Acting relies on skillfully using a tool that many actors don’t pay enough attention to. They tend to spend most of their time working on things that are related but they don’t spend nearly enough time fully focusing on this.
The ones that do focus heavily on it, tend to be the actors that go on to build careers as professional actors.
See the difference is striking when you compare an actor that focuses on this, to an actor that does not.
The actor that does not, tends to be passed over by Casting Directors because they appear inexperienced during auditions and self tapes.
The actor that doesn’t focus on this may mumble their lines, mispronounce words, or speak too quickly, making it difficult for their character to seem genuine.
Professional actors don’t do that.
They speak clearly and confidently, and that takes their performance to another level. That makes it much easier for CDs to connect with the performance too.
Your diction and enunciation have a massive effect on your overall vocal performance. Actors tend to learn about this very early in their career so most of them think they have it mastered.
Professional actors are the ones that truly do.
So if you want to build your career as a professional actor, focusing on this is something you should master too. Here’s where to start...
First you have to figure out what perfect diction and enunciation really is. Like I said a moment ago, most actors work on things that are related but they seldom focus fully on this.
In order to deliver a stellar performance on set or during an audition you will have to build a complete character and deliver your lines with perfect diction and enunciation, whatever that means for your character and their backstory.
The better you can do this, the better the emotional component of your performance will be.
This is because perfect diction and enunciation allows you to communicate the emotions of the scene to the audience, without things getting lost to a misunderstanding.
Clear communication is crucial for actors to effectively convey their character’s emotions, motivations, and intentions. An actor who mumbles or speaks too quickly will fail to communicate their intended message to the audience, and that leads to a lackluster performance.
Most actors focus more intently on things like inflection but inflection without proper enunciation and diction is often in vain.
So how can you be sure that your diction and enunciation are at the level they should be. This is where it can get a bit challenging.
Most actors don’t have a clearly discernible problem with this. It tends to be a factor that subconsciously causes audiences or Casting Directors to disconnect, knowing that something is not quite right about the performance, although they can’t quite figure out what it may have been.
Typically, the best thing to do is to complete a series of exercises and track your progress over time.
Here’s how...
There are several exercises that actors can do to improve their diction and enunciation.
Speech exercises are an effective way to train the muscles involved in speaking. Different muscle groups will help with different things so be sure to do a range of exercises.
For example, tongue twisters can help you practice pronunciation and articulation of words.
Repeating vowel and consonant sounds can also help to improve enunciation, and breathing exercises can help you control airflow. That is a big factor as well.
Vocal warm ups are not just for when you are on set or getting ready for an audition.
Doing them often can help you strengthen your voice. That is important because a fatigued voice will likely be lazy with diction and enunciation.
Humming, lip trills, and resonance exercises are vocal warm ups every actor knows. Pick a few of your favorites and schedule some time to work on them several times per week, along with other speech exercises.
Over the years I’ve seen actors with more complex enunciation and diction issues resort to some form of speech therapy. Sometimes, certain letter combinations are challenging for some reason, particularly for actors that are trying to overcome a regional accent.
A speech therapist can help you identify and correct speech problems you may not have been fully aware of, and they can teach you proper speech mechanics to help you overcome them.
Becoming aware of any problems with your enunciation and diction is the first step.
So, set aside some time to record yourself performing a scene. Watch it and pay close attention to your enunciation and diction.
When doing this exercise, many actors find that they feel something's not quite right about their performance but they are unsure of what it is exactly.
If that’s the case, watch the scene again a few times and pay close attention to the smallest details every time.
This can help you identify any subtle mistakes you are making with your diction and enunciation.
Once you master it, things can change very quickly in your career.
Having perfect diction and enunciation helps you show Casting Directors that you are serious about your craft. It is like having a stellar industry reputation that precedes you. Here’s a great way to get started on that.
That’s largely why I created Boost My Star.
Most actors don’t fully understand all that goes into a casting decision.
Delivering a stellar audition, with perfect diction and enunciation, will go a long way towards showing CDs that you will be able to handle the responsibility.
However, what we went over today is only going to be helpful if you have plenty of opportunities to get on set or to audition.
For some actors, not having enough auditions is merely a matter of not being visible to the industry. If they don’t know you, they can’t hire you so be sure that you are highly visible where casting directors and industry decision makers are looking for talent. Here’s how I can help with that.
Whether or not you have an audition coming up, work on what we went over today. If you’re unsure about how to approach something, feel free to get in touch.
Even if you just want to bounce ideas, I’m happy to help however I can because I truly want to...
See you at the top,
Scott