Study, don’t just watch, good debates or speeches. Recognize how much prep went into them. Listen carefully to podcasts you admire, and again think about how they and their guests prepare.
Slow down. Take 2-5 seconds to plan before starting a sentence. You may need filler words here, just to signal that you’re thinking and not passing your turn.
Intentional practice. Notice when you’re less precise than you’d hoped, and fix it. Many (not all) conversations with friends or coworkers have room for “wait, let me restate that” and try again. Do this in all situations where you think this kind of precision is a primary component of the communication. And notice which conversations would not benefit, so you can be more natural and off-the-cuff in those.
Read a lot. Vocabulary comes from outside—you’ll get used to the words you encounter often. Writing is also critical—you can do the thinking and editing before anyone sees it, and this will make you more articulate when speaking. Also, many people who are conversationally articulate heavily use cached thoughts that they’ve refined in writing.
For asking questions, I think you’ve got it backward. You may wish to have someone give you a 2-minute primer on some topic you’re interested in, but that’s rarely easy or fun for them. Be up-front about your level of knowledge and areas of curiosity, but try to ask specific questions that fill in gaps, rather than “please work hard to give me a jumpstart on a topic you’ve thought about for years”.
Study, don’t just watch, good debates or speeches. Recognize how much prep went into them. Listen carefully to podcasts you admire, and again think about how they and their guests prepare.
Slow down. Take 2-5 seconds to plan before starting a sentence. You may need filler words here, just to signal that you’re thinking and not passing your turn.
Intentional practice. Notice when you’re less precise than you’d hoped, and fix it. Many (not all) conversations with friends or coworkers have room for “wait, let me restate that” and try again. Do this in all situations where you think this kind of precision is a primary component of the communication. And notice which conversations would not benefit, so you can be more natural and off-the-cuff in those.
Read a lot. Vocabulary comes from outside—you’ll get used to the words you encounter often. Writing is also critical—you can do the thinking and editing before anyone sees it, and this will make you more articulate when speaking. Also, many people who are conversationally articulate heavily use cached thoughts that they’ve refined in writing.
For asking questions, I think you’ve got it backward. You may wish to have someone give you a 2-minute primer on some topic you’re interested in, but that’s rarely easy or fun for them. Be up-front about your level of knowledge and areas of curiosity, but try to ask specific questions that fill in gaps, rather than “please work hard to give me a jumpstart on a topic you’ve thought about for years”.