Listen to samples of Accent Reduction results.
Each client records a Speech Sample at the beginning of our work and again at the end as one way to track progress.
The before-and-after Speech Sample recordings featured below represent clients speaking 16 different first languages from a wide range of backgrounds, professions, and levels of English proficiency. Some began as beginners, while others were already advanced speakers seeking greater clarity, expressiveness, confidence, or polish.
Many clients need to focus on speaking clearly. Others work on developing a broader range of expressiveness, sometimes with the help of music. Strengthening the voice, preparing presentations, refining product pitches, and communicating effectively in professional settings are also common goals. Bringing out a client's personality in English is a powerful transformation to witness.
All of my clients tell me they feel more confident and have greater ease connecting with native speakers at work and socially after working with me. Learning how the accent works also helps them understand native speakers more easily. Many clients say they notice an improvement in their overall quality of daily life as a result of their new skills.
If these Speech Samples inspire you, please contact me to schedule a free 30-minute consultation to discuss working together.
Developing Expressiveness: Personality & Impact
An important focus of my work is helping each client express his or her personality authentically in English. Some clients tend to sound serious and formal in English but are actually very friendly and have a great sense of humor. They just haven't learned the nuances of intonation that can help them sound more relaxed, friendly, and natural while remaining appropriate in professional settings.
I help advanced English speakers develop a greater range of expressiveness.
This German radio broadcast journalist wanted to refine the subtle details of his American accent while preparing to interview for English-speaking positions in the United States. Already an exceptionally skilled communicator with a wonderful broadcast voice, we focused on the nuances of American pronunciation and rhythm that helped him sound like a native speaker. He was delighted with the results of our work.
This Apple hardware engineer already spoke English well at the beginning of our work and wanted to develop his expressiveness and confidence in professional communication. We also role-played with the language and communication techniques to participate more confidently in fast-paced engineering meetings. During our work together, he developed a broader range of expressiveness while becoming more comfortable contributing his ideas in group discussions.
This Korean animation student already spoke clearly at the beginning of our work and wanted to sound more natural and expressive in American English. We refined her voice, expanded her vocabulary and use of idioms, developed her professional introduction, and prepared her application for a Pixar internship.
This German software engineer at Facebook when we started our work basically already sounded like a native speaker of English. He was still eager to develop the nuance needed to speak more expressively. After moving to work in cryptocurrency, he created presentations explaining the world of cryptocurrency. People he meets typically assume he’s a native speaker of English.
After living in the U.S. for many years, this Chinese-speaking software engineer wanted to build on his experience sharing his technical expertise in political campaigns and become more actively involved in politics. I helped him refine his accent in preparation for interviews for a U.S. Congressional Fellowship in Washington, D.C., and we also discussed the various Fellowship opportunities before he made his selection. After he began the Fellowship, I had a hunch that a conference presentation related to his field would be of interest, so I sent him the link. He followed up on the opportunity, and that connection, along with his initiative, networking, and hard work, ultimately led to his being invited to work in the Biden White House.
This Belarusian student in my Refining Pronunciation class had just a few sounds to refine. I enjoyed hearing how well she intuitively picked up native-speaker nuances of intonation. She didn't hold herself back from practicing and experimenting, which helped her make so much progress.
This Taiwanese marketing manager at a tech firm was fairly new to the States and his job when he attended my large Las Positas College Pronunciation class. He wanted to refine his accent to be able to easily connect with his native English-speaker colleagues, so he followed up the group class with private lessons. He quickly developed friendly-sounding intonation patterns and noticed differences in the way others responded to him as a result.
This Refining Pronunciation student was concerned that her accent was holding her back from fully participating in her job, which involved a lot of presentations and responding to climate change-related policy questions. We worked on a few sounds that are typical challenges for Farsi speakers. As a result of her hard work, she felt more confident in her communication skills at work and sensed that her presentations were being better received.
This Chinese physics graduate student had lived and studied in the U.S. for years, so he already spoke English very well at the beginning of our work. We focused on refining his diction, developing greater expressiveness and confidence, and strengthening his presentation skills as he taught me about physics while preparing applications to Ph.D. programs. He was accepted into Stanford's Physics Ph.D. program.
This German software engineer at Apple spoke English very well when he attended my Refining Pronunciation group class. Immediately afterwards, he chose to continue his studies in a private group class. We refined just a few remaining sounds, and he found that his new clarity and expressiveness habits helped him feel more confident connecting with colleagues in the informal culture of his workplace. He especially appreciated developing a broader range of emotional expression in English.
This Russian software engineer manager at Stripe made excellent progress in speaking more clearly and expressively. He said that he appreciates the ease he feels in speaking confidently in any situation.
This Brazilian marketing specialist made excellent progress in refining the remaining details of his accent and speaking more expressively and was pleased with his results.
This computer systems engineer Project Lead found that in addition to speaking more clearly and expressively, she felt much more confident in general in conversations. She felt more comfortable initiating conversations with colleagues, including on the phone, which she had previously avoided. She enjoyed having longer, deeper conversations in general and told me that she enjoyed no longer having to pretend to be someone she wasn’t. She became able to express her authentic self without the interference of her accent and was thrilled with her results.
Transforming the Monotone
Many non-native speakers do not realize how important it is to speak with expressive intonation in English. Speaking in a monotone, with no variation in intonation, can inadvertently send the wrong impression to the listener. Developing a basic level of friendly-sounding, expressive intonation can make a big difference in connecting with native speakers with ease and speaking authentically and with authority in professional settings.
I coach my clients to find the best nuances of intonation to express their personality authentically in English.
This Afghan manager at Tesla already spoke English quite well but spoke in a monotone at the beginning of our Las Positas College Pronunciation large group class. He worked hard to develop more expressive intonation and was pleased with his results.
Pitching Products, Projects, & Ideas
I have extensive experience coaching clients who must pitch products, projects, ideas, and companies. We first establish a solid foundation in pronunciation basics and then develop the language of their pitch, and slides, if they use them. Then we practice the pitch delivery, aiming for clarity, expressiveness, and impact.
This Taiwanese business development specialist for FaceHeart, a Taiwan-based health care technology company, had recently started her job when another client referred her to me. Her job was to pitch the company’s FaceHeart Vitals product to prospective customers. In addition to refining her sounds, intonation, and rhythm, we wrote her pitch script and developed her presentation skills. We also focused on the mental aspect of approaching her pitch, which had been limiting her confidence and progress. The result is that she now feels confident pitching, her naturally friendly personality comes through her voice in English, and she’s traveling the world representing FaceHeart.
The first FaceHeart business development specialist I coached referred her colleague, who had not had extensive experience speaking English before starting her new position. She quickly found herself responsible for presenting FaceHeart Vitals at global medical conferences. As her pronunciation, presentation skills, and confidence developed, so did her ability to communicate naturally and let her personality shine through in English.
This Regional Sales Manager for a French company based in the United States was responsible for making cold calls to prospective customers in English. Because this communication task was so central to his success, we quickly focused on developing and refining his sales pitch while improving his pronunciation, intonation, and rhythm. He made significant progress in communicating more confidently and effectively with prospective customers.
This Israeli tech company CEO worked hard to lay a solid foundation of clarity and expressiveness before we prepared his keynote presentation about a high-profile client project for a major professional conference. Preparations involved tightening up the writing of his script and organization of his slides, pronunciation practice, and presentation skills. The presentation was very well received.
Expressive communication plays an important role in design, where professionals must pitch ideas, present concepts, respond to questions, and build consensus. This is one reason developing expressiveness was important for these three Chinese-speaking UX, Product, and Visual Designers. I always enjoy receiving referrals from happy clients; in this case, the first referred the second, who referred the third.
Using Music to Improve Accent
I’m a fan of the hit Broadway musical Hamilton and use songs from the show in my lessons because they provide a wonderful context for practicing the articulation, rhythm, intonation, and expressiveness taught in my systematic approach to accent reduction. The musical tells the story of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton—and, through his story, the founding of the United States—through a modern lens. Its wide range of musical styles includes hip hop, rap, and R&B.
If you're unfamiliar with Hamilton, I highly recommend watching the live performance by the original Broadway cast, which is available on Disney+. It is one of the most innovative and inspiring Broadway musicals ever created and has become a wonderful tool for helping some of my students develop articulation, rhythm, and expressiveness.
Students have enjoyed learning about American history and the show's celebration of immigrants. Several have shared that studying Hamilton helped them prepare for and pass the U.S. citizenship test.
In December 2019, 30 students from my Las Positas College pronunciation class, along with friends and family, attended an unforgettable performance of Hamilton in San Francisco.
Given the size of this community college class, I was struck by the impact that practicing articulation and expressiveness through the songs had on my students' English. I observed faster, more expressive improvement and have since seen similar results with private clients who enjoy this practice exercise.
The following samples highlight some of the progress made by students in the group class.
This German student, whose Speech Samples are included in the Developing Expressiveness: Personality & Impact section above, enjoyed practicing songs from Hamilton, particularly the highly challenging song Guns & Ships. In this sample, he is singing the parts of both Aaron Burr and Lafayette, along with the ensemble's quick "Lafayette!" interjections that introduce Lafayette. Lafayette's part features the fastest rap ever performed in a Broadway musical.
Reconnecting
Many students who first attended my San Francisco State University Refining Pronunciation group classes chose to continue their studies with me immediately afterwards in private one-on-one and small-group coaching. Some have even looked me up years after completing Refining Pronunciation to continue developing their communication skills.
This San Francisco non-profit financial executive played a key role in the founding of my business by hosting my first private group class with his Refining Pronunciation classmates in the boardroom of his workplace. His Before recording below is from that time. Fourteen years later, he returned for six months of private coaching, resulting in his After recording.
This accountant was referred to me by her husband ten years after he attended Refining Pronunciation. During the eight months we worked together, I helped her prepare for a job interview, adapt to her new position as an accountant with the City of San Francisco, and develop the communication skills needed to navigate a wide range of workplace situations. We completed our work just in time for her to welcome her first baby.
This Methodist minister contacted me five years after attending Refining Pronunciation to develop clarity and expressiveness in preaching her sermons.
Ten years after the Refining Pronunciation class when she made her Before recording, this client looked me up and has enjoyed refining her accent and discovering the impact that practicing songs from the Broadway musical, Hamilton, has had on her articulation and expressiveness, as heard in her After recording.
One of the ways this student has continued developing her articulation and expressiveness has been by practicing songs from the Broadway musical Hamilton (see the Using Music to Improve Accent section, above, for details). Here she is singing the opening of Alexander Hamilton, the first song in the musical, which introduces us to Hamilton's life story.
Communicating Across English Dialects
Some clients are native speakers of English dialects other than American English. Their goals range from just wanting to be sure they’re speaking so that they are easily understood in American English contexts, to wanting to sound like a native speaker of American English, to feeling confident speaking English in any setting and with anyone.
When this Scottish tech founder arrived in San Francisco to join his cohort in the prestigious accelerator program he’d been accepted into, his manager’s response to an initial presentation was, “I didn’t understand a word you said.” He looked me up from the list of resources provided by the accelerator and within 3 to 4 months, the same person said to him, “That’s the first time I’ve understood every word you said.” He will soon be continuing his progress in a second lesson series.
This Ph.D. in computer science, cybersecurity expert, and inventor worked with me to speak more clearly and expressively in American English in preparation for a major patent infringement trial. I was hired by his attorney, who wanted to ensure that complex technical concepts could be communicated clearly, expressively, and persuasively to a jury of Americans in Texas. Our work involved developing concise personal and professional stories, explaining technical concepts in non-technical language, and preparing for a variety of high-stakes communication tasks. Underlying this complex process was the development of accent clarity and expressiveness.
This finance professional in private equity wanted to sound like a native speaker of American English and speak confidently in any setting and with anyone. She was pleased with her results.
This data scientist had the goal of sounding like a speaker of American English and was pleased with his results.
This Indian software engineer chose to work with me on speaking clearly in American English after completing my group Refining Pronunciation class and was pleased with his progress.
This Indian engineer with the Federal Reserve Bank was pleased with the progress he made in my 8-week Refining Pronunciation group class.
This Indian woman wanted to speak American English more confidently, expressively, and clearly and was pleased with her results from attending my Las Positas College large group pronunciation class. She loved practicing with the music from the Broadway musical, Hamilton (see the Using Music to Improve Accent section above) and attended the Hamilton performance in San Francisco with her classmates
Developing Clarity and Expressiveness
For some students, being understood is the top priority. It becomes stressful and frustrating to be asked many times a day to repeat oneself, which can affect confidence. My expertise includes knowing which English sounds are typically difficult for native speakers of various languages. My techniques and materials are designed to target these problem areas. This targeted approach helps clients refine these sounds quickly and effectively, making it easier to integrate new speaking habits.
Speaking more clearly was the major concern of this UX Designer, who attended my Refining Pronunciation group class, rather than sounding like a native speaker of American English. Immediately afterwards, she chose to continue her studies in private lessons, where we focused on cleaning up specific sounds Chinese speakers commonly find challenging. We also worked on more natural-sounding intonation.
For several years, I was invited to teach the international team of designers at fuseproject, industrial designer Yves Behar’s studio in San Francisco. In addition to refining the accent, we developed advanced communication skills for describing design projects, building relationships with co-workers, giving feedback, and running meetings.
The following Speech Samples illustrate the progress made by some of the designers:
For many clients, our work involves a balanced combination of refining the sounds that result in clear speaking, while developing the patterns of intonation and rhythm that result in speaking expressively. As these skills develop, we often apply them to communication tasks such as interviewing potential employees or interviewing for jobs, delivering webinars and presentations, and developing the nuanced language needed for a variety of workplace communication situations, from leading meetings and giving feedback to disagreeing respectfully and interrupting politely.
This French software engineer manager made excellent progress during the two years we worked together. In addition to refining his accent, we practiced presentation skills, interviewing, webinar delivery, songs from the Broadway musical Hamilton for pronunciation practice (see the Using Music to Improve Accent section above), and we discussed American history and civics.
This Korean Director at Airbnb at the time of our studies worked hard on refining her articulation and expressiveness in English, as well as developing her presentation skills, and was very pleased with her results.
This fintech CEO worked hard at refining his accent. We also worked on grammar and communication skills that helped him speak more clearly and confidently in English. He was pleased with his results.
The goal of this French Project Manager working in the U.S. for a French liquid filling machine company was to speak English more clearly and confidently. We had just enough time to complete our 16-lesson series before she gave birth to her first baby. She was pleased with her results.
Strengthening the Voice: Presence & Confidence
Some of my clients come to me already speaking English very well but want to develop confidence and skills in making effective presentations and in making small talk at work to nurture co-worker relationships. I've worked successfully with many naturally quiet, introverted students who are given feedback that they need to speak up more at work. The value placed on extroversion in American culture and, specifically, informal workplace culture, can be confusing and challenging for these clients. I often recommend Susan Cain's excellent book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, which explores many of these dynamics.
We discuss introversion and extroversion, and I help them develop appropriate intonation patterns, presentation and conversation skills. Breathing exercises play a key role in strengthening the voice and conveying confidence.
This Chinese environmental engineer first attended my Refining Pronunciation group class and later continued her studies with me privately. She was early in her career after graduating from Stanford and wanted to develop a stronger speaking presence for meetings, presentations, and workplace conversations. Although she already spoke English well, her quiet voice and limited intonation made it difficult for others to perceive her as the confident professional she was. She later received positive feedback from management on her new speaking presence.
This Korean industrial designer was referred to me by her husband, a former client, and spoke English well at the beginning of her lesson series but wanted to develop the presentation and conversational skills needed to lead team and client discussions about design projects. Part of that process involved developing her intonation and strengthening her voice to help her sound and feel more confident. She received positive feedback from her management on the new speaking skills she developed.