Speak Fast, Clearly: Part of the Secret to Good Communication
The human mind is absolutely remarkable. It’s capable of processing the endless amounts of data that bombard our every sense at every moment. Unfortunately, when sharing with others during a tense game, we often speak with a complete lack of clarity. Enter the speaking drills.
As a debater, I’m pretty used to talking fast. With only eight minutes in the LOC/1NC (first negative constructive speech) to run any off-case positions I have, as well as adequately cover the affirmative case (talking points), time isn’t exactly on my side.
Luckily, I’m not alone in this predicament—all of those who have come before me have, to some extent or another, have felt the same pinch.
Over time, it became obvious that you have two options: speak faster, to cover the arguments, or leave points out. Given a choice, most of us will opt to strike a balance that the judge will prefer, often leaning towards the former.
Speed alone isn’t good enough
Many of the fastest national debaters are capable of throwing out over 500-600 words per minute, reading from cards. We call it spreading.
As you can imagine, keeping up with such speed devils isn’t easy. Therein lies the rub: if a debater wants to speak fast, and still win, he needs to be clear at all points—else vital points might very well be dropped from the flow by all in the room.
So attention turned away from speed alone and towards clarity in that speed.
What’s this have to do with Gaming?
Absolutely everything.
If there’s one thing neuropsychology research has taught us, it’s that the human mind is an incredible machine, capable of processing great deals of information in merely a blink of the eye.
Unfortunately, after we’ve processed it, there’s always the difficult task of getting the highlights reel, if you’ll forgive the metaphor, out to our teammates.
That’s where the ability to speak fast, with the utmost clarity, comes in.
If you take the time to really listen, during a tense match at an MLG tournament, players are constantly throwing words around—and at a rapid clip. That’s an important part of the game; without communication, a loss is all but guaranteed. Unfortunately, clarity almost always suffers in this tense environment. That’s a problem.
The Drills
Luckily, the lack of clarity is fixable with a bit of effort. Today, we’ll go through some of the most popular, and dependable, debate speed and clarity drills, adapted for the gaming world.
Keep in mind that, like anything, practice makes perfect. If you plan on seeing marked improvements in your communication in terms of speed and clarity, you’re going to have to make these drills a part of your daily routine. A final point: these drills are over-corrective in nature in order to force you to hit the right mark when in-game (or, as they were originally designed for, in-round).
Without further adieu, I present to you 3 drills any competitive gamer will find invaluable.
Run Backwards, My Friend
One of the first drills I was introduced to was to take evidence cards and read them. Backwards. Over time, I became progressively faster in my ability to do so.
Why? Simple; by speaking backwards, you are forcing yourself to care about the beginnings and ends of words—forcing a clear separation between them (words slurring together being the cardinal sin of sloppy spreaders). End result? For those listening, picking out just what you’re talking about becomes easier.
Stick it in your mouth (A Pen, Silly)
Take the pen out of the desk and stick it in your mouth, far as you can go, with the ends sticking out the side (so, the pen is perpendicular to your tongue). Fire up a gameplay video in the theater, and set the speed to one faster than normal play.
Now talk for 5 minutes, as fast as you can. Focus on describing your surroundings with as few words as possible (word economy). You’ll sound like an idiot, and will be far from clear (there’s a pen in your mouth, fighting you, slowing you down!), but the true benefits will show up when the pen is removed. Speaking of which, remove the pen. Now do the same, but without the pen. Repeat this process 3-5 times in one sitting.
Over time, you’ll find that the pen-in-mouth drill has helped you with clarity. How? It acts as a counterweight; fighting you as you try to speak faster, forcing you to separate words from one another. When the pen is gone, and with it the impediment, you’ll find yourself speaking more clearly over time.
Split. And. Your. And. Words. Apart.
Next up: and.
In the same situation, this time with no pen, you’re going to want to stick the word “and” in between every word that comes out of your mouth. This exercise will help you work on your clarity while ratcheting up the speed.
It takes a bit of effort, and chances are, you’ll miss a few ‘ands’ but you’ll be glad you put the effort in when your teammates start smiling because they can actually pick out that you’re saying “2 shot in alley” rather than “tashoaly.”
Put it to Practice
Ultimately, these drills can only take you part of the way. If you want to be able to speak fast, you’re going to have to practice in-game.
It goes without saying, but most of this practice should be with your teammates—as you become used to hearing speed demons, your ability to process what they are saying invariably improves.
Just remember: your goal should be to speak as fast as the situation calls for, and no faster. Else, you’re just stacking the cards against your team.
Like any tool, the ability to speak fast is just that—a tool. It doesn’t replace speaking well or with purpose, and it doesn’t replace playing smart. But if you hone your ability to talk fast, you can turn it into a devastating weapon that can help give your team a leg up on the competition.
About the Author: Bluestrike2
A student of economics, philosophy, and psychology at Duquesne University, Tom—known to the community as Bluestrike2—could be said to bring the rationality of an economist, the thinking of a philosopher, and the concern of a psychologist to the team. Drawing upon his work in these fields, he has helped shape Gaming Lessons into the company that it is today.
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Excellent post. I have practiced similar variants of each of your three methods for mock trial. They really do work. I would just like to add that some people lack the skill of being able to understand faster communication, so that is another skill worth practicing.
Unfortunately, that’s the case. It’s up to each team member to stand up and say “slow down!” when someone starts talking too fast. Practicing together, and intentionally speeding up in-game communication during those practices, can help everyone improve their ability to understand each other. Eventually, you’ll get a solid feel for each other—one that will prove invaluable.
But that’s only part of it; as the individual talking, you’ve got to remember the creed “speak only as fast as necessary.” Lose sight of that, and you’re going to screw up one of these days.
Way to go. There is the philosopher side coming out! Also, adaptation for gaming - love it.
Ever scence i started reading and learning what to do i have gottin better ty gaming-lessons :D