My parents are from Ireland. I grew up in a melting pot neighborhood in Chicago. I travel internationally to work with clients whose first language is not English. As such, I am used to listening to people speak with various accents.
Working with International Clients
With few exceptions, my clients’ English is quite good. Yet it is rare that I meet someone, who is confident in their ability to communicate in a language that is not their native tongue.
The biggest issue that I encounter: people trying to Americanize/Anglicize their accent to the point that their speech is stilted or painfully slow. When I point this out to them, I always tell actress/comedienne Fran Drescher’s story.
A-ha! Moment
Drescher is from Queens, New York. She is easily recognized by her “New Yawk” accent. Drescher felt her accent was costing her a lot of acting roles, so she went to a speech coach to get rid of it.
Much to her surprise, she wasn’t pleased with the end result. Drescher felt like she had lost all spontaneity in her speech. She was thinking about it too much and that severely hampered her comedic timing. So what did Drescher do? She decided to be herself and speak with her own accent. It became her signature. It made her memorable! It landed her a successful television series.
Advice
My advice to clients: Embrace who you are and where you are from. Most people like accents. They make you who you are. Yes, you need to be understood. But if you’re appearing on-camera, you also need to be memorable and comfortable in your own skin. You never will be if you’re focused on sounding like someone else.
More Blogs
If you would like to read more of our executive media training tips, check out our other media training blogs.
Coaching
If you’re ready to seize the day and want to schedule a media training session, please contact us. We would be delighted to customize a program that fits your exact needs.
Ways to Work With Us
While we are based in Chicago, we often travel to both coasts to work with executives. We also offer online coaching for those who prefer to work with us remotely.
Working with International Clients
We have worked with clients in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Either with our own knowledge base, or with the assistance of translators, we have experience communicating with clients in 15 different languages.
photo credit: Be the Change, Inc. via photopin cc
