There are many ways to slow down your speaking pace, and in this video I give you one tip. Whether you find you speak too fast in situations where there is a charged energy of nerves or excitement, like public speaking, performance, job interviews, a date, etc., or whether you just happen to be a fast speaker generally, this tip can be helpful for you.
While speaking fast is a pace issue, I often find that trying to address the pace issue by slowing down your pace can feel artificial and forced, so this tip is designed to help you “go through the side door” and address the issue more organically.
Essentially, the tip is: See what you say as you’re saying it.
As you’re talking, give yourself time to see what you’re saying as you’re saying it, and your speech muscles will naturally find a more comfortable speaking rhythm for both you and the listener. The images may be literal— for example, you might be telling a story about something that happened in your day, and you might see the images of that event as you are describing it. But the images don’t have to be literal. Perhaps you are explaining a concept to someone, and just even having the thought as you speak: “See what you’re saying”, will give space for your image channel to activate and, whether the images you’re having are literal to what you’re talking about or not doesn’t matter— the thought just gives that little extra time to your speech that slows you down organically.
This is helpful for your own speaking pace and also helpful if you’re a performer working on a character. Giving your image channel time to activate will help you build stronger associations between your experience and someone else’s words.
So don’t just mean what you say, see what you say!
If you’d like some more in-depth voice warm ups, check out my podcast here and anywhere podcasts are found.
Deep breathing can also be a big help for managing your speaking pace. For more information, check out my 30-minute digital course, Demystifying Deep Breathing in 30 Minutes, on the course packs page.