Unleash the Power of Reading Aloud - Sharpen Your Brain, Boost Your Pronunciation, and Get Creative

A Revelation During the 30-Day Video Confidence Challenge

During the 30-day video confidence challenge on day 18, a revelation struck me. While reviewing the recording of the day, I recognized occasional struggles in formulating sentences as I spoke. Have you ever found yourself starting a sentence, only to realize midway that it isn’t structured the way you intended and fails to lead to your intended point? Since I began filming myself, I’ve not only identified my mistakes but also gained heightened self-awareness of my speech during delivery. For instance, a sentence might commence as “And, I… After the other day.” I aspire to convey a literary quality in both speech and text, sounding knowledgeable and articulate, akin to a well-spoken politician or speaker. The key to improvement lies in practice, as our brain, much like a muscle, strengthens through consistent use.

Now, after doing some research on the subject, I will present to you why you should start reading aloud.

🙍This post is for people who are

Looking to better their pronunciation.
Trying to formulate better and more coherent sentences.
Becoming a speaker or voice actor.
Challenging their creativity and play.
Wanting to sound literate in text and speech.

Five Benefits of Reading Aloud

🧠 1. It Sharper Brain

The brain is like a muscle. If we don’t use it, it will deteriorate. We need sufficient stimulation to the brain to make it grow and become stronger. To get enough stimulation, we need to challenge it. Reading aloud is a great way of doing this. It will::

🔗Mind and voice connection. Strengthen your mind and voice connection. If you only read text in your head, you will not stimulate the neurons and connections between your mind and your voice. This is super important. If you want to be smooth, think fast, and respond quickly, we need to widen this highway to allow for more data to pass through.
💪Brain practice. The brain is like a muscle, and we need to stimulate it. Reading aloud requires us to focus harder. There are more things that need to be done at the same time. Reading, understanding, saying, and acting.
🔍Increased focus. Reading with increased focus practices our brain to keep it focused on one specific task.
👪Imagine practicing infront of an audience. As you read your text aloud, imagine you are reading for an audience. Maybe you read a children’s book for your child or a speech at a conference. Using your imagination to really act as you are in this will help you perform better.

🙊 2. Pronounciation

There are as many as 42 individual facial muscles in our face. To get a stronger impact in our pronunciation, we need to train these muscles. A skilled actor does not only pronounce well; they also perform with their whole body, and a part of this is our face. By reading aloud, we can practice our pronunciation without being judged by anyone. We can exaggerate every letter and facial expression. You can:

🎙️Intonation Start playing with your intonation. How does a specific word sound? How do you use the melody of the language, and what is the intonation supposed to sound like? How about you ending your sentance with a down pitch? This will be a totally different experience from reading the text only in your head.
🧑‍🎤Melody Better the melody of your speech.
🤸Body Languge Body language is super important to convey your message to the receiver. We all have a full-body instrument. It will show your engagement, and it supports your words. Your facial expressions are the strongest conveyors of emotions of them all.
👅Tungue twister Tongue twisters are a great way of practicing your pronunciation, intonation, and melody of hard-to-say sentences. My favourite one, Unique - New York, repeat. Unique New York, Unique New york. Bah it’s hard…

📕 3. Increased vocabulary

To sound literate, we need to increase our vocabulary. One of my biggest inspirations and role models for proper speech and the usage of complex words is Jordan Peterson. There are multiple ways we can improve our vocabulary by practicing reading aloud.

🪨Hard to say words When you read a text and come across a word that you struggle to pronounce, this is a signal that it is not properly placed in your vocabulary. If you cannot pronounce “Totalitarianism,” then you probably do not completely understand the word. Reading aloud is a great way of identifying these words, practicing them, and learning them. You should not use words in your speech that you cannot say.
⚔️Role of the word & its context By reading aloud, you will learn the different roles that words have in a sentence and their context. When you read the text aloud, you will have to use intonation, emphasis, and melody to punctuate specific words. This will require you to analyze the text as you read to identify where to do this.
🎶Melody The same thing applies to melody. It requires you to figure out the best melody for each sentence.
📘Keep dictionary close Tip - keep a dictionary nearby to learn the words that you are reading. The role of reading aloud is not to read texts fast; it is to learn the art of writing, reading, thinking, and speaking. Increasing your vocabulary is important here.

💭 4. Better Understanding

When you read the text aloud, it necessitates a deliberate slowing down. Engaging in this practice with heightened focus places you in a state where you can meticulously analyze each word and sentence construction. Simultaneously reading and listening enhance various aspects of understanding:

👂 Increased auditory comprehension
👀 Enhanced reading comprehension
📄 Beneficial for proofreading Reading a text aloud facilitates the identification of nonsensical sentence constructions. Before dispatching that email, vocalize it to detect mistakes, as written and spoken texts often differ.
🤡 Jokes Reading jokes aloud aids in gauging their effectiveness. When you’ve read a joke and it falls flat in delivery, it’s likely because you never vocalized it. Reading aloud helps discern punchline placement, appropriate pauses, intonation, and emphasis. Try this next time, and your joke is bound to succeed.
🏗️ Sentence Construction This practice enhances your ability to construct sentences. It compels you to focus on each sentence, its structure, and how it unfolds in your mind. Reading ahead of your speech helps determine the best way to articulate a sentence. Unlike silent reading, reading aloud necessitates attention to every word, differing from the internal reading process.

🎨 5. Creativity & Play

Reading aloud compels creativity in conveying your message and encourages speech experimentation. Utilize the opportunity to practice creativity, play with intonation, and experiment by adopting personas, whether your favorite actor, politician, or a fictional character.

🧪 Experimentation
🎨 Creativity
🪂 Play Intonation

🦜 How to Practice?

Initiating a regular reading practice isn’t challenging, although it may feel peculiar initially. As with any skill, what’s challenging initially becomes easier over time, and vice versa. Similar to the discomfort of speaking in front of a camera, reading aloud becomes more comfortable with practice. Incorporate a few minutes of reading into your daily routine, logging it as a habit. If you struggle with cultivating healthy habits, the book “Atomic Habits” is recommended. Here are some ways to start:

📖 Read Aloud Dedicate 5 minutes each morning to reading a specific book you enjoy. This also serves as a great vocal warm-up.
🎙️ Voice-Over Narration Script Use scripts available online, such as those from your favorite cartoon, and practice narration.
🎼 Practice Intonation with Script and Pen Transcribe a dialogue from a skilled speaker, use a pen to indicate speech intonation, and experiment with it yourself.

🙏 That’s It for Today’s Post

I trust you found it enjoyable and educational. What was a new revelation for you? Learning about this frustrated me as it wasn’t taught in school. Despite disliking reading during my academic years, reading a book post-university transformed my life. Since then, I’ve embarked on a journey to read intriguing books weekly, challenging myself and acquiring new knowledge. This insight stems from my 30-day video confidence challenge.

Summary and TLDR

Reading aloud contributes to:

🧠 Sharpening your brain-to-voice connection
👄 Improving pronunciation and body language
📜 Expanding your vocabulary
🧪 Deepening your understanding and sentence construction
🎨 Practicing and enhancing your creativity

Voila!

Enjoy the remainder of your day.