{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques","title":"284. Hear Me Out: How Understanding Accents—Ours & Others—Improves Communication","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":1305,"description":"Understanding the accent you didn’t know you had.\nWhether communicating in our mother tongue or practicing a new language, we all speak with an accent. But that’s not all, says Valerie Fridland — we hear with an accent as well.\nFridland is a professor of sociolinguistics at the University of Nevada, Reno, and author of Why We Talk Funny: The Real Story Behind Our Accents. According to her, we don’t just sound a certain way, we hear a certain way too, affecting how we understand others. “We’re hearing with an accent — a bias shaped by our own language and experience,” she says. But instead of expecting others’ communication to fit our preconceptions, Fridland says to meet people halfway. “If we want to make communication successful, it’s not just their job as a speaker, it’s my job as a listener.”\nIn this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Fridland and host Matt Abrahams discuss how empathetic listening opens the door to understanding. Whether you’re communicating in a context of mutual intelligibility or attempting to bridge cultural and linguistic divides, Fridland’s insights show how connection is a collaboration — shaped by accents on both sides of the conversation.\nTo listen to the extended Deep Thinks version of this episode, please visit FasterSmarter.io/premium.\nEpisode Reference Links:\nValerie Fridland\nValerie’s Book: Why We Talk Funny\nEp.91 Um, Like, So: How Filler Words Can Create More Connected, Effective Communication \nConnect:\nPremium Signup >>>> Think Fast Talk Smart Premium\nEmail Questions & Feedback >>> hello@fastersmarter.io\nEpisode Transcripts >>> Think Fast Talk Smart Website\nNewsletter Signup + English Language Learning >>> FasterSmarter.io\nThink Fast Talk Smart >>> LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube\nMatt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn\n\nChapters:","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/q5mdbH19uvLyzjcjXlHsPP-L-mMRkTxgiwJ9rXbXuEU/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9kMTFm/MzE2MzEwOTVhNTYy/YjVjYzBlYWJmZWJm/ZjM5ZS5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}