Accent Training
Sharpen Your Speech
Eliminate foreign or regional accents & increase your confidence and efficiency when speaking in English
Drew’s Philosophy
As we know, first impressions as well as clear communication are essential to success in modern business and personal relationships. Clearer, more understandable speech will make your conversations more efficient and you’ll get less “what was that?” from your listeners. A standard English accent, (used by newscasters) suggests that speakers are educated and intelligent - innacurate in fact, but nonetheless a reality about the public’s general assumptions. The primary goal in accent reduction is to eliminate barriers to communication in any environment, whether it be personal or business-related in nature.
Drew’s Methods
During sessions, you can expect to do some practice with improving several different aspects of speech. You’ll learn to emphasize on certain parts of words (called syllabic stress) because stress on wrong syllables can change the meaning of a word in English entirely. You’ll learn to adjust the pitch (intonation) of your voice to better clarify the overall meaning of sentences (being clear that it is a question vs. a statement). We will also focus on prevention of extra sounds within and after words (i.e. “forget” vs. “for-a-get”) to prevent misleading the listener, and lastly, we will work to sharpen your English consonant and vowel sounds (phonemes) to get as close as possible to standard English sounds.
Expect Tangible Results
Improving and/or eliminating an English accent has both obvious and hidden benefits. People will ask you to repeat less often and you’ll have to explain and rephrase your statements less often. When you begin speaking, your listeners will be able to focus on your message and non-verbal communication as a whole, instead of becoming distracted by needing to figure out the words being spoken. Your conversations will be quicker, more accurate, and flow more easily. An often unexpected benefit is that conversations become more fun, because there is not the constant breakdown in understanding between speaker and listener. Ultimately, you’ll also become a more confident and impactful English speaker.