How to Speak Clearly and Avoid Mumbling

Why your careful speaking backfires on Zoom calls, and the simple physical exercise that fixes it.

👋 Hi, it’s Rinaldo. Every week or two, I share actionable strategies to help you clarify your message, drive decisions, and grow your influence at work regardless of your role or title.

I’m launching a live cohort course soon to go even deeper on these topics and opening up a small beta group first. Leave your info here if you want early access to the beta.

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At my recent conference presentation in Vienna, I challenged myself to focus on something specific: articulating my words with greater precision. Every time I speak publicly, I try to incorporate something new to practice and refine. This time, it was enunciation.

Like many speakers, I have a tendency to rush through sentences and swallow certain consonants. It’s something I’m constantly working to improve.

The dictionary defines enunciation as “to say or pronounce clearly.” But this isn’t about impressing your friends from Downton Abbey when they come over for tea. Clear enunciation provides you the physical ability to make your ideas, thoughts, desires, and needs known effectively.

Why Clear Speech Matters More Than You Think

You might assume people understand you well enough, even when you rush or mumble occasionally. Perhaps they do. Perhaps.

But consider word pairs that become dangerously ambiguous when poorly articulated. If you consistently pronounce these in ways that leave your listener guessing, you’re creating unnecessary friction:

• “can” versus “can’t”

• “padding” versus “patting”

• “iteration” versus “integration”

• “assess” versus “access”

When you’re discussing whether users “can” or “can’t” perform an action, whether you need to “assess” or “access” data, or whether you’re talking about “user flow” or “user’s slow” experience, precision prevents costly misunderstandings.

The Deeper Impact of Enunciation

Clear articulation obviously determines whether you can be understood. But it goes much deeper than basic comprehension.

Remember learning about onomatopoeia in school? Words that sound like what they represent reveal how physical speech really is. Take a moment to say “bell” slowly. Notice how the ‘b’ creates that explosive beginning, like the hammer striking the bell. The double ‘l’ resonates like the lingering tone.

Now try “snake” slowly. Draw out that ‘s’ sound, feel how it mimics the creature’s hiss. The hard ‘k’ at the end snaps like a strike.

Say “click” and hear the mouse button. Say “swipe” and feel the gesture. Say “pop-up” and notice how those plosive ‘p’ sounds mirror the sudden appearance.

This physicality is crucial because, like any physical activity, enunciation can be practiced and improved. Your mouth, tongue, lips, and breath are instruments that need training.

The Counterintuitive Secret to Fewer Mistakes

Here’s what most people get wrong when trying to avoid speech errors: they contract and close their mouths, trying to keep wrong words or sounds from escaping. This increases the likelihood of mistakes.

Think about it. It’s much easier for a ‘d’ to become a muddy ‘j’ sound when your tongue has minimal room to maneuver. If you barely open your mouth, “design” might sound like “jesign” and “update” becomes “upjate.”

Counterintuitively, if you take the risk of opening your mouth more and making all your sounds more fully, you’re actually lowering your articulation difficulty level. More space means more precision. More movement means clearer distinction between sounds.

Virtual Meeting Challenges: The New Enunciation Battlefield

Virtual calls present unique enunciation challenges we never faced in person:

Audio compression flattens our speech, removing subtle frequencies that help distinguish similar sounds. Your careful pronunciation of “fifteen” versus “fifty” might still confuse listeners.

Microphone positioning matters enormously. Too close, and plosive sounds create distortion. Too far, and consonants disappear entirely. That “can’t” becomes “can” not through poor speaking but poor audio.

Background noise forces us to compete. When your neighbor’s lawnmower runs, you might unconsciously speed up and tighten your speech, making matters worse.

Lack of visual cues means people can’t read lips to supplement what they hear. In person, they’d unconsciously lip-read to distinguish “sync” from “sink.” Online, you’re on your own.

The dreaded mute/unmute dance often catches us mid-word. “The next sprint” becomes “ext sprint” and suddenly everyone’s confused.

The solution? Exaggerate your enunciation slightly more than feels natural on video calls. What feels over-pronounced to you often sounds perfectly clear to listeners dealing with compressed audio.

A Practical Exercise That Works

Here’s an exercise that’s transformed my speaking:

Find a small object to place between your teeth. A wine cork works, but hold it securely with your fingers to avoid any risk. Alternatives include:

• The tip of your little finger (which is what I prefer using)

• A pen cap, held safely

• A rolled piece of paper

Place your chosen impediment between your teeth. Keep your lips open. Now speak while maintaining the obstacle between your teeth.

Your job: enunciate clearly enough to be understood perfectly, despite the impediment. If you’re with someone, have them confirm they understand every word. Alone? Record yourself and listen back critically.

This forces you to move your lips in an exaggerated manner, ensuring every letter in every word is entirely clear. You’re training your muscles to work harder, create more space, use more movement.

You might discover you actually prefer how you sound with the impediment. Your pace naturally slows, your resonance improves, your diction sharpens.

Now remove the object and try retaining that powerful, deliberate enunciation. Switch back and forth between practicing with and without the obstacle until clear speech becomes your default.

Using Video Calls as Practice

Virtual meetings offer an unexpected training ground. Next time you’re on video, watch your own image while speaking. Can you see frequent dark space between your teeth as your mouth opens and closes expressively? That’s usually good enunciation at work.

Barely seeing your teeth separate? Your audience likely isn’t receiving the full benefit of your ideas. They’re getting a compressed, unclear version of your thoughts.

Try this: Pick one meeting this week to deliberately focus on creating that visible space between your teeth as you speak. Notice how many fewer “Sorry, could you repeat that?” responses you receive.

Pushing Through the Discomfort

Yes, these exercises feel slightly ridiculous at first. You might resist them because they seem silly or exaggerated. But the payoff, when done correctly, is incredible.

Think of it this way: we readily accept that athletes train with weighted equipment, that musicians practice scales, that writers do morning pages. If you present and speak frequently at work, why wouldn’t you train your most important instrument?

The mild discomfort of practice disappears quickly when you realize people stop asking you to repeat yourself, when your ideas land more powerfully, when technical discussions flow more smoothly.

Moving Forward

Your ideas deserve to be heard clearly. Clear enunciation ensures your expertise reaches your audience intact.

Start with awareness. Notice your own speech patterns. Do you rush through certain phrases? Swallow particular consonants? Mumble when uncertain?

Then practice deliberately. Use the cork exercise for just five minutes before your next important call. Watch yourself on video. Record voice memos and listen critically.

Clear speech isn’t about perfection. It’s about removing unnecessary barriers between your thoughts and your audience’s understanding. When precision matters and miscommunication costs time and money, investing in your enunciation pays continuous dividends.

Good luck and be patient with yourself.

-Rinaldo

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