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if you want to be articulate like
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world-class podcasters speakers and
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leaders I'm going to share this
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seven-stage journey that has taught me
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to speak with greater exactness and
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Clarity it includes understanding three
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problems invading your speech the aha
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moment that immediately will improve
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your choice of words and three thinking
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modifications that brought a verbal
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freshness and intelligence to my
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sentences the first problem was my
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addiction to overusing dead phrases dead
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phras Es are phrases and expressions
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that we use in such a recreational way
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that they have been stripped of all
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power and life popular dead phrases
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include pursue that Avenue the Achilles
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heel Secret Sauce to say the least ends
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in outs spill the beans we use dead
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phrases because they save us the time
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and trouble of hunting for more precise
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words this introduces the first of seven
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articulacy rules rule number one
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articulacy increases when you practice
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ice conscious selection with your wordss
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if you hastily choose ready-made phrases
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and gum them together in your sentences
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like the sections of a prefabricated
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Ikea table they deaden and Dole your
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sentence ultimately you want to learn
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how to engineer sentences that are fresh
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homemade and excavate that richness and
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texture that often gets buried beneath
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dead phrases the second problem holds me
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back was my small surface lexicon the
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term lexicon refers to your personal
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vocabulary your surface lexicon are
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those 500 to 1500 words that your brain
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unconsciously and effortlessly defaults
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to when you compose sentences the
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concert was amazing it was a really good
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book these words you've heard seen said
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so often they ooze out of your mouth
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beneath your surface lexicon is your
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deep lexicon your deep lexicon is made
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up of those 20,000 to 35,000 words you
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recognize but don't use we know this
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because you recognize most if not all
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words that articulate speakers use why
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is it then that you struggle to think of
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those same words in conversation because
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those words don't register in your
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surface lexicon this introduces the
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second rule of articulacy effortless
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articul Y is limited to the size of your
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surface lexicon now this does not mean
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inflating your surface lexicon with
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flowy sophisticated words articulate
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speakers recognize that you can use
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ordinary words and still be articulate
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think of your Lexicon as a box of
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crayons you can easily use a wide color
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palette to design a vibrant picture or
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you can create something profound with
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just three colors or choose an uncommon
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color to substitute for a common one the
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same is true with your words you don't
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always have to prostitute ordinary words
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down to obvious and common meanings the
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third problem eroding my speaking was
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thought retention when you can't retain
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a thought in your mind for longer than
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10 seconds your speech is like a kite
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following every new wind current never
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climbing high in the sky articulate
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speakers are able to hold a thought in
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their mind as they work to peel away the
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layers that lead to understanding if you
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can't grip a thought in your mind your
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thinking and speaking
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become superficial and scrambled this is
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the third rule of articulacy the longer
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you engage a thought the greater depth
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you achieve with words these are the
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three thorns in our tongue that prevent
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us from producing articulate speech how
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did we come to this why do we battle
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with these issues one day I remember
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asking myself this after a particularly
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frustrating time of sounding Juvenile
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and vague I went to YouTube and
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researched the most articulate speakers
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I could find it was then that I had an
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epiphany was my substandard speech the
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result of poor language inputs I asked
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myself that question and wondered how
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much would I have to change the sources
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of language I exposed myself to in order
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to influence my speech to understand how
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my language was potentially being
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invaded by poor language sources I began
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writing down each source of language
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that I exposed myself to for more than
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10 minutes a day I rate each on a scale
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of 1 to 10 on how articulate and
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intelligent I considered each to be if
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you want to do this for yourself you can
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use this worksheet that's freely linked
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below this exercise revealed that I
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didn't have any language inputs higher
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than a five which is approxim
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proximately the level of articulacy of
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an average conversation I quickly
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realized the fourth rule of articulacy
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the quality of your speech is a product
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of your language environments the books
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you read videos you watch music you
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listen
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to etch language patterns in your mind
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that unconsciously are imitated in your
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speech and since most people aren't
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articulate or thoughtful with their
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words you're constantly exposed to high
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doses of vague
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vapid and often times vulgar language
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your surface lexicon is the size that it
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is because you encounter those 500 to
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1500 words daily when we first learn
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language as children we absorb 3 to five
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new words every day by adulthood it
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takes a deliberate effort to expose
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ourselves to new and creative word
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combinations in fact the battle is
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preventing the shrinking of our surface
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lexicon think of your surface Lex as an
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expanding and Contracting Circle
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interacting with fresh word combinations
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such as when you read a book temporarily
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expands the radius of that Circle to
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usher in those new found words if those
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words are not put to use they lose their
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place within the circle as its nature is
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to contract to include only your most
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actively used words this is why great
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speakers read profusely it is to keep
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that language heartbeat pulsing
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expanding and fortifying their surface
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lexicon we can begin to improve our
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verbal Health with the first
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modification I made to my speaking the
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3x5 language diet this consists of three
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5 minute sessions for a total of 15
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minutes per day focused on enriching
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your language the first 5 minutes is
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spent reading an article or book chapter
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that's at least one level beyond your
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current average language input this
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exercise will expose you to richer
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language and help you solve poor thought
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retention which is a symptom of
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constantly fracturing your attention
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like we do on social media with
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bite-sized content you don't know what
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material to begin with start with this
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list the second 5 minutes includes
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reading poetry aloud with the intent of
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learning Rhythm and Cadence there's a
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misnomer that articulacy is memorizing
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the dictionary and vomiting flow are we
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words it's not the fifth rule of
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articulacy is sentences sound articulate
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when words flow and fit into eloquent
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mols if you want to learn to
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effortlessly fit words together in
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beautiful and creative ways your
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speaking Apparatus Your Mouth your teeth
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your tongue your jaw need to feel what
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it's like to say beautiful sentences
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this is precisely why dead phrases are
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terribly difficult to prune from your
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speaking you're trying to resist
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engaging a pattern of muscles in your
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mouth that's been activated a thousand
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times it's like trying to change pre-cut
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lines on a cardboard box when you tear
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the flap it's expected to seamlessly
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follow the line and we're trying to tear
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in a New Direction recognize that you
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can create lines for other types of
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speaking that's what reading poetry
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allow accomplishes check out this list
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of poems link below I also have a pop
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popular poems playlist available on
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Spotify the final 5 minutes is spent
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consciously attuned to the word choice
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of any podcast or Audi book you
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consume ignore the content the substance
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of what's being said and visualize in
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your mind the words being said this will
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help you understand the difference
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between intelligence and eloquence
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intelligence is the knowledge
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communicated El eloquence is how
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pleasing and persuasive the words sound
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here's a list of brilliant speakers who
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in my opinion have an unrivaled command
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of the English language this 3x5
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language formula invites the question
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how do I use the creative words and
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phrases I encounter to enrich my
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speaking I struggled with this myself
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and was inspired to build the ultimate
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tool to accelerate articulacy this tool
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is called nounce nounce allows you to
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create a word Bank where you're able to
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log words and phrases that you want to
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stitch into your surface lexicon you can
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practice retrieving those words from
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memory and use them in creative ways as
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you would like to in natural
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conversation nounce also has a library
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of popular online speakers that you can
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learn from if you want to speak with the
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clarity of Steve Jobs or the eloquence
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of Martin Luther King Jr select a
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speaker and you'll be guided through
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using their communication structures to
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develop clear answers automatically
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ically nounce was built out of a desire
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to give myself and the viewers of this
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channel a way of efficiently practicing
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producing clear and creative speech
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visit noun. to use this tool for free or
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message me on Twitter if you'd like to
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be part of our team in helping others
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Build a Better World with their words
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the second modification will reduce your
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dependence on dead phrases the reason
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why we aim to reduce dead phrases is not
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because they're overused it's because
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they slip us into a state of mental
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Anesthesia where we choose words without
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serious thought noises come up from our
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larynx our speaking instrument but our
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brain is not as involved as if we were
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selecting the words for ourselves the
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only way to gain back full Consciousness
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is to descend past the dead phrase and
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Into the Heart of our thought we
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accomplish this by increasing the
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Consciousness per sentence think of a
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sentence as a mold that is filled with
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different levels of consciousness the
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longer you think the more saturated the
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words and overall sentence becomes the
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more familiar a word or phrase is the
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less Consciousness is required to use it
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think of all the phrases and words you
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say automatically because of how little
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thought is required to use them they
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often bruise our sentence with do
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colorless blocks an articulate sentence
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is one where each block is vibrant and
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intentional listeners can feel this we
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increase our Consciousness per sentence
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by one being on guard against dead
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phrases I've included below this video a
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list of the common dead phrases that
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frequently invade our sentences secondly
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before you commit to responding to a
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question or sharing your opinion repeat
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the question or topic aloud what do I
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think think about this
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topic why do we do
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this because that topic or the way it
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was phrased is a new or at least an
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unfamiliar set of words hearing those
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words spoken aloud with your own mouth
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begins to warm up your conscious mind
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most of us cold start our speaking
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engine with a few familiar phrases that
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we cast out into the
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soundscape in an attempt to to find an
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opinion worth developing those phrases
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include I don't know I guess it just
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like you know maybe I should right we're
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not thinking about what we're saying
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it's not a bad answer it's just not
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articulate remember the first rule of
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articulacy articulacy increases when you
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practice conscious selection of your
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words this is why pausing before
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speaking has long been considered a
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Hallmark of articulate speakers they are
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affording conscious thought to the
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sentence they're about to produce the
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most UNC conscious part of our sentences
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is the beginning the greatest
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communicators realize that the first few
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sentences really the first few words are
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where we are finding our opinion finding
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our opinion is like driving with a
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frosted windshield it's hard to see the
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road ahead until the windshield is
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defrosted only then do you drive
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straight with confidence the quickest
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way to begin warming up our conscious
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mind is to repeat the topic or question
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alow the final modification I made was
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is learning the secret of intellectual
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humility this is the brilliant practice
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of using your speaking weakness to
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supercharge your responses when we
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listen to articulate speakers what we
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perceive as them being articulate is
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less often about the precise eloquent
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words and more about how they begin
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their sentences in a way that
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illustrates that they can
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creatively navigate challenging
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situations watch this clip from the
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American film director Orson Wells
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that's a better question than I have an
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answer for uh honestly it is uh I don't
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know I would want to think about it I I
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think I think my answer would be
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frivolous and I'd like to think about it
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it's it's a it's a it's a worrisome
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question notice in this clip how candid
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Orson was about not having a great
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answer and requiring time to think this
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is what makes articulate speakers so
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captivating their ability to be forward
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with their communication needs this is
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the sixth rule of articulacy an
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admission of limitation is often the
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most articulate answer this single
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realization takes some people decades to
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internalize if you can admit your
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limitations and be honest and
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forthcoming with
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them you unlock a bulletproof level of
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confidence that most people will never
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possess there are two steps that have
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helped me cultivate this intellectual
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humility one is identifying your main
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communication insecurity these are the
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eight common insecurities we encounter
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when speaking I'll share mine with you I
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understand that I don't think quickly
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and require time to process information
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before I compose an answer the quality
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of sentence I deliver after 10 seconds
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of thought is far more articulate than
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my instantaneous answer how do I
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communicate this when I speak once
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you've identified your insecurity find
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the right combination of words that
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allows you to articulate that weakness
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what I often say is some variation of
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give me a moment to process that if
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you're like me you might know the
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weakness that you do battle with but you
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lack the right words that would give you
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the confidence to commit to sharing that
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weakness many of us would be far more
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assertive in our communication if we
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simply had the right verbal runway for
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the answers that we would like to give
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to help you with this for each of those
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eight speaking insecurities I've
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assembled the creative phrases and
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responses that world-renowned
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communicators have used in interviews
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and conversations that you can use
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yourself these phrases are not intended
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to devolve into a dead phrase we use
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them only for the purpose of having
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alternative ways of articulating our
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thoughts instead of being locked into
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just responding
