"Speech maketh the man!" - Perigo
Former radio and television announcer Lindsay Perigo's Premium Spoken English course is designed to
restore well-spokenness to our social interaction.
How we look and how we sound are two essential components of how we humans communicate. While millennials in particular are scrupulous as to the first—conscientiously attending gym, pounding pavements and counting calories—they have often neglected the second. Premium Spoken English (PSE) corrects the imbalance, recognising that the ability to speak in a clear and coherent manner is an invaluable asset for personal development, an indispensable tool in the cultivation of leadership and social skills, and an integral part of the pursuit of excellence.
Perigo's course is not "elocution" intended to make people sound "plummy." Students are taught to speak with a well-modulated tone and clear articulation. Graduates derive an edge from the fact that educated-sounding speech conveys more authority, even if only subliminally, than uneducated. Well-spoken people have a head-start when it comes to being persuasive, credible and influential.
Specifically, PSE teaches students to:
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Limber up their tongues, jaws and lips to facilitate easy, clear articulation
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Round their vowels
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Sharpen their consonants
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Add resonance to their voices
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Avoid ugly glottal stops
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Overcome "Kiwi-isms" such as the failure to observe el/al and ear/air distinctions
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Inflect intelligently
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Emphasise selectively
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Ad lib fluently
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Deliver prepared texts authoritatively
For more information, please contact Lindsay at linz@lindsayperigo.com or phone 021 255 8715.
Testimonials
"Prior to beginning Lindsay's course, I considered myself a reasonably well-spoken person. How wrong I was! Lindsay has taught me skills and techniques which have led to vastly improved presentation abilities. I'm often complimented on my pronunciation and delivery. This didn't happen pre-Lindsay!"
-- Jonathan Darby, February, 2018
"Prior to seeing Lindsay, I had completely underestimated how much your speech can affect your interactions with others, and how the lack of a developed voice can be a major hindrance. Luckily for me, my lessons really seem to have paid off, and I am currently up to the last stage of becoming an Army Officer, after passing the interview with flying colours. I also grabbed a competitive part-time job along the way, out of a pool of around 100 candidates. Thanks Lindsay!”
-- George Green (21), October 12, 2014
"Yesterday I went to a local hangout and left disappointed. Not because of the service, the food, drinks or anything of that sort – but because I could not stop myself from cringing at the level of upper inflection and quacking behaviour that was taking place behind the counter! It turns out that along with my speech, Lindsay's training has sharpened my hearing too!
"Lindsay and I spent five speech training sessions together. Although at times challenging I found the training highly valuable, in and out of work. I am now aware of the habits that hinder my communication. Lindsay was particularly grateful that I do not quack – thanks to English not being my first language perhaps.
"In all the years I have been speaking English, distinguishing between 'o' and 'oa' has eluded me. Lindsay gladly took on the challenge, and drew up tailored training for me to help with this small detail. Huge work in progress.
"I found the training valuable, on point and actually fun sometimes!"
-- Martine Udahemuka, NZ Initiative, September 2015
"For the past couple of months I have been taking weekly elocution lessons with Lindsay via Skype. I cannot speak highly enough of the exceptional experience I have had thus far being his pupil, and, so, want to share a few details in case anyone reading this thinks that they or someone they know might benefit from receiving professional instruction on how to be more clearly understood. And by professional, it is no exaggeration to say that when it comes to being an elocutionist Lindsay is without doubt one of the best in the field. After all, both his lifelong career and personal passions span the gamut when it comes to perfecting the voice-related. ... A couple of weeks ago I recommended to a friend who is in sales that he engage Lindsay's services (being in sales means that being clearly understood is crucial to his earning capacity and not just a matter of self-respect as it is with me). That friend has since reported that he too is incredibly impressed with Lindsay's tutoring and finding exceptional value in the lessons."
-- Terry Verhoeven, SOLOPassion.com, September 26, 2014
"As a native German, I was fortunate enough to begin Lindsay's training with a natural advantage: at least I don't quack. However, being German also meant that my vowels were too short, and my language sometimes sounded like a muffled machine gun. Lindsay was the first person to notice that I, after 38 years of speaking fluently, don't open my mouth when doing so. That was quite a revelation in itself. What Lindsay's lessons have taught me was more than just how to speak properly. They actually led to an improved awareness of how I communicate and how my speech sounds to others, especially to native speakers. Lindsay's training has not only improved my speech but my confidence in myself as well. He has achieved similar results with my staff."
-- Dr Oliver Hartwich, CEO, New Zealand Initiative July 18, 2014
"I have no doubt these sessions have been of great value to my personal/professional development. I feel much more confident now than I did before we started speech training. Thank you so much for all the time you’ve put into this; it was truly appreciated."
-- Jenesa Jeram, Research Assistant, New Zealand Initiative, August 25, 2014
"I know I was quite hesitant and sceptical to begin with, but in the end I got a lot of value out of the sessions—that was starkly evident when looking back at the video filmed last year, before we'd had the chance to do your course."
-- Rose Patterson, Research Fellow, New Zealand Initiative, August 25, 2014
"I really enjoyed the course, and I think I really did benefit from it. It's definitely made me so much more aware and improved my voice. Your instruction was always very clear, and because of this I think I was able to grasp the concepts you were trying to explain quite quickly (I understood the point of all the exercises and that was really helpful). I really enjoyed your teaching style, especially how you made it entertaining and funny. Because of this I felt an hour was the perfect amount of time - it went quite quickly for me. I'd recommend this course to others. I really enjoyed being your student! You've been a very cool teacher."
-- Tessa Whale, Papamoa
"Thank you very much for the speech lessons. I really enjoyed them, and I do think I benefited from them (a lot!). Reading out texts (in class, for example) is much easier for me now, as I can scan ahead and phrase better. You made all the exercises clear and I understood what I had to work on. I think the Kiwisms were particularly useful (the bear/beer, well/wow, glottal stopping etc.), and also the resonance exercises. From your Speech Bible, I found the exercises for the tongue, jaw and lips particularly challenging, and so they were probably my least favourite (meaning they probably do me the most good!). I particularly enjoyed preparing a piece of my choice to read to you, though I think your Rice for the Putts is equally (if not more) beneficial. The Impromptu was one of my favourite parts - really fun! If the subject came up in conversation (speech lessons) I would certainly recommend you, as I thought the course was very helpful and well designed."
-- Fi Whale, Papamoa
"The fact that I now start to shudder when I hear people talk like this is an indicator that you have had at least some success with me! I often find myself correcting my friends on certain things I now notice as well (for instance I have one friend who incessantly pronounces 'failure' as 'faiwure'). I believe that this course has been absolutely invaluable to me, and will continue to be so."
-- Sam Purchas, Upper Hutt
"I am the mother of Samuel Purchas, a 13-year-old student from Hutt International Boys School, Upper Hutt, New Zealand, to whom Lindsay Perigo provided five lessons of instruction in accordance with his own, original Kiwis Don't Quack - Shut the Duck Up! programme. Sam’s speech was satisfactory, but he tended to mumble when reading aloud and failed to read with the appropriate measure of expression and feeling. He also was lacking in presentation skills and confidence. Mr Perigo also discerned other more subtle failings in Sam's speech of which I was not aware. ... Sam is now chosen in his class at school for lead parts in Shakespeare readings and has received compliments from the teacher in charge for his ability and singular talent for reading Shakespeare with confidence, understanding and a wonderfully vivid sense of expression, pitch and tone. Sam’s recent experiences in his English class and these hitherto unheard compliments all within the first two weeks of school following the completion of his lessons last year, are due almost entirely to Mr Perigo."
-- Rosemary Purchas, Upper Hutt
Update, September 14, 2014: After completing the Kiwis Don't Quack course in 2012, Sam Purchas went on to receive an Excellence grade for the speech he gave as part of his English NCEA exam. In 2013 he was Dux for Year 12 at Hutt International Boys' School, and is currently (2014) Academic Captain at HIBS.
