your accent is not your problem: being understood first time
Many professionals ask us to "remove" their accent before a move abroad or a client role. We do not. Your accent is part of who you are. What usually causes the "sorry, come again?" is something smaller, and much easier to change.
By Brightside English editorial team
Reviewed by a Brightside senior coach · · 1 min read
No, you do not need to change your accent. Being understood first time depends mostly on four things: stressing the right syllable, a steady pace with pauses, finishing your word endings, and saying numbers clearly. Work on those and your accent stays yours.
What we actually hear in sessions
When a listener misses something, coaches can usually trace it to one moment, not to the accent as a whole. A sentence delivered at full speed with no pause. A key word stressed on the wrong syllable. A final consonant dropped, so "sixty" and "sixteen" blur, or "asked" sounds like "ask".
Four things to work on
- Stress. In English, stress carries meaning. "deVElopment", not "developMENT". Check a few words you use daily in a dictionary that marks stress.
- Pace. Slow down for the important sentence, not every sentence. Pause before and after the key point.
- Word endings. Land the last sound: "worked", "costs", "months".
- Numbers. Say them in chunks and confirm big ones.
"That's fifteen, one five, thousand units. Fifteen thousand."
| Instead of | Try |
|---|---|
| Rushing the whole update | Slowing down on the one sentence that matters |
| "Sixty" said fast and soft | "Six-ty," with a clear first syllable, then a pause |
| Apologising for your accent | Asking, "Was that clear, or shall I say it another way?" |
Published by The Full Stop, the journal of Brightside English. Reviewed by a Brightside senior coach. Corrections: see our editorial standard.