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I pronounce word correctly. But listeners don't clearly understand my words. I speak in enough high volume. What to do?

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Concentrate on talking slower. – enderland Jan 8 '13 at 18:12
How have you assessed the correctness and volume of your pronunciation to ensure it's correct? Did you pass in any test like TOEIC? – Tiago Cardoso Jan 9 '13 at 15:27

4 Answers 4

You can take help from your friends, ask them or you too on you own record your voice and then sincerely listen to it. Try to understand the pattern of your speech, i.e at what instance or at what mental status your volume pitch is high.

Another time when you are talking to someone else try to remember those instances that you feel while recording. Another thing is Speak in front of mirror try to face yourself, think about a topic in which you have very deep understanding, then speak as much as you can , its good if you record it though for future reference and start working on it, by the time you will certainly gain confidence while speaking in an efficient manner.

Points to remember -

  • Try to listen yourself
  • Think about the things/situation that makes you to raise your volume.
  • Mirror therapy (standing in front of mirror and listen your words carefully) will going to help you a lot.
  • Before uttering, just be little thoughtful, practice the next sentence in your mind and try to be calm while speaking.
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Are you speaking too quickly? Are you speaking too slowly? Is this a word that often will be mispronounced? There are lots of different possibilities here and the key is to find out from others what are they hearing versus what you think you are saying.

For example, asphalt will often be pronounced similar to "ashphalt" even though it isn't spelled that way. While you may speak loud enough there is something to be said for other things that may play a role as there can also be cases where people have already tuned out and thus it doesn't matter what you say, they aren't paying attention.

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Your first sentence may not be correct, if listeners are not understanding you.

Video yourself speaking and check for these:

  • Do you take your time
  • Do you pause for breath
  • Do you speak with an accent
  • Are you using words your audience is familiar with

Presenting well takes time and practice so get your pace and speed right, as well as enunciation and pronunciation.

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Grammar can definitely aid or hurt your comprehension by others when an accent is involved.

For example (and I understand written and spoken English can be different), your question:


would be better said as:

I pronounce words correctly, but listeners don't clearly understand them. I speak in a high enough volume. What can I do?

People often discover they are not being understood when they ask questions and no response comes. You may wish to ensure you have a rising intonation at the end of any question so English listeners don't rely on word order to know if you're asking a question or not.

Ensure one word doesn't blend into the next with a micropause between them (but don't sound like a computer). Native speakers can often get away with blending words together because the other variables of comprehension are in place.

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