Should I change my pronunciation?

I've been in Leicester for three weeks now and have been somewhat surprised at how often the Brits' and my accents git in the way of communication. it's especially true with working-class Brits. I'm wondering if i should adjust my pronunciation or if i should let them get used to it. if they realize I'm an american, perhaps they'll start to listen for american pronunciation and then be thrown off when I use British pronunciation. of course, that leads to the question: which British pronunciation?

The issue arises almost always when I introduce myself, because they hear my "Ron" as Ryan. So I've tried to switch to the British pronunciation, which sounds more like "Rawn" to me. Will it also help, I wonder, if I start to pronounce my t's as t's instead of (like most americans) as d's?

Thoughts, experiences?

There are some words and sounds you'll have to change-just to make yourself understood.  But I wouldn't go to the length of changing everything. 
I know what you mean about 'Ron'.  My youngest's name is Molly and if I slip and say it with my normal accent people think I'm saying Marly.  Same thing with coffee-I had to change the way I said it.  And yes I now pronounce 'kitten' with a 't' sound and I pronounce the 'ing' sound instead of just 'in'.  You'll probably have to change some of the words you use-trousers, pavement, etc.  It just makes life easier.  But try not to go overboard-refuse the urge to say 'to-mah-to' and 'bah-nah-na',  only use words like boot and bonnet and petrol under extreme duress.  And if you switch to gare-agh instead of garage, you will never have the ability to pronounce it correctly again. 
That said, people here still ask me how I've managed to hold on to my US accent all these years-I don't tell them that if I spoke in my normal fast only pronounce half the sounds accent they probably would hardly understand half of what I said.   

Maybe you could introduce yourself as Ronald and say that you prefer to be called Ron?  Hopefully there'd be less room for error there?

I haven't made a conscious effort to change my speaking, though my husband does make fun of the way I say "dirty"...he says I say "dirdy"...and I guess I do!   

Check out the "Spoken Like a True American" thread for a similar discussion!

Check out the "Spoken Like a True American" thread for a similar discussion!

Heehee - I was just going to say the exact same thing! Here's the link: http://www.talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=5704.0

I have changed a lot of my vocabulary and some pronunciation just in the interest of being understood and in the interest of not having to put up with the teasing!  And some turns of phrase have just sort of crept up on me so subtly that I don't even notice until my American friends point them out.... I find it the most difficult to make myself understood on the phone for some reason!

I went to high school with a woman who moved over here about 15 years ago. she was so determined to fit in that she intentionally changed her accent. I met up with her not long ago and found her speech dreadful! It just seemd so fake! She admitted that she found it difficult to keep up, so she quit and settled into this talk that's somewhere now in left field.

I found that with me, over time and learning new words (like 'mobile' instead of 'cell phone') that I tend to pronounce them they way the Brits do (mo-BILE). Other words, words already in my vocab, and still the same words here as there, I tend to pronounce them as I always have. I have a slight mix in my accent now.

As for your name, I can well understand you wanting to make it sound more like "Rawn" because having to spell the name again and again would be very frustrating.

thanks much for all your ideas!

only use words like boot and bonnet and petrol under extreme duress

ROFLMAO!  These are three words I find extremely hard to change.