All Those Netflix/Hulu UK Series: Implications for WFH or If You Can Close Your Office Door

 A lot of our work time is waiting for phone calls, digital mail and texts. So, those of us fortunate enough to WFH or who can close the office door do Netflix or Hulu. Much of the better fare is based in the UK. That ranges from "The Crown" to "WhiteChapel." 

That has evolved into background noise in our work worlds.

So, I wonder is it at all possible that we professionals will start using British pronunciations and word choice. Yesyesyes, slang especially. Already I am referring to higher education as "uni" (short for "university").

What mitigates against that is the depreciated value of a British accent. At one time, it was a prestige dialect. Back in the 1970s when I was at uni in the US those who had done a summer or a year in England returned talking like a Royal. And they attempted to sustain it, until gunned down by ridicule. 

Now that the economy of the UK isn't so hot, verbally emulating the Brits has lost value. For example, as effective as John Oliver is with satire (McKinsey, Elon Musk) no one I run into has taken on his approach. 

However, on the other hand, the London offices of prominent law firms such as Kirkland and Ellis and Paul, Weiss are getting a lot of attention. That could influence our linguistic habits. Some partners there are reported to be pulling down 20 million American dollars annually. Sounds jolly fine, doesn't it. Meanwhile the UK analogue of Abovethelaw RollOnFriday has become a quite popular read.

In my coaching I warn: How we talk is the front lines of personal branding. Before you open your mouth, decide who you want to be. With Harvard in the crapper, I am talking less like folks from that elite institution and much more like the very real people from the neighborhoods of pre-gentrified Jersey City, New Jersey, where I had grown up. That is resonating with my clients.

In most cases you have only one shot in communications. Jane Genova is a communications coach and content-creator. Complimentary consultation (please text 203-468-8579 or email janegenova374@gmail.com)


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