Clarity of thought determines clarity of presentation - this is truth. Why are many people unable to speak clearly and clearly formulate their position? How to learn to express yourself so that people understand you and want to listen to you.

Not every person knows how to express their thoughts. You listen and listen to such a person - and in vain you try to catch a reasonable thought from the stream of words and understand what he wanted to say.

And only if you have the patience to listen to the end. And you inevitably begin to think: does he himself understand what he is talking about? After all, it was not without reason that back in the 17th century, the French literary critic N. Boileau wrote: “He who thinks clearly, expresses clearly.”

Being able to correctly formulate your thoughts in order to convey them to your interlocutor is important both in a friendly conversation and when applying for a job, especially one that requires business contacts and negotiations.

Things to think about before you start talking

1. Determine the main idea

Before entering into a conversation, you should “think out” the thought to the end, that is, clearly imagine what it is about we'll talk. L.N. Tolstoy believed: “To handle the language somehow means to think somehow.” Based on this, the inability to express one’s thought indicates that it has not yet fully “matured” in the speaker’s head.

2. Use fewer parts

The mistake many people make when speaking is that they pay too much attention to detail, resulting in it being impossible to grasp main idea. No wonder A.P. Chekhov said that brevity is the sister of talent. Excessive talkativeness and verbosity only make it difficult to perceive what is being said.

3. Don't get distracted

Sometimes during a conversation the speaker is distracted by looking at foreign objects, which is why he often loses the thread of the conversation. Therefore, when trying to convey something important to your interlocutor, you should focus on your thoughts.

4. Speak clearly and clearly

Often, when telling something, we jump from one topic to another, speak in fragments of phrases and at the same time think that the interlocutor must understand us perfectly. You shouldn’t think that he has to guess what we want to say - it’s better to speak clearly and clearly right away.

What does the ability to formulate thoughts depend on?

Logic will help you in your ability to express your thoughts, because it is not without reason that it is called the science of correct thinking or the art of reasoning.

The main task of logic is to draw the correct conclusion based on reasoning and get a true idea of ​​the subject of reflection. “Logic is the pursuer of dark and confused thinking” - so said English philosopher J. Mill back in the 19th century.

Thus, in order to be able to correctly formulate your thoughts, you need to learn how to build a logical chain of reasoning in order to convey to the listener a clear understanding of the narrator’s thoughts. And for this it won’t hurt to study logic and its laws.

Learning to formulate your thoughts is impossible without a rich vocabulary. Let’s say a person speaks briefly, clearly, without distractions, but listening to him is not interesting and he is not a good interlocutor. Perhaps it's because he's poor vocabulary. For example, vocabulary educated person today is approximately 10 thousand words. For comparison: A.S. Pushkin used over 21 thousand words in his works.

A person who has a rich vocabulary and knows how to use it attracts people as an interesting interlocutor. Employers are no exception, because good competent speech speaks of education and creativity.

How to increase your vocabulary?

One way to enrich your vocabulary is by reading. This is confirmed by the words of the French educator: “People stop thinking when they stop reading.” You need to read not everything in a row, but those works that will really help enrich your speech - the classics of L. Tolstoy, M. Bulgakov, etc., and read thoughtfully, analyzing what you read. You can write down the words and expressions you like so that you can use them in your speech if necessary.

IN everyday life most people tend to use the same set of words. However, it is not difficult to make your speech interesting and worthy of attention if, with the help of a dictionary of synonyms or explanatory dictionary to banal and hackneyed words that we ourselves may already be tired of, pick up alternative options and include them in your vocabulary.

It will help to make your speech bright, beautiful and imaginative by memorizing your favorite words, phrases and expressions that you can “overhear” in someone else’s conversation, film, etc. and make it “your own.” It is best, of course, to write them down and re-read them from time to time, since they tend to be forgotten.

How does the state of memory affect the ability to express thoughts?

Many people are familiar with the feeling of confusion during a conversation, especially an emotional one, when not only “beautiful” and correct words disappear from memory, but also any words at all. And only after some time does it suddenly dawn on the person what should have been said. The development of memory and quick reaction will help here.

Memory worsens due to insufficient oxygen saturation of the blood and, accordingly, the brain. Many people are familiar with the feeling of fatigue that comes with staying in a poorly ventilated room for a long time. Physical activity and sports improve blood circulation and ensure brain performance, which also affects memory.

No less important good sleep at night - otherwise the memory is chemical level will not work at full capacity. Tobacco and alcohol in large quantities over time lead to memory deterioration, and foods that contain a lot of protein (meat, fish, eggs, etc.) and are easily digestible (for example, boiled vegetables) improve it. Intense mental work is accompanied by a loss of calcium and phosphorus, so their reserves must be replenished by excluding cheese, nuts, eggs, etc. from the diet. It is curious that a full stomach also worsens brain function.

It is necessary to train your memory just like any other organ, which otherwise will atrophy over time. Everyone may have their own ways of training. The main thing is, before asking for help, first try to remember what you have forgotten.

As a memory training, you can, for example, add up in your mind the numbers that make up the license plates of cars passing by. Or, for non-urgent calculations, do not rush to use a calculator.

Many people find it helpful to remember the necessary names, other people’s birthdays, phone numbers and addresses with the help of associations and parallels built in their minds. For example, remembering the code bank card 2467 we are guided by the fact that 2 and 4 add up to 6, followed by 7.

How to gain thought formation skills?

Leading will help you learn to form your thoughts. personal diary. Both the computer version and the paper version are suitable. Keeping a diary on paper will take more time, but will allow you not to rashly delete text you don’t like. Over time, the texts at the beginning and at the end can be compared to evaluate the result. Of course, you need to write not dryly and monosyllabically, but expressing your mood, emotions and trying to show eloquence.

Some people, in order to learn how to express their thoughts, start blogging on the Internet, for example on LiveJournal, and even risk posting their videos on , in order to look at themselves from the outside and get an assessment.

Skills in the ability to formulate and express your thoughts, as well as defend your point of view, can be acquired by participating in discussions and forums, both online and in person. And the more sociable a person is, the more opportunities he will have to demonstrate his “oratorical” capabilities and “hone” his skills.

However, it is important to have not just a wide circle of contacts - it must be appropriate in terms of intelligence and interests. After all, constantly dealing with people, in conversation with whom you don’t have to strain and who themselves cannot connect two words, a person gradually loses the ability to express his thoughts easily and clearly.

Unfortunately, not everyone has the gift of eloquence, but this does not mean that this skill cannot be developed in oneself. We all know that you can listen to a person who can speak beautifully for hours! And yet, it should be taken into account that there are a considerable number of different nuances that are important to take into account when developing the skill of rich conversational speech.

It is important to breathe correctly when speaking Surely, while listening to the smooth speech of an announcer or some charismatic presenter, you caught yourself thinking that you yourself would like to be able to speak like that. Of course, this can be achieved if you develop your speaking technique. However, first of all, for this you should learn to breathe correctly - deeply, calmly and imperceptibly. Please note that speech breathing differs from normal breathing. It's about about a controlled process. As you know, diaphragmatic-costal breathing is considered the most convenient for speech. In this case, inhalation and exhalation are performed using the diaphragm and intercostal muscles. The most capacious part of the lungs (lower) comes into activity. At the same time, the shoulders and upper sections chest remain practically motionless. You can learn to control your breathing on your own. Place your palm between your stomach and chest - on the diaphragm area. When you inhale, the abdominal wall will rise slightly, bottom part the chest will expand. Exhalation will be accompanied by contraction of the abdominal and chest muscles. When speaking, the inhalation should be light and short, but the exhalation should be smooth and long (the ratio is approximately one to ten). When the process of speech occurs, the importance of exhalation increases to a large extent. Before speaking, you should take a quick and deep breath, which is taken both through your nose and mouth. Meanwhile, during speech exhalation, only the mouth is involved. Correct speech breathing can be called the basis for a beautiful sounding voice. If you breathe incorrectly, this will lead to instability of your voice. Speak confidently, clearly and clearly When speaking, try to avoid muttering - speak clearly, distinctly and confidently. Practice reading books out loud - do it slowly and with expression, sometimes speed it up, but continue to speak with expression. Gradually, you will develop the skill of speaking this way in everyday life. You need to constantly train your gestures and facial expressions Gesticulation and facial expressions can be called non-verbal means of speech, which should also be trained. Try speaking in front of a camera or mirror to see if you are gesturing too much and “out of line.” At times, this can greatly distract the interlocutor from the topic of conversation. It is also important to observe your facial expressions - both an indifferent facial expression and overexposure emotions. In the second case, it may simply look ugly. Your gestures and facial expressions should look harmonious, smooth and natural, and only sometimes emphasize the meaning of what was said. It is important that the listener still focuses on the meaning of the text, but not on your face or hands.

Nowadays, many people are concerned with the question of how to learn to express their thoughts correctly. Because simple communication at a business meeting, with colleagues, with loved ones requires certain skills. And everyone can learn them.

WITH business partners You can talk in a frivolous manner, but with relatives during dinner, you should not communicate in a presentable tone. Maybe each of you has noticed that people who communicate at work or school official receptions, are often not sincere in communication. A man who cares for a woman, a woman who flirtatiously communicates with a man, does not suspect that they are using complex psychological techniques.

Communication brings people a new impulse, joy, pleasure, they allow them to cope with boredom, with the routine of everyday life, and in professional activities can raise by new level. Communication is the process of establishing and developing relationships between individuals, the ability to understand each other, the exchange of information, and so on.

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How to express your thoughts correctly?

A person’s ability to express his thoughts is the ability to communicate. Agree that it is difficult to communicate with a person who is not able to say what he wants. For example, if you are talking to a person in a state of alcohol intoxication. He has many philosophical thoughts, but he cannot express them in words.

Naturally, this is an extreme case, but in life, every sane person has a minimum vocabulary.

You may have met a person who lacked words to explain his emotions, his own impressions. He could not identify the images and thoughts in his head. Some words can be often heard in conversation, for example “um” and others. Maybe this happened to you too? Then you have a little problem with expressing your thoughts. It is small because it is surmountable. Next, we will tell you about exercises that can develop this ability.

How to learn to communicate: exercises

Read more

In order to be able to express thoughts smoothly and consistently, you need to have a large vocabulary. In order for him to be such, you need to increase your own level of reading, read books, magazines, newspapers, literature, etc. You will remember words that have similar meanings, and you can learn the meaning of new words from dictionaries.

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Communicate more

By discussing various topics with people or just chatting, you can learn more. If you have large stock words, this does not mean that you can use them correctly. If you have encountered this, now we will give you some advice.

1. Take any word and give it a definition in the form of a coherent, complete sentence, as if you were asking yourself: “What is... a smile?”, “What does it mean... to breathe?”
2. Think of 3-4 words for yourself and use them to make a sentence, and the more you make up, the better. It is also useful to conduct such training with a small child.

Difficulty communicating with people

When a person communicates in incomprehensible words

It is impossible not to remember the difficulties that arise in communication if a person speaks in phrases or words that are incomprehensible to other people. This could be scientific terminology, a set of slang phrases, or obscene language. This has to do with culture and education. In this case, you should feel the interlocutor, ask whether he understands these words, or explain them to him.

Communication approach

It's pretty important point, because the ability to choose words for the audience that is listening to you is worth a lot. This is a manner of communication, a style. It is necessary to use words that will be appropriate and understandable to this circle of listeners. In different social groups, you need to use different words, for example, some people are among friends, others are at a meeting.

To find out whether the words will be appropriate or not, just put yourself in the place of the person you are addressing and evaluate yourself from the outside. For specific situation It is better to use specific phrases and expressions.

If you loudly say “Respect and respect” during an interview, you may be immediately kicked out the door. Communication is expressed by the degree of his interest and attitude towards the interlocutor.

Required speech rate

It depends on the situation, for example, for a heated debate you can use a fast pace, while in another situation a slow pace is suitable. But it is important that the pronunciation is measured and even. Even if there is a desire to convey some news or there is a surge of emotions, you must try to first arrange thoughts in your head into coherent speech, and only then turn them into words.

There is an exercise that will help you express your thoughts at the same pace. As you walk, simply say something, either silently or out loud, and for each subsequent step say the same number of words, about two words per step.

Sense of humor

Any communication cannot do without this component. Using humor you can defuse tense situations. Even during a meeting, a joke will be quite appropriate, only inserted at the right moment.

Video lessons

Probably everyone can agree that the competent expression of one’s thoughts is not an easy task, and in some ways can even be considered an art. Despite the fact that from childhood we are all required to learn to put into verbal form what we think about, the ability to speak correctly is not inherent in everyone. Why is this so, and?

Our effectiveness directly depends on how much we have the skill to correctly formulate our words, since it is the ability to convey to the consciousness of the interlocutor what we mean that is decisive in communication.

How often have you encountered a situation where some thought is constantly “spinning” in your brain, but you don’t know how to express it in words? In such cases, speech, as a rule, turns into some kind of “mess”, becomes confused, confusing, and your interlocutor cannot understand what you actually want from him?

On the other hand, if your speech is delivered, the words you pronounce are clear, you have a rich vocabulary and know how to use the necessary words appropriately - then your interlocutors are ready to listen to you ad infinitum.

Correctly delivered speech is not a gift given to a person by nature, which means that you can learn to express your thoughts correctly with the help of. The ability to speak beautifully, clearly and correctly is necessary not only for those who often have to speak in front of an audience, but also for all other people, as this will make the process of communicating with them in everyday life more interesting and informative.

If you are concerned about the quality of your speech and are thinking about how to learn to express your thoughts correctly, then we recommend that you use our advice.

Tip 1.

Spend as much time as possible reading books. It is preferable if you start reading the classics of Russian literature. This will not only enrich your spiritual world, but also significantly expand your vocabulary, and also teach you how to construct sentences correctly.

Tip 2.

Tip 3.

Watch the pace of your speech. Monotonous speech, devoid of pauses, accents, and other means of manifestation, can only cause boredom in the listener. Therefore, learn to decorate your words with emotions, just don’t overdo it.

Tip 4.

Use metaphors, proverbs, phraseological units. These techniques can liven up even the most boring speech.

Tip 5.

For training purposes, watch television announcers. Pay attention to how they speak, how they breathe, how they behave.

Tip 6.

Do a fun exercise every day. Take some very ordinary subject and try to talk about it for several minutes, using literary speech. Increase your story time every day. If at the very beginning of the lesson you definitely experience difficulties, then after some time you will be able to easily talk about the teapot, for example, for an hour, and your words will never be repeated.

By doing this every day and following the other recommendations, you will enrich your vocabulary and learn to use it in conversation, and correctly expressing your thoughts will no longer pose any problem for you.

My problem is that every day it becomes more and more difficult for me to formulate my thoughts and express myself competently (I forget the right words halfway through a sentence and have to look for synonyms, making great efforts). I often distort words, constantly make slips of the tongue, and the clarity of speech disappears (this reminds me of people who have had a stroke). All this affects communication with other people. I lose the ability to analyze situations (I enter some kind of mental stupor). I lose clarity of thinking when talking with people, although when I’m alone with myself everything is fine. There is some kind of personality degradation on the face. What is the reason for this and how to treat it?

Answers from psychologists

Lyudmila, hello.

Your question contains too little information about you. First you need detailed diagnostics your condition and observing you, talking with you.

The symptoms described may be evidence complex disease, and don’t talk about anything serious. Contact a psychiatrist near your place of residence or, to get started, talk to a competent psychologist.

You can also chat on Skype. Contact us, write in a personal message or look for another method of communication. You can immediately register for a Skype consultation.

Biryukova Anastasia, your Gestalt psychologist in person in St. Petersburg and on Skype.

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Hello, Lyudmila!

I recommend that you contact a neurologist/neurologist to rule out physiological causes. Your symptoms may be related to for various reasons, but it’s better to start clarifying this not with a psychologist, but with a doctor. And it’s better not to delay.

Good luck to you!

Akmurzina Natalya Viktorovna, psychologist, psychotherapist in Chelyabinsk

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Dear Lyudmila!

If you think that everything is fine with your memory outside of communicating with people, then perhaps you have social phobia in this way. If you have a strong fear of dementia, then you may have hysterical manifestations.

Yes, what you describe happens after strokes, but it can also happen with other organic conditions. If it is difficult for you to immediately go to a neurologist or psychiatrist, then first undergo examinations: MRI of the brain, veins and arteries of the brain, ultrasound of the neck and brain for a fee (you can get through it quickly). Then the picture will be clear for you - you will actually receive a diagnosis, although this must later be confirmed by doctors.

Or contact your local physician, they will send you to a hospital for examination, it’s even easier. You most likely need urgent medical care, the sooner the better for you.

If you want support, write or call. I hope you have loved ones and relatives?

I wish you health and prosperity!

Rimma Dyusmetova, member of the European Association of Psychotherapists Chelyabinsk

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