Articulate people share how they became experts at communicating clearly.
Being an articulate speaker comes down to communicating thoroughly. According to Merriam Webster, the definition of "articulate" is "expressing oneself readily, clearly, and effectively."
Being precise with words when speaking with others (especially public speaking) can empower you to share your thoughts in an intelligent and likeable way to others. And learning how to be articulate is easier than you think.
Over on Reddit, self-proclaimed articulate people were asked to share their tips and tricks for how they became great at articulation, and they delivered. From reading to journaling to expanding their vocabulary, these are all the ways people learned to be articulate speakers.
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"recall my mom saying she refused to speak baby talk with us as little kids - I’m told I spoke in complete sentences quite early (and I’ve not stopped talking since LOL). But my parents also had a good vocabulary and even now my husband has commented on it. I grew up reading constantly. We had a library in the house with many classics. As a kid I liked classic Sci-Fi like Isaac Asimov but when I hit my teens I fell for Steinbeck. I read everything in front of me, constantly, and had friends who were readers too. I didn’t like reading, I loved it. As I’ve gotten older I listen to books more. So…reading, writing, speaking all exercise that part of the brain. I do Wordle and love word games now too." - PebblesmomWisconsin7
"Read. Shut up. Don’t talk to fill silence or hear your own voice. Talk when you have something worthwhile to say." - unrotting
"Reading a lot is what keeps my vocabulary sharp. Mindfulness is how I am able to be articulate. Yep, meditation (which I used to do often) has taught me to put space between my thoughts and my expression. The other thing that helps? As much as I'm a talker...I listen a lot more. Listening for understanding, as opposed to responding has been helpful when it comes to articulating my thoughts." - Cerulean_Zen
"You read a lot of books, watch a lot of movies, watch videos of conversations that are productive and pleasant, and talk in public often." - IllustriousCut328
"I journal, and read actual books. I’m from the 80’s, so I know life without distraction, too. I have to work to recreate it now, but I try to carve out an hour to do either or both of those (reading or writing) every single day. Also worth noting; if you come across a word you don’t know, learn its meaning and use it immediately. This helped me grow my functional vocabulary significantly as an adult." - crazymom7170
An articulate woman public speaking.Photo credit: Canva
"I process my emotions externally, so I’m always talking or journaling what I am thinking. I think that combined with being an avid fan of stories in any form (movies, books, etc) lends itself to becoming more articulate. Hearing other people express themselves as well as the practice of talking it out makes it easier!" - Microwave_Of_Evil07
"To be honest, I'd say it's genetic disposition at my end, which also manifests in my environment since I was a kid. It's a baseline. As for regulation, I like to be prepared in general, and my mind feels energized solving problems---I run quick mental simulations of conversations and social "textures." I then have some sort of mental map that if they say A, it could mean ABC, which may or may not require me to say XYZ, depending on the nuance. I'd add that pattern training helps. It's not enough to just be confident. There must be genuine pillars so there's no nagging sense of imposter syndrome that could lead to analysis paralysis." - cryanide_
"One of the things I do that might not have been mentioned yet is that I use speech-to-text technology for almost all of my written communications with my cell phone. Including this comment! It used to be challenging for me to directly articulate what I had to say without filler words or long pauses, but over time, it's become easier. I've learned to choose my word more carefully and say exactly what I mean to say." - rhiai
"I also listen to a lot of audiobooks. I think listening to nonfiction out loud helps. I've noticed my vocabulary has expanded considerably over the past couple of years. I even find myself using words I don't technically know the definition to correctly in context. 🤣" - rhiai
A woman communicates concisely to a group of people.Photo credit: Canva
"I loved it, so I practiced. When I was young, I would keep a running commentary while playing video games, rephrase my reading in my own words, etc. Words are wonderful because you are never without them. Part of it was also a lot of internet arguments. There's better ways to do this, but if you examine rhetoric and learn to look through the persuasive language to what something is really saying... You find yourself able to cut to the heart of what you are thinking and articulate it snappily." - LatexSwan
"Read out loud. Read speeches by eloquent people. Read books written by people smarter than you. Speak slightly slower than you think you should. Think as if you are actually “singing” the words instead of speaking but do not actually sing. Your voice is actually a woodwind instrument. Use your voice with pride but be humble about it and your true voice will feel more natural." - Bmack27
"This might surprise you, but sleep. If you're well rested and energized, your brain works better. That coupled with reading is a super power." - chiefbushman
"Introspection. This is a personality trait that some have more than others. I've learned that I might have an unhealthy level, but it serves me in this regard. I'm always conscious of what I'm saying; I can recall most conversations verbatim and essentially give myself feedback. I also listen to recorded audio of myself and do the same." - hunterbuilder
"My cheap-and-easy advice is listen to podcasts by journalists, experts, and academics on their field. There are 20-min podcasts on research that took years to conduct. Pay attention to how they use framing (we noticed XYZ and wanted to test ABC), actions (I traveled to XYZ to talk to people), results (surprisingly, we found XYZ ) , implications (if this continues, by next year we could see XYZ), and stories (so-and-so is really affected, given XYZ). Check how much detail they use, how they use emotion, what facts they give, how they guide you to what's most important (this is a big deal because XYZ). Great speakers will also give heroes and villains (so-and-so was really suffering, but they couldn't get through to Acme Corp to fix it) . Also note what makes you interested, engaged, outraged, skeptical, bored or confused." - Affectionate_Map5518
"'About six years ago I made a New Year's resolution never to say 'um', 'ah', or 'er' and no single thing that I have done to the way that I speak has served to make me sound smarter than I actually am than that' -Taylor Mali." - pengie123