The A to Z of speaking correctly
A is for Accent
Why lose your accent? Our accent is part of who we are. Just learn to speak clearly with your accent and remain unique.
B is for Breathing
When you breathe in to speak, push your ribcage out and keep your shoulders down and relaxed, fill your lungs with air and then speak. Notice the difference.
C is for Consonants
These form the framework of our speech and need to be clear and crisp. They are made when the air is stopped in the mouth. The most important consonants are the ‘t’ and ‘d’ at the end of words. Bad consonant sounds give the impression that we are lazy.
D is for Diphthong
A diphthong is a vowel sound that is made up of two different sounds and your mouth needs to change shape as you say it. There are six diphthong sounds and the mnemonic I use is ‘My house joins new road way’: the six highlighted [in italics] vowel sounds are the diphthongs.
E is for Eye Contact
You must look at the person or people you are talking to and direct your words at them. Imagine your words are tennis balls and throw them in the direction you want them to go. If you look down at the ground that is where your words (and voice) will end up.
F is for the ‘f’ sound
Not to be confused with the ‘th’ sound. The ‘f’ is made when your top teeth touch your bottom lip and the ‘th’ is made when your tongue goes between your top and bottom teeth. When making a ‘th’, look in a mirror – you should be able to see the tip of your tongue.
G is for Gestures
If you are the type of person who uses their hands and arms a lot when you are talking, be aware that it can irritate some people, especially if you’re giving a talk or presentation. Any gesture must look natural, even if it is rehearsed.
H is for ‘H’
One of my pet hates is people who say ‘haitch’, which is wrong – it should be ‘aitch’.
I is for Inflection
This is the gentle gliding up and down of the voice on different syllables. If your voice has no inflection, it will sound monotonous – almost like chanting.
J is for Jaw
In order for your speech to be clear your jaw needs to be exercised. Practise opening it as wide as you possibly can and move your tongue around – try to touch your nose and then your chin.
K is for ‘Kids’
It’s a horrible word, I should say children. But don’t hesitate to correct young people. If they leave the end of the word off, tell them. ‘I spent a lot of time telling my children ‘don’t forget the “t”’, or ‘photo has a “t” in it’, and now as adults they speak correctly. I come across a lot of parents who think it will diminish their child’s confidence – not as much as it will when they get older and can’t speak properly.
L is for Larynx
The vocal cords are inside the larynx and they vibrate when you speak.
M is for Monophthong
A monophthong is a vowel that is either open or shut; there are five open sounds and six shut sounds.
N is for Nasal
With a nasal sound there is complete closure in the mouth so that the sound has to travel through the nose, as in ‘m’ and ‘n’.
O is for Organs of Speech
There are five organs of speech. The mouth, the tongue, the teeth, the hard palate and the soft palate.
P is for Pausing
The pause is one of the most important aspects of speaking. You need to pause so that the listener has time to take in what you are saying. If you never pause, your listener will get left behind and give up.
Q is for Questions
When asking questions the general rule is to inflect your voice upwards.
R is for Resonance
A strong and powerful voice can be achieved with exercise, and a very good exercise is humming.
S is for Speed
Most of us speak too quickly. It is possible to learn to speak very clearly and quickly but most people wouldn’t be able to listen and take in what you have said. It is surprising how slowly you can speak before people think you have gone mad.
T is for the word ‘The’
If the word that follows ‘the’ begins with a vowel you should pronounce it ‘thee’, so we would have the chair, thee elephant, the box and thee idea.
U is for the Unstressed Syllable
English is a language of stressed and unstressed syllables. English tends to fall naturally into an iambic rhythm, which is an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.
V is for Vowels
We have five vowels but about 23 different vowel sounds. All vowel sounds are made by altering the shape of your mouth. And unlike consonant sounds, nothing in your mouth touches anything else.
W is for Word Pictures
When we speak we are sharing information and we have a picture in our head. If I am talking about a Christmas tree I have an image in my head, and it is my job to get you to imagine a Christmas tree as well – it might not be identical to mine but if I’m good it will be very similar.
X is for eXpression
You can speak as clearly and correctly as you like but if you sound boring no one will want to listen to you – put expression into your speech.
Y is for Yes
Always, always say ‘yes’. Never ‘yeah’.
Z is for Zoosemiotics
The study of the sounds and signals used in animal communication.
For more on clear speech: www.afraid-of-speaking-a-speech.com
Why lose your accent? Our accent is part of who we are. Just learn to speak clearly with your accent and remain unique.
B is for Breathing
When you breathe in to speak, push your ribcage out and keep your shoulders down and relaxed, fill your lungs with air and then speak. Notice the difference.
C is for Consonants
These form the framework of our speech and need to be clear and crisp. They are made when the air is stopped in the mouth. The most important consonants are the ‘t’ and ‘d’ at the end of words. Bad consonant sounds give the impression that we are lazy.
D is for Diphthong
A diphthong is a vowel sound that is made up of two different sounds and your mouth needs to change shape as you say it. There are six diphthong sounds and the mnemonic I use is ‘My house joins new road way’: the six highlighted [in italics] vowel sounds are the diphthongs.
E is for Eye Contact
You must look at the person or people you are talking to and direct your words at them. Imagine your words are tennis balls and throw them in the direction you want them to go. If you look down at the ground that is where your words (and voice) will end up.
F is for the ‘f’ sound
Not to be confused with the ‘th’ sound. The ‘f’ is made when your top teeth touch your bottom lip and the ‘th’ is made when your tongue goes between your top and bottom teeth. When making a ‘th’, look in a mirror – you should be able to see the tip of your tongue.
G is for Gestures
If you are the type of person who uses their hands and arms a lot when you are talking, be aware that it can irritate some people, especially if you’re giving a talk or presentation. Any gesture must look natural, even if it is rehearsed.
H is for ‘H’
One of my pet hates is people who say ‘haitch’, which is wrong – it should be ‘aitch’.
I is for Inflection
This is the gentle gliding up and down of the voice on different syllables. If your voice has no inflection, it will sound monotonous – almost like chanting.
J is for Jaw
In order for your speech to be clear your jaw needs to be exercised. Practise opening it as wide as you possibly can and move your tongue around – try to touch your nose and then your chin.
K is for ‘Kids’
It’s a horrible word, I should say children. But don’t hesitate to correct young people. If they leave the end of the word off, tell them. ‘I spent a lot of time telling my children ‘don’t forget the “t”’, or ‘photo has a “t” in it’, and now as adults they speak correctly. I come across a lot of parents who think it will diminish their child’s confidence – not as much as it will when they get older and can’t speak properly.
L is for Larynx
The vocal cords are inside the larynx and they vibrate when you speak.
M is for Monophthong
A monophthong is a vowel that is either open or shut; there are five open sounds and six shut sounds.
N is for Nasal
With a nasal sound there is complete closure in the mouth so that the sound has to travel through the nose, as in ‘m’ and ‘n’.
O is for Organs of Speech
There are five organs of speech. The mouth, the tongue, the teeth, the hard palate and the soft palate.
P is for Pausing
The pause is one of the most important aspects of speaking. You need to pause so that the listener has time to take in what you are saying. If you never pause, your listener will get left behind and give up.
Q is for Questions
When asking questions the general rule is to inflect your voice upwards.
R is for Resonance
A strong and powerful voice can be achieved with exercise, and a very good exercise is humming.
S is for Speed
Most of us speak too quickly. It is possible to learn to speak very clearly and quickly but most people wouldn’t be able to listen and take in what you have said. It is surprising how slowly you can speak before people think you have gone mad.
T is for the word ‘The’
If the word that follows ‘the’ begins with a vowel you should pronounce it ‘thee’, so we would have the chair, thee elephant, the box and thee idea.
U is for the Unstressed Syllable
English is a language of stressed and unstressed syllables. English tends to fall naturally into an iambic rhythm, which is an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.
V is for Vowels
We have five vowels but about 23 different vowel sounds. All vowel sounds are made by altering the shape of your mouth. And unlike consonant sounds, nothing in your mouth touches anything else.
W is for Word Pictures
When we speak we are sharing information and we have a picture in our head. If I am talking about a Christmas tree I have an image in my head, and it is my job to get you to imagine a Christmas tree as well – it might not be identical to mine but if I’m good it will be very similar.
X is for eXpression
You can speak as clearly and correctly as you like but if you sound boring no one will want to listen to you – put expression into your speech.
Y is for Yes
Always, always say ‘yes’. Never ‘yeah’.
Z is for Zoosemiotics
The study of the sounds and signals used in animal communication.
For more on clear speech: www.afraid-of-speaking-a-speech.com