Practice diction exercises to strengthen and stretch the muscles in your throat. Diction exercises include reading tongue twisters, sounding out letters and reading poems. Doing the exercises will also help you notice habitual speech patterns that you may decide to vary or change.
Listen to diction tapes. You can find these at book stores or at your local library. Listen to ideas about the sound of letters, words and phrases. Pause the tape every so often and practice the sounds in your own voice.
Take an interpersonal communications class at a community college or an online college. You will learn basic conversational skills, listening and speaking abilities, and how to understand personalities, including your own. You will also learn about nonverbal communication, such as posture and gestures.
Broaden your vocabulary. Learn a new word every day by looking through your dictionary. Pick a word you are unfamiliar with, learn its pronunciation and meaning. Use the word in a sentence to test your understanding.
If you still have trouble speaking, consider taking a class for people with speech impairments. These classes are for those who stutter, have chronic hoarseness or can’t vocalize. Students communicate with each other through activities, discussions, and synthetic speech devices and sign language.