Tone and Accent

· Smile.The old chestnut that smiling makes the voice sounds lighter and more pleasant is for real. Use your judgement how much you smile as a grin could be seriously out of place during some business discussions. Again, do a mirror test. When you speak, do the corners of your mouth droop? This is an eventuality for most of us as we age. So, when you hit 40 force a grin on your face when you speak you’ll just look pleasant rather than morose! Practice looking pleasant whilst speaking in the mirror to get a feel of what’s required.

· Practice on kids. If you don’t have any, borrow one. If you can keep a child under 10 engaged for 20 minutes you’re developing the kind of expressive power you need to be an engaging speaker. If you don’t think you are amusing enough yourself or simply out of touch with what kids are interested in try reading them a story.

Ten Tips for Accent Reduction

1. Observe the mouth movements of American speakers and try to imitate them.When you are watching T.V. look at the mouth movements of the speakers. Repeat what they are saying, imitating the intonation and rhythm of their speech.

2. Until you learn the correct intonation and rhythm of English, slow down your speech.If you speak too quickly with the wrong intonation and rhythm, native speakers will have a hard time understanding you.Don’t worry about your listener getting impatient with your slow speech– it is more important that everything you say be understood.

3. Listen to the “music” of English.Don’t use the music of your mother tongue when you are speaking English. Each language has its own way of “singing”.

4. Use your dictionary.Become familiar with the phonetic symbols of your dictionary and look up the correct pronunciation of words that are hard for you to say.

5. Make a list of frequently used words that are difficult for you to pronounce and ask a native speaker to pronounce them for you. Record these words listen to them and practice saying them.

6. Buy books on tape. Listen and read at the same time.Record yourself reading some sections of the book. Compare the sound of your English with that of the speaker from the book on tape.

7. Pronounce the ending of each word. Pay special attention to “s” and “ed” endings.

8. Read aloud in English for fifteen to twenty minutes each day.This will help you strengthen the mouth muscles that you use when you speak English.Research has shown that it takes about three months of daily practice to develop strong mouth muscles for speaking a new language.

9. Record your own voice and listen for pronunciation mistakes.Many people hate to hear the sound of their voice and avoid having to listen to themselves speaking.However, this is a very important exercise because doing it will help you become conscious of the mistakes that you are making.

10. Be patient.You can change the way you speak but it won’t happen overnight.People often expect instant results and give up too soon. You can change the way you sound if you are willing to put some effort into it.