If you do not know how to speak well and express your thoughts clearly, then 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 can easily win the respect of your boss and colleagues, solve any everyday problem that arises out of the blue, and come to an agreement with complete strangers without shouting, scandals, threats and hysterics.
People do not want to waste their time listening to a bad storyteller whose speeches are too boring, monotonous and uninteresting. They can pretend that they are listening to such an interlocutor, but in reality they will not hear or understand anything that is said. And there is nothing strange in this, because communicating with an interlocutor who does not know how to speak correctly and beautifully is not the most pleasant thing in the world.
A person who knows how to speak competently and very clearly express the thoughts that have visited his head has a special charisma. He is confident in himself and his abilities, so he does not need to raise his voice or insult his interlocutor and get personal in order to convey his point of view to him. If you know how to speak beautifully and argue your position, then people will listen to you with sincere admiration and will try not to miss a single word you say.
How to learn to speak beautifully and clearly express your thoughts? There are several effective ways through which you will not only learn to use and select those words that will optimally reflect your thoughts, but also be able to carry on a conversation about any subject for hours without any inconvenience.
Training diction
To attract the attention of the person you need, convince him that you are right, agree with him on further cooperation, exert a certain influence on him and win him over, you must have perfect diction. Thanks to diction training, you will learn to correctly change intonation, clearly pronounce consonants and vowels, highlight important points with your voice, etc.
Diction training begins with proper breathing. If you breathe incorrectly, your voice will begin to break, you will take long pauses between words or sentences, because of which the meaning of the phrases you say will be perceived by listeners in a distorted form. This is why many famous speakers use speech or diaphragm breathing during one or another public speech, since they most often do not have enough normal breathing.
To learn how to use air correctly and restore it in a timely manner, you need to practice a specially developed system of breathing training. This activity requires a person to have iron willpower, great patience and perseverance, but it is worth it.
Once you have learned to breathe correctly, start working on correct pronunciation or diction. Turn on the recorder and read any text, then listen to the recording and evaluate your speech. Let a few people whose opinions you trust listen to the recording. Does your assessment match other people's assessments?
Analyze both your own opinion and the opinions of other people. Highlight the main shortcomings: pronunciation of vowel sounds without stress (weak position), incorrect pronunciation of soft sounds, loss or absence of certain vowel sounds, “crumpled” or “eaten” consonant sounds, incorrect connection of connecting consonant sounds, lack of clear pronunciation of whistling and hissing sounds and etc.
To improve diction, you should perform a set of exercises daily that are aimed at relaxing the muscles responsible for correct and clear articulation.
Start with the easiest exercises and gradually increase their difficulty. Proceed to a more difficult exercise only if you have completely mastered the previous exercise. To maintain the results already achieved, do not forget to repeat basic exercises once a week. We recommend: 11 effective exercises to improve diction in adults
What else?
Of course, you need to practice as much as possible in order to learn how to convey to your interlocutor or listeners what you want to tell them. Not everything will work out right away. Personally, I also had unsuccessful presentations. And it’s commonplace that I didn’t defend my diploma as well as I could due to lack of sleep the day before. But from failures comes experience, which then helps you learn to interact with people more and more effectively. Gaining self-confidence and increasing self-esteem will also help you carry yourself better.
By the way, respected people are often listened to attentively not because they speak beautifully , but because they have proven by deeds that they need to be listened to. If you still can’t learn to become a good storyteller, then don’t give up. Firstly, you still need to improve yourself. Secondly, you can always hire a young press secretary with a higher philological education, who will give any comment in your words.
We work on the technique and content of speech
Many people make the mistake of talking too quickly. It is difficult for listeners to perceive a chattering person. No one wants to delve into the meaning of what an interlocutor who cannot control the pace of his speech says.
To ensure that the pace of your speech is pleasing to your listeners, you need to work on yourself every day. Start very slowly pronouncing this or that material that does not require any understanding: names of cities or countries, female or male names, numbers from one to one hundred, etc. Record yourself on a voice recorder so that later you will have the opportunity to pronounce words not only in forward order, but also in reverse order.
Try to remember this sequence of words over time. This way you can improve not only the pace of your speech, but also your memory. After this, proceed to repeating the sequence of words by ear. Text that should be written at a fast pace should be repeated very slowly.
Write in simple language
No matter how complex or technical your question, describe it in a direct, simple and preferably to the point manner. Don't test the intelligence and patience of your readers by having to deal with thick dictionaries, pretentious jargon, and extraneous thoughts. Use familiar, everyday words to make it easier to understand and enjoyable for the reader. This will reduce the chances of confusion and misinterpretation of the intended meaning.
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“Putting up” a vote
A well-trained voice is needed not only by actors, musicians and representatives of other creative professions, but also by those people who want to learn how 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. Clear and loud recitation of poems, prose poems, elegies, fables, or any other texts that evoke positive emotions will help improve your voice power.
To expand and “tune” the range of your voice, perform special text exercises every day in the lowest or highest tones. Depending on your goal, your voice should become lower or higher.
The timbre of the voice depends on the additional tone (overtones). The sound of the additional tone resembles a kind of echo. An additional tone occurs when the sound of your voice is reflected from the larynx, skull, chest cavity, or the surface of any other natural resonator.
Developing speech
Many modern people do not understand why they need to learn to speak beautifully and clearly express their thoughts. They spend a lot of time in front of a computer monitor or TV screen. Our contemporaries read little and are gradually turning into tongue-tied Neanderthals.
To develop your speech, you need to learn how to construct sentences correctly, increase your vocabulary, learn to highlight the main thing in your speech, get rid of filler words and expand your conversational practice.
4.1. Learning to construct sentences correctly
When a person systematically constructs sentences incorrectly, this indicates that his speech is monotonous and illiterate. If the narrator begins to speak a sentence, but cannot finish it because he constantly has problems finding the right words, then no sane interlocutor of such a narrator will listen for a long time.
You should begin your acquaintance with the technique of correct construction with written exercises. Keep a general notebook and write down in it your observations and thoughts, aphorisms you heard or read, catchphrases, quotes from great people, etc. If you have to speak in front of an audience, then draw up a plan for your speech in advance, transfer it to paper and, repeating individual expressions, retell the text according to an already prepared and written plan.
Keep a diary and “share” with him your impressions, thoughts, ideas, memories, experiences, etc. Keeping a journal will not only help develop your speech, but will also help you learn how to construct sentences correctly.
4.2. Increasing vocabulary
A meager vocabulary indicates that a person has poor and undeveloped speech. A storyteller who constantly uses the same words to express his judgments, comments and subjective assessments does not make a very pleasant impression on his listeners.
✔ To diversify your speech, increase your vocabulary and earn the respect of those around you, you need to systematically work with an explanatory dictionary. If you hear a word somewhere that is unfamiliar to you, immediately look it up in the dictionary, find out its meaning, write it down in a notebook or notepad and try to remember it. To remember a new word, make up a sentence with it, since a term taken out of context can be perceived in a distorted or completely incorrect form.
✔ By solving scanwords and crosswords, you will not only increase your vocabulary, but also learn to understand the ambiguity of a word, because crossword compilers often use its meaning in an ironic or allegorical sense.
✔ You can also expand your vocabulary with the help of magazines and newspapers. Read not only glossy, 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 social circle. Meet lawyers, economists, engineers, teachers, doctors, programmers and representatives of many other professions about which you know almost nothing. When communicating with such people, you will hear some words that are new to you. Be sure to learn the meaning of these words and gradually introduce them into your daily speech.
4.3. Let's highlight the main thing
If during observation attention to detail is a priority, then during public speaking excessive detail most often leads to the fact that listeners begin 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 that you share with your interlocutor.
To highlight the main points, you should create a clear plan that will allow you to emphasize the most important details, determine the sequence and focus the attention of listeners on priority aspects.
Substitution, elimination, and generalization are the three main techniques experienced speakers use to condense their text. Thanks to these techniques, you can turn the most uninteresting and drawn-out text into a true masterpiece of eloquence!
4.4. Getting rid of parasitic words
A person who wants to learn how to correctly express his thoughts must get rid of parasitic words. Parasitic words such as “in principle”, “here”, “well”, “as if”, “like”, “damn”, “tinny”, etc., kill the beauty of speech and spoil its sound.
To get rid of parasitic words, you must first record your speech on a voice recorder, then listen to it and analyze it. Mark those words that negatively affect your speech and spoil it. Ask your household, relatives and friends to correct you as soon as they hear this or that parasitic word from your lips.
If you're overusing the "bang" and "bang" sounds, then you need to work on the tempo of your speech. When choosing between a short pause and a “beep,” give preference to the first option, because pauses between words or sentences do not cause such negative reactions in listeners as a “beep.” If you learn to control the pace of your speech, you will be able to stop in time before blurting out something stupid or uttering a filler word again.
4.5. Expanding conversation practice
Take every opportunity to speak publicly. Public speaking will help you understand your mistakes and correct them, gain confidence in yourself and your abilities, monitor the public’s reaction to your point of view, etc.
The more you communicate with people, the easier it will be for you to learn to speak beautifully and clearly express your thoughts. Don’t be afraid to make new acquaintances or communicate with people you know on topics that you haven’t thought about discussing with them before.
Don’t be afraid to occasionally look at your notes during a public speech. There is nothing shameful in this, because you are a living person, and not a robot that acts automatically and never makes mistakes.
During a conversation, use those gestures that not only make you feel comfortable and cozy at the moment, but also evoke the right associations in your listeners.
How to learn to speak and express thoughts beautifully - all the ways
We invite you to familiarize yourself with the most common methods that in the future will help you both develop your speech and speak beautifully. The main thing is to acquire the proper desire, everything else is a matter of technique.
Daily Practice
Don't miss any opportunity to practice. Schoolchildren or students need to prepare reports, perform, read essays, and participate in essay and recitation competitions.
Perhaps the reviews will be negative at first, but sooner or later the situation will change. It will become clear very quickly: you need to prepare for every performance. You can do this at home, in front of the mirror. You can - with friends, telling them something interesting.
But, in any case, you can’t do without practice. Building a beautiful speech and competent presentation of thoughts requires patience. Always take the opportunity to say a few words, even a toast at the holiday table will do.
Competent criticism
A person learns faster if he finds himself in an environment of people with superior skills. Where can I get criticism? For more experienced speakers. You are lucky if you have a mentor (teacher) who can give advice and guide you.
You can receive criticism about your oratorical qualities during competitions and during open microphones. Naturally, you need to have thick skin, because the words of professionals can hurt.
Try to see the positive aspects, and not the complete negativity - in this case, progress will accelerate. And, of course, do not get into an argument with a critic: this can ruin your reputation. If everything is done correctly, you will very quickly learn to formulate your thoughts and express them competently.
Constant reading
It is impossible to learn to speak beautifully and express thoughts if you do not hold books in your hands. It’s enough to download them to your phone (tablet) if you don’t like paper media. You should start with books about culture and speech theory. Also check out our selection of self-development books.
Since we speak Russian, it is worth placing special emphasis on authors who are fluent in words. “Russian with a Dictionary” by I. Levontina is an excellent guide for beginners.
Some subtle and narrow parts of Russian speech are perfectly described by Rosenthal. To have a competent conversation, you need to have a perfect command of the rules and know the exceptions. It may take months to hone your skills, but without them you should not hope for results.
Smart sport
Before you learn to speak beautifully and correctly and properly express your thoughts, you need to master one rule. To talk and concentrate, you need a strong voice and a large lung capacity. After all, you will have to argue often, defending your position.
How to do this if there is not enough breathing? You need to exercise regularly, and exercise can be combined with mental training. For example, listen to audiobooks while jogging or on an exercise bike.
It is impossible to become a good speaker without physical training. No, there are exceptions (like Nick Vujicic), but this is very rare. Motivational speakers exercise very often, which helps them cope with difficulties.
Not a day without a doubt
You cannot take all information, advice and knowledge on faith. They should always be questioned and rechecked, then success is inevitable. This is especially true for intensive public speaking courses, where dubious recommendations are presented as the ultimate truth. No, you can and should go to trainings, but you shouldn’t expect too much from them.
It is extremely important to doubt your competencies, because without this there can be no development, no dynamics. Any thoughts on this matter should be spoken out loud. This move will help improve your verbal skills. Don't be alarmed if someone overhears an internal heated discussion: there is nothing criminal about it.
Regular diary
Competent speakers know how to write interestingly, and this has its own charm. After all, if you hook your audience with text, it will be much easier to engage them in conversation. To do this every day, you should keep a diary. Nowadays it can be done online, for example, on Instagram or Facebook.
You can write about everything: thoughts and experiences, thoughts about what is happening in the country and the world. If you touch on topical topics, someone will definitely begin to dissect the speech and point out not the most obvious mistakes. For the diary to be useful, you should work with it constantly, that is, every day.
Heated discussion
Another great method on how to learn to speak correctly and express your thoughts with ease. The ideal option is to achieve an environment where you are listened to attentively. Most often this happens during a discussion or exchange of opinions. And the hotter the argument, the more intently the interlocutor.
It is better to have a discussion with an opponent who holds diametrically opposed views. Such a person will not forgive the slightest mistake and, when the arguments are over, he will move on to speech analysis.
In the heat of an argument, a person learns to speak quickly, without thinking. This is extremely important for developing an active reserve and understanding your opponent. The discussion will have to be ongoing, and it is important not to hide from the controversy.
Reading poetry and audiobooks
Many perceived reciting poetry by heart as punishment. It turns out that this is a great way to learn to speak beautifully. An adult should go further: learn entire passages from works. It’s difficult and time-consuming, but whole phrases will be stored in your head, which can then be used. Wonderful turns of phrase in the books of Larry King, the famous presenter.
Why not use modern opportunities to build literate speech? Audiobooks are exactly what will expand your passive vocabulary. On the way to work or university, you should listen to classics and simply beautiful stories instead of the usual music. Listen to intonation and articulation. Believe me, you can do no worse.
Learning to describe objects
This exercise will help you learn to speak beautifully, express your thoughts clearly and easily talk about a particular subject all day long. Focus your attention on some object that you have in your home: a wall clock, a plate, a gas stove, a sink, etc. Think about this subject and try to talk only about it for 5-7 minutes. Try to use beautiful literary language.
At first it will be very difficult for you, but over time you will learn to describe objects in literary language. As soon as you see progress, complicate the task: gradually increase the training time and choose those items whose description causes you certain difficulties.
Determine your main ideas
Introduce the main idea, or at least hint at it, in the first few sentences of your introduction. Don't make the reader wait too long and wonder what you're writing about. People are impatient and will not waste time reading nonsense. Likewise, avoid starting your story with general phrases.
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Reading the right books
Correctly selected books will teach you to speak correctly and beautifully, express your thoughts clearly and clearly, not be afraid of public speaking, and feel like a confident and self-sufficient storyteller. We bring to your attention the most effective and popular books that will help broaden your horizons and develop your speech.
6.1. The book “The Art of Speaking and Listening” by Mortimer Adler
Editor, philosopher, active supporter of humanities education and teacher, American Mortimer Adler wrote 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 clearly and extremely clearly explains the difference between writing and speaking, reading and listening. If a written text can be improved, corrected, shortened, and what you read can be returned to more than once to rethink and understand differently, then what was said or heard earlier cannot be corrected, since you need to speak and listen right now and right here. Listening and speaking, unlike writing and reading, both begin and end in the same period of time, so they cannot exist separately.
Adler argues that the purpose of any human communication is to meet the minds of the interlocutors. The most difficult thing in a conversation is to clearly and clearly express your thoughts in words and understand what your interlocutor is trying to tell you. Finding common ground with another person requires a lot of mental energy. 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 an energetic conversation and achieving 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 for any sane person.
6.2. The book “Sell your idea!” Sam Harrison
Marketer Sam Harrison teaches his readers how to effectively pitch their ideas to clients, bosses, or any other stakeholders. The author has worked in the marketing field for more than 20 years and during this time he managed to sell his promising ideas to such famous companies as the NBA, American Express and Microsoft.
Mr. Harrison argues that ideas cannot sell themselves. He warns his readers that the brighter and more promising the idea that comes to their mind, the harder it will be to sell it to interested parties, because promoting this idea very often involves a certain 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 of promoting bright ideas is that we lack special skills, without which it is almost impossible to implement this or that idea.
We understand perfectly well how to create and develop promising ideas, but we do not know how to convince other people of their benefits. That’s why in the book “Sell Your Idea!” the author teaches us to find a common language with clients, bosses and people who make decisions.
After reading this book, you will learn how to ask questions correctly, make persuasive presentations, convincingly refute your opponents' points of view, and much more. With Sam Harrison's book, you'll learn how to showcase your idea in all its glory!
