Neutral American Accent & Speech Coaching Services

Our Services

Learn any Dialect

Are you a performer preparing for a dialect role, or want to add a number of dialects to your skill set to increase your range as an actor? Ginny Kopf, author of The Dialect Handbook, shares a dynamic approach to learning dialects that sound natural, consistent, and fully convincing. Her method emphasizes studying the culture of character, to find out not only HOW they speak, but WHY they speak the way they do. Ginny’s fun and practical method is well-tested by the numerous theatrical productions and individual actors she has coached over the past 35 years.

Improve your American speech

Sometimes called “Accent Modification,” or “Accent Reduction.” If you have a foreign accent or dialect, and want to be better understood and more articulate on the job, Ginny will teach you how to speak with clarity and flow. You’d learn how to enunciate with ease, correctly pronounce trouble spot words, and stress the important emphasis words, so that you are a dynamic speaker. This training would ‘soften’ your accent, so it is not so pronounced and won’t stand in the way of any communication. If you are an actor or singer, you may simply want more clarity with your own accent.

Learn an American accent

For actors with a natural accent or dialect who want to play American characters, Ginny will show you how to speak in a “neutral American accent.” This “neutral” wouldn’t reflect any American regionalisms from a certain U.S. state, nor would it sound British English. It would be convincing American speech, appropriate to the character, whether they are speaking casually or professionally. Having an American accent in your skill set will make you more castable. Don’t worry, you would not be “losing your accent”—you would still be able flip back into your own accent for certain roles.

Overall Vocal Improvement

For professional voice-users (performers, public speakers, executives) who want to work on improving their vocal image, diction, voice quality, projection, breath control, and overall delivery. This includes what your body language is saying about you, and how to communicate nonverbally with effectiveness and confidence. Relaxation and economy of effort can free your natural voice–an expressive, impressive voice that will last without strain.

What does your voice say about you?

You have a “vocal image” that is just as powerful as your physical image. In the competitive business environment, people judge us not only by what we say, but how we say it. People are “reading” your voice, consciously and unconsciously, as they’re reading your body language. What messages are YOU communicating? If you’re an actor, you need to have RANGE, to be able to adjust your speech to play a variety of roles, and make it sound natural.

Face it, people do judge us through our voice. They judge our authority, our confidence, our energy. They pre-judge our intelligence level and our socio-economic standing through our diction. Sloppy diction or scratchy tone can also give off a laziness or carelessness. If your diction is crisp and fluent, you come across as a crisp thinker, educated, alert, professionally poised.

You probably are contacting Ginny because you’re aware that your voice and diction could use some professional polish. Congratulations, you’ve taken the first step towards an improved “vocal image.” But good articulation and tone doesn’t happen just by thinking about it. Your tongue is a muscle, and like the rest of your muscles, it needs a good workout.

But the aim is not to over-pronounce either. That sounds stilted and fake. Good diction doesn’t mean overworking your mouth. It means you work at it until it has a sense of EASE and FLUENCY. Ease in diction can only happen if you’re controlling your mouth, instead of it controlling you. Your diction is trainable. So get your mouth into an aerobic class!

The goal of this training is so that you are a better communicator, whether for one-on-one conversations, large or small group presentations. Your confidence in your presentation skills will soar as you become more in control of your speech. We will work on individual words, then phrases and sentences, to short readings, to conversational speech. The instructor will direct you towards self-improvement which relies heavily on you to practice and apply the skills on your own.

How will you do? That depends on your motivation and on your aptitude to listen, mimic, and learn anew skill, like learning new dance steps for your mouth! So the instructor will guide you on how to keep improving, how to practice at home on your own, and APPLY what you learn to your day-to-day speaking.

Speech Coaching/Corporate Presentation Skills

For public speakers, MCs, announcers who want coaching on their overall delivery. Receive very specific feedback on your vocal and physical presentation skills, get helpful tips for improvement. How to enhance your confidence and positive thinking. Also camera and mike technique, gestures and movements, handling of materials, re-wording text, injecting humor.

Voiceover Technique and Character Voices

Training in Voice-over Technique and how to break in. Developing your VO skills for commercials, video games, promos, documentaries, tutorials, tech reads, talking books, and the giant world of Voice Acting. How to extend your range of characters, professionalism in a studio, cold reading, interpreting copy, help in preparing your demo tape, mike technique, and the step-by-step plan for marketing your skills, to make money with your voice. Ginny is a specialist in character voices and dialects, and can help you develop hundreds of voices to make you incredibly marketable.

Audition Preparation

Who gets noticed at an audition? Who gets the parts? Those who understand the power of vocal and physical technique, the important nonverbals, positive attitudes and stage presence. Ginny can also help you pick the right material that would bring out your strengths.

Singing

Lessons for singing would be in person, rather than over Zoom, so you must be in the Central Florida area for this training. For beginners to advanced. Exploration of the potentials of your vocal instrument, extending your range and enrichening your tone. How to belt safely with a powerful, dynamic, full sound that is from your whole body. Body work for relaxation and strong stage presence. How to audition and how to pick audition pieces. Drills for ear training so you are always right on pitch. Interpreting the text dramatically and expressively, bringing out your own unique style.

Vocal Health or Speech impediments

Ginny Kopf has a 2nd Masters Degree in Vocal Health and has coached hundreds of clients, including at Disney and Universal Studios properties to help their performers and MCs have strong, dynamic voices that will last without strain. She can offer Vocal Therapy and exercises for vocal health issues you may be having: strain, sore throat, allergies, trouble with projection or belting, scratchy or breathy tone, limited pitch range, and relieving any kind of tension that is holding back your best voice.
She also has worked with many clients to eliminate a stutter, a lisp (hissing S), or speech impediments of all kinds.