Sept 2011
Speech Muscle Training: Why we train your speech muscles first to change your accent

We have been moving our speech muscles since we were tiny babies. In fact even our early nursing and eating movements helped us to strengthen our speech muscles in preparation for the exploration of sound to come.

At the baby stage, with very few exceptions, we are entirely open. We are trying to gain control, but as yet have little success in repeating sounds deliberately. As we develop, we begin to specialise. Our parents keep repeating the same sounds back to us, and we begin to gain enough control to be able to copy them. We learn to mimic, to hear something and work out physically what we must do to recreate it and hear the same thing coming back out of our mouth. Read Full Article...

June 2011
Accent and Class: is it better to have a regional accent or not?

"There has been a lot of buzz in the media recently about regional accents, following on from Cheryl Cole's untimely exit from X-Factor USA, and speculation about whether she had taken Elocution lessons. And in the last few months, I've personally been approached by three different newspaper journalists and three TV production units, all wanting to do articles about regional accent and class. It's obviously something that's in the air... " Read Full Article...

Jan 2011
Overcoming Stage Fright: How to harness adrenalin and be physically and vocally free in performance

"For anyone who performs for a living, the buzz and adrenalin high that come from taking risks and being creative in front of an audience is part of the deep delight in the performance act. However, there is a fine line between an adrenalin buzz, and the crippling, adrenalin-fueled anxiety known as stage fright.

Whether you’re someone who already suffers from stage fright, or wish to know more about what to do should it ever strike, the following tips and information should give you some tools to work with." Read Full Article...

(first published in Theatre & Performance Magazine, Summer 2011)

December 2010
Vocal Mastery: How to use your voice better

"As a voice and speech coach with over 15 years experience, I am often amazed at how little we know about our voices in comparison to how important they are to us. 

With very few exceptions, humans all have a voice.  Our unique sound defines us. We give away huge amounts information about ourselves every time we speak, and receive masses of information about other people whenever they speak. We often have feelings about whether we like the sound of our voice or the manner in which we speak, or not. But we know very little about the mechanics of how it all actually works." Read Full Article...

(first published in Theatre & Performance Magazine, Winter 2010)

November 2010
Accent Workshop: What is this accent called RP or Received Pronunciation?

"We use the term RP/Received Pronunciation a lot. Most people understand that it means Standard English, but this article gives you more information.

Most non-native speakers of English want to speak a neutral or standard kind of English. If people wish to reduce a native regional accent, it is normally towards this same standard English. This is sometimes called BBC English, the Queen's English, even Oxford English. But the most common name is Received Pronunciation, commonly shortened to RP." Read Full Article...

October 2010
Accent Workshop: What is the Difference Between the American accent and the British accent?

"Although we speak largely the same language, there are vast differences between the accents of the English and the Americans. In fact if you look at the frequency range of the accents, American English's frequency range is much more similar to French than it is British English. This article is intended to give you the major differences. " Read Full Article...

September 2010
Elocution Workshop: How can I speak more clearly?

"Our speech is made by muscle movements, just as a dancer's movements are made by muscle movements. A dancer's movements will only be graceful and expressive if the muscles are flexible and strong. And our speech only be clear if our speech muscles are flexible and strong.

However, many of us have become rather lazy with our speech muscles - and the result is that they become stiff, flabby and unable to move quickly and cleanly... we feel we are speaking in a muffled, mumbled or clumsy way. This can even affect our mind and make us feel we can't string our words together or think in clear sentences.

But you do not need to accept this situation. Your speech muscles can learn to stretch our and get fit really easily - much more easily than getting your body fit in the gym" Read Full Article...