How to put clear diction. Why We Sound Wrong: Three Key Reasons


It's no secret that the ability to speak beautifully, it is doubly necessary for every person to defend their point of view correctly and logically. Ability to persuade people - a gift from nature or an acquired skill and how to achieve success in convincing the interlocutor? This is perhaps one of the most pressing questions today, which sooner or later confronts everyone who has entered the information business, who has come to a profession associated with the need to speak to an audience. A confidently speaking interlocutor always has a pleasant conversation with him, you want to be as open as possible in such a conversation.
Develop beautiful speech skills is always necessary. You can do this both independently and by attending trainings, webinars on public speaking.

Today I want to talk about the speech technique exercises available to everyone. The most important thing for successful use in your practice is desire and regular practical use... The result, believe me, will not keep you waiting.

Exercise 1. Articulation gymnastics.

It would seem that we know this technique from school. But do we use it? Why? Because we find this technique boring and uninteresting. So I propose to do this set of exercises "jokingly". Curse yourself in front of the mirror, make fun of yourself or your beloved during this exercise. And the process will not seem so boring to you! I will give the simplest complex in this article, I hope that it will be useful to you.

Each exercise must be repeated at least ten times. By the way, this gymnastics promotes relaxation, which is very important before an important public performance: 1. Raise your eyebrows up. 2.Push the eyebrows towards the center. 3. Pull in both cheeks. 4. Inflate your cheeks at the same time and then in turn. 5. Press your tongue against your cheeks. 6. Run your tongue in a circle behind your closed lips. 7. Flip your tongue. 8. Press your tongue over the upper and lower lips in turn. 9. Focus the tip of the tongue. 10.Pull your lips into a tube and smile, but no teeth. 11.Pull your lips into a tube, smile broadly. 12. Open your mouth wide and then close. 13. Open your mouth wide, close first half, and only then completely.

But let me remind you once again, replacing any exercise with "antics" in front of the mirror, you will give yourself a bunch of emotions and will do articulatory gymnastics with pleasure.
Exercise 2: Slips of the tongue.
Take any a selection of tongue twisters, and begin to pronounce them daily, starting at a slow pace and gradually speeding up it, so that you pronounce tongue twisters without "eating" the sounds and syllables, gradually the speed of their reading will be fast enough, and the pronunciation of the rosary is correct. Enjoy this process as well. To do this, you can experiment with the plug from champagne-read tongue twisters with and without a cork clamped in the mouth.
Below is a selection of tongue twisters.

1) The interviewer interviewed the interventionist.

2) There were three Chinese people: Yak, Yak - zedrak, Yak - zedrak - zedrak - zedrak.
There were three Chinese women: Tsypa, Tsypa - drypa, Tsypa - drypa ​​- drypa ​​- drympamponi.
They all got married: Yak on Tsyp, Yak - Tsedrak on Tsypedryp,
Yak - zedrak - zedrak - zedroni on Tsypa - drype - drympamponi.
And they had children: Yak and Tsypa: Shah, Yak - zest with Tsypa - drip: Shai - sharah, Yak - zedrak - zedrak - zest with Tsypa - drypa ​​- drympamponi: Shah - Sharakh - Sharakh - Shironi.

3) Tell us about your purchases! - About what purchases?
About purchases, about purchases, about your own purchases.

4) Skorokorun spoke quickly spoke,
That you cannot talk over all tongue twisters, you cannot speak again,
But hesitated, he spoke out,
that you will re-talk all tongue twisters, but you will not re-talk.
And tongue twisters jump like crucians in a frying pan.

5) Bankers were re-branded-re-branded-re-branded, but not re-branded.

6) In Cannes, lions did not wrap wreaths only for lazy ones.

7) In Kabardino-Balkaria, valokordin from Bulgaria.

Deideologized-deideologized, and dodeologized.

9) Sasha walked along the highway and sucked drying.

10) Sasha walked along the highway, Sasha found Sasha on the highway.

11) The river flows, the stove bakes.

12) Tongs and tongs - these are our things.

13) The pike tries in vain to pinch the bream.

14) The train rushes with a grinding noise: w, h, w, sch, w, h, w, sch.

15) You cannot renegotiate all the slip of the tongue, you cannot renegotiate

You can also find various collections of tongue twisters in the VKontakte Group and in Odnoklassniki.

Exercise 3. Write a short story about the subject, or simply describe the subject.
A very interesting exercise. When I did it for the first time, it didn’t seem very simple to me. Many can describe a simple subject in just two or three words, but the description process needs to be extended for 4-5 minutes, without repeating. Very interesting exercise-develops imagination and logic and associative thinking. In parallel, you learn to avoid junk words, unwanted repetitions, monitor your speech. Turn this exercise into a kind of speech energizer and you will certainly get a boost of energy.
Exercise 4: Reading Aloud
Reading aloud is good to practice on works of poetic form. You can use the poems of your favorite poets. Try to read the same poem in different ways: with different emotions, for example, or at a different pace, or focusing on any part of speech, and you will see how differently the text will play in your performance every time.
Exercise 5: Retelling.
It is good to use fables or parables for retelling, or any genre of prose you like. keywords... You can write them out from the text, they will serve you wonderful crib guide When retelling: Take any magazine article that you like and retell it, for example, adding a particle not to every verb you say as you retell. I think that you will certainly smile.

Of course, the exercises I have given in this article are not dogma, and I must tell you that in fact there are many different exercises and techniques. But sometimes lies underfoot, which we do not notice, but the techniques described in this article are very easy to use and you can do it both at home and at work during your lunch break, for example, or while preparing lunch or walking with your child on the playground. to make the process of working on your speech enjoyable.

Elena Kleimenova was with you.

The ability to correctly articulate words and phrases, to pronounce the text clearly, clearly, with an arrangement is called diction. Some are constantly wondering how to improve diction and speech. This is especially true for representatives of creative professions (actors, vocalists, presenters).

Correct articulation is especially important for singers: they not only pronounce the text, but also sing it, which is much more difficult. Exercises for diction in singing are done constantly: both as a separate lesson and as a chant.

When is diction and speech training necessary?

Just because people understand you doesn’t mean you don’t need speech exercises. Hearing yourself from the outside is not easy. This may require the authoritative opinion of an expert or educator. If it is not there, you can record your speech on a phonorecord and listen. Also, a good way is to compare yourself with the announcers of the central channels: their articulation of the sounds of Russian speech is most often competent.

It is necessary to think about how to develop diction and speech technique, especially in cases where there is an obvious burr, violations in pronunciation individual sounds.

There are qualities of good speech, they can also be developed: these are brevity, clarity of wording, literacy, adherence to literary norms, consistency, and others.

Easy exercises to improve diction are designed to develop the correct pronunciation of individual sounds and their combinations, and more complex ones - to connect the elements into one whole.

Exercises for the development of diction in adults

Parents know how to improve pronunciation in children: this is myogymnastics for the tongue, lips. But it is difficult to imagine an adult who spreads his tongue with a spatula. And the musculoskeletal system in older people has formed and is not as malleable as in children.

Exercises for clear diction for adults are completely different. Educators use:

  • pronouncing individual consonants with clear articulation;
  • pronouncing tongue twisters;
  • breathing exercises in combination with body exercises;
  • special articulation exercises.

It is important to establish regularity of classes and set realistic goals for yourself.

Exercises:

  1. Pronounce these combinations of sounds, "exploding" the last voiceless consonant: pi-bi-pi-bi-pipp, bi-ba-bo-bi-bypp, ha-go-gu-gy-gikk and the like.
  2. Read any tongue twister out loud without using vowels. Krl Clr Krl Krll - agree, it sounds funny. By the way, did you find out what this phrase is?
  3. Pinch your nose and start reading the text aloud in one breath. Inhale only where it is meant to be.
  4. Do any physical activity while reciting the verses. In addition to the health benefits, you will feel where you stop controlling your breathing.
  • slow inhalation through wide nostrils, dosed exhalation through the nose (rhythmically pinch and release the nostrils);
  • inhale with an inclination (usually the opposite happens), exhale to the sounds "g-mm-mm" or "hmm-mm", straightening.

Developing exercises should be started from a few seconds, gradually bringing up to 1-3 minutes. The principle of gradual complication and increase in pace applies to all classes.

How long will it take to develop diction?

If, while listening to the dictaphone recording, you notice a few minor mistakes, then work on diction and pronunciation can take only a day or two. If you need to pay attention to more extensive points, then you can leave a couple of months for persistent studies. It is important to understand that singers may need such classes all the time, in the form of a chant before a performance, to bring the articulation apparatus to alert.

How to correct diction for an adult? The answer is simple: practice regularly and persistently.

What will help besides exercise?

Exercises for developing diction are an important stage in the work, but you can come to the desired result easier: read books, newspapers, magazines aloud, clearly pronouncing the words and not swallowing the endings. In this case, working on a clear speech will also become a pleasant pastime.

Performing diction exercises

Teachers often use similar breathing exercises to create an expressive voice, as well as to develop correct articulation. It is important to correctly follow the teacher's recommendations, since incorrectly performed movements will remember the muscles. It will be difficult to retrain them. The teacher will also suggest interesting exercises for the development of speech and diction techniques.

How to improve articulation of speech quickly

Artvocal center teachers know how to put correct speech and diction, whether for speeches (speeches, public speaking) or vocals.

Before practicing diction at home, it is better to get the advice of a competent teacher, voice training specialist, or sign up for our diction courses in Moscow.

Video exercise from "Artvocal"

In this video, you will see how to independently develop the correct diction during classes with a specialist teacher. Video tutorials can only help you, but do not replace the teacher's hearing.

Beautiful, clear speech is not only pleasant to the ear, but therefore arouses disposition towards a person who can speak well. In some cases, this skill is completely impossible to do without. For example, it is difficult to imagine a central television announcer who is unable to pronounce sounds clearly.

Good articulation will be useful to anyone who has to talk a lot, to a wide audience: lecturer, teacher, politician, youtuber. By regularly performing exercises for diction, you can achieve noticeable success in the first weeks of classes.

Diction is not directly related to the voice, its innate characteristics. Diction is what can and should be "put" through regular training and special exercises. Under "correct diction" is understood the distinct and sonorous pronunciation of all phonemes corresponding to the accepted norms of the language. To a large extent, it depends on the correct positioning of the organs of articulation (lips, tongue), on the ability to breathe correctly. Expressiveness, rich emotional color of speech exerts its influence.

Attention! To achieve a lasting effect, diction training should become a habit, since without regular repetition of the exercises, the skill is quickly lost.

Indistinct pronunciation, swallowed sounds - they say about such a person "there is porridge in his mouth." The meaning of the words spoken is difficult to understand, the necessary expressiveness, incentive intensity is lost. In professions that require frequent public speaking, this is simply unacceptable.

If the voice is not a working tool, mastering the skill of beautiful speech is equally useful. Knowing how to clearly, clearly and easily express your thoughts out loud, it is much easier to win over a business partner, employer, win a competition or get a coveted place in a casting.

Types of exercises for the development of diction and speech clarity

Where to start, how to improve diction and speech clarity? There are several different techniques that can be used to achieve tremendous success with careful and regular exercise. Among them:

  1. - Probably the most famous, common way of dealing with speech defects, which consists in the rapid repetition of phrases and rhymes, composed in such a way as to train the clarity of articulation of difficult-to-pronounce sounds and sound combinations.
  2. Pure words - they have a similar function with tongue twisters, their pronunciation also contributes to the development and consolidation of the skill of pronunciation of complex phonemes, however, they differ in form, representing a set of rhymed strings.
  3. - a set of speech therapy exercises to develop the mobility of the lips, tongue, in order to "teach" them to take the correct position for clear pronunciation of syllables.
  4. Respiratory gymnastics - the endurance of the lungs and vocal cords, the uniformity of breathing have a great influence on speech in general, therefore, when mastering the skills of correct speaking, one should not neglect the training of these instruments.

Important! When doing diction and voice training exercises, it is helpful to record your practice on a dictaphone. This measure is needed in order to control the correctness of execution, fix errors, problem areas that still have to be worked on.

Features of the exercises and how to perform them correctly

It should be remembered that getting started on pronunciation in adulthood is fraught with a number of difficulties. It is quite difficult to get rid of the habits that have developed over the years, to change the entire system of speech to the core.

Experts recommend starting with the development of articulation, muscle endurance training, teaching the speech organs to be positioned in the correct position, improving the timbre and tonality of the voice. The following exercises are perfect for this, which can be performed anytime, anywhere, the more often the better:

  • as a warm-up, warming up, it is recommended to issue a prolonged lingering moo;
  • elements of respiratory and articulatory gymnastics contain an exercise, during which you should make a variety of sounds, hitting yourself with your palms on the chest;
  • clearly, with expression, pauses, read lines of poetry, changing the tone of the voice - raising and lowering it alternately;
  • read the texts of poems and prose simultaneously with jumping rope, while running, trying to keep breathing as even as possible;
  • pronounce words and whole sentences, stretching the facial muscles in a smile, maintain the clarity of pronunciation;
  • read aloud, preliminarily holding a small oblong object between the teeth, for example, a fountain pen, during the exercise, strive for a clear pronunciation of syllables and sounds;
  • well helps the development of articulation, muscle training, the use of small rounded objects (for example, walnuts) nested behind one or both cheeks while reading poetry and literary texts.

Much attention should be paid to daily gymnastics of the speech organs, since it is impossible to deliver speech and diction on your own without this:

  1. opening your mouth as wide as possible, move the lower jaw forward, backward and to the sides;
  2. with an open mouth, stick out the tongue to the maximum length, folding it with a "sting";
  3. slightly parted the jaws, smile broadly, run your tongue along the upper and lower rows of teeth, touching the tip to each tooth in sequence;
  4. with a tense tip of the tongue, touch both cheeks from the inside, first with an open, then with a closed mouth;
  5. stick out the most relaxed tongue from the open mouth with a "spatula";
  6. folding your arms on your chest, lean forward, in an inclined, slightly bent position, pronounce vowel sounds in the lowest possible tone: "o", "s", "y". When you finish pulling one sound, straighten up and bend over again for the next run.

Important! The duration of one exercise is at least 10 seconds. During one lesson, 4-5 approaches are performed.

The formation of correct pronunciation is inseparably connected with breathing, since speech itself is impossible without it. The air jet, touching the tense ligaments, emits a sound, the shape of which the person gives already by other organs of the speech apparatus. Therefore, the answer to the question of how to improve diction includes, among other things, training the lungs, developing the diaphragm.

The ability to breathe is an integral part of life, but not everyone knows how to do it right. The set of activities given below will help to strengthen the voice, give it a more pleasant, melodic timbre:

  • take a comfortable position of the body - lying, standing or sitting, press the left palm to the stomach, right - to the lower part of the sternum from the side, draw in air with your nose, controlling the expansion of the diaphragm with your hands, slowly exhale to the end;
  • inhale slowly through your nose, hold the air for a couple of seconds, exhale through your mouth;
  • inhale briefly, exhale, stretching as much as possible, pronounce any lasting vowel sound;
  • counting on exhalation from 1, trying to pronounce the maximum number of digits without haste;
  • exhaling to pronounce combinations of vowel sounds, for example: "ooooooooouuuu", "aaaayyy".


Since it is impossible to develop diction in one day, starting training, you should be patient. At the very beginning, it will be useful to draw up a lesson plan, outline the range of problems that will have to be eliminated in order to obtain the desired effect. As your speech improves, correct and supplement the original sketch with new details.

Do not neglect every opportunity to perform the exercises, since it is in their regularity that the key to success lies.

Reciting poetry, pronouncing tongue twisters and pure twisters will help you quickly "warm up" before a performance, when there is a long and important conversation ahead. They must be learned and recited aloud at least several times a day.

Invaluable help in and correct pronunciation will provide courses in acting or rhetoric.

Stage speech classes, supported by diction exercises, among other things, will add sonority and charm to the voice, make it more expressive.

Voice, diction and speech are essential ingredients for any successful public speaking. Many people have slurred speech quiet voice and lame diction. There are countless reasons for this. Below we will consider the most basic causes of such "diseases", as well as consider ways that will help you develop your voice, develop diction and speech on your own. If you are interested in this topic, please read this article carefully and follow all the exercises outlined in it.

I only know a few reasons for a low voice, poor diction and slurred speech - this is self-doubt, low self-esteem and notoriousness. There are also genetic reasons, but we will not touch on them. Why do I think that the main reasons for all this are self-doubt, shyness and complexities? Do you think confident people with high self-esteem have a quiet voice? Do they speak softly? Do they have slurred speech? In most cases, such people do not have speech problems. Look at politicians, actors, singers. They are all self-confident people, constantly performing in front of the public. Therefore, their speech is developed, and their voice is loud and there are no problems with diction.

Now let's take a shy person. During communication, this shy person experiences self-doubt, he believes that something is wrong with him (complexes), covers a feeling of fear and, as a result, his voice is quiet, his speech is illegible, and it is simply impossible to listen to him. Therefore, if you want to develop your voice, if you want to develop diction, if you want to develop speech, you need to do a lot of work on yourself. Without labor, the voice will not become loud. We now turn to exercises that will help you get where you want to go. Let's start in order.

So, as we have already found out, voice development is an important task for people whose profession is associated with public speaking... Voice staging is important not only for public people. A developed and loud voice will facilitate your communication in Everyday life, and you will not always be asked again: "Aaa?", "What?", "What?" and other annoying questions. By performing a series of voice training exercises, you will eliminate many defects and imperfections. So let's get started.

1) It is very important to breathe correctly for the voice to be resonant. If you are just starting to develop your voice, then breathing exercises are the first thing you should do. Stand up, straighten your spine, put your feet shoulder-width apart, put one hand on your chest, the other on your stomach. When inhaling through your nose, push your tummy forward (expanding the lower chest area). Breathe out the air freely and naturally through your mouth, returning the abdomen and chest to their original position. This is how you design the diaphragm.

2) The second breathing exercise is associated with air retention. Breathe in air quickly through your nose and then hold your breath for three seconds. Then exhale the air through your mouth. Do this exercise for 5-10 minutes.

3) Breathe in as much air as possible through your mouth, then slowly begin to exhale it, pronouncing the vowels (a, o, y, and, e, s). Try to make the sound of the vowel sound as loud as possible and for as long as possible. You can also, when exhaling, smoothly jump from one vowel to another - aaaaooooooooyyyyy.

4) With your mouth closed, while exhaling, begin to "hum" - saying mmm. Try to hum in a way that tickles your lips. In addition, be sure to change the volume of the sound - from a quiet sound to a loud one and vice versa. This exercise will help develop your articulation apparatus, which will give strength to your voice.

5) Now start growling while saying rrrrr. This exercise also develops the articulation apparatus. Change the volume of the sound, as well as intonation from fine to coarse.

How to develop diction?

Diction is the quality of pronunciation of words (distinctness), the manner of pronouncing words. Diction is very important for actors, singers, politicians, teachers.

For the development of diction, tongue twisters are suitable. You can easily find them on the Internet. Here's a video for an example!

In order to start developing diction, you first need to stretch the tongue, lips, facial muscles and articulation apparatus.

1) Let's start with the language. Stick your tongue forward as far as possible, then stick it back (just don't swallow it). Start pushing your tongue forward and then backward. The duration of the exercise is 5-7 minutes.

2) Pricking the cheeks with the tongue. Start stabbing your cheeks alternately with your tongue. Prick your left cheek first, then your right. Take 7-12 minutes to complete. This is a great language training exercise.

3) A good tongue exercise is Brushing Teeth. You start rolling your tongue in a circle. At the same time, the mouth must be closed. Do 20-30 rotations hourly and counterclockwise.

4) Then, stick out your tongue and start twisting it in a circle. Make 10-15 circles clockwise, then counterclockwise. After that, rub yourself (wipe the drool from your lips).

5) Lips are almost the same. The exercise is called Smile Tube. First, you pull your lips forward, after 3 seconds you start smiling as wide as possible. First lips forward, then back. Do this exercise for at least 7 minutes.

6) Next, pull your lips into a tube and start lifting the heels first up, then down. Then start doing the same thing, only to the left, to the right. Then start twisting the patch in a circle, hourly and counterclockwise.

7) The next exercise is "Bubble". You will puff your cheeks and start spinning this bubble in a circle.

8) Start nibbling your upper lip with your teeth. Do this carefully, do not bite yourself off. Then start nibbling on your lower lip. After that, start wiping your upper teeth with your upper lip. Try to wipe so that your lower lip doesn't move. It is difficult, but possible. Do this exercise in front of a mirror to control yourself. Then start rubbing your lower teeth with your lower lip, the upper lip shouldn't move either.

9) After completing this warm-up, stand near the window and say the following phrase: "The weather is fine outside, but I have a beautiful, clear, intelligible speech." Say this phrase loudly, clearly and clearly. On the street you should be heard.

10) To warm up your facial muscles, start kneading your face randomly. Make faces, bulge your eyes. From the outside it looks not pretty, but funny and very effective.

11) In order for the pronunciation of words to be distinct, it is necessary to pronounce the endings. Many people swallow endings, especially "t". Start pronouncing the next row:

PTKA - PTKO - PTKU - PTKE - PTKI - PTKY

TPKA - TPKO - TPKU - TPKE - TPKI - TPKY

KPTA - KPTO - KPTU - KPTE - KPTI - KPTY

BI - PI - BE - PE - BA - PA - BO - PO - BU - PU - W - PY

PI - BI - PE - BE - PA - BA - PO - BO - PU - BU - PY - W

MVSTI - MVSTE - MVSTA - MVSTO - MVSTU - MVSTY

HELLO - HELLO - HELLO - HELLO - HELLO - HELLO

ZHDRI - ZHDRE - ZHDRA - ZHDRO - ZHDRU - ZHDRY

This row develops your diction. Don't forget about tongue twisters.

How to develop speech?

To develop your speech, you need discipline, mindful control, and consistency. Good speech is less and less common these days. You can listen to one person for hours, but you want to escape from the other. Your professional and personal life depends on the quality of your speech. Half of success depends on the ability to communicate, and to be able to communicate, you need not only erudition, but also developed speech.

1) For the development of speech, the first thing I advise you is to read newspapers, magazines, books. And you need to read aloud. While reading, try to force with intonation, do not allow monotony. Also, change the reading speed and volume. Pronounce all endings, observe punctuation marks. Reading aloud is a basic language development exercise.

3) Third, as with reading aloud, keep an eye on the tempo of your speech. Enrich it with intonations. Use pauses to highlight important points in the conversation. The pause should be appropriate and not too long.

4) Fourth, build your vocabulary. This can be done while watching films, trainings, reading books. If you heard the president or another politician speaking on TV, why not try to say the same at home. Imagine that you are speaking to the public as president. Tell your imaginary people about the political and economic situation in our country. This is a very fun activity for developing speech and expanding vocabulary.

I train my voice, diction and speech according to the above method, your speech in three months will be transformed beyond recognition. Therefore, do not be surprised if acquaintances start telling you that something has changed in you. And the voice, diction and speech have changed. Practice every day and then your efforts will be rewarded.