Here’s the next in-depth Radio Presenter Tip “How To Stop Talking Too Fast”.
- Why You Talk Too Fast
- How To Slow Down Naturally
- The One Thing You Must Do To Sound Natural!
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To check out Module 1 of my new “Better Radio Presenter” Course 100% free of charge, visit http://ThePresenterCoach.co.uk/radio
Press play on the video below to watch my presenting tips to slow yourself down.
Hi there, my name’s Kate Cocker, and I’m The Presenter Coach. I’ve been working with radio presenters, now, for over 15 years, whether it be producing, or coaching them, to be better on air. But my biggest thing is, that you get to be the best that you can be, and you have all the tools to do that, and all the skills to do that.
Now, I was in the supermarket the other day, and one of the guys in the supermarket had seen one of my videos, and said to me, “Kate, Kate, Kate, Kate, Kate,” his name was Abs, “I need you to help me with something. “I’m on the radio. I’m on at Reform Radio, and I want to improve my pace because I speak really fast.”
Now, pace is something that comes up a lot and, in fact, three times this week, I have done this exercise that I’m going to share with you now, that will help you with improving the speed you’re talking at.
So, most of us speak very quickly, when we’re with our friends and we’re very excited, and we’re talking with our friends. And on air, that doesn’t always translate to something that’s legible. Some people drop their T’s and all the words merge together. And it’s really important that people can really understand what you say.
The one reason that listeners will turn off is if they can’t understand what’s going on, like when the phone crackles, when the call is on, and lots of pick listeners will go, “Oh, I can’t hear it; I’ll turn off.” And if you’re speaking too quick, that’s going to have a similar impact.
So, there are two things that you can do.
First of all, let the silence in
So, when you are doing your presenting, and you’re doing your links, or when you’re doing a monologue, even, if you’re on talk radio, it’s, sometimes really powerful to just let the silence in. And I’m not talking about extending the end of your sentence. I’m just talking about: Let the silence in.
It works with guests as well. If you’ll pause, they’ll fill the space. But for this, you just need to slow your words down, slightly, and let the silence in at poignant moments.
The second exercise that you can do, and you can do this at home, you can do this any time, but I urge you to really push yourself, is to…
Practice slowing down
So, let’s talk about it on a scale. Let’s say that your speed, if you’re speaking on the radio, should be about a five, so you’re speaking at a really nice pace.
When you hear the terms and conditions guy at the end of a radio advert, or even a podcast pre-roll, and that’s speaking this really quickly, that’s 10. Most of us probably speak about a 7 or an 8 when we’re with our friends, or we’re chatting away.
So, you’re aiming for a 5. But five can be a really difficult place to find. And it can feel really uncomfortable when you first start doing it, as with all things. So, what I do with my clients, is I get you to extend your vowels, and really slow down to about a 1 or a 2.
So, for example, let’s get some tips out of the book. Okay, so the sentence is: When you understand this point, a whole world of topics opens up for you. With enough research, you can become an expert on any topic.
So, then I would ask you to slow right down. So, you go: When you understand this point, a whole world of topics opens up for you. And then, I would say, “Slower.” And I think I can go slower.
It’s a really great exercise. And I work with my clients, and I just keep saying, “Slower,” until I get to the point where there’s a little giggle and I know that they’re really uncomfortable. And then, what happens is, you go back to asking them to read the sentence and it goes to normal, a good pace.
You suddenly feel more comfortable because you stretched yourself into being really uncomfortable; you’re now more comfortable speaking slightly slower. So, if you’re having trouble with pace, two things:
- Add some pauses, get some space into what you’re saying; and
- Practice that exercise where you are really slowing down the words, so you feel really uncomfortable, so when you go back to speaking normally, it doesn’t feel as uncomfortable to speak this pace of 5.
So, you’ve go to find your 5, and then you can move forward from there.
Well, I hope that’s been of use. I hope that’s been helpful for you. If you want more tips and techniques on how to be a better presenter, whether that be on the radio, or podcasting, or even on stage, then you can go to thepresentercoach.co.uk/radio, where you’ll find my online training course for radio presenters and can get the first module, completely for free, if you sign up.