9 Ways to Become Well Spoken

From cutting out unnecessary words to identifying areas where you can improve your speech, here are nine answers to the question, “What are some tips you have to become well-spoken?”

• Work on Filler Words
• Build Your Confidence
• Write Your Thoughts Down Beforehand
• Consider Any and All Perspectives to Refine Your Own
• Read as Much as Possible
• Practice Your Speech
• Join a Public Speaking Group
• Give Presentations to Diverse Audiences
• Record Yourself and Adjust

One of the biggest roadblocks people have in the way of becoming perceived as well-spoken is their inability to talk without relying on filler words. 

Words like “uh” or “like” can impede the ideas you are trying to convey and can appear as though you are under-prepared. 

Try recording yourself giving a speech off the top of your head to see how often you use filler words when speaking. Also, try speaking slower, which can help you avoid using filler words too.

Brandon Brown, CEO, GRIN

Speaking well is not something that always comes naturally. In fact, in my experience, it is actually a well-practiced art. 

One of the biggest contributors to developing this skill is building your confidence. Building your confidence helps you feel powerful and in charge in situations where you’d like to come across as articulate to your audience.

Mary Jurgensen, Community Outreach Director, West PACE

It may be helpful to write out your thoughts to make sense of them, especially if you’re an internal processor.

Doing so will provide you with something to reference and review, keeping your thoughts fresh in your mind and making you better equipped to articulate yourself. 

This works best with public speaking engagements, or planned conversations, but can also work when you need to gather your thoughts‌.

Andrew Chen, CPO, Videeo

There are many viewpoints and ways of thinking in this world. Consider them all and plan your own unique views and core values. 

Once you’ve identified your values, personality, and passions, it becomes easier to form a comprehensive perspective on varying topics of interest. 

Absorb the sentiments of others from your daily life, books, online studies, and even social media interactions, to form a refined store of insight that you can use to sharpen your own perspectives and become more eloquent. 

Dakota McDaniels, CPO, Pluto

To become more eloquent, I advise you to read as much as possible. Every book is unique, down to the sentence structure and the natural flow of words within. 

Reading more exposes individuals to a more diverse collection of ways to speak, as well as those natural complexities of language that can be harder to digest unless read aloud, which can serve as a context for how to communicate more effectively.

Alexandre Robicquet, Co-Founder and CEO, Crossing Minds

Try talking in front of your mirror about various subjects and work on how you transition from one point to the next. 

Pausing is a great tool when used effectively, but you don’t want to overdo it. Practice for at least 10 minutes in front of your mirror each day, and in a couple of months, you will speak more eloquently.

Scott Krager, Founder, Key Fob Replacement

Joining a public speaking group, such as Toastmasters, can provide you with a structured and supportive environment to practice and receive feedback on your speaking skills.

These groups often follow a structured program that provides members with guidelines for delivering speeches and developing their speaking abilities. 

These programs typically include milestones that members can work toward, such as completing a certain number of speeches or taking part in speaking contests. 

Being a part of such a group can also be a fun and rewarding way to meet new people and develop your confidence and communication skills.

Lilia Koss, Community Manager, Facialteam

I’ve done a lot of public speaking over the years. My audiences have ranged from students to entrepreneurs, and attorneys to plumbers. I’ve spoken to business audiences, academic audiences, and even religious congregations. 

This has caused me to learn how to communicate with many people with various levels of fluency, experience, and knowledge. 

As a result, I’ve refined my communication abilities to adjust to the setting rather than the other way around. I’m able to “read the room” and speak at the level most appropriate for the other party. This is one way I’ve improved my public speaking. 

Michael Neuendorff, President, Bay Area Executive Coach

Speaking confidently and articulately is a key trait that can help you speak to any audience effectively.

One tip to improve your speech is to record yourself speaking and study it. Take the time to listen back, notice the inflections of your voice and the words you used, and then focus on improving them. 

Identifying areas in which you may need to use certain words or phrases can be beneficial in reducing pauses or filler words while building a more comprehensive stockpile of vocabulary. 

Recording yourself also allows for better self-awareness in terms of pronunciation—if there are parts within your spoken sentence that are hard to understand (perhaps because of accent, dialect, or other naturally occurring components), listening back with an ear for clarity helps eliminate these subconscious qualities from your repertoire.

Ultimately, this allows for clear understanding from audiences no matter who you’re speaking to.

Julia Kelly, Managing Partner, Rigits