Is Your Accent Holding You Back? |
Posted: June 24, 2018 |
You’ve been complimented about your unique accent for years. Perhaps you’ve even used it to get dates or get help when you need it. However, you may be one who finds that others look at you a little differently when they hear you speak. Maybe you feel it causes people to avoid you or ignore you. You may have even thought about working with a speech coach to help you deal with the stigma of your accent.
An accent can keep you from achieving everything you want to accomplish. Whether it’s in work or life, you may find others don’t take you seriously or become cautious once you start talking to them. It’s not all in your mind. People all over the world form a first impression based on how you talk.
What People Think of Accents
An accent often carries a perception with people. A Southern twang may create the impression that the person is slow or less intelligent just because their speech is slower. A New York accent may give the vibe that a person is unfriendly and always in a hurry just because they talk fast.
While some accents are popular and often come with a positive perception, others are attached to negative ideas. In some areas, a British accent is well-loved while in other places it may be regarded with cynicism. The same is true of other global and regional accents. Even within a country, one accent may be favored over another. If you travel a lot, you may not be sure how you will be received based on how you speak.
How Stereotypes Impact Your Life
Most accents carry a stereotype for people. Just look at comedies on TV or in other types of media to see what kind of image an accent portrays. If the stereotype is negative, it can hurt your chances at work and with friendships or other social activities.
Take the Southern accent as a prime example. Some people love hearing the slow drawl from those who live deep in the South. Others consider those who speak with that accent to be slow and less intelligent or not as well educated. If you move from Alabama or Mississippi to New York or Los Angeles, you may find that it’s harder to find a job or get promoted because people will assume you can’t handle the job due to the way you speak and the ideas they associate with it.
How to Overcome Prejudice
While it can take some time to overcome people’s prejudice about your accent, you have options to help you succeed in life no matter how you speak or where you’re from. You can hire an accent reduction coach to help you drop some of your accent. They will teach you how to speak in a more universal tone that is understood in most places.
No matter where you live or where you come from, you may be labeled by your accent. Don’t let it hold you back but use it to your advantage. Learn how to succeed in life regardless of how others perceive you based on your accent.
Claudette Roche is an accent training coach in the Vero Beach, FL area. She teaches foreign and American accents to actors and business persons/executives. In 2010 she was named as one of The Top 5 Voice Coaches by Hollywood Weekly Magazine.
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