LEARNING AN ACCENT? DON’T MAKE IT HARDER THAN IT NEEDS TO BE

Honestly.

This is torture.

This.

Sitting here, writing to you.

It's incredibly uncomfortable for me to sit here in front of this computer and attempt get all (ha! more like the teeniest tiniest fraction) of what I want to share with you down in a way that actually makes sense and might even be enjoyable to read.

I really had to drag myself to the desk to do this and that was after I’d tidied my entire flat, washed every garment I own and batch cooked enough curry to see me through the apocalypse.

But I LOVE to write and I always have done, ever since I was a teeny tiny tot at primary school. I once did an entire year of blogging with ease and enjoyment. So why is this so bloody hard? 

I’d wager for exactly the same reasons you’re struggling to learn that accent…

Coaching sessions are much easier for me. I’ve been doing them for a decade so they feel safe and familiar. I’ve been regularly exercising all the required muscles and seen enough great results to know that I can trust myself to get out of my own way and do a good job. All I’ve got to do is show up armed with my resources, knowledge and experience and get on with the business of responding to your needs in the moment. Which is what I do best. 

But something different happens when I sit down to write to you. 

I love to write. I want to write. And sometimes I think I might even be quite good at writing. But when I finally sit down to it, after weeks, months, years of procrastinating, it feels about as comfortable as the last half hour of I Am Legend (which I do not advise watching whilst trying to temper the anxiety of a global pandemic). 

So I must be a terrible writer, right? 
(Maybe don’t answer that.)

The truth is, I’m not terrible.  I might not be the best in the world but the very fact that you’re still reading this tells me that I’m not as horrendously bad as my discomfort would have me believe. Which brings me to the first reason I find it so torturous:

Change is uncomfortable.

We all know that. My goodness, most of us have never come to know it more clearly than in the last six months. And, boy, do I know it when I sit down to write.  It feels like I have to wrestle myself to the desk. It’s not a familiar, tried and tested action for me. It's as uncomfortable as hell. And it will be for a while. Until I have done it again and again and again and…

So, please, for the love of all the kittens on Instagram, let go of the idea that learning an accent is going to be, or, even worse, is supposed to be, comfortable. Because it’s not serving you.

If you’ve ever had a coaching session with me, you’ll definitely have heard me say, ‘That sounds good. How does it feel?’  I ask this all the time because I know all too well that what sounds great to me might well feel horrendous for the speaker.  

Why? Because it’s new. Because it’s not the way you usually communicate. Because there are big, big changes going on. And change is uncomfortable. 

I see it all the time, actors telling themselves that just because it feels wrong it must sound wrong. Please, please, please, take my permission to free yourself from that idea. Leave it behind. Right now. Try this one on for size:

Just because it feels uncomfortable doesn’t mean it sounds wrong. 

Feel better? 

Don’t worry. You’ll get there. It’s still new...

But, of course, it’s not just the discomfort of change that keeps me from showing up on that page. Nasty Uncle P likes to stand firmly in my way too. And I can pretty much guarantee that, if you’re trying to learn an accent, he’s also calling in on you. So, let’s say it loud and say it clear: 

Perfectionism kills connection.

If my years as a coach have taught me anything it’s that the biggest block to people doing an accent well is their desire to do so perfectly. 

Let me let you in on a little secret… connection kills perfectionism. In fact, scrap the secret, let’s shout that one from the rooftops too:

Connection kills perfectionism.

Yes, by all means, push past the discomfort and work to get those new movements and shapes into your muscle memory (repetition is your friend here) but, for the love of all the puppies on Instagram, don’t forget to connect it all to why you are speaking in the first place.  

It is only by combining your newly acquired accent knowledge with your acting processes that you’ll sound authentic and feel connected. All the nitty gritty accent work in the world means nothing without a message, a purpose, a reason to breathe life into it. 

I cannot express to you how many accents sound off simply because the speaker is more focused on the accent than their message and intention. And it's a false economy.  Doing an accent well is not a reason for speaking. That’s perfectionism in action and the death knell of connection. Those sounds need a reason for being. 

Try using your newly acquired sounds, shapes and movements to connect with someone, to do something. I promise they’ll sound a whole lot better.

At the very least you’ll be able to pinpoint exactly which aspects of the accent you haven’t yet mastered and be in a position to come up with a plan for addressing them - much better than being stuck in a place of blanketed discomfort and disconnection, no? 

Do it. Connect it. Repeat it.

There. I wrestled my way through writing a blog post for you. I pushed through the discomfort by writing a little bit, another little bit, then a little bit more… I suffocated Uncle Perfectionism with my message to you.  And although I know the next time isn’t likely to be comfortable, I also know it’s bound to be a little easier.

Why don’t you have a go with the accent you’ve been working on? Or, even better, the one you’ve been hiding from?

And I promise I’ll keep wrestling my way through some more of these for you. 

Sounds like a good deal? 

Don’t worry if it doesn’t feel it.

Accent Tip:

Is there a sound that keeps catching you out and giving you away?

Ask yourself the question: ‘How can I make this new movement or shape vital to my intention?’ And really make sure to engage with this idea practically. Explore using the new movement to play whatever you’re playing. This should make it easier to grab a hold of when it crops up. 

Enjoyed this?  Sign up to my Voice-Mail to get more just like it. And please feel free to share with your friends by clicking below.

And, of course, if anything resonated with you, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below :)