Growing Beyond Accent

The most interesting development in my business in the last year has been growing beyond accent. With so much renewed attention to the topic in the last few years, the industry has been revived, and resources abound. Globally, there is a tremendous need, but in Silicon Valley, I find the need is more linked to communicating with credibility, and accent is only one component.

The interesting part, however, is that there is very little insight into how accent affects overall communication. While presentations and corporate communication courses are readily available, few if any target the differences between native speakers and non-native speakers or provide tools and techniques for non-natives to apply systematically to improve their speech.

At first I was concerned about price point since the economy didn't have a positive effect there, and more services seemed like more competition. This is true in terms of initial impressions (googling on the net for a service), but when I meet with clients, I find they are still enlightened by the novel approach of applying the world of accent modification to corporate communciation. Apparently, very few providers are doing that.

I'm also exploring an oppty to head back to India for a couple of weeks of training. That will probably be next year. We're also working with the seminary in preparing Catholic priests for the delivery of homilies (sermons for non-Catholics), which requiring skill in public speaking, communication and clear enuncication.

I'm also excited about creating a new video website resource for clients with a colleague in India.

The accent world is changing ... our scope is growing, but our mission remains sincere and directed. I'm still amazed at how much this field appeals to me and never ceases to provide new challenges.

Systematic correction - lost in the shuffle?

When I entered the field of Accent Modification, it's wasn't very popular. Back in the 60's, Speech Therapists were doing it, but in the 80's and 90's it was viewed as "insensitive" because "accent are beautiful" and who are we to judge or correct?

Then, more recently, non-native speakers from all over the world began to assume many of the key technical, scientific and managerial positions in the US, and the situation changed --- dramatically. Suddenly, large numbers of executives and professionals living in the US were speaking in a way that wasn't clear or easy to understand. But since we had "thrown out the baby with the bath water," no one was doing true accent modfication anymore. That's why it was difficult to get the momentum back ... at first.

Today you can Google "accent" or "get an American accent" or anything similar, and get all kinds of links to click on. The question is - do these links really address the issue? I find most of them are related to pronunciation (a good start), but by no means a comprehensive one. Much of what is required to successfully modify a foreign accent has been lost, not the least of which is systematic correction.

This comes up during a "down" economy a great deal. People want to receive feedback in groups. "Can't we get a group together and get a discount?" they ask. The other issue that surfaces is technology: "Can't I buy some software to figure out how to change my accent?"

Of course, you can find group classes and software options, no question. But will you successfully change your accent and be able to sustain that change with these options? And if you won't, why not?

My suggestion is that the concept of systematic correction (1-1) by a native speaker has been lost! Much of what was happening in the 60's has been re-created in the new milennium, but this concept has been tossed aside, most likely due to its lack of scalability and lack of popularity in a less than prosperous economy, as in "I know it won't be as effective, but can't we still give it a try?"

I find it ever more important to point out to clients that what they really need to focus on is "systematic" correction in the order in which a professional determines they need to create change; otherwise they are wasting time and money and expending effort needlessly, only to find in the end that very little has changed, leading only to discouragement: "Why bother? It doesn't work anyway!"

And all of this agony and frustation can be avoided so easily by approaching it from the right perspective! I may be preaching to the choir, but sometimes singing the same song loudly and eloquently can have a desirable effect!

Creating an iPhone app

I have created content many times for many programs, but not until recently did I find a developer who specialized in iPhone apps, and he introduced me to a new world. Our first cut came out just last week:

The American Accent Made Easy

The beauty of this type of an app is anyone can download it and play with it (as long as s/he has an iPhone!), and then we can delivery new versions with new information periodically. It's not expensive for the user, and it's fairly straight forward for us. If you get a chance to check it out or recommend it to a colleague, please send us feedback so we can continue to improve it!

Let us know what you think!

Growing the Business

Now entering my 5th year of full-time American Accent Training in the Silicon Valley (and has it ever been an interesting experience!), the biggest challenge is how to grow the business! I'm glad to have met all of you who are reading this blog because connecting with professionals in related areas is the key to success. It's a lonely business and there's so much to do if we don't have each other. Those of you who have reached out to meet or discuss topics always make my day, so please continue to do so!

This year I'm into partnering with other consultants. There are so many related fields with overlap and so little knowledge about what we really do in this field! I recently posted an ad for Speech Coaches to see who I would attract and to find a good person to mentor, and I met some really interesting people. One of them speaks fluent Mandarin but was born and raised here, and that could be an interesting niche. This person specialized in leadership training but didn't focus on the accent as part of "speech" coaching, and I am always so curious how that happens. I've had "speech" coaches tell me they focus on areas "outside of accent" and don't work with clients who mispronounce words or exhibit other accent-related issues.

The most interesting to me is this concept of "vocal variety." Can you imagine being given the advice to "add" it and not having English as you first language? How would you have any conceivable idea of what that is?

I was once hired by an all Spanish-speaking real estate firm that had taken speech training from a recognized expert in real estate sales (I won't mention the name here), and after taking several of these courses that instructed the crew to use "vocal variety," they were all completely disillusioned and self-questioning about their English fluency. We ended up doing "script" rehearsals with full accent modification techniques to "relearn" and in some ways "unlearn" what had been focused on in these sessions. To native speakers, "vocal variety" can be demmonstrated and understood, but to non-native speakers ... especially those who already bring their own first language's patterns to the table, "vocal variety" is a completely nebulous and unachievable goal! The seminars and workshops that were meant to be motivational served only to disillusion them ... maybe real estate professionals should be my next focus!

I think I'll do a broader reach and begin working in the area of intercultural communication ... more posts to follow on this topic in the oh-so-near future!

New Focus for the new Year

This year I'm focusing less on marketing to a specific country or working with a specific accent and more on making services more widely avaiable and also branching into cross-cultural communication. There is such an overlap!

I'm working with a colleague in strategic communication, and I plan to "bone up" on intercultural communication, a subject I enjoyed a great deal in my linguistic-study days but have paid admittedly less attention to in the last 10 years since graduating from the master's program.

In the meantime, new material has immerged. In addition, it's interesting to note how much focus there is in current cultural training on understanding various cultures and "bridging the gap" as opposed to focusing on communication in general with the intercultural parameters in mind (like polychronic vs. monochronic time, directness vs. indirectness of approach, etc.) and how these factors affect communication (as well as what we can do/say differently with these insights in mind). There is a wide variety of information available and I'm sorting through it with a focus on "communication" and tailoring the content to the audience - a corporate cross-cultural focus.

In November, I'm co-presenting with an Indian cultural expert to an HR group(about 1500 members). She'll be covering the cultural components, and I'll be providing insights to an HR focused audience on communications issues related to attracting and working with Indian talent in the Silicon Valley.

I'm also offering a couple of all day short courses through the community college Foothill/DeAnza. Short Course Registration The course description is listed in the Communications/Psychology section - course 037.

One of my most interesting clients is a Catholic seminary. I'm working with aspiring Catholic priests from all over the world, helping them to speak American English with clarity and confidence. Priests are largely recruited from other countries these days, like Vietnam, Colombia, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Poland.

It promises to be another thought provoking and eye opening year of cross-cultural experiences!

Rebecca Linquist