You can't help but pay attention to your speech. In the vast majority of cases, when people begin to study this issue, they are horrified by the way they talk.

This refers specifically to pronunciation. After all, we all grow up in a certain language group, where a specific local dialect or outright Surzhik predominates.

For this reason, we have prepared a short material on the topic diction development. We were prompted to do this by the indignation caused by such words of some TV presenters as: “pasatrel” instead of “looked”, “skaal” instead of “said”, etc.

But at all times, clear diction and correct speech were considered a sign of a person’s education and development.

That is why you cannot be or count on it if such simple things as diction are at an indecently low level.

By the way, we have already talked about. Pay attention to them.

Let's make one last digression. You've probably heard the saying: “You are greeted by your clothes, but you are escorted by your mind”. This is a largely fair remark. The same goes for diction.

When you first meet a stranger, the first thing he notices is your appearance and the way you speak.

If your words are chaotic, and their sound resembles a tape jammed in a tape recorder, then it is unlikely that a person will like or trust you after the first communication.

Therefore, the importance of good diction for any person is difficult to overestimate.

How to improve your diction

Before moving on to specific tips, you need to find out the meaning of the term itself.

Diction(from Latin dictio - pronunciation) - clear pronunciation of sounds in accordance with the phonetic norms of the language.

Today, in many large cities there are various organizations offering courses to improve diction and voice production.

Perhaps for some this is the only option to work on themselves. However, we are confident that with a little effort of will, you can correct pronunciation problems even at home.

The main thing here is to have perseverance, a desire to change, and regular practice. Everything else is a matter of time.

Therefore, we offer you the most effective methods for improving diction. Check them out and start taking action now.

Diction exercises

A classic example of working on oneself is the ancient Greek orator Demosthenes. This outstanding Greek had very poor pronunciation and was extremely ashamed of it.

It must be said that this was a time when oratory, rhetoric and eloquence were valued as perhaps the highest personal values.

To overcome himself and achieve success, Demosthenes put small stones in his mouth and tried to recite famous poets out loud as clearly as possible.

Then he ran up the steep climb of the mountain, and when he was completely out of breath, he again recited poetry, making incredible efforts on himself.

His last exercise was to shout over the surf. When the waves hit the shore, he spoke as loudly as he could to an imaginary audience, continuing to tell them poems.

These amusing and seemingly stupid activities led to the fact that Demosthenes became one of the most prominent and famous orators. Today, not a single book about the art of eloquence is complete without mentioning it.

So no matter how bad your speech is today, you can improve it, so go for it!

Now let's move on to the exercises themselves.

Articulation apparatus training

• “Fence” - clench your teeth and smile widely. Hold this position for ten seconds and return to the starting position. Make sure that the upper and lower rows of teeth are clearly visible. Repeat the exercise several times.
• “Tube” - without opening your teeth, stretch your lips forward. At the same time, you can drag out the sound “oo-oo-oo-oo” for ten seconds. Repeat the exercise.
• “Needle” - open your mouth and extend your sharp tongue as far as possible. Hold this position for five seconds. Then relax your muscles. Repeat several times.
• “Damn” - show your tongue to your reflection by placing it on your lower lip and making it as wide as possible. Repeat.
• “Lick your lips” - relax your lower jaw and try to keep it in one position. Lick your upper lip, extending your tongue as far as possible. Repeat the same action with your lower lip.
• “Swing” - touch your upper and lower lips with your tongue alternately. Perform the exercise at a slow pace and try not to move your chin.
• “Hamster” - close your lips and press the inside of your tongue onto your cheek for five seconds. Repeat the manipulation with the other cheek.

Breathing training

Therefore, pay at least a little attention to this, especially since there is nothing complicated here. There are hundreds of breathing exercises; which one to choose is up to you.

• Stand straight, feet shoulder-width apart. Take a deep breath, and then, slowly exhaling the air, calmly read any quatrain. Repeat several times.
• Learn to breathe with your belly. We will not go into the intricacies of the physiological structure of the diaphragm, but simply explain: when inhaling, imagine that the air is entering the stomach, and not the lungs. This is a very important, and perhaps the main point in breathing exercises.
• If you walk a lot, try reciting poems as you walk without your breathing bothering you. The body itself will tell you the right rhythm.
• This exercise can be done in any body position. Take a deep breath, and then, slowly exhaling the air, make the sound “mm-mm-mm.” Alternate it with the sounds “m-m-m-e-e-e”, “m-m-m-o-o-o”, “m-m-m-u-u-u”, “m-m” -m-a-a-a”, “m-m-m-y-y-y”, “m-m-m-i-i-i”.

It is important to understand here that when doing exercises for diction, breathing does not play some mystical role, but a completely physiological one. Therefore, the most important thing is for you to understand the importance of breathing exercises.

By observing your breathing for at least a few minutes a day, you will be surprised at the results you get.

Tongue twisters for the development of diction

Tongue twisters that are used to develop diction are very different. You can find a lot of them on the Internet. In principle, it doesn’t matter much which tongue twisters you use.

The main thing is that they practice pronunciation of all letters of the alphabet.

Below we present classic tongue twisters that activate all the muscles of the speech apparatus of a Russian-speaking person.

Keep in mind that all pictures are optimized for social networks, so you can safely save them to your wall.

By the way, you might like the popular tongue twister about the Japanese: . Be sure to read it!

And for real connoisseurs, we have prepared it in Russian.

Finally, here is a poem by the famous poet Valery Bryusov, which is often used by announcers to prepare for a performance. It includes hard-to-pronounce words that help to do high-quality gymnastics of the speech apparatus.

And if you don’t like tongue twisters, then to develop your diction it will be enough to read this verse regularly.

Storm from the shore

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Voice, diction and speech are important components for any successful public speaking. Many people have slurred speech, a low voice, and poor diction. The reasons for this are countless. Below we will look at the most basic reasons for such "diseases", and also consider ways that will help you develop your voice, develop diction and speech on your own. If you are interested in this topic, please read this article carefully and complete all the exercises outlined in it.

Causes of a quiet voice, poor diction and slurred speech

I know only a few reasons for a quiet voice, poor diction and slurred speech - this is, low and. There are also genetic reasons, but we will not touch on them. Why do I think that the main reasons for all this are lack of self-confidence and complexes? Do you think confident people with high self-esteem have a quiet voice? Do they speak quietly? Do they have slurred speech? In most cases, such people do not have speech problems. Look at politicians, actors, singers. They are all confident people who constantly speak in front of the public. Therefore, their speech is developed, their voice is loud and there are no problems with diction.

Now let's take a shy person. During communication, this shy person experiences self-doubt, he believes that there is something wrong with him (complexes), he is overwhelmed by feelings and, as a result, his voice is quiet, his speech is unintelligible, and it is simply impossible to listen to him. Therefore, if you want develop your voice, if you want to develop diction, if you want to develop speech, You need to do a lot of work on yourself. Without effort, your voice will not become loud. Now we will move on to exercises that will help you achieve what you want. Let's start in order.

How to develop your voice?

So, as we have already found out, voice development is an important task for people whose profession involves public speaking. Voice production is important not only for public people. A developed and loud voice will make your communication in everyday life easier, and you will not be constantly asked: “Ahh?”, “What?”, “What?” and other annoying questions. By performing a series of exercises to develop your voice, you will eliminate many defects and shortcomings. So let's get started.

1) To make your voice sound, it is very important to breathe correctly. If you have just begun to develop your voice, then breathing exercises are the first thing you should do. Stand up, straighten your spine, place your feet shoulder-width apart, place one hand on your chest, the other on your stomach. As you inhale through your nose, push your belly forward (expanding your lower chest). Exhale air freely and naturally through your mouth, returning your stomach and chest to their original position. This is how you develop the diaphragm.

2) The second breathing exercise involves holding air. Inhale quickly through your nose and then hold your breath for three seconds. Then exhale through your mouth. Do this exercise for 5-10 minutes.

3) Inhale as much air as possible through your mouth, then slowly begin to exhale it, pronouncing the vowels (a, o, u, i, e, s). Try to make the sound of the vowel sound as loud as possible and for as long as possible. You can also, when exhaling, smoothly jump from one vowel to another -aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyy.

4) With your mouth closed while exhaling, begin "moo"- saying mmm. Try to hum so that your lips tickle. In addition, be sure to change the volume of the sound - from quiet to loud and vice versa. This exercise will help develop the articulatory apparatus, which will give strength to the voice.

5) Now start growling, saying rrrrr. This exercise also develops the articulatory apparatus. Change the volume of the sound, as well as intonation from subtle to rough.

How to develop diction?

Diction is the quality of pronunciation of words (distinction), the manner of pronouncing words. Diction is very important for actors, singers, politicians, and teachers.

Tongue twisters are suitable for developing diction. You can easily find them on the Internet. Here's a video for you as an example!

In order to begin to develop diction, you first need to stretch your tongue, lips, facial muscles and articulatory apparatus.

1) Let's start with the language. Stick your tongue forward as far as possible, then stick it back (just don't swallow it). Start forcing your tongue forward and then back. The duration of the exercise is 5-7 minutes.

2) Pricking the cheeks with the tongue. Start pricking your cheeks one by one with your tongue. First prick the left cheek, then the right. Take 7-12 minutes to complete. This is a great exercise for training your tongue.

3) A good tongue exercise is "Teeth cleaning". You begin to rotate your tongue in a circle. The mouth must be closed. Make 20-30 rotations clockwise and counterclockwise.

4) Then, stick out your tongue and start twisting it in a circle. Make 10-15 circles clockwise, then counterclockwise. After this, wipe yourself off (wipe away the drool from your lips).

5) It’s almost the same with lips. The exercise is called "Tube - smile". First, you stretch your lips forward, after 3 seconds you begin to smile as wide as possible. First the lips forward, then back. Do this exercise for at least 7 minutes.

6) Next, stretch your lips into a tube and begin to lift your heels, first up, then down. Then start doing the same thing, only left, right. Then start turning the patch in a circle, clockwise and counterclockwise.

7) Next exercise – "Bubble". You puff up your cheeks and start spinning this bubble in a circle.

8) Start biting your upper lip with your teeth. Do it carefully, don't bite yourself. Then start biting your lower lip. After this, start wiping your upper teeth with your upper lip. Try to wipe so that the lower lip does not move. It's difficult, but possible. Do this exercise in front of a mirror to control yourself. Then start wiping your lower teeth with your lower lip, the upper lip should not move either.

9) After completing this warm-up, stand near a window and say the following phrase: “The weather is good outside, and I have beautiful, clear, intelligible speech”. Say this phrase loudly, clearly and clearly. They should hear you on the street.

10) To warm up your facial muscles, start kneading your face at random. Make faces, bulge your eyes. It doesn’t look pretty from the outside, but it’s funny and very effective.

11) In order for the pronunciation of words to be clear, it is necessary to pronounce the endings. Many people swallow endings, especially "th". Start saying the following row:

PTKA - PTKO - PTKU - PTKE - PTKI - PTKY

TPKA - TPKO - TPKU - TPKE - TPKI - TPKY

KPTA - KPTO - KPTU - KPTE - KPTI - KPTY

BI - PI - BE - PE - BA - PA - BO - PO - BU - PU - BU - PY

PI - BI - PE - BE - PA - BA - PO - BO - PU - BU - PU - WOULD

MVSTI - MVSTE - MVSTA - MVSTO - MVSTU - MVSTY

ZDRI - ZDRE - ZDRA - ZDRO - ZDRU - ZDRY

ZhDR - ZHDR - ZHDR - ZHDR - ZHDR - ZHDR

This series develops your diction. Don't forget about tongue twisters.

How to develop speech?

To develop speech you will need discipline, conscious control and consistency. Good speech is becoming less and less common these days. You can listen to one person for hours, but you want to run away from another. Your professional and personal life depends on the quality of your speech. Half the success depends on the ability to communicate, and to be able to communicate, you need not only erudition, but also developed speech.

1) To develop speech, the first thing I advise you to do is read newspapers, magazines,... And you need to read it out loud. While reading, try to force your intonations and avoid monotony. Also, change the reading speed and volume. Pronounce all endings and follow punctuation marks. Reading aloud is the main exercise for speech development.

3) Thirdly, as when reading aloud, watch the pace of speech. Enrich it with intonations. Use pauses to highlight important points in the conversation. The pause should be appropriate and not prolonged.

4) Fourth, expand your vocabulary. This can be done by watching films, trainings, and reading books. If you heard the president or another politician speak on TV, why don’t you try to say the same thing at home. Imagine that you are speaking in front of the public as the president. Tell your imaginary people about the political and economic situation in our country. This is a very exciting activity for developing speech and replenishing vocabulary.

I train my voice, diction and speech using the above method. In three months, your speech will be transformed beyond recognition. Therefore, do not be surprised if your friends begin to tell you that something has changed in you. And the voice, diction and speech have changed. Practice every day and your efforts will be rewarded.

How to develop a voice, How to develop diction, How to develop speech

Today I happened to get stuck in an elevator with a very interesting young man. Or rather, the fact that this is an extraordinary personality of enormous proportions turned out completely by accident, and then only a few hours later. This is perhaps the only time in my life that I have been glad that our valiant emergency services had to wait a very long time. My unfortunate neighbor turned out to be an inconspicuous young man with a trembling voice and an uncertain and cautious style of communication, and in order to understand what he was saying, I had to listen carefully and make additional efforts.

We might have spent hours waiting in silence if my gaze had not fallen on the book and the title page of a voluminous scientific work that he held in his hands. The book is a collection of poems with his photograph and last name, and the scientific work is a candidate's dissertation on nuclear physics by the same author.

After talking a little with my casual acquaintance, I found out that he is a very talented person, a winner of All-Russian Olympiads, an inventor of innovative methods in science, and also a poet with an interesting style and an unusual written style. But the trouble is that it is almost impossible to understand, since he simply has terrible command of his voice and does not know how to express himself at all.

While communicating with him, I had an irresistible desire to help, to explain how to develop diction and clarity of speech, to make speech understandable and pleasant to the ear. After all, it’s not difficult at all!

My tongue is my friend

They say that the voice most clearly conveys our personality. There are no two people in the world with identical voices. It is by listening to intonation that we can better understand what mood a person is in, guess what is in his soul and what he is feeling now.

Timidity in the voice usually indicates uncertainty, which can make a person seem weak and, for example, a less qualified specialist than he really is. On the contrary, the ability to control yourself and your voice allows you to create the desired impression, achieve your goals, influence people and promote your beliefs and ideals.

As often happens, many people think that diction and clear speech, the talent of a speaker, are inherent in people from birth - either you are given it or you are not. Give it up! This is utter stupidity. As with other skills, everything can be achieved through hard work on yourself. There are effective exercises for developing diction. We'll talk about them. By training for 15 minutes daily, you will see noticeable results in just seven days.

Exercise 1. Cork.

How can wine improve your articulation? Yes, very simple! You take a bottle cap (preferably at home the next day or some time later), clamp it between your teeth and begin to say phrases. To begin, take any piece of text that you like, it can also be a poem, and try to read it. At first it will be very difficult, as the muscles of the articulatory apparatus overcome the resistance created by the cork.

Then take it out and say the same thing. Once “free,” the muscles begin to work more harmoniously, and the sounds are clear. Also, a very striking effect, if practiced regularly, is given by pronouncing the so-called explosive consonants with a cork in the mouth.

Practice on the following groups of sounds:

1. pe-pe-pe, be-be-be, me-me-me;
2. te-te-te, de-de-de;
3. ke-ke-ke, ge-ge-ge.

The first group trains the muscles of the lips, the second develops the tip of the tongue, and the third strengthens its root. Do these exercises regularly for 5 minutes and you will see good results within a week.

Exercise 2. Ligurian traffic controller

Nothing trains diction better than complex tongue twisters. By now, good people have come up with a lot of them and all kinds of them to work out a variety of problem areas. One of the most famous is called “Liguria”. This is a whole coherent text from well-known tongue twisters, which can quickly bring diction to the level of a speaker, both in children and adults. Try to read it quickly and clearly. You will definitely like it.

On Thursday the 4th, at 4 and a quarter o'clock, the Ligurian traffic controller was regulating in Liguria, but 33 ships tacked, tacked, but never managed, and then the protocol about the protocol was recorded by the protocol, as the interviewed Ligurian traffic controller was eloquent, but not clear reported, and so reported about the wet weather that, so that the incident did not become a candidate for a judicial precedent, the Ligurian traffic controller acclimatized in unconstitutional Constantinople, where the tufted laughter laughed and shouted to the Turk, who was blackly stoned with a pipe: don’t smoke, Turk, pipe, better buy a pile peak, it’s better to buy a pile of peak, otherwise a bombardier from Brandeburg will come and bombard him with bombs because some black-snouted guy dug up half his yard with his snout, dug up and dug up; but in fact the Turk was not in the business, and Klara the King was sneaking to the stall at that time, while Karl was stealing corals from Klara, for which Klara stole the clarinet from Karl, and then in the yard of the tar widow Varvara, 2 of these thieves stole firewood; but it’s a sin - not laughter - not to put it in a nut: about Clara and Karl in the darkness, all the crayfish were making noise in a fight - so the thieves had no time for the bombardier, but also not the tar widow, and not the tar children; but the angry widow put the firewood in the barn: once firewood, 2 firewood, 3 firewood - all the firewood did not fit, and 2 woodcutters, 2 woodcutters, for the emotional Varvara, expelled the firewood across the width of the yard back to the wood yard, where the heron withered, the heron withered, the heron died; the heron's chick clung tenaciously to the chain; well done against the sheep, and against the well done the sheep itself, to which Senya carries the hay in a sleigh, then Senka carries Sonya and Sanka on a sled: the sled hops, Senka sideways, Sonya head on, everything into a snowdrift, and from there only a head of bumps knocked him down, then Sasha went along the highway, Sasha found the sachet on the highway; Sonya - Sashka’s friend was walking along the highway and sucking a dryer, and besides, Sonya the turntable also had 3 cheesecakes in her mouth - exactly like a honey cake, but she had no time for a honey cake - Sonya, with the cheesecakes in her mouth, would over-mix the sexton, - over-mix: it buzzes like ground beetle, buzzing and spinning: was at Frol's - Frol lied about Lavra, will go to the Lavra at Frol Lavra will lie that - the sergeant with the sergeant, the captain with the captain, the snake has a snake, the hedgehog has a hedgehog, and a high-ranking guest has taken away from him a cane, and soon again 5 guys ate 5 honey mushrooms and a half-quarter of a quadruple of lentils without a wormhole, and 1666 pies with cottage cheese from whey from yogurt - about all of that, the bells were ringing with groans, so much so that even Konstantin - a Salzburg unpromising man from - under an armored personnel carrier he stated: just as all the bells cannot be re-ringed, all the tongue twisters cannot be repeated, all the tongue twisters cannot be re-spoken; but trying is not torture.

Exercise 3. Your own interlocutor

A lot of people don't like the way their voice and pronunciation sound on recordings. And this is not just like that, because you can immediately hear all the mistakes and articulation that is far from ideal. Read passages into a tape recorder, listen to yourself, correct what sounds ugly and does not suit you.

Exercise 4. Breathing is life

One of the most important secrets of a beautiful voice is correct diaphragmatic breathing. All singers, speakers and announcers breathe through their belly, not their chest. It is the diaphragm that creates such a flow of air that the vocal cords begin to vibrate cleanly and powerfully. Also practice distributing your breathing so that it is enough for long sentences. To do this, inhale and, for example, stretch out one vowel until the air in your lungs is completely gone. Blowing up balloons is also a very effective way to practice breathing when setting your voice.

All the tongue twisters cannot be repeated, all the tongue twisters cannot be repeated

Of course, all of the above is only a small part of all the methods that exist to make your speech clear and beautiful. Although even doing these exercises will take you to a whole new level. If you want to know more on this topic and do better, I recommend it. By studying with her, you can reach unprecedented heights. She also has an entertaining book - “Speak beautifully and confidently.” I also recommended them to my new friend, with whom we finally got out of the elevator, and I really hope that he will also quickly be able to improve his speech. After all, he is an incredibly talented guy, and he really wants the world to hear him.

Don’t be shy about revealing yourself to the world! Good luck with your diction training! With this, I say goodbye to you for today - until we meet again on the pages of the blog.