Poorly prepared and informal speeches can undermine your credibility and fail to get your message across. Many speakers, entrepreneurs, and actors have gained career-advancing formal communication skills from our vocal training session, including learning how to develop a formal style of speech. Here are some essential tips we always share with our students.
How to Develop a Formal Style of Speech
Developing a formal style of speech encompasses refining vocal delivery through precise diction, controlled pace, and adjusted pitch and volume. Consistent practice using vocal warm-ups and a formal communication mindset can further refine your speech. You also need to employ formal and respectful language by combining vocabulary, grammar, and syntax.
Learn how to cultivate a formal speaking style, focusing on the mechanics of vocal production and the strategic application of language.
| Element | Action Steps |
| Vocal delivery |
|
| Refinement and application |
|
| Formal language |
|
1. Learn the Foundational Elements of Vocal Delivery
How you say words, your pace, pauses, pitch, and volume affect how well people understand and trust what you say.
Master Diction and Articulation
Clear diction and precise articulation help the audience understand every word you say. They enable your message to be received without effort or confusion.
- Practice tongue twisters and pronunciation exercises daily to improve the agility of your tongue, lips, jaw, and cheeks.
- Pay conscious attention to the ending consonants of words, making sure they’re not dropped or mumbled.
- Engage in reading aloud from formal texts.
Control Pace and Strategic Pauses
The speed of your speech can change how your message feels. These elements can also make your speech more impactful and easier for your audience to follow.
- Determine your ideal speed and pacing when reading from a teleprompter or delivering a memorized speech.
- Utilize pauses to create emphasis and give your audience time to absorb what you’ve said.
- Practice varying your pace – slightly quicker for less critical details, slower and more pronounced for significant statements – to maintain listener engagement.
Calibrate Pitch and Volume
Pitch is the highness or lowness of your voice, while volume is how loud or quiet you sound. These vocal attributes contribute significantly to maintaining audience attention in formal settings.
- Experiment with speaking at a slightly lower pitch than your natural speaking voice to project authority while maintaining vocal comfort.
- Keep your volume consistently audible to everyone in the room.
- Project your voice from your diaphragm, rather than your throat, to achieve consistent volume.
2. Utilize Practical Techniques for Refinement and Application
Improving your formal style involves both daily practice and a careful review of your own speech habits.
Practice Vocal Warm-ups and Articulation Drills
Daily vocal warm-ups make it easier to speak clearly and steadily. Doing these drills can reduce mumbling and help your words sound sharper.
- Start each practice session or formal speaking engagement by gently warming up your vocal cords with humming and lip trills.
- Perform articulation drills like “unique New York” repeatedly to improve the precision and agility of your tongue and lips.
- Practice speaking specific phonetic sounds and difficult consonant clusters slowly and deliberately, gradually increasing speed.
Cultivate a Formal Communication Mindset
This mindset involves consciously shifting your mental approach to speaking. The shift helps you foster a more deliberate practice and mindset to make an effort to hone formal communication skills.
- Take a moment to mentally frame your purpose and audience.
- Practice thinking in formal language to train your brain for more structured expression.
- Visualize yourself speaking confidently and clearly in a formal setting.
Record, Listen, and Self-Correct
Recording your speech is an effective way to spot areas for improvement. You can then adjust your approach and keep refining your style.
- Use a voice recorder or video camera to capture practice sessions and formal presentations.
- Listen to your recordings, paying close attention to diction, pace, pitch, volume, grammar, and word choice.
- Identify specific habits or areas that need improvement and create a plan for addressing them in subsequent practice sessions.
3. Study the Pillars of Formal Language
The language elements can make you sound respectful, confident, and easy to understand.
Be Precise in Vocabulary and Word Choice
Word choice shapes how people see you. It demonstrates a thoughtful approach to communication, letting you deliver a more accurate and impactful message.
- Actively work to expand your vocabulary by reading formal texts, academic journals, and literary works.
- When speaking, consciously opt for stronger, more specific verbs and nouns over vague or overly general terms.
- Avoid slang, jargon, and colloquialisms.
Apply Formal Grammar and Usage
Adhering to formal grammar rules and usage keeps your speech polished and professional. This also frees you from errors that can undermine credibility.
- Review common grammatical errors like subject-verb agreement and correct use of tenses.
- Pay attention to the nuances of formal language and use proper sentence structure.
- Engage in exercises that require you to transform informal sentences into their formal counterparts.
Construct Clear and Effective Syntax
In the structure of language, syntax is the way you order words and phrases. Well-constructed sentences enhance comprehension and lend an air of professionalism to your speech.
- Practice constructing complete sentences with a clear subject, verb, and object.
- Vary your sentence structure, incorporating both shorter, impactful sentences and longer, more complex ones for detailed explanations.
- Focus on logical flow and cohesion between sentences and paragraphs.
Related Questions
What Is the Format of Formal Speeches?
Formal speeches typically adhere to a structured format including an introduction, a body that presents key arguments or information, and a concluding summary. This structure promotes clarity, logical progression, and a professional presentation of ideas.
How to Adapt Formality to Different Audiences?
Adapting formality involves assessing your audience’s expectations and the context of the communication to determine the appropriate level of sophistication. Watch your audience’s reactions, and be ready to slow down, explain, or give examples if people seem lost.
How to Prevent Formal Speeches From Sounding Boring?
To prevent a formal speech and your voice from sounding boring, incorporate varied vocal delivery, including strategic pauses and modulated pitch to maintain engagement. Use compelling storytelling or relevant examples to illustrate complex points.
Conclusion
Using a formal style of speech helps you sound clear, confident, and respectful while giving your words more weight in meetings, presentations, and professional events. Our individual vocal classes provide resources to help you practice, get feedback, and grow more comfortable using a formal speech style.
