When you are speaking in English publicly and you are announcing something, wouldn't you want your listeners understand your every word? You are a telemarketer and a sales person, wouldn't it be so nice to hear/see your client interested from the first time you have opened your mouth while you spill it in English? You are a singer and you want your listeners to audibly understand your singing? Would you like to be heard clearly? As a vocal coach here in the Philippines, it is important that my students understand me when I speak a language that is not in my native tongue also. Here are the techniques and tricks that I coach to speakers for them be proficiently and clearly heard when talking or singing in English.-QueenCee
"The 2 Key Techniques"
LESSON # 1. Proper Mouth Opening The Vowels A,E,I,O,U : These are the 5 letters in the alphabet that should be heard in clarity while we talk or sing, if we fail to pronounce these 5 vowel sounds correctly, we will be ineffective speakers/singers.
A : Place 3 fingers on your mouth, just enough that it touches the tip of your teeth, use it as a measurement. That is how wide it shoud be when you pronounce the "A" vowel sound. Try it and say Aahh...
E : Place 2 fingers on your mouth, just enough that it touches the tip of your teeth, use it as a measurement. That is how wide it shoud be when you pronounce the "E" vowel sound. Try it and say Eehh..
I : Grab a pen, bite it just enough that it hinders your mouth from completely closing and pronounce the "I" vowel sound. Try it and say Iihh...
O : Oh yes! That's an egg, but nope you are not inserting it on your mouth this time (You must have felt relief?). You will pronounce the "O" vowel sound while your mouth is emulating/copying the oblong shape of this egg you see now. Now try it and say Oohh...
U : To make a flawless "U" vowel sound, is to simply imagine yourself gracefully blowing a candle out. Try it and say Uuhh...
And careful not to do it this way...trust me, a different sound will come out.
LESSON # 2. Proper Jaw Dropping
Have you seen a cat when he drops his lower jaw and a very smooth clear meow follows? That is the science of jaw dropping. You can control all the mouth opening technique you have learned from Lesson # 1. You must have had hard time doing the "A" vowel sound earlier, that was expected. It can be done with ease and health, follow these intructions...1. Only the lower jaw will move downward. 2. Drop the jaw downwards but immediately guide your jaw to move to an inward direction. So two things! Drop it downwards and inwards. Why? Those are the only direction a human should be moving when he opens his mouth. People get nervous when they speak in front of people, when you are nervous, it creates tension from the nape to the jaw cavities and this causes us to mumble, worst cannot speak at all. To beat it, tell your brain to drop your lower jaw to the downwards inwards direction while you speak. So trust the technique and its science. You will be audible, because the resonance is controlled.
--->Finally...Clarity will be the end product when you use Proper Mouth Opening + Jaw Dropping. English will be fun because you have the techniques and tricks, regional accents are hard to hide but clarity is the most important aspect when a person speaks/sings, wether it is in his native language or not. Goodluck dear speakers!