What Does Elocution Teach?
Apart from clear pronunciation and good articulation, elocution helps develop control.
What I mean by that is control over how and when we speak.
Today I had a student who tried so hard to sound good that her speech became tense, and as a result, she made pronunciation mistakes. She is not the only one who has this issue.
Tension is not control. Speaking in a relaxed and clear way is.
I would recommend to all my elocution students the following exercises:
1. Start with breathing exercises from the app 4Ps, Power, Pitch, Pace, Pause (iOS/Android) – lesson 2.
2. Then work on pace (lesson 4), and finally use of pauses (lesson 5).
3. Record a one-minute speech, then listen back and note your use of pauses and pace.
4. If you notice tension or rushed speech, try again with deliberate pauses and a more relaxed delivery.
Finally, practising long vowels and diphthongs is a good way to slow down speech and improve clarity—rather than clipping them, learn to lean on long vowels and diphthongs. Lessons 1-5, 16-23 in the apps:
Get Rid of your Accent UK1 (iOS/Android)
Business English Speech (iOS/Android)
Elocution Lessons (iOS/Android)
I also recommend being intentional about what you say. Sometimes, it is best to use very few words—or say nothing at all. Being economical with words and using pauses can be a very powerful means of communication—more on this in my next edition.
279. Executive Presence (2/4): The Signs of Weakness
Often, what not to do is more important than what to do. In the second edition of the Executive Presence series, I focus on what gets in the way of projecting authority and leadership.
Below are the most common patterns we observe during our elucution lessons that undermine confidence and are unconsciously perceived as signs of weakness:
Over-explaining.
Seeking approval
Avoiding discomfort
Rushing, multitasking, reacting to everything
Projecting low energy
What can you substitute it with?
Instead of over-explaining, focus on the key message, key goal, unless you want to lose the plot in the sea of unnecessary words
Instead of seeking approval, be open to the fact that what you say will not be liked
Instead of avoiding discomfort, thrive on it and use it as a growth tool
Instead of rushing, multitasking, and reacting to everything, develop calm and structure. Identify key priorities for the day, week, etc. and focus on priorities. Do not react to noise. This is particularly difficult in our era of information overload and constant notifications. They are true time and focus thieves.
Make energy management your strategy. Often, people say that our most important resource is time; I disagree. I believe energy matters more than time. Without energy, even unlimited time won’t take us far in achieving goals or leading others.
In the next edition, I focus on the speech and voice to assert a strong presence.
Warmly
Olga Smith
277. Executive Presence (1/4): The Components
In our elocution lessons, we don’t focus only on speech and accent. We also help students develop a stronger presence and greater confidence overall.
This is something many of our students actively want to work on — what is often called executive presence.
With this article, I’m starting an Executive Presence series based on more than 20 years of teaching and coaching top-level professionals and diplomats.
In this edition, I’ll walk you through five core components of executive presence, explain why they matter, and show how they work together.
You can think of executive presence much like a good golf swing. It isn’t built on one single movement, but on several elements working together — posture, balance, timing, and follow-through. If one part is off, the entire swing suffers. Executive presence works the same way.
The five core components are:
Authenticity: the ability to act as your true self without pretence
Physical presence: energy level, dress code, fitness level
Confidence: ability to act decisively
Body language: eye contact, gestures, posture
Speech and voice: pronunciation, articulation, voice modulation and use of pauses
The key point is this: to look and feel truly confident, a person must be authentic. Confidence is communicated through actions and body language — gestures, eye contact, and tone of voice. Clear speech and good articulation further strengthen executive presence and how others perceive you. In just a few seconds, your physical presence communicates a great deal about you, including energy level and overall status. All these components send signals about who you are and determine how people treat you.
In the next editions of this series, I’ll share practical techniques you can use to build executive presence and show you how to remove the obstacles that often get in the way.
Warmly
Olga Smith
www.batcsglobal.com
253. Small Steps Matter
Big success does not happen overnight. It’s the result of consistent small steps practised over time. How does it work? I will explain in my examples below.
5 Second Rule
When you hear the alarm and continue staying in bed, telling yourself that another 10 minutes will not matter, you program and train your body and brain to procrastinate. But, if instead of staying in bed, you count ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE and get up, you train yourself to win the battle with yourself.
Cold Shower
Taking a cold shower lasts only 30 seconds, yet it feels incredibly difficult. But it's so difficult because we start thinking about how unpleasant and scary it will be.
Stop negotiating with yourself - just do it. When I started cold water swimming, the hardest part wasn’t the water itself, but overcoming the fear of it. Once I stopped thinking and simply acted, everything changed. Now it's my addiction. I love it so much because after swimming in cold water, I feel high energy.
Unpleasant Phone Call
We often delay making that one phone call we dread—maybe because we’re afraid of upsetting someone. We hope the problem will disappear if we avoid it long enough. But it never does.
In fact, the longer we wait, the worse it usually gets. Make the call as soon as possible, and you’ll feel lighter and relieved for the rest of the day.
5-minute speech exercises daily
Great speaking skills aren’t built in a single training session. They come from small, consistent daily practice.
Just 5 minutes a day of reading out loud and doing articulation exercises will make a remarkable difference over time. Start it today with the app Elocution Lessons!
Small actions create big change.
Do the little things daily, and the big results will follow.
Start now - your future self is waiting.
Warmly
Olga Smith
www.batcsglobal.com
244. How Long Does It Take to Get Rid of an Accent?
This is one of the most common questions we hear from people starting our elocution lessons.
The answer depends on two main factors:
1. Your ear for language – how well you can hear and imitate sounds.
2. Your commitment – whether you can dedicate 15–45 minutes a day to focused practice.
People with a naturally good ear often make faster progress. However, the second factor is far more important. Accent reduction is not just about listening — it’s about retraining your speech organs (your tongue, lips, and jaw) to produce the correct English sounds consistently.
Like any physical skill, it takes regular, mindful practice. The more you train, the faster your muscles and mind adapt — and the sooner you’ll sound clear, confident, and natural.
You can start your practice today with our apps:
Get Rid of your Accent (British English, RP)
American Accent App (American English)
Warmly
Olga Smith