How to Speak Clearly: Speaking and Clear Speech Exercises

CLEAR SPEECH: SPEAKING CLEARLY MATTERS – EXECRICES TO ENABLE TO SPEAK CLEARLY

(Based on author’s site www.geocities.com/clrspch)

Speaking clearly is difficult for some, but clear speech matters in the English language as much as in any other -the public speaker, debater, voice artist, prose or poetry reader, must speak clearly. Many speech disorders are correctable by speech therapy. Not speaking clearly may have to do with articulation, vocal tone control, nervousness. "Practice makes perfect" -to practise on speaking clearly is easy. Voice training, the speech exercises below may help enable clear speech.

Speaking clearly avoids misunderstandings in dealings. Clear speech is essential in business. Speak clearly must to the audience performers -actors, actresses, comics, narrators and other entertainers. Teachers must speak clearly when teaching. Not speaking clearly, mispronunciation, looses marks in English language examinations. A jury must understand a trial-lawyer's speech clearly, a doctor must speak clearly to a patient. Clear speech is important in lecturing, broadcasting, and narration ~whether the speech is literary or artistic or educational -in technical language or not. Speaking clearly, correct pronunciation and voice tone, is effective speech. Inability to speak clearly limits opportunities. It profits one to speak clearly.

Clear speech is essential in public speaking. Speaking clearly isn't "a'wight", 'all right' is. To speak 'thin' as "t'in" is bad pronunciation, unclear speech. In public speaking "cadalog" or "loore" isn't clear speaking. Clear speech inability distracts in public speaking, to speak clearly when delivering a speech enhances it... Clear pronunciation, speaking clearly, whether to an individual or an audience of many, pays.

Clear speech involves confidence, tone, articulation. Clear speech defects are not all physical. If that does not prevent speaking clearly, one can learn clear speech... Exercises below help speak clearly.

Clear speech inability caused by lack of confidence is remediable. Stage-fright like nervousness makes it difficult to speak clearly. An anecdote of the Cypriot writer-poet-thinker teacher Orhan Seyfi Ari illustrates this: In a radio broadcast of a boxing match between Abdi and Bandinelly, “the winner is.. Adbinelli!” Speaking clearly becomes possible by bearing in mind these: The listener/s, without a guarantee that you will speak clearly, decided to listen to you. This decision involves tolerance for difficulty in speaking clearly. This tolerance on speaking clearly is enhanced by curiosity. Your nervousness to speak clearly does not do away with the interest of the listener/s. Your not speaking clearly is to be met with patient effort to understand you. Instead of worrying about having difficulty to speak clearly, concentrate on speaking rationally, relevantly. Aim at sense, not articulation. It makes fears unnoticeable about speaking clearly. Soon follows clear speaking.

Clear speaking is affected by tone. When you are speaking loudly, it distracts. If you are speaking too quietly, you can't be heard. Speaking fast, or speaking too slowly, is failing to speak clearly. Monotonous speech is not clear speech: 'In the box' is different than 'In the box' -tone of voice makes it clear or not clear speech. Tone can spoil articulation. Tone of voice is habit; change it by tone of voice training: Practise clear speech by saying '1-2-3-4-5' in low voice, loud voice, then low voice again. Repeat the word 'I', then 'You', speaking slowly, then speaking fast. Speak them with emotion: in joy, sorrow, sympathy, anger -try to speak clearly. This enables clear speaking. It's voice training in speaking clearly.

To speak clearly necessitates articulation, correct pronunciation. Glottal-stop makes 'never' "ne'er". Clear/dark L pronunciation, as in the pronunciation of 'willy-nilly' or "il'egal", affects speaking clearly. The pronunciation of the English R before the vowel as in 'irregular' may be the clear speaking problem; or its substitution as in "loore" instead of 'law'. It can be a combination, as in "a'wight" instead of 'all right'. What prevents clear speech is sometimes substitution for or the addition to the letter S, as in "kithing" instead of 'kissing', or "shtrait" instead of 'straight'. The letter T is sometimes is dropped, as in "bo'le" instead of 'bottle', or is substituted to, as in "cadalog" instead of 'catalogue'; or the TH is dropped, as in "t'in" instead of 'thin'. These pronunciation difficulties in clear speaking can be overcome by articulate speech. Clear speech training enables articulation. Articulate speech, in the right tone of voice, is clear speech. Practise pronunciation by speaking each letter or syllable slowly. It helps articulation, clear speaking. It enables to speak clearly.

The audibility of the letters F, K, P, T, affects clear speech, articulation. If the speech problem is speaking these too softly, hardly audibly, it’s correctable: Place tiny pieces of paper in your hand. Hold your hand 1 or 2 inches (3 to 5 centimetres) away from your mouth. Blow away the pieces of paper saying 'far-for-fur', 'King-Kong', 'paper-punch', 'trend-setter'. These help clear speaking. Such practice will enable clear speech.

(Inability to sound the letter S ruins articulation, spoils clear speech. It's caused physiologically. Practising 'sang some silly song' helps sound it.)

Such clear speech inabilities are correctable. There are many kinds of impaired speech, speech impediments, and speech therapy. Difficulty as above in speaking clearly is not due to physical defect. It is, as in the musical My Fair Lady, how speak 'common flower-girls' and how 'ladies' speak. Learn articulation. Speech habits can be changed by practising speaking.

Speaking clearly is important. Clear speech affects relationships. Not speaking clearly affects the tone of voice in talks, in public speaking. Not speaking clearly can cause innocent oral remarks in teaching, debating to insult. Businesses suffer whose staff do not attach importance to speaking clearly. Deals fail if one can't, with verbal emphasis, speak clearly. Vocal auditions fail of actresses, actors, who cannot speak very clearly. Clear speech is so important that speech writers and scriptwriters separate similar sounding words. Socially, you are 'common' if you cannot speak clearly, but not if have clear speech. Defective speech, speech impediment is correctable... Practise clear speaking. One can learn to speak clearly.

Clear speech inability can be rid of by practising clear speaking.

The author has a website at: http://www.geocities.com/eoa_uk