How to speak clearly: seven habits that make you easy to understand

01What speaking clearly means

Speaking clearly means being understood the first time, without the listener having to work for it. It is not about losing your accent or sounding like a news anchor. People with strong accents can be very clear, and native speakers can be very hard to follow.

02Why people are hard to follow

Usually it is one of five things: speaking too fast, never pausing, swallowing the ends of words, letting the volume drop, or packing three ideas into one long sentence. Each one is easy to hear on a recording and easy to change once you hear it.

03Seven habits for clear speech

1. 1

   Find a comfortable pace

   For presentations, VirtualSpeech puts a comfortable pace at 100 to 150 words per minute. If you are not sure, you are probably faster than you think: slow down a notch.

2. 2

   Pause after each idea

   A short pause tells the listener that one thought is done and gives them time to take it in. It also gives you time to plan the next one.

3. 3

   Finish your consonants

   Say the last sound of each word on purpose: the t, the d, the s. Clear endings make words recognisable even when the room is noisy.

4. 4

   Open your mouth

   Vowels need space. Let your jaw drop a little more than feels necessary, especially on long vowels.

5. 5

   Keep your volume to the end

   The last words of a sentence are often the important ones. Don’t let them fade.

6. 6

   One idea per sentence

   Short sentences are easier to say and easier to follow. If a sentence needs a breath in the middle, split it.

7. 7

   Stress the key word

   In each sentence, pick the one word that matters and give it a little more weight. Monotone speech makes everything sound equally unimportant.

04FAQ