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Stop Stumbling Over Your Words
You know exactly what you want to say and have practiced dozens of times. But when it’s time to present… the words just don’t come out right.
Why do so many bright minds stumble when they speak?
➡️ ➡️ ➡️ Your brain 🧠 is moving faster than your mouth 👄.
As your brain formulates the words and phrases you want to say, it’s also working hard to coordinate the movements of your lips, tongue, mouth and vocal folds. 2
When you speak more quickly to keep pace with your brain, you start tripping over your words. Add a dose of anxiety about how you’ll be perceived, and you slip up even more.
How Can you Stop Stumbling?
Warm Up
Just like an athlete, speakers need to warm up before they perform. You won’t stretch your calves but instead, get your mouth moving by rehearsing phrases with repetition (anybody remembers “Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers”?) and loosening your lips (try saying “brrrr” while making your lips vibrate).
Slow down and over-articulate.
The faster you speak, the more likely you will stumble. As I tell my naturally fast-talking clients, “If it sounds too slow to you, it’s just right.”
You can also try imagining you are speaking to a non-native English speaker. We naturally slow down and enunciate more when we know someone has the heavy lift of translating what we’re saying.
Pause
Pause briefly and think through the entire phrase *before* you say it. When you speak more deliberately, your mouth can more easily keep up with your brain. Pausing between thoughts also gives your audience time to digest what you’re saying,
Ask for help and keeping going
Can’t remember a word? It’s ok to ask your audience, “What’s the word I’m looking for?” then thank them. This doesn’t make you weak; it makes you relatable and human.
If you do stumble, don’t apologize. Simply re-state the word clearly or choose another word and continue with confidence.
#GoToSpeaker #speaker #publicspeaking #communications #confidence #speech