Speaking Clearly
Articulation Training
This section will help you develop a clear, intelligent sounding voice. You’ll learn to eliminate poor articulation habits and replace them with good ones. In the audio exercise segment below you’ll practice what you learn with specially designed exercises which will strengthen your mouth articulators so they work for you and give you a clear, intelligent sound that engages listeners.
First key to good articulation: Awareness.
As you use this trainer you’ll become more aware of your voice and areas that need improvement. Don’t get discouraged as you become aware of poor articulation habits. Awareness is the beginning of improvement for developing any skill. One word that often succumbs to lazy mouth is "your". Most people say "yer". A similar word is "for". People often pronounce it "fer". Another symptom of lazy mouth is leaving off the "d" at the end of words like "around". The lazy way to say it is "aroun'". The goal is to hear yourself in lazy articulation and then correct it.
Second key to good articulation: Practice.
The only way to improve is to practice. Set aside times to work with the exercises several times a week. You’ll soon notice improvement. You can’t simply know the principles of good Voice Personality and hope that your voice will improve. You must practice.
Now let’s look at two techniques to apply when working with the exercises.
Technique #1: Exaggerate. To improve you need to exaggerate as you practice. Open your mouth wider than normal and clearly over-enunciate every word, including every sound in every word.
Technique #2: Strive to "feel" the difference. "If you don’t feel a difference, there probably is no difference.
Most of the exercises can be followed easily without notes. However, when you get to the "nonsense statements" you may need to have them in front of you until you've memorized them with daily use. Simply print them off.
Things to become aware of in your voice.
It's easy to leave out certain consonant sounds while speaking.
Leaving out such sounds is often called lazy mouth. By exercising these
sounds in an exaggerated way you will be strengthening yourlazy mouth.
Do you tend to leave out any of the following sounds?
1. Beginning sounds such as the "th" in "the" and "this?"
2. Middle sounds such as "t" in "bitter?" You don't have to
have a strong "t" sound but the tongue does need to connect
with the roof of your mouth just behind the upper teeth, otherwise
there may be no consonant sound at all as in "bih-er" or a "d" sound.
3. Ending sounds such as "ing" as in "coming" instead of "comin'."
Also listen for a good solid "d" or "t" at the end of words
like "solid" and "bent." Make sure these consonants are heard.
The exercise routine I’ve designed for you begins with warm-up breathing exercises. These will develop good breath support from the diaphragm. I want you to feel the proper action of breathing. Try this now. Place your hand on your stomach. Allow yourself to breathe deeply and naturally. Your hand should be moving out when you breathe in and in when you breathe out. Try it again. That’s the natural flow of breathing. Your chest should not move up and down. Proper breathing doesn’t come from raising the chest or the shoulders but from expanding the diaphragm at the bottom of the rib cage.
The exercises will help you learn to take good deep quick breaths as you speak so that you never run out of breath before you run out of words. After the breathing exercises you’ll work on strengthening and loosening up your mouth articulators with additional exercises.
Articulation Exercises
Nonsense statements
You may want to print out the nonsense statements as a guide for listening and practicing with the audio exercise.
