How to slow down when you speak

1.      Open your mouth more. Do you speak holding your upper and lower teeth close together? Does your jaw feel kind of tense? This is a VERY common cause of unclear, rushed speech.

When you create more space between your teeth, the mouth space is bigger, so your tongue can articulate more precisely. The tongue moving a couple of millimetres further takes a fraction of a second longer. Added up, this leads to a more measured pace and clearer speech.

Practical tip: Relax your jaw and imagine there are tiny springs gently holding your upper and lower teeth apart. Speak through that. Never force space - it's letting go, not rigidity.

2.      Move your lips more. Just like the tongue, your lips have a job to do in shaping your words, e.g. rounding for vowels like ‘ou’ in group and spreading (smiling) for ‘e’ in letter. Just like with the tongue in point 1, moving your lips to shape your words brings down the overall speed.

Practical tip: Speak as if people need to read your lips (remember – you won’t necessarily know when people really need to). Use 70% effort so you don’t feel or look exaggerated. Check in a mirror or video yourself.

3.      Chunk your speech. When we rush, we tend not to leave space between our phrases. it’s much easier for your listeners to follow / if you divide your speech into obvious chunks / so that they can digest your message / piece by piece.

Practical tip: Mark up a piece of text like above and read it aloud to ‘get you in the zone’. Then bring the same rhythm into free speech.

4.      Use your whole body. Speaking doesn’t only involve the mouth. Your voice needs the support of the breath and body, which in turn need the support of the floor and/or chair. Yes, all of this is involved; we are not just talking heads, as I often say. Anchor yourself to the floor, sit tall. Many of my clients say this helps them to feel more grounded and present, and to express their thoughts in a more organised way.

Practical tip: Just before speaking, plant the feet on the floor hip-width apart and allow your spine to extend to its full length. This should feel relaxed and powerful, not rigid.

5.      Breathe freely. Many of us hold our breath before we speak, which can lead us to rush to get all the words in before our limited breath supply runs out! Connecting with the body as in point 4 can help free up your breath and get more fuel in the tank.

Practical tip: Make sure your breath is flowing before you speak. Don’t start speaking from a ‘held breath’ position. Your breath is the fuel for the voice.

These tips are a way to start exploring, possibly thinking about your voice from new angles for the first time. In one-to-one voice and speech coaching, we develop these points and more in ways that work for you and your unique habits/starting point.

To find our how this might look for you, and to get a free, personalised road-map to get you closer to clear, impactful speech, book your free consultation here.