Talking Fast

Speaking is about connecting with others to get our message heard, and speed matters. But how fast is too fast, and how slow is too slow?

Some of us, consciously or unconsciously, talk extremely fast. When we are very excited or happy, we tend to chew many of our words, leading to a communication gap. Rapid speech is not considered a positive nonverbal signal.

When you speak too fast, you don't leave any spaces of silence between phrases and sentences, thus making your listeners work too hard. This can be a major problem when addressing a large crowd. Listeners are extremely lazy. If you don't make it easy for them, they won't exert themselves to listen. And even if they do, they soon doze off and lose track of what you were saying. It is essential to pay key attention to each word while speaking, and make sure each word is clear and audible.

Not just this, but people interpret fast talking as a sign of nervousness and a lack of self-confidence. Fast talking can make it appear that you think what you have to say is not important. Additionally, rushing can ruin your diction. When you fly through your words, your tongue and lips can't keep up with your mind, so you drop important vowels and consonants, causing your listeners to miss your meaning.

And when they miss your meaning, a possibility of wrong message being conveyed can occur, or listeners will, as said before, interpret that what you have to say is not important. Either way, you will have lost their attention, which may be extremely undesirable in many situations.

Talking fast also makes you look impatient, aggressive or even lacking empathy for the listener. You may appear as someone just trying to get a transaction over with as quickly as possible without regard to the other person. This can make what you're saying appear rather "salesy," as though you're trying to sell something rather than have an ordinary conversation with an individual.

It is extremely essential to pay attention to the speed at which we talk, and to make sure what we say is clear. Talking clearly allows us to influence decisions, connect with someone, convince someone or even to just convey a point. Public speaking is one of the most important and most dreaded forms of communication.

To avoid speaking to fast, remember to add pauses often. Adding a short pause of about a second at the comma in a sentence or adding a pause of two or three seconds at the end of your sentences helps make your point far more persuasive and clear. It is also essential to connect with your audience when you speak. Many people focus too much on delivering their message, but they don’t pay attention to connecting with their audience . Connecting with the audience is a strategy that could help you slow down a bit if you find yourself talking fast.

We hope this blog helped you better understand the effects of talking fast and how to prevent it! Stay tuned for more interesting information!

Bibliography:

http://bodylanguageproject.com/nonverbal-dictionary/body-language-of-rapid-speech

https://www.inc.com/sims-wyeth/how-to-slow-down-if-you-talk-too-fast.html#:~:text=People%20interpret%20fast%20talking%20as,to%20say%20is%20not%20important

https://moviecultists.com/why-is-it-important-to-speak-clearly

https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/business/trends-and-insights/articles/slow-down-why-speaking-too-fast-can-hurt-your-message/