The InFluency Podcast

Download my Analysis of Taylor Swift’s Speech: https://hadarshemesh.com/taylor-swift-speech-analyses-pdf/ Listen to this episode to learn new phrasal verbs, understand connected speech, and ask the question with me – What makes a good speech a good speech? Because it’s not just the words, it’s how we say the words, as well. The words we choose to emphasize, the melody we use to tie it all together. And listening to and watching speeches can teach us a lot about reductions, stress, connected speech, and intonation. For this episode I’ve chosen some parts of Taylor Swift’s commencement speech at NYU and analyzed the way she used her speech to convey a powerful message. I also prepared for you a free PDF with my speech notes so you can practice this speech later at home. Here’s the PDF with analysis again: https://hadarshemesh.com/taylor-swift-speech-analyses-pdf/ More Speech Analyses for your to practice: America Ferrera’s Ted Talk analysis Reese Witherspoon’s speech analysis Kamala Harris’s Speech Analysis Simon Sinek’s Speech Analysis Bill Murray’s Movie Speech Breakdown Shonda Rhimes’s Ted Talk Analysis Lizzo’s Song lyrics Analysis

English words can be really confusing sometimes. In these how-to-pronounce episodes published on Fridays, I’ll help you with the pronunciation of confusing words and common names. This week we’re going to talk about the words ‘interpretation’ and ‘interpret’. Here’s a loose transcription of the word as explained in the episode: Interpretation: in-t’r-pruh-tei-sh’n [IPA: ɪntəɹpɹəˈteɪʃən] Interpret: in-t’r-pr’t [IPA: ɪnˈtɜːɹpɹət] You can watch the video version here: https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/interpretation/ If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://hadarshemesh.com/audio-accent-course/ You can also download an interactive list of 50 of the most mispronounced words in English and master the pronunciation of those tricky words: https://hadarshemesh.com/50-most-mispronounced-words/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://hadarshemesh.com/influency-community/

Have you ever thought about the expectations you have of yourself when speaking English? And while there’s a common belief that high expectations lead to great results – is that really true? In this podcast episode, I discuss how your expectations may affect your speaking experience, and may do more harm than good. More episodes on this topic: Why do I feel like a fraud every time I speak English? https://hadarshemesh.com/podcast/11/ 10 Things You Should Stop Doing if you Want to Speak English Fluently https://hadarshemesh.com/podcast/05/ Download our 30 Most Powerful English Speaking Affirmations https://hadarshemesh.com/freebie-30-affirmations/ 50 Powerful Fluency Tips (in under 5 minutes) +PDF https://hadarshemesh.com/podcast/105/ Watch the video version:

English words can be really confusing sometimes. In these how-to-pronounce episodes published on Fridays, I’ll help you with the pronunciation of confusing words and common names. This week we’re going to talk about the word ‘quarter’. Here’s a loose transcription of the word as explained in the episode: Quarter: kor-d’r [IPA: ˈkɔːɹɾəɹ] or kwor-d’r [IPA: ˈkwɔːɹɾəɹ] You can watch the video version here: https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/quarter/ If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://hadarshemesh.com/audio-accent-course/ You can also download an interactive list of 50 of the most mispronounced words in English and master the pronunciation of those tricky words: https://theaccentsway.com/mispro-signup/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://hadarshemesh.com/influency-community/

Sometimes it’s HARD to understand the lyrics of songs when you’re listening to it for the first time. There’s so much information coming your way – the melody, rhythm, stress, and of course words. Yet, I think it’s such a great tool to use when practicing English. It strengthens not only our vocabulary but also our listening skills and pronunciation – especially when it comes to rhythm and connected speech. In this episode I’ll use a huge hit by Lizzo, About Damn Time, and really break it down and explore the beat, the stress and reductions, and everything that makes this song so awesome. Lizzo About Damn Time | Official video https://youtu.be/IXXxciRUMzE Full About Damn Time lyrics: https://hadarshemesh.com/lizzo Lizzo Youtube https://www.youtube.com/c/Lizzo/videos

English words can be really confusing sometimes. In these how-to-pronounce episodes published on Fridays, I’ll help you with the pronunciation of confusing words and common names. This week we’re going to talk about the words ‘analysis’, ‘analyses’, and ‘analyze’. Here’s a loose transcription of the words as explained in the episode: analysis: uh-NA-luh-sis [IPA: əˈnæləsɪs] or uh-NA-luh-s’s [IPA: əˈnæləsəs] analyses: uh-NA-luh-seez [IPA: əˈnæləsi:z] analyze: A-nuh-laiz [IPA: ˈænəlaɪz] You can watch the video version here: https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/analysis/ If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://hadarshemesh.com/audio-accent-course/ You can also download an interactive list of 50 of the most mispronounced words in English and master the pronunciation of those tricky words: https://theaccentsway.com/mispro-signup/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://hadarshemesh.com/influency-community/

As a speaker of English as a 2nd language, you simply CANNOT approach important speaking opportunities the same way you approach them when they’re in your first language. You just can’t. You don’t want to survive in English. You want to thrive. In this episode I share 5 tips on how to prepare for any speaking opportunity in English so it’ll set you up for success (and not failure). Get the 5 steps to succeed toolkit and step up your performance in English: https://hadarshemesh.com/prepare-meeting-freebie/ Watch the video version here: https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/succeed-in-english/

English words can be really confusing sometimes. In these how-to-pronounce episodes published on Fridays, I’ll help you with the pronunciation of confusing words and common names. This week we’re going to talk about words with the NG sound. That’s right, it’s not a sequence of an N and a G sound. It’s just one sound. Here’s a loose transcription of the words as explained in the episode: sing: sing [IPA: sɪŋ] long: long [IPA: ˈlɔːŋ] or laang [IPA: lɑːŋ] ping: ping [IPA: pɪŋ] rang: rang [IPA: ɹæŋ] wrong: rong [IPA: ɹɔːŋ] or raang [IPA: ɹɑːŋ] longing: long-ing [IPA: ˈlɔːŋɪŋ] or laang-ing [IPA: lɑːŋɪŋ] singing: sing-ing [IPA: ˈsɪŋɪŋ] writing: raid-ing [IPA: ɹaɪɾɪŋ] You can watch the video version here: https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/ng/ If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://hadarshemesh.com/audio-accent-course/ You can also download an interactive list of 50 of the most mispronounced words in English and master the pronunciation of those tricky words: https://theaccentsway.com/mispro-signup/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://hadarshemesh.com/influency-community/

Do you like learning phrasal verbs in English? But how often do you USE phrasal verbs in English? One of the best ways to internalize phrasal verbs and use them more often when speaking is to practice them in context and attach some emotion to them – just like with any other vocabulary words in English! In this episode I share SIX of my favorite phrasal verbs that relate to when I get angry. I talk about when to use them, what they mean, and how to pronounce them. Here they are: come on – disbelief or frustration at a situation or what someone said or did pissed off – just plain angry about something or at someone cut it out – stop it right now, I’ve had enough freak out – suddenly feel very angry or panicked blow up – suddenly lose your temper get over it – stop making such a big deal about something More episodes on phrasal verbs and vocabulary: PHRASAL VERBS – Do you REALLY need them to sound fluent? https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/phrasal-verbs-do-you-really-need-them-to-sound-fluent/ ? Download Monthly Vocabulary Builder and use it for learning new phrasal verbs here >> https://bit.ly/3xOEWjN

English words can be really confusing sometimes. In these how-to-pronounce episodes published on Fridays, I’ll help you with the pronunciation of confusing words and common names. This week we’re going to talk about the word ‘question’. Here’s a loose transcription of the words as explained in the episode: question: KWES-ch’n [IPA: ˈkwestʃən] You can watch the video version here: https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/question/ If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://hadarshemesh.com/audio-accent-course/ You can also download an interactive list of 50 of the most mispronounced words in English and master the pronunciation of those tricky words: https://theaccentsway.com/mispro-signup/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://hadarshemesh.com/influency-community/