One most common fear is public speaking. Learn how speech language pathologists approach this anxiety from a variety of angles to combat this fear, so that clients are able to deliver meaningful and connected presentations.
Combat the Fear of Public Speaking Read Post »
Sometimes we find that we say too much by using too many words. Here is a great way to be concise and keep it simple.
How to Keep It Simple and Concise Read Post »
Conflict exists in even the most comfortable and stable interpersonal relationships. Here are some tips and tricks to overcome moments of social and professional conflict.
Why Is Conflict So Difficult, And What Can I Do About It? Read Post »
Toronto Speech Therapist discusses filler words and how that might impact your communication, and how speech therapy might help.
Filler Words in Professional Communication: How Speech Therapists in Toronto Help Read Post »
Whether you lisp or someone in your life has a lisp, it’s important to be aware of the challenges that can be associated.
Ten Challenges Facing People who lisp Read Post »
A sharper, more “sibilant” production of “s” has become associated with the speech of gay men. The lack of distinction between disorder vs. difference has lead many to associate any type of “s” variation in a male speaker with assumptions of that speaker’s sexuality. However, real lisps, as functional speech disorders, have no correlation with sexual orientation.
Lisp: Social Indexing and Identity Read Post »
What similar characteristics do Drew Barrymore, Micheal Phelps, and Barbara Walters have in common? Aside from their respective fame, they all share a functional speech impediment, otherwise known as a lisp.
Adult vs. Child Lisp Read Post »
Submitted by a WELL SAID client. Lisping does not necessarily make a person less understandable. Rather, it can be a distraction that leads the listener to focus less on the content of the message and more on the assumptions the listener makes about the speaker.
Life with a Lisp From the perspective of a client Read Post »
Dating can be daunting, especially when it comes to small talk. But we can help.
5 Small Talk Tips for Dating Read Post »
Whether you already speak French or are learning, awareness of different accents is important for solidifying your own pronunciation and enabling you to understand a variety of speakers.
Accent Differences: Canadian and Metropolitan (European) French Read Post »
More and more jobs are becoming automated. The jobs that are not being replaced by computers require a human connection, making social skills more important than ever.
The Importance of Social Skills at Work Read Post »
Managing an active social life on top of a job and personal responsibilities can be exhausting. This blog provides tips that will allow you to feel more comfortable to prioritize yourself sometimes.
The Social Networker: Tips for Managing Friendships Read Post »
Since communication skills are important for any career-related goals, we’re sharing some strategies for effective professional communication.
5 Tips for More Effective Workplace Communication Read Post »
While there are scams out there, we know the realistic way to make changes to an accent.
The Truth About Accent Modification Read Post »
At our adult specialty clinic, our experienced team of speech-language pathologists offer voice and communication support to individuals who are transgender or on the gender spectrum.
We assist in the process of finding your authentic voice in order to feel the security of gender-self congruence. You may be looking to develop your authentic voice through adjusting your pitch, intonation, articulation, vocabulary, body language, gestures, and/or mannerisms.
We have specialized training and experience working with transgender voice for gender nonconforming or gender non-binary, or individuals on the gender spectrum
Transgender Voice Therapy Read Post »
This blog post highlights the benefit of finding a speech-language pathologist who is a singing voice therapist (sometimes called a voice coach), as they will be able to provide their expertise within the medical model. Read on for helpful information about treating vocal challenges, trauma, and the proper care for your singing voice.
Singing Voice Therapy Read Post »
This blog post addresses: What is an accent? What is the difference between accent modification and accent reduction? What is involved in the assessment? Why Well Said: Toronto Speech Therapy? We also feature linguistic background and philosophies when working with accents.
Can You Change Your Accent? Read Post »
This blog posts addresses frequently asked questions, beginning with “what is voice therapy?” and who can benefit. Many people are motivated to change and improve their voice. Perhaps you’re someone who uses their voice a lot for work (a teacher, lawyer, or yoga instructor, for example). Maybe you’d like to sound more authoritative, more mature. Read on to learn how voice therapy can help you to improve your communication.
What is Voice Therapy? Read Post »
This blog post is helpful for both people who stutter and people who are interested in supporting someone who stutters. Many FAQs are addressed and elaborated upon.
Understanding Stuttering and the Humans Living With It Read Post »
Many people struggle with striking a balance between being authentic and being professional. Communication coach and founder of Well Said: Toronto Speech Therapy, Melissa James shares five tips on how to find this balance.
Personal vs. Professional Voice: 5 Tips for Finding Balance between “the codes” Read Post »
Have you noticed that many of the resources, blogs, and articles on the internet are for lisps and speech therapy with children, not adults? Not anymore.
Why is working on an adult lisp different than a child’s lisp? How is working on an adult lisp and a child’s lisp the same? What is a lisp? What causes a lisp? We’re answering these questions in a unique post on treating frontal and lateral lisps in adulthood.
Lisps: Speech Therapy For Adults Read Post »
As a bilingual country, most (if not all) Canadians encounter French at some point throughout their lives, whether at home, in school, work, or in their travels. When it comes to reading, writing, or understanding the language, English speakers who have studied the language may feel perfectly comfortable—until, of course, it comes time to speak it aloud! Unfortunately, though anglophone students in Canada often spend years in school learning French, many feel hesitant to speak it due to difficulties with their accent.
On this Canadian Long Weekend, I can’t help but think about what makes us Canadian when we communicate. Over 150 years, Canadians have been developing our own manner of collectively communicating which has contributed to our peaceful international reputation. What about how we communicate as Canadian’s makes us seem… nice? And how do we define Communicating as a Canadian? It might be a question on your mind, whether you’re new to Canada or whether you are a native Canadian prone to reflecting on what makes a Canadian communicator (like me).
Communicating your Canadian Citizenship Read Post »
In today’s digital world, so many of our daily interactions happen online and via text. From acronyms and abbreviations to emojis, it can be difficult to understand social communicaition skills when it comes to navigating these relatively new methods of communication. These skills are particularily difficult for adults who have ADHD, ASD or another executive function difficulty.
Reading this post will provide you with simple tips and training about how to refine your social skills in the online realm. 🔜
Using Emojis: A Modern Social Communication Skill Read Post »
Accent Modification is a mystery to many – the public, ESL Educational Community, and speech-language pathologists. Likewise, I frequently find myself explaining what accent modification is, and answering what I call ‘accent modification frequently asked questions’. Whether you are a person who is interested in accent modification for yourself, an employer who is interested in accent “softening” for an employee, or a native English speaker curious about this speech-language pathology specialty service, then please keep reading for research-based answers on accent modification…
Research Round-Up: Accent Modification FAQ Read Post »
“Speech-Language Pathologist” – It is a respected and regulated title, and also a mouthful. It is intended to communicate that we have a registration with an established professional body, which is a great thing. It showcases the words: speech and language, yet fails to mention social skills, communication skills, attention, memory, stuttering, accent cognitive skills, reading and writing.
4 Things People Call Speech-Language Pathologists & the one thing you must not call us Read Post »
Toronto – Is it actually pronounced T’ron-ah? Here is the truth: we don’t pronounce Toronto as T-ron-ah. As a native Torontonian (or Mississaugian – I can’t find any reference to what you call a person from Mississauga), I can assure you that most people from the GTA pronounce Toronto, “Tron-TOE” or “Tron-OH” because we are collectively to rushed to pronounce the first “oh.”
15 of the Most Difficult Words to Pronounce in Toronto – Update 2021 Read Post »
Why We Use Acceptance And Commitment Therapy For Adults Who Stutter: We embrace counseling strategies in most of our treatment programs here at Well Said: Toronto Speech Therapy. Accordingly, the recent research on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy feels like a huge win for us, psychology+speech-language pathology advocates. Here is the scoop on this new therapy for adults who stutter within an infographic.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Adults Who Stutter Read Post »
People often ask me, what the difference is between accent modification and accent reduction? My answer is there is no real difference but there is a linguistic difference. Why do both these terms exist since accent reduction and accent modification both describe the process of learning the standard American accent? One is an old term, and one is a new term.
Accent Modification and Accent Reduction Read Post »
A well-known Toronto tech company approached Well Said: Toronto Speech Therapy for consultation about an employee with aided-hearing. They wanted to know the extent of his hearing loss, the implications of his hearing loss, how they could make their work environment accessible and hearing friendly.
Workplace Consulting Read Post »
Is this person talking more than they are listening? None of us adults like to be lectured and generally, your speech therapy experience shouldn’t feel this way. If your speech-language pathologist is doing most of the talking, then it might be a red-flag.
How to Find The Right Speech-Language Pathologist Read Post »
Clients often ask us for tips and tricks to improve communication and so without further adieu:
A Speech-Language Pathologist’s Top Ten Ways to Improve Communication At Home
Top Ten Ways to Improve Your Communication Read Post »
Henry approached Well Said: Toronto Speech Clinic with motivation to improve his fluency. He had attended speech therapy in the past but found the experience overly childish and he was hoping for a better experience with Well Said. Henry also had a specific target in mind for his fluency: he wanted to speak fluently at his wedding.
Engineer With A Stammer Read Post »
Ivan contacted Well Said: Toronto Speech Therapy to discuss his concerns about his “voice” and accent. Ivan frequently speaks within the media for work and feels that sounding “commanding” is important. He reported feeling that his accent “was a barrier.”
Architect With Russian Accent Read Post »
With out intervention, dysfluency disorders often continue into adulthood and can significantly affect an individual’s self-confidence and self-esteem. Adolescents and teens who stutter while speaking often try to conceal their difficulty by rearranging words in sentences, pretending to forget their thoughts mid-sentence, or by not speaking much at all
Stuttering in Teenagers Read Post »
Maria approached Well Said: Toronto Speech Therapy because she felt that her clients and co-workers had a difficulty understanding her and that this was impeding her upward mobility with the advertising agency where she worked.
Account Director With A Spanish Accent Read Post »
We helped Tamir through education, training and practice of assertiveness, body language, appropriate use of volume, I-statements, professional language, open-ended questions, small talk and conversation skills. Each session, Tamir was given homework assignments to practice over the week. We also worked on reducing communication anxiety through desensitization using social experiments, role-playing and dialogue practice.
Professional Communication For A Young Adult Read Post »
We helped Kevin to prioritize his goals: first, the frontal lisp and second, the rate of speech. Next, we systematically worked through changing his pronunciation of the S and Z sounds. This took 10 weeks from start to finish. During the 10 weeks, Kevin attended weekly appointments with our speech-language pathologist, Melissa James, and completed 10 minutes of practice each day.
An Educator With A Frontal Lisp Read Post »
A speech therapist can often help with learning the sounds of a new language to help improve pronunciation of words and eliminate any accents or influences from the native language.
Pronouncing English: Accent Modification Read Post »
In the case of call centre agents, these techniques can include warm up exercises prior to commencing the job, teaching good posture to prevent strain of the voice, determination of comfortable pitch and loudness volume as well as how to alternate pitch instead of increasing loudness to emphasize a point
Working with your Voice Read Post »
With my actors, we often work on their scripts, preparing them for a role they already have. Or, we work on material for upcoming auditions focusing on vowels, consonants, and intonation. As we know, vowels differences between regions comprise a large part of the accent challenge.
Acting with an Accent Read Post »
Submitted by a client of WELL SAID. Now in my thirties, even as my attention span recovers, bad social habits remain which have to be unlearned. Only recently did I realize that I tended to cut people off mid-sentence in conversation.
Adult ADHD and Relationships Read Post »
