What is Happening Behind the Curtain When Someone Talks at Breakneck Speed
In my last couple of postings, I said how talking quick (in the perception of the audience) may not be so promptly understood by basically slowing down. That is, advising somebody to “slow down” may not be great advice.
For what reason not?
Thinking s-l-o-w-l-y and cognitively “attempting to slow down” may not bring about the impact the listener is seeking after. Let be honest, as listeners, we want listening to be a pleasant activity. We would prefer not to experience listening fatigue from trying to understand somebody.Someone spewing out verbal information at breakneck speed isn't a pleasant experience for anybody. Along these lines, naturally, we simply need the speed to slow so we can get some relief.
For what reason doesn’t that advice work?
If we take a gander at things from the speaker's point of view, we get a different picture. The most well-known reaction to “Why can’t you just slow down?” is often, "I attempt, yet I can't do it."
There might be at least 3 different reasons why people talk sssssooooo quick, and some people may speed along for more than one reason.
The person may be compensating for not being certain about grammatical speech or articulation, word stress, and intonation patterns in English. The thinking being “whether I say it quick, nobody will take note.”
How do you know if this is the case?
Typically, speakers who are thinking this will state each word too rapidly. If you listen carefully, the individual isn't completely framing a many of the words you hear. Your mind is filling in the details based on context, yet the person isn’t really finishing the words. This can influence a person sound like s/he is talking too quickly.For this situation, slowing down when not presenting or in meetings (behind the scenes) and completely shaping words and using correct grammar when there is sufficient time to consider about it can advise the brain and change the pattern. Taking in the word stress and intonation patterns of English, figuring out where their blind spots and oversights are and settling them will go far towards informing their brains when speaking in public in real time.
The person may have articulation patterns that are vague and be using them mistakenly, supposing they are utilizing the correct ones.
How do you know if this is the case?
The person seems to be mispronouncing all the words a similar way! You may state “it’s as if the person is talking in a bubble” or muttering or grumbling or "gulping" their words. This could be because the mother tongue requires these speech patterns (curled in lips, bouncy lips, tight jaw, wide-spread starting position, open vocal tract, tongue in the front, etc). Frequently people use the same patterns they learned as kids without acknowledging they have to transform them when they speak different languages. Typically, this is because the person is unconscious s/he is doing this and/or doesn’t know how to settle it.
The person might go “full speed ahead” in every aspect of life (not just speech) with an end goal to stay aware of a pace that is too fast for optimal functioning.
Personally, I think this is the greatest culprit in the Silicon Valley.We are on the whole under pressure and very quick speed is the main choice a few people think they have.
How do you know if this is the case?
People whose personal timing is “full speed ahead” don't stop to relax. If you listen carefully, they aren't misspeaking the words and they don't commit a considerable measure of grammatical mistakes, however, they don't breathe in and breathe out completely. Their bodies are so used to working on adrenaline that they don't have a clue about another way. They can't apply enough control over this internal timing to slow themselves down when under strain.They additionally react well to breathe work. That is, if the person does some breath work, they tend to sound better immediately, yet they can't keep it up. Why? Because their internal pacing is running at a different speed and it’s artificial (not supportable).
If people in Category 3 truly need to slow down their speech, they have to enable their brains to learn to process again (I say “once more” because as children, most of us did this). It might take them longer to say things at an alluring pace than they are giving themselves permission to do. The attention might be on “saying everything” rather than saying what the time frame will permit and have the discipline and confidence stay with the interior consent. The priority may be on retching out content and not on looking after self-control, grounding, internal control and strength and focusing on the internal calm (yes, with breath as the tool). If the internal timing moves toward becoming Priority 1, the rest will follow … the pace will become one that others will be glad to listen to.