If you don’t know your subject well but have to speak on it, then extensive research will help you sound like you know your stuff.
If someone asks you a question and you really want to think it through, don’t be afraid to say, “Come back to me in a minute. I need to gather my thoughts. " You will sound much more prepared after you have time to think.
You can create vocabulary flashcards and quiz yourself. Make a goal of learning ten new words a week.
You should say, “He and I were discussing…” instead of “Him and I were discussing…” You should say, “You can give your report to her or me,” instead of “You can give your report to her or I. " You should say, “Such as…” instead of “like…”
Make your sentences sound firm and decisive. Don’t end your sentences with a question or with turning up your voice slightly, or you’ll sound like you’re constantly asking for affirmation.
It’s important to practice and rehearse, but it’s also important for what you say to sound natural. Therefore, you should know the material well enough to change things up if it becomes necessary.
If you have to give a speech and there’s a time limit, don’t squeeze in the thirty thoughts that come to your head. Pick the three most important ideas, and elaborate on those.
Speaking more slowly, eliminating distractions, and making eye contact will also help you stick to your message.
You don’t have to speak…so…slowly…that you feel like you’re pausing between every word, but pausing in between sentences to give yourself time to prepare your next sentence will do the trick. If you speak too quickly, there’s also a chance that you will say something that you regret or that makes absolutely no sense, and you’ll have to do some backtracking to make your audience understand what you really mean; you can avoid all that by speaking slowly to begin with.
Keeping your hands in your pockets will also make you look less confident, which will make your message look weaker.
If you are focused only on your message, you’ll be able to deliver it more articulately, and your audience will pay more attention, too.
Sure, reading an extra book a month or reading the paper every day may not immediately make you more articulate the next time you have a conversation, but you will able to see it impact your speaking and cognitive abilities in the long run.
Being a complete genius won’t help you at all when talking to a group of nine-year-olds; to be a professional at being articulate, you’ll have to adjust your words and speech to your audience whenever it’s necessary.
Practicing telling the story in advance, of course, can help you fine-tune it, even if you think you know it pretty well.
Take notes while you watch or read. You’ll see that you can learn a lot about how to be articulate just by watching other people who are well-spoken.
To make your content more interesting, you can not only trim down the extra verbiage, but you can also figure out what would be the most captivating thing to tell your audience.
The key to becoming an independent articulate speaker however, is to look up words and correct pronunciation for which you are unfamiliar with, and to refine your pronunciation as you go along reading aloud more often. Just like physical exercise you’ll notice your voice gaining strength and through practice your brain will become accustomed to speaking articulately. Training your voice can be fun just as any artist can develop and hone a unique style, but know knowledge and consistency are king. By reading aloud you’ll strengthen your voice and gain knowledge at the same time! There are great role-models, but in the end you have to put in the effort! Either through conversation or by reading aloud, practice.
