Speaking: How Fast Talkers can Slow their Speech for Greater Positive Impact-Part 2 (Punctuation)
One technique (including breathing techniques) that fast talkers (as well as speakers of English as a second language) can use to slow their speech for greater positive impact on their audiences consists of visualizing punctuation. When some people get nervous speaking, they have a tendency to speak faster. If you are one of them, you’re definitely not alone. In addition to breathing techniques, one technique consists of pausing at thought groups.
Thought Groups
A thought group is a a group of words which go together to express a thought or idea. Thought groups give you natural places to pause, and take a breath. We group words into thoughts. Thought groups break speech into smaller chunks.
Punctuation and Thought Groups
Written or printed thoughts contain punctuation. When you are formulating your own thoughts as you speak, you don’t use punctuation. However, you can picture in your head commas and periods along with the words you’re speaking. Think of replacing the commas and periods with pauses, in order to slow your speech down. It might take practice to begin doing this in real time as you’re speaking. Interestingly enough, the very act of visualizing commas, periods, exclamation marks, and question marks while your words are flowing when you’re speaking, can function to slow your speech down.
Key Point: Replace punctuation with pauses to slow your speech down.
Example: Pretend you were speaking this sentence. “After I heard this news, I was confused, excited, and apprehensive all at the same time.” Pause at the locations of the commas.
Practice Tip: If you have difficulty visualizing the punctuation in your mind while speaking, read aloud and pause at the punctuation marks. Next, without a communication partner-without a listener, practice expressing your thoughts out loud while visualizing the punctuation in your mind. Lastly, visualize the punctuation as you speak to another person.
Summary
To slow your rate of speech using thought groups, visualize punctuation while you speak. Pause where you see the punctuation. Enacting this in real time at the same time as you are formulating your thoughts as you speak to others can be difficult when you’re just beginning. As first step, on your own, try reading aloud and pausing at the punctuation marks. Then speak your own novel thoughts out loud by yourself without a communication partner.
Next, pick one situation or communication partner per day for implementing your “real time” practice. With this one situation or communication partner, visualize the punctuation as you express your thoughts. Do this for one minute per day. Begin extending the length of time you do this. Your newly learned methods will generalize into new habits which will become old habits.
To your punctuation visualizing as you speak slower for positive impact,
Cher
The process you present is something which is not only easily visualized, but workable. With a little bit of practice one can change even a life long habit. I appreciate your expertise!
Thank you so much Cher for sharing the concept of thought groups, I am practicing from now on 🙂 Since I have few speaking opportunities, this will be very helpful to let go of butterflies from my stomach !!!
Great tip! Visualizing is one of my strengths, so I think this will really work for me. Thanks!
Often, I speak this way. It is a very relaxing way for me to communicate . I often put people in a “peaceful zone” when I speak. Though if I am talking to a highly charged visual person, I like to keep rapport and speed it up a bit.
As a writer, I love the concept of “pausing with commas” – that’s an easy one to remember. ~ Whenever I read my writing out loud, I read it in the way I’ve written it. If there’s a comma, I pause. If there’s a period, I double-pause. So it makes sense to apply this to my public speaking. ~ Many thanks for such a great tip! 🙂
Thank you Cher – I have a presentation next week and I will certainly apply these important tips!
Teena
http://www.coupletherapyconnection.com
Teena, I’m glad these tips will help 🙂 What is the topic of your presentation?
Cher
Tina,
Yes-this tip is easy to conceptualize 🙂 I can think you will have success applying it to public speaking as well as to your reading.
Thank you for your comments.
Cher
Wendi,
Your insight to stay in tempo and connected with those who are more “charged” is impressive. It shows that you are observing your communication partners’ body language and what we call suprasegmentals (segments related to language and speech beyond the actual words).
To your peaceful speaking manner,
Cher 🙂
Kailean,
You’re very welcome. Yes, if visualization is a strong point of yours, you’ll get a good start during real time speech.
To your success,
Cher
Sangita,
I’m smiling that I can help you with your influential work you’re doing while you promote your book 🙂 Thinking in terms of these thought groups as they relate to punctuation will help.
Excited about your continued expression of your unique message,
Cher
Veronica,
Yes, it is a workable process to visualize thought groups and punctuation, and as you indicate, with practice, pausing and intonation improve, as does the connection of the speaker with the audience, whether one or hundreds 🙂
Cher
What a great tip Cher. You give some great advice to visualization and breathing before speaking to help slow speaking down.
Great Tips Cher! Love the visualization part! thanks for sharing 🙂
Jill, thanks. Have a renewed day.
Cher
Patricia,
Thanks, and you’re welcome. Have a refreshing day.
Cher
I like the idea of picking one person a day for practice. This technique could be used for other changes we wish to make!
Bonnie,
Yes, great insight. The technique of picking one person per day can be applied in multiple circumstances 🙂
To awareness and change,
Cher
I applied these tips to my recent Toastmaster speech and the pauses helped me to slow down my pace. Although my evaluator commented that my pauses were a bit lengthy, it was also noted that my speech delivery has improved. Thanks for sharing and I am sure visualizing the punctuation by using the thought groups will definitely work with practice.
Yerusalem, it’s great that you applied these techniques right away and that your evaluator noticed that your delivery improved. The important point is that you used these techniques and now you can start to speed up your pauses. It’s not about perfection. It’s about effectiveness 🙂
To you expressing your brilliance,
Cher