Talking too fast is one of the most common behaviors that can throw off professional speaking skills. Studies show that people who talk too fast come across as messy and disorganized and are not judged as competent or polished. An out-of-control speech rate hampers the quality of your message, as listeners are forced to work harder to understand. Also, an error in pronunciation is more likely to occur because speech articulators bump into each other when trying to produce sounds. Speech rate along with melody (ie intonation) are the two key factors that influence an individual’s spoken language. If your rate of speech is too fast, you need to address it if you have a goal of smooth, clear speech.
Typical communication problems that occur with a fast rate of speech
You are perceived as nervous and less confident.
You seem disorganized and ill-prepared.
It is difficult to organize your thoughts and ideas while speaking.
You’re more likely to use “filler” words like “umm, I like that, you know,” which reduce the quality of the message.
Control over the melody of your speech is lost and replaced with a choppy, staccato, or monotonous rhythm. It is not possible to speak with melody and have pitch changes while speaking with fast speaking speed. The result will be a monotonous speech with articulation errors.
You are more likely to mispronounce words or remove specific sounds and syllables that compromise clear articulation and diction.
It creates unfortunate communication failures because when speech is too fast and too loud, the listener’s brain shuts down. Being forced to listen to uncomfortable speech patterns is exhausting. This creates the possibility of miscommunication, missed opportunities, or decreased credibility.
When your speaking rate is too fast, listeners have to struggle to process the information and often have to fill in their own gaps when information is lost, increasing the likelihood of a miscommunication. This is a damaging speech habit when presenting valuable information, negotiating, or trying to persuade in the business world. To be perceived as trustworthy, competent and well-spoken, it is essential to control the rate of speech.
You can learn to control your fast speaking rate with strategies. Once you’ve identified a strategy you like, practice it with your worksheets, speech book, and Speech Triggers to make this important skill a habit. You must be effective with your selected strategies and be prepared to internalize these skills in order to be successful at the conversational level. It’s just not enough to say, “Okay, I’ll slow down.” Haven’t you already tried it? To be successful with speed and intonation, you need to remember to use a strategy that works best for you and practice it for at least three weeks so it starts to feel natural.
Strategy training for controlled speaking habits
1. Speak using intonation, particularly the ladder approach
Mastering the skill of intonation and rhythm of speech will also complement your speed because you will speak with controlled phrases and tone patterns. Your speech articulators will also be in a better position to track and say all of your final sounds. When you use the ladder method for intonation while practicing one of the speed strategies below, your overall speech rate and articulation will sound clear, professional, and you will be perceived as a good speaker.
2. Feel the touch of your articulators
Control your rate of speech by feeling your articulators make contact with each other. Your articulators are your lips, teeth, tongue, jaw, and facial muscles. When you speak, feel how your lips and jaw move when they touch, as well as your tongue in contact with your teeth and jaw. The purpose of this strategy is for you to feel and notice the tactile sensation of your mouth as you speak. If you can’t feel the tactile sensation in your mouth from your articulators as you speak, then you are speaking too fast. Take a moment to feel the contact of your different articulators in your mouth. Using this strategy will significantly help you slow down. To demonstrate the amount of sensation that can be felt, count from one to four and feel what your articulators are doing.
One Your lips pursed and touched.
Two Your tongue touched the back of your upper teeth.
Three The tip of your tongue moved between your teeth.
Four Your upper teeth touched your lower lip.
The goal is to notice tactile feedback, or the sensation you feel when your articulators move. If you can be aware of this sensation while speaking, your pace will automatically slow down. Feeling your articulators touch is a good internal strategy to slow you down. Give this strategy a try.
3. Say every sound in every word as you travel through the Staricase
As you speak, focus on producing each sound in each word. Think about saying all of your sounds, particularly the ones at the ends of words. Be sure to say each sound in multi-syllable words. Give yourself the “mantra” of “say all the sounds in every word” as a way to push yourself to use this strategy. When using this technique, you are more aware that your articulators (ie, lips, tongue, and jaw) are moving at a controlled rate so they don’t bump into each other during continuous speech. This strategy will help you slow down while improving your overall articulation.
4. Keep your vowel sounds longer
Many fast-paced speakers often shorten the duration of “long” vowel sounds too much. You want to get your message across quickly, so you cut off longer sounds. American and professional speech has long and short vowel sounds that must be said correctly to prevent your listener from sounding breathy. Be sure to hold vowel sounds, especially long ones, for the right amount of time.
5. Match your rate with another speaker
Be aware of other people’s speaking habits and identify other people who talk fast. Then find people who speak at a controlled and pleasant pace. When you can identify fast talkers and people who have a nice rhythm, your awareness of your own speech behavior will improve significantly. Think about family members, co-workers and friends and identify those who talk fast and those who don’t. Write the three fast talkers and the controlled talkers in your speech notebook to improve your own awareness.
When you have the chance to talk to someone who you think is a good speech model, match their speed of speech to their speed during the conversation. You may feel like you are speaking too slowly. You are not! Remember, you are the one talking fast and you need to slow down. If you find this new strategy funny or complicated, you’re probably doing it right!
A very important note for speech: while practicing these speaking strategies, you may find that you speak too slowly and sound strange. Don’t worry, you’re not. Remember that your speaking style is too fast. If this new speed and style seems strange to you, you’re doing it right. It may seem strange at first because it is a new behavior. His old behavior of speaking too fast interfered with the quality of his speech and his professional image. Keep practicing and it will start to feel natural. When you practice with your notepad and Speech Triggers, speech rate is another skill to practice to improve your communication skills.