Success Story of a Spanish Native Speaker
The Banker Who Fixed 11 Sounds in Weeks — And Spent 4 Months on the 12th
My First Contact With Jose
When Jose first reached out, he was direct about what he wanted.
He was a broker in the banking sector, dealing with investments and high-net-worth clients. He had a promotion opportunity on the horizon. And he realized that in a field where authority and credibility can make or break a deal, his Spanish accent was the one variable he could actually control.
“I want to improve my accent,” he told me. Not because clients couldn’t understand him. Not because he was being passed over explicitly. But because he knew—in those client calls, those pitch meetings, those moments where trust gets built or lost—every advantage matters.
We scheduled our first session.
The Assessment: 12 Sounds, Seemingly Manageable
I had Jose read through my standard diagnostic passage, and we identified twelve specific areas to work on:
The TH sounds that Spanish speakers typically struggle with. The vowels—AH, AW, AE, IH, and the one in “book.” His T’s had that crisp Spanish quality. His SH and Y sounds needed adjustment. And like most Spanish speakers, his rhythm, connection between words, and intonation patterns were marking his speech as non-native.
Twelve sounds across what I estimated would be about four months of work. Standard timeline. We’d tackle them systematically, one or two per week, build the muscle memory, and move on.
Jose was motivated. He practiced daily. He sent voice notes between sessions. He applied the corrections immediately in his work calls.
And within two weeks, he’d nailed the TH sounds.
Week three, the AH and AW vowels clicked into place.
Week four, rhythm and intonation started shifting.
By week six, he’d worked through nine of the twelve sounds. His T’s were crisp without being harsh. His SH and Y were clean. His connection between words sounded natural.
Everything was progressing exactly as expected.
Except one sound.
The Sound That Wouldn't Cooperate
AE. The vowel in “bad,” “cat,” “have.”
Spanish doesn’t have this sound. The closest vowel Spanish speakers have is somewhere between the English “eh” and “ah,” but it’s not quite either. And for Jose, that gap between what his mouth wanted to do and what English required became a four-month battle.
Here’s why it mattered so much in his work:
“After we analyze the asset allocation…” “What happens in this scenario…” “Imagine the actual returns…” “The path forward for your portfolio…”
Banking vocabulary is loaded with AE. You can’t pitch investment strategies or explain financial analysis without hitting that sound dozens of times per conversation. And every time Jose said “asset” or “analysis” or “actual,” his Spanish background showed through.
The frustrating part? He could hear the difference now. After our first few sessions, his ear was trained. He knew when he was getting it wrong. But knowing and doing are two different things.
Week after week, we drilled it. Minimal pairs: “bet” versus “bat,” “pen” versus “pan.” Words in isolation: “asset,” “after,” “analysis.” Sentences from his actual work: “After reviewing your assets, I’d recommend this path forward.”
Some days he’d get it. Some days it would slip back. The muscle memory just wouldn’t stick.
The Grind
Here’s what I appreciated about Jose: he didn’t quit.
Month two rolled around. He’d fixed eleven sounds. He was using them successfully in client meetings. His rhythm sounded natural. His intonation conveyed confidence. But AE kept eluding him.
He’d send me voice notes: “I practiced ‘analysis’ fifty times today. Is this right?”
Sometimes yes. Sometimes not quite. I’d send back feedback, and he’d drill it again.
Month three. Still working on AE.
By this point, everything else in his speech had transformed. Clients were responding differently in calls. He felt more confident in presentations. But he knew—and I knew—that AE was still the weak link.
“Why is this one so hard?” he asked me during one session.
“Because Spanish trained your mouth for forty years to do something different,” I told him. “We’re rewriting muscle memory. That takes time.”
Month four. And finally—finally—it clicked.
I don’t know if it was repetition number 1,000 or 10,000. But one day Jose sent me a voice note practicing a pitch about asset allocation, and the AE was there. Clean. Natural. Repeatable.
“I got it,” he wrote. “I actually got it.”
What Actually Made the Difference
When Jose left his review, he wrote: “Nikola does a great job explaining what you need to work on and providing tools to practice. He gives honest and practical feedback, targeting the most critical areas of development for you.”
That “honest and practical feedback” part was crucial during those four months of grinding on AE. I wasn’t going to tell him it was good when it wasn’t. But I also wasn’t going to let him get discouraged when progress was happening, even if it was slower than either of us wanted.
The tools mattered too. The practice library gave him structured drills he could do daily. The voice note system meant he could practice a specific word or phrase, send it to me, and get targeted feedback within 24 hours instead of waiting for our weekly session.
But what really made the difference was Jose’s commitment. He didn’t give up when one sound took months longer than the others. He didn’t rationalize that “eleven out of twelve is good enough.” He kept showing up, kept practicing, kept sending voice notes, kept drilling that stubborn AE sound until his mouth finally learned what to do.
Four months after we started, Jose had transformed his accent. Not erased his Spanish background—that’s still there, and it doesn’t need to disappear. But he’d built the precision and control that lets him sound authoritative in client calls, confident in presentations, credible in pitch meetings.
The promotion? He got it.
And here’s the proof that the transformation was real: his wife saw the change. Not just in how he sounded, but in how he carried himself in professional contexts. She’s a photographer who negotiates with clients regularly, and she came to me asking for the same work.
When your spouse sees the results and says “I want that too,” you know the change wasn’t subtle.
Today, Jose still practices. He still has lifetime access to the practice library. He still sends me voice notes occasionally when he wants to make sure his pronunciation is sharp for a big presentation.
But that AE sound? The one that took four months to crack? It’s automatic now. And every time he says “analyze these assets” or “imagine the actual returns” in a client call, it’s proof that persistence pays off—even when progress isn’t linear.
Individual results vary based on effort and practice. Accent training focuses on communication skills and cannot guarantee career advancement, workplace recognition, or professional outcomes.
My Philosophy
Your voice is part of your identity – but your accent shouldn’t hold you back.
You deserve to be heard, respected, and understood for what you say – not how you sound.
Accent reduction isn’t about sounding “perfect.”
It’s about being authentically you, with clarity.
Ready to get started?
I’ve helped thousands of non-native speakers over the last 10 years, including C-Level Executives, Scrum Masters, Entrepreneurs, Founders, and Actors sound more clear and confident.
I’m excited to help you work on your communication goals.
If you’ve been asked to repeat yourself or if you feel that your accent affects your communication confidence – I’m here to help.
To identify the specific sounds that you need to tweak to have a more neutral accent and pronunciation, book a free accent assessment to get started.
Let’s work together to make sure your voice reflects the confident, capable professional you are.
