Like most guys who grew up introverted, in the past I've had a hard time annunciating my words. I'd mumble or speak so damn fast that everything I said blurred together and I'd straight up be dropping consonants and vowels from words because they were coming out so fast.
It was so bad, that I saw myself speaking on video one time and it sounded like I was panicking because I was talking so fast!
You know you have an issue when people constantly are saying "what?" and "huh?" during conversations.
So I developed this little trick that seems to be helping a lot. The hard part is remembering to actually do it, and once it's in action I've noticed a real improvement in vocal clarity.
The trick is, when you're talking to someone just imagine you're speaking to them on a two-way radio. In my job I talk to people on radios and clarity is super-important because you don't want to have to repeat yourself, and numbers and words have to be unmistakable.
Even if you've never spoken on a radio before, you can probably imagine what it's like and how much clearer you would speak than just rambling on in normal conversation.
Once you flip this switch and imagine you're on a radio, your words will slow down and annunciation will be more deliberate. Each word will have it's own structure, instead of an entire sentence being spat out in one breath.
If you talk fast like I do, your speech rate will be slower and maybe even sound normal. Although I've noticed that even when I slow down my speech rate to what I consider "slow", it's still fast. So I have to make it "ultra-slow" to sound "normal" to other people.
I figured there are definitely some smart guys on here whose mouths can't keep up with their brains. Wanted to share this little tip and see if it helps any one else.
It was so bad, that I saw myself speaking on video one time and it sounded like I was panicking because I was talking so fast!
You know you have an issue when people constantly are saying "what?" and "huh?" during conversations.
So I developed this little trick that seems to be helping a lot. The hard part is remembering to actually do it, and once it's in action I've noticed a real improvement in vocal clarity.
The trick is, when you're talking to someone just imagine you're speaking to them on a two-way radio. In my job I talk to people on radios and clarity is super-important because you don't want to have to repeat yourself, and numbers and words have to be unmistakable.
Even if you've never spoken on a radio before, you can probably imagine what it's like and how much clearer you would speak than just rambling on in normal conversation.
Once you flip this switch and imagine you're on a radio, your words will slow down and annunciation will be more deliberate. Each word will have it's own structure, instead of an entire sentence being spat out in one breath.
If you talk fast like I do, your speech rate will be slower and maybe even sound normal. Although I've noticed that even when I slow down my speech rate to what I consider "slow", it's still fast. So I have to make it "ultra-slow" to sound "normal" to other people.
I figured there are definitely some smart guys on here whose mouths can't keep up with their brains. Wanted to share this little tip and see if it helps any one else.