Sound Hot: 7 More Ways for the Asian-American Male to Sound Virile - Pitch and Volume

In our last two messages about the sound of one's voice making an impression for better or worse, we talked about how the voice of an Asian-American Man (AAM) can work for or against him.  Three aspects of voice are accent, pitch and volume.  

 

The first step in overcoming these issues is to get an assessment.  We discussed several ways to get such an assessment, including the East West Attraction free 10-minute Voice Virility Assessment© in September of 2010.  Click here to make your no-cost phone appointment.  (Simply select an open appointment and you will be given instructions from there.  Go here to see our privacy policy).  The East West Attraction assessment focuses on accent, pitch and volume from the point of view of male-to-female romantic interactions. 

 

Step two is/was to get help with your issues.  Our last post mentioned a couple of those.  Here are some more ways to get help with voice issues.

Work With Others Who Have the Same Goal (Self-Help)

The awesome thing about this option is that you have the possibility of meeting some single women while improving your communication skills.  Investigate these and then pick one avenue and focus on it.

        Toastmasters

Toastmasters has been helping Americans and others across the globe improve their communication skills for years.  This volunteer organization charges dues that average only $30 to $50 per year, according to Suzanne Frey of the national headquarters.  You cannot beat that!  Members help each other by giving speeches to the other members.  There are many groups in each city, often meeting near your home or office.  The size of each group varies.  They can have from 10 to 30 members, or more.  Each time you give a speech, the others give you limited feedback focusing on specific communication goals.  You help others and they help you.  The more involved you become in giving speeches, the faster you will grow.

Asian Guy depicted in Toastmasters screenshot

Toastmasters has a proven system.  Each member develops specific personal goals.  Be open with the other members and let them know you value feedback.  This program will help the most with volume and pitch, as well as with your personal demeanor and presentation.  Your confidence with others will soar.  Once you are comfortable speaking to a group, then approaching just one woman becomes low pressure.  Single women go to Toastmasters also!  Few careers would not benefit from improved communications skills.

A note about Toastmasters:  Each group is different.  Visit at least 3 groups before selecting one to get a feel for the mood of the group.  It is important that you feel comfortable with the group.  One tip:  Once you start Toastmasters, start doing speeches right away.  The longer you wait, the harder it will become to work up your courage.  Dive in head first.

        Other Community Groups

In addition to Toastmasters, other groups focusing on communications and leadership skills can be found on meetup.com.  This site says it has 307 public speaking groups worldwide.  Some of these could be Toastmasters groups and others having a leadership bent. 

        Professional Speech/Communications Coach

Examples of such coaches in the San Francisco Bay area are Angelika Blendstrup, Ph.D (Silicon Valley), Susan Berkley and Susan Roane.  If any of the readers know communications coaches in other areas, feel free to comment on this post and help with recommendations.

        Mutual Improvement Buddy

Another way is to find a new friend and work with him or her.  Post an ad on craigslist in the Activities section under “Community” for your town.  Describe who you are and what you want to focus on.  If you do not find someone right away, keep putting up your ad.  Someone will respond.  You must stay on target though.  Get agreement that the person will give you feedback on whatever problem that you are working on.  Be a good partner and make sure that an equal amount of time is spent on you and on the other person.  This works well for accent reduction and language skills.

Maybe you could even suggest practicing at the beach, after you get to know her well guys.

Scene from "Mao's Last Dancer" movie

        Acting Coach and/or Acting Class

Acting coaches teach people how to walk and talk to project a certain image, whether it is that of a confident person, a sad person or a happy person.  They can teach you how to act differently.  Your volume and pitch can be assessed by an acting coach.  Do some research and talk to several people.  Tell them you want to present a better impression in social situations, not necessarily get a role in a movie.  Classes have the added benefit of providing a social outlet.  Who knows?  Maybe you'll ask the pixie senorita to practice lines with you.  Ask for her help.

        Aspirational Models

Do you have a video camera?  Do you have a television or DVD player?  Watch and learn.  Learn from good actors, not just the pretty boys.  Tape yourself and then review the tape.

The Cat Studio, Penang

       Hire East West Attraction as Your Matchmaker and Get Trained

East West Attraction will provide image coaching for clients as an added service in addition to date coaching.  Although we would not be able to help in English pronunciation, we can help with pitch and volume, among many other things, including body language.  Email us for a quote.

Step Three:  Get Out There and Practice Talking to Women and Asking them Out!:

While you are learning to improve your voice, keep going out and trying to meet women.  Don't stop doing this!  Practice makes perfect.  Use it as an excuse to meet women.  "I'd love it if you would help me improve my accent, or my English.  I could teach you some Japanese/Korean/Chinese things if you'd like".  Or, "I'm having trouble with my "r's" and my "l's", could you help me out?  I'd be happy to treat you to lunch or a latte when you have some free time."  Meet in a public place.

To wrap up, there can be three areas to work on to project a strong, masculine voice:  accent, pitch and volume.  Each of these needs to be strong.  These are areas, where, with a little work, you can sound masculine and confident to the American woman.  As you improve, keep evaluating how you are doing.

What do you think?  Do you have any suggestions to offer based on personal experience of improving in these voice areas?  Please post here and let us know.

~ o ~

As a benefit to our single readers, East West Attraction's matchmaker, Alicia Ballard, is performing a no-cost 10 minute voice assessment in September 2010.  The reader can make his no-cost phone appointment and get the code through this website.  There is no need to email us or call by phone.  The East West Attraction assessment will focus on accent, pitch and volume from the point of view of male-to-female romantic interactions.

Schedule the no-cost Voice Virility Assessment©

If the readers have more questions about this topic, please comment below or send an email.

Sound Hot: 4 Ways for the Asian-American Man to Sound Virile - Accent Reduction

In our last message about the sound of one's voice making an impression for better or worse, we talked about three different ways that the voice of an Asian-American Man (AAM) can work for or against him.  Three aspects of voice are accent, pitch and volume.  To make a good first impression on a woman, business contact or new neighbor, one wants to present himself as strongly and confidently as possible in each of these three areas.

Step One: Get an Assessment

Is your voice an issue?  The first step is to get an assessment.  The difficulty lies in making an objective evaluation of our own voice.  We literally cannot hear ourselves clearly.  As a benefit to our single readers, East West Attraction is doing a free 10-minute Voice Virility Assessment© in September of 2010.  Click here to make your no-cost phone appointment and get the code.  The East West Attraction assessment will focus on accent, pitch and volume from the point of view of male-to-female romantic interactions.

Readers who do not wish to take advantage of this opportunity (or for those outside the U.S. and Canada) can start by asking a trusted friend.  Make sure you ask open-ended questions while your friend gives you an assessment.  Ask what you are good at and what needs improvement.  Give them permission to be honest.  But still, sometimes friends have a hard time being objective and they also do not want to hurt your feelings.  They may be less than honest.

If neither of the options interests you, and you feel you may have a problem, you can ask for feedback as you proceed through the next steps.

Step Two:  Get Help with Your Issues

1.    Get Accent Reduction Training Online, With Books & Tapes, or In Person

If you are able to read this blog, then your language skills are probably alright.  You might need to tweak some accent imperfections.  Before we do that, let's ask whether it is even political correct to talk about accent. 

The goal here is to assist the AAM in meeting, attracting, courting, falling in love with and marrying an American woman, whether she is a white female (Caucasian), Latina (Hispanic) or black (African-American).  To do so, the Asian-American Man (AAM) needs to be attractive to her.  Do you want your differences or your similarities to be the first thing she notices about you?  Best answer:  Similarities.

If the first thing a woman notices is that you sound different and unfamiliar, i.e. "foreign", then the differences are the first impression.  Since the average reader of this blog is not a “Bruce Lee" or "Ken Watanabe" type, accent is relevant.  The AAM does not want the adorable brunette in the dairy aisle of the supermarket to wonder whether a lifetime with him will be spent trying to understand what he is saying.

Language professionals teach accent reduction both online and in person.  One example of online accent reduction is Accent Master Lynn.  Her website and YouTube videos describe and show her work.  She has a number of followers.  For Silicon Valley readers, check out Angelika Blendstrup, PhD.

Many language schools offer accent reduction classes.  Google or look through this directory to find one that specifically focuses on accent reduction in your area.  Accent is one of those things that professionals are really the most able to help with, unlike some of the other voice issues.  They understand linguistics and have the proper tools to use with English learners -- better than someone in the general population would have.

Amazon sells a number of books on the topic.  These are listed here as a courtesy for the readers.  These are a low-cost option but are also not very fun.  Who wants to sit at home after working a hard day and read about accents?  Mastering the American Accent with Audio CDs, American Accent Training: Grammar with Audio CDs, and Lose Your Accent in 28 Days (CD-ROM for Windows, Audio CD, and Workbook).

So that is four ways you can work on accent:  online, with a coach, at a language school, and on your own with books and CDs.  In the next post, we will discuss in more detail how to address issues of pitch and volume as well as personal speaking presentation.

To wrap up, there can be three areas to work on to project a strong, masculine voice:  accent, pitch and volume.  Each of these characteristics needs to be strong.  With some time and effort, you can sound masculine and confident to the ear of an American woman.  As you improve, keep evaluating how you are doing.  And, keep getting out there looking and chatting up the ladies as you practice your new skills.

As a benefit to our single readers, East West Attraction's matchmaker, Alicia Ballard, is performing a no-cost 10 minute voice assessment in September 2010.  The reader can make his no-cost phone appointment and get the code through this website.  There is no need to email us or call by phone.  The East West Attraction assessment will focus on accent, pitch and volume from the point of view of male-to-female romantic interactions.

Schedule the no-cost Voice Virility Assessment©

If the readers have more questions about this topic, please comment below or send an email.