ClearSpeak SPEECH therapy and SPEECH coaching

come across to others. The big question is: ‘Might any of the following apply to you?’

Do you have a monotonous tone? It can make you sound unmotivated or lacking in energy and enthusiasm.

Is the pace of your speech so fast you frequently stumble over words? Your listener will struggle to process your meaning. Others may avoid you if embarrassed to constantly ask you to repeat.

Is your overall speaking pitch rather too high? It can sound like whining to your listener’s ear.

Does your speech sound soft and breathy? This can convey an image of low confidence or lack of authority. It’s a particular issue for go-ahead business and professional women. Those louder male voices may simply talk over you.

Struggling to make yourself heard in noisy places?

Forcing your voice leads to a sore throat. Learn to use the professional projection technique instead.

Perhaps you speak with a very nasal quality? Yes, it is a feature of Australian English but too much will attract unwelcome attention.

We recognise all these features in others but often fail to recognise them in ourselves. Now that is a sobering thought.

Foreign Accent Change And Modern Elocution

pathology require remedial help. ClearSpeak treats conditions such as Parkinson’s Disease, stuttering, mild hearing loss, stroke, or neuropathies with muscle weakness. A generalist practice will also treat loss of language and word finding difficulty. ClearSpeak does not.

OUR FOCUS

Our focus is entirely on improving voice and pronunciation clarity. For this, we have developed a vast set of training resources. If unable to train F2F, you can selfstudy online anywhere with our Time-Online courses. We have students internationally. Maybe you would like a professional view on your speaking style? After all, even should you decide against any change, an assessment could let you know what your best friend may never tell you.

ClearSpeak offers training for adults and teens (14+) for either speech coaching or speech therapy. As a practising speech therapist, Alison Kimble is registered with Medicare and all private health funds. Her office is in Banksia Beach but a mobile service is available in the region. You can contact Alison at admin@clearspeak. com.au or find out more about ClearSpeak training at www.clearspeak.com.au.

Short bio [add photo]

Alison ‘Kimi’ Kimble recently relocated to Banksia Beach from Sydney. Her company, ClearSpeak Pty Ltd, has been providing speech training for over 25 years and she is very happy to now be based on the Island. She is an acknowledged authority in the field of accent and pronunciation clarity and is author of The ClearSpeak Method, taught in universities internationally.

WHAT

Your Speaking Style Says About You

Psychologists tell us we form an impression in the first 30 seconds a person speaks. We all recognise a ‘poor’ speaker when we hear one but what exactly makes us think this? There are several features and any one of these can detract from the way you

Australia today is a melting pot of many language and accent influences. There are no rigid rules about ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ accents. But if your foreign or regional accent requires you to constantly repeat, it signals that speech clarity is an issue.

Of course, you may simply like to ‘soften’ your Australian accent or find your best voice. We’ve come a long, long way from ‘The Rain in Spain’!

Dealing With Impaired Speech

Those with an underlying