Creating Clear Speech for Impact

Develop clear speech for maximum impact

Clear speech with crystal clarity

Clear speech is vital for successful leaders. Yet all too often people mumble or rush their words and therefore fail to sound authoritative or convincing. If you are guilty of this, Helen Sewell will show you how to overcome the issue and make sure you speak clearly.

Clear speech is an integral part of all our leadership communication programs. To achieve clear speech you need to articulate every sound, opening and closing your mouth adequately and using your tongue and lip muscles appropriately. This gives you crisp articulation and makes you easier to understand.

You also need to breathe well. People sometimes end up gabbling to make sure they get a point across before running out of breath. We will make sure that your breath fits your words rather than your words fitting your breath.

If you ever mumble, stumble or gabble or find it difficult to pronounce certain sounds, we will give you the tools to keep your speech clear, easy and captivating.

Breathing well for clear speech

Breathing well is vital for clear speech

Breathing well is vital for clear speech, yet millions of people breathe poorly and therefore speak ineffectively. If you don’t breathe well, you risk running out of breath while speaking.

If you gasp, yawn or sigh regularly, or if your shoulders and/or chest rise when you breathe in, you probably need a little bit of help to breathe well. Helen will show you a simple, natural way of breathing that has the additional benefit of relieving stress.

Softening your accent for clear speech

Is your accent causing you issues?

Holding back your career?

Are you taken less seriously because of it?

Fed up with being asked to repeat yourself?

Want to convey messages successfully the first time you say them?

If you don’t like sounding different from other people around you, it’s perfectly possible to soften your accent. This can help you achieve the sounds you want and make you feel more comfortable in your working environment.

For clients on our Reputation Raiser program Helen can incorporate an element of accent reduction training when required.

This means modifying your speech into Received Pronunciation (RP) – the standard British accent often heard on the BBC. Helen will show you the difference between your own accent and RP, and she will explain the precise changes you need to make.

Many of our clients often find that with a softer accent they become easier to understand. They sound more authoritative and professional, and as a consequence they are given the proper respect due.

This elocution training is equally useful whether English is your first or your second language.

Learn to hear and feel a new pattern of sounds.

The first step in softening your accent is understanding the sounds of RP and being able to replicate them. This means listening very carefully and noticing the differences between your own sounds and that of the RP accent.

Helen will explain how to put your tongue, jaw and lips and soft palate into positions which make RP sounds. With practice this will eventually become habitual.

Softening your accent is rather like learning to drive a car. At first you have to look down to change gear. You think about putting your foot on the clutch and looking in the mirrors. But the more you drive the more natural it becomes, until one day you no longer have to think about it.

The more you practice a new accent or clearer speech, the easier it becomes.

Free e-course for clear speech and authority

Our free e-course gives tips and techniques for improving your vocal clarity. It also includes loads of advice on influential communication. Sign up here to receive the first lesson today.