3 Tips For Clearer And Articulated Speech (If You Tend To Ramble, Mumble, Or Struggle To Find Words)

Two days ago, I received a wake-up call.

For the last month, I have been writing a lot every day. However, I rarely speak to people outside of scheduled calls since I live alone. I have previously mentioned here how you can write faster by writing as you would speak it, but I noticed a surprising side effect:

I now tend to speak as I would write it

As a result, I have become more incoherent when forming phrases with a slower process. A lot of mumbling too.

After that webinar, I decided to solve the problem very quickly. Thankfully, I’m now on my way back to clear speech. Here are three things that helped me that I learned from videos and answers from certain Twitter users:

Keep It Simple

I had the subconscious tendency to impress with my words. But trying to find the best way to express a certain idea led me to further mumbling and awkwardly stringed sentences.

Instead, I now practice saying what I want with as few words as possible.

As the digital writer Nicolas Cole says, “clarity trumps cleverness.” If the listener can understand you better, it will resonate more.

Talk Slower

A byproduct of listening to audiobooks fast is the tendency to talk fast.

In my case, I was speaking as I would write it. Writing tends to be slower than normal speech. Thus, I unconsciously talked faster while thinking slower (a horrible combination).

Now I focus on talking as slowly as possible and have noticed dramatic improvements.

Speak From Your Heart

Ultimately, you want to connect with your listener. The best way is to tell stories and affirmations that resonate on an emotional level. Emotions cause us to act, after all.

By speaking clearly, slowly, and from your heart, you will get the impact you want.