Talking Tip #15: Controlling the rate at which you speak will have a positive impact on your communication.

 

Speech Rate

In this last post, I want to talk a bit about speech rate– how quickly we talk.  Many of us are fast talkers, and we are guilty of running our words together.  Possibly we could be accused of mumbling!  I know that when I’m working with clients who are non-native speakers of North American English, I need to be reminded to slow down.  Funny thing is, I also see this when my clients are speaking in English.  There are times I encourage them to slow down as well.

I think we all tend to speak quickly, maybe as a result of our fast-paced society. Possibly it’s also a crutch for us to get through a word we’re not quite sure how to say, hoping if we just plow through it, we’ll be understood.  Unfortunately, that isn’t always the best plan.

 

Control it by…

There are times we need to control how fast we talk, and one obvious way to do that is to speak more slowly.  That can sound and feel unnatural.  But here’s a trick that will help you to slow your speech when you want to either emphasize a point or calm your nerves.

Stretch your vowels

Stretch out your vowels.  Consider the important word you want to say, and stretch the primary vowel in it.  For instance, imagine I am a teacher talking to my kindergartners who had just come in from recess. They are really excited, but I need them to listen.  I might say “Children, I need you to sit down right now”.  In order for them to hear me, I would stretch out the vowels in the words “sit down” and maybe “right now”.  This would get their attention because it wouldn’t be as fast as they were talking nor as fast as I would normally talk.

Pause

Another way to change your speech rate is through pausing.  We usually pause at the end of our thoughts.  We pause after something important that we say, maybe after each item in a list that we are giving.  Pausing slows down that message and also indicates to our listener that what we just said is important.  You can also slow your rate by pausing right before the important part of your message.  Maybe you pause right before saying someone’s name or right before listing the things you want your child to do before they get on their phone.

Pausing will slow down your listener so they pay attention, but it will also slow you down and give you chance to collect your thoughts.  One other benefit to pausing is it will help you to maintain control as you speak.  You won’t inadvertently give up the floor, nor will you feel your words are getting away.

Pausing and stretching your vowels are two effective ways to control the rate at which you speak.  They are attention getting and help your listener to better understand your message.

 

 

 

Talking Tip #15: Controlling the pace at which you speak will have a positive impact on you as a communicator.

In this last post, I want to talk a bit about speech rate, how quickly we talk. Many of us are fast talkers, and we are guilty of running our words together. Possibly we could be accused of mumbling! I know that when I’m working with clients who are nonnative speakers of North American English, I need to be reminded to slow down. Funny thing is, I also see this when my clients are speaking in English, in a language that is not their native tongue. There are times I encourage them to slow down as well.

I think we all tend to speak quickly, maybe as a result of our fast-paced society. Possibly it’s also a crutch for us to get through a word we’re not quite sure how to say, hoping if we just plow through it, we’ll be understood. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the best plan.
There are times we need to control how fast we talk, our speech rate. Just how do we do that? One way is to speak more slowly. That not only feels weird but can also sounds weird. We aren’t robots, and we really can’t keep it at it for long.

Here is one trick, though, to slow down your speech when you want to either emphasize a point or calm your nerves. Stretch out your vowels. Consider the important word you want to say, and stretch the primary vowel in it. For instance, imagine I’m a teacher talking to my kindergartners who had just come in from recess. They are really excited but I need them to listen. I might say “Children, I need you to sit down right now”. In order for them to hear me, I would stretch out the vowels in the words “sit down” and maybe “right now”. This would get their attention because it wouldn’t be as fast as they were talking nor as fast as I would normally talk. Try it the next time you either need to make a point or want to feel a little less stressed yourself.

Another way to change your speech rate is through pausing. We usually pause at the end of our thoughts. We pause after something important that we say, maybe after each item in a list that we are giving.

Pausing slows down that message and also indicates to our listener that what we just said is important. You can also slow your rate by pausing right before the important part of your message. Maybe you pause right before saying someone’s name or right before listing the things you want your kid to do before they get on their phone.

Pausing will slow down your listener so they pay attention, but it will also slow you down and give you chance to collect your thoughts. One other benefit to pausing is it will help you to maintain control as you speak. You won’t inadvertently give up the floor nor will you feel your words are getting away.

Pausing and stretching your vowels are two effective ways to control the rate at which you speak. It calms your nerves and helps your listener better understand your message.