How to develop your speech and learn to speak beautifully and competently

Many consider competent speech to be a talent that is given to a select few and is necessary only in some areas of activity. In fact, everyone should think about how to develop speech. After all, good diction makes you listen to the person speaking and trust his opinion more. In addition, such a skill often contributes to career growth, especially if performing job duties requires frequent communication with people.

How to develop speech and learn to speak beautifully

Reading books

Reading books will help you learn to express your thoughts correctly. They will replenish their vocabulary with new, and sometimes even outlandish words.

Use dictionaries

They will help you see where to put the emphasis correctly and tell you the meaning of unknown words.

In order for your public speaking to be successful, you need to work out in advance what you want to convey to the audience. A little plan will help with this. You can write it down on paper by adding a few keywords. There is no need to read the entire text from the sheet, this will make the speech dry, lifeless and unemotional. It will be difficult for listeners to perceive.

Summary

The main thing is practice. The more you talk, the easier it is to formulate thoughts.
Listen more. Take time to think about a powerful speech.
Absorb useful information, expand your vocabulary
Surround yourself with beautiful speech
Be charismatic and give your all in a conversation
Don't try to please, you live your life
Don't dwell on mistakes; they are forgotten in a minute.

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Exercises to help develop speech

They will help people at any age, no matter if they are a first-grader or a man in adulthood.

Find a speaker whose speech you like . You should listen to and analyze several of his speeches. So you will notice what techniques he uses. The most suitable ones should be taken into account. Just be sure to test them when communicating with friends. This way you will see whether they work in your case, and correct your speech if necessary.
Communication with yourself. When no one is around, try to prove something to yourself. Argue a little, putting forward different theories. This will help you quickly find the necessary words and thoughts when communicating with others.
Make up short stories . Take 5 different words as a basis. Then make up a short story with them. This exercise develops logic and trains imagination.

Competent speech is the first sign of an educated and cultured person

The paradox of today is that, despite a giant leap forward in the development of science and technology, society in the post-Soviet space is moving back by leaps and bounds in the field of education and general literacy. There are both objective and subjective reasons for this. The first include experiments with reshaping school curricula, lack of uniformity in curricula and textbooks for studying subjects, unsuccessful forms of examinations, a general decline in the prestige of education and the formation of a strong stereotype among schoolchildren, and then students: “Education is paid. I have paid. I have to give marks for this alone. Moreover, you have to pay bribes, i.e. I pay double the rate. Therefore, there is no point in poring over subjects and textbooks!”

And for the second, first of all, loss of interest in books and reading fiction. And, oddly enough, communication via SMS, in various chats, on various forums. Anonymity, informal environment and speed of correspondence force people to neglect punctuation marks, think through the structure of their messages and posts, and “filter” the vocabulary used. And sometimes a situation develops that is very suitable for the famous “execution cannot be pardoned.”

The main signs of literate speech

So, first of all, we should remember and understand: competent speech provides us with full communication and successful understanding in a given situation, be it a conversation with superiors, a discussion of pressing problems of public life, or the resolution of a domestic conflict. If there is no understanding, if people seem to speak different languages, they will not come to a common denominator. And clumsy speech with many stylistic errors can nullify even the most careful efforts.

Competent speech is free from “parasite” words. In people with a small vocabulary, they are very common and are used to fill pauses during which such a person is trying to find the right word or expression. Words of this type include the well-known “like that,” “like,” “uh,” “well,” and so on.
Competent speech is not compatible with swear words, especially swear words. No matter how decently a person is dressed, no matter how respectable he looks and no matter how lofty matters he talks about, but if he generously peppers his speeches with obscenities, and uses outright abuse to connect words, he in no way fits into the role of a cultured, intelligent person. Of course, there are situations when unstandardized vocabulary is appropriate, but, fortunately, they are quite rare. In everyday life, competent speech and verbal dirt are incompatible.
Jargon should not clog your language. An exception is made only for the professional sphere, when terminology is necessary and simplifies communication. In other cases, it is worth turning to synonyms.
Always remember Chekhov's saying about brevity and talent. After all, literacy in speech is, among other things, mastery of words, the ability to choose the most accurate, clear expressions, and speak to the point and understandably.
Pay attention not only to the richness of your vocabulary, but also to the culture of speech etiquette. Try to construct sentences and statements not “anyhow,” but in accordance with the norms and rules of punctuation and stylistics of the Russian language, if you speak it, or any other language you communicate.
Competent speech production includes compliance with the norms of stress, lowering and raising the tone in different parts of sentences, the ability to withstand logical and intonation pauses, and observe intonation. Essentially, this is the art of oratory, and every self-respecting person should master it.

Afterword

Working on yourself is always difficult, whether we are talking about a slim figure or learning a foreign language. It is no less difficult to learn to speak perfectly. But probably! What is needed for this? Of course, read, and, above all, Russian classics. Make explanatory and spelling dictionaries, phraseological and dictionaries of synonyms, antonyms, and other reference books your reference books. Constantly engage in word formation. Control yourself in forms of verbal expression.

What to consider when communicating with others

Record your casual conversations with friends on a voice recorder. This trick will show you the mistakes you are making. More often it is:

Parasite words . Frequently used words for connecting speech, such as “in short,” “as if,” “probably,” indicating indecision, reduce the significance of what is said. Try to remove slang and jargon from your speech. Do not shorten the words, pronounce them in full. And most importantly, remove obscene language from your speech.
Fast speech . Speech without pauses prevents listeners from concentrating on what is being said. Many phrases come out crumpled. If among the listeners there are people with hearing problems, then half of them will not hear at all.
Mangling words and incorrect stress. Pay attention to how others pronounce words. If you put an accent somewhere else, check yourself with a dictionary.

Inappropriate facial expressions and gestures will also distract people’s attention from speech. They should emphasize what they are saying, so there is no need to wave your arms too much or smile excessively. Movements should be smooth and the face should express calmness. Practice in front of a mirror. Pay attention to your posture. The back should be straight and the shoulders should be turned. This will convey confidence, which will attract listeners to you.

Read further: What can gestures tell us? 75 Signs of Body Language

Main causes of speech problems

It is impossible to achieve positive results in the development of diction if you do not understand the causes of speech disorders. Only rarely are they associated with health problems and develop, for example, due to an abnormal jaw structure or a short frenulum of the tongue.

For many people, speech problems are caused by incorrect pronunciation of whistling and hissing sounds, as well as the absence of the “L” or “R” sounds, or a violation of their pronunciation. A weakened articulatory apparatus may also be the cause.

Even if a person can speak well, pronouncing all sounds correctly, in particularly significant situations his speech may become slurred and unclear. After all, when pronouncing words, the articulatory apparatus needs to very quickly switch from one movement to another. This can only be achieved through active and intensive work of the muscles that need to be trained, for example, by regularly pronouncing tongue twisters for diction.

However, the main reason for slurred, quiet speech is a person’s shyness and lack of self-confidence. In such a situation, the development of diction is a secondary problem. First of all, you need to work on your own character and fight complexes.

How to develop diction and clarity of speech

To develop diction and speech, you need to enroll in rhetoric courses. On the Internet you can simply find a huge amount of advice from psychologists that can help you establish contact with others and set your listeners in the right mood. You can also find suitable books. All this, plus practice, will help improve public speaking.

Exercises to develop diction

To get good diction you need to practice. These exercises will help you with this:

Breath. Take a deep breath into your lungs and chant the vowels as much as you can. At first, breathing will only last a little, but after a while the duration of singing can reach 20 seconds. To adjust the pitch of your voice, breathe as if you were trying to blow out a candle.
Tongue Twisters. They combine different sounds, so they will help you not mumble, but pronounce words clearly. To enhance the effect, you can put several nuts in your mouth.
Articulation exercises. With your mouth closed and then with your mouth open, touch the tip of your tongue to your left and right cheek. Then open your mouth wide and move your lower jaw back and forth. Smile widely and open your mouth, run your tongue over your teeth, as if counting them.
For more exercises to improve diction and clarity of speech, see here.

You should practice the exercises for 10-15 minutes a day. You need to move on to the next task only after the first one has been completed correctly.

How to develop your speech and vocabulary

Every person has words in their vocabulary that they use every day. He knows others, but rarely uses them. Therefore, every morning, take three words from the dictionary and use them throughout the day . After six months, your speech will be unrecognizable.

When reading a newspaper or an article from the Internet, stop and retell what you read close to the text . Then re-read the text again and pay attention to the unused words. Repeat them several times to remember them. Also, tell your friends in detail about the movie you recently saw, with emotions. If you complete it in 20 minutes or more, and there are no special problems with the retelling, then you have achieved success. If not, then keep working.

Always try to read out loud. Looking through the text with our eyes, we may not remember new words, but when they are pronounced, they remain in memory for a long time.

Memorize poems or passages from your favorite books. This way you will remember new words that you will involuntarily begin to use in everyday life.

Also start writing . Let it be short stories about hedgehogs or about a summer trip, or even simpler, correspond in detail with friends on social networks. When writing, try to use words you rarely use. Write colloquially; you don’t need to try to impress everyone with complex phrases. Write immediately, as you go along, without overthinking your answer. This way you will write your own thoughts, and not ready-made phrases.

Read further: Oratory for beginners: exercises and rules

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Read aloud

Do this as often as possible. You can also record what you read on a voice recorder and listen to it. Also try listening to an excerpt from an audiobook you like and repeating the text. Record your speech on a voice recorder and play with intonations.

Try to imitate your favorite reader. There is nothing wrong with copying the delivery of one of the masters of speech art you like. You will still have time to develop your own style of speech, but for now you need to learn to feel the text.

How to put a voice

Competent speech is only the beginning of oratory. Even if you know how to beautifully put words into sentences, do not forget that the way you say these sentences plays a big role. Many literate people cannot speak beautifully; even their clever words sound unconvincing, they are uninteresting to listen to, and the information they convey is poorly perceived. It's all about the wrong voice.

There are special exercises for voice training, by performing which you can achieve a solid, convincing pronunciation, namely:

Breathing . It plays a major role in voice production. When there is not enough air in our lungs, we are unable to complete a sentence at the original pace. When there is a lot of it, we hear too fast, slurred speech. In your speech, try to shorten the time of inhalation, do not prolong it and the pause that arises as a result. On the contrary, try to prolong the exhalation accompanied by speech. When inhaling, try to use the intercostal respiratory muscles as much as possible and draw as much air into your lungs as possible in a short period of time.
Voice . Voice training should begin with a warm-up. Those who attended music school know an exercise that uses the sounds “mi - me - ma - mo - mu”. These sounds need to be pronounced stretching out, in one breath. Try to stretch them out on one note, then raise the notes with each sound, then go lower. To make sure you're playing the correct notes, use a keyboard instrument or use a special music application.
Text . After you have figured out your breathing and completed the exercise, start reading out loud. Take your favorite poem and try to read it clearly, loudly and without stopping. Watch your breathing, take quick, silent breaths and long exhalations. Try to pronounce words firmly, pay attention to punctuation marks and intonation.

If you perform such simple exercises every day, over time your voice will become stronger, more confident, your breathing will even out during speech, and you will be able to speak in front of an audience without any problems.

Speech errors: types, causes, examples

We think of speech as an abstract category, inaccessible to direct perception. Meanwhile, this is the most important indicator of a person’s culture, his intellect and thinking, a way of understanding the complex connections of nature, things, society and transmitting this information through communication. It is obvious that when learning and already using something, we make mistakes due to inability or ignorance. And speech in this regard is no exception. Moreover, the concept of speech culture as the idea of a “speech ideal” is inextricably linked with the concept of speech error. In this article we will look at their types, examples and reasons. Read more…

Working on the content and technique of your speech

One of the common speech mistakes is speaking too quickly. When a person is in a hurry, as they say, chattering, it is difficult to perceive him. You need to learn to control the pace of your speech. To begin with, you can pronounce at a very slow pace some speech material that does not require special understanding. This could be a sequence of numbers, for example, up to one hundred, names of months, cities or countries, a list of male or female names.

It is better to write down this sequence so that you can pronounce the words in forward and reverse order. Over time, having memorized this sequence, it is better to reproduce it from memory, simultaneously training your memory. Then you need to move on to repeating the text by ear. Moreover, it should be recorded at a fast pace, but it will need to be repeated at a slow pace.

The medical side of the issue

Speech defects such as burr or lisp may be associated with congenital diseases. And these shortcomings are the first thing that needs to be eliminated in order to develop speech. Therefore, before you become interested in how to develop beautiful speech, you need to visit a speech therapist to eliminate possible defects. On our website you can find out answers to questions - how to stop lisp and how to stop burr in more detail.

Sometimes the patient is prescribed a surgical operation, after which the person will be able to use his speech with maximum efficiency. After eliminating all physical obstacles, you can already think about how to improve your speech and make it varied and exciting.

How to make your words sound confident and convincing to people around you

Oddly enough, not even all masters of skilled writing are given oratorical abilities. Quite often, a person who perfectly expresses his thoughts “on paper”, when he finds himself in front of an audience, becomes blurred, gets lost and cannot make a speech. This is usually associated with complexes (I have a bad voice, I burr, I will forget the text) or other psychological problems. In this case, the following will help you learn to speak beautifully and confidently:

voice training classes (phonopedic exercises);
auto-training (I know what I’m talking about and can improvise, I really want my words to be heard);
sincerity (if you are honest in front of your listeners, your words will sound convincing).

Persuasive speech is important in many professions, from teachers to medical specialists, from street sellers (you need to convince the buyer that he needs to buy your product) to large businessmen. Therefore, learning to speak well, choosing words correctly, appropriately and beautifully, is also necessary to improve your professional level.

Development of speech culture

"Say the word to me and I'll tell you who you are." Speech is our calling card. Speech culture reflects a person’s way of thinking, level of upbringing, education and awareness. Poor, clumsy and uncultured speech is not capable of influencing others. Moreover, it causes rejection towards the speaker. If you want to command the attention of your interlocutor, make a favorable impression on him and be convincing in your statements, develop a culture of speech, work on content, vocabulary, and lexical norms. In this article we will tell you how this is done. Read more…

Orthoepy - why it is important to speak correctly and how these rules arise

We live in strange times. On the one hand, we are told that in various fields professionalism is valued above all, and not how you dress, how you speak or how you present yourself. On the other hand, everywhere we have to deal with the opposite: a person is judged not by what he is, but by what he appears to be. Therefore, when applying for a job, a well-spoken candidate with dubious professional credentials has a better chance than a true master of his craft who cannot speak. So it is very useful for any person, regardless of his type of activity, to learn how to speak correctly. Even if his profession is not related to public speaking. Read more…

Online program "Modern Rhetoric"

In 8 weeks in this program, you will master and learn how to apply traditional and modern rhetoric techniques for speeches, presentations, vlogging, stand-ups and much more. You will learn to speak clearly, intelligibly, control your voice, behave correctly on stage and work with the audience, cope with the fear of speaking, prepare good speeches - from planning and searching for material to the actual text of the speech, and, of course, argue your speech. The program is suitable for both those who are just starting their journey as a speaker, and those who are already professionals but want to improve their skills. Find out more...

Working with words is work, but the work is interesting and exciting. The faster you immerse yourself in the process, the faster you will taste success. Go for it!

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Oratory: exercises

Many of us would like to have public speaking talent: the ability to speak beautifully and persuasively and present our ideas can greatly improve everyone's life. But what steps do you need to take towards becoming an outstanding public speaker? This is where special exercises come to the rescue. Of course, you can ignore such things, thinking that everything will work out on its own, but practice shows that even in rhetoric, a systematic and competent approach greatly increases results and allows you to achieve success many times faster than if you study haphazardly. Read more…

Making a stage speech

It is often difficult for an adult to speak due to weak tongue muscles. To eliminate this problem, you need to perform exercises until the root of the tongue feels tired. Accordingly, the muscles will become stronger.

Imagine that you are holding a piece of your favorite fruit or berry in your mouth. Start pressing the treat into the roof of your mouth with your tongue. Imagine what it tastes like to you.
Close your lips tightly. Lick the outside of your teeth with your tongue until you feel tired.
Open your mouth, stick out your tongue. Gradually begin to lightly bite it with your teeth along its entire length. Do this for about a minute.

The following exercises for speech development in adults are aimed at warming up the facial muscles:

Pull your lips out, then immediately smile as wide as possible. Do 10-15 reps.
Stretch your lips with a tube and rotate them, first clockwise, then counterclockwise. Do 15-20 reps on each side.
Mentally divide your face into 2 halves by drawing a vertical line. First, try to move the muscles of one part of your face until it is completely tired. Then move on to the second half.

Now you should understand how to breathe correctly. To do this, stand up straight and place your hand on your stomach. Inhale the air slowly. The stomach should stick out. If you breathe from your chest, your belly will stay in place. You need to learn to breathe using the diaphragm, and your stomach must move at the same time.

From now on, when you develop speech through exercises, always make sure that your breathing is correct.

Tongue twisters as an aid to the speaker

How to improve speech without diction? No actor or speaker has yet been able to do this. Therefore, you need to work on your diction. For this purpose, reading or pronunciation of tongue twisters by heart is suitable. Any tongue twisters that you can find will do; you can use the popular tongue twister “once upon a time there were three Chinese.” Here is also an example of one of the most difficult:

“In the shallows we lazily caught burbot and exchanged the burbot for tench. Wasn’t it me you sweetly begged for love and beckoned me into the mists of the Liman.”

It is advisable to memorize tongue twisters so that you can practice at any time of the day and anywhere.

Nora Gal's advice to those who work with words

Any form of activity that requires the ability to find the right words is a difficult challenge for most of us. Whether we are writing a novel, composing a text for a rap battle, or thinking through a public speech, we are faced with the agony of choice: which word or phrase to choose? How to structure the text in such a way as not to sound like a robot? The answer is simple: you need to tirelessly monitor your speech, remove unnecessary things from it, be in a constant search for suitable words and read Russian classics. However, a person is lazy, and in the modern world he also has little time for this. Therefore, we need a book, after reading which you will be eager to learn Russian for the rest of your life, without considering it a waste of time. This book was written by Nora Gal. Read more…

Charging for lips and cheeks

Charging is completed within 2-3 minutes. When performing it, it is important to keep your back straight. You should rub your earlobes with your palms, and then begin to lightly bite your tongue, starting from its tip and ending with the base. Then the lips curl into a tube and try to smile. The next exercise is to move your lips clockwise and counterclockwise.

To develop the muscles of the cheeks, they make movements that imitate gargling: they tilt their head back and try to make movements with their tongue and larynx that correspond to the gargling procedure. In this case, no sounds should be made.

To relax the larynx and ligaments, you can yawn several times, quickly say several tongue twisters for different sounds, or read poetry by heart.

What does it mean to “speak beautifully”

We admire people who are able to attract attention with just one word. It’s nice to listen to them, you want to follow their advice. It is much more pleasant to watch a program and listen to the radio with presenters who have a good voice and can speak beautifully.

The concept of “speaking beautifully” is understood as well-delivered, laconic speech, with the necessary stress, pauses and intonation. People with such skills can correctly formulate their thoughts; their vocabulary is free of verbal garbage, filler words, and unnecessary pauses. About such people we can say that they have competent speech, they understand the meaning of the words they use, do not repeat themselves and know how to bring the story told to the end. The presentation of thoughts plays a big role. You can speak competently, without speech errors, but not be able to hold your voice, speak quickly or, on the contrary, draw out your words. A person who really knows how to speak beautifully and has competent speech can teach any information so that he is heard and understood. That is why all speakers and popular presenters have such abilities: it is important for them to be heard, their words understood and believed.

However, the ability to speak beautifully is not only for famous speakers. An ordinary person with such abilities easily finds a common language with others, it is easier for him to get his way and explain any information. That is why more and more people are beginning to care about the literacy of their speech, about the sound of their voice, because beautiful speech is the lot of successful people.

How to express your thoughts competently and interestingly

Properly expressed thoughts are the main weapon of any successful person and pleasant interlocutor.

If you want to master this skill, make it a rule to set aside half an hour every day to perform exercises to develop competent speech:

Let's define objects . Even while doing daily routine things, you can improve your ability to speak correctly, just define the things around you. For example, while washing dishes, define a fork: “It is a cutlery with a smooth surface, having sharp serrations on one side and a smooth, oval handle on the other. This device is used for eating solid food and can cause harm in the wrong hands.” This simple exercise will allow your brain to create patterns with which you can easily talk about any subject or event.
Read aloud . It’s not without reason that we like books; the author’s speech in them is beautiful and interesting. This is why it is so important to read aloud; it will be useful for our brain not only to see correct speech, but also to hear it. The brain will also begin to remember bright words and build patterns that will help you come up with the right interesting sentences.
Voice your actions . Imagine yourself as the host of a cooking show while preparing dinner. Tell yourself about the intricacies of preparing the dish, go deeper into the recipe, and give imaginary viewers some important tips on how to cook the soup. Your brain will generate and remember the speech patterns necessary to express your thoughts in an interesting way.
Start keeping a journal . A diary is better than a blog, because using a keyboard you can delete unnecessary characters, but with paper this will not work. It's the same with a person, you can't correct what you've already said. Therefore, by keeping a diary, you will learn to immediately express your thoughts correctly, without hoping that this can be corrected.
Discuss . The best exercise is one that involves interlocutors. Raise some burning topic, find an opposing opinion and enter into a discussion. Try to quickly select arguments, make your speech peremptory and concise, then the benefits of your exercise will increase significantly.

You can learn to speak interestingly, competently and beautifully if you give your speech more stress and try to diversify the exercises. Focus on live communication, this is what strengthens your position as a person who is pleasant to listen to.

Learning to breathe correctly

Exercises to train breathing from the diaphragm

Constant breathing training will help a person master the ability to speak beautifully. The most suitable is the diaphragmatic-costal one. It involves a quick, light inhalation, which slightly lifts the abdominal muscles and slightly expands part of the chest. Exhalation is done through the mouth, the air passes slowly and smoothly.

At first, when performing the exercise, you should place your hand on the diaphragm area for control (it should be tense, while the shoulders and chest do not move).