If your first language is Russian, or a dialect of Russian, you may be using the Slavonic “sound” system when you speak English.  You may not have learned much about this if you studied English as a foreign language.  Some of these differences won’t have great impact; some may give you a charming accent, but others can interfere with your ability to communicate. 

You may get feedback that listeners can’t understand you, that you talk too fast, or that you sound harsh, or depressed.  Perhaps you've gotten feedback at work that your presentation style confuses your audience or lacks direction.   These, and other problems, result from applying what you know and use successfully in Russian, to English, where it doesn't work as well.  You are applying a set of Russian “sound rules” to English, which has its own sound rules that you should be applying. 

Some common interference points between Russian and English:

• Vowel system differences (long and short vowel differentiation, and dipthongs)
  
• Consonant system differences
• Intonation and pitch range differences
  
• Pitch, rhythm and stress pattern difference
  

The above points are specific to sound production inside the mouth, however another potential source of interference may be that your presentation design, pace or organization doesn’t match that of your audience.  Furthermore, in English, intonation and sentence stress carry layers of meaning or speaker attitudes that are not conveyed in the words themselves. 

In our work together, we will diagnose your current pronunciation habits, define your goals, determine your skills and knowledge in target areas, and create a curriculum that guides your accent reduction coursework and leads you to a better sound in English.