In South Beach, you can walk down Lincoln Road and hear dozens of languages, hundreds of accents, and plenty of "blah, blah, blah" and "bleh, bleh, bleh." You can watch amazing characters with their birds, dogs, lizards, even snakes going for a Sunday sashay down Ocean drive.While some people know me (Lisa), EVERYBODY knows my famous African Gray Parrot, Valentina. She speaks very elegant English, with a 500-word vocabulary and no accent. (Of course! Her mommy is a speech teacher!)
Valentina even has a job. She works in the entertainment business. She's the lead entertainer, comedian and "conversationalist" in a nursing home. So while mommy is teaching people how to speak better and reduce their accent, Valentina is telling stories to the nursing home residents, bossing around the staff, and flirting with ambulance drivers -- oh sorry, doctors, paramedics, and mail carriers too.
In Miami, we understand accents. But if you want to communicate with the rest of the world, you have to speak clearer English. You have to speak with distinction. Studies show that only 3 out of 100 Americans articulate properly, so foreigners have to try to learn English from people who speak bad street talk. In fact, 1/3 of Americans need some kind of voice and articulation training, but most of them don't ever get it.
If you speak with an accent, you can't afford to speak "street talk" if you want to get ahead. You have to speak with distinction and elegance. Then you'll get selected for the job in that interview; you'll sell that client your product or service, because they LIKE listening to you!
We forgive Americans for saying "gunna" and "wanna" but we do NOT forgive foreigners. So you have to learn to be BETTER, CLEARER. You don't want to lose your accent; you want to use it as an ASSET!
I can help you. In either private coaching sessions or scheduled workshops, I guarantee results that you will make a breakthrough in your accent reduction. My accent reduction coaching sessions can be done in person in Miami, or over the telephone. To find out more of how I can help you, visit my website at: http://www.accentreductionmiami.com/.
Here's a Funny Story:
In 1995, I made a speech in French to 5,000 people in Nice, France. I mispronounced one word... When I meant to say, "I came to Monaco to get my Masters Degree," with my poor American accent in French, I said, "I came to Monaco to get my UTERUS." The audience was sweet and charming and forgave me. I just heard a murmur run through the crowd. But after the speech, a friend told me what I had actually said. I melted like a stick of butter. It took months to recover. (Maybe years.)
It was then that I began an intense program of accent reduction in French. The techniques I learned transformed my thinking, and more importantly, my accent!
I am one of the few, if not the ONLY accent reduction coaches in Miami, and maybe America, who has actually gone through it herself in another language! When I worked in a PR firm in Paris and Monaco and was TERRIFIED to talk on the phone, but I had to.
I know your fear, personally. I have unique insights into what you are facing with your accent reduction challenges, and know how to help you.
It's true you can find accent reduction coaches all over America. Most of them are speech trainers, some might be college speech teachers, but not all. None of them has been in your shoes: lived and worked and tried to succeed in a foreign country in another language
I know what it means to improve an accent:- I had to make speeches in France to thousands of people in French- I am a University Speech and Communication Professor- I am a former TV and radio broadcaster- I am a motivational speaker- I am a business woman- I am the famous Valentina's mommy.
I like to throw in a little work in public speaking and building confidence techniques in my accent reduction coaching sessions in Miami. As Dale Carnegie said, public speaking is not about public speaking, it's about "How to win friends and influence people!"
Free Accent Reduction Consultation:
For a Free 30-minute telephone consultation on how you can improve your accent:
Contact: Miami Accent Reduction Coach Lisa Jeffery, MBA, MA
http://www.accentreductionmiami.com/
Also Offering Keynotes, Coaching and Group Coaching, Workshops and Seminars: Accent Reduction, Voice and Articulation, Public Speaking, Overcome Anxiety, Building Confidence & Self Esteem, Interpersonal Communication, Business Communication, Customer Service.
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