The affects of your accent on your biz

[HotHolly]

OK, I think my logo company is speaking with a fake British accent. When I 1st spoke to her, her accent was so thick I could barely understand her. Add to the irony that they are a NY based company, and I should have been able to understand them fine, yo. Yeah, oops.

So they called a couple of times yesterday and I had to hang up abruptly b/c I was with a client and couldnt chat. As the phone moved away from my ear I heard her say something and her accent faded.

It made me wonder about that. Brilliant business move? Fakin' up the accent? Or what?

I try to subdue my accent when talking around here...without much luck I might add. lol.

Anyway, it just was interesting that someone thought it would bring them more business. What do you think?

[Tom]

I think some accents will definitely take away business. I'm not sure a British or other European accent will add business.

[Jake]

Originally Posted by Thomas Campbell

... I'm not sure a British or other European accent will add business.

Not in these parts, that for sure.

Where's the smily with cowboy hat?

[Gordon]

around here a Scottish accent just got me women. Was great until I got married, now it is something of a liability

[kenw]

The marketing folks are all over this. Look around at various ads you see all the time: Jaguar makes it a point to over-enunciate “jag-u-ah”. It gives a high-brow feeling. But be careful, there are certain British accents that to many are definitely low-brow: Cockney for example. Us yanks can't tell the diff and are impressed by any of 'em....

A soft southern accent conveys warmth and sincerity (to some). A thick drawl conveys doofiness……Dukes of Hazzard or Earl style. Down here we tend to see a heavy New York/New Jersey accent as a bit lower caste. First thing I ask for when I call B&H is for them to s l o w d o w n …..

There are some accents that are like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. No, I won't say which one...

In Hollywood, a good southern accent is always over done and universally means dimwitted…..of course, they also think valley-speak is a sign of intelligence…..like, you know…I worked for 6 months or so with a young professional lady who had a very strong val-speak voice. Extremely irritating, and lots of folks commented on it behind her back, and not favorably. She sounded like a 12 year old. totally....

A friend actually from Australia once pointed out to me that the Outback commercials were some of the worst fake Australian accents ever. Too over the top to be real.

[Daniel Bates]

I have bits of Canadian and bits of Texan in my patois. Few people notice and I don't think anyone cares . . .

[AndrewCCM]

I often wonder why they don't have Japanese people advertising Japanese cars?

[HotHolly]

Interesting. It either struck me as a brilliant marketing move OR that she is totally psychotic, only crazy people pretend they are something they arent when they have already grown up. Not sure if I should be impressed or creeped out.

[kenw]

Originally Posted by AndrewCCM

I often wonder why they don't have Japanese people advertising Japanese cars?

...i wouldn't touch that with a 10 foot pole.....

[hotshot38]

Research has shown that Americans tend to 'trust' Australian accents...which is why you see accented pitchmen.

Personally I have a barely distinquishable East Coast Canadian accent. That is, until I say 'Out and about in my houseboat'. (That would be a lot funnier if this were an audible forum :) Until I say the 'out' sound most people have a hard time pinning down where I'm from. And I never say 'eh'....well not as much as Texans say y'all

[photonewb]

why do you think all those companies that are farming out their call centers to India are telling them to use names like Mark, Susan, Michelle, Max etc... ;)

photonewb added 2 Minutes and 28 Seconds later...Double Post Merged Below

Originally Posted by hotshot38

Research has shown that Americans tend to 'trust' Australian accents...which is why you see accented pitchmen.

Personally I have a barely distinquishable East Coast Canadian accent. That is, until I say 'Out and about in my houseboat'. (That would be a lot funnier if this were an audible forum :) Until I say the 'out' sound most people have a hard time pinning down where I'm from. And I never say 'eh'....well not as much as Texans say y'all

out and aboot? ;)

I say "eh" all the time, but that's from a few years in Newfoundland as a kid, plus my time in Hawai'i where "eh" and "bra" are regular words, and then working with a bunch of Canadians when I got out of the Navy. "Eh" is a part of my normal vocabulary now :D

[toverman]

I've sometimes lamented the fact that I don't have an accent, but then other people tell me I do have one. So confused!

[HotHolly]

Originally Posted by toverman

I've sometimes lamented the fact that I don't have an accent, but then other people tell me I do have one. So confused!

I bet if you went to NY, you could be a really good salesman with that slight texan trustworthy twang. Unfortunately, I just sound like Rosie O'Donnell. Damn it Rosie! Had to go being all insane and stuff! Ruinin it for the rest of us who grew up on the Island! Giving me a bad wrap.

I think I should switch to Aussie. I'll try that at the next workshop. You all let me know how I did. lol.

[toverman]

I've earned my twang by spending most of my life (and all my adult life) living in Texas. But I'm an East Coast native, born and raised until age 10 in Virginia ... a part of Virginia where there's not much of an accent.

My mom and her parents grew up on an island off the coast of Virginia, which was a mix of backwoods redneck Elizabethan English with its own set of words and phrases. Crazy stuff! Somehow my mom escaped having that accent.

[Bruce M. Morris]

Originally Posted by toverman

My mom and her parents grew up on an island off the coast of Virginia, which was a mix of backwoods redneck Elizabethan English with its own set of words and phrases. Crazy stuff! Somehow my mom escaped having that accent.

Would that be up near Gwynne Island by any chance?