Say what you mean, the first time.
A 28-day speaking course for people whose best ideas get lost on the way out. Each day takes 15 minutes: one idea, one recorded drill, one use in a real conversation.
Drill.
How a 15-minute session runs
The strip is drawn to scale. Most of the time goes on speaking aloud, because reading about speaking does not change how you speak.
- 1. Read2 minutes on the day's idea.
- 2. Record8 minutes of drills into your phone's voice memo app.
- 3. Listen back3 minutes. Write down one fix.
- 4. Plan one use2 minutes choosing where you will use it today.
The four weeks
Each week builds on the last: first the order of your ideas, then the words, then speed, then the room.
Measure the change
Before day 1, record two minutes on "What do I do, and why does it matter?" with no preparation. Record it again on day 28, count the same three things in both, and enter them here. Then ask a friend to repeat your point in one sentence.
| Measure | Baseline | Day 28 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enter both | |||
| Enter both | |||
| Enter both |
Every sound of US English
46 sounds and 3 American habits, each with its IPA symbol. Tap a symbol or swipe the card sideways, play the sample words, say them aloud, then record yourself and compare.
0 of 49 practised
Reading the marks
- / /
- Slashes hold the sounds of a word: cat /kæt/.
- [ ]
- Square brackets show exactly how a sound is said, such as the flap in water [ˈwɔɾɚ].
- ˈ
- Sits before the stressed syllable: about /əˈbaʊt/. Say that syllable longer, louder and higher.
- ˌ
- Marks a lighter, secondary stress: information /ˌɪnfɚˈmeɪʃən/.
Endings that change sound
The letters stay the same and the sound changes with the sound before it.
Plural and verb -s
- /s/ after a voiceless sound: cats /kæts/, stops, books
- /z/ after a voiced sound: bags /bægz/, plays, runs
- /ɪz/ after s, z, sh, ch or j sounds: buses /ˈbʌsɪz/, watches, changes
Past tense -ed
- /t/ after a voiceless sound: worked /wɝkt/, stopped, laughed
- /d/ after a voiced sound: played /pleɪd/, called, opened
- /ɪd/ after t or d: needed /ˈnidɪd/, wanted, decided
A five-week order
Ten minutes a day. Take three new sounds, say each sample word five times, record yourself, and compare with the voice or the video.
- Week 1: the ten vowels, with extra time on the pairs you cannot hear apart.
- Week 2: the five diphthongs and seven r-colored vowels.
- Week 3: the 24 consonants, two voiced and voiceless partners at a time.
- Week 4: the flap T, the glottal stop and dark L, plus every pair under "Tell them apart".
- Week 5: stress marks and endings. Read whole sentences and mark the stressed syllables first.
Recording credits
The single sounds are recordings of people saying each IPA sound, from Wikimedia Commons. They are reference sounds, so the accent is not specifically American. Each clip was converted to MP3 with its volume adjusted, and stays under its original licence.
| Sound | Recording | Author | Licence |
|---|