Mispronounciations That Blemish Your Speech

Talk RIGHT Now: Horse Durves and Foot in Mouth
By Lois Duna | Date Submitted: 08/29/06
Summary: Mispronounciations That Blemish Your Speech

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Each of these words has a letter that is silent. Do you know which they are?
1. Hors d’oeuvres 2. Herb 3. Corps 4. Calm 5. Palm 6. Balm 7. Talk

Answers: 1 is H and S. 2 is H. 3 is PS. 4-7 is L.

Mispronunciation in your speech sticks out like toothpaste on your shirt—not the end of the world, but something you would nonetheless prefer to avoid, especially in a situation where you want to appear competent and professional.

Here are a few more bad pronunciations, often common to Midwesterners: git rather than get, warsh rather than wash, and my favorite one word sentence, Jeet? (Did you eat?)

Unfortunately, we do not know what we do not know. In order to eliminate these speech blemishes you will need help. Ask for gentle feedback from colleagues and friends. Ask them to tell you whenever you mispronounce a word. Use a dictionary. Look up pronunciations you are not sure of. Ask people how they pronounce their names or the names of their towns or companies. (Having their name mispronounced ranks near the top of everyone’s list of annoyances.)

Dress your voice for success by improving your sound appearance. Put your voice in a power suit---with no toothpaste stains.

lois@loisduna.com
Author's URL: http://www.loisduna.com
Lois Duna, a master sound image coach, consultant and public speaker is the originator of the Sound Appearance Voice Leadership System. For more about Lois see www.loisduna.com

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