April 29, 2014
And, like it or not, sometimes that accent can get in the way of your professional and personal goals. The majority of our clients work on accent reduction to assist them in work settings. If you’ve ever wanted to change your accent, or know someone else who has, then this blog post is for you.
If you speak, you have an accent. An accent is a distinct manner of speaking that comes from where, when, and how you learned to speak, and is something that humans use, almost subconsciously, to classify one another. While our accents are part of what makes each of us unique, life sometimes presents situations which require us to change the way we speak.
According to our clients, it is at work that they are most often told they need to “speak English more clearly.” This work, called Accent Modification, is within the scope of practice of speech-language pathologists. Small changes in the way a person speaks can result in drastically different sounding speech. Our SLPs can identify these small changes, develop easy-to-follow instructions to help shape a new accent, provide real-time feedback and coaching, and give ongoing support to clients wishing to modify their accent. And the best part? Our unique online platform lets our clients work with us when and where they want, whether it be on their lunch hour, first thing in the morning, or later in the evening when the kids are in bed. Click here to read success stories from two of our accent modification clients. Have you been told by a superior that you need to work on your speech? Email us to get in touch with our clinicians and learn how we can help!