As an HR manager, almost all of my work is conversation, so I had been thinking about my accent for a long time before I actually did anything about it. I was interested but also a little nervous about starting. Jay was patient from the first session and put me at ease quickly.
Our lessons never really felt like lessons. He worked on my pronunciation, but he also shared his own experiences with language, so the time felt more like a conversation. The exercises he gave me fit into my normal day, which is the only reason I kept up with them. The progress was gradual, and I noticed it before anyone else said anything.
One session that stayed with me was about idiomatic expressions, the kind that come up constantly in HR discussions. Jay explained the context and the cultural nuance behind them, not just what they meant. That has been genuinely useful in my work with international colleagues.
He also encouraged me to keep my heritage rather than train it out of my voice. I think of my accent now as something that connects me to where I am from, not something in the way. I lead meetings with teams around the world and I no longer spend them worrying about how I sound. Jay has been a mentor as much as a coach, and I recommend him without hesitation.
