Research suggests that people are sometimes judged to have a lack of intelligence based on their accent when they speak.
There is not one specific accent that calls this out but rather a division between what is perceived as having an accent versus having no accent.
Have you ever judged someone based on their accent? What issues could this bring about in the business world? Are there solutions to the issue of accent judgment?
Keep reading to learn more about accent reduction and how it is used in the business world:
What Is Accent Reduction?
Accent reduction is taking someone who speaks English and moving them closer to the accent of the people they will be speaking to and less of their native accent. For example, if someone with an accent is speaking to people from Kansas the entire day they will want to train their accent to be close to the way people in Kansas speak to each other.
An issue that businesses run into when outsourcing specific services to people that may not work in the same country is that customers can have difficulties understanding their accents and in turn may choose not to move forward in the sales process.
How Is It Used in the Business World?
Accent reduction is used in the business world to provide a higher level of service and communication to clients. By being proactive when navigating accents, companies can help prevent their employees from getting judged by their native accents.
The accents that employees have can vary, from a think Boston accent to a slow, southern accent. There are also people who grew up in areas outside of North America that bring various accents as well. Regardless of the source of the accent, the goal of accent reduction in the business world is to match regional accents as closely as possible.
While most accent reduction is focused on speaking outwardly to the customer, it is important to note that businesses can also be at fault for accent judgment in certain cases. This can happen when conducting phone interviews to hire someone or not choosing to bring on a team member because of how they sound. Having an open discussion with your employees before enrolling them in accent reduction lessons is important to make sure that the process is fair for everyone involved.
To learn more about accents in business, you can read on here in the article that discusses why businesses are judged by their accents. Knowing the research behind this issue can help you better combat it within your organization for the future.
Get Started Today
Now that you have read more about accent reduction and how it is used in the business world, you can take action. You may not have been aware of the fact that your business can be judged by accent before now. Visit the rest of our website for more helpful articles like this one.
