How to improve your pronunciation - and why it matters

First impressions are made remarkably fast, and part of that impression is how well a person speaks. Is the person's speech easy to understand, and does he or she sound confident and caring?

People have difficulty speaking clearly for several reasons. Some are bilingual and have strong accents when speaking English. Others have strong regional accents. Some speak very fast and others have lisps or other issues.

Record yourself.

Here are three tips to improve your communication skills. First determine how clearly you currently speak. Record yourself reading for 30 seconds, speaking on the telephone (without having the other person's voice be recorded) for 30 seconds and then talking to someone for 30 seconds. Ask several native speakers of English to listen. Have them  tell you if they understood you some of the time, most of the time, or all of the time, in each of the 3 segments. For most people, reading aloud is the easiest to do clearly, because you do not need to think of the words to say. Write down the words they say are difficult to understand.

Practice

Second, practice those words and words that have similar sounds. If the sounds that are difficult to understand are at the front of the words, use a dictionary to find other words with the same sounds. Practice the words for several days, because they need to be spoken clearly in conversation later.

For faster progress

Do you need rapid progress so you can speak well at a conference or on the telephone, when giving a speech, when being interviewed for a job or by the media? If so,  professional speech coaching on pronunciation, non-verbal skills, small talk and  learning to speak slower can be invaluable. A corporate speech pathologist can do an assessment and then provide you with exercises and objective feedback on your progress.

How speech coaching is done

Speech coaching can be done intensively, in just 1 - 3 days of in-person coaching, with a follow-up plan. For those in the Raleigh-Durham, NC (USA) area, it can be done hourly. In some cases, communication coaching can be done online.

Many companies will pay for speech coaching as a career development expense. Some may suggest it if the person's speech affects his ability to work effectively. Others wait for a person to request this type of coaching.

Don't be self-conscious about your speech; if you can't improve it yourself, contact us today to get some help!

Regional accents: 3 tips to change them

        Do you have a strong American regional accent, such as a Southern, Midwestern or New England accent in the USA, and want to change it to a more standard pattern? Accents can be lovely, and they can help you "fit in" with others who speak like you, similar to uniform clothing However, when you speak to
people from other places, your listeners may notice how you talk instead of what you are saying.

        Most people instinctively code-switch. They speak differently in various situations, such as talking to a newborn baby, their boss, their best friend, or an irritating co-worker. You can do the same thing with an accent, using it when appropriate and using standard American English at other times.

        The first thing you need to do is to record yourself, and decide what you want to change. Is it the use of  "in" for the standard "ing" (as in walking), the pronunciation of the "a" vowel,  the "ar, er, or" , or some other sounds? Are there local expressions you want to replace with more standard ones?

        Listen to some national role models, such as news anchors on national stations, to see how they make the sounds. Can you imitate them clearly? Write a list of words that you actually use which have these sounds. Include words that you use at work, if this change is for work. Examples might be people, places, products or processes you talk about.

        Lastly, practice these words, and then say them in sentences, when reading and in some scripted or otherwise prepared conversations.

        If you want professional coaching to make this change  to a more standard speaking pattern, especially if you give presentations or are in the media as a reporter or interviewee, contact Business Speech Improvement. 

If you want to work on your speech yourself, get our e-book, Diction Makes a Difference,

or the MP3 file, Pronounce American English More Clearly.

        

Speech coaching: by the hour or by the day?

Many people who want to improve their verbal skills, such as foreign-born professionals working in the USA,  ask if they should have a one hour lesson weekly, or do it in full day sessions. In general, full day sessions work very well. Here's why.

In full day sessions, you get the equivalent of 7-8 lessons in one day. Faster progress can be made this way. There is also less time wasted on traffic, and practice is done under the instructor's supervision. For people who are very busy or less motivated, there are very few reasons to cancel the class, if it is all done in full-day sessions.

Professionals from other countries who are in the USA for a short visit especially benefit from this intensive schedule. If they schedule the coaching before corporate events in the USA, their communication will be easier for others to understand.

Some people want to practice between lessons. If it is a public speaking class and students need to write new speeches between the sessions, that may be a valid reason.

Most learners, though, appreciate having the intensive instruction. Some courses also offer a follow-up plan, for skill maintenance. Depending on the seminar, this follow-up can be done on the telephone,  online, or in some other way.

Business Speech Improvement provides intensive speech coaching on American English pronunciation improvement for non-native professionals, diction coaching for native speakers, instruction on how to speak slower, presentation skills,  and other topics. Get the details  and enroll online here!

Speech rate: How fast is "too fast"?

Speedy speakers, seeking to justify their rapid rates, ask how fast they should speak; many want an exact number of words per minute (wpm). Unfortunately, it isn't that easy.

Speech rates differ in various parts of a country and in different situations.

Many people naturally speak faster when they are nervous, although often they can learn not to do this. People in some cultures, such as New York City, speak more quickly. Some people speak fast before they believe their listeners do not have much time to listen to them; one professional told me that in his culture, it was considered impressive to speak fast, especially when speaking of technical matters to someone from another professional background.

In the United States, the average rate of speech in conversation is 110 - 150 words per minute (wpm). However, no-one walks around with a device to measure words per minute in conversation. ( Such a device has yet to be invented.)

In neurologuistic programming (NLP), people are taught to speak at the rate their conversational partners speak. In other words, if the person to whom you are speaking is a very slow talker, you should speak at approximately that rate of speech, especially if you are trying to educate or sell her something. If you are trying to educate him or her on something that is complex, slow down even more (and use pictures when appropriate).

If your speaking partner is a fast speaker, you should come close to matching that rate of speech. Many people are most comfortable with those who are similar, and a similarity can include the rate of speech.

For everyday speech, talk at the rate that enables people to understand you.

Yes, it may be slower than you would like, but you will only have to say your message once, which saves time.

There are exceptions to this rate. If you are speaking to someone who has a hearing impairment, is very young or a senior citizen, slow down a little more. He or she may need a little more time to process your message. Do not speak louder, just slower.

Are you having difficulty slowing your rate of speech down to a reasonable level, consistently? Do people frequently tell you to slow down? Think about when this happens, or if it happens in a particular place or situation.

Business Speech Improvement has two ways to help you with more techniques. First, we offer intensive speech rate coaching. Second, for those who are unable to attend that, How to Speak Slower in Six Steps is a concise e-book with strategies to help.

Speech improvement: "Why doesn't my speech improve when I work on it by myself?"

As a speech coach, I get this question often.

A person decides to change some aspect of his speech. He tries to say a word differently, and sometimes sounds better. Then when he has a conversation, he sounds like he always does.

Does this sound familiar?

Here's what's wrong with this approach. A baby does not go directly from babbling to having a conversation, and neither should anyone else changing his speech.

Instead, make sure you are working on the right skills to change your speech.

(Many people don't know exactly what to change.) Then practice the skill in the same sequence as when you learned to talk: sounds, words, sentences, short and longer conversations. (Reading aloud can fit in well before conversations.) Over-practice each step, and listen to yourself on a recording, to make sure the skill is truly learned well.

How does having a speech coach help?  An expert speech coach knows  the right skills you need to develop, uses correct exercises to do it efficiently, and gives you sufficient feedback on how well you are doing. A speech coach has the expertise to get you through the process as efficiently as possible, so you don't waste time and effort,  and has the experience to know alternatives to use when needed.

Business Speech Improvement provides intensive speech coaching, customized to your specific needs.  If your own efforts to improve your speech didn't work, visit Business Speech Improvement for expert help!

Performance appraisal: solutions for poor verbal skills

Are you a manager who is working on performance appraisals now, or dreading them in the future? One of the toughest training decisions a manager can make is how to help genuinely talented employees who struggle with a skill set such as communication.

The first step is to be clear about the skill that needs to be improved, and how it impacts the individual's career progress. List a few examples of what the employee said that were incorrect. How does this impact the employee and company?

There are several basic options for improvement:  e-books, books,  mp3 files,  online webinars, and coaching (individual, small group and online).

To change communication skills, the person needs practice and expert feedback. While e-books, books, mp3 files and online webinars are economical ways to impart knowledge, which is good, usually skill practice with a coach is necessary. The feedback provided by the instructor is also vital to determine if the skill was done correctly.

If your employee needs to improve his or her pronunciation, speech rate, telephone skills,  presentation skills, communication skills for leadership, or other verbal skills, Business Speech Improvement offers a wide variety of options. The training is intensive and customized, designed for each learner.

When training is done intensively, less review time is needed because lessons quickly build on each other and there is less time to forget! Employees seem to stay more engaged in their learning, and there are few excuses to skip a session. Little or no travel time is also required, beyond arriving in the first place.

A seminar on American English Pronunciation Improvement for Non-native Professionals is now enrolling learners.

Past learners have been amazed at how much they've learned in a mere three days!

As one person mentioned, "I want to speak better - but I don't know how."

Business Speech Improvement  provides that intensive guidance to better speech! Visit us to check out the options today!

American English Pronunciation: Which "th" sound ( ø or ∂) do I use?

                          

English has two "th" sounds, and there is a phonetic symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet for each one. Attendees in the seminar on American English Pronunciation Improvement for Non-native Professionals often ask me which "th" sound they should use for a given word.

If the word has a long vowel sound, use the voiced "th". An example is the word "bathe". If the word has a short vowel sound, use the unvoiced "th", as in the word "bath". If you are not sure,  use whichever sound comes naturally!

 

For more on Business Speech Improvement's seminars and e-books on verbal communication, click here.

Surprising rules of American English Pronunciation

Surprising rules of American English Pronunciation

American English comes from many other languages and countries. Non-native speakers are often surprised by some of our silent letters and exceptions to the rules.

There are  5 words in English with a silent "th" in them. They are asthma, clothes, months (but not month), isthmus and northeaster (which is a type of blizzard).

Five words in American English pronunciation have a silent "h" at the beginning of the word. (There are many more with a silent "h" in the middle of the word.) These 5 are heir, honor, honest, hour, and herb (although some people do pronounce the "h" in herb).  Many words have a silent h in the middle of the word, in English. When ""gh" and "rh" are at the front of a word, such as ghost and rhinoceros, the "h" is silent.

Do you want to learn more of these rules and exceptions? A seminar on American English Pronunciation Improvement for Non-native Professionals is now enrolling learners! Get the details and enroll today at www.Business SpeechImprovement.com/accents !

American English pronunciation difficulties from 3 other languages

Today's blog post from Business Speech Improvement can be found on www.BusinessSpeechImprovement.com/more/blog 
It will appear here tomorrow.


  American English Pronunciation: Difficulties from 3 other languages

China is a huge country, and Mandarin is spoken differently in various parts of China. For some people, Mandarin is actually their second language, not their first.

People in India speak somewhere between 780 and 1683 different languages, although reportedly only 21 are officially recognized.

People in so many countries speak Spanish, and there are numerous dialects of it. Again, some Hispanics speak Spanish as their second language, with another local language being their "mother tongue" or first language.

Having said that, today (with a lot of generalization), we will be comparing some difficulties each linguistic group has with speaking English. Business Speech Improvement does individual assessments of each speaker in our seminars on American English Pronunciation Improvement for Non-native Professionals, so these are some generalities.

First, English is the only language that pronounces the "th" sound. In some countries, such as parts of China, clients have reported that it is rude to put one's tongue between one's teeth to produce this sound; instead, people use an "s" sound or omit it entirely. In India, many people trying to say "th" say a "t" or "d" sound instead. In Hispanics, often the sound is omitted, or an "s" sound is used instead.

Hispanics often have difficulty with the American sounds of  "v", our final sounds such as "t" in "sit", the

"vowel r" sounds like ar (car) and er (her). "Sh" (shoe) and "ch" (chew) may be hard for some to pronounce as well.

Mandarin (and Cantonese) speakers from China and nearby areas may have difficulty with the "l" and "r" sounds, "r blends" such as tree, and final sounds such as "z"  in "is". Other sounds may also be difficult.

Native Indians come from so many languages that it is hard to generalize. Many learn British English in school, and then want to learn American English, which is different at times in vocabulary and pronunciation. For example, the word "schedule" is pronounced in English as "shedjule", while in the USA, we say "skedjule". England uses "lorries", while in the USA, we call them "trucks".

Speech training for native speakers of all of these languages starts with an individual speech assessment, and then a custom-designed training program to focus on what each person needs to learn. The seminar on American English Pronunciation Improvement for Non-native Professionals is offered in only 3 days to a group of 6 learners, with a follow-up plan. These sessions are ideal for those who are visiting the USA and want help before business meetings or presentations here.  Individual 1-3 day sessions are available, although spaces for these are limited.  Online training sessions are also an option, in many cases.

For those who are unable to attend the training, e-books and a mp3 files on many aspects of communication are also an option .

                                  

                

 While you are here, check out the wide variety of archived blog posts on other topics relating to communication!

Speech training: what to ask

As a speech coach, one of the most common questions I get asked is, "Can speech training really help? When I talk to prospective clients at conferences, or on the telephone, they seem to focus on how I talk, not what I am saying."

Speech coaching with a motivated learner and an expert coach can make a real difference, based on my experience, if the learner is willing to continue practicing the newly learned skills.

When building trust with a listener, for any reason, it helps to emphasize the ways people are alike, and clear communication makes this easier. Maybe both of you like a certain sport, or a particular city or industry. Possibly the two of you are in the same company or are solving the same problem.

If your listener can understand how you are speaking, he can then focus on your message. Make this as easy as possible for your listener.

How do you determine an excellent speech coach? Look for someone who has considerable experience and qualifications in coaching corporate clients or individual adults. Ask about the class size, and how much feedback you will get from the instructor. Is the course customized for you to your specific needs, or does the entire class learn the same lesson even if some of them don't need it? Will you have time to get help saying specific words that are hard for you, such as peoples' names, processes or products you sell?

How many hours of instruction is the course? Is it done in an intensive manner, of 1 - 3 days long, or in 1-2 hourly sessions a week?  Intensive training offers faster results, less travel time, less time to forget what was learned before building on that skill, and may keep motivation higher. It should include some type of follow-up plan for skill maintenance.

 If the presenter is a speech-language pathologist, is not licensed in your state (which you should ask) and is offering speech coaching online, be cautious if she does not ask your state of residence. In at least one state, such coaching by speech-language pathologists who are not licensed there is illegal.

Speech coaches often specialize in the services they provide. Accent modification, presentation skills,
speech rate, executive communication skills, diction improvement,  sales communication skills  and more may be available.

If you need the coaching, but can't afford it, can't get to it,  or don't have time for it, are e-books with helpful tips available as an alternative? Although not as effective as regular coaching, they can offer some helpful information.

Business Speech Improvement offers intensive training in all of the skills mentioned above. It is located in Durham, NC (USA).

Accent Modification Seminars and You: 6 Reasons People Enroll

Over the years of teaching foreign (and regional) accent modification seminars, I have heard a lot of reasons why people enroll. Here are 5 of the most common - and 1 more unique one!

 1. I can't stand the puzzled looks people give me when I speak to native speakers; they can't understand me easily. 2. I want to improve my speech - but I don't know how. 3. For my career development, I need to talk better to either keep my current job or be considered for the job I really want in the company. 4. I have to be able to be understood clearly in a hurry or when my listener is stressed or sick. I'm in the medical field. 5. I'm about to give a speech. Listeners need to understand my diction better so they can focus on my message. and finally, number 6! I use Dragon Dictation at work- and it doesn't understand me. Can you help me speak so my computer will understand me better?

Whatever your reason, know that intensive speech improvement seminars are available! Each comes with a follow-up plan of some sort, depending on where you live and the type of training you have had. Upcoming seminars in American English Pronunciation Improvement for Non-native Professionals, in October 2014, and Speech Rate Reduction, for speedy talkers,, are now enrolling learners! Click here for details. Other seminars, individual coaching and e-books are also offered.

What's YOUR reason for wanting to enroll in an intensive speech improvement seminar?

Accent modification training - what is it?

Are you frustrated with your pronunciation of American English and the impact it has on your communication at work and in the community? If so, accent modification training may be a great help. An experienced accent modification coach or a corporate speech pathologist first analyzes your speech, and then designs a plan to improve it. Accents involve pronunciation, speech rate and the speech intonation (how your voice goes up and down). Your plan should include all of this. It may also include help with grammar and American idiomatic expressions if time is available. Training can range from 3 (full) days plus follow-up to one hour once a week. It can be done in a small group or individually. A good quality program should not be a large class, where everyone learns all the sounds again. Many of you already know most of the sounds, and should not have to practice what you know already. In a small group, the instructor has time to listen for your errors, which is vital. Another indicator of an excellent program is the availability of time to help you practice your professional and other important words. As one of my clients reported recently, "I'd been saying those business words wrong for a long time - and I didn't know it!" Business Speech Improvement offers seminars on American English Pronunciation Improvement for Non-native Professionals; sign up today! E-books on business communication are also available.

Speech training and you!

Are you concerned about your speech or the speech of an employee? Speech training provides an assessment and a targeted program designed to make a person's speech as good as it can be, within a certain time frame of instruction. Listen as I explain what services are available from Business Speech Improvement. Business Speech Improvement also offers e-books and other products, for those who prefer them. Think about this: all of business requires some form of communication, whether it be pointing, talking or using electronics. Improve your verbal skills; visit www.BusinessSpeechImprovement.com today!

What's YOUR accent?

The USA is a land of many accents. Accents are usually fine, in my opinion, as long as people can communicate easily. When an accent is so strong that it impedes communication, people pay more attention to HOW you talk, not what you say. That's when you need help. So, what kind of American accent do YOU have? Check this fun (and surprisingly accurate)quiz! If you have a strong accent, research is showing that it can impact your career even if you are working in the same community in which you were raised. One reason is that you communicate today with people from all over the country, and often the world. Whether they moved to your community, you give a presentation in another part of the country or online, you talk on YouTube, or you speak with others on the telephone, a strong accent can be an impediment to careers in many cases. An easy way to hear how standard English is spoken is to listen to an anchor on a national television station when he gives the news. Pay special attention to how he or she says word endings and vowels. If you want to work on your diction yourself, the concise e-book Diction Makes A Difference has many exercises to try. It is designed primarily for those with strong American regional accents. If you have a strong accent from another language, try the mp3 series, Pronounce American English More Clearly! Great speech makes business sense! Listen to how you speak - others are!

Offering foreign accent modification training to staff in the USA

The scenario goes like this. An employer hears about the availability of foreign accent modification training for his employees. He thinks about several of them who could certainly use it. Then he worries about either offending them and discriminating against them. The international employee, meanwhile, struggles to improve his American English pronunciation. He worries, too - about the puzzled looks on his listeners' faces, about his career growth and sometimes whether he will be kept on as an employee in the company. He wonders why his employer doesn't offer this training to him, like many employers do in other countries. As one employee told me, "I looked for this training for years on my own. When it suddenly appeared as being available on my computer at work, I immediately applied. I was lucky, and got in the class." The two different viewpoints are because Americans are often more individualistic, and think of their own career growth. We worry about offending others. In other countries, employees focus more on the growth and productivity of the work unit and company. Anything that can help that growth, such as American English pronunciation training for non-native professionals, is worth doing. When employees communicate better, they can contribute more, and more easily. So how does an American employer offer this training without offending a valued employee? Companies often try one of two approaches. First, the training can be offered as optional, fitting in a category of communication courses that are part of the number of mandatory hours of training per year. Two companies that did this reported considerable interest. As employees were self-selected, they were more motivated. A second approach is more directed. At a performance evaluation, explain the problem and the effect on the bottom line. Offer the training at that time, explaining clearly because you care about the valuable employee and his growth. Great speech makes business sense! Business Speech Improvement offers many types of verbal skills training. Training is offered through individual and small group seminars as well as e-books. The company is now located in Durham, NC.

How people can learn to speak American English more clearly - in only three days

People in the corporate world from other countries may want to learn to speak American English more clearly - and fast. Possibly they are going to a meeting in the USA, or to give a presentation there. People in the Raleigh-Durham area of N. Carolina (USA) will now have the chance to experience this. Business Speech Improvement will soon be moving there! The first step, as in solving any problem, is to determine what needs to be changed. What sounds are mispronounced? How are the rate of speech and the intonation pattern (how the voice goes up and down for questions, excitement, etc)? An expert corporate speech pathologist has years of experience and education to determine this quickly. Certain sounds are easier to change than others are. A customized plan is designed, considering the difficulty level of the specific sounds, which may have to do with where the errors are being made, the person's native language patterns and other factors. Finally, the training can start. Using the customized plan for each learner, the group learns the process of change and specific exercises needed to make the sounds correctly. Each learner receives a lot of feedback, to give him knowledge and confidence. Throughout the process, each learner has practice in rating his own attempts, so he can later judge his speech patterns accurately. Finally, when many new sounds have been mastered, learners practice on simulations of their own work situations, such as doing an interview, giving a lecture, making telephone calls or a business presentation. Doing this intensive process for eight hours a day, with frequent feedback and a variety of exercises, has helped many people make real progress. As a satisfied client, an engineer, reported, "Our speech, like our products, should be right - the first time!" People wanting to enroll in the small group and individual coaching programs offered by Business Speech Improvement should visit here. For those living elsewhere, click here for information about our e-books and mp3 files. Training in other speech topics is also available.

The secret to saying tongue twisters!

Many people who speak in public worry about how to pronounce long, unfamiliar words or other words in a phrase when they have similar sounds, called tongue-twisters. Tongue twisters come in many languages. American English ones, Russian ones, German ones, Spanish ones and ones in many other languages. The secret to saying tongue twisters is to practice them 3 times very slowly, without using your voice. Just move your lips, tongue and jaw slowly while you think about the movements you are making. Let's use Business Speech Improvement's slogan as an example. We are a "one stop speech spot". Say that 3 times very slowly, without using your voice. Think about the "st" in "stop" coming before the "sp" in "spot". Then try the slogan three times fast! Then, whenever you get a single difficult word to pronounce, or a difficult phrase, try this method: 3 times slowly and then 3 times fast. It's easy! Business Speech Improvement offers many types of communication e-books and coaching. Visit us online now!

Silent letters in American English pronunciation Many readers of this blog come from other countries. If you are one of them, or know someone who is trying to speak English more clearly, this blog post is for you! American English, first of all, is pronounced differently than British English. Many of the vowel sounds are made slightly differently, and have a different intonation pattern as well, which is what gives it a British or an American sound. This blog is about American English. We have a lot of silent letters. In some cases, the letters are silent only in specific words. For example, "th" is written but not spoken in 5 words. One of these words is "asthma". When "l" comes after an "a", as in calm, walk, talk, and psalms, the "l" is not spoken either. A third example is when there is a "sch", as in school or schedule. In these cases, Americans pronounce this as a "sk" sound. Business Speech Improvement provides intensive training in American English Pronunciation Improvement for Non-native Professionals. Training is offered through open enrollment seminars, individual coaching, e-books and an mp3-file.

Diction tips for reporters

Are you a reporter who wants to improve your pronunciation? Better speech can help your career growth, whether you are thinking of moving out of smaller markets into larger ones, or want to work on an especially important project in your current position. Your listeners today can be in some very noisy settings, whether in cars with their windows down, in shopping malls, sporting events, or noisy offices. Some may have hearing losses, too. Clear speech is critical for them to have the best chance of understanding you. Listen to yourself reporting on a taped story. What errors do you notice? Are the ends of sentences easy to understand, or are they mumbled? Are the ends of words, such as "ing", "s" and "ed" pronounced consistently? Set a goal of one change you want to make in your speech. When you practice reading your story, highlight the indicated words. This will remind you to say that sound extra clearly. You should also evaluate your rate of speech and your pauses. Are they appropriate for your story and your audience? Remember, speaking too quickly can mean people in noisy settings may miss words here and there. Sweeps Week is coming up! Business Speech Improvement offers small group coaching on an intensive basis for reporters who want to work on their speech skills! E-books and audio files are available on many other aspects of verbal communication. Check us out!

Speech improvement training for non-natives who already speak English

A big concern of many professionals who speak English as a second language is whether they are pronouncing it correctly. Many have learned it from teachers who speak British English.
Thus, they say "schedule" as "shedule" instead of "skedule", and other different patterns of pronunciation and sometimes grammar.

These professionals often worry about their pronunciation, as they may get many confused looks from some listeners, especially those who do not know them well.

Intensive training in American English pronunciation patterns can make speech considerably better in as little as 3 days. Business Speech Improvement offers a seminar on American English Pronunciation Improvement for Non-native Professionals. Individual coaching and e-books are also offered.