Languages
Sounding like yourself in another language
People frequently report having a different personality in a second language, and the reasons are more practical than mystical.
I Am Talkative — Better at being heard
Languages
Listening in a language you are learning
Listening is the skill learners find hardest and practise least, and the gap has specific causes.
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Languages
Reading in another language
Reading is the most efficient source of vocabulary available, and most learners do it in the way that works least well.
Languages
Keeping a language you already have
Languages fade without use, and maintaining one is a different task from learning it.
Voice & Accent
Silence and what it does
The pause is the most powerful device available to a speaker and the one people are least willing to use.
Voice & Accent
What your voice tells people
Listeners form fast judgements from voice alone, and knowing which features drive them is more useful than pretending they do not.
Writing
Writing that persuades
Argument on the page follows different rules from argument in conversation, and the main one is about what you concede.
Public Speaking
All public speaking →
Public Speaking
Speaking to camera
A lens is the hardest audience there is, because it gives you absolutely nothing back.
Public Speaking
The first minute
Openings are the most disproportionately valuable part of a talk and the part most often wasted on housekeeping.
Public Speaking
Rehearsing properly
Reading the slides through in your head is not rehearsal, and the difference shows in the room.
Conversation
All conversation →
Conversation
Conversations with people much older or younger
The awkwardness across a large age gap comes from a few specific assumptions, all of which can be dropped.
Conversation
Being interrupted
Interruption is unevenly distributed, and there are techniques for both ends of it.
Conversation
Talking to someone who is grieving
The fear of saying the wrong thing produces silence, which is the one thing that reliably makes it worse.
Storytelling
All storytelling →
Storytelling
The stories organisations tell about themselves
Founding myths and origin stories do real work, and the ones that fail do so for consistent reasons.
Storytelling
Structuring a longer story
Anything beyond a few minutes needs a shape the listener can feel, and there are only a handful that work.
Storytelling
Telling a story to a hostile room
Narrative works differently when the audience is sceptical, and the usual techniques can make things worse.
Writing
All writing →Writing
Writing that persuades
Argument on the page follows different rules from argument in conversation, and the main one is about what you concede.
Writing
Writing to complain effectively
Complaints that work are calm, specific and state exactly what would resolve the matter.
Writing
Plain English
The case for plain language is practical rather than aesthetic, and the changes involved are a short list.
Voice & Accent
All voice & accent →Voice & Accent
Silence and what it does
The pause is the most powerful device available to a speaker and the one people are least willing to use.
Voice & Accent
What your voice tells people
Listeners form fast judgements from voice alone, and knowing which features drive them is more useful than pretending they do not.
Voice & Accent
Your voice as you get older
Voices change with age in predictable ways, and much of what is assumed inevitable is not.
Languages
All languages →
Languages
Listening in a language you are learning
Listening is the skill learners find hardest and practise least, and the gap has specific causes.
Languages
Sounding like yourself in another language
People frequently report having a different personality in a second language, and the reasons are more practical than mystical.
Languages
Reading in another language
Reading is the most efficient source of vocabulary available, and most learners do it in the way that works least well.
About I Am Talkative
Public speaking, conversation, storytelling, writing, voice and language learning — the practical craft of saying what you mean and being understood. We publish explanatory articles rather than news, which means an article here is written to still be useful a year from now. Every piece is bylined, sourced and read by an editor before it appears — the full process is set out in our editorial policy.