POLISH YOUR SPEECH PROMOTE YOUR CAREER!

It`s an oversimplica2on, but o6en true: people who get ahead in business speak well. Their speech is a?rac2ve to the ear. People who don't speak well are o6en passed over and delegated to non-visible posi2ons. When two candidates are otherwise equally qualied, the one who speaks with more polish usually gets the job! When we say "speak well," what do we mean? What is good speech? Good speech is correct grammar and usage, a reasonable range of vocabulary, precise dic2on, and correct pronuncia2on. The educa2onal level of someone who uses poor grammar is immediately doubted. The crea2ve imagina2on of someone who uses the word "super" cool or awesome to express every posi2ve reac2on is ques2onable. When interviewing for a job, referring to all males as dudes will not earn favor in a white collar corpora2on. However, before we even assess the language level of an individual, what hits us rst is the sound of the persons voice. When we see a person, our rst impression is determined by how the person looks. We make many assump2ons about a person by appearance. The second impression is how the person speaks. Speech can conrm or contradict the rst impression. Now, if our rst exposure to a person is by phone, our rst impression is based en2rely on speech. Think of how many 2mes youve formed an image or opinion of someone based on the correctness or carelessness of his or her pronuncia2on, language, accent and tone of voice. Think of the responsibility you carry as the spokesperson for your company. When someone calls your company for the rst 2me, you set the tone of the corporate image.

If you are American by birth, not pronouncing a "th" sound is regarded as a lack of culture or educa2on. In some high-end or conserva2ve companies saying in instead of ing at the end of words ending in ing such as goin, doin workin is considered unsophis2cated and sloppy. It lacks polish in some circles and corporate cultures; it would be considered Substandard Speech. Although English as its spoken in the United States, Canada and Great Britain varies with vocabulary and pronuncia2on, it falls into three categories: Standard Speech, Regional Speech, and Substandard Speech. Standard Speech is spoken by trained communicators such as actors and broadcasters and by those people who have worked to rid themselves of any trace of regional accent. Most people that hold execu2ve or professional posi2ons speak Standard Speech. Regional Speech is modied Standard Speech. The sounds reect the sound pa?erns of par2cular regions. Examples of strong regional sound pa?erns would be the New York, Boston, Southern or Midwestern accents. In addi2on to sound characteris2cs, word usages are characteris2c of par2cular regions. For instance, a "Dagwood" sandwich would be a "grinder" in New England, a "hero" in New York, a "hoagie" in Philadelphia, and a "submarine" in the Midwest. Strong regional accents are easy to spot, especially when one regional accent meets another strong regional accentfor example, when a New Yorker goes into the Deep South. Substandard Speech, on the other hand, is simply poor pronuncia2on, dic2on, and grammar, and is not acceptable in corporate or professional posi2ons. Why should you try to achieve Standard Speech? Is it really necessary to speak so perfectly? The answer is: Standard Speech is clear, pleasant-sounding speech and therefore the best transmi7er of corporate communica8ons. A6er all, the purpose of speech is to transmit ideas and messages. Any blockage or barrier interfering with clear transmission, makes it dicult for the listener to receive your message easily. lf you slur, mumble, speak fast, or mispronounce words, you are interfering in transmiang the content. When people speak English as a second language and have a strong accent, communica2on can be dicult and miscommunica2ons o6en occur.

Your job is to be a clear channel of informa2on. The more understandable and precise your speech is, the easier it is for others to focus on the content instead of trying to decipher what youre saying. People appreciate clarity because it facilitates communica2ons and saves 2me and energy. Good speech also reects care and a?en2on to detail, focused thought, purpose, directness and asser2veness. Good, clear speech is like a fresh shiny, pressed suit. It says, "l have a posi2ve self-image; Im educated, Im competent, detail-oriented and responsible for myself and my work."

STANDARD SPEECH Standard Speech is understood easily all across the country and around the world. Its a neutral, balanced system of sounds that is crystalclear to the ear. Before we can achieve it, we need to analyze its components. Standard Speech is characterized by:

1. Evenly Paced Speech Flow Not too fast, not too slow, the rhythm of American English is equivalent to the tempo indica2on "Moderato" in music. Because of the length of the vowels, it is impossible to speak English beyond a certain rate of speed without spu?ering, mumbling or jamming syllables into each other. 2. Sucient Breath Support Its very important to take enough breaths to avoid running completely out of breath at the end of a sentence, or worse, in the middle of a word. Take breaths at the end of each phrase. Never try to speak more than six words on one breath. Its perfectly acceptable to speak just four words on one breath or even one or two words for drama2c eect. Breathing gives you the opportunity to refocus your thoughts, choose just the right word, and vary your tone of voice. Taking enough air into your lungs is essen2al for voice projec2on (vocal volume).

3. Clear ArCculaCon/DicCon Ar2cula2on or enuncia2on is some2mes called Dic9on. Clear ar2cula2on is the opposite of mumbling and slurring or swallowing the ends of words. It means opening your mouth, moving your jaw and lips, and placing your tongue in exactly the right place for each vowel and consonant.

4. Vocal Energy, Tonal Variety, Word Emphasis No one wants to listen to a monotonous voice. We need to vary rhythm, pitch and stress to dieren2ate important words from unimportant ones, and highlight posi2ve and nega2ve words with their appropriate colors. For any kind of corporate communica2on, it is essen2al to be heard the rst 2me you speak, and to vary your voice for emphasis. A weak voice is perceived as lack of condence or lack of convic2on in your words. To be perceived as a leader you must speak with energy and volume.

5. Correct PronunciaCon Pronuncia2on means the interpreta2on of spelling. English spelling is very confusing, and without sucient exposure to good speech, its possible to misinterpret spellings or pronounce words strangely. Some mispronuncia2ons are due to regional pa?erns, others are a result of poor dic2on. It helps to listen to good speakers such as news broadcasters to check your pronuncia2on against theirs. Learn dic2onary symbol systems and look up the pronuncia2on of words you are unsure of.

6. Good Grammar lf English grammar was not one of your strong areas in school, it would be wise to take a business communica2on course to determine whether your grammar is what it should be. You cant count on your best friends to tell youthey may not know, either. A

course or a book is your best bet. Nothing puts your educa2on level in ques2on more than poor grammar. Having correct grammar is square one in presen2ng a polished, professional image.

7. Good Vocabulary You dont have to use the most sophis2cated words to express yourself all the 2me, but you should have access to a college-level vocabulary list and have at least a reading knowledge of those words and a speaking vocabulary that includes some of them. Without an expanded vocabulary, you will nd yourself repea2ng the same adjec2ves and adverbs all the 2me. Another disadvantage of a limited vocabulary is that you may not understand some of the communica2on around you. You may have diculty spelling and looking up a word. There are many good vocabulary self-study courses that can be purchased as books or online media or you could take a course in an adult educa2on center. One of the best and most enjoyable ways to increase your vocabulary is to read classic and contemporary literature. Keep a dic2onary handy to look up words.

SUBSTANDARD SPEECH Obviously, Substandard Speech is everything Standard Speech is not. Its choppy, mumbled or slurred. Its too fast or too slow. It includes regional speech pa?erns and mispronuncia2ons. Its monotonous and UN-energized. Its ungramma2cal, contains slang and its vocabulary is limited. The rst step to upgrading your professional image is to improve the clarity and precision of your dic2on. Speech involves three major elements: Mechanics, Language and Content. Dic2on focuses on the mechanics of ar2cula2on some2mes called enuncia2on. Most people think of language as a series of le?ers. However, language is actually a series of sounds created by specic posi2oning of the ar2culators: the tongue, lips, jaw and facial muscles. There are more than 40 vowel and consonant sounds in American English

which means there are 40+ dis2nct posi2ons of speech. If you vary the posi2ons of the ar2culators as li?le as half a millimeter, you will produce a dierent sound. This is quite apparent when you think of the number of languages and dialects humans have created.

ONE MOUTH, THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF SOUNDS! We can think of the sounds of a language or dialect as a system of specic posi2ons, like a computer program. Your tongue, lips, facial muscles, jaw and vocal chords are programmed to move in specic ways to produce a series of posi2ons automa2cally, which in turn produces a series of sounds that comprise a par2cular speech pa?ern. One set of posi2ons will produce a New York speech pa?ern, another set of posi2ons will produce a Southern speech pa?ern, another, Midwest, and another, Standard Speech. If you are from another language background, your ar2culators will produce en2rely dierent sounds from American English. The soYware to produce French sounds is dierent from the so6ware that produces German sounds or Spanish sounds, etc. These varying soYware programs i.e. the posi2ons of the lips, tongue, jaw and facial muscles produce the various accents and dialects of the world. To change the sounds you make, you have to replace the soYware. The hardware remains the same: every human uses the tongue, lips, facial muscles and jaw to make sounds. Its the programming of the posi2ons of the ar2culators that determines sound output. Unless you are speaking English as a second language, you dont need to relearn the posi2ons of all the sounds of Standard Speech to present a polished image. You need to deal only with the most signicant sounds that make the greatest dierence if pronounced incorrectly. Learning to speak correctly is very much like learning to play tennis, ride a bicycle or type on a keyboard. Its learning a series of coordinated movements that must be prac2ced un2l the pa?ern of movement becomes automa2c.

You must build up facility and muscle-memory like the athlete on the track, the boxer in the gym, or the musician prac2cing his instrument. Even becoming a decent social dancer takes considerable prac2ce. Changing your regional or foreign accent and polishing your ar2cula2on is a mechanical process. Here are the steps to changing your speech pa?ern: 1. Hear the dierence between the right sound and the wrong sound. 2. Feel the dierences in posi2on of your ar2culators between the right sound and the wrong sound. 3. Prac2ce the right sound in words, phrases and sentences. 4. Monitor yourself: listen as you speak when reading aloud slowly. Make sure youre saying the sound correctly. If not, reposi2on the ar2culators and repeat the process. 5. Prac2ce the right sounds slowly in conversa2on either with someone or alone 6. Monitor yourself while speaking in faster conversa2on. 7. Monitor yourself in reading and speaking uidly un2l the correct sounds become automa2c and unconscious yet remain correct.

Use a tape recorder or video camera to monitor and assess your progress. The challenge is prac2cing with accuracy and incorpora2ng the new sounds into your daily speech. Its worth the eort, because your excellent speech will denitely increase your value as an employee and your poten2al for promo2on. Clear, crisp, correct speech will give you an advantage in any communica2on situa2on and greatly enhance your image and self-condence.

About Laura Darius As a Speech, Presenta2on, Image Coach and Accent Reduc2on Specialist, Laura Darius has carried out individual coaching and group training programs ranging from regional and foreign accent correc2on to presenta2on skills, execu2ve presence and image enhancement. Clients include corpora2ons such as Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck, Novar2s, Amylin, Gen- Probe, Chase Bank, Merrill Lynch, American Express, Oracle and many others. Her work has been covered in The New York Times, L.A. Times, The Wall Street Journal, San Diego Business Journal, Business Week, Harpers Bazaar and Glamour. She has appeared and discussed her approach to speech and communica2on on numerous radio and television programs on ABC, NBC and CNN.