Foreign Accent Causes Woman to Miss Bus

You've probably heard the saying, "If you don't care where you're going, any road will get you there."

But what if you do care where you're going, but can't communicate it clearly to the person driving. Or, even worse, what if you are confident that you have the skills to get you where you want to go, but you still end up in the wrong place. Pretty humbling experience, isn't it?

Let me tell you a story that happened to me when I was in college. I minored in French in college and had already been to Paris once after high school, so on this trip to Paris, I was feeling a bit too sure of myself.

My French was good enough to communicate with those around me, and just for fun, I wandered away from the tourist hot spots to areas with more "local flavor" to try my language skills on the real native speakers. I did just fine in several little shops, which boosted my confidence even more.

I decided that I was ready for a little day trip, and someone had recommended that I visit the Chateau at Chantilly. I went to the bus station, asked for directions and boarded the correct bus. Or so I thought. As the bus pulled away, I looked at the list of bus stops for this bus. Chantilly was not one of the stops listed. How could the attendant have told me to get on the wrong bus?

However, as I looked more carefully at the list of stops, I realized what had happened. I was on the bus headed for Chatelet. I thought my French pronunciation was good enough to get me through any situation, but in this case, a subtle difference in the way I said a word had landed me on the wrong bus.

Fortunately for me that day, it didn't really matter where I ended up. But, I missed seeing a sight that I was looking forward to and may not ever have the opportunity to see again.

But, what if that day, I had been headed for a job interview, and I missed a great job opportunity because of that little pronunciation difference?

Then, it would have mattered. A lot.

What job opportunities or promotions might you have missed out on because your speech wasn't quite as clear as you thought? Some very intelligent professionals are so confident in their abilities that they do not realize the difficulties that their accented speech can cause. Have you ever thought about the consequences of being misunderstood? Of missing a promotion...a critical contract...or a better job offer? Did you know that by working with an accent reduction specialist, you could eliminate those consequences altogether?

You know that clear speech and accurate communication are critical to getting where you want to go in your career, and an accent reduction specialist can help you to get there. If you are a non-native speaker of English or an American with a regional dialect, you can experience a significant change in the clarity of your speech in just a few short weeks. So, if you have any question about your communication skills, contact a professional who can help you improve the clarity of your speech and the direction of your career.

I don't want you to miss the bus.