Why Do You Want to Lose Your Accent?

A common reason that people schedule a consultation with Well Said Coaching is that they want to speak English with a native accent.

Leaving aside the fact that there are dozens of native English accents across the world (10 or so alone in the U.S., depending on how you count), my first question is often, “Why?”

Not because I doubt the person's sincerity or discount their concerns, but if I know why someone wants to lose their accent, then I can help them set an achievable goal.

When I ask, “Why do you want to lose your accent?”, the most common answers I hear are:

1. I get asked to repeat myself a lot; people don't seem to understand me.
2. I want to create greater rapport with colleagues or clients, or with people I meet socially.
3. I am tired of being asked “Where are you from?”; I just want to fit in.

All of these are perfectly valid reasons. But losing your accent is not necessarily going to address these concerns. Here’s why:

1. It’s virtually impossible. It is not possible for the vast majority of adults to lose their accents. (Learn why.) Of course, there are exceptions, but for most of us, your accent is your accent.
2. It’s not required. Especially for reasons #1 and #2 above, you don’t need to completely lose your accent. To make yourself easier to understand, you can adjust, not eliminate, your accent. And reason #2: creating rapport? Building relationships has a lot more to do with actively listening, asking engaging questions, and finding areas of common interests—all of which have little to do with accents. 
3. It’s not going to prevent the question. Accents are sneaky. Even if you reduce 90% of your accent, you’re still going to have one. It may be a very mild accent, but it could be just noticeable enough to trigger the question, “Where are you from?”

Case in point: I was once visiting a very rural part of Wisconsin in the Midwest, and a clerk in a convenience store asked me where I was from. He thought I was from South Africa (I'm from New Jersey!) But to his ears, I had a foreign accent.
 
I completely understand that being asked, “Where are you from?” can be tiresome and even, in some circumstances, insulting. But remember, the U.S. is a big country. Use that to your advantage. My suggestion is to answer the question and then ask it in return: “What part of the U.S. are you from?” And then, when you hear the answer, strike up a conversation. Ask questions about their home state or town. Mention that you have visited there, or would like to. The point is to get them talking about where they are from, rather than where you are from. It’s called “re-directing”. And it works like a charm.

Of course, accents can sometimes provoke discrimination and unfair judgment. I don’t want to minimize that. But given the arduous, if impossible, task of eliminating an accent, it's important to explore alternate ways to address the reasons for wanting to lose that accent in the first place.  In short, aim for what is doable, not what is dubious.

Well Said Coaching focuses almost exclusively on reason #1:  speech clarity. We help our clients acquire the speech patterns of another language, in this case English, rather than eliminate their accents. In other words, we strive for accent clarity, not accent elimination.

So why do you want to lose your accent? If you clearly define the reason, it can lead you to the best intervention--one that you can help you achieve your goals without losing your beautiful accent.