Articulation and diction
Clear articulation is the shape of each sound: lips, tongue and jaw doing their work. Precise consonants make speech intelligible, especially in large rooms, on calls and for second-language listeners.
Key ideas
- Consonants carry clarity; vowels carry warmth.
- A relaxed, mobile jaw improves almost everyone's diction.
- Word endings are where clarity is usually lost.
Step by step
- 1
Warm up with lip trills and slow jaw stretches for one minute.
- 2
Read a tongue twister slowly with exaggerated consonants, then at normal speed.
- 3
Practise sentences with hard endings, landing every final consonant.
- 4
Apply it to one real sentence you will say today.
Example
An engineer who presented on video calls was often asked to repeat himself. Daily two-minute diction warm-ups and attention to word endings ended the repetitions within a fortnight.
Your drill
Read 'The thirty-three thinkers thoughtfully tested three theories' five times: slowly, over-articulated, then at natural speed while staying clear.
Common mistakes
- Over-articulating in normal conversation until it sounds artificial.
- Dropping volume and clarity at the end of sentences.
Check yourself
Where is clarity most often lost in speech?
Show the answer
At the ends of words and sentences, when consonants and volume drop.
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