Your Public Best - Lillian Brown [59]
And remember, you can say quite a bit in nine or ten minutes.
You can estimate that about 130 to 170 words take a minute to deliver. Time your speech with a stopwatch to make sure that it fits within the time frame that you have been given. If you find that it is too long, cut out sentences and paragraphs rather than increase the rate of your delivery.
Talking Too Fast. You may have been told that you talk too fast but do not know how to slow down your rate of speech. There is more than meets the eye to being understood by your audience than just slowing down your rate of speech.
The untrained speedy talker must learn to keep the speech pattern under control. When you whiz by important words and phrases, your listener has to strain to understand what is being said and will soon lose interest in trying to follow you.
The proper way to slow your rate of speaking is to carefully pronounce all of the letters, sounds, and syllables in your words. Don’t leave anything out: Clearly and correctly articulate all of the consonants and vowels.
When you take the time to clearly pronounce each word and sentence, you automatically slow the rate of your speech and you will comply with the “listening rate” of your audience. Then, by adding meaningful pauses and emphasis, you will become an eloquent speaker.
As mentioned earlier, an audience has a listening rate of between 130 to 170 words per minute. To be clearly understood, you should not exceed that rate. Again, using a tape recorder, time yourself with a stopwatch or the sweep hand of your wristwatch to find out what your speaking rate currently is.
Aside from your audiences’ “listening rate” is what I call in my seminars their “comprehension speed.” This refers to your listeners’ ability to readily understand what you are saying at the speed that you are saying it.
In other words, it is important that you develop the ability to gauge your listeners’ ability to understand clearly and comprehend the meaning of your material when you give a speech. For example, I find that many highly intelligent people think faster than they talk. Their minds are speeding far ahead to the next thought or sentence.
They may also know the material they are talking about so well from constant study and/or repetition that they find themselves racing through it at a great rate—faster than the comprehension speed of their listeners.
For some members of your audience, English may be a second language, and they may be doing a mental translation of what you are saying into their own language. Or the younger members of your audience may appreciate a speaker who does not rush through the material.
Sometimes audience comprehension can be affected by room tone, extraneous noise (are waiters clearing dessert dishes or serving coffee as you begin your speech?), or microphone distortion. The trick is for you to adapt the rate and speed of your delivery to the ability of your listeners to follow what you say. It is important to observe the listening limitations of your listeners.
Eliminating the “Uh.” Almost everyone says “uh.” It is a common but irritating speech habit.
The first step in breaking this lifelong and often firmly entrenched habit is to become acutely aware of it. Listen critically to the people around you and count the “uh’s” in their speech. Listen to radio and TV announcers, public speakers, and friends. Make a mental note of how often that “uh” is used.
A famous speech teacher is known for carrying around a pocket full of dry beans, and every time a pupil said “uh” in his presence, he threw a bean out on the floor.
Listen to the tape recording you made of your speech, and mark down the number of times you said “uh.” (Or use beans, if you wish.) Envision your thought process when you say “uh.” Usually, you say it when you hesitate and are not quite sure what you are going to say next. You use it as a device