Speak with Confident Statements: Tips for Avoiding Upspeak
If you’ve ever watched the 1995 movie Clueless, starring Alicia Silverstone, you’ve heard what speech coaches refer to as upspeak. This movie depicting Generation X was full of Valley Girl talk, a type of conversation where your inflection rises as you speak. The pattern of speech makes what you say come across sounding like a…
Read MoreEmbrace Your Southern Sayings
Idiom: language particular to a people or a district, community or class. Merriam-Webster dictionary Every region has its sayings, and North Carolina has plenty of colorful ones that pepper the speech of native southerners. If you’re a native North Carolinian, you may have found yourself saying some of the phrases below (meanings are in parentheses…
Read MoreHow Does Your Spoken English Compare to Others?
Everyone speaks with an accent. A person’s accent is an instant look into their background; reflecting both their native language and the region of their childhood. It gives me a warm feeling when I hear people from Minnesota and Wisconsin speak, because it reminds me of the many happy summers I spent in that area of…
Read MoreWhy do American’s Speak with their Mouth Wide Open?
The correct pronunciation and voice projection of American English depends on an open mouth position. The English speech sounds require the sound resonance created by an open mouth. Speech sounds are made by the changes in mouth opening, as well as lip, teeth, tongue, and soft palate movement, and vocal cord vibration. Let’s consider the…
Read More10 Words that are Frequently Mispronounced
Check out this helpful video on how to correctly pronounce: business, candidate, wasn’t, espresso, probably, et cetera, escape, athlete, other, Alzheimer’s disease. I was surprised to find that I had been incorrectly pronouncing “et cetera” and “espresso.”
Read MoreHow do people perceive your speech?
Our speech can affect how we are perceived. Three patterns that may negatively influence how others regard us are: Use of filler words. Sloppy pronunciation. Speed Talking. Filler Words: Filler words or non-words include: um, ah, and, like, ok, you know. Everyone uses filler words, but it is the overuse that affects how we are…
Read MoreShowcase Your Best Self in a Job Interview
New college graduate? Entering the final year of college and expecting to interview in the Fall semester? Changing jobs after a few years in the workforce? The job search process is grueling, and takes many steps of preparation to succeed. Performing well during an interview is essential. As we all know, first impressions are important,…
Read MoreMore Silent Letters-#3
English is a continually evolving language comes from many linguistic sources including Old French, Latin, Norse, Anglo-Saxon (Old English) and many others. English is a phonetic language but with many exceptions. The spelling of words in English can tell you its’ origin and evolution. Silent letters help identify the word’s origins. Students in spelling bees…
Read MoreHow Does Your Voice Sound?
Listen for it . . . many people talk with a “gravelly” voice. Technically, it’s called vocal fry. It may also be described as sounding “creaky”, “croaky”, “gravelly” or “rough.” This is called vocal fry and it is caused when people talk at too low a pitch without pushing enough air through their vocal cords. Some…
Read MoreMore Silent Letters-article #2 in series
Why does English have so many silent letters and rule exceptions? Most reasons for silent letters in English relate to the origins of the word. For example, the word “knight” has two silent sounds-K and GH. This word originated from the German word for servant, “knecht” in which each letter is pronounced. English has many…
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