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3WaystoSpeakClearlywikiHow

HowtoSpeakClearly
ThreeMethods:

SlowingDown

HoningSpeechMechanics

User
Reviewed
ExercisingDiction

Speakingclearlyandefficientlycanmakeitmucheasiertogetyourideasacross.You'llneedtoslowdownyourspeech,
enunciateyoursyllables,andpracticeyourdiction.Takethetimetopracticespeaking,andcorrectyourselfifyoumessup.

Method

SlowingDown

Takeadeepbreath.Calmyourselfdownbeforeyoustartspeaking,sothatyourlungswon'trunoutofair.Distill
yourthoughtsdonotspillthem.Ifyoudiveintospeechwithouttakingtimetogroundyourself,youmayspeak
morequicklyandsluryourwords.Takethetimetocenteryourself,andproceedmindfullyfromthere.

Articulateyourwords.Pronounceeachsyllableindividually.Syllable.Takeitveryslowly,atfirst,untileach
soundisclearanddistinct.Graduallyspeedupyourspeechanddecreasethespacebetweenwordsuntilyouare

speakingnormally.[1]
Makesureyouactuallystoptheairforconsonantslike't'and'b'.Differentiatebetweenyourvowels.
Don'texpecttospeakwithperfectclarityrightaway.Youmayneedtopracticethisforseveralhourseachday,
andyoumayneedtopracticemoretomasterdifficultwords.
Practicewhenyou'realoneinthecar,orwalkingdownthestreetwhencleaning,orknitting,orstandingin
frontofthemirror.Youcanslowdownyoursyllablesinconversation,butyoumaymakemoreprogressifyou
devotesomeserioustimetohoningyourspeech.

Speakmoreslowly.Itcanbeincrediblyhelpfultogiveyourwordsanextrasecondortwotofullycomeoutof
yourmouth.Pausingalsoworks,becausepausingallowsthepersonyou'respeakingto,todigestallofthewords

you'vejustsaid.[2]

Method

HoningSpeechMechanics
Practiceyourgrammar.Ifyouusepoorgrammar,yourthoughtsandideasmaynotcomeacrossasclearlyas
you'dlike.Speakasthoughyou'recomposinganessayoraletter:withpatience,poise,andprecision.
Avoidspeakinginrunonsentences.Ifyouletyourselframble,yourlistenersmightmissthepoint.Trytobreak
upyourthoughtsintocomprehensiblechunks.[3]

Expandyourvocabulary.Oneaptwordcanbemuchclearerthanaflurryofcircumlocution.Trytofindexactly
thewordyouneedthenuseiteffectively.Becarefulnottousewordsincorrectlyoroutofcontextyoumay
obscuretheclarityofwhatyou'retryingtosay,andyouwillnotbetakenseriously.
Thecaveat:you'llneedtomakesurethatthepeopleyou'respeakingtoalsoknowthesewords.Keepaudience
inmind.Usesimplerwords,whenpossible.
Readingisagreatwaytoexpandvocabulary.Readbooks,articles,essaysreadthingsthatfascinateyou,and
readthingsthatyouwouldn'tnormallyread.Wheneveryoucomeacrossawordthatyoudon'tknow,lookitup.
Trykeepingalistofuseful,powerfulwords.Themoreyouusethemincontext,themorenaturalitwillfeel
andthebetteryourwordselectionmaybecome.

Thinkbeforeyouspeak.Ifyouprepareyourwords,youmayrunlessriskofslippingup.Evenifyoudon'tplan
outtheexactwordsthatyou'regoingtosay,youcantakeamomenttothinkthroughyourideasandclarifythem

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inyourmind.
Silentlysaythewordstoyourselfbeforeyousaythemaloud.Thismighthelpyouensurethatyou'vegottenthe
pronunciationright.

Speakwithinflection.Questionsshouldascendinpitchattheend.Statementsshouldinflectsomewhatdeeper,
withfinality.Noticewhichsyllablesandwordsgetemphasis.Tryexaggeratingyourinflection,thewayyouwouldif

youwerereadingastorytoasmallchild.[4]

Method

ExercisingDiction

Practicesayingtonguetwisters.Ifyouworkonphrasesthataredifficulttopronounce,youmayfinditeasierto
speakclearlyineverydayconversation.Startslowly,andgraduallyworkyourwayuptoanormalpace.Identify
problemsyllables:ifyounoticethatyouhavetroubleenunciatingyour"B"sounds,trysayingtonguetwistersthatplay
onthe"B"syllable.[5]
For"B"words,try:Billhadabillboard.Billalsohadaboardbill.TheboardbillboredBill,soBillsoldhis
billboardandpaidhisboardbill.ThentheboardbillnolongerboredBill,butthoughhehadnoboardbill,
neitherdidhehavehisbillboard!
For"D"words,try:DidDougdigDavid'sgardenordidDaviddigDoug'sgarden?orDodropinattheDewdrop
Inn.
For"F"sounds,try:FourfuriousfriendsfoughtforthephoneorFiveflippantFrenchmenflyfromFrancefor
fashions.
For"J"sounds,try:JamesjustjostledJeangentlyorJackthejailbirdjackedajeep.

Repeatthephrasesoverandover.Startveryslowlyandclearly,enunciatingeachsyllable:"Fiveflippant
FrenchmenflyfromFranceforfashions."Getfasterandfasterwhilemaintainingclarity.Ifyoutripoverwords,
stopandstartagain.Withdeterminedpractice,youmaylearntoconquerdifficultsyllables.

Beconfidentinyourspeech.Don'tbeafraidtospeakloudlyandclearly.Recitinganythingthatsomeoneelse
haswrittenpoems,books,tonguetwistersisgreatforpracticingconfidence.Followthroughwithyourwords:

finishasstrongasyoustart!Besureofwhatyouintendtosay,andthemeaningwillshinethrough.[6]
Ifyoutendtomumbleorsluryourwords,itcanbedifficulttobreakfromthepatternandspeakclearly.When
yourecitewords,trytoforgetaboutthefactthatyouarespeaking.Focusonlyonthewords,theirmeaning,
theirbeauty.Trynottooverthinkit.[7]

CommunityQ&A
WhydoIspeakforsolongbutsaynothingatall?
Youmaybeshyornervous.Pauseandarrangeyourthoughtsbeforeyoubeginspeaking.
wikiHow
Contributor

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HowdoIspeakbothloudlyandclearly?

wikiHow
Contributor

Tospeakloudly:useyourdiaphragmthemusclerightbelowyourribcagandprojectyourvoicetothebackofthe
roomyouarespeakingin.Inotherwords,speakfromyourgut.Tospeakclearly:enunciateeverysyllable,and
remembertohittheconsonantsattheendofeachword.Tonguetwistersmakegreatpractice.
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53

WhydoIspeaktooquickly?

wikiHow
Contributor

Itmaybebecauseyougetnervousallthetime.Or,ifyouthinkit'snotthisreason,thenitmaybeduetoyourpersonal
makeuporthewaythatyoufeeliteasiesttoexpressyourself.Thesuggestionsinthisarticleshouldhelpyou
somewhat.
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HowdoIspeakEnglishfluently?

wikiHow
Contributor

PracticetalkingtoanyoneinyourfamilyoroneofyourfriendswhoisalreadyfluentinEnglish.Whenyou're
surroundedbypeoplewhospeakEnglishfluently,itperfectsyourownuseofthelanguage.Plus,youcanwatchalotof
EnglishTVshows,listentoEnglishmusicsothatyoucanunderstandeverywordofitandyoucanwatchYouTube
videos.
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35

WhydoIspeakquicklyandsoftly?

wikiHow
Contributor

Maybeyou'rejustrushingtogettoyourpointinahurry.Itmightalsobeaselfesteemissue,deepdownyou'reafraid
youropinionisn'tworthlisteningto.Itisandyoushouldtrytohavemoreconfidence.Also,tryopeningyourmouth
reallywidewhenyoutalk,forcingyoutopushmoreairthroughit,inturnmakingaloudernoise.Singersusethisalot
toenunciatetheirwords.Itmightlookabitodd,sopracticeinthemirrorfirst.
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WhatcanIdoaboutmytonguegettingstuckwhenpronouncingwords?
Practicetonguetwisters.Talkslowlyandassertivelyandtakeprideinyourspeech.
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HowcanIconcentrateandmakemyselfdohardwork?

wikiHow
Contributor

Keepyourgoalinmind.ImakeasmallnoteofwhyIamworkingsohardandwhatfor.Thishelpsmekeepfocusedon
thework.It'salsobeneficialtomeditatebrieflybeforeanystudysessiontoincreaseconcentration.
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Tips
Keepitsimple.Sometimes,asimpleexplanationisallyouneedtospeakclearly.
Trylisteningtoyourselfusingavoicerecorder.Thismayhelpyoudeterminewhatyouneedtoworkon.
Whenyouarespeaking:openyourmouthbigger,andoverarticulatetheword.It'slikesinging:youneedtoopenyour
mouth.Youmaynotrealizeit,butopeningyourmouthexpressesyourvoice.
Practiceinfrontofyourfriendsandfamily.Seeiftheyunderstandyoubetteronceyou'vebeenpracticingforawhile.
Wheninaconversation,takesometimetoaskiftheotherpersonunderstandswhatyou'retryingtosay.Iftheydon't,try
rephrasingwhatyoujustsaid.
Singerslearntopresstheirtongueintothebackoftheirlowerteethandkeepitthere,exceptwhenusingwordswith
lettersthatrequireyoutomoveyourtongue(suchas"L,""T,"and"M/N"sounds).Thisallowsairtomovemoreclearly
throughyourmouthwithoutyourtonguegettingintheway.Butbecarefulwhenusingthistip:youcouldbefocusingtoo
muchontheformofyourmouth.andnotthewordsyouaresupposedtobesaying.
Alwaysspeakatanappropriatevolume.
Alwaysbeconfidentaboutyourspeech.

Warnings
Don'toverthinkitwhenyouspeaktoothers.Youmayendupmakingthesituationworse.Trytobenaturaltrytothink
aboutexactlywhatyouaresayingnow,notaboutwhatyouneedtosaynext.Getintoaflow.

SourcesandCitations
1.http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/businesscareer/communication/howtostopmumblingandbeheard
2.http://www.executech.co.za/mumblegumphlebumbleitistimetospeakclearly/
3.http://www.uncommonhelp.me/articles/speakclearly/

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