After my seminars people come up to ask questions they don’t want to ask publicly.  Without a doubt the most common “private” question I get is about accents.  People want to know how they can reduce their accents.

For me, it’s not about reducing an accent, it’s about acquiring accent options.  So you can turn on and turn off an accent as needed. This week on The Public Speaker, I talk about ways you can learn to modify  the way you speak.  The show is about 10 minutes long, so go ahead and listen.  I’ll wait…

I mentioned several resources on the show and I wanted to give a bit more information.

Literacy Volunteers = They help people for whom English is a second language, as well as native speakers. This is a great place to start to get some individual or group help. Just Google “Literacy Volunteers near 19102″ of course, with your zip code. This should help you find your local group. If this doesn’t work, ask you local librarian to help you.

Toastmasters International = This is an organization to help native speakers and non-native speakers to improve their speaking skills. Part of each meeting is devoted to helping attendees with grammar and pronunciation. Here you’ll likely find people that are willing to help you improve.

Conversation Partner = Try MeetUp, or your local college campus, or a language exchange program. I would try a mix of online and in-person partners to see what works best for you.

Compton P-ESL Method = This link will tell you more about this particular method and will also help you find people who have gone through the certification program.

Free Pronunciation Software = This software was originally created for a school project. It’s pretty extensive and provides great information to get you started. There’s a forum to get some help and Rebecca, the creator of the software, is very passionate about helping people succeed.

Accent Student Notebook = This is a PDF from Accent School that includes materials and exercises for accent reduction. It’s 40 pages long and worth reviewing.

Here are some of the things that I didn’t mention in the show but are worth exploring:

Quiz of your American Accent = This is a short eye-opening quiz that everyone should take. It will tell you what your regional American accent is.

Pronunciation Patterns = This is very highly rated software that people seem to enjoy. It was created by a Carnegie Mellon MBA graduate student. Many people sing it’s praises, but I don’t have personal experience with it.

American Accent Training = Book and Audio CD. Highly rated in Amazon.

Lose Your Accent in 28 Days = Audio CD and workbook.

Finally, on a related but separate topic, I wanted to link to this very unusual story that I read about a woman that acquired an accent after having a stroke. It’s found the article fascinating and wanted to share it with you.

I hope these resources help and let us know in the comments if you give them a try!