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Your Wedding Speech – Memorable or Mayhem

“Thank you all for coming to our wedding. Id like to thank my new in-laws for giving me my new wife, all of my friends who have come from Hong Kong, Hamilton, Florida, India, Portland, and other places too numerous to mention, but l will try —England, Port Antonio Jamaica, St Tropez, etc. I’d also like to thank my new business associates at CIBC – you are all here for

Voice and Sex Appeal

Imagine this: – you enter a room full of strangers and look around. You see a great looking man/ woman and are instantly attracted. You make your way causally to his/her side and introduce yourself. The object of your attraction gazes at you— smiles—–and speaks to you.—– the whole image is shattered, — his/her voice [...]

Virtual Communication: Make Your “Web Personality” Exciting

Did you know that in the corporate world today – more and more communication, training, and meetings are done in the form of webinars, via Skype or similar programs, or videoconferencing. One interesting story about this comes to mind – my husband, who is a lawyer in a downtown Toronto firm, tried to set up [...]

Successful Interviews

Imagine you are interviewing candidates for your next business associate. You narrow it down to the best resumes- they are all equally qualified, and make appointments to see people every hour for 1 full day. People come and go, and you realize that 1 or 2 seem better than the rest. What are those factors [...]

What do you do if you forget someone’s name?

Everyone forgets names sometimes. Here’s what I do – put a natural smile on your face, keep eye contact, give a firm handshake, and say this with a confident voice (use a deep pitch and no “up” tone): “I know we’ve met before and your name is on the tip of my tongue” or “I’ve [...]

What to talk about when you don’t know what to talk about

What do you say after you say “hello”? Before a cocktail party or networking event, do some homework. It’s so easy these days with the Internet. If it’s a company sponsored event find out what the company is up to regarding charity work, if there were any interesting new hires, and/or read the AGM keynote. [...]

Your Voice Is Your Brand

We all spend time and money defining our brands in writing and in design. But have you ever thought – that the way you speak – the way you present yourself and your brand through your voice can “ make it or break it” in terms of others’ perception of you and your work. Here [...]

Executive Charisma – How to have “presence”

What is that extra “something” ,”Je ne sais quois” that makes you stare at another person, want to talk to them, be in their company, listen to their every word? Is it only looks (think Henry Kissinger)? Is it just wardrobe (think Johnny Depp)? I don’t think so. It’s charisma! Some people have it more [...]

Beyond Presentation Skills

Have you ever attended a presentation where everything was done just right – good topic, good slides, nice opening, middle and closing – but the presentation just didn’t hold your attention? And isn’t that true of most presentations? So— what are the elements that separate the GOOD presenters from the GREAT ones ? Remember—the purpose [...]

What is your Vocal EQ

The instant we hear someone’s voice – we make an immediate subconscious judgment about them. Are they young or old, confident or anxious, relaxed or nervous, sincere or insincere, etc. Did you know that you can influence people to want to listen, take you seriously, admire you, and want to hear more by improving your [...]

Avoiding Powerpoint Poison

How often have you attended a presentation—only to find that you are constantly reading slides that are too overcrowded with words? Makes you want to “tune out”, check your e mail, and read the notes later ( OR NOT) – right ?! But – but you say –you need to put everything on the slides [...]

Accent on Accents

If English isn’t your first language, and you want to speak more clearly in English, there are some easy steps you can take. Let’s first look at the goal. I believe that is isn’t necessary to sound completely North American. You can be proud of your accent – yes, PROUD! It tells people about your [...]

Pronounciation: Sound “th”

What is your Vocal EQ?

How do you make small talk?

How to project your voice

10 tips to reduce your accent

Here are the 10 best tips to reduce your accent….

1. The sound (th) is one of the most important and most difficult to pronounce in English. It is important because it is present in 80% of English dialogue. So when you are correct – you will sound much clearer. It is difficult to master the muscle movement involved. To pronounce (th) put your tongue between your teeth and breathe out. Hint: Remember to feel the vibration of the th (voiceless) against your tongue. It is much more important to get the tongue placement between the teeth for [th] voiceless and [th] voiced than to say them differently.

2. The rhythm of your words in English is just as important as the pronunciation of sounds – master your rhythm by stressing each word on the right syllable – and reducing the remaining syllables. Stress only ONE syllable in each word. Most English words have one main stress point. The remaining vowels are de-stressed or lose their sound (schwa).

Fearless Public Speaking Tip – Be Passionate

Business Communication Tip – Networking

Accent Reduction Tip – Importance of word rhythm

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