Beatrice Szczepek Reed is Professor of Linguistics at King’s College London, where she is the Co-Director of the Centre for Language, Discourse and Communication. Beatrice studies spoken language, particularly the phonetics and phonology of natural conversation. For example, she has researched how speakers mirror each other prosodically in natural talk; how speakers of different accents of English use speech rhythm in conversation; and how ‘liaison’ exists not only in French but also in English and German. Beatrice has also researched singing lessons, specifically how classical singing teachers communicate the body knowledge of vocal technique. Beatrice has published over 60 articles and book chapters. Her books include the textbook ‘Analysing Conversation: An Introduction to Prosody’ (Bloomsbury 2011) and the forthcoming textbook ‘The Responsive Voice. Lessons for Actors from Real-Life Conversation’ (Routledge), co-written with the actor voice coach Anne Whitaker.
Upcoming Short Courses
Wednesday 22nd October 2025
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
(London Time)
Prosody in conversation – crucial for effective communication?
Beatrice Szczepek Reed
In this course, we will take an introductory look at what prosody is and consider its functions in natural everyday dialogue. Prosody refers to the rhythm, stress, and intonation of speech. It's the musicality of language that helps convey meaning, emotion, and emphasis in conversation!
Wednesday 21st May 2025
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
(London Time)
Prosody in Accents and Dialects!
Beatrice Szczepek Reed
Anne Whitaker
Professor of Linguistics at King’s College London, Beatrice Szczepek Reed and voice coach Anne Whitaker will showcase how prosody impacts accents in natural English conversation and will discuss how this can help coaches find specific patterns in certain accents. Beatrice will explore prosodic patterns across a range of English native and non-native accents. Anne will discuss how these findings can be useful for a coach or actor learning to acquire an accent as well as lead a few exercises that she has developed from her work with Beatrice.
Wednesday 14th May 2025
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
(London Time)
Prosody: the musical aspects of speech!
Beatrice Szczepek Reed
Beatrice Szczepek Reed is Professor of Linguistics at King’s College London, where she is the Co-Director of the Centre for Language, Discourse and Communication. In this session, Beatrice will give an introduction to Prosody, which is often described as ‘the musical aspects of speech’. Prosody comprises pitch (speech melody and register), time (speech tempo and rhythm), loudness, and voice quality. We will explore the forms and functions of prosody in natural talk. For example, as conversationalists we take over the floor from earlier speakers by picking up their speech rhythm; and we indicate that a conversation is nearing its end by speaking in a higher pitch. We will examine audio and video recordings of everyday talk, and together discover how speakers’ prosodic choices become meaningful in conversation.
Past Short Courses
Tuesday 1st October 2024
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
The Responsive Voice: A dialogic approach to actor voice training
Beatrice Szczepek Reed
Anne Whitaker
This course will apply key insights from research on natural conversation to voice and dialect coaching for actors. Current actor voice training approaches the voice as the product of an individual speaker.
Thursday 19th September 2024
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
Prosody in conversation
Beatrice Szczepek Reed
In this course, Beatrice will take an introductory look at what prosody is and consider its functions in natural conversation.