Every speaker has their own voice. Whether you are a native American English speaker or a non-native speaker, your personal vocal traits make up your accent. Your voice and accent are a part of who you are. However, in today’s business world, accents can be inhibiting, which is why some choose to modify or reduce their accent.
A proven method does not focus solely on individual sounds, but speech patterns. Intonation, stress, breathing and force are all major components of every language. Learning these characteristics of standard cultural American English is the most effective way to modify your accent. Carryover and generalization of these skills is easy to incorporate into real-world speaking opportunities.
Although intelligibility can be improved with articulation, learning specific sounds can be time consuming and difficult to execute in everyday situations. Articulation focuses on individual phonemes or sounds, which are drilled with increasing difficulty. Although this is important, it is not as effective as learning speech patterns. By focusing on patterns, you will modify your accent. This in turn can help you reach your personal and professional goals.