What can you do with words in speech? How to develop speech: simple exercises

The ability to speak well is not given to everyone. But this is not a problem - you can learn anything if you have the desire.

Oratory skill leads a person to success. You don’t have to be an announcer, toastmaster, tour guide, or professor to use your skills. If an individual is able to clearly express his thoughts, then the people around him form a positive opinion about him. As a rule, such interlocutors do not start arguments; they clearly convey their thoughts to others, convincing them that they are right, thanks to relevant arguments.

How to learn to speak and express your thoughts beautifully and competently: 10 best tips and rules

Correct, clear speech changing intonations is a good practice to win over your opponents. If you possess such art, you can not only promote your business well, but also achieve great heights in political activity.

It's good when starting from younger age, parents give lessons in speech development, teach their kids to pronounce words correctly by example. If you didn’t have such a chance in childhood, don’t be upset, you can learn public speaking on your own. The main thing is to follow these tips:

Read literature, expand your vocabulary. This is where you need to start preparing for public speaking. It wouldn't hurt to learn a dictionary of synonyms. It is not aesthetically pleasing to use the same expressions very often in the text of your speech. It is advisable to replace them with phrases that are similar in meaning.
To prepare your speech, try to select examples of lectures that are similar in meaning. Check out TED. Here you can find your favorite speakers. Evaluate their performances, try to notice little things. Analyze your opponents' gestures.
Learn to compose texts yourself. Conduct rehearsals in front of the mirror, present these stories. To train your imagination and logic, compose small stories from given words.
Record your speech on video or voice recorder. Listen to what you got. Correct errors in diction and pronunciation of words, and shortcomings in the text.

Expressiveness and figurative speech are trained when reading poetry. Moreover, it is better to learn such works by heart. This perfectly helps to convey emotions, thoughts in a particular speech, and highlight the main thing.
Adjust your speaking rate. The sayings are too quick, not all opponents understand. If you worry, your performance will fail. Also control the timbre of your voice. Trembling and loudly spoken phrases can irritate the listener and not be perceived entirely correctly.
Inappropriate facial expressions and too broad gestures are perceived by listeners as at least strange. Therefore, practice in front of the mirror in advance. And in public, control your body movements.
The most important priority in this matter is diction. All speech defects can be eliminated with hard work and exercise. Speech therapists can cope with even the most advanced cases.

IMPORTANT: In general, the process of improving your professionalism in public speaking consists of three main components: clear pronunciation of phrases, increasing your vocabulary, working on speech errors, correcting them.

How to work on your speech: exercises

It is a pity that sometimes there are cases when an individual has a huge vocabulary and the ability to behave in front of the public, but lacks purity of speech. More precisely, the speaker swallows the letters and does not pronounce them clearly, or worse, pronounces sounds incorrectly, etc. In such cases, he needs to see a speech therapist who will prescribe a series of exercises. And a person, thanks to perseverance, will be able to achieve good result. After all, no one will listen to a radio station host who cannot pronounce half the letters of the alphabet correctly.

When speaking in public, your breathing should be correct, then there will be no unfinished phrases or prolonged pauses. This greatly distorts the spoken phrases. In other words, to avoid stuttering, breathe in a special way. Use your air sparingly and inhale oxygen on time. For this, training is recommended; you need to learn to breathe using the diaphragm.

Useful exercise — learn to speak texts while exhaling. To do this, first break the expressions into small phrases, pronounce them as you exhale. Next, take a short breath and say the next part of the phrase. On the next exhale, speak the entire sentence without breaking it into phrases. Practice breathing calmly without taking sharp breaths. Such training will allow you to balance your breathing and your speech will be smooth.
Practice your speech by speaking words at different tempos. Do it quickly, and then slowly, clearly, paying attention to how you speak. A mirror will help you with this.
Pronounce tongue twisters, make sure that all sounds are clear and without errors. If you don’t succeed the first time, then try to pronounce them until you succeed.
Then focus on different consonant sounds. Pronounce with emphasis first on some consonants, then on others.
Learn to speak with nuts in your mouth so that it sounds as if nothing is bothering you. Do this exercise with caution to avoid choking.

After the above exercises, you need to practice correct pronunciation of phrases. It is carried out as follows:

Record your speech on a voice recorder.
Listen to it, critically evaluate the quality.
Let others evaluate your report and point out mistakes.
Without offense, compare all opinions, highlight shortcomings, correct them.

Please note what mistakes occur most often in the pronunciation of phrases:

Incorrect pronunciation: e, i, a, o, i, yu, etc. (vowel unstressed sounds).
Omitting some consonants.
“Eating” vowels.
Incorrect use of consonants (in the wrong order).
Incorrect pronunciation: s, sh, shch, z, zh, c.
Unclear pronunciation of soft consonants.

A speech therapist will immediately point out all the shortcomings in the speaker’s speech. Will tell you how to correct errors. Do not hesitate to contact them if necessary. Sometimes it is impossible to cope with a problem on your own no matter how much you want.

Video: How to speak Russian beautifully?

Listen to expressive speech

The advice is unusual, but it works 100%. Listen more often and to more acting recordings of various books, poems, and plays. The expression and clarity of speech of good actors is a free master class for your brain on the style and beauty of speech. Mirror neurons immediately adopt such speech and now you automatically begin to express yourself in a new way.

Stay away from swearing and cursory speech

The fact is that our brain “mirrors” everything it sees and hears. When communicating with people whose speech is not rich and beautiful, we immediately adopt this manner and begin to repeat what we hear. Scientists have proven that simple speech displaces rich speech much faster than rich, simple speech. Be careful with this kind of communication, because even if you know how to express your thoughts beautifully, listening to abusive and mean speech will instantly crowd out all your efforts.

Train your diction

Training is very important. Public speaking is first and foremost a matter of preparation and practice. Record yourself on a voice recorder, listen and correct mistakes. Try to pronounce everything clearly and clearly by practicing daily.

Read aloud

Reading aloud greatly develops expressiveness and clarity of speech. This is real creativity that we create with our voice.
Read poetry at home in front of the mirror. Read classical works aloud and often, learn to place accents and pause. Imagine what the sentence would sound like if you read it differently.

Formulate beautiful sentences and descriptions

An excellent exercise - a clear description out loud of objects, the environment around, the feelings and appearance of people teaches you to use and select the right words and think deeply and wisely. There is only one condition - you cannot use words that do not provide an accurate description for the interlocutor. For example, you cannot say: “Nice chair.” This is neither precise nor clear. But you can say: " Wooden chair with a high back." This precise definition subject. The more global and accurate your description, the better you cope with the task.

Don't talk about taboo topics

The beauty of speech lies not only in the beauty of the presentation, but also in the topic of the conversation. Remember that no matter what society you are in, there are a number of taboo topics that are taboo and unacceptable. These are, for example, conversations about human health, his personal life, habits and relationships with other people. In public speeches and social conversations, such topics include nationality, controversial political issues, religious discussions, etc.

(This issue is discussed in more detail in our article:)

Learn to edit yourself

We wish you to speak beautifully and competently, because this is a sign of a true lady!

Yours
Wonderful lady

© Text and authorship belong to the Beautiful Lady project

Isn't it nice to listen to radio announcers or television show hosts who speak clearly and correctly? It turns out that anyone who is willing to work hard on their sound can become such a speaker. For a beautiful story, you will have to learn the rules of the language in which communication takes place. But mere truisms about grammar, vocabulary, and phraseology will not be enough. What else is missing from correct speech? How can I make it improve?

Train speech breathing

Good speech (phonation) breathing is the key to the correct placement of pauses in the story and the optimal duration of spoken phrases. Training the chest and abdominal muscles increases endurance, energizes you and even has a positive effect on your vocal abilities. One of the most effective exercises This technique is done in this order:

take a comfortable lying position;
relax all your muscles, concentrate on your breathing;
try to inhale so that rib cage did not heave - switch to abdominal breathing;
exhale slowly;
repeat the steps until you feel that it has become easier to breathe through your “stomach” (and not your diaphragm).

“Adjust” volume

A speaker speaking from the podium speaks loudly and boomingly. At everyday communication The sound is different - more even, calm. If you reverse the situations, you get absurdity. No one will hear the quiet rhetorician. A listener who suddenly begins to sharply raise his tone will most likely not understand such a change and will be offended.

In a normal conversation with friends, colleagues, and loved ones, a softer tone is used, without exaggerating emotions. The story from the stage, on the contrary, sounds a little theatrical, loud. How to train your speaking voice:

read prose or drama out loud, trying to present the climactic moments as vividly and sonorously as possible;
start speaking a long phrase almost in a whisper, and end with almost a scream and vice versa;
try to display the volume of heard sounds;
experiment with timbre, parody the voices of famous people.

Correct breathing, described in the first tip, also helps a lot in setting the volume of the sound.

Watch your speech rate

The speaker took the stage. He is dressed in a clean, neat suit. On his face one can read the readiness to encourage action, determination. The gait is confident. The audience holds its breath. Stopping at the microphone, the speaker greets the audience. Everything is going according to plan, nothing should interfere with success.

But the whole process is disrupted by one ill-considered detail..

No, these are not problems in the text of the speech, not a sudden breakdown of the microphone. The announcer suddenly starts talking like a fifth grader who doesn’t like reciting poetry. He chatters, “swallows” the endings of words, and often misspeaks. There is a feeling that he is trying to get rid of the public as quickly as possible. And the audience doesn't like it. The listeners don't even understand what we're talking about. The speaker stubbornly ignores the problem

It's actually simple. Performing is stressful. When a person is nervous, all processes in his body instantly accelerate. Speech tempo is no exception. How to cope:

10 minutes before going on stage, start speaking very slowly and draw out your sentences;
do articulatory gymnastics - it will help you pronounce every word clearly even in a stressful environment;
during a speech, ask a question to a person from the audience, tune in to the pace of his answer, or better yet, even slower;
at home, voice out the story using a stopwatch and counting how long it takes to play each block. Take a stopwatch or timer with you to the event to refer to.

In everyday life, the temperament of the interlocutor also plays a role. Melancholic and phlegmatic people love leisurely, long conversations. Cholerics and sanguine people prefer to find out everything as quickly as possible. By catching and adopting the conversation style of a friend, you can better convey information to him.

Work with intonation

A completely neutral tone is only acceptable in a scientific report. In other situations, conveying emotions improves the story.

The correct change of intonation ensures a smooth transition between semantic blocks of speech and creates an impressive effect of contrast and surprise. The liveliness of the sound affects the audience better than the most reliable facts or arguments. To train intonation background, as well as for the voice, reciting works is suitable.

Improve diction

“Chewed”, “swallowed”, distorted sounds will not decorate either a public speaker or a simple storyteller. Good diction can be achieved in several ways:

pronounce tongue twisters, practice chants, sing ditties;
pronounce complex combinations of consonant sounds (dbdi-dbde-dbda, rzh-rsh-shr-zhr, skrpo-skpro);
do speech apparatus gymnastics;
study dictionaries to identify the correct stress in words;
read texts aloud with a wine cork, marble or stone clamped between your front teeth.

You can use these methods separately, but together they will have a much greater effect.

Clear tongue

vulgarisms, rudeness, especially obscene language;
borrowed lexemes where the native language can be used;
aimless tautologies - repetitions of the same words or phrases;
inappropriate terms, jargon, professionalism, slang;
inversions - incorrect word order.

Wait a second and a half before answering

This simple rule solves several problems at once. It allows you to make sure that the interlocutor has finished his remarks, which means he will not be interrupted by an answer. Politeness and knowledge of the rules of etiquette are just as important as diction or literacy.

At the same time, a second’s pause gives you the opportunity to collect your thoughts and start a new phrase clearly, organized, and clearly. It only takes a second and a half for the brain to start building logical chains. An instant response does not have this advantage. This pause will not be too long, and for the interlocutor, it is quite possible that it will remain completely unnoticeable.

Ask for help

Sometimes tackling a task on your own seems like an impossible task. Asking for help in such cases is normal. Who should I contact?

To friends. You can ask loved ones to listen to everyday conversations or the text of a speech and point out mistakes. Speech defects, its paucity, frequent repetitions, deviations from the main topic, an insufficiently sharpened sense of humor - these are what friends or relatives can identify.

To the specialists. Courses in public speaking, speech culture, and diction will help develop communication skills. In addition, visits to:

coaches personal development(a confident person speaks accordingly);
speech therapist;
neurologist (prescribes medications to improve brain activity and blood circulation);
a psychologist or psychotherapist (as in the example with a coach, only everything is on a deeper level).

To the Internet. If you don’t want to pay for success, you can try the option with YouTube channels. Will gather here a large number of bloggers who share their “recipes” for improving speaking skills. However, there is a minus - sometimes serious mistakes appear in the speech of these “specialists”. Therefore, it would be better to find the website of a recognized expert and look for videos on his blog. Sometimes online webinars are held free of charge on such platforms.

A good voice recorder can also help. It will be enough to record your recitation and then listen to it carefully, identifying errors, and then carefully working through them.

Correct speech is not delivered in a matter of minutes. To master the art of communication, you will have to practice diligently and daily. However, after the time and effort spent, a worthy reward will come. Those around you will listen to the speaker’s stories, greedily “swallowing” every word. The train of thought will speed up. People will begin to listen to advice or suggestions more often. A good reputation will be strengthened. Competent sound is a reliable attribute of success.

A person who has a pleasant competent speech and good vocabulary, I always want to listen. Interlocutors perceive such a person as very educated and intelligent, since he knows how to express his thoughts clearly and coherently, and his speech is extremely understandable.

On the contrary, no one takes a person with insufficient speech literacy and a small vocabulary seriously, and they do not listen to his point of view. Illiterate speech causes people negative reaction, rejection. People prefer to deal with euphonious, intelligent interlocutors.

Reading provides invaluable assistance in teaching spoken language. Despite the computerization of our lives, today we should still find enough time to read. Books are the best source of well-constructed phrases, a treasure trove of the Russian language. Reading books helps with spelling.

Of course, you need to read books that bring joy. This process should be fun. First of all, this concerns children. You should not force children to sit for a long time reading. An unwanted negative reaction may occur.

When introducing a new intricate word into your personal dictionary, find out its exact meaning, ask where it came from into the Russian language and when. Ornate words should also not be overused. Everything is good in moderation.

Very good habit- constant use of a dictionary. A dictionary helps you understand accents, find synonyms for a word, and find out its meaning.

Written texts must be checked. Both spelling and punctuation, as well as the logic of statements, should be monitored. Your thoughts should be clear to readers.

Charades, crosswords, and puzzles are great for training your intellect. All this helps to master the skill of speaking beautifully and fluently.

You should understand where you are “overdoing” with facial expressions and gestures and where they are not enough.

Learn to highlight the main thing

In order to make your speech beautiful and interesting, you need to learn to highlight key points and skip unnecessary details. The mistake many people make is that during a conversation they try to convey and describe absolutely every detail. This makes the speech boring and uninteresting from the very beginning. It’s no coincidence that A.P. Chekhov said: “Brevity is the sister of talent.”

Watch your intonation and speak confidently

The liveliness of speech and its beauty also depend on the intonation with which you pronounce it. You need to understand that a beautiful thought loses its value if it is poorly expressed. Most likely, you have noticed that listening to lecturers, teachers or just an interlocutor with a monotonous speech is boring and uninteresting. Therefore, if you want your speech to be beautiful and listened to with interest, learn to use intonation correctly.

In order to make your intonation correct, read stories, poems, and fairy tales out loud with expression. You need to read so that the intonation matches the role of each character from the work.

Parodying actors, politicians, journalists and other people who have beautiful and correct speech will help improve speech intonation.

Also, intonation depends on your mood and interest in the topic of conversation; if you are really interested in it, you will talk about it with interest and enthusiasm in your voice.

The reason for monotonous speech is often lack of self-confidence. Usually, people who are insecure are afraid to let their emotions and feelings out, and they also speak very quietly. Therefore, if your speech is monotonous due to self-doubt or low self-esteem, then you should first work on your self-confidence, for this you can read the article. Self-confidence will not only make your speech colorful, but will also help you achieve success throughout your life.