Polyglot Accents

Native speakers: I'm coming for you, and this is a hard one! Accent bias is a real thing, and it's often overlooked. PLEASE take a moment to read this brief, well-written article and consider your unconscious bias the next time you're hiring. The article suggests role-playing, spending time traveling and noticing your own difficulty with communication, and examining pre-existing biases as starting points.

"One study had students listen to audio-recorded interviews, accompanied by a resume and photo, and found that speakers with non-native accents were less likely to be recommended for a middle management position, despite the fact that the interview was scripted and all speakers said the same thing. Likewise, the same researchers found that making a pitch to acquire venture capital with a non-native accent led to less success at getting funding (Huang, Frideger and Pearce 2013). "

The Hidden Cost of Having an Accent Non-native accents can serve as triggers to stereotypes.

Last summer, I had multiple clients that loved Leonardo DiCaprio. While talking about intonation, a few of them cited this scene from The Wolf of Wall Street as an inspiration (and we all got a chuckle out of how random it was that more than one of them picked this at the same time). We talked about the difference between imitating intonation patterns vs. copying a speaker's voice outright. It's great to have an inspiration to look to! But make sure you're using what works for you, so you continue to sound authentic, and not like a very good copy of someone else.

Other speakers that clients have wanted to emulate in the past included Barack Obama and Rush Limbaugh. Who would you pick?

wolf sales pitch Wolf of Wall Street Sales Pitch

Cringe, this makes me regret using my "valley girl" accent as an intonation example. Do you find yourself being mentally more critical of female speakers? Really? Think about the last comedian or TedTalk you watched and then think again...

( used to be my jam, I love articles like this.)

Why Do We Diss Women’s Speech? The 3 reasons women’s voices are subject to negative stereotypes.