Becoming Articulate
By Luci Phillips-Fardo
Today I was thinking about the way we speak to each other in our personal life. It is something that people often don't think about. The way we express ourselves with words is so important. Learning how to speak well profoundly affects your job. I have spent a lot of time in the last few years learning how to speak correctly. I am originally from Eastern Kentucky. There is a lot of slang and incorrect grammar. The way I was speaking was not aligned with who I was. When I started working for a tech company that was in another part of the country I realized that people conscious or not judge you by the way you speak and express yourself. I began to pay more attention to the words that I said.
I later moved to another city with the man who became my husband. It was a town called Richmond, Kentucky. He and his family are well-educated. My husband never said anything about my speech until I asked him to help me with it. He helped me with some of the words I struggled with such as was and were. We worked on a few at a time. I did learn how to speak properly in school and college. In real life though in Eastern Kentucky people speak differently. There is a regional accent. If you hear people speaking around you all the time than you learn to speak the way they do.
I am now in a management role with my company. I don't think that I could go as far and even represent my employees as well without focusing more on what I say and how I say it. It doesn't matter what you end up doing. If you are articulate you can advertise your services and think for your problems. Our entire culture is based on word. It is a deep truth and without learning how to speak you can't make a difference in your community. Young people need to be teached that if they want to be a force to be reckoned with they must be articulate. You can't change your life if you aren't able to speak for yourself. If you want to be heard than you must be able to speak. We must be able to communicate well with others. You must be able to listen to your workers and students and then be able to think and speak in an articulate manner.
You don't want to be the inarticulate. To say hmm, like, ahh and pause and stumble. You wouldn't be able to compel people in this way. You must be able to express yourself. Don't choose this way. You can always become articulate. Pay attention to what you say. Think before you speak. Get someone else to help you that is a better speaker than you. Listen to youtube. There are all kinds of ways to improve your speech. Is the way I am speaking making me look intelligent or ignorant. Align what you say with who you are. Your clients will be evaluating you based on your words.
I hope this has given you food for thought. I know that a lot of my readers do speak correctly. There is also value in being more articulate and craft words carefully in any stage in life. You can become a better reader and writer. It is a moral endeavor and as Jordan Peterson said, " to become master of your own tongue." See what happens in your life if you become more articulate.
