Fluent English Pro Fluency Is Not Speed: Master Pace, Tone, and Intonation
Sep 23, 2025
Maria Rincon, a public speaking coach and former UN communications consultant, emphasizes that fluency is about pace, tone, and intonation, not just speed. She shares how her multicultural upbringing informs her approach and discusses overcoming mockery to fuel her ambition. Maria highlights the importance of connecting with one’s inner child for confidence and outlines practical techniques to manage anxiety, like reinterpreting nerves as excitement. She also provides tips on finding the 'sweet spot' in pacing and using tone to convey emotional impact.
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Multicultural Language Journey
- Maria Rincón grew up between Colombia, China, and Canada and relearned languages multiple times as a child.
- She used those experiences to adapt and later focus her career on communication and public speaking coaching.
Mocking Sparked Her Drive
- Maria recalls being mocked for her accent and eating Chinese lunches alone in school, which left lasting emotional impact.
- Those memories motivated her to become an overachiever and shaped her approach to coaching others.
Inner Child Shapes Speaking Confidence
- Maria connects public-speaking fear to the 'inner child' and explains it shapes adult confidence and risk of perfectionism.
- She uses positive psychology to create a playful learning space that reduces pressure on high-achievers.