How to speak more 'clearly'?

Question

Some people have an ability to speak their minds so clearly it can be understood from a distance, even though they're not exactly speaking louder than anyone else. On the other hand, many people are very hard to be understood when they're shouting.

There is something about how you use your voice that make it easier for others to understand you. What is the name of that and how can it be trained?

Answer 1

The way I see it, there are three different components of this:

• Enunciation: pronouncing individual words so that they are easier to hear and understand
• Presence and delivery: nonverbal cues like body language, tone of voice, and speed to capture and retain people's attention
• Content: logically structuring your thoughts and choosing words and concepts to make them easy for the audience to apprehend

Obviously, for each of these you'd benefit from practice, and also from critically listening to/watching people who are good (and bad) at each of these. Hopefully other people will have more to say about the specifics.

I'd like to call out one technique which is underutilized but very helpful: (video)taping yourself talking so you can watch yourself. If you don't do this, you'll probably never become aware of all your bad habits, let alone be able to do anything about them.

Answer 2

Most of the professional public speaking courses offer role play and videotaping of your practice - these then get critical review by the rest of the course, the tutors, and you.

This allows you to progress very quickly in a short space of time with some intense practice.

Answer 3

It is called voice projection and it can be trained, actors learn how to do it, teachers learn how to do it and a search of Google now that you have the right term will help you find resources to learn it.