I am a great fan of regional accents and always champion this rather than getting clients to adopt a "RP" accent. However, I also promote good, clear diction and where necessary, slowing down when you speak. However, several situations last week made me laugh - and prompt me to write this short newsletter.
At the weekend Prince William struggled to have a two way conversation via satellite with the latest England Football captain. The Prince looked bewildered whilst the footballer waffled on in a very thick dialect, at record speed. The Prince looked rather like a French Exchange student on the first day with his family; confused and unable to understand anything; he eventually started nodding and saying "Good luck".
Obviously it was very funny, but this is a figurehead for England Football; if an English person couldn't understand the captain, who could the foreign media? It does no favours for this country or for English Football.
In fairness, I heard a brief interview yesterday, and clearly the captain had had some media training: he had slowed down his speech, and his responses to questions were very short. Whilst his diction was still very sloppy, I could vaguely understand what he was saying...
When we speak to people, we want to make it as easy as possible for them to listen; by making them work hard to understand you, there is every possibility that they will switch off and not pay attention. So my message to you is, when you speak to people - particularly on the phone, take your time and pronounce words clearly!
At the weekend Prince William struggled to have a two way conversation via satellite with the latest England Football captain. The Prince looked bewildered whilst the footballer waffled on in a very thick dialect, at record speed. The Prince looked rather like a French Exchange student on the first day with his family; confused and unable to understand anything; he eventually started nodding and saying "Good luck".
Obviously it was very funny, but this is a figurehead for England Football; if an English person couldn't understand the captain, who could the foreign media? It does no favours for this country or for English Football.
In fairness, I heard a brief interview yesterday, and clearly the captain had had some media training: he had slowed down his speech, and his responses to questions were very short. Whilst his diction was still very sloppy, I could vaguely understand what he was saying...
When we speak to people, we want to make it as easy as possible for them to listen; by making them work hard to understand you, there is every possibility that they will switch off and not pay attention. So my message to you is, when you speak to people - particularly on the phone, take your time and pronounce words clearly!
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