If they can’t understand you, you may not be promoted.
Rolando, a fifty year old executive, whose native language is Italian, was told by his senior manager that his heavy accented, speed talking was one of the reasons he was not being promoted to the next level in his company. Michael a brilliant, middle aged Polish IT expert said that he definitely felt that he would be much further along in his career if he spoke louder and more clearly. Rajesh, who has three thousand people in his division, spoke very fast with a heavy Hindi accent and his General Manager told him that he needed to speak more clearly in order to be effective.
Speaking clearly and at a good speaking rate is an important business driver in business communication such as board meetings, sales, negotiation, presentations, webinars, and teleconferences. Heavily accented communication is commonplace in today’s global business community and it is so easily corrected. Corporations and companies hire the very best talent which hail from everywhere in the world and many people speak 2 or 3 languages. However, many times, they are unaware that their accent is difficult to understand and very frustrating to their audience.
For example, during a performance review Rolando was told that his English speaking team was very frustrated with his heavy accent and that they didn’t know how to bring it up. Therefore, as a group they sent a memo to his supervisor, saying that they felt that the information in Rolando’s presentation was vital and that not being able to easily understand him hindered them in doing their job effectively.
Rolando was grateful for their input and very willing to put 4 months into improving his English speaking skills. He practiced all the American English consonants, vowels, and learned how to stress the correct syllable in polysyllabic words. Practicing these skills slows one’s speaking rate and builds an awareness of correct pronunciation so that one can speak English clearly, melodically, and rhythmically.
Rolando, Rajesh and Michael all worked with accent reduction techniques and rounded out their training by learning to project, increase their volume and use effective pacing and phrasing. They now speak all languages clearly, powerfully, confidently and at a good rate.
Speaking clearly and at a good speaking rate is an important business driver in today’s global market. If you can’t be understood, then your message is not heard. Accent reduction and voice coaching is a simple and powerful solution.
If you would like to learn how you can improve you’re speaking voice. Sandra offers a 25-minute Voice Power Studios Accent Reduction & Speaking Skills Consultation, or call 877-783-2455.
