How To Be More Well-Spoken

Being well-spoken helps with conveying ourselves and our feelings to others. When someone is well-spoken, navigating the complexities of communication becomes easier.

What does it mean to be well-spoken?

Someone who is well-spoken is able to verbally communicate effectively and politely. Well-spoken people use the right words, phrases and speaking style to get a message across well.

Ways to be well-spoken

By using the right techniques and giving yourself the opportunity to grow in this area, being well-spoken is very achievable.

Here are some ways to train yourself to become more well-spoken.

1. Read

Reading is a great way to become a talented verbal communicator. They may seem like a different form of communication, but in reality the two are actually very related.

Reading is an opportunity to pick up on words, phrases and communication techniques. You can learn these and apply them to your own spoken communication.

So to become more well-spoken, try reading as much as you can. Pay close attention to how things are worded and make notes of anything new you may come across that you can use yourself.

2. Broaden your vocabulary

Your vocabulary and choice of words play a huge role in the overall quality of your speech. Having the ability to properly select your words so that they match the circumstances is paramount.

Sometimes different words put together can end up meaning the same thing but one just comes across better.

With proper vocabulary, framing messages positively, being polite, and using reassuring language all become easier.

Open a dictionary and read some words in it. This is a little more extreme but it can help.

Spend some time searching meanings of words online (even if you already know what they are). This might be easier than just reading the dictionary, plus you can learn what words are used to define other words.

If you’re reading something and you come across a word you don’t know the meaning of, search it.

If you blank and can’t think of a word, search synonyms that you know the meaning of to jog your memory. This can help with building vocabulary skills.

Strive to continually develop your mental dictionary.

3. Practice speaking (you can do this alone)

There are few ways better to prepare yourself for speaking well than doing it. This helps you gain experience at your own pace so that you can become a stronger communicator.

Practice by yourself and reflect on what you feel you could improve on. Change up your strategy and see what works.

Practice in front of a mirror and pay attention to what you say, how you say it and even your facial expressions and body language.

Record yourself speaking and listen back to the recording. Ask yourself what (if anything) you can work on to take your speaking skills to the next level.

Then, try practicing with someone you trust. Have them also give you feedback so you get another opinion about what areas of improvement you may need to work on.

4. Think in words (very often)

Verbalize your thoughts, feelings, opinions, surroundings and whatever else you think of. Get into the habit of having conversations with yourself whenever and wherever you can.

You don’t need to talk to yourself when doing something important (like driving). But how about instead of using your phone (for example) you sit back and just practice your language skills?

Pace around the room and pretend that you’re giving a speech or a presentation. Leverage internal dialogue as a way to strengthen your language skills.

5. Listen to good communicators

Try putting on a podcast or listen to talk radio. Listen to people who are themselves well-spoken and are experts at using language effectively.

Learning from example is a great way to develop your language skills. Pay close attention to the things they say and how they say it. What is their overall communication style like and what elements of it can you utilize to improve your speaking skills?

You don’t need to (nor should you) copy them exactly. Use this to apply knowledge to your own speaking technique to fine-tune it.

6. Focus

This might seem like more of an obvious piece of advice but it is still a meaningful one for many people.

When listening and speaking, make sure you are giving your full focus. When you listen, listen fully and learn from the speaker. When you speak, focus fully on your words and what you want to say.

Talking is something that most people don’t need too much effort to do. But, at the same time, focusing a little extra can help take your speaking quality to the next level.

Focus on making sure your words are coming out right and that you are picking the right words. Also focus on your train of thought, taking special care to avoid forgetting what you want to say.

Use this technique in moderation, though. While focus is important, it’s also important to make sure you don’t overthink talking. The idea is to make sure you pay attention and give out a strong effort to communicate effectively.

7. Stay calm

Getting flustered and emotional can make communicating more challenging. It increases the risk of mistakes when speaking and could make it more difficult to focus on what you’re trying to say.

Staying calm helps you realize your full speaking potential. Does this mean you will automatically become an expert communicator? Not necessarily – you may need to do other things to practice and improve. But staying calm helps get one potential obstruction out of the way; stress.

Being overly emotional can show on your face and reflect in how you speak. This decreases the overall quality of your speaking.

Staying calm helps you maintain a relaxed demeanor that can make you more well-spoken in general.

If you have a habit of getting nervous when talking, practice a lot to get comfortable. Importantly, learn some calming techniques. Maybe relax your muscles or repeat a calming phrase.

At the very least, while you work on improving this, try faking it till you make it. Even if you’re not calm, appear calm.

8. Work on your tone

It’s not always about what you say, but also how you say it. Your tone of voice, your inflection of voice and how you sound overall are important considerations. These play a role in how your message is received.

It’s important that the way you say things matches the situation and what you’re saying. Try to have some emotion in your voice, but not too much. Overall, you should be mostly neutral, with inflection added at the right points.

A neutral voice is fine in many situations but make sure it’s not monotone. You shouldn’t sound like a goth from the early 2000s, nor should you sound like a cartoon character.

This is something that you should really practice if it’s an area that you struggle in. Give yourself (or have someone else give you) some scenarios and pretend that you are speaking in those situations. Record yourself and practice your approach.

For example, you are in a job interview answering the question “tell me about yourself.” What do you say and how do you say it? Does your voice have the appropriate amount of emotion? Do you sound friendly and inviting?

Judge your speech to determine what you think can make you more well-spoken.

9. Know what to say (when possible)

Knowing what topics you want to talk about and what you want to say about those topics can help guide your speaking. This can help alleviate some of the pressure that comes with communicating and therefore make speaking easier.

A lot of conversations, questions, and situations may require some spontaneity. You might not always have the chance to prepare for what you want to say. And that’s okay.

The idea here isn’t to always know word for word what you’re going to recite. It’s just to have an idea of some things you may want to discuss when the time comes. If you veer of course and enter uncharted conversation territory, try to work with it as best you can.

But when you do have an opportunity to prep (like an incoming presentation), make the most of it. Do your research, practice what you may want to say and think of some questions or topics that may come up.