Podcast Tips
Are you ready to be coached?
Are you ready to be coached?
(Avoid wasting your money until you are ready.)
You’ve decided that you have some communication issues that you would like to improve upon and a coach is the solution to help you achieve your goals. Resolving to make change is a wonderful goal but too often, people with best intentions are unable to achieve their goals. Too often, we have unrealistic goals and don’t realize how difficult change can be.
Before you hire a communication skills coach, let me help you sort through your readiness for coaching. Here are four questions you should answer with honest responses before jumping on to a coaching program. Depending on your responses, you may want to enroll now or you may want to give yourself a little more time to become prepared.
- Do you have a particular reason for wanting coaching? What benefit will you gain? If you are clear about the benefit then it is motivating to keep up with the work of making changes. People often say that they realize that improved communication skills will help them with their self-confidence, or get them promoted or even make more money. If you know these things, you are likely to stay motivated. If you don’t think that there are any issues at this time, you probably aren’t a good candidate for coaching right now.
- Do you have time to practice? Intentional daily practice is a necessity for new skills to become habits. Experts say that it takes 21 days to make a behavior a habit and 6 months for it to become part of your personality. So, be sure to check your calendar before beginning to see if you have the time so that you can whole-heartedly put effort into the process.
- Are you comfortable with making small steps towards a bigger goal or do you have an expectation that after 8 weeks of training you will be perfect? You might be able to make a lot of changes if you can practice a lot every day. But most working adults don’t have the time to practice a lot each day. So, making progress on just 1-3 goals in two months is about all a busy professional has time for. Mastery of the goals may be attainable but it depends on the effort and the person’s skill level. As you know, mastery of any goal takes time and perseverance with little steps.
- Do you have support from your boss and colleagues regarding the changes that you want to make? These key stakeholders are an important part of the process and need to be on board with your goals. With their support, you are more likely to succeed.
Are you ready to be coached? If you understand the benefit, have the time and support of others and are comfortable making changes on just a few goals, you are ready to begin.
If you don’t have the time or support and don’t think that there are any issues, you may not be ready for coaching at this time. Instead of wasting your money, wait until you are ready to be 100% invested in the experience. A good coach will help determine the areas of need and what changes will make the most impact. A coach can also be a great motivator and supporter but ultimately, you are the one who has to do the work. Once you are ready, the benefits to you and your employer are immense.
If you would like more information about coaching readiness, please contact ClearlySpeaking.
Diphthong OW
Today I am going to talk about the diphthong OW. The definition of a diphthong: Two vowels that come to together to form a new vowel.
There are actually five diphthongs in the English language. They are:
Ai (as in Raid)
I (as in Ice)
Oy (as in Coin)
O (as in Robe)
Ow (as in How)
As I say OW very slowly listen to see if you can hear which two vowels that I am saying:
If you picked /a/ as in lot and /U/ as in book, you are correct.
/a/ plus /U/, glided together in a smooth transition to create the new vowel, OW.
So, how do you pronounce it? What happens is that the vowel begins in the front and low and glide to the back.
My tongue is flat and relaxed.
Jaw is dropped to an open position.
As my tongue pulls up and back, my jaw moves up and round my lips.
In order to produce a diphthong, there is movement with the tongue, the jaw and the lips. Try these words—notice three different spellings:
Now, Cloud, Bough
Notice that the spelling of ow has 3 different spellings.
If I don’t say the second part of the vowel in these words the words sound like nah, clahd, bah instead of now, down cloud, about, bough
For clear, distinct speech that is understandable to you listeners be sure to say both vowels in the diphthong. In some areas of the country, substitutions are considered non-standard.
Speak for success
Speakers of American English use pitch changes to stress syllables and entire words, and to create natural, engaging speech. Whether you are a native or a non-native speaker, using effective pitch changes will determine how polished and professional you sound. The non-native speaker must first learn to appropriately change pitch levels to stress syllables and words. When done well, this skill aids listener understanding even to a greater extent than pronouncing sounds correctly; proper pitch change is critical to the overall flow of speech. Once mastered, the speaker can learn to use varied pitch changes to make points, tell interesting stories, and engage and captivate listeners.
How to Create a Friendlier Tone
Do you ever feel angry or defensive but don't want it to show in your voice? Showing anger towards your boss or subordinates or while speaking to customers and clients isn't usually a good idea. If you are in the public eye, it is especially important to stay cool. A defensive/angry voice-user sounds monotone, short, and often too fast in rate. A simple solution to a friendlier sound takes self-control. It can be accomplished by slowing down, lengthening the vowels in words and using more pitch inflection. And don't forget the calming effects of a deep breath before you even speak.
(Breath in) Ah, now I’m ready for my day!
Is a Foreign Accent a Speech Disorder?
Have you ever thought of a foreign accent as a disorder? Most of the time it is absolutely not a disorder but sometimes it is. Let me explain.
A foreign accent which has developed following the learning of second language is not considered a speech disorder. Since second language learning differs from a first language, we are likely to develop an accent in the second language because we adopt the speech and language characteristics of our native tongue and apply the same rules to the new language. But a speech disorder implies that there is some neurological component that creates a disruption in normal speech.
Foreign accent syndrome (FAS) is a rare and acquired speech disorder. In many cases, it is caused by a stroke. Damage to the brain affects the rhythm and melody of speech. If you have FAS, you adopt what sounds like a foreign accent, even though you may never have traveled to that particular country.
A foreign accent acquired because of a stroke is considered a disorder but a foreign accent that develops because of second language learning is not a “disorder” If you would like to read more about this rare and unusual disorder, go to the websites listed below (or search Foreign Accent Syndrome for more articles):
http://health.msn.com/health-topics/foreign-accent-syndrome-for-beginners
http://www.vpr.net/npr/136824428/
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