# How to Speak More Clearly and Stop Mumbling When You Talk

Mumbling usually comes from four things: a mouth that barely opens, word endings that get swallowed, low volume and speaking too fast. Fix them with short daily drills: open your jaw more on vowels, sound the last consonant of each word, aim your voice at the far side of the room, and slow down with pauses between phrases.

By the Speaking Coach team at Sodhera Intelligence. Updated 2026-10-22. Source: https://www.orecci.com/speaking-coach/guides/how-to-speak-clearly/

## Find your main cause first

"Speak more clearly" is vague advice. Mumbling has a few specific causes, and you'll improve faster if you work on yours.

| If people say… | The likely cause | Start with |
| --- | --- | --- |
| "Sorry, what?" (they didn't hear) | Low volume, voice dropping at the end | Volume drill |
| "Can you say that again?" (they heard but didn't catch it) | Mouth barely opening, words blurred | Mouth-opening drill |
| "Slow down!" | Speed, words running together | Pace drill |
| They mishear specific words | Dropped endings: "wan" for "want", "las" for "last" | Word-endings drill |

Record yourself reading a paragraph out loud for one minute and listen back on speaker, not headphones. You'll usually hear your main cause within the first few sentences.

## Drill 1: Open your mouth

Mumblers often speak through a nearly closed jaw. Sound comes out muffled and vowels blur.

1. Put a finger sideways between your front teeth. That's roughly how wide your jaw should open on big vowels like "ah".
2. Say slowly: "father, car, how, now, out, about." Feel your jaw drop on each one.
3. Read a sentence while exaggerating every vowel, almost like a cartoon. Then read it at normal strength. The normal version will be clearer than before.
4. Check in a mirror: you should see your teeth and some movement of your lips on most words.

Some people practice with a clean pen or cork held gently between the front teeth for a few sentences, then remove it and read again. Keep it short and stop if your jaw aches.

## Drill 2: Finish your word endings

In fast, casual speech, final consonants get swallowed: "nex week" for "next week", "I wan to" for "I want to". It's normal, but too much of it makes you hard to follow, especially on calls.

1. Say these pairs, making the final sound crisp: *want / one, last / lass, kept / kep, asked / ask, cold / coal, world / whirl.*
2. Read a short paragraph and lightly tap the table every time you sound a final t, d, k or p.
3. Slow down on numbers and names. "Fifteen" and "fifty" are easy to confuse when endings drop.

## Drill 3: Volume without shouting

Quiet speech is the most common cause of "sorry?". The goal isn't loudness; it's reaching the furthest listener.

1. Stand facing a wall across the room. Say "Good morning, can you hear me at the back?" so the wall would "hear" every word.
2. Breathe in low (your belly should move, not your shoulders) before each sentence.
3. Keep the energy up on the last word of the sentence. Most people trail off just where the meaning lands.

For more, see [how to project your voice](/speaking-coach/guides/how-to-project-your-voice/).

## Drill 4: Pace and phrasing

Fast speech blurs words together. You don't have to speak slowly, just in clear chunks with tiny pauses between them.

1. Take a paragraph and add a slash where you'd naturally breathe: "When I joined the team / we had no process for returns / so I built one."
2. Read it, pausing briefly at every slash.
3. Time yourself. Conversational English is commonly around 120–160 words per minute. If you're well above that and people struggle, aim for the lower end. The [pace checker](/speaking-coach/tools/pace-checker/) measures it for you.

The full method is in [how to slow down when speaking](/speaking-coach/guides/how-to-slow-down-when-speaking/).

## Tongue twisters for warming up

Tongue twisters aren't the goal, but they wake up your lips and tongue before a call or talk. Say each one slowly three times, then at normal speed. Accuracy first, speed second.

| Twister | What it works |
| --- | --- |
| "Red lorry, yellow lorry." | R and L, tongue movement |
| "Unique New York, unique New York." | Lips and jaw |
| "She sells seashells by the seashore." | S and SH |
| "Good blood, bad blood." | B and D endings |
| "Truly rural." | R and L together |
| "Toy boat. Toy boat. Toy boat." | Clear vowels at speed |
| "Six thick thistle sticks." | TH and S |

## A daily read-aloud exercise (5 minutes)

This combines everything and takes five minutes. Do it every day for two weeks.

1. **Warm up (1 min).** Two tongue twisters, slowly, then at speed.
2. **Mark a paragraph (1 min).** Pick about 120 words from a news article or book. Mark breath pauses with slashes and underline one word per sentence to stress.
3. **Read it out loud (1 min).** Open your mouth, finish endings, and aim your voice across the room.
4. **Record it (1 min).** Read it again, recording.
5. **Listen back (1 min).** On speaker. Mark any word you couldn't hear clearly. Tomorrow, start by saying those words.

After two weeks, compare your first and last recordings.

## Clarity on calls and video

Microphones exaggerate mumbling. On a call:

- Sit up and keep your face towards the microphone.
- Leave a beat after unmuting before you speak, so your first word isn't cut off.
- Slow down slightly on names, numbers and the main point.
- If people often ask you to repeat, try a headset; laptop microphones pick up a lot of room noise.

## Clear speech isn't about your accent

Being understood and having a particular accent are different things. Many people with strong accents are very easy to follow because they speak at a steady pace, open their mouths and finish their words. If you're working on being understood in a second language, see [speaking clearly with an accent](/speaking-coach/guides/speaking-clearly-with-an-accent/). Speaking Coach never rates your accent; its feedback focuses on pace, pauses and filler words.

## Questions people ask

### Why do I mumble when I talk?

Usually a mix of a barely open mouth, low volume and speed. It often gets worse when you're tired, nervous or unsure of what you're saying.

### Can you train yourself to speak more clearly?

Yes. Short daily drills for mouth opening, word endings and pace make a noticeable difference for most people within a few weeks.

### Do tongue twisters actually help?

As a warm-up, yes; they get your lips and tongue moving. Clarity in real speech comes more from pace, volume and finishing your words.

### How do I stop mumbling on video calls?

Face the microphone, sit upright, slow down on key words and consider a headset. Record a test call to hear yourself the way others do.

### Should I see a speech therapist?

If you have trouble with specific sounds, a stammer or a voice that's often hoarse or painful, a qualified speech-language professional is the right person to see. Everyday mumbling usually responds well to practice.

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