Hi there and welcome to Star Pronunciation's tips
to get you on the path to clearer English. My name is Georgie Taylor
and I'm a speech pathologist who specializes in helping people from
non-English-speaking backgrounds
speak English with more clarity and confidence
In today's quick tip I'd like to talk to you about two areas:
rate of speech and volume of speech
Now, there's lot's of things to think about when you're working to improve your English pronunciation
but rate of speech and volume of speech
are really the foundations for clear speech. So, that's why I want to start with them today
So, I'd like you firstly to have a think - do you ever speak English too quickly
Or, do you ever speak English too quietly
If you do, you're probably already a little bit aware of this because
people will have asked you to slow down or speak up. Or sometimes you might just
notice
that they haven't caught what you said by the expression
on the face. Or you might get the feeling that they're guessing
some of your words. All of these things are really frustrating
for people who have a few difficulties with English pronunciation
So we want to help you be understood the fist time
So, if you do sometimes speak too fast
I'd like you to think about when this happens. Is it in certain situations?
Is it when you're speaking to your boss? Is it when you are on the phone?
Or maybe it's when you're giving feedback in a meeting
Or a presentation. Or when you're feeling nervous.
So have a think about situations when you're likely to speak too fast
The next thing to do is try to remind yourself
in those situations to slow down and control your rate
Now, it's easy to forget when you're trying to focus on what you're saying
it's hard to focus on how you're saying it.
So, there is a few tricks. My favorite trick is to write down
on a yellow sticky note or post-it note in your first language
"slow down!" Okay? So whether it be Mandarin or Sinhala
or Russian write down "slow down!"
stick it on the top of your notes, and hold it
while you're giving your presentation. Put the sticky note
on your phone so when you make a phone call you are
constantly reminded to control your rate and slow down
O.k.? We need to help ourselves remember
It's likely that you can slow down. What happens is you just forgetting
So that's my little tip.
Now, I have many clients who say to me at this point:
But I want to speak English quickly. It makes me sound more fluent and more
proficient at English
Well, personally I disagree. And this is for a few reasons:
The first is that good
effective English speakers don't tend to speak
really really quickly in the professional environment. We use lots of
pauses
and we use a good rate so a listener can absorb
and take-in our message
So, the other thing to think about
is that as a non-native speaker you'll make some of the sounds
and stresses and rhythms of English differently to a native speaker
This means that listeners have to concentrate
a little bit harder to catch what you're saying. When you speed up
you give them less time to do this. So when you speak quickly
we have less time to catch the words that you're saying and less time to process
them
Also when you speak quickly, you are more likely to make more errors
Your speech is likely to become even flatter
your vowels are more likely to become shorter
and you're more likely to do things like drop the endings of your words
You're more likely to make grammar mistakes. You're more likely
to choose the wrong words, and to make
you know errors in your expression. So if you sometimes speak English too quickly
try to control the rate of your speaking
Things will really improve. It's a small
easy thing that you can do to really improve your clarity
You'll find that your grammar improves and your expression
and your pronunciation because you have more time to think about what you're
going to say
Also you give your listener more time to absorb
and take-in your message. They'll focus on what you're saying
not trying to keep up with understanding you. Okay?
Now the next thing I quickly wanted to mention was volume
Are you sometimes speaking too quietly? If you are
think about when this happens. And try to remind yourself
to use a louder voice, o.k.? Back with the sticky notes
In your first language: "Speak up!"
Put it on your phone. Put it on your notes while you're in a meeting
or giving a presentation - O.k.? Also,
practice reading in a louder voice at home
It may feel to you like you're shouting. It might feel like you
are speaking really loudly. You just need to get used to hearing
a louder voice - okay? And you will get used to it
it just takes a little bit of time. So two things to think about over the next
two days
if you sometimes speak English too fast control your rate
and remember to use sticky notes to remind yourself
to slow down. If you sometimes speak too quietly
remind yourself in those situations
to speak up and also practice using a louder voice
as much as you can - okay? That's it for today
Good luck