Every day in my voice studio i hear people tell me i want to lose my accent i
hate the way i sound i want to sound more british or australian or american!
Here in australia like many other countries in the world there are many people that speak
english as a second language and many of them don't like the way they sound.
So if this resonates with you i have some good news for you today
in this video i'm going to share with you three inspirational
and effective tips that will make you feel more empowered about your unique sound.
Stay tuned Q & A Tuesday all your voice questions answered!
HI, I'm elisa james founder of the voice of confidence public speaker training program
and i help people all over the world speak with confidence clarity and conviction.
Today we're talking about accents!
Now in the comments section below of my channel I get loads of people asking me
how do i lose my accent! Well i have a training
program especially designed for that and you'll find that in the comments below.
Now let's dive in to the three tips today that will help you understand
what you need to do first! Tip # ONE :accent is routine.
When we grow up in another country and speak in the native language of that country
you learn to move your lips your tongue your teeth and your jaw in a particular
way as we learn the local language. Now this is true for any language of
course when i moved to holland years ago with a record deal I found it really hard
to get my mouth around the particular shapes I needed to make to sound the Dutch language out.
I actually had a sore throat for months because I was pronouncing the sound way too harshly.
It didn't feel natural to me at all and i found it really really difficult.
When our muscles are used to moving in a certain way for decades it just becomes routine.
So what we're talking about is the vocal mechanics which make up the
pronunciation of the words we say. As a qualified voice coach with over
30 years experience I teach people the mechanics of speech every day.
So if you need some training in this area check out the links below this video to help you correct
the mechanics of speech so you can sound more clear and articulate when speaking.
Now this is important ...though vocal mechanics are important but they're not everything...
So that brings me to the next tip. TIP #2 : Accent is relative when people
say that they want to change their accent it usually means that they're comparing themselves
with another person from another country. When people say they have an accent
they usually mean not an english-speaking accent so here's the thing though a little secret.
Shh everyone has an accent! Everyone!
When I was living in europe and also traveling across america as a singer
everyone I met said : WOW! I love your accent! Every country i traveled to it seemed people
would comment on my accent. You see accent is relative so
what are you comparing yourself to ? if you want to sound more native
in the country that you're now living there are some steps that you can take to sound more clear
and they will be determined by what accent you're comparing yourself to.
If you live in the USA you might want to work on a different kind of pronunciation than if you'd
moved to the UK or Australia for instance. First decide what you want and then you can
start to make better decisions for how you're going to reach your goal.
Since everyone has an accent and now we understand the mechanics
do play a part in being understood now it's time to look at the most important tip today.
All of us learn to make sounds that are relational to our native language.
So these issues can actually play a very big part in communication and have nothing to do
with the mechanics of speech. TIP #3 - is the most important
one it plays an enormous role in communication skills and it's this :
The way we structure our sentences and the flow of the english language itself.
Many people that are esl speakers are also lacking in confidence due to having to constantly think
and speak in a foreign language . Especially if you're self-conscious
about it or worried
that your vocabulary is not yet good enough . That can lead to you being anxious and insecure
and that can really affect the way that we communicate.
It makes it very hard for people to understand what you're trying to convey
it doesn't mean that your command of the english language is bad necessarily.. it simply means
that you're not yet using the correct flow and patterning of the english language .
What you need to do to fix this is invest in some public speaking and communication skills training
if you need help with either the vocal mechanics or communication skills then check out the links
in the description below this video to get the training that you need to change your life
and improve your career success. I'll see you there