IS AN "ACCENT" HAMPERING YOUR PRESENTATION ABILITIES?

by

David W. Richardson, CSP

Because I work with speech coaching clients all over the country, a common concern I often address is whether or not a regional accent or cultural dialect hampers a presenter's ability to communicate his or her message.  Bottom line is this:  If your audience is distracted by the way you express yourself verbally, you have a problem.  There is a good possibility that your accent is being perceived as a negative factor in your presentations, is inhibiting your ability to reach your objectives, or is a limiting factor in your continued career growth.

            Here are some prime examples of how an accent can work against you:

            The vice-president of human resources asked me to work with a man in the organization who had great potential but whose career was being impeded because of his heavy New York accent.

            A popular politician from Georgia had a strong southern drawl that he felt enhanced his message.  Because they could identify with him, his constituents felt comfortable in re-electing him.  However, when he moved on to seeking a national office, he felt that this accent would not be well received by potential voters in other parts of the country.

            A woman contacted me recently stating that she felt that her ethnic accent was keeping her from being taken seriously by her professional counterparts.

            Each of these individuals faced what they considered to be a problem with an accent or dialect that was going to impact their personal and professional growth.  Working with each one, we devised an action plan.  Because they were highly motivated they worked very diligently, practicing for hours on end, and each one of them overcame an accent that was a part of their heritage or their geographical location. 

I myself grew up in western Pennsylvania where I very easily latched on to the Pennsylvania Dutch accent.   Recognizing that it was a limiting factor in my career growth, I worked very hard for many years and today have proven that you can not only take the boy out of Pennsylvania, but you can also take Pennsylvania out of the boy.

            If you feel that your professional growth is being challenged by an ethnic or regional accent, following are some of the steps we suggest you take to help correct it.

What we do:

1.      For each individual we identify specific words from his or her regional or ethnic background that are clearly identifiable every time they are spoken.  Selecting 100 key words, we record the proper pronunciation of them on an audiocassette tape.  Each word is recorded 10 times with a 3 second interval between each repetition.
 

2.      Playing the tape over and over again, the student diligently practices each word over and over and over and over again, until their objective has been achieved . . . Voila!  No more accent!

How you can use this technique:
 

1.      Identify someone you know who has no accent, someone who uses the English language in a clear, distinct fashion.  Since you can't, in all likelihood, identify all of your own accent words yourself, solicit the help of that individual in completing the first phase of this exercise.
 

2.      Together, take the same steps I indicated above and then commit yourself to some repetitive and conscientious practice sessions.  This can be accomplished while driving your car, at home, or, as one of my clients did, on a solo camping trip up in the north woods of Maine.  One can only speculate on what all of the animals thought when they continually heard the same words being spoken over and over and over again!
 

I liken this process to singing a piece of music over and over until you do it to your satisfaction or to rehearsing the words of a play until you speak them in a way that has the greatest impact from your own personal perspective.  If an actor can create a dialect in a movie and use it effectively, you can certainly create one . . . and use it effectively.

If you would like to receive Dave's outline for "Designing and Organizing a Presentation," fax a copy of your business card with the word "guide" and your fax number to 480-451-9372.