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If you are a foreign born professional, we would like to hear from you. We are very interested in the story of how you are overcoming self-doubt and learning new skills.
We would be happy to feature your story in a future issue.
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trOur Mission is to help our clients transform their accents from a communication barrier to a charming cultural flavor using "listener friendly" speech.
Order Mastering Meaning from Lulu.com today online. For an autographed copy contact Judith Bergman through our web site. (Pay for autographed copies with check by mail or credit card phone order only). $19.99 + S & H and applicable sales taxes.
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Our successful clients set their priorities and use strategies to fit in their practice time.
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Triangle Speech Services is the private, professional practice of Judith L. Bergman, a licensed speech-language pathologist (SLP) who specializes in foreign accent and regional dialect modification and related communication skills. I offer customized, individual tutorials to corporate-sponsored and self-enrolled individuals who speak English fluently but with moderate to severe accents that create challenges and frustrations in the workplace.
The words of the title popped out of my mouth unexpectedly at the end of a social evening at an art museum with a new friend I met in July. She is in the process of "re-creating" her life and her identity after her husband of almost 30 years "came out" as gay and asked for a divorce! She had done all the "right things" as a wife and mother and put her own career goals last and now this!
So "Unfortunate or bad things things happen to good people," as the saying goes. This month I decided to share my thoughts about "creative coping" and figuring out what in life we can and cannot control, especially as this might apply to individuals considering accent modification, but actually relevant to everyone!
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"Time is a created thing."
This is the first part of a famous quotation from the Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu, who said, "Time is a created thing. To say 'I don't have time' is like saying, 'I don't want to." You may have read about Hunter Mahan, the championship golfer who walked away from a tournament that might have brought him over one million dollars because his wife went into labor with their first child three weeks early. He had set his priorities! Catching a plane and being with his wife was his highest priority. He made the choice and created the time to be there to see his first born enter the world!
Time is not out of your control. You can make choices that reflect your values and find time for what is really important to you. When you are faced with a possible conflict, such as needing to complete a project and practicing your accent modification assignment (or in my life, practicing my tai chi set, learning hand bell music and exercising to stay fit, alert and healthy) we both can find a way! You can get an extension on the project or negotiate a more reasonable time frame up front! I can limit my caseload and schedule only one new evaluation a week.
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 | Life is Not a Solo Trip!
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We want our health care professionals to collaborate because we know we will be getting the best care possible. We find accountants, building contractors and mentors whom we "check out" and decide that we can trust.
I reached out to several colleagues eight years ago when I was just getting started with Triangle Speech Services and needed help and advice. I found a local group of women business owners whose monthly luncheon speakers provided me with a valuable business education: how to advertise, how to market, how to track income and expenses. These were all areas that had been ignored many years ago in graduate school in speech pathology and not addressed in my ongoing continuing professional education.
Now, invited by the Corporate Speech Pathology Network, I am formally mentoring a colleague in Canada who is just starting out her own accent modification practice! After eight years, I have built Triangle Speech Services into a successful "micro-business" that I am deliberately keeping small enough to enable me to make time for all of my interests! Currently I am working with clients from 12 countries who grew up speaking Japanese, Russian, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Telugu, Hindi, Turkish, Portuguese, Farsi, Amharic (Ethiopia), Swahili and Kikuyu (Kenya) and Jamaican "patois." My testing schedule for new clients extends into early October!
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We invite you to click on Triangle Speech Services to visit our informative website. Our goal is always to provide information, inspiration and encouragement since these are essential components of any successful learning experience. A foreign accent is a "circumstance beyond your control" initially but help is available. You need to make choices based on your values of speaking English more effectively and get the support that you need. If you are seriously considering enrolling yourself or an employee in an individual tutorial with us or simply want to talk to us about our programs, please contact us through the contact page of our web site. Sincerely,
Judith L. Bergman M.A. CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist and Corporate Speech Trainer
Founder & Director of Triangle Speech Services |
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