Refining Your Speaking Skills: The Importance of Speech Rate
If listeners ask, “Would you repeat that?” often, or stares back at you with uncomprehending, glassy expressions, he may be speaking too fast or too slow.
Usually, the speed of speech becomes a problem when the listener does not understand the message. When speaking with others, the speed of speech is critical to keeping the audience’s attention. Listeners not only need to hear the words being said, they also need to translate those words into meaningful context.
Talking too fast is a common speech problem. Most of us tend to speed up our speech when we are excited or stressed. As a result, the listener can no longer process the content and will eventually give up. Therefore, most of your message will be lost as a direct consequence.
Speaking too slowly is less common, but can still distract a listener. In this case, the listener may have too much time to process and may very well begin to focus on other, more interesting things. Once again, much of your message will be lost.
The volume of speech, or how quietly or loudly you speak, can directly affect how a speaker is perceived. Verbal tone, or how high or low your voice is presented, is also an important tool for gaining the audience’s interest. But it is the speed of speech that is crucial in keeping the audience’s attention.
Average speech rates are on the order of 120 to 140 words per minute. Speed is faster in some places, like New York City, and slower in others. What matters less is how many words a speaker can utter, but more how many of those words are understood by the listener. Varying the speed at which words are spoken can be an effective technique, but as a general rule slow is better than fast.
If you often find yourself talking too fast, here are several techniques to slow down your speech:
• Start by taking a few slow, deep breaths.. This can be a relaxation method that will help focus the mind and dissipate some of the nervous energy.
• Focus on the statement. Our speech will be clearer and easier to understand if our enunciation is adequate and possible difficulty speaking in syllables or mispronunciation of words in accelerated speech is avoided.
• focus on writing. Our speech is made up of phrases and sentences, with punctuation telling us how the information should be expressed. On the contrary, speaking too quickly always risks running sentences and suddenly becoming a continuous verbal blur that confuses and confuses.
• Find natural pauses that allow the listener to catch up. By giving the listener the opportunity to catch up, catch up, or briefly reflect on the message, the listener’s attention is much more likely to be held from start to finish.
Remember, practice can improve the rate of speech and ultimately increase the overall effectiveness of a message.
