Speech Exercises to Improve Articulation

May 16, 2020

Have you attended a talk where you feel like it was conducted in a foreign language (although you were sure you signed up for an English talk) because you can’t seem to understand what the speaker was presenting? This is usually how an audience feels when a speaker is not well-articulated. Articulation is a skill that can be learned. Before diving into some speech exercises to improve articulation, let’s explore the benefits of being well-articulated.

Why it is important to articulate your words well when giving a speech

Project Confidence

Being well-articulated makes you appear more confident and well prepared. The audience tends to trust speakers who are confident as they seem to know their stuff well. Hence, being well-articulated helps you to convince your audience more effectively.

Stand out from other speakers

Articulation is one aspect that many speakers don’t pay special attention to. If you can deliver a speech that is well-articulated, your audience can follow and understand your message clearly. Delivering a speech or presentation that’s clearer and better understood than other speeches will make you stand out from other speakers.

Speech exercises to improve articulation

How to improve speech articulation

Speech exercises are extremely useful to improve your articulation. With the right amount of practice, your articulation will improve by leaps and bounds.

In the following section of the article, we will introduce some exercises that will help you to improve your articulation.

Tongue Twisters

Tongue twisters are phrases made up of many similar sounding words that are hard to pronounce quickly and correctly. These exercises strengthen tongue muscles and ensures proper articulation of syllables.

For tongue twisters to be effective, start reading it slowly and focus on articulating every word. Once you feel more comfortable, speed up while maintaining clarity.

Here are some examples of tongue twisters to get you started.

Try this:

Bill had a billboard.
Bill also had a board bill.
The board bill bored Bill,
So Bill sold his billboard
And paid his board bill.
Then the board bill
No longer bored Bill,
But though he had no board bill,
Neither did he have his billboard!

Try this:

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked.
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers?
Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

Try this:

Betty bought a bit of butter.
But the butter Betty bought was bitter.
so Betty bought a better butter,
and it was better than the butter Betty bought before.

Try this:

All I want is a proper cup of coffee,
Made in a proper copper coffee pot
I may be off my dot
But I want a cup of coffee
From a proper coffee pot.
Tin coffee pots and iron coffee pots
They're no use to me -
If I can't have a proper cup of coffee
In a proper copper coffee pot
I'll have a cup of tea.

Try this:

Silly Sally swiftly shooed seven silly sheep.
The seven silly sheep Silly Sally shooed
Shilly-shallied south.
These sheep shouldn't sleep in a shack;
Sheep should sleep in a shed.

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Still looking for something more than just the above tongue twisters? How about taking it slow with Fox in Socks by Dr Seuss.

Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss
-------------------------

Fox
Socks
Box
Knox

Knox in box.
Fox in socks.

Knox on fox in socks in box.

Socks on Knox and Knox in box.

Fox in socks on box on Knox.

Chicks with bricks come.
Chicks with blocks come.
Chicks with bricks and blocks and clocks come.

Look, sir. Look, sir. Mr. Knox, sir.
Let's do tricks with bricks and blocks, sir.
Let's do tricks with chicks and clocks, sir.

First, I'll make a quick trick brick stack.
Then I'll make a quick trick block stack.

You can make a quick trick chick stack.
You can make a quick trick clock stack.

And here's a new trick, Mr. Knox....
Socks on chicks and chicks on fox.
Fox on clocks on bricks and blocks.
Bricks and blocks on Knox on box.

Now we come to ticks and tocks, sir.
Try to say this Mr. Knox, sir....

Clocks on fox tick.
Clocks on Knox tock.
Six sick bricks tick.
Six sick chicks tock.

Please, sir. I don't like this trick, sir.
My tongue isn't quick or slick, sir.
I get all those ticks and clocks, sir,
mixed up with the chicks and tocks, sir.
I can't do it, Mr. Fox, sir.

I'm so sorry, Mr. Knox, sir.

Here's an easy game to play.
Here's an easy thing to say....

New socks.
Two socks.
Whose socks?
Sue's socks.

Who sews whose socks?
Sue sews Sue's socks.

Who sees who sew whose new socks, sir?
You see Sue sew Sue's new socks, sir.

That's not easy, Mr. Fox, sir.

Who comes? ...
Crow comes.
Slow Joe Crow comes.

Who sews crow's clothes?
Sue sews crow's clothes.
Slow Joe Crow sews whose clothes?
Sue's clothes.

Sue sews socks of fox in socks now.

Slow Joe Crow sews Knox in box now.

Sue sews rose on Slow Joe Crow's clothes.
Fox sews hose on Slow Joe Crow's nose.

Hose goes.
Rose grows.
Nose hose goes some.
Crow's rose grows some.

Mr. Fox!
I hate this game, sir.
This game makes my tongue quite lame, sir.

Mr. Knox, sir, what a shame, sir.

We'll find something new to do now.
Here is lots of new blue goo now.
New goo. Blue goo.
Gooey. Gooey.
Blue goo. New goo.
Gluey. Gluey.

Gooey goo for chewy chewing!
That's what that Goo-Goose is doing.
Do you choose to chew goo, too, sir?
If, sir, you, sir, choose to chew, sir,
with the Goo-Goose, chew, sir.
Do, sir.

Mr. Fox, sir,
I won't do it.
I can't say.
I won't chew it.

Very well, sir.
Step this way.
We'll find another game to play.

Bim comes.
Ben comes.
Bim brings Ben broom.
Ben brings Bim broom.

Ben bends Bim's broom.
Bim bends Ben's broom.
Bim's bends.
Ben's bends.
Ben's bent broom breaks.
Bim's bent broom breaks.

Ben's band. Bim's band.
Big bands. Pig bands.

Bim and Ben lead bands with brooms.
Ben's band bangs and Bim's band booms.

Pig band! Boom band!
Big band! Broom band!
My poor mouth can't say that. No, sir.
My poor mouth is much too slow, sir.

Well then... bring your mouth this way.
I'll find it something it can say.

Luke Luck likes lakes.
Luke's duck likes lakes.
Luke Luck licks lakes.
Luck's duck licks lakes.

Duck takes licks in lakes Luke Luck likes.
Luke Luck takes licks in lakes duck likes.

I can't blab such blibber blubber!
My tongue isn't make of rubber.

Mr. Knox. Now come now. Come now.
You don't have to be so dumb now....

Try to say this, Mr. Knox, please....

Through three cheese trees three free fleas flew.
While these fleas flew, freezy breeze blew.
Freezy breeze made these three trees freeze.
Freezy trees made these trees' cheese freeze.
That's what made these three free fleas sneeze.

Stop it! Stop it!
That's enough, sir.
I can't say such silly stuff, sir.

Very well, then, Mr. Knox, sir.

Let's have a little talk about tweetle beetles....

What do you know about tweetle beetles? Well...

When tweetle beetles fight,
it's called a tweetle beetle battle.

And when they battle in a puddle,
it's a tweetle beetle puddle battle.

AND when tweetle beetles battle with paddles in a puddle,
they call it a tweetle beetle puddle paddle battle.

AND...

When beetles battle beetles in a puddle paddle battle
and the beetle battle puddle is a puddle in a bottle...
...they call this a tweetle beetle bottle puddle paddle battle muddle.

AND...

When beetles fight these battles in a bottle with their paddles
and the bottle's on a poodle and the poodle's eating noodles...
...they call this a muddle puddle tweetle poodle beetle noodle
bottle paddle battle.

AND...

Now wait a minute, Mr. Socks Fox!

When a fox is in the bottle where the tweetle beetles battle
with their paddles in a puddle on a noodle-eating poodle,
THIS is what they call...

...a tweetle beetle noodle poodle bottled paddled
muddled duddled fuddled wuddled fox in socks, sir!

Fox in socks, our game is done, sir.
Thank you for a lot of fun, sir.

Credit: https://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/dreeves/Fox-In-Socks.txt

Tongue Circling

Another useful exercise would be to use your tongue and create circles with it. The main goal of this exercise is to help strengthen the muscles in your tongue, making it easier for you to articulate your words properly.

This exercise requires you to first take the tip of your tongue and place in between your upper lip and upper teeth. Next, use your tongue to make a circle all the way inside your mouth. Do it 4 times in a clockwise direction and 4 times in an anti-clock wise direction. After that stick your tongue out and say “Ah”.

While you are doing this exercise, make sure to do it slowly with a consistent pace.

Watch a video here on how it is done.

Practice Speaking in front of a Mirror

One other speech exercise you can do to improve your articulation is to practice speaking in front of a mirror.

The main goal of this exercise helps you to know the words you cannot articulate based on mouth movements and sounds you produce.

To perform this exercise, tell a short story in front of a mirror without referring to any materials. Speak slowly so you can observe how your mouth moves and the sounds you produce.

Let’s take this sentence as an example. “One day, Amy was going to the supermarket to get some groceries.” When you say the word going, notice how your lip purse and retract. If not done correctly, you will sound different.

Once you have identified words that you cannot articulate, find someone who can articulate them correctly and learn by observing his/her mouth movement in front of a mirror.

The above are different exercises that help to improve your articulation. Coupled with practices, you are on your way to becoming a well-articulated speaker!

Interested to improve other areas of your voice? Refer to other useful articles here:

Avoid these negative body language gestures in presentation

How to use appropriate tone of voice

How to improve your speaking voice

How to project your voice and speak louder

How to memorize a speech fast and without notes