It's not your Accent
It's not your Accent
We all know the story about when you have a computer problem. You are sure it’s a bug and you ring the help line and they start with the question “Is your computer switched on?”
Its sounds silly, but we all know that often that is the case. The cleaning person turned it off last night!
Over and over I hear from clients that their executive presence is failing and they make the assumption it is because of their accent. There is a truth here in that the executive presence may be failing. There is also a fallacy and that is that it is your accent.
Here’s the rule, if you are understandable and your grammar is correct, you are fine. And if it were your accent, it is totally changeable. All actors know that and here are two of everyone’s favourites: Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan.
The challenge is that accent is easy to grab for. It’s something about you that isn’t your fault. It’s a scapegoat.
Instead, here are some things to consider:
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How are you breathing in and out?
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How are you initiating sound?
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How are you keeping the air flowing through a sentence?
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Is your mouth open?
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Does your tongue work effectively?
Getting your air flowing is the equivalent of turning on the computer’s electricity. Without it, you just aren’t going to perform.
Here’s a song to explain it all:
I'm going under and this time I fear there's no one to save me
This all or nothing really got a way of driving me crazy
I need somebody to heal
Somebody to know
Somebody to have
Somebody to hold
It's easy to say
But it's never the same
I guess I kinda liked the way you numbed all the pain
Stop singing love songs to the accent drama. It’s not your accent!
Let me hear your thoughts.
What I've been up to...
The Claque Dinner in Sydney
Microsoft Team
The Law of Society
Palliative Care Conference
Banyule City Women in Business
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