weingro2
05-11-2009, 05:04 PM
Hello all. I wanted to make a thread where everybody could post any techniques they have used for fluency. Please post them whether they worked for you or not because we all know everybody is different and if they didnt work for you they might for someone else. I will start:
One of my suggestions is to work on slowing down everything in your life. I am a very impatient person by nature, and so I find it hard to slow down when I'm talking because I live my life trying to get things done as fast as possible. For example, when I am typing on or something of the sort I type as fast as I can to get the words out, which I think directly relates to one of the problems I must overcome to achieve fluency. I also noticed that because I am always trying to do things fast that my breathing becomes out of whack, but the more I focus on steady breathing the more I slow down my brain and the more fluent I am.
2. Sometimes when I am doing something that requires a lot of focus, like drawing a picture or putting together a small model airplane, that I actually stop breathing at the hieght of my focus (for example when you are drawing a line and trying to make it as straight as possible). I have started purposefully doing things like this but concetrating on my breathing to make sure it is steady and flowing, and I actually have found that my pictures come out better and I can be more accurate with my fine motor skills.
3. When speaking a sentence set small goals for yourself. I got this idea off of a friend who just got back from basic training with the marines. He told me about a wall they had to climb at the end of training to pass the course. He told me if you focused on the top of the wall the whole time you were climbing you would never make it. You needed to focus on where you were going to put your hand or foot next and nothing else. The next time your talking to someone you feel comfortable with try saying one word at a time as if each word is a seperate sentence. Even if it takes you 5 minutes to say one sentence I think you will be surprised at how fluent you can be. Just remember, small goals, dont try to race to the end fo the sentence or you will never make it.
Now lets see what you guys got...
One of my suggestions is to work on slowing down everything in your life. I am a very impatient person by nature, and so I find it hard to slow down when I'm talking because I live my life trying to get things done as fast as possible. For example, when I am typing on or something of the sort I type as fast as I can to get the words out, which I think directly relates to one of the problems I must overcome to achieve fluency. I also noticed that because I am always trying to do things fast that my breathing becomes out of whack, but the more I focus on steady breathing the more I slow down my brain and the more fluent I am.
2. Sometimes when I am doing something that requires a lot of focus, like drawing a picture or putting together a small model airplane, that I actually stop breathing at the hieght of my focus (for example when you are drawing a line and trying to make it as straight as possible). I have started purposefully doing things like this but concetrating on my breathing to make sure it is steady and flowing, and I actually have found that my pictures come out better and I can be more accurate with my fine motor skills.
3. When speaking a sentence set small goals for yourself. I got this idea off of a friend who just got back from basic training with the marines. He told me about a wall they had to climb at the end of training to pass the course. He told me if you focused on the top of the wall the whole time you were climbing you would never make it. You needed to focus on where you were going to put your hand or foot next and nothing else. The next time your talking to someone you feel comfortable with try saying one word at a time as if each word is a seperate sentence. Even if it takes you 5 minutes to say one sentence I think you will be surprised at how fluent you can be. Just remember, small goals, dont try to race to the end fo the sentence or you will never make it.
Now lets see what you guys got...