If you do not know how to speak beautifully and clearly express your thoughts, it will be very difficult for you to become a successful and respected person. The ability to speak clearly and share your thoughts with people so that they immediately understand you, will be useful not only during working hours, but also in everyday life. Thanks to these skills, you will be able to easily win the respect of your boss and colleagues, to solve any domestic problem that has arisen on a level place, to negotiate with complete strangers without screams, scandals, threats and hysterics. People do not want to waste their time listening to a bad narrator, whose speeches are too boring, monotonous and uninteresting. They can pretend to listen to such an interlocutor, but in reality they will not hear or understand anything that is said. And there is nothing strange about it, because communicating with an interlocutor who does not know how to talk properly and beautifully, not the most pleasant thing in the world. A person who knows how to speak correctly and express the thoughts that visited his head very clearly has a special charisma. He is confident in himself and his abilities, so he does not need to raise his voice or insult the interlocutor and move to a person to convey his point of view. If you know how to speak beautifully and argue your position, people will listen to you with sincere admiration and try not to miss a single word you say. How can you learn to speak beautifully and clearly express your thoughts? There are several effective ways through which you can not only learn to use and select the words that will best reflect your thoughts, but also be able to maintain a conversation about any subject for hours without any inconvenience.
To attract the attention of the right person, to convince him/her of your rightness, to agree with him/her on further cooperation, to have a certain influence on him/her and to arrange yourself, you should have an ideal diction. Through dictionary training you will learn to change your intonation correctly, clearly pronounce consonant and vowel sounds, highlight important moments with your voice, etc. Dictionary training begins with correct breathing. If you breathe incorrectly, your voice will start to break, you will make long pauses between words or sentences, so that the meaning of the phrases you say will be perceived by listeners in a distorted form. That is why many famous speakers during a public speech use speech or diaphragm breathing, because the usual breathing they most often lack. To learn how to properly use air and restore it in time, you need to practice a specially designed system of breathing exercises. This activity requires a man of iron will, great patience and persistence, but it is worth it. Having learned to breathe correctly, begin to work on the correct pronunciation or diction. Turn the recorder on and read any text, then listen to the recording and evaluate your speech. Let a few people you trust listen to the recording. Does your score match other people’s? Analyse both your own and other people’s opinions. Highlight major shortcomings: pronouncing vowel sounds without accent (weak position), mispronunciation of soft sounds, loss or absence of certain vowel sounds, “crumpled” or “eaten” consonants, wrong combination of connecting consonants, lack of clear pronunciation of whistling and hissing sounds, etc. To improve your diction, you should perform a set of exercises every day, which are aimed at relaxing the muscles responsible for the correct and clear articulation. Start with the easiest exercises and gradually increase their complexity. Go on to perform a more difficult exercise only if you have fully mastered the previous exercise. To maintain the results already obtained, do not forget to repeat the basic exercises once a week.
- Working on the technique and content of speech Many people make a mistake when they start talking too fast. Listeners find it hard to perceive a talker. No one wants to get into the meaning of what is being said by an interlocutor who cannot control the pace of his speech. For the pace of your speech to be pleasant to listeners, you need to work on a daily basis. Start very slowly to pronounce some material that does not require any understanding: the names of cities or countries, female or male names, numbers from one to a hundred, etc. Record yourself on the recorder so that you can pronounce words not only directly, but also in reverse order. Try to memorize this sequence of words over time. This way you can improve not only the pace of your speech, but also your memory. Then move on to repeating the sequence of words to your ears. Text that should be recorded at a fast pace, you should repeat it very slowly. 3. “Put” the voice Well “put” the voice is needed not only actors, musicians and representatives of other creative professions, but also those people who want to learn to speak beautifully and clearly express their thoughts. To become the owner of a voice that has ideal strength, range and timbre, you need to systematically train it. To improve the power of voice will help clear and loud recitation of poems, poems in prose, elegance, fables or any other texts that cause you positive emotions. To expand and “adjust” the range of voice, every day perform special text exercises on the lowest or highest tones. Depending on the goal, your voice should become lower or higher. The tempo of your voice depends on the additional tone (overtones). Extra tone with its sound resembles a kind of echo. Extra tone appears when the sound of your voice is reflected from the larynx, skull, chest or surface of any other natural resonator. 4. Develop speech Many people today do not understand why they need to learn to speak beautifully and clearly express their thoughts. They spend a lot of time behind a computer monitor or TV screen. Our contemporaries read little and are gradually turning into Neanderthals who speak Hebrew. To develop their speech, you need to learn how to build sentences correctly, increase vocabulary, learn to highlight the main thing in their speech, get rid of words parasites and expand conversational practice. 4.1. Learn to build sentences correctly When a person systematically builds sentences incorrectly, it indicates that his speech is monotonous and illiterate. If the narrator began to speak a sentence, but can not finish it, as he constantly has problems with the selection of appropriate words, no sane interlocutor of such a narrator will not listen for a long time. Begin to get acquainted with the technique of correct construction should be written exercises. Enter a general notebook and write down in it your observations and thoughts, heard or read aphorisms, winged expressions, quotes of great people, etc. If you are to perform in front of an audience, plan your performance in advance, put it on paper and, repeating individual expressions, retell the text according to the plan already prepared and written. Keep a diary and “share” your impressions, reflections, ideas, memories, experiences, etc. with it. Keeping a diary will not only help you develop your speech, but will also help you learn how to build sentences correctly.
4.2 Increasing vocabulary The poor vocabulary indicates that a person has poor and underdeveloped speech. A narrator who constantly uses the same words to express his or her judgments, remarks and subjective evaluations does not make a very pleasant impression on his or her listeners. ✔ In order to diversify his speech, increase the vocabulary and earn the respect of people around him, it is necessary to work systematically with the explanatory dictionary. If you hear a word unknown to you somewhere, immediately find it in the dictionary, find out its meaning, write it in your notebook or notebook and try to remember it. To memorize a new word, make a sentence with it, as the term taken out of context can be perceived in a distorted or completely incorrect form. ✔ Solving scandals and crossword puzzles, you will not only increase your vocabulary, but also learn to understand the multiplicity of a word, because often crossword puzzlers use its meaning in an ironic or allegorical sense. ✔ You can also expand your vocabulary with magazines and newspapers. Read not only glossy magazines, but also specialized publications. Economic, legal, medical, psychological articles will enrich your speech with new terms and your brain will receive useful information and new knowledge. ✔ Expand your circle of communication. Get to know lawyers, economists, engineers, teachers, doctors, programmers and representatives of many other professions about which you know almost nothing. When you talk to these people, you will hear some new words. Make sure you learn the meaning of these words and gradually introduce them into your everyday speech.
4.3. Highlight the main thing If attention to detail is a priority during observation, then during public speeches, excessive detail most often leads to the audience starting to lose interest in both the narrator and his story. Do you want to learn how to speak beautifully and express your thoughts clearly? Then you need to be able to compress the information you are sharing with your interlocutor. To highlight the main thing, you need to make a clear plan that will allow you to focus on the most important details, determine the sequence and focus the listeners’ attention on priority aspects. Replacing, excluding, and summarizing are the three main techniques that experienced speakers use to compress their text. With these techniques, you can turn the most uninteresting and stretched text into a true masterpiece of eloquence! 4.4 Get rid of parasitic words A person who wants to learn how to intelligently express his thoughts, must get rid of parasitic words. Such parasitic words as “basically”, “here”, “well”, “as it were”, “like”, “like”, “shit”, “tin”, etc., kill the beauty of speech and spoil its sound. To get rid of parasitic words, you should first record your speech on a dictaphone, then listen to it and analyze it. Mark those words that have a negative impact on your speech and spoil it. Ask your household, relatives and friends to correct you as soon as they hear a parasite word from your mouth. If you are abusing “ekanya” and “bekanya”, you should work on the pace of your speech. When choosing between a short pause and an ekanyem, give preference to the first option, because pauses between words or sentences do not cause negative reactions such as “ekanyem”. If you learn how to control the pace of your speech, you can stop in time before saying something stupid or saying the word “parasite” again. 4.5. Expand your conversation practice Use every opportunity to speak publicly. Public speaking will help you understand and correct your mistakes, gain self-confidence and self-worth, track the public’s reaction to your point of view, and so on. The more you communicate with people, the easier it will be for you to learn to speak beautifully and express your thoughts clearly. Don’t be afraid to make new acquaintances or communicate with people you know on topics you have not thought about discussing with them before. Don’t be afraid to peek into the outline sometimes during a public speaking engagement. There is no shame in it, because you are a living person, not a robot that operates automatically and never makes mistakes. During the conversation, use the same gestures that not only make you feel comfortable and cozy at the moment, but also cause the audience the right associations. 5. Learn to describe subjects This exercise will help you learn how to speak beautifully, clearly express your thoughts and easily talk about an object at least all day long. Focus your attention on an object that is in your home: a wall clock, plate, gas stove, sink, etc. Think about this object and try to talk about it only for 5-7 minutes. Try to use a beautiful literary language. At first it will be very difficult for you, but over time you will learn to describe objects with literary language. As soon as you see progress, make the task more difficult: gradually increase your training time and choose subjects that you find difficult to describe. 6. Reading the right books The right books will teach you to speak correctly and beautifully, to express your thoughts clearly and clearly, not to be afraid of public speaking, and to feel confident and self-sufficient as a narrator. We offer you the most effective and popular books that will help you expand your horizons and develop your speech.
6.1 The Art of Speaking and Listening by Mortimer Adler Editor, philosopher, active supporter of humanities education and educator American Mortimer Adler has written a truly brilliant book that should be in the home library of every self-respecting person! In the first chapter of his work, Mr. Adler explains clearly and very clearly the difference between writing and speaking, reading and listening. If the text you have written can be improved, corrected, shortened, and if you go back to what you have read more than once to rethink and understand it differently, then what you have said or listened to earlier cannot be corrected, because it is necessary to speak and listen now and here. Listening and talking, as opposed to writing and reading, both begin and end in the same period of time, so they can not exist separately. Adler states that the purpose of any human communication is to meet the consciousnesses of the interlocutors. The hardest part of the conversation is to express your thoughts clearly and clearly in words and to understand what your conversation partner is trying to tell you. It takes a lot of mental energy to find a common language with another person. People who are not ready to make such sacrifices can be called sluggish and lazy interlocutors, because their intellectual laziness prevents them from becoming active participants in the vigorous current conversation and achieve the necessary results. The author of the book “The Art of Speaking and Listening” teaches his readers silent listening, uninterrupted speech and conscious two-way conversation, which should become the principle of life of any reasonable person. 6.2. The book “Sell Your Idea!” by Sam Harrison Marketer Sam Harrison teaches his readers to present their ideas to clients, bosses or any other interested person. The author has worked in marketing for more than 20 years and during this time he managed to sell his promising ideas to such famous companies as NBA, American Express and Microsoft. Mr. Harrison claims that ideas cannot sell themselves. He warns his readers that the brighter and more promising an idea comes to their head, the harder it will be to sell it to interested parties, as the promotion of this idea often involves some risk. Many people think that successful ideas are neglected due to lack of creativity among stakeholders, lack of time, opportunity or desire, etc. But Sam Harrison absolutely disagrees with this statement! He says that the problem with promoting bright ideas is that we do not have the special skills without which it is almost impossible to implement an idea. We understand perfectly well how to create and develop promising ideas, but we do not know how to convince other people of their usefulness. Therefore, in the book “Sell Your Idea!” the author teaches us to find common language with clients, bosses and people who make decisions. After reading this book, you will learn how to properly ask questions, make convincing presentations, argue against opponents and much more. With Sam Harrison’s book, you will learn how to demonstrate your idea in all its glory!
6.3 Peter Huber’s Peter Huber’s “Tell to Win” in his book “Tell to Win” shows that many modern people succeed with a convincing and exciting story, whose inner content and strength motivate employees, customers, shareholders, co-founders and partners to act actively and effectively. If you don’t talk about your idea, you can’t sell it. The author claims that the future fate of your idea depends on the quality of your story. Although previously influential representatives of the business world preferred dry statistics, facts and figures, but now the situation has changed the most dramatically. The information noise in the modern world sounds so loud that it has already reached the level of cacophony, so sensible and important decision makers businessmen now prefer a focused and intelligible story. But for the story to turn out exactly like this, you need not only to clearly define the idea that you want to realize, but also to build your story correctly, so that it really interested listeners. Do you know how to present your idea so that interested people like it? A book by Peter Huber will help you become a more liberated and convincing storyteller! In the book you can read the reasoning of different but real people who successfully use some or other technologies of persuasion: Chad Harley (founder of Youtube), Gentry Lee (developer of “Mission to Mars”), Norma Kamali (fashion designer), Nelson Mandela (former president of South Africa), Deepak Chopra (writer and doctor), Kevin Planck (creator and director of Under Armour brand), Stephen Spielberg (director), Pat Riley (NBA champion), David Copperfield (illusionist), Nora Robert (writer), Jean Simmons (rock star). By reading their reasoning, you will learn to speak so beautifully and clearly, that people around you will not only understand you, but also become ardent supporters of your brilliant and promising ideas. Tim Kelly, President of Global Media Group, after reading the work of Peter Gruber, said this book is a powerful concept and a fascinating reading. Mr. Kelly admires how the author has been able to show readers clearly how a well-thought out and masterfully presented story turns the Wheel of Fortune in the right direction and turns an idea into action.