Today we’d like to introduce you to Dillon Ford.
Hi Dillon, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
I moved to America, specifically New York City when I turned eighteen years old. I basically took the first chance I got to get to the US because I knew in order to do what I wanted to do, which was acting, I had to be in America. I had the privilege of studying at a great studio there where I also learned the skill that I now use to help people like me reduce their accents. When I came, I didn’t have the typical German accent that people always associate with Germans but I definitely didn’t sound American. I knew it’d be very limiting as an actor so I dedicated myself to practicing as much as I could with what my teachers were giving us. It was a long and hard road but I’m proud to say that I was one of not that many in my class that ended up being able to blend in with Americans in the end. After my studies, I got representation and started going out for American roles.
Then, the pandemic hit. At the time, I was already living in Los Angeles with my wife. I was laid off from my day job which was working in a call center of all things. For me, the whole ordeal ended up being a blessing in disguise because it forced me to find other ways to support myself and I turned to work on accents. I’ve always had a knack for picking up accents, whether it’s a Cockney dialect, Standard British, or becoming fascinated with the accent from Peaky Blinders.
Having gone through the same process, I knew how important it is to work with somebody that understands that working on one’s accent is not just this mechanical and arduous process. Quite a few people I studied with didn’t reach their potential in my opinion because of their mindset toward the work. It’s really important to remember that accent reduction takes time. As non-natives, we’re usually used to speaking a certain way and have done so for a very long time. In order to sound more American, we have to actively work to identify what we’re doing wrong, de-program our old habits and put in consistent and daily practice to build the new habits that will work for an American accent. The only way you can stay consistent, however, is by keeping the process FUN. If you treat it like an annoying chore, the likelihood of you getting to your goal is a lot lower. I knew I had the drive to teach this process and to communicate my philosophy to my future students. With some encouragement from my wife, I eventually started teaching some students and it all snowballed from there.
I don’t regret a thing! If you can start your own business/freelance, I highly recommend it. Yes, it’s a lot of work and there will be lots of ups and downs but it’s so satisfying to set your own hours, dictate your own salary, and provide people with a service that you’re actually passionate about which also helps you pursue your other passions, which for me are writing, acting and Jiu Jitsu. I’m really grateful for how much it’s changed my life.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Definitely not a smooth road! As a freelancer, you don’t always know why one month is suddenly a lot slower than others. Sometimes there are just these weird lulls in how much work you’re bringing in which can come with anxiety. This was especially the case when I started my accent reduction business during the pandemic and I’m sure everybody else was in the same boat with their lives.
The advice I can give is to keep going which sounds very simple but it’s tough. There were months when I didn’t get anywhere near my income goal for that month but I knew I was in the early stages of this and word hadn’t gotten around yet. It can feel slow but once you’ve had at least one or two clients, you know that you will have more. Plus, your first clients will teach you a lot about what’s working and what isn’t. I think one of the main things I also learned was that maintaining firm boundaries was really important to me, more important than just a paycheck. If I got a bad vibe from somebody, I didn’t let them mess with me and what I was willing to put with. In my opinion, I’d rather keep my schedule open for one good client than let the fear get to me and be miserable having to deal with somebody who attempts to steamroll me. Overall, it might take time and you might just have to keep working that day job for a while longer but eventually, you’re going to get busy enough with clients to where you can make your side hustle your main income source.
I just kept perfecting my teaching materials and made sure to over-deliver which resulted in loads and loads of happy reviews which all helped spread the word! I think it also helps to set smaller manageable goals instead of bigger, lofty ones. You can definitely have big goals but they can feel overwhelming. I like to-do lists so when I can, I try to make those as specific as possible to keep myself motivated when I get those done.
As you know, we’re big fans of Dialect Work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I teach accent reduction as my main focus and also do dialect coaching. I help people from all over the world sound more American. Students come to me for a variety of reasons. Most of them work either in the US or with Americans and they can tell that subconscious bias against the way they speak is hindering them from advancing in their field. Others know that their accent is strong enough to where it makes it hard to be understood or to communicate their ideas effectively and confidently. Others are actors with big dreams and they don’t want to be typecast. Some are just passionate about language and love to learn about the intricacies of how Americans sound.
I’d say the thing that sets me apart from others is that unlike most coaches, who are Americans, I actually know what it’s like to go through this process from the ground up. It was my own experience in acting school that sometimes, American teachers aren’t actually aware of some of the quirks of their own language since they grew up speaking it without having to approach it systematically. It also gives me a unique perspective into the psychological stress that can be associated with feeling judged for one’s accent, because I’ve definitely been there too. People don’t necessarily mean to be hurtful but it can be really tiring to constantly be asked “oh, what is that accent? Where are you from?” or to have people guess (without asking them) where you might be from. Those were definitely some of my own motivations.
It’s really important for me that my students know that the process can be fun. It’s definitely not easy and requires dedication, patience, and consistency but that doesn’t mean we have to approach it with a sledgehammer and that we’re going to sit there for four hours a day and we’re going to practice until our brains are fried. Practice is definitely vital but our brain remembers and learns things much better if there’s a sense of play involved. I suppose the reason why this is important to me is that I often have the tendency to do the exact opposite when I’m learning a new skill. I tend to be pretty hard on myself and push myself too much which can sometimes lead to an interesting hobby becoming stressful. I’m competitive so I always strive to do things really well. It’s taken me some time to realize that a consistent but also playful approach actually yields better results. Hard work still needs to take place but it doesn’t have to be so serious all the time.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I’m not sure! This is actually the cool thing about language. Language is always changing and evolving. Nothing is truly set in stone so who knows what the future holds. I definitely know that I’ll keep listening to my fellow Americans to see how their speech patterns are changing and evolving.
Contact Info:
- Website: dialectwork.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dialect_work/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dialectwork
Image Credits
Pasha Kalachev
