Talking well is challenging (as long as those duties are not crucial to the job, an available place for the employee to go to be alone for quiet time to help decrease the demands of the job, rest breaks to prevent stimulus overload and fatigue, job restructuring, part-time or modified work schedules, reassignment to a different position, acquisition or modification or workplace equipment or devices, training materials or policies in baille or a simplified language, provision of readers or interpreters (disability rights center). Often times, an agreement is reached which will allow the individual to return to work on a gradual basis as their strengths and abilities increase. To add to the individual’s rate of success, the professional staff continues to follow them and provides assistance to the employer and employee as barriers and/or weaknesses are identified. For example, if the individual is having a tough time remembering what tasks to do, it may be recommended that they carry a notebook to write down what is asked of them.
Clear Speech: Exercise
- Every time we converse we have an opportunity to practice
- Talking clearly was in part based on pronunciation. It is the proper use of vocal cords, mouth, tongue, lungs and your head
- Indistinct speech can result from slurring words, speaking in the muffled voice, running words and phrases together, dropping endings and just failure to enunciate phrases or groups of phrases
Tense Voice, Good Pitch
- A tense voice will sound higher than our normal relaxed voice.
- The other end of the spectrum is a distressed voice. Some have developed a habit of talking in a distressed voice as part of their normal conversation. It is hard to describe but when you hear someone do it, you will know it.
- The speech as opposed to resonating in the mouth, comes from the throat and sounds deeper, raspy, and forced. So even though you have clear speech, it is indistinct
- Slurring words and phrases or running them together is the result of a learned behavior or cultural behavior. In addition, it includes dropping syllables indiscriminately or like a cultural norm. These must be corrected to to talk clearly and distinctly.
