How I Became Articulate With My Speaking (5 Secrets)

Summary

This video script emphasizes the art of articulate speech, highlighting five key qualities that enhance communication. Expanding one's lexicon through repetition and thoughtful speech, mastering pauses for impact, pruning filler words, and being mindful of language exposure are discussed. Additionally, tuning one's vocal instrument by incorporating pitch, volume, and speed variations is stressed. The script encourages viewers to practice these techniques to elevate their speech to be more expressive and persuasive.

Takeaways

• 📚 Expand Your Lexicon: Increase your surface lexicon by using words from your deep lexicon more frequently to enhance expressiveness.
• 🔄 Repetition Matters: It takes about 38 unique uses of a word to make it a default in your speech, as shown by a Yale study.
• 🎯 Access Deep Lexicon: Give yourself more time to think before speaking to access more profound words from your deep lexicon.
• ⏸ Power of Pause: Use pauses effectively to make ordinary words sound extraordinary and to show confidence and intentionality in speech.
• 💡 Silence is Golden: Embrace silence as a sign of thoughtfulness rather than a lack of intelligence or slowness.
• 🗑 Pruning Fillers: Reduce reliance on filler words like 'um', 'ah', and 'like' to improve the quality of your speech.
• 👄 Mind Your Mouth: Keep your mouth closed until you are ready to speak to avoid starting sentences with fillers.
• 📈 Language Input Inventory: Recognize that your speech is influenced by the language you are exposed to, and seek out rich language sources.
• 📚 Read to Enrich: Reading great works exposes you to a rich vocabulary and enhances your intellectual horizon, improving your speech.
• 🎼 Vocal Instrument: Understand that the way you use your voice, including pitch, volume, and speed, contributes significantly to articulate speech.
• 🎶 Melody in Speech: Practice reading poetry aloud to develop a more melodic and varied vocal delivery.

Q & A

What are the two types of lexicons mentioned in the script?

The two types of lexicons mentioned are the 'surface lexicon' which consists of the words one uses in daily communication, and the 'deep lexicon' which includes words one recognizes but rarely uses in speech.

How many unique words does the average native English-speaking adult's deep lexicon contain?

The average native English-speaking adult's deep lexicon contains approximately twenty thousand to thirty-five thousand unique words.

What is the key to accessing the deep lexicon according to the script?

The key to accessing the deep lexicon is through repetition and giving oneself more time to index the deep lexicon before speaking, which can help in finding more precise and expressive words.

How many times does a word need to be used before it can rank higher in one's surface lexicon according to a Yale study?

According to a Yale study, it takes using a word 38 unique times for it to instinctively default to that word in our speech and rank higher in our surface lexicon.

What is the significance of pausing in speech as discussed in the script?

Pausing in speech is significant as it allows the speaker to formulate thoughts more fully, enhances the impact of the words, and shows confidence and care for the listener.

Why is it important to prune filler words from our speech?

Pruning filler words from our speech is important because over-reliance on them can detract from the clarity and impact of our message, and they can make our speech sound less formal and more disfluent.

What are two practices suggested to reduce the use of filler words?

The two practices suggested to reduce filler words are processing the endings of words to slow down speech and focus on word selection, and keeping the mouth closed until ready to speak the first word to avoid introducing filler words.

What does the script suggest as a way to improve the quality of our language inputs?

The script suggests taking inventory of all the sources of language we expose ourselves to daily, such as the people we surround ourselves with, the music we listen to, and the content we consume, and engaging more with sources of articulate speech.

How can reading poetry out loud help in developing one's vocal instrument?

Reading poetry out loud helps in developing one's vocal instrument by teaching the importance of variation in tone, emphasizing specific words for rhyme, and creating a melodic quality to the speech.

What is the role of our voice in sounding articulate as per the script?

Our voice plays a crucial role in sounding articulate as it provides emotional substance to words through pitch, volume, speed of speaking, and variation, which can make even the same word sound significantly different.

What is the final advice given in the script for practicing the five techniques discussed?

The final advice given is to practice these five techniques consistently over the next two weeks in various speaking scenarios such as debating, negotiating, persuading, and compromising to become more articulate and artistic with language.