April Showers and May Flowers: Vowels, Jokes, and Syllable Stress

 

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 bring May flowers.”

This phrase reminds us that all this rain has a purpose! I bring it up because it’s also a timely way of getting you to open your mouth wide for a number of vowel sounds as you practice to reduce your accent.

 

 

“April showers bring May flowers” also has the “ing” sound… which you can read more about in this post.

This phrase also has a joke that goes along with it, which leads me to ask you:

 

 

Do you know the difference? And how can that little space between “May” and “flower” make any difference? Hear the difference between them, and how...

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Springtime Challenge: Grow a Speech Garden

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 prosperous.

Have you ever thought about tending to your speech the way you'd tend to a garden?

Well, I'm issuing you a challenge!

 

For Better Hearing and Speech month, we're talking about how your communication takes care... the kind of care that would go into the planning and maintenance of a lush and healthy garden.

What does it look like to “grow a speech garden” with care?

 

 

Any gardener knows that weeds will take over your garden in no time if left to grow! They become harder to uproot as they get bigger. The same is true for your speech: an unhelpful sound left unchecked will make you harder to understand,...

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Nail That Toast! Holiday Vocal Presence Tips

 

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 how you’ll say it! As my Christmas gift to you, I’m offering you my Tips for a Successful Holiday Toast as a free download this holiday season.

(Right click to download!)

 

 

Feel the confidence that a strong, clear message to your company and co-workers can give you… it’s more than just “a little something!”

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3 Ways to Slow It Down: Connecting with International Co­Workers

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 speakers who have been in the U.S. for several years or only a few months.

No matter the situation, you need to be able to effectively communicate with your team.

In my last article on communicating with non-­native English speakers, I outlined how to keep language simple in the workplace. Today, we'll talk about slowing down.

 

 

Right now I'm going to ask you to stop and remember:

• A foreign language class you took

• A time you were shopping in an international market

• Any time you overheard a foreign language conversation

Do you remember how the other language sounded? Was it incredibly fast and jumbled to you? Did you wonder...

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We Need Each Other! Reduce Your Accent through Community

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, specifically among children.

In a 2015 ASHA survey of 1,000 parents:

• 52% expressed concern that technology negatively impacts the quality of their conversations with their children

• 54% say they have fewer conversations with their children because of technology

• 52% are concerned that misuse of technology is harming their children's speech and language skills.

How does this translate to YOU as an adult professional?

As you work to reduce your accent, and as a professional who is probably using a substantial amount of technology at work and at home, I would ask this question...

 

 

Speech-­language experts...

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Siri® Understands Me Now: How Accent Reduction Aids in the Use of Voice-Recognition Technology

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-based requests after Siri® failed to grasp what they were asking.

As an accent reduction trainer, I received a flood of new inquiries from internationals in the US when Siri® was first released. People who had thought for years that their pronunciation was good enough were suddenly faced with the fact that this new technology told them otherwise.

Granted, the technology itself is partly to blame. As analyst Jeff Kagan reported in this Fortune article, “[These technologies] are still in their very early growth." The software doesn't get everything right, but it is constantly improving.

 

 

And...

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Professional Presence: Finding Your Voice

 

Picture yourself in this everyday office scenario:

The staff is gathered for a presentation on a new company initiative.

The presenter passes out their information, and in a monotone fashion proceeds to plod through the slideshow presentation on the topic with seemingly little enthusiasm.

At the end they announce, “We really want everyone to get excited about this.”

Are you excited?

Have you bought into your company's new project?

Given the lackluster presentation, probably not!

 

Maybe this presenter really is excited about the initiative, but they don't know how to convey that to others... or don't even realize how their demeanor is being perceived by everyone in the room.

And what would the ramifications be if this had been a pitch to a client, or prospective investors?

The non-verbal communication in this situation was the difference between increased morale at the launching of a new project, and just another boring meeting!

 

The 7 Percent...

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Are You Fried, or Flowing? Improving Your Vocal Quality

 

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 shareholders by investing in their voice.

 

This component of your professional presence is called vocal quality, and it's a major factor in how your message is perceived by others. I'd like you to first think about how you'd describe a voice that you find irritating in presentations or meetings... one that distractsfrom the presenter's message. Your list may have some of these descriptors:

 

 

Now take a moment to reflect on what makes a voice sound pleasant to you – one that enhances the message rather than distracting from it. It may be easiest to think of an actor/actress, broadcaster, or other public figure whose voice you find...

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