Asked and Answered: Fast Talking
Asked: I'm looking for an activity to use for instructors who speak too fast. Is there a game or activity you recommend to use during an instructor training course?
Answered: In your question you said you were “looking for an activity to use for instructors who speak too fast.” This is such a common issue for trainers. We (I put myself in this category) tend to get so excited that we start speaking faster and faster until we spin out of control. We become exhausted and our learners become lost. While I have a couple of activities in mind, the biggest barrier for most people when talking about speed of speech is that they do not know what “good” looks like. While it is sometimes the speed, what is more often the case is the constant speed that people find so exhausting. This concept should shape the discussion.
The average speed of speech is about 150 words per minute(wpm). While we are able to think much faster than this (approximately 600-700 wpm), this is a fairly nice pace for instructing and sharing information for a native speaker. This pace should drop to about 120 words per minute when speaking with non-native language speakers (depending on abilities).
Here are three activities I might suggest for your content:
To Experience Good
One of my favorite activities is to take a statement or script that everyone is familiar with and have them read it as they normally would and time how long it takes. I have used the Pledge of Allegiance before with U.S. audiences. Do some math prior and see what the wpm is. They do not need to speak for an entire minute but rather 10-15 seconds to get a pace. Then do a reveal and let people calculate for themselves (or with a partner) how quickly they were speaking. Perhaps do a human line-up to see what the range is. Try then to have people hit a different rate, so they can see what it feels like to speak at difference wpms. Do a quick debrief of the experience and what it felt like for people.
Cameras Don’t Lie
Another approach, which will take more time but will put people in a more stressful (and perhaps real) situation, is to video tape them. With access to simple video recording (even on phones), a quick snippet that the person can then watch may help some people really see what you are driving at. You have probably heard your Bob Pike Group trainer say, “People don’t argue with their own data,” so if they can see and explain where they are having trouble in their own words, they are more likely to act.
Perform to Prevent
Most people speak too quickly because they are nervous. Instead of trying to fix something mid-stream, there is a lot of benefit to addressing the root of the problem…nerves. Equipping your learners with some simple relaxation tools (breathing, stretching, visualization, etc.) may help to stop the fast speaking before it even starts. Before doing this though, I would recommend doing some sort of assessment to have people uncover what they are really nervous about while speaking so that you can help prescribe the remedy to their needs.
If you are looking for more information and some light reading, I would recommend High Impact Presentations written by Bob Pike. You can find it at here.
Scott Enebo is a training consultant for The Bob Pike Group.
