In the full version of my original posting I started by saying it was the accent that was the problem. My Mrs is from Lichfield, Staffs so I don't have any issues with a Staffs accent. Its the way Kate drags out the length of her words - it sounds laboured - as though she's giving her brain a chance to catch up with her mouth. That may be an unfair perception, but to get on in business its beneficial to sound confident and Kate seldom does. And I'm not anti-Kate - she did a great job this week as I've said elsewhere on this forum. Vocal coaching would to be honest be beneficial to many business people - why do think so many politicians and celebs use it - it increases credibility - fact....compare original Thatcher to the Saatci'd version.

And please do not throw words like bigotry around - look at my post again - there's nothing bigotted about it - merely an observation based on initial perceptions from a small amount of airtime. You do not know me or my background or ethnicity .
Last edited by tass1320 : 24-04-2009 at 07:07

This over-pronunciation of words is a recent trend set by BBC daytime telly presenters. I said earlier she reminds me of Melinda Messenger. To take this one step further she reminds me of Melinda messenger presenting To Buy or Not to Buy.

Up til now I've found Kate's accent faintly irritating, but agree its down to interpretation by the listener, and it shouldn't affect people. Unfortunately whether people react outwardly or not, I'm sure that accents are used to place certain judgements on people.

I sound like a posh south-westerner (that's cos I am, though I'm not really posh), working in a Geordie office, and my manager has told me I have a good telephone manner, even though I don't always think calls go well. I think she thinks that mainly because my accent means I speak more slowly and clearly than most Geordies, even though the Geordies I'm speaking to wouldn't have trouble understanding a Geordie speaking.

That Lloyd Grossman is catching.

To me, Kate sounds perfectly normal. Plenty of people speak exactly like that.


Plenty of people think slower than they can speak (especially when it’s an important or complicated issue). To compensate for this, most people use filler words (like “er” and “um”), while some people simply speak slower, or drag out their words more.

Whatever Kate’s brain and mouth are up to, it all sounds perfectly natural to me and I have met many, many people who speak exactly like that.


I think that would depend entirely on context. Every job is different, every situation is different, and everyone you speak to is different.

Different types of people
I run a business and the way I talk to my own clients varies radically depending on the client. Some people clearly like to “lead” the direction of the conversation, while some prefer to be led. Some are very loud, fast and animated, while some are very gentle and slow. Many people would take offence if you cut them off mid-sentence, while other people expect to be interrupted and keep talking until you do so. Some people speak in very emotional terms, while others are purely technical. Some people are looking for a leisurely chit-chat, while some are busy and looking to get the conversation over with as quickly as possible. Some people are very judgemental, requiring you to “prove yourself” to them by being smart, confident and quick-witted, while other people are quite insecure and nervous, requiring a much more humble approach to get them to feel comfortable talking to you.

I wouldn’t dream of speaking to all these different people in the same manner! (To me, communicating with people verbally is like dancing, and everyone has their own dance.)

If I encountered Kate in a business context I think I would find her a joy to talk to. From everything I remember of her dealing with the public, she seems very friendly and personable.


Sorry, that comment wasn’t directed at you. Although I don’t see “bigotry” as a particularly offensive word — bigotry is seen as acceptable in our society. For example, it seems quite popular to hate the French, or Americans, or to hate “chavs”. A lot of people resent me just because of my own personal religious beliefs. A lot of people hate people who are ugly, or look down on those who are less intelligent than themselves. I don’t think think I’ve come across many people who aren’t bigoted in some way.

But anyway, my comment was not about you; it was about those people (possibly one or two here on this thread) who judge others based purely on their accent. It does happen in business, and it’s wrong. It’s not just unfair, it’s ignorant because there’s no connection between accent and intelligence.

Communication skills vs accent
Of course, good communication skills are an indication of intelligence. Any person who is articulate and clear, with a good grasp of grammar, and avoids clichés will have a lot more credibility in business. (Apprentice candidates certainly aren’t the cream of the crop when it comes to communication skills. Mona, for example, can go several sentences without actually saying anything at all!)

But while communication skills can suggest intelligence, accent cannot. A neutral accent may aid communication with the wider world, but if a person’s job doesn’t involve communicating with the wider public then their accent is pretty much irrelevant. And if their job involves only communicating with the local public then a strong regional accent may be a very good thing indeed. (Not only allowing for better understanding, but also giving a sense of familiarity, trust and community spirit.)

If I wanted a good call centre assistant, I wouldn’t employ someone with a strong foreign accent (that would be insanity). But if I wanted a good financial advisor, I would happily employ a scouser, a brummie, or a glaswegian. (Whoever was the best.)

Tass, to clarify, all my comments here aren’t necessarily aimed at you. I’m just voicing some opinions that I feel strongly about (a chance to get them off my chest). People can’t help where they were born, or what their accent is, so I feel quite defensive when people come under attack simply because of the way they speak (as opposed to what they say).

Of course, there are many things about the way people speak that I am very much against (like going up at the end of a statement as though it’s a question, and rampant misuse of the word “like”). But I think it’s fair to criticise these ways of speaking because people freely choose to adopt them. And when you decide to adopt a strange way of talking you also have the responsibility of passing it on to future generations, at which point it becomes a permanent part of the language. So I say criticism of silly linguistic fads must be encouraged! (Whenever I hear one, I’m only literally like: Oh. My. God?)

Dizzy - I find nothing in there to disagree with, and you've made your points with a deal of eloquence.

Of course I have a slightly different view of the lovely Kate's speech pattern, but I'm sure we can agree to differ on that.

Your last para - we stand united!

Go to Australia, most people do speak like that. Its quite confusing til you get used to it. I get fed up with my daughters saying things like "Oh. My. God", but I tell myself that they will grow out of it eventually, in the next ten to fifteen years hopefully!

She sounds like a Brummie nothing wrong with that

So you only go and turn around and literally explode and you're like, "Oh. My. God!", do you know what I mean?

She speaks to me like someone who has considered very carefully what she'll utter before it's voiced. Also, no word is superfluous...which makes a change from verbal diarrhea.

As for her accent, she can't much help that.

Excellent! Thanks a lot, tass.

Just to be clear… do we both fancy Kate?


So here’s the thing, yeah? It’s like: at the end of the day, to be honest with you, I agree, sort of thing, know what I’m saying, yeah? I was literally shitting myself all the way through my job interview, but it went quite well in the end.

Its what intelligent people with an education will sound like. If you mix with new people and deal with new words and concepts you won't end up sounding exactly like the people you went to primary school with. Thats why local accents die.

Actually you tend to end up sounding like a regionalised version of your parents, unless you try very hard to cultivate the local accent.

For example, I grew up in the south, but both parents were from the north. I have what I call a "no accent", though some people call it posh, and I do tend to both roll my vowels (south west influence), and speak more quickly than they do in the south west (north east). I live in the north east now anyway.

My children go to school surrounded by Geordies, but because both their parents are from further south, they have even more posh accents than I do.

My cousins started life in the north east of england, then emigrated when they were about 10 and 8. One of them decided to pick up the NZ accent to fit in at school. The other was confident not to. The result is that one still has an English accent, while the other sounds broad NZ.

So, the answer to me is, you pick up your accent from your parents, though it will be influenced by primary school. However, you can deliberately change your accent to fit in.

It sounds like Kate makes a deliberate effort to speak in a particular way, either to reduce her natural accent, or to ensure she's understood.

Even though I lived at home (and thus with my parents) 'til I was 24, I sound nothing like them since they were both born and raised in a different continent to me. I'm not unique either.

Well I did say "tend to...". I don't sound exactly like my parents either. The point I was trying to make was that I didn't pick up my accent from primary school, otherwise I'd have sounded much more Devonshire. Your accent stems from a variety of influences, including how you want to come across.