April, 1999

"Speech therapy company specializes in accent reduction"

In today's highly competitive business world, being understood is the paramount in building productive business relationships. The bottom line: good speech is essential to good communication.

New MMAC member Hayer-Vuyk, LLC, specializes in accent reduction and improving speech patterns for telephone use, business presentation, doctor-patient interactions, employer-customer contacts, etc. Company owners Nancy Hayer and Amy Vuyk have also worked with Wisconsin natives who have wanted to standardize their speech patterns. " An accent can be a betrayal of how well-educated you are," said Vuyk. Both Hayer and Vuyk earned master's degrees in speech pathology from Marquette University.

Hayer and Vuyk emphasize that their goal is not to completely eliminate accents or devalue cultural differences, but to help an individual communicate effectively. " If a professor cannot be accurately understood then giving a lecture, for example that's a real problem," said Hayer.

Currently, Hayer and Vuyk are targeting larger companies that employ a high percentage of foreign-born workers. In the past, they have worked with Russian women who were having trouble finding employment in Milwaukee because of their accents. Their practice is not limited to accent reduction, however. They also worked with an actor who had trouble with a specific sound and a child with speech difficulties.

The speech improvement programs are tailored to meet an individual client's need. For example, the Russian women first received an initial evaluation, were trained on specific sounds and practiced daily outside the sessions. The actor worked with Hayer and Vuyk on a specific script.

Although they are in the initial stage of building up their client base, Hayer and Vuyk agree that the flexibility and the potential for growth have made the decision to go into business for them an exciting venture.

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