Accent Etiquette: Front Page Article in Today's Sun-Sentinel July 1st, 2013

 Yes, si or oui?

For South Florida's bilingual population, breaking through language barriers can be a maddening matter of etiquette.

By Johnny Diaz, Sun Sentinel

Article in the Sun-Sentinel July 1, 2013: Yes, Si, or Oui?

"We live in a bilingual place, but it's hard for the people who want to improve their English," says Lisa Jeffery, who runs the Speech and Accent Academy in Miami and leads Accent Reduction Miami, a free monthly meetup group where people can hone their English-speaking skills. The group has 554 members from Palm Beach to Miami-Dade counties. "They say to me, 'I can't find anyone to practice English with,' " Jeffery adds. Her advice for people who meet someone speaking in an accent or struggling to find the right words in English: "Ask them their preference." But in what language?

"The question should be asked in the language the person is speaking. Or, well, I wish it happened that way," Jeffery says. "My preference is to help them speak English. They don't know if they are going to accent-reduction classes or trying to practice English. I think people may be doing it out of kindness to speak to them in Spanish when they see them struggling in English."
Knowing when to set aside your native tongue or to speak English is a sensitive issue many South Floridians agree to disagree on.

I believe a new trend is happening in South Florida. It's not about language anymore, people are beginning to concentrate on speaking elegantly in any language, and it's exciting to see!

Lisa Jeffery, Speech and Accent Academy 


 

Be An Elegant Communicator by Lisa Jeffery

Elegance in Communication is like Dress for Success only it goes deeper than the clothes. Elegant communication involves every part of your being: your actions, your speech, your non-verbal communication, your choice of words, and your character.

Elegant communication involves your mannerisms, your manner of speaking and basically, your manners - to yourself and others - at all times, especially in a crisis. Elegance involves having grace under pressure.Both men and women can be elegant communicators. John F. Kennedy was an elegant communicator, so was Abraham Lincoln, especially in his debates with Douglas -- when as an unknown, he won the nation's heart. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu-Kyi of Burma was one of the most elegant communicators of all times. In a violent pro-democracy protest, she could silence a crowd using only her eyes and immense dignity.

And Nelson Mandela's elegance and grace under extreme pressure and hardship helped change the world in the 20th century.Many of the most elegant communicators of all times were not born with their skills, but worked very hard to acquire them.

Grace Kelly was so ashamed of her harsh Philadelphia accent that she asked her father at 18 for a tape recorder and worked hours listening to her voice and correcting inflections with great discipline. Later, as a successful actress and Princess in Monaco, this discipline and determination made a monumental difference in her communication to the people of the Monaco, Europe, the world and helped her serve as an elegant ambassador of the American culture and people.

The ancient Greek orator Demosthenes, was the classic example of someone who worked very hard to become an elegant communicator. He was born with a serious speech impediment, and people jeered at his stammering in his first public assembly. To learn to speak distinctly, he talked with pebbles in his mouth and recited verses while running uphill. (Not only did it force him to improve his speaking abilities, but also it got him in great physical shape (another aspect of being elegant.) To strengthen his voice, he spoke on the seashore over the roar of the waves. His discipline and determination helped him become one of the greatest orators of Ancient Greece.

You can learn the skills you need to become an elegant communicator. I call them the "Elegant Dozen" -- guidelines you can follow that can change your life.How can you become an elegant communicator?There are 12 crucial ingredients for elegance:

1. Honesty - Practice rigorous honesty in everything you do, all your transactions, all relationships.
2. Confidence - Develop confidence, and exude it, without arrogance, help others to be confident.
3. Flexibility - Adjust and adapt quickly to unexpected changes. Life is "Plan B" -- be adaptable to changes.
4. Passion - Exude passion in everything you do. Feel passion. Do things you are passionate about, and do them often!
5. Practice - Practice hard, for long periods of time until you are tired, and practice often.
6. Praise - Be enormously encouraging to yourself and to others. Give Praise showers.
7. Play - Yes, play. If you want to be elegant, learn how to play. Play creates balance in our lives and allows us to be more creative and productive when we work.
8. Posture -- When you have good posture, your performance improves. Don't let yourself be lazy. Posture yourself as a person with good character and UNRELENTINGLY stay there, no matter what the circumstance!
9. Physical fitness -  Strive to be fit, it gives you confidence and keeps you at your best.
10. Be interesting - Learn, have a varied life, read, go to workshops, study, have hobbies, have adventures!
11. Be interested - Have and show interest in others. Ask questions often. Ask questions always!
12. Discipline - Be highly disciplined, find ways to bring discipline into your life. Have focus and use discipline to keep your focus. Have Goals, every day, every month, every year!

Accent Reduction and Articulation Classes

When your customers don’t understand your frontline employees, it creates complaints, anger and loss of business. Heavy foreign accents, Ebonics, talking too fast, and sloppy speech cause listeners to become distracted or prejudiced, or worse - angry, especially if they are in a hurry. They tune out and focus on mistakes instead of messages.

Only three out 100 Americans articulate properly. Two thirds of the population need formal training in speech and articulation. This creates a problem for Spanish speakers (and other native language speakers) who come to America and listen to poor speech. They mimic poor English, like “gunna,” “dunno” and “wanna” and this is not acceptable coming from the mouths of “foreigners.”

The Problem is Not only Speech, but Listening.  While people in Miami may be accustomed to deciphering foreign accents, people from Middle America are not. They cannot make out a single word because their ears are not trained to exotic accents. So our ears, not only mouths, need to be tuned and trained to decipher different accents. (Including Boston and Mississippi accents!) For this reason, I also include Listening Skills and “Tuning Your Ears” in my accent reduction classes.

The good news is that anyone can change and improve their accent, but it takes speech training, not English classes, to make a significant breakthrough. It takes practice. It takes determination and the right skills. Actresses and actors regularly practice this technique and any accent can be completely changed. You can learn techniques to correct your speech so people do not become angry, annoyed, or confused.

New York Times: "America is Ready For An Accent"
After one of my clients made the cover of Newsweek, the New York Times wrote an article that said, “She showed America that we are ready for accents, as long as they are not too strong.”

I Believe Ebonics is a Language
I treat Ebonics as if it were a language that deserves respect. In my opinion, it is special language challenge that should be considered equal to Spanish, French, and Chinese. For children, it is spoken at home and creates a sense of community. It has a rich historical significance in American History – it helped create a protective identity during and after slavery, and has fascinating linguistic roots in African languages. However, if African American adults are to succeed in a world where Standard English is spoken, their success rate climbs when they can shed the Ebonics at work and speak Standard English. I help African Americans overcome Ebonics with grace.

When I began teaching Accent Reduction in Miami in 2002, I made a surprising and shocking discovery. My Spanish-speaking students told me they never get a chance to speak English. At work, at the grocery store, at restaurants, they said,

“Everyone speaks Spanish. Even when we try to speak English, they understand we speak Spanish because of our accents, and they answer in Spanish. So many days go by that we NEVER speak English.”

My African American students report the same phenomenon: “Everyone in my community speaks Ebonics, so I never get a chance to speak clear Standard English. If I do, people laugh at me.”

This phenomenon poses a difficult challenge. At some point, I ask my students to stop speaking their native language, or seek out new opportunities to speak English. “If your friends laugh at you for speaking English clearly,” I say, “find some new friends that won’t laugh at you.”  For this reason, I created Accent Reduction Miami, which offers classes, coaching and a social networking group so people can practice good English together in Miami.

What Can You Do To Improve Your Standard English?
I recommend book clubs, volunteering, discussion groups, mentoring and joining clubs like Toastmasters that give you opportunities to practice. I also recommend public speaking classes, coaching and accent reduction classes. To find out about classes, contact me at lisa@accentreductionmiami.com.