American Accent Basics

WORKBOOK
About by Jill Diamond
We are a communication company using a musical approach to support non-
native English speaking professionals on their journey towards confident and
clear speech. Having the ability to speak up and out effectively establishes
trust and respect among individuals both in and outside the workplace.
People become better employees, leaders, parents, friends and community
members when they feel like they belong. That’s why the work we do at by
Jill Diamond is life changing. We show you how to put the passion, persuasion
and impact into your spoken English with The Diamond Method.

Copyright and Trademark

Copyright © Jill Diamond
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or use of any
information storage or retrieval system, for any purpose without the express permission
of by Jill Diamond, LLC.

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Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................................. 2

ABOUT THIS PROGRAM ................................................................................................................ 3

THE DIAMOND METHOD’S SIX SPEAKING TOOLS ......................................................... 4

PRE-COURSE ASSIGNMENT ..................................................................................................... 5

LESSON 1: THOUGH CHUNKING ............................................................................................ 6

LESSON 2: EMPHASIS ................................................................................................................. 9

LESSON 3: RHYTHM ................................................................................................................. 12

LESSON 4: DICTION .................................................................................................................. 15

LESSON 5: MELODY .................................................................................................................18

LESSON 6: FLOW ...................................................................................................................... 21

FINAL ASSIGNMENT ................................................................................................................. 24

WHAT’S NEXT? ........................................................................................................................... 25

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About This Program
As English continues to be the language of business, more and more international professionals
are striving to feel confident and clear in their speech. The American Accent Basics Mini-course
and The Diamond Method are designed to introduce you to the speaking tools you’ll need to
advance your career and help you reach your personal best and ultimate success. Whether
you’re goal is to become the next CEO of your organization or you wish to lead teams with a sense
of security and belonging, this course is about to inspire you to change your life.

In this mini-course, you’ll:

• Explore The Diamond Method’s 6 speaking tools that can enhance your spoken English
• Equip yourself with practice activities for you to apply what you’ve learned
• Develop the first step to speaking English clearly and confidently

During this dynamic mini-course, The Diamond Method will show you:

• How to use thought chunking so you sound more confident in English

• Which words get more emphasis when we speak so you can help your listeners understand
you

• What syllable stress is so you can apply rhythm to the technical terms you use at work

• Where to apply shifts in your voice so you engage audiences with melody

• Why we pay close attention to the vowels so you can shape the sounds and use diction
well.

• When to use reductions, contractions, linking, and the American flap sound so your speech can
flow like an American.

What you’ll need to succeed in the program:

• 5-15 minutes each time you sit down to study. Daily practice is more important than the
length of time you spend studying.

• A voice recording app on your smartphone. iPhone. Android.

• To follow the directions in this workbook precisely so you can experience results

Getting the most out of this program

To achieve the most from this program, set a schedule to study and practice what you’re
learning. Stay open-minded to discover what motivates you during the learning process and
apply the lessons with friends, family members, colleagues and everywhere you can. Remember
to step outside of your comfort zone. You may feel you sound strange, but remember, if you
don’t sound different, you’re not improving. We hope you have an enjoyable and educational
experience.

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 The Diamond Method’s
Six Speaking Tools

These 6 speaking tools operate together to create communication

confidence and clarity.

Thought Chunking
Pause, Emphasize and Pace

Emphasis
Structure, Information, and Focus Words

Rhythm
Syllable and Word Contrast

Melody
Stepping, Gliding, and Intonation Patterns

Diction
Value On The Vowels

Flow
Contractions, Reductions, Linking, and The American Flap Sound

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Pre-course Assignment
Before you go through The American Accent Basics Mini-course, you’ll want to go to
ted.com to search for a topic/speaker whose American English you admire. You can
use the search tab in the top right corner to explore until you find the topic and
speaker for you. Take your time.

After you find that person, answer these initial questions:

1. Why did you choose this person?

2. How does your person make you feel when you listen to them speak?

3. What is one speaking skill you hope to adopt of theirs by the end of this mini-
course?

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Lesson 1

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What is Thought Chunking?
You can think of thought chunking as a group of words that creates a meaningful
thought. It can be a complete sentence, but often times, it is not.

1. After watching the thought chunking video, what do you want to remember about this
speaking tool?

2. Why is it so important to vary the length of each pause when you speak?

3. Where do you think you can apply the thought chunking technique tomorrow?

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Thought Chunking Assignment
Your Ted Speaker

It’s time to go back to the speaker you chose on ted.com and listen to the speech
again until you find one paragraph (and only one!) that you’ll use throughout this
mini-course. Find a passage that is about 5-6 sentences in length.

Start by opening the transcript of the video and cutting and pasting your paragraph here.

Then, record yourself reading the passage before you do anything else!

Now, listen to the passage 4-5 times until you are very familiar with it.

1. What do you notice as you listen? Where do they pause? Do they always pause
on the punctuation or do they make unique choices? Do you hear them thinking
and being creative with their pauses? How do they make you feel when they
pause?

2. As you listen to the one paragraph you chose, / go back above / and add slash
marks every time you hear a pause. / Notice how I’m doing that in this
paragraph. / Then / review the answers to the questions above / to be sure you
have a solid understanding / of what you’ve learned. /

3. Finish by reading the passage with good pauses.

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Lesson 2

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What is Emphasis?
Emphasis includes understanding the difference between structure, content, and
focus words and then applying special attention to the most important words in each
thought chunk by making those words longer, louder and higher in pitch.

After watching the emphasis video, what do you want to remember about this
speaking tool?

What role does the focus word play in each thought chunk?

Where do you think you can apply the emphasis technique tomorrow?

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Emphasis Assignment
Your Ted Speaker

It’s time to go back to the thought chunking assignment you did so that we can add
emphasis into the script.
Start by copying and pasting the thought chunking assignment you did here. Make sure
you’ve got the slash marks. Next, put each thought chunk on an individual line. It might look
like this:

Next /
put each thought chunk /
on an individual line. /

1. What do you notice about the structure, content and focus words as you listen?
Can you hear how the speaker changes the intonation, length, and volume of the
most important words?

2. Listen back to the passage 4-5 times and then highlight the focus word in each
thought chunk above by making that word BOLD and CAPPED. It might look like
this:

NEXT/
put EACH thought chunk /
on an individual LINE. /

3. Finish by reading the passage with emphasized focus words and pauses.

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Lesson 3

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What is Rhythm?
Think about rhythm as syllable contrast. In English, some syllables are long and
others are short which makes it a stress-timed language! What is a syllable? A
syllable is a unit of sound that contains one vowel sound.

After watching the rhythm video, what do you want to remember about this
speaking tool?

What is the schwa sound and why is it so important when applying syllable stress?

To what technical terms do you think you can apply the rhythm technique
tomorrow?

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Rhythm Assignment
Your Ted Speaker

It’s time to go back to the emphasis assignment you did so that we can add rhythm
into the script.

Start by copying and pasting the emphasis assignment you did here. Make sure you’ve
got the slash marks and highlighted focus words in the box below.

1. When you listen to your Ted Speaker, pay close attention to those focus words.
What do you notice about syllable contrast of those focus words? Can you hear
how the speaker makes an effort to highlight the stressed syllables by making
them longer, louder and higher in pitch?

2. Listen back to the passage 4-5 times and then highlight the stressed syllables of
each of the words you identified as focus words in the box above.

3. Finish by reading the passage with special attention to the rhythm contrast of
each focus word.

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Lesson 4

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What is Diction?
Another word for diction is pronunciation or articulation. Diction is how we shape the
individual sounds of the language. And, in this mini-course we are going to put all our
attention on the shape of the vowel sounds.

After watching the diction video, what do you want to remember about this speaking
tool?

Why are the vowels more important than the consonants in The Diamond Method and
what do we do on the vowels to make them stand out?

How can you apply the diction technique to your speech tomorrow?

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Diction Assignment
Your Ted Speaker

It’s time to go back to the rhythm assignment you did so that we can add diction into
the script.
Start by copying and pasting the rhythm assignment you did here. Make sure you’ve got the
highlighted focus words and the associated stressed syllables in the box below.

1. When you watch your Ted Speaker, what do you notice about how they use the
muscles in their face to shape the sounds? Can you mimic them? Take some
time to exaggerate the movements so that you can get closer to communication
clarity.

2. Download this app on your phone before you go further: Blue Canoe. Then, listen
back to the passage a few times with special attention to the stressed syllables
of the focus words. Can you name the color vowels for the stressed syllables of
those words?

3. Finish by reading the passage with special attention to the shape of the vowel for
each stressed syllable of each focus word.

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Lesson 5

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What is Melody?
Speaking melodically means changing the notes in your voice to capture your
audiences’ attention. Some other words for melody include intonation and pitch.

After watching the melody video, what do you want to remember about this
speaking tool?

Name two places you’ve learned so far where you’d use a higher pitch when
speaking?

How can you apply the melody technique to your speech tomorrow?

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Melody Assignment
Your Ted Speaker

It’s time to go back to the diction assignment you did so that we can add melody
into the script.
Start by copying and pasting the diction assignment you did here. Make sure you’ve got all
the work you’ve done so far (slash marks, focus words, stressed syllables, and the color
vowel) as you copy and paste into the box below.

1. When you watch your Ted Speaker, what do you notice in general about their
melody when they speak? Can you hear how they step and glide on stressed
syllables and focus words? How about the way they bring the pitch back down
at the ends of statements? How do they make you feel?

2. Listen to the same passage you’ve been working with several times so that you
can really analyze their use of melody. Make upward and downward marks on
the script if it helps you remember what to do.

3. Finish by reading the passage with special attention to the melody on the vowels
in each focus word.

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Lesson 6

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What is Flow?
The Diamond Method defines flow as the Americanisms we use when speaking
American English. They include: contractions, reductions, linking, and The American
flap sound.

After watching the flow video, what do you want to remember about this speaking
tool?

How do the components of flow help us get to the focus words?

How can you apply the melody technique to your speech tomorrow?

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Flow Assignment
Your Ted Speaker
It’s time to go back to the melody assignment you did so that we can add flow into
the script.

Start by copying and pasting the melody assignment you did here. Make sure
you’ve got all the work you’ve done so far (slash marks, focus words, stressed
syllables, the color vowels, and the intonation patterns) as you copy and paste
into the box below.

1. When you watch your Ted Speaker, what Americanisms can you hear? Can you
hear them speak each thought chunk on one breath? Which reductions and
contractions do you notice? How about the American flap sound and linking?
What does flow sound like in your speaker?

2. Listen to your passage several times until you notice all the Americanisms. Then,
copy what they are doing. Make some notes in the script above so that you’ll
remember to speak in this way.

3. Finish by reading the passage with special attention to the flow and speaking on
one breath until you get to each focus word and pause.

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Final Assignment
Your Ted Speaker

Keep working with your Ted Speech until you feel you’re able to put all the
speaking techniques together.

Then, record yourself reading the sentences so you can compare your results to
your original recording.

If you want to go one step further, try choosing a topic you are passionate about
and applying what you’ve learned to an impromptu speech.

You can record yourself speaking until you are comfortable with your progress.

If you want to send Jill your recording, she’d be super happy to hear how you are
doing. Just use this email address listed at the bottom of this page and send her
an email.

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What’s next?

If you liked what you've experienced, how

about joining the next American Accent
Accelerator Cohort Program?

Get a look at the program by clicking here.

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