Jan 26

How do I Sound?

Communication Skills No Comments »

The British press including The Independent has recently been reporting on the current increase in demand for speech training and elocution lessons here in the UK. Over recent decades we have seen regional accents become less of a hindrance and sometimes even a plus point in sectors such as the media or in contact centres. However, the current economic climate, with jobs increasingly hard to find, is causing new job seekers and experienced professionals alike to re-examine their skills to ensure they can present themselves to the best of their abilities. And this skill set extends as far as how they speak with more and more people resorting to elocution lessons or speech training as a way of improving the way they come across.

Scripts catscandotcom i How do I Sound?

© istockphoto.com/Catscandotcom

It is one thing to turn to elocution lessons or voice coaching to improve the clarity, accuracy and pace of the way we speak and it is a positive sign that young school leavers and university graduates are keen to invest in their speaking skills in order to improve their success at job interviews. Experienced managers and professionals are also seeing the value of improving the way they speak in order to further their career development. An ability to speak clearly during meetings and formal presentations – particularly now that so much business communication takes place through virtual methods – is integral to business success and can often make one candidate for promotion stand out from another.

However, it is slightly more surprising that a key reason cited for approaching a voice coach or speech trainer is to soften a strong regional accent or even lose it altogether. People from the West Midlands, West Country and Essex are particularly keen to neutralise the way they sound as they fear that their strong local accent might be holding them back in their careers. It is understandable that people want to present themselves as clearly and professionally as possible in order to do well in a shrinking jobs market and this might mean softening sounds that make their speech less intelligible. And a less pronounced local accent may give people more credibility. But it seems strange in this day and age that someone would want to eliminate completely an important element of their identity such as their accent.

Good elocution lessons or speech training should enable individuals to identify and improve the elements of their speech that make them harder to understand without trying to change them into someone they’re not. Gone are the days, after all, when we should be striving to sound like the Queen in order to get on in life!

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2012

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Mar 15

Regional Accents – Help or Hindrance?

Communication Skills 1 Comment »

For many British celebrity actors and presenters, their dream is to make it on the other side of the Atlantic and find success on the big US networks or even make it in the movies. Cracking the American market is always a challenge but even more so for stars whose British regional accents may be less intelligible to audiences in the US.

Handshake Chris Schmidt i Regional Accents – Help or Hindrance?

© istockphoto.com/ Chris Schmidt

The BBC has recently highlighted the case of Cheryl Cole who is due to appear on the X Factor in the USA. She may look and act the part but if the American audience is unable to understand her comments to contestants she will not be successful. It is interesting that while the North East has been the chosen location for many British call centres due to the perceived attractiveness of the local accent, it is considered to be one of the more difficult British accents for American audiences to understand. Apparently, well known British TV presenters Ant and Dec needed interpreters during their short spell on US TV!

Nobody is suggesting that celebrities from the British regions should leave their local identity behind and attempt their own version of the ‘Queen’s English’. However, if they are set on global success, they need to consider how well their international audience will be able to understand them. It has been suggested that Cheryl Cole is taking lessons to improve the clarity of her speech, particularly her vowel sounds and vocabulary. Accent and speech training should not aim to eradicate Cheryl’s regional accent but should enable her to accommodate her accent to less familiar ears and help her to use other cues such as pacing, intonation, chunking and body language to help American viewers to understand her better.

It is just as true for business executives with strong regional accents as for glamorous celebrities that they may often need to moderate their natural speech when communicating with global counterparts. Talking on the phone to a worldwide customer base, presenting to potential clients in the US or managing a remote team all require speech patterns that are clear and easily understood. Many organisations invest in personalised speech and accent coaching or in training programmes to help when presenting to an international audience. This is not because they want to create a completely homogenous workforce who all speak with the same ‘received pronunciation’ but because they recognise the value of clear, intelligible communication that is easily understood by colleagues and counterparts around the world.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2011

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Jan 28

The Secret to Public Speaking

Communication Skills No Comments »

A recent feature in The Guardian offered advice on the secrets of successful public speaking. Standing up and presenting to a large auditorium full of people who are all there to listen to what we have to say can be one of the most nerve-wracking experiences of our professional lives. There is something particularly intimidating about facing a huge sea of faces but it can be just as important that we get it right when presenting to smaller audiences. You may need to present your strategy to your senior management team, pitch for new business with a client or give a talk to new graduate trainees as part of their induction programme but these are all situations where you have a short amount of time to create impact.  So what can you do to speak with more credibility and conviction?

Meeting Neustockimages i The Secret to Public Speaking

© istockphoto.com/ Neustockimages

Confidence – Becoming a confident speaker can be easier said than done but remember that you are the expert and your audience have chosen to be there. They are normal people, just like you. If you suffer badly with nerves you can use breathing or relaxation techniques to prepare you for your big moment.

Know your audience – If you don’t already know your audience make sure you are in the room early to give you the opportunity to share a few words with some of them as they arrive. When you are preparing, try to think about your listeners’ expectations; consider what they need to know about the subject and how best to engage them.

Know your subject – Research your subject in as much depth as you can and make sure you have all your facts and examples at your fingertips. This will make you feel more confident and prepare you for unexpected questions.

Non-verbal communication – Being a good public speaker is not just about the words you use but also the non-verbal signals you convey. Pay attention to your posture, use of gestures and above all make eye contact with your audience

Slow down – While you may want to get it over as quickly as possible, take time to deliver your messages slowly and clearly and use pausing for emphasis, particularly after key points

Use humour – There is no better way of engaging your audience that making them smile. Particularly at the start of a presentation or speech, a funny story or anecdote can break the ice and win your listeners over. Do bear in mind humour doesn’t always translate so be conscious of the cultural make up of your audience.

Avoid ‘Death by PowerPoint’ – This doesn’t mean don’t use it but don’t let your slides become the main point of focus instead of you. A PowerPoint presentation should enhance and add value to your message rather than act as a crutch or script.

Be yourself – Above all communicate naturally as you would with people you know well and speak from your own experience. Speak from the heart and don’t use language that you wouldn’t normally use. Most people will engage with a speaker who seems human!

Public speaking courses can be a great way of developing and practising these techniques. A good starting point when preparing for public speaking is to consider your existing strengths so that you can build on them during your talk and to identify one or two things you will focus on doing better. And remember that being nervous is natural and many of your audience will have probably felt how you are feeling at some point in their lives.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2011

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