Four words any actor doesn’t want to hear: “What did you say?” Mumbling is an everyday speech issue impacting the volume, speed, and tone of your voice. Projection, articulation, and diction training make sure your words are both heard and understood. However, it is also essential to dig into the physical and mental reasons why your speech might sound muffled—and how to resolve it.
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A lack of confidence, an abundance of nerves, shyness, and not having the correct vocal training can all lead to mumbling.
Being an actor in any medium requires an audience to hear and understand what you’re saying. Natural and improvised speech is part of the Mumblecore sub-genre, but even in the indie movies that fit this description, you can typically hear the dialogue. Performers and actors should refrain from mumbling so the listener—whether that’s a theater audience, a casting director, or even a microphone on set—picks up every word and the intention underneath. Avoid mumbling in meetings, auditions, and rehearsals, as well as onstage or on camera, in order to get ahead and project confidence.
RELATED: How to Project Your Voice as an Actor
1. Know your voice
First of all, make sure you do actually mumble. Answer these questions: Are you often asked to repeat yourself or to speak up? Does it take someone a few seconds to understand what you’re saying? These context clues suggest you mumble. Another way to confirm mumbling is to record your voice with background noise as a marker to hear if your specific words register. When you are alone, mumbling might not be an issue, so be mindful of your speech in environments that make you nervous, uncomfortable, or shy.
2. Understand why you mumble
Having low confidence or too many nerves can lead to not speaking loud or clear enough. It might sound counterintuitive for a performer, but mumbling can point to someone who doesn’t want to draw attention or doesn’t think they are worthy enough of attention. You are worthy, and your voice does deserve to be heard!
3. Open your mouth when speaking
If you don’t open your mouth wide enough, it impacts the sounds of each word. Minimal mouth movements can affect clear speech. Articulation is crucial to fix mumbling, and exaggerating each sound and syllable with an open mouth reveals how much more sound comes out. Getting in the habit of opening your mouth when speaking and articulating each word is a worthwhile exercise. It might seem strange at first to move your mouth more, so try this method out alone to get used to it. Watch other actors to see how much they move their mouths when speaking.
4. Slow down your speech
While some filmmakers such as Amy Sherman-Palladino are known for fast-paced dialogue, without proper training, talking a mile a minute can make it hard for people to understand what you are saying. Your speech articulators don’t have enough time to match the speed of your thoughts; this can cause mumbling since you are not ending one word before you start the next. Slowing down will help avoid this. Take breaths as you speak and clearly say every syllable. It might sound like you talk too slowly, but enunciation is an antidote to mumbling.
How to Stop Being Self-Conscious5. Maintain good posture
Standing or sitting up straight with your shoulders rolled back opens your airways by letting your lungs expand. More air helps you speak more clearly, whereas hunching forward does not allow the diaphragm to open fully when breathing. Tilting your chin up is another tip—not only does this help with your breathing, but it can make you look and feel more confident and assertive.
6. Focus on your breath and where (or who) you are facing
Understanding the mechanics of how your diaphragm works via breathing exercises will reduce mumbling. Drawing breath from your diaphragm to power your voice is crucial as it maintains articulation. Pausing is not only beneficial for dramatic purposes, but it also lets you regulate your breathing, which can positively impact pacing, projection, and diction.
7. Practice vocal exercises
There are a variety of vocal exercises that can help you stop mumbling and speak clearly:
- Yawn and hum while opening and closing your mouth to relax the muscles around your mouth and jaw.
- Sing to help develop vocal muscles and increase your volume.
- Read out loud from a book or magazine and make sure you hit each syllable.
- Tongue twisters increase verbal dexterity and articulation. Start slowly, increase the speed, and say every syllable. If you stumble, go back to the start. Practice in front of the mirror.
- Try the pen trick, in which you hold a pen lightly between your teeth and begin to speak. Your words might sound slurred at first, but the more you do it, the sharper it will sound.
8. Know your words
Public speaking can increase nerves, but practicing ahead of time boosts confidence. Learn every line memorization trick in the book if you’re delivering dialogue or a prepared speech. Knowing what you will say, as well as the timing and the tone, is a helpful aid to combat mumbling.
9. Warm up
Warming up your instrument with breathing and vocal exercises helps to stop mumbling, as do daily tongue warmups. After all, your tongue is a muscle that needs a workout:
- Stick your tongue out as far as you can, hold it steady and straight for five seconds, relax, and repeat five times.
- Move your tongue clockwise around your mouth in front of your mouth. Do this five times one way and then five times the other.
- Push your tongue against your finger and then push back with your finger.
10. Believe in yourself
Having confidence in your talent and the words you are about to say is crucial to speaking without mumbling. All the techniques above can aid your quest to talk clearly, but you also need to believe in yourself and in the fact that people want to hear what you have to say. If you are self-conscious about your teeth, it’s important to get comfortable making the larger mouth shapes; practice in front of a mirror, on your camera phone, or in front of a trusted person.
