How to Check Your Diction: A 5-Minute Self-Test

Do people often ask you to repeat yourself? Has a colleague ever told you to “speak up” or “speak more clearly”? Before you dive into exercises, it helps to know what actually needs work. Below is a 5-minute self-test: six short checks, and all you need is your phone.

What good diction means, in plain words

Good diction means people understand you the first time and it’s easy to listen to you. In practice, that comes down to a few things:

• Clear consonants. T, d, k and p sound distinct instead of blurring together.
• Full word endings. Words don’t trail off halfway through.
• A comfortable pace. Your listener can keep up with your thoughts.
• Enough volume. Nobody has to ask you to speak up.
• No mumbling. Your speech is clear even without context.

How to get ready

Open the voice recorder on your phone and hold it about an arm’s length away. Sit up straight and take a couple of calm breaths. Record each check separately and only judge it when you play it back: it’s much easier than trying to assess yourself on the fly.

Rate each check on three levels: good, room to improve, worth training.

6 diction checks

1. A tongue twister, slow then at normal pace

What to do: say the line twice: first slowly, syllable by syllable, then at your normal conversational pace.

Red lorry, yellow lorry, red lorry, yellow lorry.

What to listen for: does it sound just as clear at both speeds? Do the r and l stay distinct, or do they start to merge?

• Good: both versions are clear, with no stumbles.
• Room to improve: fine when slow, but the sounds blur at speed.
• Worth training: you trip up even at the slow pace.

2. Word endings

What to do: read this sentence naturally, without deliberately stressing the ends of words.

We met near the old bridge and talked about our friends from school.

What to listen for: can you hear the final sounds: the t in “met”, the d in “old”, the ds in “friends”, the ed in “talked”?

• Good: every ending comes through.
• Room to improve: one or two endings fade away.
• Worth training: word endings regularly disappear, especially at the end of a sentence.

3. Pace

What to do: read the passage below (about 100 words) aloud the way you’d tell it to a friend, and time yourself.

Last autumn I decided to walk to work every morning. The route took twenty minutes: through the park, past a tiny bakery and an old fountain that stopped working years ago. At first it felt like a waste of time, since the bus was right there. But within a week I noticed I was arriving calmer and rushing less in conversations. In the park I got used to looking at the trees, greeting the same dog walkers and planning my day. Now, when it rains and I have to take the bus, I miss those twenty minutes. They helped me start the day at my own pace.

What to listen for: work out your words per minute. For conversational English, a comfortable pace is often put at roughly 130–160 words per minute. There’s more on this in the article on how to stop talking too fast.

• Good: you land in that range, with natural pauses.
• Room to improve: noticeably faster, but the words are still clear.
• Worth training: very fast, no pauses, words running into each other.

4. Volume and projection

What to do: put your phone on a table, step back about 3 metres (10 feet) and say this as if you’re talking to someone on the other side of the room:

Good morning! We’re meeting at seven in the conference room on the second floor.

What to listen for: can you hear the whole sentence? Does your voice drop on the last few words? Did you slip into shouting?

• Good: the whole sentence is audible and your voice sounds steady and relaxed.
• Room to improve: the start is clear, the end barely audible.
• Worth training: the words are hard to make out, or you can hear strain and shouting.

5. S, sh and ch sounds

What to do: read this sentence at a relaxed pace.

She sells sea shells by the seashore, and Charlie chooses cheese sandwiches.

What to listen for: are s and sh clearly different? Is ch crisp? Is there any extra whistling or hissing?

• Good: every sound is crisp and distinct.
• Room to improve: the sounds drift closer together at speed, but it’s still clear.
• Worth training: s and sh noticeably merge or come out with a whistle.

6. Overall clarity

What to do: record 30 seconds about your plans for the weekend: no script, just your own words.

What to listen for: imagine it’s a voice message from a stranger that you’re hearing over the phone. Would you understand everything the first time?

• Good: yes, everything is clear.
• Room to improve: you have to guess at a few words.
• Worth training: you want to replay it just to catch the gist.

How to read your results and what to do next

• Tongue twister and s/sh sounds: start with these tongue twisters for diction and practise saying them slowly with exaggerated articulation.
• Word endings and overall clarity: a daily routine of diction exercises helps, along with these tips on how to speak clearly.
• Pace: try the pause and breathing exercises in the article on talking too fast.
• Volume: start with breathing and breath support: volume without shouting depends on them.

If you scored “good” across the board, great: a few minutes of daily practice will keep you in shape. If one particular sound keeps giving you trouble even with practice, it’s worth talking to a speech therapist, who can tell you what will help in your case.

An honest word about limitations

A self-test by ear is subjective. We hear ourselves differently from how others hear us, and on a recording your voice can even sound like a stranger’s. Here’s why that happens. That’s exactly why recording helps: it lets you hear yourself from the outside. To compare results over time, repeat the test once a week with the same lines.

You can take this test on your own, or get an automatic analysis of your pronunciation and timbre in 1 minute in the Голос app. You read a short passage aloud, then get a plan of short daily exercises, about 10 minutes a day. After a week, a new recording shows what has changed.

FAQ

Can I test my diction online?

Yes: just record yourself on your phone and listen back using the checklist above. Or get an automatic analysis in the Голос app.

How often should I repeat the test?

Every week or two, using the same lines. That way you’ll hear what has changed.