These recommendations are especially helpful to non-native English speakers who speak English with an accent. Your accent will matter less if you make it easy for your listener to understand the information. You should:
- Speak slowly
- Break down long sentences into clear Thought Groups
- Pause between your Thought Groups
Never underestimate the power of a pause!
Clear words and clear points are important. As we extensively cover in class, correctly learning to syllabify will transform your speech into clear words easily understood by your listeners. (No need to worry about losing your accent!)
For practice, read aloud the following paragraph pausing at the commas, periods, and slash marks and add stress to the words in bold:
Thought grouping makes your speech / easier to understand! The silent pause / that borders thought groups / is often where and when / listener comprehension and understanding / actually occurs! So, break down complex information into shorter bits of information, i.e., thought groups. Make the point in each thought group and pause between the thought groups. This should result in/ clear points, clear information, and clear communication!
In summary, when planning your formal presentation,
- Where possible, break down long sentences into shorter sentences or into Thought Groups.
- Stress the important words within your Thought Groups.
- Connect your Thought Groups with words such as, however, furthermore, and unfortunately.
- Pause between Thought Groups!
- And, of course, syllabify any words that are hard to pronounce. Practice those hard-to-pronounce words within your Thought Group.
This is effective practice!
