Articulation, pace and pausing

Speak clearly at a comfortable pace, with pauses that help. Lesson 22 of 58: Pronunciation, every level.

Clear, not fast

Clarity beats speed. A comfortable pace for presenting is about 130–150 words a minute; conversation runs a little faster. Speaking too fast usually comes from nerves, and it swallows exactly the sounds that matter: endings and stressed syllables.
Open your mouth more than feels necessary, especially on stressed vowels, and let your jaw move. Many unclear speakers barely move their lips.
Thank you all for coming today. (Slow, open, warm)
The key point is this. (Stress “key” and “this”)

Speak in chunks of three to eight words, each one idea, with a short pause between: “The results this quarter / were better than expected, / mainly because / of the new product.” A pause gives the listener time to understand, and gives you time to think.
Pause before and after the most important point. Silence is not a mistake: it is emphasis.
The good news is / we finished on time.
What we need now / is a decision.

Replace “um”, “uh” and “like” with a short silence. Record yourself for one minute and count them; the counting alone cuts them down.
Warm up like a singer: tongue twisters, lip trills, and saying a few lines over-articulated, as if to somebody across the room. Then speak normally: what is left is clarity.
Red lorry, yellow lorry. (l and r)
She sells seashells on the seashore. (s and sh)
Unique New York, unique New York. (Lips and tongue)
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. (Plosives)
Tip: Speed comes from practice, not from trying. Say a tongue twister slowly ten times before you say it fast once.

Explain how to make your favourite drink or dish in one minute. Record it, then count your fillers and words. Do it again with pauses instead of fillers.
I spoke in short thought groups
I paused before the key step
My second take had fewer fillers than my first

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