Consciously Speaking More Words

New research shows that as people, we are speaking 338 fewer words every day. That adds up to a loss of about 120,000 words for each of us each year. People age 25 and younger show an even steeper decline in spoken words.

What happens to those lost words?

Do we swallow them? Do we avoid thinking them in the first place? Do we type them instead?

As someone who believes in concise writing, what I’m about to say might sound surprising:

We need to push ourselves to speak more words aloud.

Why This Matters for Us as People and Professionals

Most importantly, the connections we make with people through speaking are essential for our social wellbeing.

Also: speaking a few words here and there gives us practice. This helps us gain confidence in our ability to express ourselves when we’re called on to speak in more formal settings.

It’s natural to feel nervous when we’re speaking in front of an audience. Especially when you almost never talk to someone you don’t know. The only way to feel less nervous is to do it more often.

You can ease into speaking more words out loud. If you can build comfort speaking to strangers, that will help you build your networking and presenting skills — which you’ll need to succeed in a professional environment.

Simple Ways to Speak More

Don’t order your coffee off an app. Line up and order it from a real person. You might eventually graduate to asking how their day is going.

Call the hotel for your next reservation. It’s fast and you’ll get the best rate and the best room.

Put your phone away at the grocery store and choose a lineup with a real cashier. Say hello and thank you. Ask if they’ve had a busy day.

Chat with your driver. Most drivers have a lot to say and make it pretty easy to keep up your side of the conversation.

Summer Makes It Easier

More people are out on the street and in the neighbourhood.

People tend to be more relaxed and move more slowly in the heat, so it’s easy to amble by, make eye contact, and say hello.

Further Reading

If you’d like to read the research article, it’s here. Here’s another great article from the BBC’s Science Focus.