How to Enhance Your Verbal Communication
- 1). Practice projecting your voice clearly. This is important because far too often, people speak softly and muffled. If you project your voice clearly, making it easier for others to understand your speech, they might find it easier to converse with you or listen to your point. Talk out loud to yourself in the mirror or when you are doing mindless tasks. Take note of the various pitches of your voice and practice sustaining a strong, loud (but not yelling) pitch.
- 2). Think before you say anything. Some of the worst foul-ups with both business and personal relationships occur when people say something without thinking. Even if this means it takes you a bit longer to make your point, run it through your mind first to make sure that what you plan to say is of value and appropriate for the moment.
- 3). Remove extraneous phrasing from your vocabulary when possible. This includes words like "um" and "uh." Rely on strong vocabulary words and avoid useless phrasing that makes it sound as though you are stammering your way through a speech or conversation.
- 4). Seek out ways to enhance your vocabulary. The more extensive your vocabulary, the more ways you are able to communicate verbally. Subscribe to a word of the day club that comes right to your email and practice that word throughout the day. Use a thesaurus to find new ways to say words you already know. Peruse a dictionary and randomly choose a word to use for a day, or several days, to continue to add to your ability to verbally communicate.
- 5). Question people with purpose and specifics. When you are asking a question, and particularly if you are seeking a certain answer, be clear in your approach. Don't ask vague questions and communicate the question in such a way that is more sure to get you the type of answer you desire. Unless that is the nature of your question, avoid asking questions that solicit one-word answers.
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