INNOVATIVE, PROVEN, POWERFUL & EFFECTIVE
You know as well as we do that there are many accent reduction and pronunciation courses you could chose from.
What makes our program so special?
What makes this program so special is our Combo of Accent Reduction Methods and Peak Performance/Sports Coaching Methods. All wrapped up into a supercharged and intensive start followed by months of pronunciation and speech coaching in order to break old pronunciation habits and to create new, fresh habits that take hold and last. But months !?
Fine-tuning your English pronunciation in the classroom is relatively easy. It is, after all, a Safe Zone. But leave the classroom and go out into the Real World Out There and you’re confronted with a real person engaging with you about real things in your life. What do you do? You focus on your exchange of ideas, of course. After all, communicating with ideas is what language and relationships are all about, right? So, what happens? Your good intentions take a back seat to your exchange. Bye-bye hard-practiced sounds you just learned so perfectly in the classroom.
So, I decided early on in my exploration of accents that that’s not good enough. I searched for ways to “anchor” the new sounds in real life conversations and communications out there on the job, moment by moment, in everyday conversations, everyday. This is where Peak Performance Coaching and Sports Coaching and Hi-Tech technologies come in handy.
A Synergistic Combo
We BLEND the best practices in Accent Reduction Training WITH those of Peak Performance Coaching throughout the entire 6 months. For long-term results. To ensure your success.
We work on changing your accent.
The basis of our accent reduction program comes from the proven methods of voice, pronunciation and dialect coaching. Think diction, elocution, rhetoric. Think The King’s Speech and My Fair Lady. These are tried and true methods. They work.
THE FLOW OF AMERICAN ENGLISH
You’ll first acquire the American English speaker’s rhythm, intonation, word patterns and body language . These are the basic building blocks of any language. Do them wrong and the communication simply doesn’t work. Do them right and you’ll be more easily understood and you’ll feel more confident already.
…which makes you engaging to listen to.
THE SOUNDS OF AMERICAN ENGLISH
We then clear up the problematic English vowels and consonants one by one. These are the ones that cause misunderstandings. We do this in order of their frequency in your speech. You build up your “American English” mouth muscles and airflow. You learn how to clearly pronounce your words. (It’s actually fun!)
- …which makes you comfortable and easy to understand.
THE HABITS OF AMERICAN ENGLISH SPEAKERS
The final step is to become fully familiar with the thinking and speaking habits of American English speakers. How quickly do we speak? How loudly? How do we do small talk differently here than in your native country? How do we present our ideas to others? How do we signal authority with our voice?
- …which makes you fit right in wherever you are.
The Components of Accent Change
The very basics of clear communication
fine tuning 100+ muscles
control your breath
slow down or speed up
individual sounds
listen precisely
articulation
rhythm
stress the right syllables
relax, relax, relax
blend sounds together
get the intonation right
pitch changes
project your voice
lips, tongue, teeth
We work on anchoring the change.
Just like elite athletes, those who have a strong mental game excel at improving their game over and over again throughout their careers. The same is true for every new learning experience.
Employing Peak Performance Mindsets shortens the time it normally takes to modify and keep your accent. Radically. Every session includes mental game skills drawn from my years of performance coaching experience.
TENSION AND RELEASE
When you are relaxed, your voice sings with clarity. But face it. It’s not easy to speak to a group of people in a new and different language. There’s often that little (or big) fear. Doesn’t it make sense that being able to instantly release any tension you hold in your body and in the muscles of your head and throat are prerequisites to being able to speak effectively?
We practice this until it becomes a strong and unconscious habit in your daily life.
HABIT BREAKING & MAKING
As in sports, the most obvious skill in your accent reduction toolbox is the ability to maintain focus and establish a good, new, long-term set of speech habits. Making life-improving changes is serious business. You know how good intentions can fizzle out long before the job is done. How will you make sure to practice outside of class? We’ll show you how to anchor your new speech habits comfortably into your daily life. We have a proven, no-nonsense method for making sure you succeed: month for month we accompany you over the next half year with personal coaching and structured assessments. (Some call this “long-term continuing education”).
We practice this until it becomes a strong and unconscious habit in your daily life.
ENERGY MANAGEMENT
Your native culture and its language have their own norms of when to speak, how to speak, how quickly to speak, how much to speak, how loud to speak, how much passion to speak with, and … when to stop speaking. American English does, too. And it’s probably quite different. Recognizing these norms is key to being accepted. This all requires using different levels of expression and mental and physical energy.
We practice this until it becomes a strong and unconscious habit in your daily life.
The Components of the Peak Performance Mindset
the mental tools necessary for excellence
pre-performance rituals
self-confidence
shaping & modeling
affirmations
deal with distractions
intermittent practice
deal with stress
form habits
drill, drill, drill
goal setting
coping skills
persistence
break bad habits
awareness & focus
THIS GREAT COMBO IS MORE EFFICIENT AND MORE EFFECTIVE!
We will work with each and every one of the skills important to your success!
This is a 100% MADE-TO-YOUR-NEEDS PROGRAM. No cookie-cutter stuff.