
I want to tell you 5 ways to confuse your listener and project a poor image when speaking at the workplace.
Here we go:
(1) Use Poor Articulation
Instead of confirming how words should be articulated, go with your instinct, or simply copy what others are saying.
Examples
– Tell your boss: “The meeting is confirmed to run on wed-nes-day (Wednesday).”
– Inform your customer: “Our office is on la-VAN-da (Lavendar) Street.”
– Address people you work with as ker-licks (colleagues).
(2) Ignore the Importance of Intonation
Tell your boss that you deserve to attend that important conference in a flat tone. Just focus on the words and forget about the intonation.
This is what you could say: “Boss, I should attend the upcoming regional conference for administrative professionals, as I am confident that I will pick up useful tips to enhance my performance.”
Don’t forget to use a flat intonation – that means no going up and down in pitch, and no stress on key words in your sentences.
Confuse your boss with the uninterested intonation that contradicts the enthusiastic words.
(3) Forget About Grammar
Why bother with grammar when you can speak in a way that bonds better with the listener?
Examples
– Tell your customer: “Last week we do not have the stock, but next week we maybe have the stock.”
– Inform your boss: “Yesterday, Mr Tan is not in the office. I try calling again later.”
– Update your colleagues on the status of a machine: “The machine not working. Technician working on it. Let you know soon.”
Your listener is likely to understand what you are saying, so forget about a professional image, just speak without thinking about grammar.
(4) Forget About Projecting Your Voice and Speaking Clearly
It’s fine to sound soft and breathy. In fact, it may even make you sound friendlier and more approachable.
Never mind that you don’t project an assertive, confident or professional image.
(5) Abuse Your Speech Mechanism
Go for prolonged periods without drinking water, and yell or whisper whenever you need to. Your voice is meant to be tough to withstand such abuse.
I hope you didn’t mind reading these tongue-in-cheek tips. I am sure you know that these are exactly the opposite of what we should be doing.
Of course, we don’t want to confuse our listener or project an unprofessional image at the workplace!
Read on to test your own perceptions of what speaking clearly means.
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Self Assessment: Voice and Articulation
What is your opinion of these statements?
(1) A gentle, slightly breathy voice shows that I am not aggressive, and it is suitable for business situations.
(2) In order not to waste the listener’s time, I should speak at a faster rather than a slower pace. This also helps me to project confidence.
(3) People should not be judged by the way they speak. Some people sound enthusiastic, capable, and confident, but not everybody can sound like that.
(4) My colleagues and friends know that I speak with an accent. I also don’t articulate my words very well. I can’t do anything about it.
(5) Children have the ability to improve their speaking skills because they are faster learners, but as an adult, it is too late for me to work on this.
What were your responses? See if they are similar to our observations.
(1) A gentle, slightly breathy voice shows that I am not aggressive, and it is suitable for business situations.
Quite the contrary. A gentle, breathy voice, while being non-threatening, comes across as unsure, weak, or unenthusiastic. A clear and strong voice is more likely to gain you respect at work.
(2) In order not to waste the listener’s time, I should speak at a faster rather than a slower pace. This also helps me to project confidence.
When we speak too rapidly, there are two disadvantages.
Firstly, we do not have the time to frame our thoughts properly to come up with the best words and phrases. Secondly, we may sound nervous.
What matters is not how many words we can speak; it is how many words the listener can understand.
(3) People should not be judged by the way they speak. Some people sound enthusiastic, capable, and confident, but not everybody can sound like that.
When we speak clearly and correctly, we project enthusiasm and confidence, and we come across as being more professional.
When we speak in a low voice or with a monotone, we could be presenting important or interesting information, but the listener is not likely to take much notice or be impressed.
(4) My colleagues and friends know that I speak with an accent. I also don’t articulate my words very well. I can’t do anything about it.
Accent and articulation are related yet different things.
Our accent reflects our linguistics background, our dialect and first language influences, and the speech patterns we commonly hear in our daily lives.
Generally, our accent is a kind of birthright, and we don’t need to give that up.
Articulation, on the other hand, is the way we form the sounds in each word. This can be practised and perfected with the help of phonetic symbols.
(5) Children have the ability to improve their speaking skills because they are faster learners, but as an adult, it is too late for me to work on this.
Actually, the opposite is true.
Children, especially younger ones, may not have fully developed articulators. Their motor neurons may also not be fully “connected” for them to coordinate their articulators, so it is more difficult for them to produce certain sounds.
Adults, on the other hand, should have fully developed neurons and articulators.
Assuming that their speech mechanisms are healthy and in good working order, adults should be able to practise and perfect all the sounds in the phonetic alphabet, which makes it possible to pronounce most English words accurately.
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If you think that you are not speaking clearly or correctly, or if you suspect that you are not projecting your voice well enough, do something about it.
Train your articulators to articulate sounds correctly. Learn techniques to project your voice effectively.
Being judged by the way we speak is not fair. But it happens. All the time.