Speaking Clearly with Lisa Scott

We’ve been getting a lot of rain lately where I live in the South, and although it makes for some dreary days, the payoff is outstanding: amazing flowers are blooming and filling our yards and parks!

Americans have a rhyming phrase that helps us get through the wet months:

“April showers brin...

People who love gardening often spend all winter planning what they'll grow in the spring. They pore over seed catalogs and websites, plot out their flower or vegetable beds on paper, and put aside money for new plants, mulch, and all the other necessary materials to make their garden beautiful and ...

April is Stress Awareness Month, and we’re continuing this month with ways to improve your accent by bringing down your body’s stress level. In last week’s article, I asked you to loosen up the muscles that control your speech with exercises for your shoulders, neck, and jaw. If you haven’t tried th...

Improving your speech or reducing your accent takes a lot of self-awareness… it requires listening to yourself and regular practice in order to improve. But today I’m going to ask you to be aware of something other than the sound of your voice.  I’d like you to be aware of your body’s stress.

Since...

Office Christmas parties and holiday meals are happening all through December in the corporate world, and perhaps the last thing some of us like to hear is, “I’d like you to give a toast and say a little something to everyone…”

This time, don’t be caught off-guard with what you’ll say and h...

¡Hola, mis amigos!

It's an honor to be celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month once again with my Latino friends and followers across the country and the world! It's a time to recognize the rich traditions and culture that have brought so much joy and unique perspective to the United States.

I have a ...

We're living and working in an age of international connectedness. Your co-­workers or clients may actually be living overseas and speak English as a second or third language, connected to you through internet chats and teleconferencing. Or, you may work daily in person with non-­native English spea...

Tell me if this resonates with you: you're comfortable in your workplace when it requires reading emails and going through written material... or writing to co-workers and jotting down notes.

But when needing to speak out loud to a co-worker, or asked to speak up at a meeting, you say as little ...

I'm truly excited this month to be sharing with you how interacting with those around you is a major factor in reducing your accent. A major research focus for American Speech­Language­Hearing Association (ASHA) has been the overuse of technology and its effect on language and hearing development, s...

Most of us recognize the voice of Siri®, the iPhone’s voice - assisted technology. But Siri® doesn’t recognize the pronunciation of everyone who attempts to communicate with her. Apple says that she handles 1 billion voice requests per week, but many non-native speakers have reverted back to text-ba...

Have you ever listened to or watched a recording of yourself, and cringed at the sound of your voice? Perhaps when giving presentations, you know your voice isn't projecting the confidence you'd like... or maybe your company has realized it's time to give employees an edge with clients and shareh...