# How can I improve my speach? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 22, 2003, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-improve-my-speach/170261 "2003-04-22T05:41:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrentLumkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9d8465/32.png) [@BrentLumkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrentLumkin)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-improve-my-speach/170261/1 "2003-04-22T05:41:02Z")
To simply put it, I have a problem with speaking loudly, and clearly. I seem to mumble to people at times, and others I just don’t speak clearly at all. This is a simple question, so here we go… …what can I do to improve my speach? Are there any popular audio tape series which I could work with on exercises and whatnot? Is there any advice you can just give me for this? It’s been a problem for a while, and I want to simply overcome it now. I know that part of the problem is my selfestem and confidence, as I’ve been down and out for the past few years, so I’m sure that has something to do with it also. So any suggestions on excercises, tapes, or just overall help would be appriciated, thanks guys! ---
**Author:** ![BrentLumkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9d8465/32.png) [@BrentLumkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrentLumkin)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-improve-my-speach/170261/2 "2003-04-22T05:43:36Z")
I don’t know if this means anything, but I thought I’d just lay it all out. I am known for being able to do a lot of various voices, voice impressions if you will, and when doing OTHER voices, I am actually fine. It’s just, I don’t know, when I talk in MY OWN voice, is where the problem is. I’m also southern, so I dunno, lol. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a5b964/32.png) [@Bill\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_H)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-improve-my-speach/170261/3 "2003-04-22T05:50:08Z")
A couple suggestions: a) Sounds obvious, but make a concious effort to do better. Force yourself to speak up, even louder and more clear then you feel comfortable doing. c) Find a friend who is around you a lot who can give you some silent signal anytime they see you mumbling. b) Find a friend to practice speaking with. Do this on a regular basis, perhaps once a week. d) Alternatively (or additionally), video tape yourself speaking and watch it. Make notes of what to improve. Repeat. Do this on a regular basis. e) Force yourself into positions where speaking, even public speaking is important. Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![BrentLumkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9d8465/32.png) [@BrentLumkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrentLumkin)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-improve-my-speach/170261/4 "2003-04-22T06:12:12Z")
Thanks a lot for those tips, I’ll give them a try. I don’t really know why I’ve fallen into this hole, but eh, I’m determined to get out of it! ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-improve-my-speach/170261/5 "2003-04-22T06:14:38Z")
**Bill H.** , a “couple” is two. Always two, not four. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-improve-my-speach/170261/6 "2003-04-22T06:15:55Z")
Or five. Yeah, I can count, really! ---
**Author:** ![BrentLumkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9d8465/32.png) [@BrentLumkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrentLumkin)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-improve-my-speach/170261/7 "2003-04-22T06:15:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Q.E.D. \* > \*\*\*\*Bill H.\*\*, a “couple” is two. Always two, not four. 😛 \*\* _BadaBing_ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Rabid\_Squirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Rabid\_Squirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rabid_Squirrel)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-improve-my-speach/170261/8 "2003-04-22T06:20:25Z")
Yeah, I kinda have the same problem if I’m not concentrating. It’s just a matter of learning when you’re doing it and actively correcting it. Learning to speak by yourself though tapes is probably a bad idea. ---
**Author:** ![BrentLumkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9d8465/32.png) [@BrentLumkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrentLumkin)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-improve-my-speach/170261/9 "2003-04-22T06:24:46Z")
I’m really down about this, because I really want to take part in the Community Theater and the such, seeing how I’m so into film, screenwriting, and everything like that. ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-improve-my-speach/170261/10 "2003-04-22T06:38:28Z")
There is a club called the Toastmasters ([http://www.toastmasters.org/about.asp](http://www.toastmasters.org/about.asp)). They exist specifically for the members to improve their public speaking. ---
**Author:** ![Aankh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@Aankh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aankh)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-improve-my-speach/170261/11 "2003-04-22T06:57:11Z")
if you don’t mind a ‘home remedy’ type suggestion: try keeping a mike connected to your PC somewhere on a table. sit atleast two metres away and read aloud. record what you say, play it back, and analyse for trouble areas. you can join clubs either concurrently or after you achieve a certain amount of competence. feedback from friends and family is good too. and eye contact rules. … oops, just read **Bill** ’s post. what he said… ---
**Author:** ![Aankh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@Aankh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aankh)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-improve-my-speach/170261/12 "2003-04-22T06:59:07Z")
(irrelevant nitpick: it is “spe **e** ch”. not “spe **a** ch”.) (sorry.) ---
**Author:** ![Tradnor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cab0a1/32.png) [@Tradnor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tradnor)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-improve-my-speach/170261/13 "2003-04-22T10:31:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Q.E.D. \* > \*\*\*\*Bill H.\*\*, a “couple” is two. Always two, not four. 😛 \*\* cou·ple ([American Heritage Dictionary](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=couple)) [list=1][li]Two items of the same kind; a pair.[/li][li]Something that joins or connects two things together; a link.[/li][li]_(used with a sing. or pl. verb)_[/li]a. Two people united, as by betrothal or marriage. b. Two people together. [li]_Informal._ **A few; several: a couple of days.** [/li][\*]_Physics_. A pair of forces of equal magnitude acting in parallel but opposite directions, capable of causing rotation but not translation[/list=1]A message brought to you by Pedants Against Pedantry. ---
**Author:** ![Tradnor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cab0a1/32.png) [@Tradnor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tradnor)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-improve-my-speach/170261/14 "2003-04-22T10:42:54Z")
That said, I agree with **Bill H.** I’ve done some of the things he suggests and it has been quite helpful. I’m still working on it, but it’s getting better. One other thing I’ve noticed is that sometimes my mouth goes faster than my mind and I haven’t worked out exactly what I’m going to say, so my speech degenerates into a sort of nonsensical mumbling by the end of the sentence. I don’t know if that applies in your case, but for me it can help to just slow down a bit and concentrate on what I’m saying. ---
**Author:** ![cleops](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/2acd7d/32.png) [@cleops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cleops)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-improve-my-speach/170261/15 "2003-04-22T14:30:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by aasna \* > **(irrelevant nitpick: it is "spe**e **ch". not "spe** a\*\*ch".) > (sorry.) \*\* I don’t think it is irrelevant. To speak clearly, a certain amount of precision is involved. And the practice of precision applies to knowing how words are spelled, and might be said to affect one’s precision in regard to speaking clearly. In other words, making precision a habit couldn’t hurt! (Gaudere, have mercy on me now as I press Submit Reply.) ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-improve-my-speach/170261/16 "2003-04-22T14:34:46Z")
Use your tape recorder to _record_ a tape, not play one. That is, record yourself in a typical conversation, & play it back to hear how you sound. This is, perhaps, the best simple learning experience you can have. Cheap, too. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-improve-my-speach/170261/17 "2003-04-22T14:37:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Q.E.D. \* > \*\*\*\*Bill H.\*\*, a “couple” is two. Always two, not four. 😛 \*\* Hell with that… last I checked, b) came before c). ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-improve-my-speach/170261/18 "2003-04-22T15:09:57Z")
If you want to do theatre, go right ahead-- any good director should be able to point you towards some speech classes. They’re commonplace, but it helps to know who’s good in your area. What a coach will do is teach you to speak in the front of your mouth. English is a guttural, back of the throat language. You can speak it clearly with clenched teeth and lips. But a romance language like French requires using your tongue and lips and moving your mouth. Move your mouth around when you talk, and you’ll speak clearly. Just practice at home so you don’t sound like you’re orating when you talk to your friends. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![BrentLumkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9d8465/32.png) [@BrentLumkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrentLumkin)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-improve-my-speach/170261/19 "2003-04-22T20:18:50Z")
Thanks a lot guys, I needed this. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-improve-my-speach/170261/20 "2003-04-23T00:40:37Z")
Or, take singing lessons. That’ll help both speaking and singing at the same time. Part of normal speaking includes inflection (using higher and lower pitches, i.e., notes, of voice), with which singing lessons obviously help. E.g., questions often go up in pitch at the end of sentence and declarative sentences go down. Singing also teaches correct vowel pronunciations, correct consonant pronunciations, and ‘intonation,’ i.e., the quality of voice, whether gruff and heavy or light and airy. These all have speaking applications. Singing also teaches correct breathing. People would be surprised to learn how often poor speaking habits come from poor breathing habits. E.g., if your voice trails off at the end of a sentence, you didn’t take a deep enough breath. The one who sings, speaks twice. ## One other quick tip: Read children stories to children as animatedly and as entertaingly as you can muster. That’ll open yer mouth up! It’ll also transfer over into facial expression, which is as important while talking as the words. Peace. “You’re diction has improved tremedously, my dear. Only, may I suggest you don’t intersperse your discourse with so many ‘fa la las’?” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-improve-my-speach/170261.md?page=2)