How to Make People Believe That You are British

Imagine that you are taking an acting course. Your instructor gives you an assignment to write a paper on the mannerism differences between Americans and British. Rather than simply looking up the information on the Internet or in the library, you decide to conduct your own research and discover those differences first hand. You are going to pretend to be British. In order to pull off your experiment perfectly and have valid data, you need to convince people that you truly are British. Below are the steps you need to take.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Decide where you will be "from." There are 3 main regions to Great Britain, which are England, Scotland and Wales. Your actions need to match your pretend British origin.

2. Master a British accent because, without it, you won't convince anyone (see Resources). Each region of Great Britain has a different dialect, so be sure that you learn the correct one. Practice a lot before taking your new accent out for a trial run.

3. Learn the correct slang words for select objects and actions. The British have different terms than Americans do. For example, what Americans call an elevator is a "lift" to British individuals.

4. Spell words as the British do. The most obvious difference in American and British spelling is American words that use the letter combination "or" (as in "color") are spelled with "our" by the British ("colour").

5. Know and convey the culture and customs for the region of Great Britain that you claim as your origin (see Resources). You also need to have a clear knowledge of the history for that region. The more information you know, the more convincing you will be.

6. Adopt a British sense of humor by watching the sitcoms on BBC America (see Resources). You will discover that the humor conveyed in British sitcoms in very different from that conveyed in American sitcoms. Understand these differences and find humor in appropriate objects and circumstances.

7. Dress appropriately for the British region you claim as your home country. Search British fashion magazines and websites for ideas on what would be the right style for the role you are playing.

Tips & Warnings

• Test your skills on someone you know that truly is British. If you can convince her, you can convince anyone.

Resources

• Refer to the eHow article on How to Speak with a British Accent.
• Click for the American's guide to speaking British.
• Click for information on British culture and customs.
• Learn about British history here.
• Examine the BBC America shows and schedule.