Strong accents, my Latino clients say, often hold them back from promotions, affect their confidence and credibility. Half the problem, I say, is not only their accents, but their audience's ears. Outside of Miami, (where it's much easier to speak with an accent and be understood) people are not accustomed to accents, and they are not good at understanding. They are often impatient, judgmental and worse... rude.
It's true that the majority of Americans are mono-lingual: they speak and know only one language. They simply have a hard time understanding sounds that vary from the standard American English. To them, an accent sounds retarded, mangled, dumb. And this is sad. They don't know what it's like to communicate in a second language. And they are impatient.
It's also true that only three out of 100 Americans articulate properly. For this reason, people who speak English as a second language often pick up the sloppiest, dirtiest and nastiest speech habits from Americans who speak poorly around them. Mixed with an accent, it sounds like dirty 'street-talk' speech, the worst of the worst of American English.
I always say that we forgive Americans when they say 'gunna', 'wanna' and 'I'm-unna' because we don't notice it that much, it doesn't stand out. But when someone with an accent says this garbage, it stands out like a sore thumb! We hear how stupid it sounds - often for the first time. Americans do not forgive people with accents when they speak like this. Instead, most mono-lingual Americans judge them, sadly, as being stupid, inferior, sub-human!
I have heard hundreds of frustrating stories from my clients about rude (and mean) comments they have received about their accents or their race. Some of these stories are heartbreaking. Usually they come in the form of an interruption while my client was saying something important, and it's something like: "You're not from this country, are you?" This is nothing more than a power play, I say, a 'one-up-manship', something to put you down because of your race or language limitation. I say ignore it! Stick to with what you were saying... elegantly.
This is the reason I say, if you speak with an accent, you must speak better than Americans, you must articulate clearly and crisply, intelligently and confidently. You must sound smart.
This is easy with the right direction, guidance, encouragement and discipline, until it becomes a habit. Fortunately, you CAN change the way you speak. Accent Reduction is not the right term at all. Actually, it is learning a NEW accent, and practicing that accent until it becomes a habit. Your brain needs to get used to the new speech patterns and it can. My favorite saying is "Try on your new accent, and WEAR it!"
Many of my clients have attended classes, listened to CDs, bought books and videos. Then they come to me, totally discouraged. Some have developed bad habits like talking fast thinking that no one notices the accent! We have to fix all that. So we begin.
I don't care what anyone says, I say you can change your accent and your way of speaking in eight weeks. My clients can all vouch for that. Eight weeks. Sixteen hours. Something happens in the third week: they begin to feel frustrated because they are now catching all their mistakes. I say, "CELEBRATE that feeling of frustration because it shows that you are making progress, and for the first time, your brain is recognizing your speech patterns. It wants to change! Then, they begin to correct themselves the instant they hear their mistakes, and one by one each mistake disappears.
Changing the way you speak is the easiest and most effective investment you can make. Speaking with precision in English (or any language) brings you influence, elegance and confidence. It helps you overcome barriers. The barriers especially that Latinos face are not understood by native English Speaking Americans. To overcome these barriers, you just simply need to jump over some hurdles, and the greatest hurdle is your accent.
Here's a great article in Diversity Executive Magazine: Overcoming Barriers for Corporate Latinos: http://diversity-executive.com/article.php?article=1214
Lisa Jeffery, Executive Coach and CEO of Jeffery Communications Speech and Accent Academy and organizer of Accent Reduction Miami, understands what it's like to communicate well in a second language. Having received Rotary International Ambassadorial scholarships for Masters Degrees in Paris and Monaco, in exchange for Public Speaking in French, her speech coach told her, "You can not mimic your Parisian friends. Because you are a foreigner, you must speak articulate, elegant French because you have an accent." She understands what it's like to be taken seriously in a second language. She coaches in public speaking, persuasion and building confidence as a part of her accent reduction programs.
