Hey guys, does anyone know of any good speech improvement books/audio/dvds. The reason I ask is that this is a sticking point for me when I am approaching girls, as I can tend to mumble and lose clarity sometimes after a while in set. Occasionally my lips are so heavy its difficult to pronunciate the word. I think its more to do with nerves and a bit of an inner game problem because it happens to me generally as well. So I want to get this resolved so I talk with conviction! Neil Strauss recommends Arthur Joseph stuff, but that didn't do much for me. Any ideas? Cheers.

Assuming you dont have a some kind of speech impediment?

If so, forget books.

1. At home, in front of a mirror practice lines, ordering a drink, tell yourself what you did today.

2. Do this at exaggerated volume but without shouting.

3. Ignore how ridiculous you may sound (you are alone at home) and ESPECIALLY ignore any thoughts of not liking your voice.

4. Bring the volume up and down, modulate your tone, pretend you are an actor going through the script trying out different voices.

5. Of course you want to use your real voice, BUT dont forget that we all modulate from soft to loud in different situations.

6. Next time you go to bars, when you will order a drink, dont lean over, and just order the drink at a loud level (do it with good energy not an attitude).

7. Being louder does not mean cockier, or pretending to be a bad ass. It means more volume as in your home stereo volume. If you feel your vibe or style or voice changes as you try to become louder, ignore that for a while. Just practice. Eventually you will learn how to go louder on demand.

8. With chicks, you modulate; go from loud, medium, soft,. It also depends on the chick...funny witty loud chick? keep volume and confidence up. Quieter chicks, loud all the time will freak them.

9. Volume is somehow tied to confidence. That is why confident guy's guys are often loud; because they want to be heard.

10. Remember, chicks start deciding about fucking or not as the conversation unfolds and you speak about you. So, to speak about you, you must be audible.

11. Crash as many sets as needed until you learn to find louder volumes in your speaking.

12. To speak louder, aint rocket science.

Thanks for the advice guys. I will give it try. I definitely need to practice tonality in a mirror as you suggest and stop being in my head so much in the field. I will get this handled soon! Cheers.

Practice it every day for a few weeks, as if it was a sport. Experiment with your voice, range, push through your anxiety when you will start being louder. If someone is annoyed, I see no big deal in telling them you are working on improving your speech. ::) good luck

take an Intro to Acting class and learn to speak by flexing your abdomen slash pushing the air out with your diaphragm rather than the throat. thats why actors on stage in the theater sound so loud and dont break their vocal cords. they use their diaphragm. i learned it in one class. my voice is way louder (unless i get shy) and i dunno how i ever spoke without it.