Be More Well-Spoken 1. Prepare a lot 【T1】______your ideas before you say them 【T2】______what you’ll say until you feel comfortab

Be More Well-Spoken
    Being well-spoken gives people the impression of a solid, full education and cultured mind; it will make people more likely to listen to you and to respect your intelligence. Whether you’re giving a presentation or trying to tell your best friends a funny story, if you make an effort to think before you speak and to be more clear and concise on a regular basis, then you will be the most articulate person in the room in no time.
    First, you need to prepare a lot. [1]If you want to sound smart, then you can’t just spout out your latest ideas to a group of people or your close friends without thinking about how you’ll frame them in advance. What you have to do is prepare what you’re going to say, whether you’re giving a class presentation or talking to your girlfriend about a relationship issue. [2]Rehearse what you have to say as much as you need to in order to feel comfortable about saying what you have to say. It’s important to practice and rehearse, but it’s also important for what you say to sound natural. [3]Therefore, you should know the material well enough to change things up if it becomes necessary.
    [4]Another way to speak more clearly is to speak more slowly. You may feel that if you rush and say everything you wanted to say, that you’ll be able to get it over with and make people see your point more clearly. However, if you take the time to slow down, think about what you have to say, [5]and pronounce your words in a way that won’t make you mumble or confuse your audiences, then you will actually be more well-spoken.
    You don’t have to speak... so... slowly... that you feel like you’re pausing between every word, [6] but pausing in between sentences to give yourself time to prepare your next sentence will do the trick.
    [7]If you speak too quickly, there’s also a chance that you will say something that you regret or that makes absolutely no sense, and you’ll have to do some backtracking to make your audience understand what you really mean; you can avoid all that by speaking slowly to begin with.
    In addition, use your hands. [8]If you keep your hands in your pockets, you are more likely to forget what you have to say, to stammer, or to confuse your audience. Also, keeping your hands in your pockets will also make you look less confident, which will make your message look weaker.
[9]On the other hand, using your hands to gesture can help you explain what you mean and can get your whole body into the speaking process. [10]Communication doesn’t just come from your mouth, but from your posture, your eye contact, your gesturing, and your body language—it’s part of a whole package. So the next time you speak, take those hands out of your pocket. Even if you don’t use them to gesture a ton, you’ll feel more comfortable if you gesture a little.
    It takes a lot of practice before you become a confident, articulate person. Start with speaking around the people you are comfortable with. You will realize that it will be easier to be well-spoken.