Consulting Across Accent

 I remember one session where I said the word “Zed” while spelling something out. The client looked at me like I had just made up a new letter of the alphabet. I do not remember the exact conversation, but best believe me it went like this:

Me: “So, Zed—E—R—O.”
Client: “Wait... what’s Zed ?”
Me: (laughing) “Zed. Like the letter Z?”
Client: “OH! Zee!”

Both of us cracked up. That moment was awkward for two seconds, then turned into a great icebreaker.

This happens quite a lot. As someone whose first language isn’t English, I’ve just come to accept that not everyone will understand me the same way. As an international student, I used to worry that my accent would make me seem less confident or worse, less competent. In my first few weeks at Coe, I often stayed quiet. Not because I had nothing to say, but because I wasn’t sure people would hear me the way I am meant to be heard.

That fear followed me into the Writing Center. I’d ask myself, What if I stumble over a word? What if someone asks “What did you say?” more than once? Would I lose authority in the session? Would they doubt my knowledge because of how I sound?

Such fear stemmed from my very own experiences of going to offices to get my documents sorted. While spelling out my last name, they never got the "H". I pronounce it “haitch,” but here they say “aitch” and they’ve definitely paused like, what are you saying? Eventually I gave up and just became irritated with the process, I used to just spell out words on a piece of paper for the sake of it. 

It never came to me that I should change my accent, what are they going to do about it? I became passive aggressive with my own accent. But here comes a positive side to this story: consulting across accents has made me a better listener and a better communicator.

When I say accent, I do not only mean the way it affect my ZED or HAITCH. I also meant the way people speak, with fast pace or slow pace, or even pausing mid sentence to find the right word. I remember one session with a student who had a fast-paced, confident way of speaking. I had to focus carefully just to keep up! That’s when it clicked for me that every one has accent. 

In one of my first observation sessions, the consultant (Kyra!) told me how she approaches clients with different accents: with patience, attention, and curiosity, not fake empathy. That really stayed with me. It reminded me that good communication isn’t about fixing someone’s words it’s about understanding their ideas.

Now, when I work with writers who speak differently than I do, I try to focus on the message behind the words. I listen for meaning, not just pronunciation. I also remind myself to speak clearly but not slowly and check in with clients to make sure they feel heard, too. Working across accents has taught me to appreciate the many ways people express themselves. English isn’t neutral it carries the weight of culture, personality, and sometimes power. But in the Writing Center, we make space for all voices. I’ve learned that fluency isn’t about perfection it’s about being understood and feeling confident in your message.