Dialect Coaching Online

 In 2015, I finally added the option of online dialect coaching due to inquiries from enough customers. Through that, you're able to work directly with me for virtual dialect coaching or for recording your lines in an accent.

Virtual Dialect Coaching

There are now a lot of free online options that allow you to make video calls for free, including Zoom, WhatsApp, and Google Meet. The video-calls of the future are happening right now!

I've used Skype, Zoom, Meet, WhatsApp and a few other services to coach individuals on an accent for an audition or a production, including pre-production dialect coaching for films. I've yet to coach an entire production from a distance, but I anticipate that this will come in time...

The downside of video calls is that you can still suffer from delays and from poor internet connections. It's still not as good as working with someone in person, but if you have no other option because of where you live or if the market is so expensive that you can't afford a coach there, virtual calls can be a key element in making the impossible possible.  

The upside is that it still allows me to see what an actor is doing and it allows me to physically demonstrate a concept. Adding a visual element when I'm trying to help an actor to understand the drag in the intonation or the mouth position for a specific sound shift can save five minutes of misunderstandings that might happen over the phone.

These video calling apps are becoming more useful for expanding what is available to you, greatly outweighing the downsides. I've worked with a language coach in Colombia as I've been working on my own Spanish speaking. I've done countless dialect recordings with people overseas by calling them and recording the sound onto my computer. It's an amazing tool that's constantly improving.

Pre-Recording Dialogue in an Accent

Only on rare occasions have I recorded an actor's lines for a production that I'm coaching. Generally, accents are not about telling the actor "this is the way to say it" because there are variations within accents that allow for differences from one person to another. Part of that variation can be due to which words the actor chooses to stress. There are also inherent vocal qualities that an actor may bring to a role that may not match my initial instincts.

Oftentimes, however, a recording of the actual lines can be a useful guide for freeing the actor to make choices as they become comfortable with the accent in context. This is part of why I expanded the Accent Help materials to include tracks that teach an accent through an original monologue written specifically for this purpose.

I've had actors use this for auditions and for film and theatre productions, for entire casts of high school plays, and for people who need help with one or more characters in an audiobook they're working on. I aim to make sure the recordings don't hem them into the idea that there is only one way to say the line; rather it gives them the confidence to bring their character to life within the accent. I typically add some pointers on the accent, and if it's a shorter piece of text, I'll include multiple readings of the lines to give them lots of options.

Digital Dialect Coaching

Some people still curse the changes technology has brought about, but technology is also opening up the world. I read the book Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think. (And I think it's time to read it again...)  It comes from one of the creators of the X Prize, which resulted in the first privately funded space flights. The book shares insight on the opportunities that technologies offer, especially to those who would otherwise not have those same options.

Dialect coaching online opens up a world of possibilities to actors who previously could only work in isolation.  This is especially challenging with first accents, since learning accents is a skill that builds over time. That direct feedback from a dialect coach through a video call can bring certainty to the process, allowing an actor the freedom to focus on the acting as the fear is stripped away.

Accents can actually be a door that opens up aspects of the character, rather than just being a wall between you and the role.