Margaret F. Morris

Margaret Morris, M.A., M.S., is a highly experienced Speech-Language Pathologist who has been helping people advance their communication skills for over 30 years. She is certified in accent modification through the Institute of Language and Phonology. She has studied and taught business communication skills for many years. Margaret is devoted to her client’s success! 

My coaching begins by getting a complete understanding of my client’s needs and goals. We do this through conversation, critical listening, and evaluation on my part.  In addition, client’s share past feedback from supervisors or colleagues. We then agree on goals which help my clients speak with clarity, confidence, effectiveness, and influence, so they can accelerate their transition to the next level in their career. 

Our first goals revolve around polishing American English. The skills addressed in these sessions frequently include pronunciation of key consonants and vowels and articulation of key industry terms. Next, clients advance their understanding and use of syllable stress and word stress. Further, we will practice pitch patterns to make messages clear and engaging. As desired, we will integrate higher-level vocabulary and idioms to pull listeners into my clients’ messages. 

The second half of my program focuses on pairing Business Communication Skills with improved American English.  Clients improve the following skills: organization of comments and responses to questions, delivering confident and exciting presentations, and improving small talk. 

Setting goals and consistently practicing are essential for changing communication—just as it for improving our fitness level. Improving our fitness takes repeated effort at increasingly more challenging levels. We will do just the same in our coaching! The optimal number of coaching sessions is 12. 

Coaching Options

Option #1: “Clarify Your Needs” is one 60-minute session. During this session, I will closely listen to your communication and ask you questions about the success and confidence of your communication at work. Then I will give you honest feedback on the clearness of your English regarding accented features of pronunciation, intonation, expression, and grammar. In addition, I will provide you with feedback on the organization of your message. Finally, I will suggest specific steps you can take to speak with more confidence and effectiveness.

Option #2: “Advance your spoken English” is a package of four 60-minute sessions and includes an online practice program (1 year access). We clarify your goals in the first session through conversation and an evaluation,and begin improving articulation of one of the sounds you struggle with? first sound. Sessions 2-4 include advancing articulation of at least three more sounds in words, sentences, and conversation. Also, we will start work on intonation, specifically on syllable stress and pitch changes. Making changes takes practice and you will be expected to practice! The online practice program allows you to hear and notice your improvement and allows me to send you feedback between sessions. At the end of the 4 sessions, you will feel more confident, people will comment that you are easier to understand, and others will react positively to your verbal messages.

Option #3: “Advance Business Communication Skills with Clarity and Organization” is a package of four 60-minute sessions and follows Option #2. We will further increase your English clarity by covering the following topics: intonation patterns within sentences, using intonation to add more expression to your message, linking words together, and syllable stress changes with suffixes. We then integrate your advanced English into your Business Communication Skills. We will discuss how our native culture affects our style of communication and explore ways you may adapt your communication to match U.S. expectations. In addition, you will learn how to improve the organization of your messages. We will practice elevator speeches, commenting, giving presentations, responding to questions, and enjoying small talk. Practice between sessions will continue to be necessary and expected.

At the end of the 8 sessions, your advanced speech intonation will be evident in your improved expression, your enhanced pronunciation skills, and your effective and succinct messages. As a result, you will feel less stress and more enjoyment when speaking at work and elsewhere! 

Clients may enroll in Option 3 multiple times. Most clients will need 12 sessions to reach their goals of advanced spoken English and business communication activities.