INDIVIDUAL SPEECH & VOICE PRIVATE COACHING:
Individual coaching is by far the best in-person way to achieve optimum results for speech and voice improvement. As your personal speaking guru, Kathy provides one-on-one lessons, either at your location or in her teaching studio in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area).
Sessions include:
• A profile outlining YOUR goals and time line for monitored progress
• A custom-designed learning program
• A “no-fuss”, easy-to-grasp practice routine uniquely devised for you after first lesson addressing specific areas of your speech and vocal improvement.
• Handouts with Kathy’s personal exercises for drilling specific consonants you need to improve for clearer diction
• Regular videotaping to monitor progress and watch delivery
• Regular phone follow-ups upon request
• Facial muscle strengthening exercises
Kathy has created an intensive diction practice workout called Tongue Gym TM , which builds the tongue muscle in different areas. The strength and facility of your tongue is the major factor in spoken delivery, and will impact on how well you speak (articulate), in tandem with your voice quality, the dexterity of your facial muscles and proper, controlled release of breath.
After 10 speech-voice sessions, in addition you also receive:
*A complimentary audit and review of one of your live presentations within 2 months of session #10 as a follow-up to ensure that you have made progress.
What’s YOUR Voice Type ?
Kathy has identified approximately 16 different types of voices.
All of these voice types can be modified to be more interesting & pleasant:
1.) The Bottom Talker
2.) The Breathy Voice
3.) The Shy Whisperer
4.) The FM - D.J. Guy (a.k.a. “Mr. Smoothy”)
5.) The Shrill Voice
6.) The Nasal Voice
7.) The Opera Talker
8.) The Hooty Voice
9.) The Monotone Voice
10.) The Pressure Talker
11.) The Strangled Voice
12.) The Scratchy Voice
13.) The Twangy Voice
14.) The Gutteral Voice
15.) The Male Falsetto Talker
16.) The Little Child Voice
And there can be combinations of more than one voice type!
You may be the “twangy - bottom talker”.
Or perhaps even the “hooty - opera talker”.
Have fun with these descriptions…and know that you can always modify your voice to get close to the desired effect or to reduce the unwanted tone. Your voice is unique like a fingerprint, and there isn’t a voice exactly like yours anywhere else in the world. Sometimes we want to embrace the timbre and acoustics which are innate to our own unique voices dictated by the genetics of your vocal mechanism. We want to sound somewhat identifiable. You may only need a little ‘tweaking’ to get your voice nearer to the sound you dream of having.
Accent Reduction
Simply put: If you can’t understand what someone is saying, then there is a communication problem. SO: If the messenger needs to be understood, they must take action to fix the problem.
There is nothing wrong with having an accent. In fact, we all have one to some degree. If you’re a businessman with a ‘thick’ Cantonese accent, and you deal with North American business people, it’s advised to speak more like a North American to communicate more effectively. And when you speak more like the audience you’re appealing to, also shows them a greater degree of respect.
Sometimes an accent can even be quite exotic or endearing. We hear many ads and news anchors with a British or Australian accent. The important thing is to be clearly understood. When your accent is what the listener is focusing on, it needs to be addressed. The goal is not to remove the accent, but just to make it less of a stand-out. Your accent shouldn’t eclipse the content of your spoken message. Essentially, we are adding to, enhancing, and improving upon how you communicate.
“ Can my foreign accent affect my career adversely?”
Most definitely.
Here’s one of the best testimonials I’ve ever heard about foreign accents hindering people’s careers.
I heard a man from the Czech Republic share his plight with an audience in Aug. 2004. He owns his own recruiting company; he’s been here 30 years and Chechyn is his first language. He recuruits people in the human health, life sciences, microbiology and medical field for place in jobs.
Here is a transcript of his exact words:
“ When I recruit, I interview a huge number of immigrants and people who apply from another country, and their accents are horrendous. A lot of these people don’t realize they cannot get the job if they don’t speak at a certain level, no matter how qualified they are. If I mention it to them, most of the applicants don’t believe it. They think that because they have a doctorate, or if they have a Ph. D., or if they have 20 pages of research material, that they can be the manager of something. A lot of these people need to accept the fact that they have a problem. Instead of being a manager at $80,000. a year, they will be a technician at $35,000. It’s very sad because whenever I mention it, people don’t want to hear it. They could have more opportunities if they reduce their accent.”
Here’s an interesting story:
In 2001, Angelika Blendstrup, Ph.D. undertook a study in Palo Alto, the heart of Silicon Valley, located in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. She taped 5 different Silicon Valley professionals – Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French, Argentine, German - and had them talk about their work for about 1 minute. All of the speakers on the tape had an accent, however, they were all fully employed in the Silicon Valley.
She played this tape to Anglo American employers in the Silicon Valley and asked them to tell her whether they would hire the speakers, and on what level. The results were: 100% of the employers interviewed would not hire the professionals with the very strong accents, and if they were hired at all, they would only be employed at a low to mid range job level in the company.
“ How long will it take me to reduce my accent?”
Everybody works at a different pace and it’s almost impossi
ble to put an exact time on this goal or how long the process will take. But the student’s attitude and amount of time they put into it will determine the speed of progress.
According to Lorna Sikorski of LDS Associates in Santa Ana, CA.
… Sikorski emphasizes that the impetus for accent modification comes from the client. This is not a casual commitment. Accent modification is a difficult process. "I liken it to learning a physical skill that becomes second nature…"
“ Why should my company invest in speech and voice training for employees?”
See “Advantages of Speech & Voice Training” in the “About” section.
According to Lorna Sikorski of LDS Associates in Santa Ana, CA:
“ Businesses often pay out of continuing education/skill-building budgets. From their point of view, it's a mart professional investment. It avoids the very expensive price of employee turnover, which requires much higher costs in orientation and time for new workers to reach the point on the learning curve necessary for maximum job function.”
Click here to arrange private speech & accent reduction lessons.
Scheduling, Rates & Location
INDIVIDUAL CLIENT SCHEDULING & LOCATION
HOW MANY CLASSES DO I BOOK AT A TIME?…… The recommended package consists of 10 lessons.
HOW OFTEN ARE THE PRIVATE LESSONS?
… .Sessions can be weekly or bi-weekly, to accommodate your schedule.
WHERE DO I TAKE PRIVATE SPEECH & VOICE COACHING?
… .There are 2 options for the location of lessons:
1.) At Kathy’s Speech and Voice studio in Toronto (*references required)
2.) At your location. (*travel costs will apply for time and transportation)
HOW MUCH DO PRIVATE SPEECH & VOICE LESSONS COST?
Please contact her for rates.
**** Discounts will apply for:
*senior citizens
*Those who are looking for employment, or have experienced downsizing
*Those who are undergoing a career change.
*RESUME REMINDER: When you study with Kathy at Pure Voice Power, this training is a unique, valuable item to have on your resume. It indicates initiative, pride, intelligence, accountability and creativity to your prospective employer.
Click here to arrange private speech and voice lessons.
Voice Lessons by Phone
Details coming soon!
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