Clear Speech

Do You Create Clear Speech When You Speak?

Clear speech is the result of distinct use of the vocal cords. It is essential when giving a lecture. It's also important in our every day conversation. To gain mastery of clear speech requires using it correctly and regularly.

Related to pronunciation, it is the proper use of vocal cords, mouth, tongue, lungs and mind. Indistinct speech can result from slurring words, speaking in a muffled voice, running words together, dropping endings and just failure to enunciate words or groups of words.

Two other processes can result in indistinct speech. With all of these examples, if you understand the cause, you will understand the solution and master the ability to speak clearly.

Tense Voice, High Pitch

One is when we are tense; our vocal cords like other muscles in the body tighten up. The result is a higher pitched voice. Although ours may be technically clear speech, the tension when felt by the audience results in distraction from your message.

A tense voice will sound higher than our normal relaxed voice.

The other end of the spectrum is a distressed voice. Some have developed a habit of speaking in a distressed voice as part of their normal conversation. It is hard to describe but when you hear someone do it, you will know it.

It is when you speak with the throat muscles tensed and the voice is projected from lower in the neck. It happens when there is not enough air in the lungs to make the speech organs work properly.

The speech rather than resonating in the mouth, comes from the throat and sounds deeper, raspy, and forced. So even though you have clear speech, it is indistinct.

If you want to hear and feel it for your self, start talking or reading out loud. Keep speaking until you run out of air and would take another breath. Once you are out of air, continue to speak forcing the residual air in your lungs to come up, enabling your continued speech.

What does it sound like? What does it feel like? That is a distressed voice. The solution is simple, just breathe. Breathe adequate for your speaking. Clear speech requires adequate lungs.

Indistinct speech could be caused by failure to open the mouth enough or too much. Rigidity in the jaw muscles and or lips could contribute. This rigidity could come from nervousness or from habit.

Speaking too fast could likewise result from nervousness or from habit. It will make speech difficult to grasp. Unlike playing a recording at a faster speed, it inhibits the ability to enunciate the words and speak clearly.

Slurring words or running them together can be the result of a learned behavior or cultural behavior. It also includes dropping syllables indiscriminately or discriminately. These have to be corrected to become a clear speech speaker.

Can You Say Fahr Tar?

Try to say the following phrase phonetically. You may be able to understand because you’re reading it. However, read it to someone and see if they can decipher what is being said.

A fahr tar is a thane a guy clime a-top to tell when thah foress on fahr Thah word tar, soun a laht like the word tahr but thar too dif-ernt whords. Yor cahr has for tahrs don’t you know.

Word for word translation: A fire tower is a thing a guy climbs a top to tell when the forest is on fire. That word tower sounds a lot like the word tire, but their two different words. Your car has four tires, don’t you know.

If you can master this little phrase, you can have fun showing your friends that you know a second language. You will also be able to impress the importance of clear speech.

It's unfortunate but this is real speaking. I have had discussions with folk speaking this way. Folks outside their culture cannot comprehend unless they take the time to understand. Often times, impatience and prejudice rules.

Yet those native speakers could be wonderfully brilliant individuals with rich experiences and knowledge we could benefit from. Benefit, if we took the time to understand.

In this case, the sounds are discriminated, always the same. That is part of the culture of the regional native speakers. If it follows a pattern, it’s easier to pick up and learn. Although this may be clear speech to a native speaker, it will be hard to understand by the masses.

Oops, Someone Dropped a Syllable

Indiscriminate dropping syllables, letters, and word endings make it much more difficult to understand. You may be thinking that it is because the person is lazy.

Do not be hasty to prejudge. There are a host of factors that can make a person adopt such a pattern. If personally faced with this challenge, you can change. You can become a clear speech speaker.

Another clear speech challenge some are faced with are structural. Defects in the mouth, throat, and nose can also result in a lack of clear speech. For some, this is a challenge since birth.

Often they result from accidents and especially pre-airbag auto accidents. The good news, like the above challenges, these too can be overcome.

Even nasal sounding voices can be improved to create a distinctive voice. It doesn't always require surgery. Sometimes the aid of a good speech coach can help train you to better speech.

How to Speak Clearly…

First we need to understand words and their make up. English words are made up of letters that are sounded out together in syllables. Some syllables have greater or lesser emphasis than others. All syllables usually are pronounced.

To practice if this is a challenge you face, read out loud. Practice enunciating every syllable as if you’re the king or queen (or from Minn-i-so-ta.)

You will notice a few things happen when you start this exercise. Both are good things that will help you learn clear speech, distinctive speech. Additionally, if you visit Minnesota they will accept you as a native.

Clear Speech Enunciation Benefits

One benefit of enunciating each syllable is that you will feel your self slow down. This is one of the hardest things to master for beginning speakers. We speak faster because of nervousness and other reasons. The result can be slurring and dropping letters and syllables. This produces indistinct speech.

When you feel you’re self slow down enunciation each syllable, remember that feeling. That feeling is one of control. This control will help you master clear speech. It will also aid you to gain speech mastery.

The second benefit of enunciating is that you will feel your facial muscles tensing up as you enunciate every syllable. Why is this good? You can gain mastery of it because now you are acutely aware of it. You can only change those things in your self that you’re aware of. With this exercise you will be aware of it.

This should be exciting to you. This is one of the first exercises you will actually feel your self gaining mastery over your body. The end result will be clear speech. Ultimately you will gain mastery of presentation being able to speak clearly.

Once you get it, you need to be careful not to talk like the king and queen in your every day speech and especially in your public speech. It will make you sound aloof. However feel free to slightly increase your every day speech enunciation in Minnesota.

Try stretching exercises.

It is good to stretch the facial muscles. When you move your face and jaw muscles in a stretching motion, you loosen them up. Additionally, you send the signal to the brain that they are going to be used.

There have been numerous studies on muscle memory. The mind/muscle connection is a powerful tool to use. In this case, you are using it to gain mastery of your speech organ.

Also, stretch your vocal cords. Like a singer warming up, practice your voice range. Instead of singing, you will use words and letters. Start with the vowel sounds. Then progress to brief phrases or sayings. Do these as a warm up prior to your speaking. This will enhance your ability to speak clearly.

Not to be underestimated is the value of taking deep breaths through the nose and exhale out the mouth. This floods your brain with fresh oxygen. Clear speech starts in the mind, which feeds on oxygen among other things.

Don’t forget, in addition to the vocal cords and tongue, the face, jaw muscles and lips also play a part in speech. Stretch and relax these as well.

Make use of tape recorders when self improving. Unless someone is dedicated to helping you grow in your abilities, do not expect a totally honest critique. Or even if it is honest, it may lack the critical examination required to help you move on. You may need to self critique. Then once you discover where you have flaws, gain mastery over them.

Do these things, you will not only help you keep speaking clearly, you will speak with distinction. May all of your speech be clear speech.

Correct Speech is a closely related topic you might want to check out. With all the cultural differences around us today, what is correct speech? Learn more...

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