People who talk fast: the racing mind

Each of us has a particular way of communicating. Now, people who speak quickly do not always manage to transmit their messages effectively and, what is more important, they usually generate in the sender a certain feeling of stress, confusion and greater difficulty when it comes to understanding what is being said to them. saying. It is also a communication style from which several aspects can be deduced.

First of all, Speaking quickly does not have to respond to a psychological disorder. Sometimes, we may find ourselves faced with a speech disorder such as taquilalia, which defines those people with excessively fast speech, with rushing of words and with pauses or repetitions that further complicate the rhythmic flow of speech.

The cause that explains this type of communication responds in many cases to anxiety and stressors in close contexts, something that often happens during childhood. Therefore, if we know someone who regularly uses this type of speech, let’s be a little more patient.

If we ourselves are the ones who communicate in an accelerated manner, it is worth taking into account a series of data and strategies. They are the following.

People who talk fast, why do they do it?

There are those who think that people who speak quickly could have some virtue that differentiates them from others.. Speaking quickly could mean, for example, that they “think just as fast”, also that they could be great speakers when giving speeches with a large number of facts and information. However, science has already shown us that this is not always the case.

To begin with, speaking quickly does not mean speaking fluently. Likewise, whoever communicates in an accelerated manner There is not always time for your audience to digest all the information that is transmitted.. This is at least what experts like Florence Myers, a speech disorder pathologist at the University of Maryland, tell us.

People who speak quickly, on average, They usually drag the following burdens:

Changes in tone of voice. Sometimes they may speak too loudly or too little, using a lower tone that makes understanding difficult. Problems when articulating, mistakes are made when pronouncing some words.Use of fillers in speech (ah, um…) as well as repetitions (i.e., I mean, so…).The most important aspects of the message, i.e. The central theme that is wanted to be communicated goes unnoticed.The listener does not understand all the speech of people who speak quickly. In addition, it is common to place less value on it and to experience some stress due to this very fast communication style.

Causes of this style of communication

The origin of that exceptionally fast speech is multidimensional. That is, there is no single cause, in reality, there are different factors that can explain why it happens (or why it happens to us). They are the following:

Conditioning from childhood. There are children who feel socially pressured from an early age to speak quickly. Having very naughty siblings or even having parents who also speak quickly usually defines this communication style.The extroverted personality presents this characteristic on certain occasions.. It is a profile where one tends to think while speaking, where impulsiveness and those ideas that overwhelm each other and that are expressed almost without a filter prevail.A third factor, the most common at times, is a racing mind.. Sometimes, living a day-to-day life marked by rush, anxiety and pressure means that we end up communicating nervously. As they say, there are people who communicate as they live: in a stressful way.

Taquilalia: a speech disorder

In some cases, accelerated speech may be due to a speech disorder known as taquilalia. This is characterized by the omission of sounds and syllables when uttering words, as well as respiratory incoordination. Therefore, the language of these people is often incomprehensible.

The box office It can appear at any age, however, it is usually more common in children. The main cause of this condition is a lack of coordination between the brain and the movement capacity of the speech organs. However, it can also be due to neurological and hereditary factors, where a lack of coordination occurs between the connection of the nervous system with the language areas of the body.

For these cases, The most effective treatment is children’s speech therapy, which addresses and strengthens the child’s self-control.. In addition, the infant is stimulated with breathing exercises to control the diaphragm, and relaxation exercises to organize ideas.

What can we do to reduce accelerated speech?

We all want to communicate effectively. To speak effectively is to convey our message in an appropriate, close and even captivating way.. Thus, whoever does it quickly and hastily not only generates in others some anxiety or difficulties in understanding what is being said. Also, as a result of inertia, he may end up sharing thoughts that he would actually like to keep private.

Therefore, people who talk quickly should learn not only to slow down. Also to apply somewhat more reflective and less impulsive thinking, where you can feel little by little more competent and with greater self-control. These would be some keys:

Emotional management. As we have been pointing out, this form of communication is mediated by our emotions and, specifically, by the anxiety derived from our lifestyle. Therefore, sometimes it is not enough to just slow down, you have to establish control over anxiety, stress, impulsivity…Breathing control. Techniques, such as deep breathing or Jacobson’s progressive relaxation, can help us train inner calm to improve the rhythm of our communication.Think like a listener. When you are communicating with someone, train your thinking to pause. In those moments when you take the opportunity to take a breath, ask yourself if what you are saying is reaching the sender. Tell yourself that communicating slowly is always better.Control the speed of speech. When you notice that you are talking “a mile a minute,” simply pause or slow down. Say to yourself or the listener, “I’m talking too fast. Let me slow down.”Add breaks at appropriate times. Many people who talk too quickly skip places where pauses would make sense in a normal conversation. This includes between sentences, after important information, and when the topic changes. Try to make a conscious effort to add more pauses while speakingEnunciate each word clearly. One of the biggest problems for people who speak quickly is that they often confuse words in a way that can be difficult to understand. Spend some time practicing how you pronounce words, especially when you put them together in a sentenceAsk others to tell you if you speak quickly. Sometimes, we do it almost without realizing it, we speed up our speech and our speech becomes rushed (especially if we are nervous). Therefore, it never hurts to point out to people that we have this tendency and that we would certainly appreciate it if they let us know. In case they give us the “touch”, we slow down the pace.Record yourself speaking. Many people have trouble listening to the problems they make when speaking. Record yourself chatting with someone and then play the audio be alone Take some time to analyze what you hear. Try to practice the same speech and practice slowing down, especially in those moments where you spoke too quickly.

To conclude, as we noted at the beginning, people who talk quickly do not always suffer from a disorder. Most of the time it is a communicative behavior that we can control by being aware of it. It is worth keeping in mind.