As presenters it is crucial for us to keep in mind that our objective is to convey knowledge and experience to our audience. It is of course our obligation to make sure that we are in tune with our listeners. This means that our choice of speech and the ideas that we choose to share must be appropriate - that is, within our listeners level of comfort and understanding.

In addition to the ideas and vocabulary that we choose, we must also make sure that the addressees can actually understand what we are saying.

If we speak in a manner that causes our audience to be unable to hear us (such as too quietly), then we have done no better than using concepts that are beyond our listeners' understanding. From their point of view it is not important why they can't understand us. It simply matters that they can't, and it is up to us to rectify the problem.

That leads to the query, "What about regional dialects?" It would be unreasonable for listeners to draw conclusions about the subject matter of someone's speech based on their accent. The knowledge and experience in the speech is absolutely separate from the way that they pronounce words. However, the audience must be able to actually comprehend the presenter in order to receive any benefit from the seminar.

A speaker needs to make sure that the impact of an accent will be minimized so that the audience gets as much out of the presentation as possible.

But how does one reduce aspects of a regional dialect?

Here are a few strategies that may help:

Create a list of words that you know you have difficulty pronouncing. Ask others who do not have an accent if they can point out some for you. Start by focusing on pronouncing the words in this list first

Focus on words that you use most often. There's not much point in learning to pronounce a word perfectly if you never use it.

Listen to the rhythm of the language. Different languages sound different not only because of the words but also because of how they flow. For example, if native presenters of the language that you are learning sound almost lackadaisical to you, then you might sound harsh to them. Try mimicking the flow or rhythm to reduce your accent.

Changing your accent so that your speaking is more comprehensible to those around you may seem overwhelming - However, with a few techniques, such as these, and a consistent approach, a significant difference can be made with less effort than you may expect.