Think Like an Actor

hey there my friend I wanted to share a little insight with you today that will help you make more progress as you're working to improve your pronunciation so a lot of my students ask the question is it really possible to change the way that I speak English and a lot of my students make the observation that actors and actresses do this all the time how do they do it so I wanted to share with you three things to consider when reflecting on how a performer approaches adopting a new accent or a new way of speaking so there's three important things to consider first is mindset so when an actor or an actress approaches a new way of speaking or is studying a new accent they're not thinking I need to fix the way I speak there is something wrong with the way I speak English I sound terrible in English I need to get rid of my accent they're not thinking this way right a performer is thinking I'm going to learn and adapt a new way of speaking so that I can be amazing and authentic in this role that I'm going to play this is a big difference right it's the difference between a negative mindset negative thoughts filled with I need to fix myself there's something wrong I need to get rid of my accent versus a growth mindset where the focus is on learning and developing a new skill this growth mindset makes a huge difference in how the process of learning is approached and as a result it makes a huge difference in the type of progress and results a performer achieves the second thing to consider is role playing so when an actor or an actress modifies their voice or uses a different accent accent they don't do it all the time right so maybe you've watched someone in a show or a movie and then maybe you've seen them interviewed on a talk show and been surprised that their native dialect is different than what you thought like I think of Charlie Hunnam from Sons of Anarchy and he plays this American biker badass guy and then I heard him on an interview and discovered that he was British I had no idea or Bradley Cooper in that movie a star as born how he uses that deep gravelly voice which is very different from his typical speaking voice so when these performers are not in their role they're dropping that special way of speaking or they're dropping that additional accent and why do they do this well because it takes a lot of effort to be deliberately conscious about the way that you're speaking and if you were doing that all of the time every single day it could be really draining and the third thing to consider is time so an actor or an actress when they're developing a new voice or a new accent is part of their craft right it's their job so generally they have more time to dedicate to developing that new voice whereas you know you and I as members of the more traditional Workforce don't have that amount of time to dedicate to developing a new voice I mean you've got a job to do right you've got kids to raise dogs to walk meals to prep up errands to run and somewhere in there you've got to squeeze in time for self-care right I mean we're busy so you don't necessarily have that same amount of time that you can dedicate to developing your speech now why do I share this with you am I trying to say it's not possible for you to change the way you speak absolutely not it is 100 possible especially when you follow a step-by-step training program like the one we have in the clear English Academy but it's super helpful and hugely beneficial to approach speech and pronunciation training like you are a performer like you are an actor or an actress so you want to be conscious of these three things all right you've got to be conscious of your mindset when you're practicing you've got to catch those negative thoughts and you have to reverse them instead of I'm horrible I need to fix this I need to get rid of that we're going to think about developing a new way of speaking we're going to embrace having fun and playing with our voice you're going to remind yourself that you're learning to hear English in a whole new way so that you can speak it in a whole new way you'll celebrate your progress instead of becoming discouraged when you don't sound a hundred percent like a native speaker will replace negative thoughts with thoughts like I am learning and improving every day my voice is a powerful tool for connection I am Kick-Ass at speaking English when you approach speech training like a performer you think about role playing so my students will often say that speaking in a new way feels unnatural it feels fake it feels funny and I tell them that's because you're doing what you should if it doesn't feel funny if it feels normal then you're not breaking any of your old habits you're not doing anything new it's normal to feel funny that gets better with time but a lot of times it helps to think about this new voice that you're developing this new way of speaking as a role that you're playing that you can use when it serves you so you can step into this role this new and different voice when you are having conversations with colleagues when you are meeting with a client or maybe when you're giving a presentation and then you can step out of that role when you don't need it when it doesn't serve you when you go through the process of speech training you gain the power to turn on that skill when you need it and turn it off when you don't and the third thing to consider is time no you are not going to have time to dedicate speech training like it is your job or your craft but you do have time to set aside specific intervals for training you know five to ten minutes a few times a day where you're going to really focus and be conscious and deliberate about your voice and the way it's coming out of the body you have to be prepared to dedicate this time it's the only way to make real Improvement so there you have it when you make these tiny tweaks thinking about mindset role playing and time then suddenly the sky is the limit my friend you know speech training becomes fun and easy improving your spoken English becomes something that makes you feel empowered instead of anxious so I want you to think like a performer as you approach your speech and pronunciation training it will make a world of difference my friend and if you're ready to take your English pronunciation to the next level by following a simple step-by-step curriculum then be sure to click on the link below and you can get started in the clear English Academy today that's all for now thanks so much for tuning in and I'll see you next time foreign [Music]

Channel: Clear English Corner with Keenyn Rhodes

Views: 12,005

Keywords: clear english corner, keenyn, american english pronunciation, english pronunciation, help improving english accent, english accent training, accent reduction, improve your english

Id: C_G6_lGo3lI

Length: 8min 51sec (531 seconds)

Published: Tue Oct 04 2022