Hey, I'm Dillon!

Long story short, I'm a foreigner just like you. Came to the US with a strong foreign accent.

Hated it because people made fun of me, took me less seriously and because I was here to pursue acting.

If you have a German accent you really only get cast in certain kinds of roles (Nazis and weirdos). Not what I wanted to do obviously! Haha.

Thanks to everything I learned at acting school I was able to apply what the pros do to prepare for movies/TV shows to successfully change my own accent in 18 months.

Other fun facts:

Jiu Jitsu Purple Belt

Dungeons and Dragons Nerd

I like writing novels (fantasy)

Born in Munich - I'm half German, half Czech

Photography by Austin Boogaert

Why did I change my accent?

I used to be in the exact situation you are in now.

I had always been quick-witted, articulate and confident in my native language (German). But when I moved to the US, my accent was an enormous obstacle.

I wasn't just not taken seriously.

People made fun of my accent to my face.

Not being confident in my ability to speak severely limited my options.

Speaking is something we do every day - especially in high stakes situations like meetings, pitches, presentations, interviews, etc.

Thankfully, at the time, I was training to be a professional actor at the William Esper Studio in NYC (notable alumni: Sam Rockwell, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Timothy Olyphant, and more).

There, I was able to change my accent using the same methods actors use to prepare for big movies and to completely transform the way they speak.

Now I help successful immigrants with strong accents speak with the same confidence & authenticity as in our native language - using the same methods actors use to prepare for big roles.

Without sounding fake.

FREE Guide

(Google Doc, Video Walkthrough & Audio Files)

1 Simple Concept For Sounding Naturally American

That You Can Implement Today

About my Method

The most common thing I encounter when I work with clients that have worked with other coaches before is this:

They have lots of theoretical knowledge.

But: they're not actually able to apply it well while speaking.

Theoretical knowledge is important but does not equate to actual skill.

I call my way of approaching accent reduction the UDS Method.

This stands for: Understand - Drill - Simulate

Pretty simple. All three steps are equally important.

Think of a three legged stool. You remove one leg, it falls over.

Understand = that's the easiest and fastest part. You can easily go and look up any American sound on YouTube right now to understand how it works very quickly. The difficult part is being able to implement this knowledge into the way you speak.

Drill = an incredibly important step where most people fall short. They think just understanding and then immediately trying to jump into speaking is how they will get to their goal. Based on many, many, many classes with clients I can confidently tell you this simply doesn't work. For most people, in an actual conversation, there's too much going on at the same time for you to adequately catch the sounds. You need to build habits first. This is the goal of the drill step.

Simulate = This is where I use my acting training to help you get to your goal. This is basically "roleplaying" in more advanced scenarios (scripted and improvised) to make sure that we truly pressure test the habits you have built in the previous step (drill). This is by far the hardest step and requires us to have done really solid work in the first two steps. As a result, you will fail a lot in this step. This is good. Because it exposes your weak points and shows you what you need to drill more.

FAQs

How long does changing your accent take?

Making noticeable changes (that YOU notice) doesn't take particularly long.

Building strong habits that hold up under pressure will take longer (just like mastering any other skill).

Sounding 100% American takes much longer.

It took me 18 months until I felt confident I could blend in and not be "spotted" by most Americans. I'd say I'm about 97% American sounding personally.

That was 18 months of consistent action taking, discipline, pushing through when I wanted to give up and having high-level guidance from my coaches at acting school.

What will we talk about on the application call?

Long story short:

- I'll ask you some questions about your accent to make sure we're the right fit for each other

- I'll take a listen to your accent (to make sure I'm the best fit to help you)

- we'll map out how to tackle YOUR accent problems

If you have any questions, write them down so you don't forget about them on the call.

1:1 vs Group Coaching

Often, people believe 1:1 coaching is the most "premium" path to achieving the result they want.

The reality is that 1:1 is the best path to getting proximity to your coach. Proximity alone doesn't achieve the result.

Let me draw a parallel. I train Jiu Jitsu.

If I had to bet all of my life savings on who would win between

- someone who only ever does 1:1 sessions

- someone who only ever does group sessions

I'd bet my life savings on the person doing group sessions every time.

That person has to constantly apply and evolve their skillset in an uncontrolled environment.

So pressure testing is one of the big reasons why well structured group programs will always beat 1:1 coaching.

Not to mention

- social pressure -> more action taking -> better results (studies have proven this)

- you learn a lot from seeing/hearing other people make mistakes

So if you want:

- proximity and decent results --> 1:1 coaching

- faster and better results --> group coaching

What if I don't have enough time?

Everybody I work with is incredibly busy (business owners, hedge fund managers, doctors, lawyers, agency owners, software engineers, ...)

But they also all know that their potential is limited because of their accent.

You need to make a choice of how important it is to you to unlock this potential.

Obviously, I think it's more than worth it. Changing my accent significantly improved all areas of my life in the US and in doing business with Americans.

So if this is a priority for you, I'm confident you'll be able to make time for this.

Because I'm not going to sugar coat it. If you actually want results, work needs to be put in.

Just like going to the gym once per week isn't enough to achieve your dream physique...

Practicing your accent once per week isn't enough either.

So just like with anything else that you want to get really good at (think about your own expertise and how you got to where you are now), you just need to make it a priority and then you need to commit.

The rest takes care of itself.

What about AI?

AI is obviously all the rage now. And it legitimately makes all our lives a lot easier.

Is this also the case for our accents?

Yes and no.

If you go to Claude/ChatGPT/Gemini and ask for feedback on your pronunciation, they just make something up. It's not accurate at all.

Then there are apps like BoldVoice and ElsaSpeak. They can somewhat pick up on the sounds you're doing incorrectly, they can score you but I have lots of clients that tell me they used to use those apps and stopped because:

- the feedback was cookie cutter

- they never stayed consistent

- progress was too slow

I think AI apps are a good way to "get your feet wet" but if you're serious about making progress, jumping into a coaching program is the far better option.

That is if your priorities are:

- building real pressure tested skills

- developing those skills faster

If you're fine with learning slowly and "saving" money (but paying in time and mediocre results), then you can stick to the AI apps.

Just like with a lot of things, trying to do the entire workflow with AI will probably end badly. Use it to enhance your workflow and make it more efficient.

People in my program get access to a transcription tool I built that calls Claude API. This will help you with preparing for speeches and content scripts.

How expensive is this?

High level coaching programs that actually make a difference typically cost between $3,000 to $6,000. It depends on the level of support and guidance you want/need.

We have payment plans available.

Why wouldn't I go with some random $50/hr coach?

The question probably answers itself and since you're an expert, I think you probably know the answer already.

Short answer:

- unlike 95% coaches out there I've actually successfully changed my own accent

- I'm a foreigner just like you so I know the journey first hand

- my acting training

Together these things create my "MOAT".

(Moat = competitive advantage that can't be copied by competitors)

I don't know about you but if I had to pick a personal trainer that

- exclusively knows THEORY

vs

- one that is actually in really good shape and ALSO very knowledgable

I'll pick the one in really good shape any day.

But if you want to waste your time (and ultimately your money) on cheap coaching, go ahead!

I've had a client come back to me THREE years later. Said he tried other coaches, and ultimately just kept using what I'd taught him and said he regretted ever leaving. 🤷‍♂️

Is it really true that Americans treat people with accents with less respect.

100% Yes.

I've lived in the United States for more than ten years now. I've worked in retail, customer service and telemarketing. People with strong foreign accents are routinely taken less seriously and treated worse than their American counterparts.

Just the other day, I went to get a haircut. The very friendly lady cutting my hair got a phone call, listened intently for about 3 seconds, then held the phone away from her ear, shook her head and...

She hung up saying "I just can't deal with the accent."

Not to mention I've personally been made fun of for my accent when I first came to the United States. To my face! haha.

I don't think this makes Americans "bad" or "evil". To be honest, the same thing would happen back home in my native country to people that have strong accents in German. And my clients routinely confirm the same thing for the countries they live in.

Language is ultimately pattern recognition. If the pattern you are using is unfamiliar or "strange" then it will be difficult for the other person to understand. And, in general, when somebody has a difficult time expressing themselves, the very quick unconscious assumption people make about that person is that they are less smart/capable (even if that may not be the case).

This is not just the case for accents. Native speakers encounter the same thing if they stutter for example.

And this is also why my life in the United States and interacting with Americans became so much easier after changing my accent. Now all my conversations are just about the topic/ideas I want to discuss. Not about having to repeat myself or constantly having to talk about where I'm from.

I thought changing my accent was impossible. How did YOU do it?

Very good question.

The truth is that the vast majority of people speak English for a long time or they even live in North-America for decades with barely any change in their accents.

I used to think it was impossible as well until I started my acting training in 2014.

Long story short, what got me to this point today (sounding American and 95% of Americans I meet thinking I'm from the US) are two things:

- the right frameworks (the acting approach)

- my why

Frameworks: using the same techniques actors use. I boil this down to a 4 step system (assess, understand, drill, simulate). You can read more about this lower on the page!

My why: Whenever you feel like you suck and that you'll never achieve your goal, your why will keep you on track.

In my case, I'm an actor. With a strong German accent... you only really get cast in.. "certain" roles (Nazis or really weird people). Definitely NOT what I wanted to be portraying!

So any time I felt like giving up, I thought about that. And ultimately, in my mind, it felt like I had no choice but to keep going.

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