There is nothing more frustrating than people asking you to repeat yourself because they didn’t hear what you were saying. There are several reasons this may be happening: it may be soft-spoken; You may have an accent in which you are not pronouncing your words clearly. or, you can mutter. The murmur occurs when the mouth is not fully open, so your words are not clearly articulated.
Muttering is not only annoying to your listeners, as they cannot understand it; but, it is annoying to you, the speaker, for the amount of time you waste
repeating yourself.
From my experience, I have found that whispers are more common among men, especially tall men. [I rarely meet short men who mumble. To compensate for their lack of height, short men often have big voices and good diction.]
One man, who had a spectacular voice and was at least 6’4 “tall, admitted that he was afraid to speak clearly and use his wonderful voice for fear of intimidating others. I speak nonsense. A dynamic voice does not threaten, it commands respect Do you find the voices of James Earl Jones or Sean Connery threatening? I don’t think so!
Many of the men I have worked with refuse to believe that they gossip until they see themselves on video. To see if you have symptoms of Lazy Lips, try the following test.
One of the exercises to cure Lazy Lips is quite simple, although you will feel like an idiot with this exercise, so make sure you are alone when you try it!
He should have noticed that his lips started to move normally the second time he said his words. Practice this exercise several times using the lyrics of a song, for example, The Pledge of Allegiance, a poem, The Lord’s Prayer, or whatever else you know by heart.
This is a very simple but surprisingly effective exercise. Practice it daily and be more aware of your speech and the movement of your lips throughout the day. I have had many clients successfully finish their whispers within a week. All it takes is practice and awareness.
Stop mumbling today and be heard the first time you say it!
