Speaking Guide

Introduction

The Purpose of This Guide?

From the day we are born, we begin a lifelong journey of mastering speech. It's a journey that we often overlook, without appreciating how important it is.

But the ability to speak well is more than just a skill. It's a powerful force that can open doors to;

• Stronger connections,
• Better relationships,
• And incredible success in our careers.

It can change our lives, and we all desire that. But how can we achieve it?

In this guide, I aim to answer this question.

I will talk about the things we are born with, like our language, mouth, and tone of voice, and how we can make them better. I will also talk about the most common speaking problems and give practical advice on how to solve them.

Who is This Guide For?

This guide is for you, if you want to;

• Enhance your speaking abilities,
• Speak more confidently,
• Influence others effectively,
• Convey your ideas with clarity and impact,
• Inspire and motivate individuals and groups,
• Improve your communication skills,
• Build strong, lasting relationships,
• Open doors to professional opportunities.

What Will You Get?

At the end of this guide, you will gain the following:

• Understanding the different aspects of speaking (physical and cognitive),
• Exercises to enhance pronunciation elements,
• Exercises to enhance cognitive abilities,
• Extra resources for improving speaking skills.

In addition to them, you can also get best speaking exercises and solutions to common speaking problems for free. You can subscribe below and get them delivered to your inbox.

What is Speaking Beautifully?

Have you ever been captivated by someone's words? Have you ever drawn in by the way they speak, as if their voice were a melody?

We've all experienced the allure of beautiful speaking, but did you ever wondered what makes it enchanting?

Describing the ability to speak eloquently is not easy. But, we can think speaking as a composition.

If we think of our thoughts and knowledge as the lyrics of a song, then speaking beautifully is like adding rhythm, color, and tone to our words and sentences. It is like a soloist. In fact, speaking beautifully is like a song, a melody that comes from combining many elements.

Both the content and how we express it are important in the composition of this song. Understanding a topic, discussing it effectively, and explaining it clearly are all crucial for the quality of the content.

In simple terms, there are two aspects to how we express ourselves. The first is based on our genes and involves physical traits like vocal cords. They affect our natural voice and how we can use and improve these physical traits. The second aspect is about our cognitive abilities that influence how we express ourselves.

What Affects Our Speaking?

As mentioned earlier, we can think of speech as a composition. This composition consists of two main parts. When it comes to making the sounds of speech, having good pronunciation is key. When we talk about the content and vocabulary, cognitive ability plays an important role.

Pronunciation is how we make the sounds when we speak. It includes things like;

• Making vowel and consonant sounds correctly,
• Stressing the right syllables,
• Using the right pitch,
• Having a good rhythm.

Different accents and ways of speaking can also affect how we pronounce words, even if we're speaking the same language.

Cognitive ability in speaking refers to how our mind processes and uses skills to produce spoken language. It involves different mental functions that work together to create and arrange speech. It allows us to communicate effectively. The main components of cognitive ability in speaking include:

• Vocabulary,
• Comprehension,
• Memory,
• Attention,
• Inhibition.

Pronunciation Elements

Ever wondered why your words sometimes don't quite sound right when you're speaking? The reason is pronunciation.

It is a challenging aspect of language, but we can learn it.

First, I want to talk about how we create our voice and main features of our voice. It’s better to start with physical mechanics of speaking.

Then, I will unravel its nine key elements. I will also equip you with practical exercises to enhance each one of them.

How is Our Voice Created?

When we want to say a word, the first spark comes from the brain.

Our brain sends signals to our diaphragm and stomach.

With their contraction, the air in our lungs hits our vocal cords in our throat.

During this collision, the muscles in our throat area contract so that our vocal cords can produce the desired tone.

Finally, the sound we make is shaped into words using our throat, mouth, tongue, nose, and resonating spaces.

Main Features of Our Voice

Our voice has three basic features: volume, pitch and timbre.

Volume

The volume of our voice is connected to how much air we breathe in, as well as the pressure and power we use.

Taking a deep breath helps us make our vocal cords vibrate more, making our voice louder. While genetics influence lung size and voice volume, proper breathing technique is also important. To have a strong and powerful speech, it's crucial to take diaphragmatic breaths. (I will explain correct breathing in the next sections.)

Pitch

Pitch is connected to the length of our vocal cords. It can be classified as high, medium, or low.

A high-pitched voice, known as the head voice, is thin and has a high vibration frequency of the vocal cords.

We usually use a medium pitch in our everyday conversations. This pitch is more flexible and strong, and the sound comes from the cheek and lip areas.

As the vibration frequency of the vocal cords decreases, the voice becomes deeper. A low-pitched voice is also referred to as the chest voice.

Timbre

The timbre of the voice is related to resonating cavities. They give color to the raw sound produced by the vocal cords, enhancing the quality and beauty of the voice.

These cavities are located in the head and chest areas. The resonating cavities in the head area include the larynx, nasal cavity, and oral cavity. Additionally, the chest cavity also acts as a resonating cavity. Among them, the oral cavity is the best place for voice resonance.

Therefore, it is important to keep your mouth open when speaking to ensure clear and understandable speech.

Tension & Relaxation in the Body

When I found out that tension in our bodies and muscles can actually affect our conversations, I was pretty surprised. At first, it didn't seem very important. But, believe it or not, body tension actually has a big impact on our breathing, voice, and the way we speak. I notice this when I'm making videos.

The reason behind this is actually pretty simple; speaking is all about using our muscles. So, when our muscles are all tense, it comes across in our voice as tension and sharpness. If we want to have a nice and effective voice and speech, it's important for our body to be relaxed.

When I start to feel too stressed or anxious before filming, I like to do some basic stretching exercises to help me calm down. It makes a big difference. You can find these types of routines on YouTube. It's such a simple and effective way to enhance your speaking skills.

Exercise: Try doing stretching exercises before important presentations or meetings to relax your muscles. There are plenty of great stretching videos available on YouTube.

Breath

Breath. It pretty much affects everything. Your mind, your body, your psychology, and, of course, it affects how you talk.

A lot of us breathe from our chest or diaphragm interchangeably. However, the breath we naturally take as babies is from our diaphragm. As we grow older, we tend to forget this and switch to the more stressful chest breathing. But, diaphragm breathing is essential for good speaking.

This type of breathing is key if you want to control and master your breath during speech. When you do it, your speech will flow smoothly and sound amazing.

Diaphragm breathing is all about taking long, slow, deep breaths that are steady and quiet. When we breathe from our diaphragm, we don't move our shoulders or upper chest. We push out our belly using our abdominal muscles and engage our diaphragm muscle.

When I started using this breathing technique, or in other words, when I remembered to breathe like that, my speaking got a lot better. Plus, I felt more relaxed and at ease.

Exercise: Make it a habit to practice diaphragmatic breathing every day. You can do this exercise daily. You can do it while meditating, being outdoors, or enjoying fresh air on your balcony. To do this;

• Take deep breaths for 4 seconds using your diaphragm muscles,
• Hold your breath for 8 seconds,
• Then exhale slowly for 16 seconds.

Articulation

Our ability to make words comes from using different parts of our mouth, like the tongue, lips, and jaw. We also use our teeth, gums, and the roof of our mouth. Articulation comes from this coordination. Proper articulation allows for clear and understandable pronunciation of letters, syllables, and words.

We can categorize these body parts as either moving or non-moving.

• Moving: The lower jaw, lips, and tongue.
• Non-moving: The teeth, gums, and palate.

The moving body parts are more important for articulation. You can train these parts. Those exercises can greatly enhance your ability to articulate words.

Tongue twisters is a common exercise for improving articulation. You can practice these difficult tongue twisters slowly at first, then gradually increasing speed. This can help improve the flexibility and agility of our tongue, lips, and jaw.

Exercise: Practice tongue twister for each vowel and consonant. You can find tongue twisters for this exercise at “Best Speaking Exercises” section. You can subscribe below to get them.

Vowel and Consonant Sounds

Vowel Pronunciation

A. Short and Long Vowels:

Vowels can be categorized as short or long depending on how long they are spoken. Short vowels are relatively quick, while long vowels are held for a longer time. The difference between short and long vowels can impact the meanings and pronunciations of words in various languages. In English, for instance, the words "bit" and "beat" only differ in the length of the vowel, which leads to different meanings.

Exercise: Create Word Pairs - Make a list of words that have different vowel sounds (e.g., bit/beat, hop/hope, cut/coot). Practice saying each word pair, focusing on the short or long vowel sound, and notice how long the vowel sound is in each word.

B. Diphthongs and Triphthongs:

Diphthongs and triphthongs are vowel sounds that involve a smooth gliding movement from one vowel to another within a single syllable. In a diphthong, the tongue glides from one vowel position to another, creating a sound that combines elements of both vowels. Triphthongs add an extra gliding movement to a diphthong. Examples of diphthongs include the "oi" in "coin" and "ou" in "house," while an example of a triphthong is the "eau" in "beau.”

Exercise: Diphthong Identification - Listen to recordings of words containing diphthongs and triphthongs. Try to identify the glide from one vowel position to another within each syllable. Practice producing these diphthongs and triphthongs with smooth gliding movements.

Consonant Pronunciation

A. Voiced and Voiceless Consonants:

Consonants can be classified as voiced or voiceless. Voiced consonants are produced with vocal cord vibration, creating a vocal sound. Voiceless consonants are produced without vocal cord vibration, resulting in a breathy sound. Examples of voiced and voiceless pairs in English include:

• /b/ (voiced) and /p/ (voiceless)
• /d/ (voiced) and /t/ (voiceless)
• /z/ (voiced) and /s/ (voiceless)

Exercise: Voiced-Voiceless Contrast - Create word pairs with voiced and voiceless consonants (e.g., bad/pat, dog/talk, vine/fine). Practice pronouncing each pair while paying attention to the vibration of your vocal cords for voiced sounds and the absence of vibration for voiceless sounds.

B. Plosives, Fricatives, Nasals, and Liquids:

Consonants can be categorized into different classes based on the manner of articulation.

• Plosives (or stops) involve a complete closure in the vocal tract, followed by a sudden release of air (e.g., /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/).
• Fricatives involve a narrow constriction in the vocal tract, creating a turbulent airflow (e.g., /f/, /v/, /s/, /z/).
• Nasals allow air to pass through the nose while the mouth is closed (e.g., /m/, /n/, /ŋ/).
• Liquids involve a partial closure in the vocal tract, allowing air to flow more freely (e.g., /l/, /r/).

Exercise: Tongue Twisters - Use tongue twisters or short phrases containing plosives, fricatives, nasals, and liquids (e.g., "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers"). Repeat these phrases several times to improve articulation and clarity. You can find them at “Best Speaking Exercises” section. You can subscribe below to get them.

Stress (Word, Syllable and Sentence)

Stress means emphasizing a word or syllable to make it sound stronger. Some of us do it without realizing. We highlight the point we want to emphasize. Some of us speak in a more monotone way. For a smooth speech, words and syllables should be emphasized in a gradual way based on their importance. When we can speak with emphasis, it makes listening much more enjoyable.

This is the hardest part me personally. I struggle apply this one my daily talking in both my native language and in english. However, there are several exercises that I use to improve myself.

Exercise 1: Word Stress

In each word, emphasize the capitalized syllable when pronouncing. Give the stressed syllables slightly greater duration, intensity, and pitch compared to the other syllables. This exercise will help you improve in identifying and producing word stress correctly. It is important for clear and natural-sounding speech.

Sample Words:

1. TEACH-er
2. tele-PHONE
3. E-le-phant
4. CHOC-o-late
5. com-PUT-er
6. u-ni-VER-si-ty
7. im-POR-tant
8. de-LIC-ious
9. pho-TO-graph
10. FAM-i-ly

Exercise 2: Sentence Stress

When you speak these sentences, emphasize the stressed words to convey the meaning and highlight important information. This exercise will help you develop a natural and expressive speaking style.

Sample Sentences:

1. Did YOU go to the BEACH yesterday?
2. I LOVE eating ICE CREAM.
3. The CONcert starts at 7 PM SHARP.
4. The KEYS are on the KITCHen TABLE.
5. What TIME does the MOVie begin?
6. She CAN speak THREE languages FLUently.
7. We're GOing to the PARK this AFTERnoon.
8. How was your DAY at WORK?
9. I CAN'T wait to SEE you again!
10. The WEATHER foreCAST predicts RAIN toMORrow.

Intonation

Place your hand on the middle of our back. Then speak. If you feel the sound coming from there, it means that is your correct tone. Many of us don't use our natural voice tone. This happens because of talking habits we develop as children.

When we change our tone of voice to sound more natural, we can adjust it based on the emotion of the topic and the words we choose. We can make our voice softer, speak in our usual tone, or intentionally make it louder. We can also change the intensity and pitch of our voice. This technique of adjusting our tone is called "intonation.”

We use this to make our speech more persuasive. We also use it to express our feelings and thoughts more clearly and genuinely.

Our tone may change throughout one sentence;

• A high pitch for expressions of joy, surprise, and anger,
• A low pitch for expressions of pessimism, pain, and belief.
• The mid-range is more suitable for relaxation and calm situations.

Using a variety of tones can make listening more enjoyable. You can also change your tone just to get attention. But, if you don’t consider the logic of what you're saying, that can easily make you seem insincere. Consider this when you’re improving your intonation.

Exercise: Intonation

Read each sentence aloud. Pay attention to the words that carry the most important information. Use rising or falling intonation as appropriate to convey the meaning.

Sample Sentences:

1. Did you go to the beach yesterday? (Rising intonation for a question)
2. I love eating ice cream. (Falling intonation for a statement)
3. The concert starts at 7 PM sharp. (Falling intonation for emphasis)
4. The keys are on the kitchen table. (Falling intonation for a statement)
5. What time does the movie begin? (Rising intonation for a question)
6. She can speak three languages fluently. (Falling intonation for emphasis)
7. We're going to the park this afternoon. (Falling intonation for a statement)
8. How was your day at work? (Rising intonation for a question)
9. I can't wait to see you again! (Falling intonation for emphasis)
10. The weather forecast predicts rain tomorrow. (Falling intonation for a statement)

Rhythm and Pace

Some people speak fast, while others speak slowly. This is because our mind works at different speeds. We usually speak at the same speed as we think and understand.

However, the person we are talking to may not be on the same page as us. So, it is usually useful to have a moderate speaking speed to be understood and stay on the same wavelength as others.

Figures vary from source to source. Still, the ideal speaking rate is mostly around 150 to 160 words per minute. For example, my own speaking rate generally falls between 110-120 words per minute. I’m a slow speaker. I can try to increase pace to sound better for general.

You can measure your speaking rate by recording your voice. If you speak too fast or too slow, adjusting your pace can make your speech clearer. This way, everyone can understand your speech without feeling overwhelmed or losing interest.

There is one exercise you can do to improve your pace.

Exercise: Talking on a Familiar Topic

Instructions:

1. Choose a topic that you are familiar with and feel comfortable discussing. It could be a hobby, a favorite book or movie, a recent trip, or anything that interests you.
2. Prepare a brief outline or key points related to your chosen topic to guide your talk.
3. Use a timer or stopwatch to measure your speaking rate.
4. Practice speaking about the topic for 2-3 minutes, aiming for a pace of around 150 to 160 words per minute. Pay attention to your speaking rate, clarity of speech, and fluency.
5. Record your practice session if possible, and then listen to the recording. Analyze your speaking rate and assess whether you are speaking at a comfortable and effective pace.
6. If needed, make adjustments to your speaking rate to ensure that you are not speaking too fast or too slow.
7. Repeat the exercise several times, focusing on maintaining a consistent and ideal speaking rate.

Tips:

• Take deep breaths before starting to speak to help you relax and maintain a steady pace.
• Focus on enunciating each word clearly to improve clarity.
• Use pauses appropriately to allow the audience to process the information.
• Pay attention to any areas where you tend to speed up or slow down, and work on smoothing out those transitions.

Pausing

When I watched TED talks, I realized that some talks had a stronger impact on me than others. I noticed that the speakers deliberately took breaks at certain moments to allow the audience to absorb the information. Usually, during these pauses, they would share important ideas related to the talk.

Like them, we can use pauses and moments of silence to improve our communication. We can speak in a natural tone and avoid the exhaustion of rapid, uninterrupted speech. This way, both the speaker and the listener feel more comfortable.

To figure out pauses, look for punctuation marks in the text. But also think about mental and emotional flow of speech.

There are a few types of pauses;

1. Comma Pause: A short pause, similar to a comma in writing, used to separate phrases or ideas within a sentence.
2. Full Stop (Period) Pause: A longer pause, akin to a period in writing, used to mark the end of a sentence or a complete thought.
3. Dramatic Pause: A deliberate, longer pause used for emphasis, suspense, or to create an impact on the audience.

Exercise - Read Aloud: Practice reading texts or passages out loud, making sure to pause at the right places. Listen to recordings of your practice sessions to identify areas where you can improve your pauses. Make sure the pauses match the content and overall message.

Nasality

Nasality in pronunciation means having nasal sounds in spoken language. Nasal sounds are produced like this;

• Air flows through the nasal cavity,
• Causes the soft palate (velum) to lower,
• Allows sound to resonate in the nose.

Languages differ in their use of nasal sounds. Some languages have a significant number of nasal consonants and nasalized vowels.

Nasal consonants are sounds produced with a complete closure at some point in the vocal tract. It cause air to be blocked in the oral cavity while being released through the nose. Common nasal consonants include /m/, /n/, and /ŋ/ (as in "mango," "noon," and "sing," respectively).

Nasalized vowels occur when a vowel sound is produced with air flowing through both the oral and nasal cavities simultaneously. In some languages, such as French or Portuguese, nasalized vowels are distinctive and convey meaning changes.

Exercise: Nasal Consonant Articulation

Practice pronouncing nasal consonants (/m/, /n/, /ŋ/) clearly and distinctly.

Begin by saying each nasal consonant separately: "m," "n," "ŋ."

Then, create simple words using each nasal consonant, such as "man," "not," and "sing."

Pay close attention to the airflow through the nose while producing these sounds.

Exercise 2: Nasalized Vowel Drill

Practice nasalizing vowels in words where English speakers often use a nasalized vowel sound, such as the vowel sound in "sing" or "song." Say these words with a clear nasalized vowel sound, ensuring that the air flows through both the nose and mouth simultaneously.

Cognitive Abilities

Have you ever found yourself stumbling over words in a crucial conversation? Did you wish you could articulate your thoughts more clearly and confidently?

The reason is your cognitive abilities. Luckily, you can improve them.

In this section, I'll talk about cognitive functions and how they affect your speaking.

I'll uncover five key elements of our cognitive abilities. Plus, I've included practical exercises designed to enhance those key elements.

If you follow those exercises, they can greatly transform your speaking.

Vocabulary

We need comprehensive vocabulary to speak clearly and effectively. Reading is the best exercise for this.

For example, I read intensely through many years. After reading 1000 book, my vocabulary expanded a lot. It directly affected my speaking.

It is much more easier to convey an idea or explain complex thoughts. It also improved the way I thinking.

If you want to add reading to your daily life, I recommend you this guide: (Add Link of Reading Guide)

In addition to reading, you can do the exercise below.

Exercise: Vocabulary Expansion - Regularly learn new words and their meanings.

1. Use vocabulary apps to encounter unfamiliar words,
2. Create flashcards for those words,
3. Start to integrate them into your speaking.

Comprehension

Comprehension is the ability to understand spoken language and extract meaning from it. Good comprehension skills enable us to;

• Follow conversations,
• Grasp context,
• Respond appropriately.

Maybe this is not directly related to speaking. Still, if you want a good communication, you need good comprehension. It gives you ability to deepen conversations and make them enjoyable for everybody.

Exercise: Listening Comprehension - Listen to podcasts, audiobooks, or natural conversations in your language. Take notes and summarize the main points to improve your listening comprehension.

Memory

When you’re speaking, working memory is important. What I mean by that?

It means temporarily holding and manipulating words and phrases while speaking. You need these elements to express yourself effectively. There is a good way to improve it.

Exercise: Story Retelling - Listen to or read a short story, and then try to retell it in your own words without referring to the original. This exercise strengthens memory and helps with spontaneous language use.

Attention

Without attention, you can’t focus on relevant information during speaking. It affect clarity of your speech. It also prevent errors in pronunciation and grammar. You can do focused reading to improve your attention.

Exercise: Focused Reading - Read a paragraph or short text and then try to recall the main points or details without looking back. Try to rephrase everything as clearly as possible in terms of context and pronunciation. This exercise improves attention and strengthens retention.

Inhibition

I don’t want to offend anybody. But, when I’m listening so long conversations without clean and brief context, I got angry.

Time is precious and attention is hard to keep. We need inhibition.

It's about being able to filter out unnecessary or inappropriate information when speaking. This helps in staying focused and avoiding distractions during communication.

For me, this is one of the most important aspects of communication. It naturally improves when you pay attention to the main topic and avoid getting sidetracked. You can also try the exercise below in your daily life to enhance this skill.

Exercise: Topic Switching - Practice quickly switching between topics in a conversation without losing focus. Try to continue from where you left off on the previous topic. This exercise helps improve your ability to prevent unrelated thoughts and stay on track.

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