Accent Modification

 Accent reduction or accent modification is important because it allows you to sound strong, clear, and confident when you speak, and be clearly understood by others.

Some of the biggest English accent challenges I encounter are choppy words, putting too many stresses on the syllables of the word, or putting the stress in the wrong part of the word. We understand each other by the rhythm of the words and the pronunciation of the word.

One of my secrets to reducing your accent: stress one syllable and reduce all the other syllables. Try it and see if people understand you better.

Here is another secret to losing your accent with the SpeechScience method: People think that reducing or modifying an accent is about pronunciation, but you need to change your muscle patterns as well. For example, if you do not pronounce th in your native language, you may find this to be a complicated movement. To pronounce the th sound effectively you need to teach your tongue to go between your teeth and blow air out every single time you have a word with th. First, you need to train that muscle, then you can put the th sound into the conversation.

Pronouncing numbers or numbered lists are different. You may need to say numbers or say a numbered list and you will want to express this clearly. For example: first, second, third, fourth, etc. which you might say in a presentation, a webinar, or in conversation. To help you pronounce these numbered items correctly focus on pronouncing all the consonants in the word.

In the word “first”, all the sounds are important. The word “first” starts with f and has three consonant clusters in a row: f / ir / st. If English is not your first language, you may drop one of these consonant sounds, but if you drop a consonant sound your listener may not understand you.

For the word “second” there is an / nd at the end, it is very important to be clear on each of these sounds.

The word “third” is tricky because it includes the “th” sound that I mentioned earlier.

Try saying all the numbers, making sure that you are saying each of the consonants.

If you are having trouble being understood and want to modify your accent, contact me for a free 30-minute free introductory consult and we can help you get started right away.