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Synonyms and antonyms of speech in English
Synonyms and examples, see words related to speech, speech | american thesaurus.
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to do something or go somewhere very slowly, taking more time than is necessary
Like a bull in a china shop: talking about people who are clumsy
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Speech synonyms
What is another word for speech .
- language dialect, words
- address talk, event
- lecture talk, address
- tongue language, words
- discourse talk, address
- oration talk, address
- talk utterance, words
- utterance expression, language
- words language, utterance
- dialect language, words
- harangue address, event
- idiom dialect, language
- parlance talk, utterance
- speaking utterance, presentation
- declamation words, formal talk to audience
- conversation utterance, communication
- vernacular dialect
- lingo dialect, diction
- sermon address, event
- enunciation diction
- spiel formal talk to audience
- expression diction, rhetoric
- jargon dialect, diction
- phraseology diction
- pronunciation
- articulation communication, speaking
- recitation event, monologue
Synonyms of speaking
- as in talking
- as in communication
- as in saying
- as in lecturing
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Thesaurus Definition of speaking
(Entry 1 of 3)
Synonyms & Similar Words
- communicative
- well - spoken
- silver - tongued
- smooth - tongued
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- uncommunicative
- inarticulate
- tongue - tied
Thesaurus Definition of speaking (Entry 2 of 3)
- communication
- talkativeness
- loquaciousness
- garrulousness
- verboseness
- speechlessness
- voicelessness
- inarticulateness
- taciturnity
- inarticulacy
Thesaurus Definition of speaking (Entry 3 of 3)
- articulating
- verbalizing
- enunciating
- bringing out
- putting into words
- proclaiming
- broadcasting
- ventilating
- publicizing
- promulgating
- advertising
- getting off
- formulating
- spluttering
- ripping (out)
- formulizing
- piping up (with)
- suppressing
- discoursing
- expatiating
- holding forth
- taking the floor
- soliloquizing
- pontificating
- sermonizing
- filibustering
Examples of speaking in a Sentence
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'speaking.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Phrases Containing speaking
- public speaking
Thesaurus Entries Near speaking
speak (for)
speaking (about)
Cite this Entry
“Speaking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/speaking. Accessed 5 Sep. 2024.
More from Merriam-Webster on speaking
Nglish: Translation of speaking for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of speaking for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about speaking
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Losing her speech made her feel isolated from humanity.
Synonyms: communication , conversation , parley , parlance
He expresses himself better in speech than in writing.
We waited for some speech that would indicate her true feelings.
Synonyms: talk , mention , comment , asseveration , assertion , observation
a fiery speech.
Synonyms: discourse , talk
- any single utterance of an actor in the course of a play, motion picture, etc.
Synonyms: patois , tongue
Your slovenly speech is holding back your career.
- a field of study devoted to the theory and practice of oral communication.
- Archaic. rumor .
to have speech with somebody
speech therapy
- that which is spoken; utterance
- a talk or address delivered to an audience
- a person's characteristic manner of speaking
- a national or regional language or dialect
- linguistics another word for parole
Other Words From
- self-speech noun
Word History and Origins
Origin of speech 1
Synonym Study
Example sentences.
Kids are interacting with Alexas that can record their voice data and influence their speech and social development.
The attorney general delivered a controversial speech Wednesday.
For example, my company, Teknicks, is working with an online K-12 speech and occupational therapy provider.
Instead, it would give tech companies a powerful incentive to limit Brazilians’ freedom of speech at a time of political unrest.
However, the president did give a speech in Suresnes, France, the next day during a ceremony hosted by the American Battle Monuments Commission.
Those are troubling numbers, for unfettered speech is not incidental to a flourishing society.
There is no such thing as speech so hateful or offensive it somehow “justifies” or “legitimizes” the use of violence.
We need to recover and grow the idea that the proper answer to bad speech is more and better speech.
Tend to your own garden, to quote the great sage of free speech, Voltaire, and invite people to follow your example.
The simple, awful truth is that free speech has never been particularly popular in America.
Alessandro turned a grateful look on Ramona as he translated this speech, so in unison with Indian modes of thought and feeling.
And so this is why the clever performer cannot reproduce the effect of a speech of Demosthenes or Daniel Webster.
He said no more in words, but his little blue eyes had an eloquence that left nothing to mere speech.
After pondering over Mr. Blackbird's speech for a few moments he raised his head.
Albinia, I have refrained from speech as long as possible; but this is really too much!
Related Words
More about speech, what is speech .
Speech is the ability to express thoughts and emotions through vocal sounds and gestures. The act of doing this is also known as speech .
Speech is something only humans are capable of doing and this ability has contributed greatly to humanity’s ability to develop civilization. Speech allows humans to communicate much more complex information than animals are able to.
Almost all animals make sounds or noises with the intent to communicate with each other, such as mating calls and yelps of danger. However, animals aren’t actually talking to each other. That is, they aren’t forming sentences or sharing complicated information. Instead, they are making simple noises that trigger another animal’s natural instincts.
While speech does involve making noises, there is a lot more going on than simple grunts and growls. First, humans’ vocal machinery, such as our lungs, throat, vocal chords, and tongue, allows for a wide range of intricate sounds. Second, the human brain is incredibly complex, allowing humans to process vocal sounds and understand combinations of them as words and oral communication. The human brain is essential for speech . While chimpanzees and other apes have vocal organs similar to humans’, their brains are much less advanced and they are unable to learn speech .
Why is speech important?
The first records of the word speech come from before the year 900. It ultimately comes from the Old English word sprecan , meaning “to speak.” Scientists debate on the exact date that humanity first learned to speak, with estimates ranging from 50,000 to 2 million years ago.
Related to the concept of speech is the idea of language . A language is the collection of symbols, sounds, gestures, and anything else that a group of people use to communicate with each other, such as English, Swahili, and American Sign Language . Speech is actually using those things to orally communicate with someone else.
Did you know … ?
But what about birds that “talk”? Parrots in particular are famous for their ability to say human words and sentences. Birds are incapable of speech . What they are actually doing is learning common sounds that humans make and mimicking them. They don’t actually understand what anything they are repeating actually means.
What are real-life examples of speech ?
Speech is essential to human communication.
Dutch is just enough like German that I can read text on signs and screens, but not enough that I can understand speech. — Clark Smith Cox III (@clarkcox) September 8, 2009
I can make squirrels so excited, I could almost swear they understand human speech! — Neil Oliver (@thecoastguy) July 20, 2020
What other words are related to speech ?
- communication
- information
Quiz yourself!
True or False?
Humans are the only animals capable of speech .
The 8 Key Elements of Highly Effective Speech
…and why your words barely matter.
Posted July 10, 2012 | Reviewed by Ekua Hagan
I’d like you to take a moment to experience the following sentence, taken from a recent article exploring the nature of human consciousness: “Neuroplastic mechanisms relevant to the growing number of empirical studies of the capacity of directed attention and mental effort systematically alter brain function.”
Exciting? Hardly! In fact, most of the words you read barely register in your brain, and most of the words you speak barely register in the listener’s brain. In fact, research shows that words are the least important part of communication when you have face-to-face conversations with others. So before you utter another word to another person, memorize this list of the 8 key elements of highly effective speech:
- Gentle eye contact
- Kind facial expression
- Warm tone of voice
- Expressive hand and body gestures
- Relaxed disposition
- Slow speech rate
- The words themselves
Effective communication is based on trust, and if we don’t trust the speaker, we’re not going to listen to their words. Trust begins with eye contact because we need to see the person’s face to evaluate if they are being deceitful or not. In fact, when we are being watched, cooperation increases. [1] When we are not being watched, people tend to act more selfishly, with greater dishonesty. [2]
Gentle eye contact increases trustworthiness and encourages future cooperation, [3] and a happy gaze will increase emotional trust. [4] However, if we see the slightest bit of anger or fear on the speaker’s face, our trust will rapidly decrease. [5] But you can’t fake trustworthiness because the muscles around your mouth and eyes that reflect contentment and sincerity are involuntary. Solution: if you think about someone you love, or an event that brought you deep joy and satisfaction, a "Mona Lisa" smile will appear on your face and the muscles around your eyes will soften.
The tone of your voice is equally important when it comes to understanding what a person is really trying to say. If the facial expression expresses one emotion , but if the tone conveys a different one, neural dissonance takes place in the brain, causing the person confusion. [6] The result: trust erodes, suspicion increases, and cooperation decreases.
Researchers at the University of Amsterdam found that expressions of anger, contempt, disgust, fear, sadness, and surprise were better communicated through vocal tone than facial expression, whereas the face was more accurate for communicating expressions of joy, pride, and embarrassment . [7] And in business, a warm supportive voice is the sign of transformational leadership , generating more satisfaction, commitment, and cooperation between other members of the team. [8]
You can easily train your voice to convey more trust to others, and all you have to do is slow down and drop your pitch. This was tested at the University of Houston: when doctors reduced their speaking rate and pitch, especially when delivering bad news, the listener perceived them “as more caring and sympathetic.” [9] Harvard's Ted Kaptchuk also discovered that using a warm voice would double the healing power of a therapeutic treatment. [10]
If you want to express joy, your voice needs to become increasingly melodic, whereas sadness is spoken with a flat and monotonic voice. When we are angry, excited, or frightened, we raise the pitch and intensity of our voice, and there’s a lot of variability in both the speed and the tone. However, if the emotion is incongruent with the words you are using, it will create confusion for the listener. [11]
Gestures, and especially hand movements, are also important because they help orchestrate the language comprehension centers of your brain. [12] In fact, your brain needs to integrate both the sounds and body movements of the person who is speaking in order to accurately perceive what is meant. [13] From an evolutionary perspective, speech emerged from hand gestures and they both originate the same language area of the brain. [14] If our words and gestures are incongruent, it will create confusion in the listener’s brain. [15] Our suggestion: practice speaking in front of a mirror, consciously using your hands to “describe” the words you are speaking.
Your degree of relaxation is also reflected in your body language , facial expressions, and tone of voice, and any form of stress will convey a message of distrust . Why? Your stress tells the observer’s brain that there may be something wrong, and that stimulates defensive posturing in the listener. Research shows that even a one-minute relaxation exercise will increase activity in those parts of the brain that control language, communication, social awareness, mood-regulation, and decision-making . [16] Thus, a relaxed conversation allows for increased intimacy and empathy. Stress, however, causes us to talk too much because it hinders our ability to speak with clarity.
When you speak, slow down! Slow speech rates will increase the ability for the listener to comprehend what you are saying, and this is true for both young and older adults. [17] Slower speaking will also deepen that person’s respect for you, [18] Speaking slowly is not as natural as it may seem, and as children we automatically speak fast. But you can teach yourself, and your children to slow down by consciously cutting your speech rate in half. A slow voice has a calming effect on a person who is feeling anxious , whereas a loud fast voice will stimulate excitement, anger, or fear. [19]
Try this experiment: pair up with a partner and speak so slowly that … you … leave … 5 … seconds … of … silence … between … each … word. You’ll become aware of your negative inner speech that tells you that you should babble on endlessly and as fast as possible. It’s a trap, because the listener’s brain can only recall about 10 seconds of content! That’s why, when we train people in Compassionate Communication, we ask participants to speak only one sentence at a time, slowly, and then listen deeply as the other person speaks for ten seconds or less. This exercise will increase your overall consciousness about the importance of the first 7 elements of highly effective communication. Then, and only then, will you truly grasp the deeper meaning that is imparted by each word spoken by others.
But what about written communication, where you only have access to the words? When it comes to mutual comprehension, the written word pales in comparison to speech. To compensate, your brain imposes arbitrary meanings onto the words. You, the reader, give the words emotional impact that often differs from what the writer intended, which is why so many email correspondences get misinterpreted. And unless the writer fills in the blanks with specific emotional words and descriptive speech – storytelling – the reader will experience your writing as being flat, boring , dry, and probably more negative than you intended.
The solution: help the reader “paint a picture” in their mind with your words. Use concrete nouns and action verbs because they are easier for the reader’s brain to visualize. Words like “sunset” or “eat” are easy to see in the mind's eye, but words like “freedom” or “identify” force the brain to sort through too many conceptual frameworks. Instead, our lazy brain will skip over as many words as possible, especially the abstract ones. When this happens the deeper levels of meaning and feeling will be lost.
For more information on how to improve your speaking and listening skills, along with additional exercises to practice, see Words Can Change Your Brain: 12 Conversation Strategies for Building Trust, Reducing Conflict, and Increasing Intimacy (Newberg & Waldman, 2012, Hudson Street Press).
[1] Cues of being watched enhance cooperation in a real-world setting. Bateson M, Nettle D, Roberts G. Biol Lett. 2006 Sep 22;2(3):412-4.
[2] Effects of anonymity on antisocial behavior committed by individuals. Nogami T, Takai J. Psychol Rep. 2008 Feb;102(1):119-30.
[3] Eyes are on us, but nobody cares: are eye cues relevant for strong reciprocity? Fehr E, Schneider F. Proc Biol Sci. 2010 May 7;277(1686):1315-23.
[4] Evaluating faces on trustworthiness: an extension of systems for recognition of emotions signaling approach/avoidance behaviors. Todorov A. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2008 Mar;1124:208-24.
[5] Common neural mechanisms for the evaluation of facial trustworthiness and emotional expressions as revealed by behavioral adaptation. Engell AD, Todorov A, Haxby JV. Perception. 2010;39(7):931-41.
[6] Use of affective prosody by young and older adults. Dupuis K, Pichora-Fuller MK. Psychol Aging. 2010 Mar;25(1):16-29.
[7] "Worth a thousand words": absolute and relative decoding of nonlinguistic affect vocalizations. Hawk ST, van Kleef GA, Fischer AH, van der Schalk J. Emotion. 2009 Jun;9(3):293-305.
[8] Leadership = Communication? The Relations of Leaders' Communication Styles with Leadership Styles, Knowledge Sharing and Leadership Outcomes. de Vries RE, Bakker-Pieper A, Oostenveld W. J Bus Psychol. 2010 Sep;25(3):367-380.
[9] Voice analysis during bad news discussion in oncology: reduced pitch, decreased speaking rate, and nonverbal communication of empathy. McHenry M, Parker PA, Baile WF, Lenzi R. Support Care Cancer. 2011 May 15.
[10] Components of placebo effect: randomised controlled trial in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. Kaptchuk TJ, Kelley JM, Conboy LA, Davis RB, Kerr CE, Jacobson EE, Kirsch I, Schyner RN, Nam BH, Nguyen LT, Park M, Rivers AL, McManus C, Kokkotou E, Drossman DA, Goldman P, Lembo AJ. BMJ. 2008 May 3;336(7651):999-1003.
[11] Use of affective prosody by young and older adults. Dupuis K, Pichora-Fuller MK. Psychol Aging. 2010 Mar;25(1):16-29.
[12] Gestures orchestrate brain networks for language understanding. Skipper JI, Goldin-Meadow S, Nusbaum HC, Small SL. Curr Biol. 2009 Apr 28;19(8):661-7.
[13] When language meets action: the neural integration of gesture and speech. Willems RM, Ozyürek A, Hagoort P. Cereb Cortex. 2007 Oct;17(10):2322-33.
[14] When the hands speak. Gentilucci M, Dalla Volta R, Gianelli C. J Physiol Paris. 2008 Jan-May;102(1-3):21-30. Epub 2008 Mar 18.
[15] How symbolic gestures and words interact with each other. Barbieri F, Buonocore A,Volta RD, Gentilucci M. Brain Lang. 2009 Jul;110(1):1-11.
[16i] Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation. Tang YY, Ma Y, Wang J, Fan Y, Feng S, Lu Q, Yu Q, Sui D, Rothbart MK, Fan M, Posner MI. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Oct 23;104(43):17152-6.
[17] Comprehension of speeded discourse by younger and older listeners. Gordon MS, Daneman M, Schneider BA. Exp Aging Res. 2009 Jul-Sep;35(3):277-96.
[18] Celerity and cajolery: rapid speech may promote or inhibit persuasion through its impact on message elaboration. Smith SM, Shaffer, DR. Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 1991 Dec;17(6):663-669.
[19] Voices of fear and anxiety and sadness and depression: the effects of speech rate and loudness on fear and anxiety and sadness and depression. Siegman AW, Boyle S. J Abnorm Psychol. 1993 Aug;102(3):430-7. The angry voice: its effects on the experience of anger and cardiovascular reactivity. Siegman AW, Anderson RA, Berger T. Psychosom Med. 1990 Nov-Dec;52(6):631-43.
Andrew Newberg, M.D ., and Mark Robert Waldman are the authors of Words Can Change Your Brain .
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Last updated on Dec 02, 2021
270+ Other Words For "Said" To Supercharge Your Writing
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Head of Content at Reedsy, Martin has spent over eight years helping writers turn their ambitions into reality. As a voice in the indie publishing space, he has written for a number of outlets and spoken at conferences, including the 2024 Writers Summit at the London Book Fair.
If you've read our previous post on writing dialogue , you'll know that you shouldn't be afraid to default to he said , she said , or they said when you're tagging your dialogue. After all, it's probably the clearest, least distracting way to indicate who's saying what. That being said, it can be useful to deploy a specific and powerful dialogue tag every now and again.
Which dialogue tag are YOU?
Find out in just a minute.
To help you find that perfect synonym to inject action and emotion into your dialogue, here are over 270 other words for said:
Neutral/multi-purpose words
| Acknowledged Added Agreed Announced Articulated Asserted Backtracked Began Blurted Called Commented Communicated Conferred Considered Contended Declared Denoted | Drawled Elaborated Emitted Ended Enunciated Expounded Expressed Greeted Interjected Mentioned Noted Observed Orated Persisted Predicted Pronounced Quipped | Recited Reckoned Related Remarked Repeated Replied Responded Shared Slurred Stated Suggested Told Urged Uttered Vocalized Voiced
|
Happy/excited words
| Approved Babbled Beamed Bubbled Chattered Cheered Chimed in Chortled Chuckled Congratulated | Complimented Crooned Effused Exclaimed Giggled Grinned Gushed Jabbered Joked
| Laughed Praised Rejoiced Sang Smiled Thanked Tittered Trilled Yammered
|
Sad/upset words
| Agonized Apologized Bawled Blubbered Cried Fretted | Grieved Groaned Lamented Mewled Moaned Mumbled | Sobbed Sighed Sniffled Sniveled Wailed Wept |
Angry words
| Accused Choked Badgered Barked Bellowed Chastised Cursed Demanded Exploded Fumed | Glowered Growled Hissed Insulted Raged Ranted Reprimanded Roared Scolded
| Screamed Screeched Snarled Spat Shouted Swore Thundered Vociferated Yelled
|
Annoyed words
| Bleated Complained Condemned Criticized Exhaled Groused | Grumbled Grunted Heaved Insisted Mocked Rasped | Rejoined Retorted Scoffed Smirked Snapped Whined |
Frightened/pained words
| Coughed Cautioned Gulped Howled Keened Panted Prayed | Quavered Screamed Shrieked Shuddered Squalled Squealed Trembled | Wailed Warbled Whimpered Yelped Yowled Warned
|
Prideful words
| Advertised Bloviated Boasted Boomed Bossed Bragged Broadcasted | Crowed Exhorted Dictated Gloated Moralized Ordered
| Prattled Preached Sermonized Snorted Swaggered Trumpeted
|
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Words to express uncertainty
| Breathed Doubted Faltered Hesitated Lilted Mumbled | Murmured Muttered Shrugged Squeaked Stammered
| Stuttered Swallowed Trailed off Vacillated Whispered
|
Words that make fun
| Derided Jeered Heckled Lampooned Mocked | Mimicked Parodied Ridiculed Satirized Scorned | Spoofed Sneered Snickered Taunted Teased |
Words that ask a question
| Asked Begged Challenged Contemplated Guessed Hinted Hypothesized Implied Inquired | Interrogated Invited Mouthed Mused Pleaded Pondered Probed Proposed Puzzled | Repeated Requested Requisitioned Queried Questioned Quizzed Solicited Speculated Wondered |
Words that give an answer
| Accepted Advised Affirmed Alleged Answered Assured Avowed Claimed Conceded Concluded Confided Confirmed | Explained Disclosed Disseminated Divulged Imparted Informed Indicated Maintained Notified Offered Passed on Proffered | Promised Promulgated Released Reported Revealed Shared Specified Speculated Supposed Testified Transmitted Verified |
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For this infographic, we've narrowed down the 270 most essential dialogue words for you to know! Simply enter your email below to get it in your inbox within minutes.
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Upgrade your dialogue with our list of 270 alternatives to “said.”
To see how master writers assemble their dialogue, head over to our final post in this series for some choice examples of dialogue.
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Words for Speaking: 30 Speech Verbs in English (With Audio)
Speaking is amazing, don’t you think?
Words and phrases come out of our mouths — they communicate meaning, and we humans understand each other (well, sometimes)!
But there are countless different ways of speaking.
Sometimes, we express ourselves by speaking quietly, loudly, angrily, unclearly or enthusiastically.
And sometimes, we can express ourselves really well without using any words at all — just sounds.
When we describe what someone said, of course we can say, “He said …” or “She said …”
But there are so many alternatives to “say” that describe the many different WAYS of speaking.
Here are some of the most common ones.
Words for talking loudly in English
Shout / yell / scream.
Sometimes you just need to say something LOUDLY!
Maybe you’re shouting at your kids to get off the climbing frame and come inside before the storm starts.
Or perhaps you’re just one of those people who just shout a lot of the time when you speak. And that’s fine. I’ve got a friend like that. He says it’s because he’s the youngest kid in a family full of brothers and sisters — he had to shout to make sure people heard him. And he still shouts.
Yelling is a bit different. When you yell, you’re probably angry or surprised or even in pain. Yelling is a bit shorter and more “in-the-moment.”
Screaming is similar but usually higher in pitch and full of fear or pain or total fury, like when you’ve just seen a ghost or when you’ve dropped a box of bricks on your foot.
“Stop yelling at me! I’m sorry! I made a mistake, but there’s no need to shout!”
Bark / Bellow / Roar
When I hear these words, I always imagine something like this:
These verbs all feel rather masculine, and you imagine them in a deep voice.
I always think of an army general walking around the room telling people what to do.
That’s probably why we have the phrase “to bark orders at someone,” which means to tell people what to do in an authoritative, loud and aggressive way.
“I can’t stand that William guy. He’s always barking orders at everyone!”
Shriek / Squeal / Screech
Ooooohhh …. These do not sound nice.
These are the sounds of a car stopping suddenly.
Or the sound a cat makes when you tread on her tail.
Or very overexcited kids at a birthday party after eating too much sugar.
These verbs are high pitched and sometimes painful to hear.
“When I heard her shriek , I ran to the kitchen to see what it was. Turned out it was just a mouse.”
“As soon as she opened the box and saw the present, she let out a squeal of delight!”
Wailing is also high pitched, but not so full of energy.
It’s usually full of sadness or even anger.
When I think of someone wailing, I imagine someone completely devastated — very sad — after losing someone they love.
You get a lot of wailing at funerals.
“It’s such a mess!” she wailed desperately. “It’ll take ages to clear up!”
Words for speaking quietly in English
When we talk about people speaking in quiet ways, for some reason, we often use words that we also use for animals.
In a way, this is useful, because we can immediately get a feel for the sound of the word.
This is the sound that snakes make.
Sometimes you want to be both quiet AND angry.
Maybe someone in the theatre is talking and you can’t hear what Hamlet’s saying, so you hiss at them to shut up.
Or maybe you’re hanging out with Barry and Naomi when Barry starts talking about Naomi’s husband, who she split up with last week.
Then you might want to hiss this information to Barry so that Naomi doesn’t hear.
But Naomi wasn’t listening anyway — she was miles away staring into the distance.
“You’ll regret this!” he hissed , pointing his finger in my face.
To be fair, this one’s a little complicated.
Whimpering is a kind of traumatised, uncomfortable sound.
If you think of a frightened animal, you might hear it make some kind of quiet, weak sound that shows it’s in pain or unhappy.
Or if you think of a kid who’s just been told she can’t have an ice cream.
Those sounds might be whimpers.
“Please! Don’t shoot me!” he whimpered , shielding his head with his arms.
Whispering is when you speak, but you bypass your vocal cords so that your words sound like wind.
In a way, it’s like you’re speaking air.
Which is a pretty cool way to look at it.
This is a really useful way of speaking if you’re into gossiping.
“Hey! What are you whispering about? Come on! Tell us! We’ll have no secrets here!”
Words for speaking negatively in English
Ranting means to speak at length about a particular topic.
However, there’s a bit more to it than that.
Ranting is lively, full of passion and usually about something important — at least important to the person speaking.
Sometimes it’s even quite angry.
We probably see rants most commonly on social media — especially by PEOPLE WHO LOVE USING CAPS LOCK AND LOTS OF EXCLAMATION MARKS!!!!!!
Ranting always sounds a little mad, whether you’re ranting about something reasonable, like the fact that there’s too much traffic in the city, or whether you’re ranting about something weird, like why the world is going to hell and it’s all because of people who like owning small, brown dogs.
“I tried to talk to George, but he just started ranting about the tax hike.”
“Did you see Jemima’s most recent Facebook rant ? All about how squirrels are trying to influence the election results with memes about Macaulay Culkin.”
Babble / Blabber / Blather / Drone / Prattle / Ramble
These words all have very similar meanings.
First of all, when someone babbles (or blabbers or blathers or drones or prattles or rambles), it means they are talking for a long time.
And probably not letting other people speak.
And, importantly, about nothing particularly interesting or important.
You know the type of person, right?
You run into a friend or someone you know.
All you do is ask, “How’s life?” and five minutes later, you’re still listening to them talking about their dog’s toilet problems.
They just ramble on about it for ages.
These verbs are often used with the preposition “on.”
That’s because “on” often means “continuously” in phrasal verbs .
So when someone “drones on,” it means they just talk for ages about nothing in particular.
“You’re meeting Aunt Thelma this evening? Oh, good luck! Have fun listening to her drone on and on about her horses.”
Groan / Grumble / Moan
These words simply mean “complain.”
There are some small differences, though.
When you groan , you probably don’t even say any words. Instead, you just complain with a sound.
When you grumble , you complain in a sort of angry or impatient way. It’s not a good way to get people to like you.
Finally, moaning is complaining, but without much direction.
You know the feeling, right?
Things are unfair, and stuff isn’t working, and it’s all making life more difficult than it should be.
We might not plan to do anything about it, but it definitely does feel good to just … complain about it.
Just to express your frustration about how unfair it all is and how you’ve been victimised and how you should be CEO by now and how you don’t get the respect you deserve and …
Well, you get the idea.
If you’re frustrated with things, maybe you just need to find a sympathetic ear and have a good moan.
“Pietor? He’s nice, but he does tend to grumble about the local kids playing football on the street.”
Words for speaking unclearly in English
Mumble / murmur / mutter.
These verbs are all very similar and describe speaking in a low and unclear way, almost like you’re speaking to yourself.
Have you ever been on the metro or the bus and seen someone in the corner just sitting and talking quietly and a little madly to themselves?
That’s mumbling (or murmuring or muttering).
What’s the difference?
Good question!
The differences are just in what type of quiet and unclear speaking you’re doing.
When someone’s mumbling , it means they’re difficult to understand. You might want to ask them to speak more clearly.
Murmuring is more neutral. It might be someone praying quietly to themselves, or you might even hear the murmur of voices behind a closed door.
Finally, muttering is usually quite passive-aggressive and has a feeling of complaining to it.
“I could hear him muttering under his breath after his mum told him off.”
How can you tell if someone’s been drinking too much booze (alcohol)?
Well, apart from the fact that they’re in the middle of trying to climb the traffic lights holding a traffic cone and wearing grass on their head, they’re also slurring — their words are all sort of sliding into each other. Like this .
This can also happen if you’re super tired.
“Get some sleep! You’re slurring your words.”
Stammer / Stutter
Th-th-th-this is wh-wh-when you try to g-g-g-get the words ou-ou-out, but it’s dif-dif-dif-difficu-… hard.
For some people, this is a speech disorder, and the person who’s doing it can’t help it.
If you’ve seen the 2010 film The King’s Speech , you’ll know what I’m talking about.
(Also you can let me know, was it good? I didn’t see it.)
This can also happen when you’re frightened or angry or really, really excited — and especially when you’re nervous.
That’s when you stammer your words.
“No … I mean, yeah … I mean no…” Wendy stammered .
Other words for speaking in English
If you drawl (or if you have a drawl), you speak in a slow way, maaakiiing the voowweeel sounds loooongeer thaan noormaal.
Some people think this sounds lazy, but I think it sounds kind of nice and relaxed.
Some regional accents, like Texan and some Australian accents, have a drawl to them.
“He was the first US President who spoke with that Texan drawl .”
“Welcome to cowboy country,” he drawled .
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
That’s my impression of a dog there.
I was growling.
If you ever go cycling around remote Bulgarian villages, then you’re probably quite familiar with this sound.
There are dogs everywhere, and sometimes they just bark.
But sometimes, before barking, they growl — they make that low, threatening, throaty sound.
And it means “stay away.”
But people can growl, too, especially if they want to be threatening.
“‘Stay away from my family!’ he growled .”
Using speaking verbs as nouns
We can use these speaking verbs in the same way we use “say.”
For example, if someone says “Get out!” loudly, we can say:
“‘Get out!’ he shouted .”
However, most of the verbs we looked at today are also used as nouns. (You might have noticed in some of the examples.)
For example, if we want to focus on the fact that he was angry when he shouted, and not the words he used, we can say:
“He gave a shout of anger.”
We can use these nouns with various verbs, usually “ give ” or “ let out .”
“She gave a shout of surprise.”
“He let out a bellow of laughter.”
“I heard a faint murmur through the door.”
There you have it: 30 alternatives to “say.”
So next time you’re describing your favourite TV show or talking about the dramatic argument you saw the other day, you’ll be able to describe it more colourfully and expressively.
Did you like this post? Then be awesome and share by clicking the blue button below.
8 thoughts on “ Words for Speaking: 30 Speech Verbs in English (With Audio) ”
Always enlighten and fun.. thank you
Great job! Thank you so much for sharing with us. My students love your drawing and teaching very much. So do I of course.
Good news: I found more than 30 verbs for “speaking”. Bad news, only four of them were in your list. That is to say “Good news I’m only 50 I still have plenty of time to learn new things, bad news I’m already 50 and still have so much learn. Thanks for your posts, they’re so interesting and useful!
Excellent. Can I print it?
Thanks Iris.
And yes — Feel free to print it! :)
Thanks so much! It was very interesting and helpful❤
Great words, shouts and barks, Gabriel. I’m already writing them down, so I can practise with them bit by bit. Thanks for the lesson!
Thank you so much for sharing with us. .It is very useful
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Synonyms for Speaking skills
53 other terms for speaking skills - words and phrases with similar meaning.
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15 Powerful Speech Opening Lines (And How to Create Your Own)
Hrideep barot.
- Public Speaking , Speech Writing
Powerful speech opening lines set the tone and mood of your speech. It’s what grips the audience to want to know more about the rest of your talk.
The first few seconds are critical. It’s when you have maximum attention of the audience. And you must capitalize on that!
Instead of starting off with something plain and obvious such as a ‘Thank you’ or ‘Good Morning’, there’s so much more you can do for a powerful speech opening (here’s a great article we wrote a while ago on how you should NOT start your speech ).
To help you with this, I’ve compiled some of my favourite openings from various speakers. These speakers have gone on to deliver TED talks , win international Toastmaster competitions or are just noteworthy people who have mastered the art of communication.
After each speaker’s opening line, I have added how you can include their style of opening into your own speech. Understanding how these great speakers do it will certainly give you an idea to create your own speech opening line which will grip the audience from the outset!
Alright! Let’s dive into the 15 powerful speech openings…
Note: Want to take your communications skills to the next level? Book a complimentary consultation with one of our expert communication coaches. We’ll look under the hood of your hurdles and pick two to three growth opportunities so you can speak with impact!
1. Ric Elias
Opening: “Imagine a big explosion as you climb through 3,000 ft. Imagine a plane full of smoke. Imagine an engine going clack, clack, clack. It sounds scary. Well I had a unique seat that day. I was sitting in 1D.”
How to use the power of imagination to open your speech?
Putting your audience in a state of imagination can work extremely well to captivate them for the remainder of your talk.
It really helps to bring your audience in a certain mood that preps them for what’s about to come next. Speakers have used this with high effectiveness by transporting their audience into an imaginary land to help prove their point.
When Ric Elias opened his speech, the detail he used (3000 ft, sound of the engine going clack-clack-clack) made me feel that I too was in the plane. He was trying to make the audience experience what he was feeling – and, at least in my opinion, he did.
When using the imagination opening for speeches, the key is – detail. While we want the audience to wander into imagination, we want them to wander off to the image that we want to create for them. So, detail out your scenario if you’re going to use this technique.
Make your audience feel like they too are in the same circumstance as you were when you were in that particular situation.
2. Barack Obama
Opening: “You can’t say it, but you know it’s true.”
3. Seth MacFarlane
Opening: “There’s nowhere I would rather be on a day like this than around all this electoral equipment.” (It was raining)
How to use humour to open your speech?
When you use humour in a manner that suits your personality, it can set you up for a great speech. Why? Because getting a laugh in the first 30 seconds or so is a great way to quickly get the audience to like you.
And when they like you, they are much more likely to listen to and believe in your ideas.
Obama effortlessly uses his opening line to entice laughter among the audience. He brilliantly used the setting (the context of Trump becoming President) and said a line that completely matched his style of speaking.
Saying a joke without really saying a joke and getting people to laugh requires you to be completely comfortable in your own skin. And that’s not easy for many people (me being one of them).
If the joke doesn’t land as expected, it could lead to a rocky start.
Keep in mind the following when attempting to deliver a funny introduction:
- Know your audience: Make sure your audience gets the context of the joke (if it’s an inside joke among the members you’re speaking to, that’s even better!). You can read this article we wrote where we give you tips on how you can actually get to know your audience better to ensure maximum impact with your speech openings
- The joke should suit your natural personality. Don’t make it look forced or it won’t elicit the desired response
- Test the opening out on a few people who match your real audience. Analyze their response and tweak the joke accordingly if necessary
- Starting your speech with humour means your setting the tone of your speech. It would make sense to have a few more jokes sprinkled around the rest of the speech as well as the audience might be expecting the same from you
4. Mohammed Qahtani
Opening: Puts a cigarette on his lips, lights a lighter, stops just before lighting the cigarette. Looks at audience, “What?”
5. Darren Tay
Opening: Puts a white pair of briefs over his pants.
How to use props to begin your speech?
The reason props work so well in a talk is because in most cases the audience is not expecting anything more than just talking. So when a speaker pulls out an object that is unusual, everyone’s attention goes right to it.
It makes you wonder why that prop is being used in this particular speech.
The key word here is unusual . To grip the audience’s attention at the beginning of the speech, the prop being used should be something that the audience would never expect. Otherwise, it just becomes something that is common. And common = boring!
What Mohammed Qahtani and Darren Tay did superbly well in their talks was that they used props that nobody expected them to.
By pulling out a cigarette and lighter or a white pair of underwear, the audience can’t help but be gripped by what the speaker is about to do next. And that makes for a powerful speech opening.
6. Simon Sinek
Opening: “How do you explain when things don’t go as we assume? Or better, how do you explain when others are able to achieve things that seem to defy all of the assumptions?”
7. Julian Treasure
Opening: “The human voice. It’s the instrument we all play. It’s the most powerful sound in the world. Probably the only one that can start a war or say “I love you.” And yet many people have the experience that when they speak people don’t listen to them. Why is that? How can we speak powerfully to make change in the world?”
How to use questions to open a speech?
I use this method often. Starting off with a question is the simplest way to start your speech in a manner that immediately engages the audience.
But we should keep our questions compelling as opposed to something that is fairly obvious.
I’ve heard many speakers start their speeches with questions like “How many of us want to be successful?”
No one is going to say ‘no’ to that and frankly, I just feel silly raising my hand at such questions.
Simon Sinek and Jullian Treasure used questions in a manner that really made the audience think and make them curious to find out what the answer to that question is.
What Jullian Treasure did even better was the use of a few statements which built up to his question. This made the question even more compelling and set the theme for what the rest of his talk would be about.
So think of what question you can ask in your speech that will:
- Set the theme for the remainder of your speech
- Not be something that is fairly obvious
- Be compelling enough so that the audience will actually want to know what the answer to that question will be
8. Aaron Beverley
Opening: Long pause (after an absurdly long introduction of a 57-word speech title). “Be honest. You enjoyed that, didn’t you?”
How to use silence for speech openings?
The reason this speech opening stands out is because of the fact that the title itself is 57 words long. The audience was already hilariously intrigued by what was going to come next.
But what’s so gripping here is the way Aaron holds the crowd’s suspense by…doing nothing. For about 10 to 12 seconds he did nothing but stand and look at the audience. Everyone quietened down. He then broke this silence by a humorous remark that brought the audience laughing down again.
When going on to open your speech, besides focusing on building a killer opening sentence, how about just being silent?
It’s important to keep in mind that the point of having a strong opening is so that the audience’s attention is all on you and are intrigued enough to want to listen to the rest of your speech.
Silence is a great way to do that. When you get on the stage, just pause for a few seconds (about 3 to 5 seconds) and just look at the crowd. Let the audience and yourself settle in to the fact that the spotlight is now on you.
I can’t put my finger on it, but there is something about starting the speech off with a pure pause that just makes the beginning so much more powerful. It adds credibility to you as a speaker as well, making you look more comfortable and confident on stage.
If you want to know more about the power of pausing in public speaking , check out this post we wrote. It will give you a deeper insight into the importance of pausing and how you can harness it for your own speeches. You can also check out this video to know more about Pausing for Public Speaking:
9. Dan Pink
Opening: “I need to make a confession at the outset here. Little over 20 years ago, I did something that I regret. Something that I’m not particularly proud of. Something that in many ways I wish no one would ever know but that here I feel kind of obliged to reveal.”
10. Kelly McGonigal
Opening: “I have a confession to make. But first I want you to make a little confession to me.”
How to use a build-up to open your speech?
When there are so many amazing ways to start a speech and grip an audience from the outset, why would you ever choose to begin your speech with a ‘Good morning?’.
That’s what I love about build-ups. They set the mood for something awesome that’s about to come in that the audience will feel like they just have to know about.
Instead of starting a speech as it is, see if you can add some build-up to your beginning itself. For instance, in Kelly McGonigal’s speech, she could have started off with the question of stress itself (which she eventually moves on to in her speech). It’s not a bad way to start the speech.
But by adding the statement of “I have a confession to make” and then not revealing the confession for a little bit, the audience is gripped to know what she’s about to do next and find out what indeed is her confession.
11. Tim Urban
Opening: “So in college, I was a government major. Which means that I had to write a lot of papers. Now when a normal student writes a paper, they might spread the work out a little like this.”
12. Scott Dinsmore
Opening: “8 years ago, I got the worst career advice of my life.”
How to use storytelling as a speech opening?
“The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller.” Steve Jobs
Storytelling is the foundation of good speeches. Starting your speech with a story is a great way to grip the audience’s attention. It makes them yearn to want to know how the rest of the story is going to pan out.
Tim Urban starts off his speech with a story dating back to his college days. His use of slides is masterful and something we all can learn from. But while his story sounds simple, it does the job of intriguing the audience to want to know more.
As soon as I heard the opening lines, I thought to myself “If normal students write their paper in a certain manner, how does Tim write his papers?”
Combine such a simple yet intriguing opening with comedic slides, and you’ve got yourself a pretty gripping speech.
Scott Dismore’s statement has a similar impact. However, just a side note, Scott Dismore actually started his speech with “Wow, what an honour.”
I would advise to not start your talk with something such as that. It’s way too common and does not do the job an opening must, which is to grip your audience and set the tone for what’s coming.
13. Larry Smith
Opening: “I want to discuss with you this afternoon why you’re going to fail to have a great career.”
14. Jane McGonigal
Opening: “You will live 7.5 minutes longer than you would have otherwise, just because you watched this talk.”
How to use provocative statements to start your speech?
Making a provocative statement creates a keen desire among the audience to want to know more about what you have to say. It immediately brings everyone into attention.
Larry Smith did just that by making his opening statement surprising, lightly humorous, and above all – fearful. These elements lead to an opening statement which creates so much curiosity among the audience that they need to know how your speech pans out.
This one time, I remember seeing a speaker start a speech with, “Last week, my best friend committed suicide.” The entire crowd was gripped. Everyone could feel the tension in the room.
They were just waiting for the speaker to continue to know where this speech will go.
That’s what a hard-hitting statement does, it intrigues your audience so much that they can’t wait to hear more! Just a tip, if you do start off with a provocative, hard-hitting statement, make sure you pause for a moment after saying it.
Silence after an impactful statement will allow your message to really sink in with the audience.
Related article: 5 Ways to Grab Your Audience’s Attention When You’re Losing it!
15. Ramona J Smith
Opening: In a boxing stance, “Life would sometimes feel like a fight. The punches, jabs and hooks will come in the form of challenges, obstacles and failures. Yet if you stay in the ring and learn from those past fights, at the end of each round, you’ll be still standing.”
How to use your full body to grip the audience at the beginning of your speech?
In a talk, the audience is expecting you to do just that – talk. But when you enter the stage and start putting your full body into use in a way that the audience does not expect, it grabs their attention.
Body language is critical when it comes to public speaking. Hand gestures, stage movement, facial expressions are all things that need to be paid attention to while you’re speaking on stage. But that’s not I’m talking about here.
Here, I’m referring to a unique use of the body that grips the audience, like how Ramona did. By using her body to get into a boxing stance, imitating punches, jabs and hooks with her arms while talking – that’s what got the audience’s attention.
The reason I say this is so powerful is because if you take Ramona’s speech and remove the body usage from her opening, the entire magic of the opening falls flat.
While the content is definitely strong, without those movements, she would not have captured the audience’s attention as beautifully as she did with the use of her body.
So if you have a speech opening that seems slightly dull, see if you can add some body movement to it.
If your speech starts with a story of someone running, actually act out the running. If your speech starts with a story of someone reading, actually act out the reading.
It will make your speech opening that much more impactful.
Related article: 5 Body Language Tips to Command the Stage
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Final Words
So there it is! 15 speech openings from some of my favourite speeches. Hopefully, these will act as a guide for you to create your own opening which is super impactful and sets you off on the path to becoming a powerful public speaker!
But remember, while a speech opening is super important, it’s just part of an overall structure.
If you’re serious about not just creating a great speech opening but to improve your public speaking at an overall level, I would highly recommend you to check out this course: Acumen Presents: Chris Anderson on Public Speaking on Udemy. Not only does it have specific lectures on starting and ending a speech, but it also offers an in-depth guide into all the nuances of public speaking.
Being the founder of TED Talks, Chris Anderson provides numerous examples of the best TED speakers to give us a very practical way of overcoming stage fear and delivering a speech that people will remember. His course has helped me personally and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to learn public speaking.
No one is ever “done” learning public speaking. It’s a continuous process and you can always get better. Keep learning, keep conquering and keep being awesome!
Lastly, if you want to know how you should NOT open your speech, we’ve got a video for you:
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Refine Your Final Word With 10 Alternatives To “In Conclusion”
- Alternatives To In Conclusion
Wrapping up a presentation or a paper can be deceptively difficult. It seems like it should be easy—after all, your goal is to summarize the ideas you’ve already presented and possibly make a call to action. You don’t have to find new information; you just have to share what you already know.
Here’s where it gets tricky, though. Oftentimes, it turns out that the hardest part about writing a good conclusion is avoiding repetition.
That’s where we can help, at least a little bit. When it comes to using a transition word or phrase to kick off your conclusion, the phrase in conclusion is frequently overused. It’s easy to understand why—it is straightforward. But there are far more interesting and attention-grabbing words and phrases you can use in your papers and speeches to signal that you have reached the end.
One of the simplest synonyms of in conclusion is in summary . This transition phrase signals that you are going to briefly state the main idea or conclusion of your research. Like in conclusion , it is formal enough to be used both when writing an academic paper and when giving a presentation.
- In summary, despite multiple experimental designs, the research remains inconclusive.
- In summary , there is currently unprecedented interest in our new products.
A less formal version of in summary is to sum up . While this phrase expresses the same idea, it's more commonly found in oral presentations rather than written papers in this use.
- To sum up, we have only begun to discover the possible applications of this finding.
let's review or to review
A conclusion doesn't simply review the main idea or argument of a presentation. In some cases, a conclusion includes a more complete assessment of the evidence presented. For example, in some cases, you might choose to briefly review the chain of logic of an argument to demonstrate how you reached your conclusion. In these instances, the expressions let's review or to review are good signposts.
The transition phrases let's review and to review are most often used in spoken presentations, not in written papers. Unlike the other examples we have looked at, let's review is a complete sentence on its own.
- Let's review. First, he tricked the guard. Then, he escaped out the front door.
- To review: we developed a special kind of soil, and then we planted the seeds in it.
A classy alternative to in conclusion , both in papers and presentations, is in closing . It is a somewhat formal expression, without being flowery. This transition phrase is especially useful for the last or penultimate sentence of a conclusion. It is a good way to signal that you are nearly at the bitter end of your essay or speech. A particularly common way to use in closing is to signal in an argumentative piece that you are about to give your call to action (what you want your audience to do).
- In closing, we should all do more to help save the rainforest.
- In closing, I urge all parties to consider alternative solutions such as the ones I have presented.
in a nutshell
The expression in a nutshell is a cute and informal metaphor used to indicate that you are about to give a short summary. (Imagine you're taking all of the information and shrinking it down so it can fit in a nutshell.) It's appropriate to use in a nutshell both in writing and in speeches, but it should be avoided in contexts where you're expected to use a serious, formal register .
- In a nutshell, the life of this artist was one of great triumph and great sadness.
- In a nutshell, the company spent too much money and failed to turn a profit.
The expression in a nutshell can also be used to signal you've reached the end of a summarized story or argument that you are relating orally, as in "That's the whole story, in a nutshell."
[To make a] long story short
Another informal expression that signals you're about to give a short summary is to make a long story short , sometimes abbreviated to simply long story short. The implication of this expression is that a lengthy saga has been cut down to just the most important facts. (Not uncommonly, long story short is used ironically to indicate that a story has, in fact, been far too long and detailed.)
Because it is so casual, long story short is most often found in presentations rather than written papers. Either the full expression or the shortened version are appropriate, as long as there isn't an expectation that you be formal with your language.
- Long story short, the explorers were never able to find the Northwest Passage.
- To make a long story short, our assessments have found that there is a large crack in the foundation.
If using a transitional expression doesn't appeal to you, and you would rather stick to a straightforward transition word, you have quite a few options. We are going to cover a couple of the transition words you may choose to use to signal you are wrapping up, either when giving a presentation or writing a paper.
The first term we are going to look at is ultimately . Ultimately is an adverb that means "in the end; at last; finally." Typically, you will want to use it in the first or last sentence of your conclusion. Like in closing , it is particularly effective at signaling a call to action.
- Ultimately, each and every single person has a responsibility to care about this issue.
- Ultimately, the army beat a hasty retreat and the war was over.
Another transition word that is good for conclusions is lastly , an adverb meaning "in conclusion; in the last place; finally." Lastly can be used in informational or argumentative essays or speeches. It is a way to signal that you are about to provide the last point in your summary or argument. The word lastly is most often used in the first or last sentence of a conclusion.
- Lastly, I would like to thank the members of the committee and all of you for being such a gracious audience.
- Lastly, it must be noted that the institution has not been able to address these many complaints adequately.
The word overall is particularly good for summing up an idea or argument as part of your conclusion. Meaning "covering or including everything," overall is a bit like a formal synonym for "in a nutshell."
Unlike the other examples we have looked at in this slideshow, it is not unusual for overall to be found at the end of a sentence, rather than only at the beginning.
- Overall, we were very pleased with the results of our experiment.
- The findings of our study indicate that there is a lot of dissatisfaction with internet providers overall.
asking questions
Using traditional language like the options we have outlined so far is not your only choice when it comes to crafting a strong conclusion. If you are writing an argumentative essay or speech, you might also choose to end with one or a short series of open-ended or leading questions. These function as a creative call to action and leave the audience thinking about the arguments you have made.
In many cases, these questions begin with a WH-word , such as who or what. The specifics will vary spending on the argument being made, but here are a few general examples:
- When it comes to keeping our oceans clean, shouldn't we be doing more?
- Who is ultimately responsible for these terrible mistakes?
on a final note
Before we wrap up, we want to leave you with one last alternative for in conclusion . The expression on a final note signals that you are about to give your final point or argument. On a final note is formal enough to be used both in writing and in speeches. In fact, it can be used in a speech as a natural way to transition to your final thank yous.
- On a final note, thank you for your time and attention.
- On a final note, you can find more synonyms for in conclusion here.
The next time you are working on a conclusion and find yourself stuck for inspiration, try out some of these expressions. After all, there is always more than one way to write an ending.
No matter how you wrap up your project, keep in mind there are some rules you don't always have to follow! Let's look at them here.
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Find 84 different ways to say SPEECH, along with antonyms, related words, and example sentences at Thesaurus.com.
memorial. telling. reading. recounting. declaiming. saying aloud. reading aloud. more . "He stepped onto the podium and began to give a speech in a foreign language.".
Synonyms for SPEECH: talk, lecture, address, oration, sermon, presentation, monologue, declamation, peroration, tribute
SPEECH - Synonyms, related words and examples | Cambridge English Thesaurus
Whether you're writing an essay or speaking in front of a group, there are certain big words you can use to impress your audience.
Synonyms for speaking include talking, dialog, dialogue, discourse, speech, communication, language, oral communication, spoken communication and spoken language. Find more similar words at wordhippo.com!
Related terms for speech- synonyms, antonyms and sentences with speech
Words Related to Speech Related words are words that are directly connected to each other through their meaning, even if they are not synonyms or antonyms. This connection may be general or specific, or the words may appear frequently together. Related: speach; speeches; child-directed; public-speech;
More 980 Speech synonyms. What are another words for Speech? Language, address, lecture, tongue. Full list of synonyms for Speech is here.
the communication or expression of thoughts in spoken words; exchange of spoken words : conversation; something that is spoken : utterance… See the full definition Menu Toggle
Synonyms for SPEAKING: talking, communicative, articulate, well-spoken, voluble, talkative, vocal, eloquent; Antonyms of SPEAKING: silent, mute, dumb, speechless, mum ...
Speech definition: the faculty or power of speaking; oral communication; ability to express one's thoughts and emotions by speech sounds and gesture. See examples of SPEECH used in a sentence.
Kind facial expression. Warm tone of voice. Expressive hand and body gestures. Relaxed disposition. Slow speech rate. Brevity. The words themselves. Effective communication is based on trust, and ...
Another way to say Good Speech? Synonyms for Good Speech (other words and phrases for Good Speech).
Part 4 - Other words for "said" Neutral/multi-purpose words; Happy/excited words Sad/upset words Angry words Annoyed words; Frightened/pained words; Prideful words; Words to express uncertainty; Words that make fun; Words that ask a question; Words that give an answer
Babble / Blabber / Blather / Drone / Prattle / Ramble. These words all have very similar meanings. First of all, when someone babbles (or blabbers or blathers or drones or prattles or rambles), it means they are talking for a long time. Too long. And probably not letting other people speak.
Synonyms for Speaking Skills (other words and phrases for Speaking Skills).
Analyze their response and tweak the joke accordingly if necessary. Starting your speech with humour means your setting the tone of your speech. It would make sense to have a few more jokes sprinkled around the rest of the speech as well as the audience might be expecting the same from you. 4.
Concluding your paper or presentation can feel redundant if you always say "in conclusion." These alternatives will help you end your project with style.
mouth off. make a speech. give a talk. sound off. give a lecture. address an audience. deliver an address. drone on. say something.
Step 2: Flesh out the main ideas in your outline. Don't worry about finding the perfect words. Just let your creativity flow and get it all out! Step 3: Edit and polish what you've written until you have a cohesive first draft of your speech. Step 4: Practice, practice, practice.
Create an outline: Develop a clear outline that includes the introduction, main points, supporting evidence, and a conclusion. Share this outline with the speaker for their input and approval. Write in the speaker's voice: While crafting the speech, maintain the speaker's voice and style.
Just like y is sometimes a vowel and sometimes a consonant, there are words that are sometimes one part of speech and other times another. Here are a few examples: "I went to work " (noun). "I work in the garden" (verb). "She paints very well " (adverb). "They are finally well now, after weeks of illness" (adjective).