"...as easy as my accent." (Passing thoughts)

"That comes to me just as natural as my accent."

These words were spoken by a presenter at a workshop I recently attended (which had nothing to do with accents). She was speaking about an area of professional expertise in which she was particularly well skilled only because of having done it for so long, and she was speaking with her home grown Alabama accent.

It instantly reminded me that accents are a habit - something we do without giving it much thought; an involuntary acquired behavioral pattern. And just as your skill set can identify you as part of a distinct professional population, your accent can identify you as part of a specific social, geographical and/or ethnic population. Although you are more than just a set of specific skills and behavioral patterns, do anything long enough and with enough repetition and it becomes something that gets done without applying much effort or thought. Encouraging thoughts, perhaps, for those struggling with achieving significant change in the way they speak.

We arrive at new skills and new patterns often due to necessity: we have to do something a particular way because something requires or demands it. You stop at a red traffic signal while driving because of the potential consequences; stopping may save your life. Yet the entire process of what may occur should you not stop probably doesn't play itself out in your mind at each intersection. You do it automatically, and it is a "must."

Being mentally or cognitively involved in changing your accent patterns could be a "must" for you career or professional advancement, (and maybe your professional survival) whether you work for yourself or for an employer. Those who make it a must are more likely to make new patterns a part of their daily, subconscious routines; they are more likely to stop at those verbal red lights and cause fewer accidents.

If I were teaching you how to drive, I'd most likely speak about every movement and technique I performed as I did each one, and do each one with a heightened awareness. Our presenter was walking us through techniques and strategies she used every day in her line of work, and these were techniques that she had mastered to the point of unconscious competence - she could do them without thinking about them.

Although this presenter proudly displayed her identifying vocal features when she made the statement about her accent, it was one of very few times that she made her original accent apparent. She had apparently tried long enough and with enough repetition to make her professional accent a subconscious routine as well.

I have absolutely no scientific references to back up any of these observations. Absorb them in a manner that serves you best.

J
C

Grateful to Serve

Driving back from a corporate coaching session about 80 miles from home, I take a pit stop at a gas station just off an exit ramp on the Interstate. Next to the station is a chicken and BBQ franchise. They're everywhere across North Carolina - but this one had one characteristic that caught my eye and set it apart.

Above the restaurant's drive-thru lane was a large hanging sign with the words "Grateful To Serve" printed on it. You couldn't miss it.

I enjoy a vegetarian eating lifestyle - but I wanted to place an order at this chicken restaurant.

This was a chain restaurant, where every decision and offering most likely needs to be approved by a corporate group in a board room - but someone at the local management level felt compelled to express this driving force and let its impact guide not just the employees but customers as well. Imagine - everyone who works at that business works with gratitude as their reason for being there. I didn't go in, but I'm pretty certain if I did there would have been smiles all around and that "down-home sweetheart" that visitors to NC notice right away upon arriving. Sweetheart, by the way, is never considered offensive here.

What made it one of those perfect zen-like in-the-right-time-right-place-here-and-now moments, however, was that I had just wrapped up a series of sessions with an individual whose biggest "complain" about our work together was that it was ending. We had reached the end of the contractually-bound work relationship we had formed, and he was really hoping that his management would approve additional coaching sessions in the future.

Whenever I'm on the receiving end positive and complimentary feedback, I instinctively express what a privilege and honor it has been for me to provide my services. If you've been to one of my training events hopefully this was apparent to you; I consider it a great privilege to train and teach other teachers - it's one of the greatest ways to learn not just your own subject material, but about your own ability to interact with others.


Now imagine beginning, conducting, and concluding your own projects and proposals with gratitude as your driving force. Can you find a way to express thanks for your skill and expertise, for the opportunity about to unfold before you, for the chance to build and grow your business simply because you want to and are taking steps to make it happen? Or simply just for the experience of getting to meet and work with a variety of motivated individuals? It will reflect itself in your work, I promise. And it will catch the eye, the attention and the favor of everyone who passes under your own drive-thru sign, and that will likely lead to many happily returning clients.


Summer is here. Each day begins to get darker earlier from here on in. Enjoy each one, and each evening, too! -J

Free Text To Speech Demo

Enter any text you wish - and hear it pronounced with amazing clarity. Try enough words and eventually you'll uncover its limitations, but the technology is still amazing. You can even save your spoken demo as a WAV file. Very cool. Visit the AT&T Text-To-Speech Demo Page.

Are You A Good Listener?

Be honest. Would others call you a Good Listener?

A tell-tale sign that you're a poor listener: you typically respond to other people's comments with stories and comments about yourself. When someone tells you about the meeting they had to suffer through, you tell them about a meeting you had to suffer through. Even worse, when they share something great that happened to them, you instantly talk about something great that happened to you, or that you've already done that and been there.

How do you become a better listener?

Stop talking. Resist the urge. Pinch yourself if you have to, but wait for your conversation partner to finish their thoughts, and when you respond, do it without talking about yourself. Start paying more attention to what comes out of your mouth, and practicing the skill of showing genuine interest without talking about yourself.

Acknowledge what was said to you. Use a little commiseration if you have to... "Oh, that must have been terrible." Or, if it's something positive, offer a genuine compliment or congratulations. But don't do it with the word "I" anywhere in your remarks. Take comfort in knowing that very few people are adept at this skill, and it may take some practice.

When you become comfortable with your technique, you'll become a person that more people enjoy talking to. Less people will think of you as a person who likes to talk... about yourself.

A strange thing happens when you stop yourself from talking at every possible opportunity... the conversation gets more interesting. When you let someone take advantage of silence, they will fill it, and the conversation will likely move in a new direction. They might even ask you a question.

Yes, we can all become better listeners. Now how do we stop people we don't want to talk to from talking so much? :)

The month of May is Better Hearing & Speech Month... and you can't hear someone without listening to them.

The American Accent Warm-Up Podcast

Listen to the first episode in the American Accent Warm-Up Series, a 3-minute clear speech lesson for American English speakers wishing to neutralize a foreign accent.

Listen or Download here.

Articulate Your Passion

Consider for a few minutes the art of articulating your passion. What do you do? What's your job? What activities and responsibilities do you tackle on a daily basis? Let's turn that lifeless job description into an artful expression that comes to life, excites you, and intrigues others.

The first step in turning your job description into a passionately articulated statement is to use specific words that describe what you do - or even better - the result of what you do. Be more specific than you're used to.

So, you're at the proverbial Cocktail Party, chatting with a pleasant person you've been introduced to only moments ago, and they ask, "What do you do?"

You're an auto mechanic. You specialize in European sports cars. That's the Plain English version. Make a list out of this answer (well, I rebuild engines, I do custom detailing, I check allignment...) and you'll lose the interest of your conversation partner on the second item. Lists are for Web sites. If you're going face-to-face, grab your listeners head with one compelling description. It's difficult at first for most people, and it takes just a little practice to pull it off without sounding phony. You know you can do it when it feels real to you. It will sound like something you can proudly stand behind. Your enthusiasm will be apparent and instantly contagious.

Avoid phoniness; avoid cliches: "I'm a Ferari grease monkey." Toss your sales pitch aside. When you're genuine, it will show in your eyes. The person you're speaking to at this party may be in a position to hire you or pay for your services someday, but not if you're energy is artifical, or lacking. If you're not compelled by what you do, potential employers or customers won't be either.

Crafting a statement for you, European sports car mechanic, might sound something like, "I keep my customers' dreams racing. We service Porsche, Jaguar, and Mercedes owners."

Dig. Keep it real. Be authentic. Focus on the benefit other receive as a result of your work.

All the best,
Joe Comeau
(I help professionals in all fields develop a clear and powerful verbal image.)

Web Resources

I'm a resource collector. I'm amazed at how any different ways the Internet can be used in personal and professional life, and I'm constantly jotting down new links and addresses. But collections can get unruly. So from time to time, in addition to speech and presentation tips, I'll share some of my favorite Internet resources here as well. Hopefully you'll find them just as interesting and valuable as I do, and I won't have to worry about losing or finding the scrap of paper on which I wrote down that great Web address.

Can you imagine conducting business without the Web? How many business would simply disappear, cease to exist, without relying heavily on the flow of business that comes over an Internet connection.

Take away my television, even my cell phone. But please, don't ever take away my broadband Internet connection. That would be intolerable.

One of the most valuable aspect of doing business on the Web is it's ability to connect people all over the world, and to deliver content and resources between business owners. Here's where VoiceAmerica.com fits in.

Voice America delivers live talk radio on a number of issues and topics that should be of interest to business owners and entrepreneurs. Current programming includes shows such as Stars of PR, Blogging and Beyond, and Leadership Intuitions. Tune in while you clean out your desk or reorganize your files, and you will inevitable learn something valuable that can be applied to your business. www.VoiceAmerica.com

Joe's collections also include retro barware and old, clanging alarm clocks.