How to Speak Clearly

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Speaking clearly and efficiently proposing your ideas is a must in modern society.

Steps

1. Practice enunciating your words. Usually, a pen put in the mouth, horizontally, will force you to enunciate your words more.
   
2. Speak slower. You have no idea how helpful it is to give your words an extra second or two to fully come out of your mouth. Pausing also works, because pausing allows the person you're speaking to to digest all of the words you've just said.
   
3. Practice your grammar. If your grammar is bad, your thoughts and ideas may not be percieved clearly.
   
4. Learn some vocabulary. Learning the right words to say certain things is also very helpful.
   

Tips

• Try listening to yourself using a voice-recorder. Usually, this will help you determine what you would need to work on.
  
• When in a conversation, take some time to ask if the other person understands what you're trying to say. If she/he doesn't, try rephrasing what you just said.
  
• Keep it simple. Sometimes, a simple explanation is all you need to speak clearly.
  

Warnings

• When practicing with the pen to help you enunciate, don't choke on the pen. Make sure the pen is long enough to not move, slip, or fall into your mouth by accident. Remember to place your pen alongside your mouth horizontally of course, as this will be better for pronouncing certain syllables and won't cause you to choke or gag on the pen.
  
• Don't over think it when you speak to others because you may end up making the situation worse. Try to be natural--think 'flowy' as you speak, not "what else/next" to say. Feel 'flowy', take good, relaxing breaths and think of an image that brings soothingness, like swimming in a heated swim pool at night or drinking refreshing smoothies, to dancing to a favorite song or reading your favorite book.
  

Things You'll Need

• An understanding friend or family member to help you, and give you tips on what to practice.
  

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Speak Clearly. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.