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April digest

4/17/2019

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Hey Y'all! April contained a Spring Break for me but I was not maxin' and relaxin'. I was finishing up the first round of copy for my book, home projects, and hosting a family visit. 

I don't put too much pressure on myself to do things that cost time and/or energy without an immediate benefit.  This means I gave myself a break from social media posting as I have to make myself post regularly, and the domino effect of minimal social media posting is a light newsletter. Enjoy!
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Y’all I had two book projects goaled (yes I remixed a word for my own use) for this spring.
1) Martin Trivia book and 2) accent speech coaching book. BUT then I started on some home projects and my spirit has been moved more toward the nostalgic cocoon of the 90s.
That means that I have been focused on finishing the Project #1 while doing life. Also, I haven’t been making myself post anything regularly.  You probably haven’t even noticed.

Anyway, the first quarter of 2019 is almost up (dang, for real) and I’m sort of on track. What is the progress on your yearly goals?

STR Sound Profile

Here are some facts about the "STR" sound. It is: 1) blended into one sound in American English, 2) in words like "stroll, straight, and stream", 3) not a thing in several other languages, 4) said like an "skr" in a few English dialects. 
You may have heard things like “across the skreet or skraight outta Compton”. ⁣

⁣Accents are influenced by where you are from and your social group. ⁣

⁣Radio personality from South Carolina has acknowledged his struggle with saying “STR” sound. ⁣
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⁣#kendratsays Neither way is right or wrong, it’s just a difference.
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You can choose how you see things in your world. Bright vs dark,  thrifty vs cheap, time efficient vs time waste. ⁣
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⁣Now look at these nails.  I call this set “Rorschach Rage” because everybody who looks at them sees something different. Lime green, khaki green, pistachio, Irish lucky? It looks like my nail artist friend even did a gold rorschach test on them. When I look at my left nail,  I see a rhino talking to a one-legged Marge Simpson. 😆⁣ What is your perspective on today?

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MARCH DIGEST

4/1/2019

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This month I shared a shortish story of my Speech pathology beginnings.  Picture it, a daycare center in Detroit MI, a 12 yo boy with special needs,  articulation and language disorders, and behaviors that had gotten him ejected from other daycares. I decided to take on the challenge of providing as much care, support, and education as I could being only a high school senior.
I taught him speech sounds so he could say names and objects more clearly, talked to him about using his words instead of acting out, showed attention and praise for positive behaviors, and checked him on his negative behaviors because he wasn’t getting kicked out of my daycare (I had worked my way up to a high level position in my time there).
I was doing speech pathology-type work before I went to college and learned that it was a real job!
We formed a solid bond so that he responded well to my influence and would report other staff to me saying “I’m gonna tell Dender.” Remember I told you how I helped him say names more clearly? Well Dender was not quite Kendra but def better than how he started saying my name.
He was my young homie (friend) and I often wonder how he turned out.
{{The point is....My passion for helping people speak more clearly and with confidence started decades ago.}}


Disorder: a condition that is not normal, unhealthy, and/or disruptive.
Difference: a state of being dissimilar, as in unique.
People have speech differences in their sound production, such as a lisp or accent.
​BUT as you are different from one, you are similar to another. It all depends on how you feel about that difference. My book will have suggestions for that.
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Accents are influenced by where you are from and your social group. ⁣
Did ya know, the midwestern region accent is the most neutral sounding accent of all of the American accents? That means that people may not hear Midwestern accent and immediately think “you sound like you are from....”, or make judgements about you based on where you are from. ⁣
​Some people really hate that they have a distinctive speaking accent. Accent speech coaching can help with that.
⁣

STR sound Profile.
The STR blend is: said as one sound in American English, not a thing in other languages, and said like "skr" in a few American English dialects. 

Examples of STR words: stroll, straight, stream. 
You may have heard things like “across the skreet or skraight outta Compton”. ⁣

​Accents are influenced by where you are from and your social group. ⁣
A ⁣Radio personality from South Carolina has acknowledged his struggle with saying “STR” sound as this a characteristic of the South Carolinian dialect. ⁣
⁣#kendratsays Neither way is right or wrong, it’s just a difference. ⁣

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{People can learn to put on an accent using distinct speech sound patterns.}
There are so many actors who put on an American accent for work. Look for examples in my stories. ⁣
⁣Can you put on an accent? I mean, can you put on a good accent? My British accent sounds like an Irish Jamaican gal? 😂⁣ ⁣

Fact: Dental appliances like invaslign, dentures, braces, and retainers can change your speech sound production. Really! Your L, S, Z, and TH sounds may be a little distorted because they change the setup of your lips, teeth, tongue, and jaw. ⁣
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Who makes the rules for language? We, the people, make the rules....as we go. ⁣
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Language is always evolving. First people start using a word on social media, next is Urban Dictionary, then Merriam-Webster’s, and finally Issa Word. Think “ain’t, bling, selfie, and conversate. ⁣
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February digest

2/13/2019

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I was doing some research into blogging, social media marketing, branding and such and learned the term "microblogging". Microblogging is posting detailed  Facebook/Instagram posts that serve as blog entries. I thought "that's so me, that's what I am doing...microblogging."  It really works perfectly with my digest format. So here are a few of my social media posts from February. These posts are more quotes and texts content. Check my "Connect" page for a feed of  Instagram photo posts.  
​Happy Black History Month!
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I've asked people to repeat themselves because I didn't understand, but they repeated it the same way every👏🏽 single👏🏽 time👏🏽!⁣⁣ ⁣
​I get tired of saying “say what now?”, “huh” and/or responding with a safe answer or 🤷🏽‍♀️. It can be a little embarrassing for the both of us. Ya feel me? What do YOU do in this sitch?⁣ ⁣ ⁣
Speak up, stop mumbling, use as many universally understood words as possible.⁣
Your dialect, that is your word choices and sentence structure, is a sign of your regional area, social/racial group, and most importantly your self-awareness; but NOT your intelligence.  Note: no rule is universal for anyone, for example not all black people speak Black dialect and not all speakers of Standard American English are white.
Sometimes I speak Black American English dialect from the Midwest region, and  sometimes I speak and write in Standard American English from the Midwest. Ex “She got my pop?”
It’s like I always say “Neither way is wrong or right, it’s just a difference.”  What’s in your dialect?

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“Use your white voice” from the movie Sorry to bother you. One character tells the other to use his white voice for telemarketing success.
This means modifying his speech to sound white instead of black, and is an example of code-switching between two different accents based on the situation.
Oooh and culturally, people make judgements about voice all👏🏽the👏🏽time.  I have worked in telemarketing before and noticed a slightly different response when I “whitened up” my voice a bit.
Tell me your experience with judgements of your voice.

"Neither way is wrong or right, it's just a difference." ~Kendra T

Our accents cause us to say sounds in words differently. The beauty of an accent is that it gives us a pass to speak our language with our own twist.

​You accent is a problem if people can’t understand you or it knocks down your self-confidence, then I can help with you with that.
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"Black people have had to learn duality...to talk on the block and the boardroom."~Amanda Seales

This is code-switching from one dialect to another dialect of a language.
​More examples of code-switching:⁣
1)Cursing around your friends and switching up to “yes ma’ms” with your mama. ⁣

⁣2)Saying “nah I’m good” to your boo, and switching up to “no thankyou” to your pastor. ⁣
💎⁣
Every community has its own dialect or code and they are all okay. ⁣




​Eye contact + body language=
Nonverbal Communication.
Be positive with it!
What do my nonverbals say to you? 


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January digest

1/31/2019

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Happy New Year!
I am not heavy into blogging, mainly because I can not maintain a consistent posting routine with content. I am a consistent Instagram-er. I thought, how I can keep work/life/side-hustle balance in my life while still delivering content in a variety of forms? 
I decided to make a digest of monthly instagram posts. 
​For the folks who prefer reading blogs over Instagram/Facebook, here are my posts about communication tips, mental health, and me!
We all do “weird” things, or at least weird to somebody else. Lots of things I do are called weird by someone else, like pairing this bumpy sleeve grandma sweater with combat boots 🤷🏽‍♀️. #kendratsays Be you especially when you are weird. Nahmean weirdo? What is weird about you?


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.....For my clients, students, and my whole  life. I pair self-awareness skill-building with any and every communication goal written.  
My personal goal for a few years has been to increase self-awareness of my emotions, vulnerability, sarcasm, and interpersonal messages. 
#kendratsays Self-awareness means knowing who and where you are so you can make changes and/or progress.




​Ya girl has learned this lesson hard.
I have multi-tasked at projects, big and small.
I have crushed it, and once dropped every single ball. 👂🏼I could have been more efficient just focusing my energy on 1-2 projects at a time. With that said, I’m working on two projects now.
How are you multi-tasking? 
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Our voice carries our feelings and it changes in quality at times when we are speaking passionately.
A Shaky, Squeaky, or "Wavy" Voice during a high-stakes conversation is reasonable. 
Here are strategies to manage your "wavy" voice:
-Plan your conversation with a script or outline  of your points.
-Practice your script so you feel confident.
-Prepare to get a response you may/ may  not want.
Whatever the response, at least you got yourself together to have the challenging conversation. 

​Ok here is the rest of rapper Cardi B's quote: “I have a strong accent and I’m gonna talk how I talk forever....I don’t want no speech classes. But, I don’t want to hear it in my music. So I do things over and over”.
  
I can understand wanting to remain true to yourself, accent included. But just think, maybe if Cardi B DID take some speech classes, she could produce her raps the way she wants to hear them on the first 1-2 tries. Speech classes could help her feel more confident in her "rapping accent", while building awareness in the difference between it and her speaking accent.  "Bardi" could get the job done, and go play with baby Kulture faster.  *Yes these are real names for you all who don't know.*

Speech classes can be beneficial for adults to build awareness and self-confidence in their speech production, and overall communication skills.  


I’m working on something to do just that...help folks with their accents. Share with an adult who actually does want “speech” classes?
​PS. I like Cardi B a lot. 
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Social Communication skill building

1/17/2019

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Some people don’t naturally and intuitively understand how to use and understand language in social situations, perhaps because of an autism spectrum disorder, social anxiety, or lack of exposure. Really, don’t we have have some level of awkwardness in one situation or another?
Parents, you can help build social communication skills in your child with the tips in this 3 part series by making them age-appropriate for your child. 


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Explain the meanings in figures of speech because people with social communication difficulty may take things very literally. Explain the things that people say that don’t mean what it seems i.e. “Kill two birds with one stone” or “fly by night”.
​Haven’t we all 🤔 at these sayings at some point?





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You can explain or learn how empathy works: the hows and whys of other people’s social communication.  For example, it is polite to say “hello how are you” before asking for something, or why someone may have a worried feeling.  Social stories are great for allllllll of that.
Bonus recommendation! Work with professionals who specialize in social communication and all things sensory: Speech language pathologist, early interventionist/play therapy, occupational therapist, physical therapist, and various programs in your area.

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WORD PLAY BOOK REVIEW

12/29/2018

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#kendratsays 
​I created and published my first book-Word Play Crossword Puzzle Book: A Different World Edition in August 2018! I distributed it with online sales and vending events. I learned a lot in the design and production process and know what I would do again and do differently. I made a few mistakes with typos, printing, and pricing (shrug). Mistakes are lessons.  I have been doing email surveys and Instagram polls to get information from customers and supporters.  

This book was the first in a series of three books because I like the power of 3, and think I can "say" what I need to say in three books. All three books will trivia and word games based on 90s tv/movies because I believe in the self-care and positive brain benefits of of word games. I LOVE the 90s and trivia and also believe that the other 90s babies out there will appreciate the connection.  Sales of WPCWPB:ADW are suspended so I can focus on writing the next book as I've learned that I don't multi-task well. 
Thanks for following along and supporting! Stay tuned for updates on my word play publishing journey. Kendra T
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Trap Poetry

11/4/2018

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THIS EVENT WAS DIFFERENT AND FUN. IT IS A MONTHLY PLATFORM FOR POETS AND MUSIC ARTISTS, AS WELL AS VENDORS. 
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A VIBE CALLED FRESH, CHARLOTTE NC

9/29/2018

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THIS WAS MY FIRST OFFICIAL VENDING OPPORTUNITY AND IT WAS A GREAT EVENT, VERY SUCCESSFUL FOR ME!
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