The Mechanisms of Speaking & Speech Velocity

Getting Your Message Across, Part 2

We encounter various presentation scenarios while selling. Sometimes we’re in front of a live product. Other times we have PowerPoint decks or other artifacts, and in some cases we have scripts.

Lots of thought and effort goes into these artifacts, but ultimately it's up to us to communicate our message effectively.

Even though we rarely think of it as such, speech is a process. In this post, we'll examine the stages of the process, as well as ideal Speech Velocity. Understanding this will provide insights into your own speaking style, and make you a more perceptive listener and coach.

Known as Speech Production, the process of formulating ideas into words generally unfolds in the following manner:

1. Conceptualization: An abstract stage where the intention and meaning behind the speech are generated, drawing on thoughts, emotions, and intentions. It can be almost instantaneous for simple ideas or take several seconds for more complex concepts.
2. Formulation: At this stage, sentence structure, syntax, word selection, and tense are all arranged according to how you actually plan to express your thoughts. Timing here depends largely on complexity of sentences and the need for syntactic planning, ranging from a few hundred milliseconds to a second or more.
3. Articulation: Translating your thoughts into actual speech as a physical process: breath and movements of the mouth are all engaged here. The production of speech sounds themselves occurs at a rate of about 100 to 150 milliseconds per phoneme (the smallest unit of sound in language).
4. Self-Monitoring: A feedback loop which occurs during and after speech. Are you saying it the way you want to say it? How is your audience receiving it? Course corrections happen here in real-time.

These stages are not strictly sequential - there is considerable overlap and parallel processing going on.?

Taking this further, here are some quick statistics about Speech Velocity, as well as? Listening, Thinking, and Comprehension.?

The Average Speech Rate, measured in Words Per Minute (wpm) varies depending on the type of speech. For English speakers in the US, conversation speed is about 150 words per minute (wpm). For presentations, it's between 100-150 wpm. Narration, such as audiobooks, podcasts and radio hosts clock in at (150-160 wpm), while? sports commentators and auctioneers can get to rates from 250-400 wpm.?

Listening rates are harder to pin down, but for maximum comprehension by your audience, The National Center for Voice and Speech recommends a rate of speech between 125-150 words per minute.?

We’ll discuss How People Listen in a subsequent post, but there is data to support an average retention rate of 17-25% by listeners during presentations.??

The final factor here is the difference between Ideal Rate of Speech (125-150 wpm), and the Thought Rate, which is estimated to be 400 - 800 wpm.?

Of course none of this is happening in a vacuum. There are external events as well: audience interaction (ie, questions, interruptions), clarifications (ie, explaining charts, turning pages) and the like, all of which impact overall presentation speed.?

How to improve on Speech Production & Velocity

Like any other skill, even the mental processes involved in Speech Production and Velocity can be improved upon. Here are some tactics you can employ:

• Prepare and practice your delivery to refine your message and ensure it's concise and powerful.
• Simplify your message by focusing on core ideas and don’t dilute your presentation with extraneous information.

• Use clear, straightforward language
• Pre-select key terms and phrases that are essential to your message - helps convey your message clearly and reduces pauses or verbal stumbling.

• Practice pronouncing complex or important words in your presentation.?

• Engage in vocal warm-ups before your presentation - breathing exercises, tongue twisters, vocal exercises all improve articulation and projection.
• Maintain good posture and practice controlled breathing - affects speech quality and confidence level.
• Practice your presentation in front of peers or use video recording to self-evaluate and adjust as needed.

To measure and practice speaking speed:

• Clock your speaking speed using a voice-to-text transcription tool. Some will calculate wpm but if not the duration and wordcount allows for some easy arithmetic. ?Shoot for a consistent cadence of 125-150 wpm.
• Examine points in your materials where you’re likely to field questions or need to dive deeper into exhibits and give those a specific focus, with emphasis on efficiency and maintaining ideal speech rate.
• Consider as best you can your audience’ ability to process the information you’re presenting, and adjust your speaking rate accordingly (more on this in subsequent posts).

Some tools to consider:

• Natural Reader: https://www.naturalreaders.com/
• Rev Voice Recorder: https://www.rev.com/voicerecorder
• Audacity: https://www.audacityteam.org/
• Otter.ai: https://otter.ai