Although we're still a class-conscious society, we are far less so than in the past. Voice coach Joan Adams believes a further reason for the shift in attitude is that children's peers now tend to come from more varied backgrounds and peers are proven to be more influential in affecting accent than parents. But Mary Spillane, chief executive of the Image Works consultancy, believes that accent is not the most important factor in how you speak. Her advice is to loosen up. When people feel uneasy, they tense up and their voice stays on one level.
Tones gets trapped and they sound dull and lifeless.
Audiences, not surprisingly, stop listening. Meanwhile, people who speak quicker than they think should work on depth. Simple, compelling, unhurried tones will eliminate the risk of people leaving your meeting unsure about what you've said. Madelaine Cannon, principal coach at Professional Voice, believes one of the new, but self-defeating, trends in using the voice is lifting it at the end of a sentence. You might think you have the fashionably Aussie tones of Kylie Minogue, but it also seems to suggest that what you're saying has no value.