How to correctly use speaking speed in a speech

Speech rate, that is, the speed of the voice when speaking, and the number of syllables spoken per unit time. Changes in speaking speed are also an important means of expressing expressions. The speed of speech can generally be divided into three types: fast, medium and slow. The following is what I bring to you how to correctly use the speaking speed in a speech. You are welcome to read and refer to it!

1. Fast

Express excitement, joy, nervousness, and excitement. . More than two hundred syllables per minute. Example: Hurry up, I have to leave.

2. Medium speed

Used in places where the emotions have not changed much, and used to describe ordinary scenes. About 200 syllables per minute Example: I will leave later.

3. Slow

Narrating calm and solemn scenes is used to express sadness and depression. Around 100 syllables per minute.

Example: He left yesterday. My dog ??slowly moved closer to it. Suddenly, an old sparrow with a black breast flew down from a nearby tree and landed in front of the dog like a pebble. The old sparrow's feathers stood up all over, and it was terrified. It let out a desperate and pitiful cry, and then pounced on the dog's mouth, which showed its teeth and opened wide. (The sentence starts slowly and turns faster after "suddenly") If you want to know how fast you speak? You can time yourself and calculate it. Make a mark at the beginning of a paragraph, read it aloud for one minute, and then count the words you have read. Word count. Generally it should be about 150 words per minute. In normal conversation, you can speak about 200 words per minute.

In general formal speeches, the speaker is required to be able to skillfully grasp the speaking speed during the speech, and choose an appropriate speaking speed based on the actual situation at the scene, the content of the speech and other factors.

If it is a formal speech, the speed cannot be too fast. First, it is difficult for the audience to understand, and the listener cannot follow the train of thought in time. Second, it is easy to make people suspicious and mistakenly think that the speaker has stage fright. Because people tend to speak faster when they are timid.

Of course, you can’t speak too slowly. If it is too slow, it will sound like a drawl, which will give others room to wander and give people the impression of being stupid, slow, and lacking in education.

Let’s talk about in detail when to speak slowly and when to speak quickly.

(1) The speaking speed is subject to the content of the speech

1. Use normal speaking speed for explanatory text

2. Use slower language for narrative and descriptive text Speed

In "Moonlight over the Lotus Pond", Mr. Zhu Ziqing was dissatisfied with the darkness of society and felt depressed, so he went to the lotus pond to relax in the dead of night. This paragraph should be read at a speed of narration and description at the same time, so as to vent the inner anguish.

These past few days, I have been feeling quite uneasy. Tonight, as I was sitting in the yard enjoying the shade, I suddenly thought of the lotus pond I walked past every day. It must have looked different under the light of the full moon. The moon was gradually rising, and the laughter of the children on the road outside the wall could no longer be heard; my wife was patting Runer in the house and humming a lullaby in a daze. I quietly put on my coat, closed the door and went out. (Slow) 3. Argumentative and lyrical writing should be fast or slow.

Mr. Zhu Ziqing did not get rid of his depression and sorrow in the silent lotus pond and returned to reality. The mood changes from a touch of joy to a touch of sadness, so this paragraph should be read like this: The liveliest sounds at this time are the cicadas chirping on the trees and the frogs chirping in the water. But the excitement is theirs and I have nothing. (Slow) The first sentence expresses a touch of joy, and the speaking speed should be faster; the latter sentence expresses a touch of sadness, and the speaking speed should be slower.

(2) The speed of speaking should take into account the formal characteristics of the language itself.

For example: long, scattered sentences and words with difficult pronunciation should not be spoken too fast; while neat and rhythmic sentences should be spoken faster to make them easier to hear.

For example, the following text:

For thousands of years, the ghosts of traditional concepts such as "a woman's lack of talent is virtue" and "a good wife and mother" are still in every corner of society. It lingers here, stubbornly hindering the complete liberation of women in contemporary society! Are mothers born stupid and unworthy of education? Please look at the heroines of today’s world!

(This paragraph should be slower and the beginning should be more Slower, because it has a long sentence and is difficult to pronounce.) The following paragraph should be faster, because it is a set of parallel sentences. Quick, it can increase the momentum of the article:

Old man Bing Xin worked hard on his writing amidst the cries of his three children and became a literary master; after Ms. Qiong Yao broke up with her gambling husband, she wrote the next chapter with her little daughter in her arms. The romantic novel finally became famous all over the world; the long-distance running champion of the 23rd Olympic Games was a mother of two children; with the support of her husband, Mrs. Thatcher became the first "Iron Lady" in British history to serve three consecutive terms as Prime Minister. (The speaking speed should be fast, the faster the better.) [Summary] In the second part of the speaking speed, we know that the speaking speed should be consistent with the content of the article, so that: the speaking speed should be consistent with the content of the speech, and the explanatory Use normal speed for writing, use slower speed for narrative and descriptive writing, and fast or slow for argumentative and lyrical writing. Secondly, the speed of speaking should take into account the formal characteristics of the language itself.

The structure of the speaker’s ups and downs of thoughts and feelings is dense and loose, and the orderly, regular and rhythmic combination of elements such as intonation, priorities, and behavior form the rhythm of the speech. Common speech rhythms include brisk, sustained, gentle, rapid, low-pressure, etc.

The speed of speech should be appropriate, slow and moderate, fast but not chaotic, slow but not dragging, fast and slow, slow and fast, relaxed and natural, and well-proportioned. In this way, the clarity and rhythm of the language can be displayed, making the speech musical.

Excessive speed for a long time will cause "oversupply" and cause irritability in the audience. It is difficult for the audience to fully understand the content and understand the emotions.

To be too slow will lead to "demand exceeding supply" and make the audience impatient. The audience cannot concentrate and their emotions cannot be aroused.

In short, the speech cannot always be at the same speed. It must be rapid and slow, and the speech must be cadenced to express emotions, and the rhythm and logic must be clear.

Speaking too fast is one of the most common mistakes for first-time speakers. Professor Yin Yamin has summarized a set of effective methods through years of practical experience in speech teaching to overcome speaking too fast during speeches.

Pick it into the east. square. gold. mouth. The articles on the blog of Yin Yamin, a specially hired expert consultant teacher, are for readers’ reference.

Readers and students often ask: What should I do if I speak too fast? Today I will give a detailed answer to this common question.

Question: What should I do if I speak fast?

Answer: There are two types of fast speech: fast words and fast sentences.

What is word speed? It means that the words are connected too tightly when speaking; what is sentence speed? It means that there is no pause between each sentence. To solve these two problems of fast speaking, you can practice from the following two aspects:

1. Stop for three seconds to practice.

After taking the stage, count silently for three seconds before starting to speak, pause for three seconds between sentences before continuing; after finishing speaking, pause for three seconds before leaving the stage.

Why stop for three seconds? There are three benefits: First, transfer--transfer tension. The more you say you are not nervous, the more nervous you will become. Because you said you were not nervous, your subconscious only remembered the word "nervous", and the word "no" was blocked by the brain. The correct way is to transfer. Because your mind has no dual purpose, when you start counting "one, two, three", all your energy is focused on counting, and the tension has been squeezed out of your mind. This is the transfer method.

The second is to focus.

Let your mind calm down. Only through tranquility can we go far.

Only by meditation can you think clearly, and only by thinking clearly can you speak appropriately. The third is to practice pauses. Speaking fast is a habit. A habit developed over a long period of time. The only way to break an old habit is to overwrite it with a new one. Practice counting for three seconds every day, and your mental rhythm will slowly slow down, and you will develop a new habit of pausing.

Humor is one of the most powerful tools for communicating with your audience. It first builds a kind of mental confinement, and then releases the confinement and renews the thinking. While clever words can make people laugh out loud, humor is about much more than wordplay. As speakers, we know that the effectiveness of humor is closely related to how you say the words, your body language when you say the words, and how you use silence - pauses. Pauses add punch to the punchline! One of the reasons why pauses enhance the punchline is that they create tension. There is a connection between tension and laughter. If you can understand the connection between them, then you can easily use the speed of speech to create comic effects. Let's first look at the connection between them.

Many humorous passages tell us that laughter is a natural stress reducer because the tension in our muscles slowly melts away when we laugh. Is this a natural response? Our muscles automatically relax when we laugh.

It is said that laughter is used to reduce tension even in war. Bombs exploded nearby, sending up dust and sometimes the soldiers in the foxholes began to laugh. It's a natural way of reducing pressure? A safety valve.

A few years ago, I experienced the on-site use of this safety valve. It was on the highway to Santiago during rush hour traffic. Directly in front of me were two women driving a car. As they were driving on the wet road at 50 miles per hour, a car on the right swerved into their lane. The driver in front of me braked hard, which caused the car to start spinning and continue to spin for three and a half times! The car did not leave the lane or hit another car. The two women's car and every other car on the highway was dead in the road. However, their cars were facing in opposite directions? The front of our car was facing the front of the car. Just as I stared at them, they started laughing wildly. It's clear that there is indeed a connection between tension, laughter, and tension relief.

Let’s take a look at the relationship between pauses and the Tension Principle when you use humor. First, if you are deliberately building tension and expecting it to culminate in laughter, then pauses will build up the tension and make the laughter more intense. For example, the late Sid Lorraine, also known as the Canadian Magician King, used tension very well to obtain laughter. One time, while performing at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas, he was playing the role of a "snake oil" salesman from the Wild West during a show called "Advertising Man." His voice started to crack, and the longer he spoke, the worse his voice got until he couldn't speak anymore? Silence! Most people in the audience were thinking "Someone please give this poor actor a glass of water!" ” Then he drank his “pill” and immediately began speaking in a full voice. He first surprises the audience, then creates tension, then uses pauses to deepen and enhance the tension, and finally achieves the comic effect - laughter.

A few years ago, when I was doing a concert with soldiers in Alabama, I used the "questioner" or "carnack" technique made famous by Steve Allen and Johnny Carson. The performer holds the envelope close to his head and gives the answer before opening the envelope and reading the question. I decided to use the pauses to get a laugh.

First of all, we need to lay the groundwork. "The answer is Oscar Meyer, Ballpark, and a fighter pilot." Then I opened the envelope and said, "The question is? Name three people who love showing up!" to a group of air force officers, and there were many fighter pilots among them. That said, the dialogue itself is quite interesting. But I used it as a setup for the next joke.

As I held the second envelope close to my head, I said, "The answer is? Oscar Meyer, Ballpark, and General Willis." Pause! The tension made the gasping sound audible. People were thinking, "He's going to say that the general is also a showman!" This line of dialogue caused a strong reaction because their new commander, General Frank Willis, had only been in office for three weeks. Opening the envelope, I continued, "The question is (pause) name three honest people!" Pause. Huge laughter (and a sigh of relief) filled the room. I create tension, use pauses before the punchline to build tension, and then use pauses to allow the audience to understand the punchline.

Of course, sometimes people don’t create tension between words and story dialogue. Even so, the magic pause can still enhance the laugh. Use a pause before the punchline, which creates the anticipation of "here's a fun punch line." Anticipation is a feeling of tension. The effect of laughter consists of eliminating tension.

Using pauses before the punch line also has another effect. The most important part of a joke is the punchline, precisely the word that makes people laugh. Pauses focus attention on these elements. Pauses in the right place and at the right time help the audience catch the punchline.

The pause itself makes people laugh. A year ago, a friend of mine commented to me, "I know why you're funny? You make us laugh!" What she meant was that confident speakers create laughs and pause to make the audience laugh because they know what the audience wants. laughed. Newbies often create laughter and then cautiously continue the conversation if laughter is not immediately heard. So dare to be silent and give your audience enough time to react so that your humor can hit the target.

We also often use pauses to allow the audience to fully enjoy the laughter. Don't interrupt the growing laughter, and don't wait for the laughter to completely subside before you start speaking. A videotape of your speech will tell you whether you interrupted your laughter prematurely and continued your conversation.

In addition, you can also use body language to enhance the effect of pauses to enhance the impact of punch lines. For example, you can raise your eyebrows. Sometimes a pause can be completed with a "discovery"? Reflecting the situation with body language. johnnycarson and jackbenny are masters of using slow-motion discoveries or glances left and right to enhance comic effect. Some comedians who stand up slowly scan from one side of the audience to the other during a pause, which can also increase the comedy effect.