This week is the first of a new kind of blog, where we share news from our coaches as they tell us about of the eureka moments and highlights with their clients. It's Isobel's turn this week, and she shares the story of a client who is making huge shifts in her English pronunciation, in a very short time. All client names have been changed for confidentiality.
Naomi is in session 3 of 10 of London Speech Workshop's Accent Softening and Effective Communication Course.
“Naomi is an absolute delight to work with—full of smiles and a joy to teach. She came to our Accent Softening & Confident Speaking course as she was finding her thick Japanese accent was affecting her confidence and career opportunities (she’s currently trying to break into the fiercely competitive art world). But beyond her joy and her smiles, it’s her progress with taking on new sounds and overall English pronunciation in just three sessions that has been so jaw-dropping."
What’s making the difference?
Practice. Practice. Practice. After each session, it’s obvious she’s putting in hour after hour of practice. She's doing her homework, which is great, but on top of that she's spending time every day doing the London Speech Workshop Gym, which is our practice methodology.
Finding the time to practice is always a struggle, because most of our clients are working professionals with demanding jobs. For me, Naomi is a real sign that dedicated practice really does rapidly accelerate your learning, and confidence to boot.
How can I improve my communication?
It's absolutely possible to improve your communication skills! Here are some top tips when it comes to practising...
Tip 1: Little and often
The LSW Gym is about literally rewiring your brain, through doing around five minutes a day. It's the regular repetition that makes a big difference, because its building a muscle. So you don't need to do hours each time (although, this obviously is great if you can), but it is the regularity that really makes the difference. (Find more tips on rewiring the brain and neuroplasticity here in Big Think's article.)
Tip 2: Practise in real life!
The whole point of this work is that we take the new sounds and way of speaking quickly into real life. In fact the Serlin Method™ is designed to make it easy to use in real situations, from the first session. This is what Naomi did really well. She gave me me various examples of where she’s used her new sounds in social situations, speaking to strangers in coffee shops or communicating in interviews.
Tip 3: Keep the focus
Focus and discipline are also key—it’s clear to me that when practicing Naomi sits downs and focusses on the specific target sound assigned with absolute discipline. She works tirelessly to get it right before even thinking of moving onto the next one.
And the results?
As well as new sounds which are becoming embedded, the main thing Naomi is getting is confidence. This confidence, combined with her new and developing communication skills, is giving her a real strength as a communicator, which can only feed in to her interview technique and career goals down the line.
Find more effective communication tips and information on our courses by having a look round our blog and site. If you're ready to take the next step, why not book a free Discovery Call to see how we can tailor a communication coaching course to suit your unique challenges, goals, timeframe AND budget!
