Many believe that people with bad diction are not educated. After all, it is in elementary school that we learn to use the dictionary. If you’ve ever used a dictionary, you know that the dictionary not only gives you the meaning of words, but also shows you how to pronounce the word. So you can learn the correct pronunciation of a word by opening a dictionary. However, there are people who may have difficulties with the correct production of a sound. These people know the correct spelling of the word and how the dictionary divides the word phonetically, but they cannot correctly say the sounds or phonemes of the word. This can make speakers’ conversations unintelligible and difficult to follow.

If you’re having trouble saying a sound in a word correctly, you may need speech training from a speech-language pathologist.

In the American English language there are 26 consonant sounds and 17 vowel sounds. Most consonant sounds are in the initial, middle, and final position of words. So if you’re having trouble producing a sound that’s in all three word positions, your diction will be a bit distorted. Now imagine that if you have trouble saying more than one sound correctly, your speaking skills could be preventing you from advancing in your career, preventing you from dating the person of your dreams, or hindering your social skills. Bad diction can carry a social stigma.

Learning to blend sounds into words can be difficult, but with the help of a human communication specialist, such as a speech-language pathologist (SLP), you can improve your speech skills (speaking skills). An SLP can help you improve your speaking skills to your optimal level of performance.

Training the ear to hear the sound is called auditory discrimination. Often people who say the sounds incorrectly can have a hard time hearing the correct sound. Therefore, ear training is a necessary first step.

Once you can hear the sounds in words, phrases, sentences, and conversations, then it’s time to move on to learning the correct production of specific sounds. A speech-language pathologist may have various techniques, such as tactile, visual, and auditory cues to help you improve your diction.

With motivation, enthusiasm, discipline and tenacity you can improve your diction to communicate effectively with your colleagues and authority figures within your environment. And if you are an authority figure, you will increase your credibility.

Improve your “first impression” by improving your diction.