COACH’ S CORNER
BY MARK PEREIRA
ILLUSTRATION PROVIDED BY ADOBE STOCK
BEYOND THE ACCENT HOW TO BUILD INTERACTION CLARITY
In today ' s global economy, call and contact centers handle inquiries from a diverse range of customers. This diversity reflects the richness of a global workforce, but it can also create challenges when clarity gets lost in translation.
Accent training is an important way to enable clear communication between agents and customers. But it is often misunderstood as " erasing " someone ' s accent. In reality, it ' s about building confidence, choosing the right words, and ensuring that both agents and customers feel heard and understood.
AND CONFIDENCE.
HANDLING MY ACCENT
I remember my first full-time job in the U. S. working in a call center. At first, it was intimidating: a new country, a new job, and an unfamiliar environment.
Still, I was determined to make it work because I knew every call mattered. I was helping people with their health insurance needs, which gave me a sense of purpose.
But one thing stood out right away: my accent. Having lived in both Bahrain and India, many influences shaped my accent, and it quickly became clear that it affected how callers understood me.
As a result, I often had to repeat myself. While I didn ' t mind repeating— I wanted to help— it started to affect my average handle time( AHT). My reports showed I wasn ' t meeting goals.
In an effort to compensate, I began speaking faster. That only made things worse. Speaking quickly and trailing off at the end of sentences— combined with my accent— made it even harder for callers to follow me.
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