Listen to recordings of your own speech, and then course correct
Course correction is only possible if you know what you need to fix and how. That's exactly what I'm asking
Ask HN: Exercises to think, then speak, more clearly?
81–90 of 106 posts
Re: Ask HN: Exercises to think, then speak, more clearly?
#82[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: Exercises to think, then speak, more clearly?
#83The psychologist Robert Cialdini has written at least a couple of good books on the topic of persuasion that are worth checking out. (Influence and Pre-suasion)
The comic writer Scott Adams has done some business books and many very approachable podcasts on the topic as well, and might be worth looking into.
Re: Ask HN: Exercises to think, then speak, more clearly?
#84I find that trying to write a persuasive essay is a good exercise for clarifying thought. If you share what you write with people who are bound to find flaws in it (e.g. by posting it to HN :)), you start to develop a “voice of the reader” and predict in advance what their objections will be to strengthen your argument.
This. Also the longer the better to a degree. If you find you’re in the habit of glossing over things you’re unsure about, expand on those things in writing until you’re sure you understand your own position on them.
Re: Ask HN: Exercises to think, then speak, more clearly?
#85therapy
LOL but True
Re: Ask HN: Exercises to think, then speak, more clearly?
#86I used to take the Chicago Metra and ride in the vestibule to exit the train quickly. The same 8 people would always be there every day but this gentleman, "Gary", would always carry the conversations. People were just drawn to him and I was in awe of how he captivated us with his stories. I was able to study him for a couple of years and came up with a list of how he was able to hold our attention: 1) Gary spoke lou…
That's a gripping description, thanks and I hope Gary is still telling stories.
You just read one ;-)
Re: Ask HN: Exercises to think, then speak, more clearly?
#87I used to take the Chicago Metra and ride in the vestibule to exit the train quickly. The same 8 people would always be there every day but this gentleman, "Gary", would always carry the conversations. People were just drawn to him and I was in awe of how he captivated us with his stories. I was able to study him for a couple of years and came up with a list of how he was able to hold our attention: 1) Gary spoke lou…
> 8) He was very funny without being mean. Sort of like Cosby before we found out what Cosby was really like.
I shouldn't laugh but this right here is gold. Also, love all the points you laid out.
Re: Ask HN: Exercises to think, then speak, more clearly?
#88Set aside some 10 percent of social situations as a test lab / playground. Do stuff you don't think will work or you are sure will fail. Discuss Harry Potter, try a new persona... Go for it.
Re: Ask HN: Exercises to think, then speak, more clearly?
#89One fast way to get good at speaking is to video record yourself AND watch the recording and then repeat.
I wrote "fast" instead of "easy" because this is very painful. Most people quit after a couple of iterations.
Toastmasters and the like are slower but arguably less total pain because other people are nicer.
Re: Ask HN: Exercises to think, then speak, more clearly?
#90Benjamin Franklin describes a good one in his autobiography, excerpted below from Project Gutenberg: > About this time I met with an odd volume of the Spectator. It was the third. I had never before seen any of them. I bought it, read it over and over, and was much delighted with it. I thought the writing excellent, and wished, if possible, to imitate it. With this view I took some of the papers, and, making short hi…
Thanks for that.
In case anyone is interested, the original Spectator is still worth dipping into. Many editions are available at the Internet Archive. For example:
https://archive.org/details/cu31924013337203/page/n361/mode/...