10 Ways You Can Use Voice Accents To Make More People Listen To You Instantly
From time to time, I take storytelling classes...
And a recent class I took was about the art of oral storytelling.
One thing that particularly drew my attention was... when the instructor talked about the use of vocal accents when telling stories. I don't mean telling the whole story in a weird accent. I'm talking about using different accents when narrating different characters talking.
A lot of people don't like doing it. Because it's tough.
But it doesn't really matter if you can pull it off that well or not. Just by mixing in different accents when you're telling stories, you add an extra flavor to your talk that just draws people in.
And it makes you a lot more interesting to listen to.
But even if you're not planning on telling stories vocally anytime soon...
... there's lots of other things you can use accents for...
... that can get more people to pay attention to you...
... and listen to what you have to say.
Whether it's getting a potential client to pay attention. Or getting people to perk up during a presentation. Or just getting your kid to turn and look your way.
Here are 10 of them:
1. Use a British accent to sound smarter.
It's true. Studies show that people with British accents automatically sound smarter. And if you want to sound smarter, it's time to add some English to your speech. This doesn't work on everyone though. It mostly works on Americans.
2. Use an Australian accent to sound more persuasive.
So I was listening to how different people in the class tested different accents when doing sales presentations. And they found that... with the exact same sales message...
... the British accent got the most sales...
... the Australian accent got the second most sales...
...and the accent that got...
3. ... the third most sales was the Southern American accent!
So if you find using a British or Australian accent too difficult, but you need to convert clients fast...
... you might want to try a Southern American accent.
Or just hire a sales person who has these accents to help you sell your goods.
4. Try changing the accent you already have slightly to a different local accent.
So the past 3 ideas normally work on Americans. And if you're not in America, it may or may not work for you... except for maybe the British one. I've read a few studies that mention how that works in a lot of countries outside of the UK and Australia.
If you're living in a country like... let's say Japan... where there are different local regional accents...
... you might want to try adopting a different Japanese accent and track and monitor how clients respond to you. And if you're not Japanese, then even better.
You can just tell clients if they ask that...
... you just came back from a trip to Okinawa, and you liked the accent so much you decided to adopt it.
5. Use the Oriental, sage old Sifu accent when imparting wisdom.
You've probably watched old kungfu flicks. Where they have this sage old Sifu who imparts oriental wisdom in his incredibly profound accent... an accent that just makes you feel like you're about to have your mind-blown.
Try switching and using this wise accent when imparting someone with advice. Or even a group of people.
I promise you, they'll remember it like nothing else you've ever told them.
6. Take note of popular sub-accents
There's the accent. Then there's the sub-accent.
And by sub-accent, I mean...
... accents used by famous people in popular culture right now. For example:
7. Use the Bill Clinton accent to send your charisma through the roof.
There's the Southern American accent. Then there's Bill Clinton's Southern American accent.
And if you want to make your message (or character while you're telling a story) more charismatic, and make people sit up and listen closely, you may want to try doing it the way Bill Clinton does it.
8. Use Trump's Yuuuge New York accent if you want people to know you're a straight shooter who doesn't beat about the bush.
Other than making the person listening to you sit up and smile, this accent also gives a relateable, working-class feel that lets people know you're not the type who beats about the bush.
It also has a way of making your words a lot easier to remember.
9. Remember popular fictional character accents
It's not just accents that people are using in real life. If you're watching that hot new movie recently... and there's a character in the movie who has this catchy accent... and lots of people know about it...
... using that accent can associate your talk with the feelings that character gives off in the show.
For example:
10. Use the Godfather accent when making people an offer they can't refuse.
If you're at the end of your talk, and you want to make people an offer they can't refuse...
... use your best "Godfather" accent and let them know that.
Tell them your daughter is about to get married. And you don't want to do murder for money.
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