The ability to speak clearly and distinctly can often make the difference between success and failure in both your professional and personal life. In fact, according to Kenneth Zimmer, Professor Emeritus of the California State University School of Business and Economics, it’s possible to cite numerous instances in business and social situations where poor enunciation and/or pronunciation “has led to costly delays, unnecessary expense, and the loss of goodwill” (p. 477).
Additionally, as pointed out by Stephen Verderber and Kathleen Verderber, coauthors of The Challenge of Effective Speaking, “. . . mispronunciation and misarticulation may suggest ignorance or carelessness (or both),” which is yet another important reason for people to learn to speak clearly and distinctly (p. 201).
Some people, however, believe that articulation (or enunciation) and pronunciation are one and the same, but although the two terms are closely related, there are distinct differences; and by understanding these differences, you will be better equipped to overcome barriers to effective communication and improve your speaking skills.
One Barrier to Effective Communication is Poor Enunciation
Enunciation refers to how we articulate words. It is the shaping of speech sounds into recognizable oral symbols that when combined produce a word (Verderber & Verderber, 2003). Poor or sloppy enunciation is the failure to form speech sounds crisply and distinctly.
Causes of Poor Enunciation of Words
According to Stephen Lucas, author of The Art of Public Speaking, poor articulation of words can sometimes be related to physical problems such as:
- Cleft palate
- Overly large tongue
- Misaligned jaw
- Improperly fitted dentures or braces
Lucas, however, says that poor enunciation is most often the result of laziness. People are simply too lazy to manipulate their lips, tongue, jaw, and soft palate so as to produce words that are clear and precise.
A Second Barrier to Effective Communication is Poor Pronunciation
Pronunciation, according to Verderber and Verderber, refers to the “form and accent of the various syllables of a word” (p.201). For example, say the authors, in the word statistics, whereas “articulation refers to shaping the ten sounds (s-t-a-t-i-s-t-i-c-s), pronunciation refers to grouping and accenting the sounds (sta-tis?-tiks)” (p. 201).
An example of poor pronunciation is when someone omits syllables or sounds, adds nonexistent syllables or sound, and/or else places emphasis on the wrong syllables in a word. For instance, when some people say the word “library,” they pronounce the word so that it sounds like “lie-berry,” and when they pronounce the word “comparable,” they place emphasis on the second syllable (com-par?-able) instead of the first (com?-par-able), which is where it should be placed. (Zimmer & Camp, 1994)
Causes of Poor Pronunciation of Words
According to Zimmer, there are several factors that contribute to poor pronunciation:
- An inflexible jaw—people keep their jaws too rigid.
- Immobile lips—people do not move their lips sufficiently.
- Some letters and combinations of letters are pronounced one way in some words and another way in other words, for instance, the combination “ow” has the long “o” sound in “know” but a different sound entirely in “now.”
- While a letter is sounded in some words, it is silent in others; for example, the “k” is sounded in “kick” but silent in “knee” and “know.”
Speech Exercises to Improve Communication Skills
In order to improve your speech, according to Zimmer, you should develop a flexible jaw and mobile lips. On speech exercise that he suggests to accomplish this goal is for people to practice pronouncing the following words, phrases, and sentences:
- Words: Capable, idea, seventy-five, violent, mister, victory, wasting, mine, pension, winter, mister, reporting, and evening
- Phrases: Going to go; around and away; up and around; around and out; down, up, and out; readily available; office manager; very fine work; many men may; and empty the basket now
- Sentences: “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,” “The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain,” “She sells seashells by the seashore;” “Which witch was the wickedest witch?”; “How now, brown cow”?; and “The whistling west wind whipped the whispering trees.” (p. 481)
Of course, there are other speech exercises that you can use to improve your ability to communicate clearly and effectively, and some additional suggestions include the following:
- Take ten or fifteen minutes each week to read aloud, but as you do, try to over accentuate each sound by consciously moving your lips, jaw, and tongue deliberately and precisely for each sound that you make (Verderber & Verderber, 2003).
- Use the dictionary to learn the preferred pronunciation of words.
- Speak slowly enough to sound each letter in a word correctly.
- Practice the correct pronunciation of words that you often mispronounce or poorly pronounce.
In summary, the main barriers to effective communication are poor articulation and pronunciation, but if you take steps to improve in those areas, speaking clearly and concisely will soon be as natural for you as the act of breathing.
If you found this article helpful, you might also enjoy “How to Become a Better Listener” and “How to Improve Your Vocabulary and Increase Your Chances of Success.”
Sources:
Lucas, S. (1998) The Art of Public Speaking: Sixth Edition; Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill
Verderber, R. & Verderber, K. (2003) The Challenge of Effective Speaking; Belmont, California: Thompson/Wadsworth Learning
Zimmer, K. & Camp, S. (1994) College English and Communication; New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill
Carol Rzadkiewicz - Carol Rzadkiewicz has taught college English for over 14 years and is the author of three published novels and numerous short stories.
