255. How to articulate your words
Today we’re diving into one of the most important skills for any speaker — how to articulate your words so your message lands every time.
I’ll share a hilarious (and slightly embarrassing) reading from my upcoming book VOICEPRINT — including a supermarket mix-up in Brazil and a Kiwi accent misunderstanding that proves why clarity really does matter.
We’ll unpack:
Why sloppy speech kills credibility
The difference between accent reduction and clarity production
Your four key “organs of articulation” (and the two that never move)
Quick, fun exercises to sharpen your speech so it’s crisp and clear
Why you should aim for realness, not perfection, when you speak
By the end of this episode, you’ll have a mini “speech gym” routine you can do anywhere to make sure your words are heard — and understood.
Hello! Welcome back to That Voice Podcast. Today our topic is HOW TO ARTICULATE YOUR WORDS.
And to set the scene, here is another little reading from my book VOICEPRINT. I hope by now you have pre-ordered your copy. And make sure you send me your receipt so I can send you the bonuses which include an invite to the launch party on Dec 7th in Brisbane.
Ok this is from the chapter on CLARITY -
We all have a hilarious lost-in-translation story – often relating to cross-cultural communication.
Patrick, as a health and safety manager, was alarmed to hear there were pits appearing on every level of the office. What a major hazard! His colleague has a broad Kiwi accent and Patrick was relieved to discover there were in fact pets on every level not giant holes in the floor.
And there are many stories I could regale from my time in Brazil. One of the trickier words to pronounce is pão, meaning bread, as the ã is produced through the nose. Pau, the same word but produced through the mouth, is slang for the male sex organ. Let’s just say, I went into the supermarket one day thinking I was asking for Turkish bread but loudly ordered Turkish something else.
Haha, true story. So clarity matters.
Whether you’re heading up an emergency management team, delivering a client pitch or speaking to someone on the phone, clarity counts. Because here’s the hard truth: you can have gorgeous vocal tone, but if your words aren’t clear, your message is fuzzy. If you stumble, tumble and bumble over your words, your message is diluted. And if people can’t understand you at all, your message is entirely lost.
Sloppy speech is a real credibility killer.
And I need to point out, if English isn’t your native language, this isn’t about accent reduction, it’s about clarity production. Your accent is part of who you are, and we do not want to reduce you!
How do you speak with clarity? How do you articulate your words.
Well you get to the speech gym and train your organs of speech or organs of articulation.
When I was in speech and drama growing up we had this little exercise that has stuck with me: My organs of articulation were a definite vexation until I said this silly rhyme three times through.
So what are your speech organs. You know at school we learn about the skeletal system, the reproductive system, but we don’t learn a lot about the speech system.
We have two organs of speech that cannot move – our teeth and hard palate, not much we can do about that. But if you’ve had braces or wear a retainer you’ll know how changing your teeth affects your speech.
We want to worry about the ones we can move –
I’m talking our TONGUE, our LIPS, our JAW and our SOFT PALATE – the squidgy part at the back of the roof of your mouth.
And if you exercise these your speech will be nice and crisp and clear.
Just like physical exercise, you do your workouts and your warm-ups.
So today I’ll give you one quick exercise you can do for each – and if you want more – you have to read it in my book VOICEPRINT.
Now these speech exercises come after you’ve grounded in your body, you’ve got your breath flowing – and these basics are covered in my mini course THE MAGNETIC VOICE FORMULA – if you go to the link in the shownotes there’s a code for you as a podcast listener – and also remember it’s free if you are a member of SOUL SPEAKERS or were a member of SOUL SPEAKERS, it’s a course you get to keep even if you decide to leave.
Ok, so we’ve done all the belief, body and breath work, let’s warm up our speech organs – starting from the outside and working our way in.
JAW – surprised donkey.
LIPS – brrrrr
TONGUE – tongue twister.
SOFT PALATE – pacman
How do you feel? If your organs of speech are toned your speech will be clear. Especially if you open your jaw.
Now I’ll finish with another little section of VOICEPRINT -
Above all, remember to relax. Tension is the enemy of fluent speech.
The more pressure you put on yourself to be ‘polished’, the more blocks you’ll place in the way. Besides, polished and perfect may not have the effect you want.
In one of my early webinars, I was taking students through the Rag Doll exercise, which is brilliant for posture and alignment. If you practise yoga, you’ll be all over this. It’s where you hang your head between your legs in a forward fold and then slowly rebuild your spine…
“Vertebrae bry bertebrae. Sorry, I mean verterbrae bry brerter—” Dammit!
For the life of me, I could not get the words out – vertebrae by vertebrae. In that moment, I thought my business was done for. A speaking coach who can’t even speak properly?
Then much to my surprise, someone un-muted on the call and said, “Oh my gosh, Sally you’re live?”
I was baffled. “Yes, I’m here, hello.”
“You always speak so perfectly I thought you must have pre-recorded it! Good to know you’re a real person who makes mistakes!”
That webinar was a big ‘aha’ moment.
People don’t want flawless they want realness.
So please, do your speech exercises and elevate your articulation, but embark on this clarity quest with playfulness not perfection.
See you next week!