Voice and Accent
A voice and accent are oral skills that tell about proficiency in any language via tone and intonation.
It includes the following:
● English accent,
● Clarity of speech,
● Pronunciation,
● Listening skills,
● Grammar and fluency of the person.
A person's voice tells a lot about him/her, in addition to delivering their message. People evaluate you depending on how good you communicate. Your professional career is determined by your speaking proficiency.
With a large number of English speakers all over the world, it is clear that effective communication is important. English is a skill language for people like many of you, who are looking to make their career in the private sector.
Is it easy to learn an accent?
It's not.
Otherwise, we all would sound the same. It takes a lot of hard work and motivation to overcome the natural pronunciation patterns, which is hard-wired in our brain.
Many people still have difficulties being understood. A lot of this is because of our listening habits. If we are not listening to the sounds correctly, we will not be able to pronounce them correctly.
So, the first step to improve your accent is to listen. Think and pick a sound that you usually say incorrectly. Try to understand the difference between how you pronounce that particular sound, and how it is done by native speakers. Listen to the sound contrasts and then try for yourself.
Let's take an example, many languages do not have the English sound like 'TH'. Because of this, many speakers instead of the 'TH' sound use a /s/, /z/, or /d/ sound.
Do this and it will lead you to an accent as you are deviating from the correct way to produce the 'TH' sound. So try to understand the difference between saying a /d/ on 'the' and pronouncing it correctly. Are you going to 'duh' fair or 'the' fair to listen?
Listening to the sound and differentiating between them is the first step to learning a good accent. Without this, you will not learn a good accent, it will leave you with your native accent when you speak English. Get comfortable in listening to yourself so you can overcome your accent problem. If you don't like how you sound and don't want to listen to yourself, you will never improve your voice and accent.
Switching enunciations takes time, training and patience. It will not happen in just a day. Try to listen to yourself and observe how you sound while enunciating the words. This is an illuminating experience that will only profit your speaking skills and a few other aspects of your life.
Below are some easy and practical suggestions to improve voice and accent:
Exercises For the Mouth and Jaw:
It enhances your speech clarity. The practice of opening and moving your mouth will help you create sounds clearly and accurately.
Watch English movies with subtitles
Watching actors make the sounds of words can help you faster in learning pronunciation. It will help you and accelerate the process of learning an accent.
Listening to native speakers
If you are an active listener, this practice will help you improve your pronunciation. Listen closely to native speakers.
Maintaining a diary
Note down the complex words with their definition and spellings. By doing so, you improve your English vocab.
Manage your rate of speech
Learn to slow down while talking and take appropriate pauses.
Readout loud whenever you have time:
Make reading a habit and read anything that you think is interesting. It improves your memory and increases your vocabulary.
Audio Recording of yourself:
Practice and record yourself so you know your flaws and work on them.
Tongue twisters:
It is a sequence of English words. They work like magic with Pronunciation and Enunciation.
Phonetic alphabet:
Knowing phonetic alphabets will help you identify new types of sounds. Understanding these will help you determine sounds that go over your ears.
Voice and Accent training program:
Training with experts will help you concentrate on other aspects like;
Identifying vowel
What type of sound consonant make
How to form sentences
You will learn about phonetics
Training for voice modulation
Word stress and syllable
Career in Voice and Accent
A career in voice and accent can be a rewarding experience. Voice and Accent are gaining prominence among youngsters all over the world.
It's not just the youngsters if you are interested you can do it with proper guidance. If you want a good voice and accent you just need to work on yourself.
Careers after Voice and Accent training
● You can become a Voice artist
● You can start your career as a voice and accent trainer
● You can become a dubbing artist
● With a good voice and accent, you can get a job at BPO
How do you become a voice and accent trainer?
You can become a voice and accent trainer with ordinary educational qualifications. Bachelor's is required if you have a degree in the English language, it would give you a good start. A voice and accent trainer shines the speaking skills of a worker.
How to be a good Voice and Accent Trainer
● Influential communication skills.
● Knowledge of the language (English) and grammar, pronunciation, spellings, and vocabulary.
● Proficiency in speaking the language clearly and fluently.
● Mastery in teaching and training other individuals.
● Knowledge of the correct accents.
● Ability to hold the interest of people coupled with Self-confidence
I think this article will help you in understanding how important voice and accent are in a professional career.