A competent, well-delivered speech is an indispensable attribute of any leader or person who communicates with a wide audience.At the same time, it is important not only to be perfectly aware of the subject of communication and be able to convey to the listeners all the main ideas of the conversation but also to have the skills of using the vocal apparatus and to have a strong voice (message) that can reach the most remote corners of the large hall.
The main components of professional diction
Speech literacy.
Well-developed articulatory (speech) apparatus. It includes the mobility of the muscles of the tongue, and lips, as well as the absence of jaw clamps.
Absence of speech defects, which include: stuttering, rotacism (burr), and sigmatism (errors in the pronunciation of whistling or hissing sounds)
Correctly delivered breathing is a factor affecting the duration of the pronunciation of a large amount of information without forced pauses, as well as the strength of the vocal message.
Exercises for the development of the articulatory apparatus
To achieve a quick result, such classes are recommended to be carried out daily and as often as possible, subject to favorable conditions (the presence of a warm room, the absence of outsiders, and a few minutes of free time).
Exercises are more effective if carried out in a complex manner.
"Proboscis". Pull your lips out with the straw as much as possible. Rotate the "proboscis" alternately clockwise and counterclockwise. Repeat 10-12 times.
"Smile". Stretch your lips as wide as possible, fixing them in this position for a few seconds. Relax your mouth muscles and repeat the exercise 8-10 more times.
Alternating "proboscis" with "smile". At the same time, keep the time, fixing the lip in the initial and subsequent positions. Do this exercise 6-8 times.
"Crossroads". Open your mouth and smile wide. Use the tip of your tongue to criss-cross the corners of your mouth and you're upper and lower front teeth. Repeat 10-12 times.
"Shovel and prick". Open your mouth and, smiling broadly, place your tongue on your lower lip, trying to relax it as much as possible. Hold your tongue in this position for 5-6 seconds, then tighten your tongue and perform several "stabbing" movements with it. Do 8-10 reps.
Correction of burr
Contrary to popular belief, burr in most cases is quite easy to correct even in adults. Most often, its cause lies in the underdeveloped mobility of the tongue. Therefore, combine basic exercises to correct rotacism with training to develop the motor activity of the tongue.
Clicking the tongue, or clicking. Remember an example from childhood when we imitated the clatter of horses' hooves in this way? Repeat the exercise at different rates for 1-2 minutes, making sure that the tip of your tongue does not curl downward.
"Car". Pronounce the sound "D" for a long time, placing a handle from a toothbrush under your tongue and creating slight vibrations with it, as a result of which the sound will be pronounced like "DR". After 1-2 weeks, try this exercise without the aid of a foreign object, and very soon "DR" will sound like a clear "R". The duration of this exercise should be approximately 1 minute.
"Tractor". This, at first glance, unpretentious training, turns out to be very effective in practice. Pronounce the word "tractor", focusing on the sound "P" in the first syllable of this word. Repeat the training every day at every opportunity, and the result will not keep you waiting.
Correction of sigmatism
In order to "accustom" the tongue to be in the anterior interdental space, start training by blowing out a candle or blowing on a piece of paper. At the same time, try to start the tip of the tongue behind the lower incisors. At first, the sound will be pronounced lisp, but when your tongue gets used to correctly directing the air stream, gradually changes in sound will begin to occur closer to "C".
Pronounce syllables starting with the sound "S" followed by a soft vowel (sya, syu, si, se); when you get a positive effect in pronunciation, switch to syllables with a solid vowel (sa, su, sy, so, se)
Having secured the correct sounding of the sound "C", you can proceed to work on the sounds "Z" and "C", according to the same principle as with the work on the "S".
Stuttering treatment
The cause of spontaneous stuttering is usually a fear of communication - and, as a result, an internal fixation on this defect, which further aggravates the position of a logopath (a person suffering from one or another speech defect). If you want to fix this problem without the help of a professional, try the following methods:
Meditative reading. Play relaxing music without a vocal background, create a relaxing indoor environment, and slowly recite a poem (best written in hexameter form). Conduct such training daily in the evenings when you are free from business and problems. Set aside 15-20 minutes of exercise daily. After 2-3 weeks, try reading the text without music at the same slow pace. Over time, your speech will become fluent and measured.
Singing is an excellent remedy for stuttering. Create for yourself a "repertoire" of melodies, preferably folk songs, and conduct song training in your free time.
When communicating, learn to find pauses in order to collect your thoughts. A clearly formulated thought in advance will relieve you of the fear of being misunderstood and will allow you to clearly state your opinion.
Correct control of breathing and voice
In order to master the technique of vocal sending, it is important to be able to use your breath. Very good results are obtained by the specially developed method of A.N. Strelnikova, which is actively used by actors, politicians, and other people whose activities are directly related to public communication. Since this method requires deep study, refer directly to the author's work, which you can easily find on the Internet.
Professional, clear diction is achievable, it is only important to believe in the result and strive for your goal!
