You may recall the musical My Fair Lady where Audrey Hepburn was given lessons on speech. Rocks were put in her mouth to help her learn to form sounds. You don't have to go through such lengths to improve your own speech, and you don't need wealthy busybodies to help you out. All you need, as with most skills, is practice.
Why should I practice speaking?
When you speak with proper elocution, you are better understood by friends, family and those you work with. It will help others understand what you are trying to say more quickly, and with less error. It will help you in many areas of your life.
At home
Domestically, the biggest frustrations my wife and I face are in miscommunication. Often times this is the result of my mumbling. Perhaps if I could better speak the words I'm saying, my wife would be able to understand me and she wouldn't be frustrated by her misunderstanding, and I would be less frustrated by not being understood.
At work
Speech is one measure we all use to determine intelligence and capability. If you can go into a job interview and speak clearly and intelligibly, you have an advantage over someone who mumbles, or who is otherwise incoherent. When giving presentations at work, or distributing information, it is important that others are able to understand what you are saying. For those above you, you will seem like you have what it takes to lead. For those below you, or collaborators, you will reduce errors by providing the right information. You will also improve efficiency by not repeating yourself over and over again.
How do I improve my elocution?
Classical stage actors know the importance of elocution, and they spend much of their training making sure they can be heard and understood. One example of such elocution is John Malkovich. His elocution is a bit exaggerated for use on stage, but you can hear and understand everything he says clearly.
Some of us have real speech impediments which may require a tutor. Hopefully you were able to get help early in life as your speech developed to get past these issues. But for you, and for those of us without these problems, it's a good idea to continue this practice even into adulthood. Even professional speakers, politicians, and executives practice speaking to improve themselves in business or politics.
So what can you do to practice?
The first thing I suggest is professional help. This can be found at your local community college. There you can find classes on public speaking and speech which can help you out. You can even find specialized elocution classes online, or in local community business and personal development classes.
As with most skills, it takes more than just a few classes and know-how, but it takes practice. Practice at home. Maybe get together frequently with a few friends to help each other practice.
Find a few resources, like this and this, which have exercises you can practice at home. Practice at full volume for several minutes at a time. You might feel silly talking to yourself, but it will pay off eventually.
Additional help
In addition to elocution, it is good to practice vocabulary, rhetoric and even acting.
Vocabulary
The more words you use in common practice, the more intelligent you appear. Ways to do this are to use the dictionary and thesaurus regularly, sign up for "word of the day" emails, and play word games like crosswords, Scrabble, Boggle, and similar games.
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of developing ideas to make them understandable, and even the ability to convince others to accept these ideas. There should be Classics and Rhetoric classes at your local community college, and you can always read these classic works:
- Institutio Oratoria, by Quintillian
- On Invention, by Cicero
- On Oratory, by Cicero
- Topics, by Cicero
- The Art of Rhetoric, by Aristotle
- Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles-Lettres, by Hugh Blair
Acting
Taking basic acting classes at the local community college or community center can improve your confidence when speaking before people, and teach you how to present your body, as well as your speech, to the greatest effect.
No comments:
Post a Comment