Mario's Training
Mario was seen for intensive accent modification training over a four-week period. Three eight-hour sessions were held in a private conference room at his place of business. Mario also had frequent brief communications (via phone, e-mail, or audio sound files) with the SLP to answer questions, practice new skills, and encourage carry-over into conversation. Mario was instructed to practice one hour per day. Training focused upon finding patterns in his speech such as final consonant deletions, de-voicing, consonant cluster reductions, and specific vowels. We also focused upon voice projection, intonation issues, and rate of speech. We heavily targeted pronunciation of his professional vocabulary.
Mario's Results
Comparing pre- and post-training speech, Mario had a 59% improvement in his production of sounds in words and paragraph reading. His rate of speech had been reduced from 179 words per minute (wpm) to 122 wpm. His understanding of intonation patterns improved from 35% to 80%. Mario reported practicing three hours per week during the month of training. He reported increased confidence in speaking and fewer miscommunications. He felt his new communication skills helped him to be more productive.
Jim's Training
Jim was seen for six one-hour sessions over a five-week period in the SLP's office. Video recording was heavily utilized. We frequently talked about his fears of public speaking and how to reduce them—or reduce the audience's perception of his fear. Voice projection was essential along with teaching natural body movements such as smiling or moving while speaking. Emphasis was placed on utilizing the downward inflection at the end of sentences so he sounded knowledgeable instead of "questioning" as he spoke. Jim was extremely motivated.
Jim's Results
Jim reported success with the speeches he has given to promote his business and obtained a large contract as a result of a speech. Jim now has so many clients that he books appointments a month in advance.
|