London Speech Workshop

LSW and the new year – we’ve gone private!

emserl — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 13:08:23 +0000

There have been exciting changes at LSW in recent months. The biggest news is all of our programs are now offered to clients in a private one to one format. I decided to do this because we have found that this really is the most effective way of making long lasting changes to ones accent and communication. And that of course, is what we are all about.

The main reason for this is because it allows the LSW coach to really hone in to the clients unique requirements and tailor the course around their needs and learning style. And its working so very well, so many of our clients are just so happy with the results, which in turn, makes us happy! I was chatting to LSW teacher Jamie Chapman the other day, and he told me how one of his clients asks him to record all the words for the new sound into her phone, leaving a gap for her to speak (exactly how our CD’s work as well). He told me with a beaming smile how she had returned a week later with the sound perfected. This is because she is an audio learner, so this is the best way for her to really learn. I was very impressed as it was the English ‘oh’, one of the most challenging (and in my eyes beautiful) English vowels. You’ll have to do a course to find out why we love this sound so much!

Also, we love for people who feel they might benefit from our courses, to have a go first, I think it’s important to be able to try one class without having to sign up for a whole package. So we now offer a really reasonable taster session for £65 so accent softening clients can try it out.

Why The King’s Speech Inspired the world….

emserl — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 13:59:38 +0000

So The King’s Speech has scooped up all the BAFTA’s and it gets me to thinking about how this film made on a small budget with a young director, about a man who finds his voice, has captured the imagination of the world. Why is that?

The writer David Seidler said in his BAFTA acceptance speech, how this film has given those who stammer a voice in the world. That point struck me, as this is what I do and feel very passionate about. Helping people access their voice which, for some reason doesn’t come out as they would like it to. This could be because of an accent or mispronunciation, or because of bad habits or fears or insecurities which over the years have a distorting effect on the voice.

I have had a few amazing sessions with people over the last fortnight, which has left me even more inspired by this work I am doing. Recently, I have been using some very simple techniques which have helped my clients make powerful shifts, in one hour. And when they leave saying, “wow, it’s so simple!”, having had several eureka moments, I have felt incredibly privileged. Not through giving people a voice, but through enabling and empowering people to find their own voice, access it, and let it out with strength and conviction.

I was interviewed by a journalist yesterday, and she was really excited by this work in confident speaking, and was surprised that it is so little known and thought about. People do all sorts of things for self improvement, she commented, we change our hair or get a facial, and yet very few of us think to work on our voice, even though it is one of our main ways of showing the world who we are.

I suppose the success of The Kings Speech has brought this idea to the forefront of lots of people’s awareness. But maybe part of the reason for its popularity is because we would all sometimes like a little bit of help in finding our voice, and that’s what the film portrayed so beautifully. When Prince Albert had access to his voice, he became fully himself, in a way he wasn’t before. In short, he became a King. What Voice Coach Lionel did so well, was helping Albert to make his outer self, do justice to his inner self. Which leads me to one of my favourite moments of this week. One of my clients asked me if I had seen the King’s Speech, and then told me that after he had seen it, he turned to his wife, and said “Emma’s my Lionel”.

The King’s Speech – What we think…..

emserl — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 17:22:25 +0000

The fear of speaking publicly, or Glossophobia, affects three out of every four people. But what is it about speaking in front of others that is so frightening for us? How does an everyday thing, such as speaking, become a challenge?

It’s not just everyday people that are afraid of speaking. Glossophobia is like all phobias, without prejudice. It can effect anyone, from prince to pauper. An good cinematic example of this can be seen in a recent film, The King’s Speech, which is about King George VI having to overcome his nerves and speech impediment to deliver a crucial speech at a time when the nation is at war.

So why do people suffer from it and what can be done?
The main reason is that people are afraid that their speaking skills will let them down. Being a good communicator is an important part of being a human being – speaking is the best way we have to connect with other people. If we speak and no one listens or understands, it is as if we do not have a voice at all.

Some unusual techniques have been used to cure people of this particular fear. In The King’s Speech famous speech therapist Lionel Logue, whose therapies are branded “controversial and unusual”, asks ‘Bertie’ to shout swear words as loudly as possible.

More conventional ways of controlling the phobia include slowing down over key words that really communicate your thought, speaking in smaller units, and so taking more pauses, which means you have more of a chance to breathe. Try also to make eye contact with your audience around key points of your speech.

If you have a speech coming up, practise it in front of a mirror and then graduate to doing it for family or friends. Ask them for their honest feedback – was it too fast or too slow? Did they feel connected with you and what you were saying? It is important to find the integrity in your speech, the bits that you can really connect with, and then slow down especially over these bits, because if you don’t believe it, no one else will!

When you get to the point of standing up in front of the audience, anchor your feet, let your shoulders be relaxed, and let the breath out. Find your communication pace, and don’t let the nerves speed you up. Then tell your story, without worrying about having to pretend to be a brilliant speaker. If you take the pressure off yourself, you will come across as more likeable, confident and, consequently, a better communicator.

References

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/film-trailer-colin-firth-in-the-kings-speech-2089082.html

http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=the-neuropsychology-of-public-speak-2010-06-03

http://www.speech-topics-help.com/fear-of-public-speaking-statistics.html

“It’s OK to talk proper again”

emserl — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 17:49:53 +0000

This week, London Speech Workshop was featured in The Times. I was asked to give an elocution lesson to journalist Helen Rumbelow, and to discuss Kate Middleton’s interview debut in her first public speaking engagement. It was an interesting task, analysing the vocal tones of Britain’s newest princess to be, and speculating as to how much Kate had adjusted her voice to suit the situation. My consensus? Kate’s voice was no doubt effected by nerves, a tight dress (restricting breathing) and an awareness of ‘getting it right’ for her husband to be and the millions of hungry eyes watching her.

We also spoke at length about what elocution means today, how it is so much more than simply achieving accurate sounds, and Helen did these ideas justice in her article. If you would like to have a look at the article, I have pasted a link to a PDF copy below. Enjoy.

London Speech Workshop in The Times

Words are amazing things….

emserl — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 13:51:23 +0000

Something I have been thinking about alot this week, is the psychological effects of good and bad communication. When we speak, it is about as human and integral to us as humans as it gets. It is our way of transmitting our thoughts to the outside world, our way of connecting to other human beings. Of course we have art and music and dance, but words are our most easily used form. If we speak fast, rushing to get to the full stop, then it sends the message that we don’t really want to be heard, in fact, we want our turn in the spotlight to be over. If we mumble, or speak in monotone, it gives the impression that we are not connected to what we are saying, that the rise and fall of our emotions and our energy cannot find expression in our words.

Words are amazing things. They can be these conduits which channel our thoughts and energy and emotions right out there to the listeners, and in the best speakers, make the listeners feel all sorts of things. You only have to listen to a Barak Obama speech, or a great actor, to see (and feel) exactly what I mean. But words can be as empty as they are full. If you give them no time and no colour, they can slip off your listener like water off a duck’s back. It’s so fascinating! So now, in the work that I do, these elements are becoming increasingly important. It is not simply about getting the accent right, one might have a perfect accent, but be incredibly boring to listen to. It is also about knowing how to use the words, how to bring your energy to them, so that people want to listen to you, and so that you are a joy to listen to. It is this simple idea that makes the difference between an okay and a brilliant communicator. So, go and listen to a great speaker, Barak Obama on You Tube for example, and listen to how his words are infused with energy and feeling. And then try it out for yourself, and see what happens!

Course Founder Emma’s First post…

emserl — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 16:58:19 +0000

This is the first post for the business that I started two years ago – London Speech Workshop. I wanted to write you a little introduction to tell you about what we do here at LSW, how we help people and how the work has surpassed all of my expectations and become, not just a job, but a huge part of my life.

I began London Speech Workshop with a view to providing English Pronunciation courses for foreign professionals in London. At the time, I thought it was just about teaching people the sounds and mouth positions of neutral English, so that they could avoid the misunderstanding and confusion plaguing so many non native English speakers. Of course now I know it is so much more.

So what is that ‘so much more’? And where did it come from?

Well. That begins, as all good things do, with a story.

By February 2009 I had designed my courses in accent softening, and was teaching from my studio in Kentish Town. I was beginning to wonder if people really could change their accent. After all, it seemed to be a question of rewiring the brain (which, as it happens, it is, only now, I have found the short cuts and techniques that make the rewiring so much easier –but more of that later) and if it is rewiring the brain, surely doing it with communication, the thing that makes us most essentially human, is going to be the biggest feat of all? People were enjoying the courses, but I knew the courses weren’t excellent, not the kind of standards I would have liked. Meanwhile, I was planning to be a psychologist, and saw the accent softening as a means to an end, to support me in my retraining. What I didn’t know, but quickly came to realise, was that the kind of work I dreamt of; that is, helping people be more fully themselves, could be done through my business – London Speech Workshop.

Anyway, one day, I was with a private client. He was French, and I was talking about him needing to commit more fully to the words he was saying, in order to bring him SELF to the table or the conversation so to speak. But then I stopped, and decided to ask him, why he was taking these classes at all. He was successful, fluent in English, married to a lovely English lady, his accent had all the connotations you would associate with a sophisticated French accent, why did he want to change it? And his answer? In English, the mother tongue of the country he had chosen to make his home, he felt unable to be fully himself. He was blocked by his accent, which corrupted his intention en route. Like a computer code which got slightly garbled as it emerged. In essence, his accent got in the way of him being fully himself when speaking English. The fluid connection that I take for granted when I communicate with someone in English, was denied to him and furthermore his use of intonation prevented him from working the melody of English to achieve different effects. The air in the room became quite heavy, and for a moment, I thought we both might cry. We didn’t cry. But for the first time I understood, how having an accent can feel like a burden, getting in the way of simply being and connecting with others as you would in your native land.

That was the first stage in my understanding. This new insight motivated me to find ways and methodologies of teaching that made the difference for the non native speaker. I realised it wasn’t simply about knowing where to put your mouth or tongue to make the correct sound, but a question of getting under the skin of the language, getting to know how it works, how pauses and emphasis and vowels and consonants work, how melody and word stress and connected speech works, so that actually, each person can build their own relationship with the English language, and learn to use it as a tool that empowers them.

And the great news is, I can say for sure that this approach does work. Often it works quickly and more often than not people will start to change after their first lesson. What actually happens is that each individual finds their own key to unlock the language for themselves. They get to know the secrets of spoken English and with that the intimidation factor starts to fade. Our students begin to feel more confident and empowered.

It’s a tough nut to crack the English language, but it’s beautiful. I’m passionate about it, and find it a privilege that I can share its secret delights with others.

Well that’s my first blog – it is nice to speak to you! If you like, call us to find out more about what we do and if we can help you discover the joy of communicating in English! I don’t imagine the next blogs will be as long, but I plan to write communication topics and also include some of the little gems I discover when I am teaching – the metaphors and hot tips that seem to unlock the doors far quicker than lengthy explanations…. so I do hope you come back for more!

Speak Soon, Emma