants can be difficult if your native language has few final consonants, or if it doesn’t change nouns and verbs by adding sounds or syllables after the root word.  For us, there is a difference between 1. I work every day, and 2. I worked every day.  The first implies that you are still working, the second, that you are done working.   If you are dropping the ed in the  second example, confusion can result.  

Final consonant deletion can be critical for physicians.  If you ask for a dosage of ‘eighteen’, and omit the /n/ an inexperienced nurse, intern or transcriptionist may hear eighty, resulting in severe consequences.

 For consultants, credibility is often at stake.  Failure for nouns and verbs to agree by deleting the s is often seen as a lack of education in a speaking environment.  It can also confuse the listener, requiring them to ask for clarification. 

Many non-native speakers have excellent knowledge of English grammar as seen by their writing skill. But their competency isn’t reflected in the spoken words if they omit sounds.  It is easy to determine where the problem lies by looking at routine writing.