Public Speaking Tips: How to Learn to Articulate Clearly

You have a raging passion for your subject. Or you have a strong financial motive to speak on your subject. Or maybe you simply want everybody to like you!

Whatever your Cause, people must be able to understand your speech--your physical speech--before they are able to give you the response you're working for.

Consonants and vowels are the building blocks of intelligible speech. It's the breath that supports and carries these consonants and vowels to our listeners.If we focus on these three elements of speech--consonants, vowels, breath--we'll have an excellent basis for clear, understandable presentations.

Public Speaking Tips: How to Learn to Articulate Clearly

Here're some pointers:

Consonants must be well-articulated and crisp. To achieve this, say each of the words below by itself, slowly. Use your tongue and lips to shape each consonant clearly. Exaggerate! Speak every syllable.

1.wash 2.washing 3.Washington 4.definitely (all 4 syllables) 5.accessible (ak sess i buhl) 6.Antarctic (ant ark tik) 7.residing (Make the "s" a definite "Z" sound.) 8.treatise 9.not 10.non-native

Now speak the sentence below, breaking it up into smaller segments, if you like, until you can say the entire sentence very clearly at a normal pace.

"The treatise on the Antarctic was definitely not accessible to the non-native speakers residing in Washington."

You may notice that you run out of breath before you can get the whole sentence said. If not, congratulations! If so, mark a place or two where you can sneak a breath without interrupting the flow. Try this:

"The treatise on the Antarctic (breath) was definitely not accessible (breathe here only if you absolutely must) to the non-native speakers (breath) residing in Washington."

Vowels should be given the true vowel sounds. We Americans are becoming increasingly lax in differentiating between the vowel sounds--so much so that "uh" has become the vowel of choice for A, E, I, O and U! I believe it's a blend of pure laziness and a cultural deficit of actual listening to sounds. We're so cruelly bombarded with noise of all sorts that we take refuge in turning off our active hearing.

Breath! Ah, the breath!--the fundament for all speaking. This is not the place to give you exercises to strengthen and lengthen your breath; that must go in other articles.

However, this will help:

Think of your breath as being released on a steady, constant stream. That stream continues steadily during the tiny silences between words, connecting one word to the following word. Think On-going and Easy.

Avoid giving an explosion of breath for a few words, then letting the breath drop before the next little explosion of breath. You lose a great deal of breath by breathing too frequently and too shallowly.

THINK: CONSONANTS. VOWELS. BREATH.
THINK: MY BREATH IS ON-GOING AND EASY.

Public Speaking Tips: How to Learn to Articulate Clearly
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Carole McMichaels, Speaker, Coach, Author: "Fearless Public Speaking: How to Get Rid of Your Stage Fright and Prepare and Deliver a Winning Presentation", invites you to join her free newsletter on speaking in public. You may also get your free report, "7 Valuable Tips on Writing a Mind-Gripping Speech". http://www.getridofpublicspeakingfears.com

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Speak Clearly - The Top 7 Tricks to Instantly Improve the Clarity of Your Speech

"I'm sorry, what? I can't understand you." Have you ever heard this line? Then you probably know how embarrassing it can be to repeat something over and over again. Miscommunication can and will hold you back in today's fast-paced, international business environment. Too many people are hiding their gifts, talents and knowledge from the world due to a fear of speaking up and being misunderstood. Are you one of them?

Follow these simple tricks to instantly improve the clarity of your speech.

1) Slow Down

Speak Clearly - The Top 7 Tricks to Instantly Improve the Clarity of Your Speech

It is common sense, really; the faster you speak, the harder it is for your listener to understand. The easiest way to instantly increase the clarity of your speech is to simply slow down.

2) Pause

Pauses are effective little tools that can be employed in a number of situations. Use them to clearly separate sentences and when changing topics.

3) Speak Up

If you want to say something, really say it! Stand up straight, take a deep breath and speak on the exhale. Don't cover your mouth with your hands, a book or your notes. Make eye contact with your listeners and speak directly to them, not down to the floor or to your slides.

4) Articulate Word Endings

In our haste to get our messages out, we often times fail to enunciate word endings - the grammatical markers at the ends of words, such as the plural 's' or past tense 'ed.' If you don't articulate these sounds, it sounds like you're making very basic grammatical errors.

5) Use Clear Consonants

Here are a few examples of commonly confused consonant sounds: /b/ & /p/, /d/ & /t/, /g/ & /k/, /v/ & /f/. The first sound in each pair is voiced, whereas the second sound is voiceless.

Place your hand in front of your mouth while you say these pairs out loud:

gate/Kate

girl/curl

game/came

If you are articulating the /g/ and /k/ sounds correctly, you should feel an explosion of air when you make the /k/ sound.

6) Use Consistent Word Stress

To a native English speaker, a certain word stress is considered appropriate or inappropriate depending on where the person is from.

"Inappropriate" word stress can really rub listeners the wrong way because it deviates from their norm and indicates that the speaker is an "other" - an outsider. This can be quite FRUStrating (US)/frusTRATing (UK) for the non-native speaker who is just trying to get his point across.

"So which variety is correct?" I always recommend sticking to the form you are most comfortable with. Try to be consistent with whichever variety suits you best.

7. Speak Simply

Never use a long word where a short one will do. This is a common rule most people have heard, but unfortunately very few put it into practice. Your main goal in every spoken interaction should be to have your message understood. Do this by simplifying your vocabulary and using common English words.

Speak Clearly - The Top 7 Tricks to Instantly Improve the Clarity of Your Speech
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Check What Are The Top Cooking Books in Last 90 Days Best Cheap Deal!
Check For Cookbooks Best Sellers 2012 Discount OFFER!
Check for Top 100 Most Popular Books People Are Buying Daily Price Update!
Check For 100 New Release & BestSeller Books For Your Collection

Heather Hansen, founder of Singapore-based Hansen Speech & Language Training, is an executive speech and language coach, writer and trainer. If you want to boost your linguistic abilities and become a powerful speaker, visit her website http://www.hansenslt.com now for free information on how to speak clearly, correctly and confidently! Join her mailing list to receive your free special report, Speak Clearly! and as a special bonus you’ll also receive her monthly newsletter, Speak like a Star!

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