In this video I am going to teach you 3 easy tips

to quickly improve your spoken English.

These 3 tips are:

1. Slow down

2. Move your mouth

3. Speak up

You’ve probably heard one if not all

of these tips before but they are extremely

important when it comes to clear,

understandable spoken English.

So let’s talk about each one...

The first one is, slow down.

This is one tip you’ve probably heard more

than anything else and that’s because

slowing down when you speak will cause

the most dramatic improvement

in your English pronunciation.

This is because it engages your audience and gets

them interested in what you have to say.

Have you ever noticed how slow

and controlled a politician speaks?

Good public speakers know that when they talk

slowly and controlled that their audience listens

more closely to what they have to say.

Their audience is engaged because the

speaker is not in any hurry.

It’s easier to listen to someone who speaks

a little slower than someone who speaks too fast.

It’s very natural to feel rushed while speaking.

We usually put that pressure on ourselves

feeling like we need to get our message

out fast before we lose our listener.

The reality is, as you slow down,

your listener will feel more comfortable and relaxed

which makes them more interested

and engaged with what you have to say.

Another reason to slow down is to give

your listener time to keep up with

what you have to say.

If English is not your first language

you will have some difficulty with sentence order,

vocabulary, and pronunciation.

Your listener knows this and for the most part

will be very patient as long as you slow down and

give them time to keep up with the conversation.

When a native speaker hears a word they do not

understand it is natural for them to try and correct

that word in their head before they can

continue listening to your message.

They have to work harder to understand your

message because of the errors that you make.

When you speak slowly, you allow your listener

to make that correction in their head

and still be able to follow the rest of the

conversation. On the other hand,

if you speak quickly and don’t allow time

for your listener to make the corrections

in their head, you will lose them,

they will get frustrated because they can’t follow

the conversation, and then they

will most likely give up.

The final reason to slow down

is to allow more time for your mouth to keep up.

English sounds require a lot

of movement in the mouth.

There are very specific positions the mouth

needs to be in for you to make the correct sounds.

When you speak quickly your mouth does not

have time to get into the correct positions

to make the correct sounds.

When you slow down and take your time

while you speak, you are then able to get your

mouth in the right positions which makes your

message much more clear and understandable.

The second easy tip to quickly improve your

spoken English is to move your mouth more.

Just like I was saying before, English

sounds require a lot of movement in the mouth.

There are very specific positions the mouth

needs to be in for you to make the correct sound.

These correct English sounds require movement

of the mouth, tongue, lips, teeth, and throat.

All of these structures need to move and work

together to make the correct sounds of English.

In this course you will learn the correct position

for each of the most difficult sounds of English

but for now I want you to understand

the importance of moving your

mouth more than you usually do.

Think of your mouth as a musical instrument

such as a trumpet.

A trumpet has a nice big opening at the end

that allows sound to escape loud and clear.

What if I were to take a towel and

cover up half of the opening to the trumpet,

how would it sound?

It would sound muffled, right?

It would be much quieter and the sound

wouldn’t come out as strong and clear.

The same goes for the

movement of your mouth.

If you only open your mouth half way

and don’t move your mouth, tongue, lips,

and teeth enough, then the sound coming out

of your mouth will sound muffled and unclear.

On the other hand, if you open your mouth more

and allow the sound to come out unrestricted

then you will have a much

stronger and clearer voice.

Let me show you an example.

What if I were to introduce myself this way...

Hi, my name is Annie Ruden

and I live in the United States.

I didn’t move my mouth very much.

How well were you able to understand me?

You might be able to understand me

but it probably took a little more effort on your part.

Now, listen while I introduce myself

while moving my mouth more...

Hi, my name is Annie Ruden

and I live in the United States.

Did you see how much more movement

there was in my mouth and did you

hear the difference in the sound?

A great way to practice this technique is to

speak in front of a mirror.

When looking into a mirror you can see

how much you move your mouth.

The exercise I will give you today will require you

to use a mirror and practice opening your mouth

wider to make bigger movements in your mouth.

The third and final tip I have for you today

to quickly and drastically improve your spoken

English is to SPEAK UP!

Speaking up means to speak louder.

Have you ever been listening to music and wanted

to hear the words of the song better?

What did you do?

You probably turned up the volume.

Once the volume was up then you could better

understand what the singer was saying.

Often times my clients will speak very quiet.

Sometimes they speak quietly because it’s part

of their personality; they are very shy

and quiet but most often it is because

my clients are not confident in their

pronunciation of words so they speak quietly

so their listener will not hear their mistakes.

This is a big problem because not only are

they probably mispronouncing words but

they are also speaking so quietly that the listener

has to work even harder to hear what is being said.

You must understand, English

is not your first language.

You will most likely not say every

word correctly and that’s okay.

Through this program you will improve in your

pronunciation so that you won’t

make so many mistakes.

But you need to be okay with the idea

that you are going to make some mistakes.

As long as you speak loud enough and slow enough

for your listener to hear and

follow what you are saying,

the mispronounced words won’t be

that big of a deal. Your listener won’t

care very much. Your message will be heard and

understood enough for a pleasant conversation.

The goal in all three of these tips is to make it

easier for your listener to listen to you.

You do not want your listener to get

frustrated and give up on the conversation.

You need to do all you can to make

sure you create an easy experience for

your listener and this can be done by:

Slowing down

moving your mouth

and speaking up

Now, I have a practice exercise for you

to practice this week.

Print out the worksheet titled:

‘3 easy tips’ right now.

I am going to read through this worksheet

so you can get an idea of how I want you

to read it. Once I finish reading through it,

pause the video and read through it on your own.

You will concentrate on only 3 skills right now.

Slow down, move your mouth, and speak up.

Here we go...

3 Easy Tips to quickly improve my spoken English:

Hi, my name is ________________

and I’m learning to speak English

with an American accent.

I found this great program called Pronunciation Pro

where I learn everything I need to know about

English pronunciation and the American Accent.

As I practice these skills,

I will be better understood by native English

speakers and English speakers around the world.

In this lesson, I’m learning how to slow

down so my listener has time to

follow what I’m saying.

I’m also learning to move my mouth more.

I’ve learned that if I don’t open my mouth

and move it, then my listener will have

to work harder to understand me.

The final thing I’m learning, is to speak up.

I know that when I speak louder it’s easier

for my listener to hear what I have to say.

If I use these 3 tips in my daily conversation

then I will find more success in my interactions

with native English speakers and

English speakers around the world.

Okay, now pause the video

and read through this worksheet.

Great job. Now I want you to print out

the worksheet, if you haven’t already,

and find some tape.

Go ahead and tape the worksheet

to a mirror in your house.

The most ideal place is a bathroom mirror

or some place where you get ready in the morning.

Using these 3 tips, I want you to practice

reading this passage while you get ready.

I want you to do it in front of the mirror

so you can watch the movements of your mouth.

Make sure you are making bigger

movements with your mouth then you usually do.

The 3 tips are written at the top of the

worksheet to help you remember to use them.

Read through the worksheet at least 5 times

out loud every morning.

Below this video there is also an mp3 recording

of me reading this passage so you can listen to

an example of how to slow down, move

your mouth, and speak up.

Now go tape this worksheet

to your mirror and practice!

Good luck,

and I’ll see you again in the next video.