Speech
Speech refers to how we say the sounds of language. Clarity of speech ensures others understand what we are saying, but also transmits a message of confidence and competence to our listeners.
Speech therapy includes the classic fields of enunciation and articulation. Clients might have difficulties with a sound or two that was never learner correctly, such as a lisp or difficulty saying the /r/ sound. But often issues are more generalized. Clients may have been told they mumble, which means different things to different people but usually includes a tendency to rush, to let volume drop at the ends of sentences and leave off or be sloppy with some sounds.
Skilled intervention in speech is not simply a matter of assessment and then teaching the correct formulation of the sound or sounds the client has trouble with. A skilled speech language pathologist has to dig deeper with the client to change firmly entrenched habits. Clients often need to understand where and how the habits arose in the first place. At ClearSpeech we work with clients to develop practice habits that can be integrated into daily life to build the new neural pathways that will support a real and permanent change.
Test yourself with our Speech Self Evaluation Quiz
1. Do you rush your speech especially when you are nervous or under pressure?
2. Do you have sounds or words that you avoid because they are hard to say?
3. Do people ever ask you to repeat yourself or appear puzzled after you speak?
4. Do you make a lot of use of fillers such as um and ah and er?
5. Do people frequently ask you to speak up, or complain that you mumble?
6. Do people frequently ask you to speak up, or complain that you mumble?
- Do you use fillers like um, uh and ......like? - Learn an effective method to reduce fillers
