Accent and your interview

Voice Synergy accent coaching, voice training, interview shock, interviewer dismay, voice coaching, accent reduction, good impression, better voice, how to impress, Voice Synergy accent reduction, how to speak posh, create a good impression, speak more clearly, better speech, impress at interview, using the right accent, speak to impressOne of the last bastions of prejudice that is still going unchallenged. You go into the interview room and as soon as you open your mouth and start speaking, the interviewer’s expression changes. You think you are being judged about your suitability for the role within seconds of beginning to speak.

Accent and your interview –

Many people want to hear the same accent spoken as they speak themselves. In an interview being conducted by a ‘Received Pronunciation’ (or RP as it is known) speaker, it is likely they will feel more comfortable hearing the same accent as their own.

But what if you don’t have an RP accent? And what is RP anyway?

RP is a non-regional accent and was originally the sound of the voices from private and boarding schools right across the UK more than a century ago.

RP is a region-free accent, which means it can come from Yorkshire, Edinburgh, Dorset or Norfolk; Cardiff, Kent or Kew. It is also the accent that is used as the British standard of pronunciation in the Oxford and Cambridge dictionaries.

The reason for this is that it is a clear accent and easy to understand for most people, even those who speak English as a foreign or second language.

Today, it isn’t so ‘cut-glass’ as it used to be, however, and a range of RP accents can be heard today. RP is evolving and varies by geographical area and by generation, too. The most ‘pure’ form is still spoken by Eton graduates.

All accents are passed down through generations and have until recently marked out where you come from. We begin to learn how to speak in the first months of our lives and those closest to us give us a model of what our voice will sound like. As we grow older, however, we have exposure to many different accents. Role models are changing from parents, siblings and teachers who grew up in the same area and spoke with the same accents, to voices on TV and social media. These new accents are influencing people’s original accents and it is harder and harder to place exactly where someone ‘comes from’ due to an amalgam of different accents that can be blended together by the speaker.

So, what about your accent and your interview? Is it really holding you back? Many business leaders would say it is important to reflect the style of your organisation when you are at work. This could be your dress code, your telephone manner, your sales style (where much empathy is required with your customer or client) or indeed, the way you speak.

Fortunately, it is possible to have more than one speaking style, or accent.

Just like changing out of your business clothes into your leisure clothes after work, it is perfectly possible to change your speech style. The accent you use at work can be relaxed back to a more relaxed way of speaking at home or with friends in your ‘normal’ voice.

This is called accommodation, when we use the same style of speaking as each other according to the environment. One way of speaking with your colleagues and customers at work and another for leisure time. It’s like belonging to the same ‘team’.

Easy ways to change the way you speak at work, without changing your accent is to speak more clearly. Make sure you sound the ‘t’ in words like ‘better, continue, printed, situation’ and especially take time to make the sound at the end of words, like ‘sleep, week, inspect, receipt’. Enjoy the sound the word makes and take your time to find all the elements of the word as you speak it. Words with three or more syllables tend to be rushed. Words are important or you wouldn’t be saying them. Take time to transmit your ideas and allow time to let your words be processed by the listener. Pause slightly at the end of your sentence. Take a new breath for the next sentence. Speaking more slowly might seem a weird way to speaking more clearly, but it really will help with your clarity, whatever your accent.

You should find that this way of speaking will help in your next interview, where it is important to listen to the question and provide good answers to show your suitability. When you are invited to an interview, prepare and research the company and job beforehand, on the day give good answers to the questions – and ask some of your own – and make sure you follow the tips above.

For help with accent softening, interviews, public speaking or vocal confidence, or even for help to speak ‘a bit more posh’, get in touch, we’ll be glad to help.

Voice Synergy – it’s all about clarity, confidence and impact