Where you are today

No time for accent coaching? Busy with work? Busy with kids? Busy with BOTH?!

I’ve got your back. Just slow down your English. 

People who speak your Mother Tongue

Think of someone you know who speaks very quickly in your mother tongue. Are they pleasant to listen to? Or, conversely, do they make you feel anxious and tense? 

Now think of someone you know, famous or a friend, who speaks slowly and clearly in your mother tongue. How do you feel when you listen to them? Calm? Relaxed? Ready to hear what they have to say? 

Great speakers, in any language, intentionally slow down their speech. This gives their listeners time to digest their message. Additionally, it allows them to stay centered and focused. 

HOW to slow down

Inhale at three key opportunities while speaking:

1. Before your first word. 
2. Punctuation (. , – : ; ! ?) 
3. Transition words (i.e. for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so). 

Why inhaling is essential to slowing down

Many people hold their breath or speak with very little air in their lungs. This causes us to feel tense, speak too fast, and trail off at the ends of our sentences. But, if we inhale before our first word and at the beginning of each new thought, we will speak more calmly and slowly. 

Think about it. By inhaling, you are sending oxygen to your brain, creating a sense of ease in your body, and most importantly, filling your lungs and diaphragm with air to support your voice. Our breath is like the gas or electrical charge for the car – without it, we can’t go anywhere and we have no voice… If you are a speaking person, without your breath, your voice reaches no one… your ideas are never heard… and your influence does not exist. 

Multilingual > Monolingual

Our world really needs to hear what you have to say because bilingual and multilingual people are scientifically proven to be more compassionate, have more mental elasticity, and are more accepting of differences. Thus, YOUR voices are the most important to listen to! Let’s slow down to make sure your listeners can understand what you have to say.¹ 

Why slowing down helps your accent

As a result, when you inhale, you support your voice, and your intonation can flow more easily. Intonation is the music and inflection in English. Wouldn’t you rather listen to a thoughtfully played song, rather than a nervous, rushed piece of music?

Additionally, you speak in a more relaxed and engaging manner. Slowing down = good talk. 

Keep in mind, each inhale does not need to be a full belly breath. This is not a yoga class. But, think of it as a small sip of water to refresh yourself – a small oral inhale² to speak beautifully. 

Try this exercise.

Write sentence below on a piece of paper and fill in your own name:

“Hello, my name is ________ and my voice makes the world a better place.”  

Now, make a mark to inhale before your first word! I like to use the backslash symbol / . Choose what works for you 🙂 

Practice this a few times out loud. 

Rehearse, record, review, repeat!

Now, let’s record and review. Research proves that when we rehearse, record, review, and rerecord³ our performance can greatly heighten our self-monitoring skills to improve the clarity of our pronunciation. Just like an actor rehearses for a performance! 

Record yourself intentionally inhaling before your first word.  

Now, review the recording and be your own coach. What could be better or more clear? 

Record a second time. Watch again. Is there anything else you’d like to try?

Record a third time. Watch a final time. 

Go the extra mile

If you’re open to it, write a few sentences in a journal about this experience. Studies show that “putting pen to paper helps us both remember and comprehend information.”⁴ 

Next, you can try adding some small inhales at any punctuation and transition words. Maybe even work with a few sentences, a poem, or a short piece of text from a book or film you love! Make it fun for yourself. 

Practice makes better

A wise woman once told me, “Practice makes better.” Perfection does not exist. And, contrary to common beliefs, speaking exactly like a native speaker of English is not the healthiest nor most realistic goal. Your accent is a beautiful emblem of your multilingualism, your culture, and your lived experiences. Perhaps there is a consonant here or there that could use some polishing, but I promise, if you focus simply on slowing down, this will make an improvement in your clarity and communications.

So, practice inhaling at these three key points and enjoy speaking more slowly. Appreciate the fewer number of, “Can you say that again?” you get at work. Enjoy improving your English pronunciation, so your voice, ideas, and influence can reach others. Get that promotion. Go on that second date. Be heard and embody your greatness!

Good luck! You GOT this.  

With appreciation,

Coach Katya

Have a question?

Have follow-up questions? Post a comment below or schedule a 15 minute free Fit Call with Katya.

Footnotes

1. Medlicott, Charlotte, et al. “M(other) tongue: An exploration of the impact on power dynamics for the therapist working in English as a second language.” Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, vol. 24, no. 1, 20 Dec. 2022, pp. 86–96, https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12604. ↩︎
2. In 2019, I worked with a Speech Language Pathologist at the University of Washington Speech and Hearing Clinic. She highly recommended oral inhales when speaking because they are more efficient. I encourage you to experiment with these when speaking or singing, and return to nasal inhales in all other moments. ↩︎
3. Sardegna, Veronica G. “The effects of learner and instructional variables on English pronunciation learning:” English Pronunciation Teaching, 17 Mar. 2023, pp. 21–33, https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.22679732.9. ↩︎
4.  “The Benefits of Journaling in the Classroom.” Universal Publishing, upub.net/activities/the-benefits-of-journaling/. Accessed 29 May 2025. ↩︎